//------------------------------//
// chapter 3 The artillerymare and the fighting machine  
// Story: War of the worlds. 
// by Shadow-Aura 
//------------------------------//

*My home* 
The hammering from the pit and the pounding of guns grew louder. My fear rose at the sound of someone creeping into the house. Then I saw it was a young artillerymare, weary, streaked with blood and dirt.

"Hello, anypony there?" She called. She was a young pegasus mare with a cyan coat and a rainbow mane with a tail to match. 

"Yes in here come in," I said pouring a glass of water for her, "Here drink this."

"Thanks, mister," She said after drinking the water.

"What happened?" I asked.

"They wiped us out," She said instantly grabbing my shoulders "Hundreds dead maybe thousands."

"The heat ray?" I asked taking her hooves of my shoulders.

"The Martians! They were inside the hoods of machines they'd made massive metal things on legs!" The mare said, "Giant machines that walked, they attacked us! They wiped us out!"

"Machines?" I asked a bit skeptical.

"Yes, fighting machines! Picking up men and bashing 'em against trees." She replied "Just hunks of metal but they knew exactly what they were doing."

"Mmm, there was another cylinder that came last night," I said kind off intrigued by these fighting machines.

"Yes," She said to my surprise "It looked bound for Canterlot." 

Canterlot! Twilight! I hadn't dreamed there could be a danger to Twilight and her father (my uncle), so many miles away.

"I need to get to Canterlot quickly," I said in shock, fear. Truthfully I didn't know how I was feeling but I was in a panic. The artillerymare coughed getting my attention. 

"I got to go to," She said smiling "Got to report to headquarters or what is left of it."  

I thought about this and decided it would be safer than going alone. So we set off.

*A day later a day walks away from Canterlot.*
We came across an abanded Inn.

"Is everypony dead?" The artillerymare who I came to know as Rainbow Dash asked sadly.

"Not everypony look a battalion of guards with cannons standing by," I Answered pointing at the platoon.

"Bows and arrows against the lightning," She sighed as we walked on but then she remembered what  they would face. "They haven't seen the heat ray yet!"

We hurried along the road heading closer to our destination. Suddenly, there was a heavy explosion. The ground heaved and gusts of smoke erupted into the air.

"Look there they are!" Rainbow shouted "What did I tell you?" 

Quickly, one after the other, four of the fighting machines appeared. Monstrous tripods, higher than the tallest steeple, striding over pine trees and smashing them. Walking engines of glistening metal. Each carried a huge funnel and I realised with horror that I'd seen this awful thing before.

A fifth machine appeared on the far bank. It raised itself to full height, flourished the funnel high in the air — and the ghostly terrible heat ray struck the town. As it struck, all five fighting machines exulted, emitting deafening howls that roared like thunder. 

"Ulla! Ulla!" 

The six guns we had seen now fired simultaneously, decapitating a fighting machine. The Martian inside the hood was slain, splashed to the four winds, and the body, nothing now but an intricate device of metal went whirling to destruction. As the other monsters advanced, ponies ran away blindly, Rainbow Dash among them, b​ut I jumped into the water and hid until forced up to breathe. Now the guns spoke again, but this time the heat ray sent them to oblivion. 

"Ulla!" 

With a white flash, the heat ray swept across the river. Scalded, half-blinded and agonized, I staggered through leaping, hissing water towards the shore, I fell helplessly, in full sight of the Martians, expecting nothing but death.The foot of a Martian came down close to my head, then lifted again, as the four Martians carried away the debris of their fallen comrade, and I realized that by a miracle I had escaped...