//------------------------------// // Evacuation // Story: The Veins Run Deeper // by Thunderblast //------------------------------// As he took off from one of the balconies, it hit Night Shadow that to do this alone would be tricky. He quickly looped around the palace from above, eyes scanning down over the numerous guard posts until he found the right one, diving down right as two guards exchanged positions for the morning. Night did not even bother to land, instead halting himself just above the grey pegasus beginning his shift as the other guard began to walk away. "Thunder!" Jolting in surprise, Thunderblast's head snapped up to the pegasus floating above him, eyes widened at his sudden appearance. "Night?! Sweet Celestia, don't sneak up on me like that! What are you—" "There's no time to explain right now, but I can along the way," Night said hurriedly. "You have to come with me. It's an emergency!" "What kind of emergency? I can't just leave my post!" "My family is in harm's way!" Thunder's heart sank and his ears fell backwards. His mind was now set, nodding. "Let's go." Night nodded, racing up into the sky quickly, Thunder dropping his spear and following after as quickly as he could go, having to push himself to keep up with Night. As soon as the two pegasi matched speeds, both made a B-line for Batsburg, quite a decent distance away. Both knew very well if they kept their speed, it would still be a few hours before they would arrive. Night feared that it would be too late. With Canterlot now distant behind them in the morning's haze, Thunderblast turned to Night worriedly. "What is the emergency?" "The city is in danger. A volcano has erupted nearby and nopony has been able to get through for evacuation procedures. There's hundreds, possibly thousands that could perish if we don't do something about it!" Night explained with a lump in his throat. "And my family..." Thunder then tried to calm him as best he could. "They will be fine, Night. We will get there and pull them out safely. Do you hear me? It is a deadly situation, yes, but I can assure you that we will get them out of there as soon as possible, and any others that we can find." "How?! Not everypony can fly that well. Even worse, not everypony will be able to fly in a shower of ash!" "We will find a way," Thunder rested a hoof on his shoulder carefully. "I promise." Night slowly turned to face forward again, his eyes glassy and heart aching. Thunder was right, they always found a way. He could only pray to the ancestors that it would be the case this time around. *** The sight was looking far from good. Crossing over one of the many mountain ranges scattered across the northwest region, the two stared in awe and shock at the sheer size of the black cloud hanging over numerous valleys, including the one of their destination. Even as they approached, Night noted how much warmer it was as well. From where they could see, a faint plume rose from one of the distant peaks in a constant release, pumping more of the thick, suffocating ash. Within a moment's notice, they were flying directly into the shower, which one could have mistaken for snow if they didn't know otherwise. The shower gradually picked up, eventually coating the area in a haze that drastically lowered their visibility. All they had with them at this point were their instincts. Even then, Thunder was following Night's. Just narrowly crossing another mountain range, Night's ears perked. In the thick grey of the haze, something hit him that they were close, and he began descending. Coughing heavily, Thunder followed momentarily after, the two descending out of the bottom of the cloud. The sight was even worse than expected. All around the valley and beneath lay a grey, stark landscape. Trees stood covered in ash, some bent over or even broken by the weight with more continuing to rain down in large clusters. Scanning his eyes around, Night caught sight of the surface town that had still been under construction, and a train was sitting motionless in the station. He swooped down towards it and hovering a hundred feet in the air, staring directly down. Thunder moved up to his side, coughing heavily. "Where's the cloud city?" This only confirmed their other fears. Slowly looking up, at the thick cloud hanging low above them, both acknowledged just by exchanging glances of where the city was—surrounded by the worst of the suffocating smoke. In a bright flash of lightning, caused by friction and electrical discharge within the plume, the silhouette of the town from beneath became visible. Night's gaze shifted down to Thunder, no longer with a look of fear or concern, but rather one of determination and acceptance of what they had to do. Just this look alone spoke a thousand words, and Night raced upwards, piercing into the cloud and disappearing from sight. Hesitantly, Thunder had no choice but to follow. Beyond Night's family, others were still in harm's way. It was their job now to bring everypony to safety. A strange vibe, however, told him that not everyone would make it out in time. Despite the feeling, his mind was set on the task at hand, flying upwards into the ash cloud. Coming over the stationary layer Batsburg rested on, Night landed, hooves sinking into two and a half inches of warm coating that had fallen. Visibility was extremely low, only approximately thirty or so feet. Thunder came down to his side, coughing and wheezing harder than prior. Neither of them could keep their eyes open without blinking more rapidly than normal. The ash was instantaneously getting to them. They had to find Night's house, and fast. Braving the heavy cloud of debris, the two carried on cautiously into town, Night leading the way in the rapidly-changing landscape that came to be almost unrecognizable. Wincing at the stinging heat in his eyes, Night stopped at a path intersection, glancing in either direction. He covered his muzzle with a hoof, still coughing and hacking. He was faced with a decision that would determine their fate at this very moment—choosing the right direction and finding his family's house, or choosing the wrong direction, and succumbing to the deadly air. In the poor visibility, making an educated judgement such as this was more than difficult, impossible even. Like quite possibly everyone else in town, him and Thunder were rapidly running out of time. Trusting his wits, Night strafed left, galloping south with Thunder tailing him. He could finally breathe a massive sigh of relief when he saw the silhouette of somepony he knew well also braving the elements along with numerous others. Approaching the bat ponies, Night ran up to the tallest one. "Dad!" He shouted behind his hoof, coughing again. The tall bat stallion turned, holding a wet rag over his muzzle. "Night?!" His eyes opened wide at the sudden voice. Night took the larger stallion in a tight embrace. Skywatcher took the rag from his muzzle and moved Night's hoof away after returning the hug, pressing it to his nose. "Breathe through that, son," Sky wheezed and held his own hoof up to his muzzle. "Where's Mom and Dawn?" Night called through the rag, Thunderblast galloping up to them. "At home. The Governor is ordering everypony to stay in their homes and wait until the eruption ceases and the cloud clears away. I'm trying to make sure everypony does just that," Skywatcher answered, turning to the other ponies behind him, all in Legion armor, pointing in directions for them to go. "No, Dad, listen—" Night coughed once more as a crack of thunder echoed around them, shaking the clouds beneath their hooves. "—it's too dangerous!" "We can't all fly out of here, Night. Our best viable option is to stay put and wait it out!" Sky protested. "Well, I say our best option is to evacuate who we can, if at all possible!" Thunderblast added. Skywatcher turned to the gold-armored pegasus. "Good to see you again." "Likewise, sir," Thunder said, the top of his backplate now becoming scratched and covered in ash. "Dad, please, there is no use in staying here. The ash will continue to accumulate until it is heavy enough to cave in roofs!" Night shouted above another roll of thunder. "Impossible, our homes are built to withstand the worst of the worst!" "You don't know that!" Night hissed angrily. "Did you or anypony else even know this would happen? Did you know a volcano would erupt and cause this much chaos?!" Sky went silent, defeated by Night. His ears swiveled sideways, trying to speak out what he wanted to say. "There's no time to waste, Dad! We have to get these ponies out of here!" Night shoved past his father, whistling to the soldiers that had just left. The Legion soldiers ran back, gathering in a line in front of Night, looking to him for orders. "You four, go door to door, tell everypony to use wet rags, towels, any piece of cloth they can use, and tell them to fly out of the clouds and to the train depot. Gather as many as you can, and make sure they get down there! Is that clear?!" Night commanded. The stallions exchanged looks, but then shrugged it off and went off to do what they were told after recognizing the armor he wore, as well as his rank pins. "Night, I do not think you know what you are doing. There is no possible good outcome out of this!" "Skywatcher," Thunder began, coughing hard and inhaling deeply. "We just flew three and a half hours to get here. Please, trust him. He has a plan." "What plan might that be, Thunderblast?! Huh? Do you know it?!" "Skywatcher!" Came a mare's screech from a nearby house. The two snapped their heads in that direction. "What are you doing out here? Get back inside!" Sky pointed his hoof demandingly. "Have faith in our son, he came all of this way. He saved us before, he will do it again!" Shouted Midnight. Grumbling softly, Skywatcher acknowledged after a few moments in silence. "Fine. Night, what is your plan?" Galloping back, Night faced his father directly. "First off, we need every available Legion troop collecting ponies from their homes and bringing them to the surface. Where is the Governor?" "In the Citadel, most certainly in the bunker," Sky replied. "All right. You and I will go get him. Thunder—" Night pointed to him. "You help the soldiers, and get my mom and sister to the train station!" Nodding, Thunderblast ran over towards the house where Midnight waited, Dawn sitting in the living room around a candle on a small center table. She gasped softly as Thunder came in, coughing and wheezing with dust and ash falling off of his armor. Midnight closed the door. "Thunder! Is that you?!" Dawn squealed, jumping up and floating in the air with gentle flaps of her wings, her slit-pupil eyes wide. "Hey," Thunder answered, smiling weakly up at her, then turning to Midnight, who was beginning to pack up food and drinks. "There's no use in doing that." "What? Why not?" Midnight stopped, gaze snapping to the grey pegasus. Her eyes were glassy with tears building in the ducts, a mixture of the burning of the ash cloud as well as heartache. "We're going to get you all to Canterlot or some other city that will be safe. You will have to leave it." "F-fine," Midnight sniffled, moving over to Thunder's side, then looking around her slowly at the darkened house. "I can't believe this is happening to us again..." Dawn landed softly on the floor, Thunderblast gently pulling Midnight into a soft hug to calm her. "I am sorry, Midnight. But it is for you and Dawn's safety, as well as Sky's." "I know," Midnight nodded slowly, wiping tears away. "I just hope we won't lose everything again." "Have faith," Thunder spoke softly. "Grab a rag and get ready to fly. You, too, Dawn." "Wait a minute..." Midnight said, pushing past the lump in her throat. She approached a wood stand, picking up a photo frame and holding it close to her chest, a tear streaking down her cheek. She let out a deep breath, tucking it into her saddlebags with other small belongings. Following his order, both Midnight and Dawn grabbed pieces of wet cloth, Midnight offering one to Thunder, all putting them to their muzzles. "Ready?" Thunder asked, slightly muffled by the rag. Nodding, the three moved back out through the door, taking to the smog-filled sky with him in the lead. *** Skywatcher and Night Shadow galloped down the ash-coated streets, giving shouting orders as they passed more Legion soldiers as they made their way to the Citadel. All around them, numerous more thestrals took off into the sky, making their way to either attempt to get above the ash cloud, or down to the train station. Had the cloud not been there, the mass exodus could have been described by somepony as seagulls leaving the coast before a gale. The father and son galloped through the front gate, neither sides being guarded by soldiers, and the torches that hung above on the pillars on either side of the entryway were put out. They moved in through the black stone building's main entrance, hurriedly climbing the circular staircase to the Governor's office, where one armored thestral stood outside the half-opened door. Skywatcher stepped up, nodding once to the soldier, who allowed them inside. Up to the half-oval window in his office stood a taller indigo thestral stallion, dressed in a coal-black overcoat, his gaze set on the grey void outside. Blue and white flashes lit up the office, the earth-shaking cracks of thunder forcing him to slightly wince. He exhaled deeply, ear swiveling as the two entered. "If that is what you came for, Major, I am not leaving," he spoke just loud enough for them to hear, not turning to face them. Night and Sky stopped just across from the Governor's desk. "Sir, you have to leave. Everypony else is," Skywatcher said. "I am well aware of that, Major. And there is now compelling evidence to support that decision, even if it is too late. In light of this, I still wish to stay put." "Governor, it is not safe. The air supply will eventually run out, assuming the eruption does last but a few days—" "It will last longer, Night Shadow." "Pardon?" Night blinked twice. The indigo bat pony slowly turned, his eyes meeting Night's as he walked up to his desk and took a seat in the chair. "There will be another eruption." "What?!" Night's eyes widened. "How do you know, sir?" Skywatcher questioned, pupils shrinking to pinpricks. "While we may not be supplied with today's proper technology to predict these, there is enough reason to believe the mountain is not finished. There is something big coming. This is simply a warmup," the Governor said grimly. "All the more reason to evacuate as soon as possible—" "It's too late for that." "No, it isn't! We are already—" "It's too late, Captain!" the Governor raised his voice, shooting him a look of daggers. "The mountain will finish us all before we even have a mere chance at evacuating in time." The room went silent, two thestrals and a pegasus having a staredown against one another. The Governor eased his body, another flash of lightning illuminating the room. Skywatcher stepped a hoof forward. "Then we will die trying." "That is a mistake, Major." "If what you speak of is the truth, then we simply have more of a reason to get going." "There is no use in killing the whole town out in the open. There is a slight chance that we may not see the worst of it." "We already are, Governor," Night said. "Look outside! Ponies are suffocating, ponies are dying! Your ponies are dying! You want to tell them they are better of staying in their homes until they breathe their last breath? That's fine by me. But know this, I don't take orders from you." The Governor stared blankly at Night. With a few moments of silence, he nodded once. "Then I will remain with my sinking ship. Dismissed." Skywatcher stepped forward again. "Governor, I—" "You are dismissed!" Sky recoiled back, slightly struck by the stallion's words. His ears fell back. Night's eyes moved to his father, knowing anything they would say would not alter the Governor's mind any longer. It was no use staying put, either. Time was still running low. "Major, Captain, rally the troops and get your flanks out of here. That is my final order." "Yes, sir." Night and Sky turned tail, heading out of the office as volcanic thunder shook the building more. The two split up, finding any remaining soldiers in the large structure, before leaving the Governor behind. The indigo stallion exhaled softly. "I'll see you soon, my dearest." *** Now back outside in the hot, dry, and stifling ash, Night Shadow and Skywatcher made their hurried rounds along with any other Legion soldiers they could come across, taking thestral ponies from their homes, some forcefully when they refused to leave their belongings behind. Galloping to the next set of homes, Night stumbled over a lump in the ash, falling forward and briefly laying in the thick layer ash. He pushed himself to his hooves, digging into the ash to see just what he tripped over, when he was met with a terrifying sight. Laying on their side, motionless and quite nearly turned to stone lay two ponies who appeared to be trying to get home as quickly as possible before asphyxiating to the ash. Night gasped deeply, coughing and wheezing afterwards as he accidentally took a large inhale of ash flakes, quickly hacking them back up before they could reach his lungs. He backed away carefully from the bodies, muttering 'Sweet Celestia' to himself, before backing directly into another pony right as an explosive crack of thunder and a bolt of lightning struck nearby. He whipped around in surprise, relieved to find it was just his father. "How is it looking, Dad?" Night questioned, lifting his rag back up to his muzzle to breathe into. "Everypony that is alive is accounted for, but we have to move! One of my sergeants told me there's increased earthquake activity on the surface." "Right, let's get the hell out of here!" Night shouted above another roll of thunder, coughing some more and taking to the skies beside his father and the few remaining Legion soldiers bringing the final civilians out of their homes, some having small bags with them on their backs. Beneath the billowing cloud cover once more, the cluster of bat ponies raced to the station below, which by this point was becoming well overfilled with ponies of now all races, not just bat ponies, but those touring the newly-constructed secondary town below. The tiny station was chaotic: ponies crammed together with hardly any room to breathe, hardly any light apart from one or two candles, flashlights, and a couple of generous unicorns keeping their horns lit to help others see. In the midst of the cluster stood Thunderblast, aiding to some having breathing troubles from extreme ash inhalation. Other soldiers helped, but were far overwhelmed. Outside, Night and Sky landed on the soot-covered platform, Night glancing to the parked train sitting with its doors shut. He quickly turned to an armored bat stallion exiting the station. "Where's the engineer?!" Night called over a low, distant rumbling. "Inside! Why?" "Get him out here, we need this train moving, pronto!" Night ordered. "Yes, sir!" The soldier answered, cramming himself back into the crowd to find the train's driver. Turning to his father, Night shouted. "How are we supposed to fit everypony in this train?" "With faith!" Sky answered, the rumbling becoming gradually louder by the minute. Something big was definitely coming, and soon. The Legion soldier returned as quickly as he could, bringing with him a stocky, long-haired earth pony stallion in a red neckerchief and white-blue striped hat, him having the bandana over his muzzle to protect his lungs. "What's goin' on? Why have you brought me out here?!" The stallion yelled, having a thick western accent. "You! We need you in the engine, we're taking everypony out of here!" Sky motioned for the pony to enter the locomotive. "There's no way we'll be able to move, there's simply too much covering the tracks!" "Make it work, you're our only chance out of here!" Night shouted. Hesitantly, the engineer ran to the locomotive, going to work on getting it started. "Night!" Sky turned to him. "I'm heading to the Fang Legion base to ensure everypony is out!" "No, Dad, don't go!" Night's eyes widened, tearing up and burning from the heat. "Don't worry, I'll be back as quickly as I can!" Sky briefly took Night in a tight hug. "I promise." Night nodded slowly, ears falling. "Hurry back." Sky nodded once, leaping up into the air and flying away from the station, disappearing into the thick dark grey haze. Observing his father disappear, Night quickly turned to a pair of soldiers on the platform, ordering, "Help me get these ponies on the train, stack as many as possible! No one will get left behind!" *** The Legion base did not appear to be fairing as well as the town, and the town itself was already suffering. Two of the base's buildings had collapsed under pressure from the heavy coating raining from the sky that accumulated over the span of twelve or more hours. Landing in the center of the base, Skywatcher galloped up to the main building, as soldiers poured out of the remaining buildings, also aware of the current evacuation. He ran up to one soldier. "Where is the General?!" He shouted, the rumbling now louder than ever. The soldier coughed heavily, spitting out a red fluid on the ash-covered ground. "He is gone!" "What do you mean he's gone?!" "I mean, he's—" Just before the stallion could continue, a strange, approaching screech, followed by a massive explosion in the far side of the base jolted them down. Another followed, this time striking a wooded area beyond the base's walls. Soon came another approaching screech. This time, it couldn't be seen where it was coming from. Skywatcher looked all around, then straight up above him, watching as a fireball burst through the cloud layer, heading straight for him. "Get down!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, lunging forward and tackling the soldier out of the way as the ground was struck by a rather large rock, partially covered in cracked molten lava that still bubbled, a piece bursting off and burning another pony trying to dodge. The two quickly stood, checking over each other for injuries briefly, before stumbling as a massive jolt shook the ground beneath. "Earthquake!" Shouted another pony, taking off into the sky along with many others. Regaining their balance, Sky and the soldier watched as the ground around them began to buckle upwards, plumes of toxic steam exploding out of the ground through the cracks. "Major, we have to get moving, NOW!" The soldier shouted, then snapping his attention to their hooves as the ground began to rapidly heat up and roll beneath them, and even became slightly sticky. "Go, GO!" Skywatcher shouted, grabbing the soldier and flying upwards along with him, just as the cracks further expanded, opening a much deeper fissure of molten lava that began to swallow up parts of the ground, buildings, as well as a few unfortunate soldiers unable prevent themselves from being pulled in. Leaving the base behind them, those who flew made their way to their only means of escape: the train station. "Don't look back. It's worse than you think." *** The ground shook violently across the valley, tearing down the wooden frames of structures that had not yet been completed, shattering class, and opening long, deep cracks in the ground. Ponies screamed in terror, squeezing out through the doors and onto the train as the cars rocked back and forth gently in the violent motions. Night and Thunder helped stuff the cars to the brim, hoping and praying everypony could fit on the inside. Dust fell from the ceiling inside the station, loud creaking being heard above the rumbling of the earth beneath their hooves as the station's structure threatened to give out. The wood floor plates split open, ponies tripping over the cracks and others tripping over them in the panic. The window panes around the station shattered, raining shards of glass on those stuck down on the floor. Soldiers rushed in, picking up their fellow ponies and bringing them outside as more of the cars filled up quickly. Up front, the engineer continued working, steam now billowing from the smokestack. "Where's my dad?!" Night shouted, the other soldiers looking all around in confusion, also questioning where he was. Just then, another massive jolt struck, knocking everypony on the platform down. The beams holding the roof up snapped, ponies galloping out of the way as the whole station building collapsed, destroying much of the platform as well. Worse yet, there were a few still inside attempting to rush out as the roof came down on top of them. Night raced up to the now-collapsed structure, straining to clear parts of debris and lift a large section of roof up. Thunderblast came up from behind, grabbing Night and pulling him to the train. "Wait, wait, wait, there's ponies still in there! We can't leave them!" He shouted, squirming against the stallion's grip. "We have no choice, the ground is ripping itself apart!" Thunder grunted, pulling Night into the train as the remaining few piled in, Legion soldiers flying in from the base landing on the rear view overhang on the caboose. With a screech of the wheels sliding on the rails, the train began to slowly move, plowing through the ash accumulated on the tracks ahead. Feeling the new sudden movement, Night flew over the crowds to the caboose, pulling soldiers in as they landed and looking out for Skywatcher with a face full of concern. As if a breeze blew over him, the larger soot-covered thestral stallion landed, bringing Night into a tight embrace. "Dad!" Night shouted, tearing up as he looped his hooves tightly around his father. "I thought you wouldn't come back." "I told you I would..." Skywatcher coughed and gently rubbed Night's back to calm him. "Are we all here? Is that everypony?" "I think s—" BOOM. An eardrum-shattering explosion startled everypony, screams of fear erupting throughout the train as everypony scrambled to look outside the window, seeing the distant mountain's top had completely exploded, balls of fire flying out of the cone and smashing into nearby peaks. Night's heart dropped, watching as a wall of ash and fire raced across the slopes of the mountains surrounding the valley, a pyroclastic flow—and it was headed right for them at neck break speeds. The shockwave of the explosion struck the train, shattering some of the windows towards the rear as it continued to pick up speed, away from the advancing cloud of death as it destroyed mass amounts of forest. "Can't this thing go any faster?!" Yelled Midnight, holding Dawn tightly out of fear. Behind them, Thunderblast held a couple of fillies, their faces buried in his chest as he tried to calm them. Out of the blue came another noise. A noise of distant shouting. Night snapped to look back out the rear of the train, watching as a tall brown stallion surfaced from the debris, on his back a frightened mare and chasing after the train as quickly as he could. Night moved out to the rear overhang, putting his hooves to his muzzle and calling out. "Run! You can make it!" The stallion looked behind him as he galloped, the cloud was quickly approaching. Soon it would overtake him. He faced forward again, pushing his limits and galloping down the tracks, catching up to the gradually-speeding train. Night held his hoof out, pupils shrunk to pinpricks. He alternated his focus between the fast-moving cloud and the two ponies. "Come on!" He shouted, reaching down to the stallion as he came up behind the caboose. The mare on his back screamed, the pyroclastic flow now dangerously close. The stallion reached his hoof up, Night pulling him and the mare up onto the train, directly as a lava bomb struck the tracks just where they were, exploding in a massive ball of fire. Just moments before the cloud could reach them, the train raced into a tunnel, shaking from the earthquake causing the edge to cave in and block out the flow, preventing it from reaching them. They were finally safe. Night panted heavily, adrenaline running faster than ever before. He turned to the unicorn and the mare, breathing a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?" The mare nodded, whimpering. "Y-yes... Thank you..." Night nodded once, but then eyed the two of them, moving his gaze between them. The brown unicorn raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?" Night pondered why these ponies looked so familiar. Then it hit him. "Specter... Glitter?!"