//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: All Hands! 
// Story: The Day Everything Changed 
// by Replach 
//------------------------------//

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10:18 AM

As the officer flew away from her, Crimson Moon took a daring chance. She fled down an alleyway, and found herself going around the buildings across from the Crystaller Building itself. Fallen Angel and Shining Star followed after her, wanting to see where she was going. Further they went, turning onto another street, before Crimson stopped outside a cafe, on the corner outside of the building.
She sat down on the sidewalk like her other spot, making sure she was plenty far back from the police line before filming the burning tower, as Angel & Star sat down at a table on the patio. As others around her reacted to the scene, Crimson took to filming one stallion, leaning on the back of a parked carriage, listening to radio reports. As he looked down and saw her, he asked her, "Can you believe this? I bet this was on purpose, ya know?"
He looked back up at the tower to see a piece of paper fall to the ground beside him. "I honestly hope it wasn't," he continued, "because that means that anywhere could be next. Baltimare, Canterlot, Fillydelphia... Hey, Know How!" he called to a white unicorn mare with green, wavy hair, standing at the door to the cafe. "Doesn't that one Ponyville town have a princess now?"
"Yeah," said Know How, "that Twilight mare. Princess of Friendship, whatever the hell that means."
"That could be a target, too," the stallion turned back to Crimson. "That one would really rile 'em up, ya know? I'm talking war almost guaranteed."
Crimson didn't want to respond. His rant could go on forever for all she cared. Lucky for her, the stallion stopped there, and continued to stare up at the tower. Crimson, meanwhile, was starting to think that this could probably go on for a while. She wondered if she'd be able to sit for so long, let alone if her camera had enough film. Unfortunately for her, her question was answered very quickly.
Crimson watched in horror as a fireball suddenly erupted out of the building, just a few floors below where the original blast was, followed by a huge BOOM as the sound echoed across Manehattan. The stallion beside her jumped back, as several others around them screamed in terror. Crimson then saw debris raining down; not just paper, but metal bars and glass as well. She knew she had to run.
Crimson jumped up with a start, and sprinted around the corner, ducking behind another parked carriage as the debris fell to the ground. Crimson saw a metal fragment slam the pavement, right where she had been sitting. If she had still been sitting there, she could've been seriously injured, if not killed. Thank Celestia, she thought as she pointed her camera back up at what should've been a clear view of the tower, but was now shrouded by paper and pieces of the building. Meanwhile, Star & Angel ran inside the cafe, hoping not to be hit by anything. All Angel could do was hug Star to console her, as she buried her face into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
"BLUEBERRY!" Know How screamed. Crimson watched as the stallion, presumably Blueberry, just barely got out of the way of another metal fragment.
"I'm all good!" he yelled back at Know How. "We gotta get outta here!" 
Crimson turned around and filmed the two of them galloping down the street, several other ponies around them. She ran to the cafe window and set her camera down, then leaned her back against the wall, holding her head in her hooves. This isn't real, she thought. This CAN'T be real! She took a minute to regroup her emotions and console herself, then picked the camera back up and started filming people inside the store next door to the cafe; one mare wept into her forelegs, while a stallion beside her tried to comfort her. Many others inside reacted with shock and disbelief, unable to process what had just occurred. 
As she turned to go inside, a police officer got to the store's door before she did, and opened it wide.
"Everypony out, now!" he yelled, waving his hoof back and forth. Most left in a sprint, but a few trotted away in an orderly fashion. Crimson watched as another officer, the orange pegasus from earlier, flew down from the sky and began to clear out the cafe. Star and Angel were two of the last ponies out, fleeing into a fire station down the street, where several other ponies cowered in fear.
Crimson decided that now was her chance to get even closer to the tower than before. She turned the corner and hid behind a parked carriage to film the tower, now with 2 rings of smoke & fire around the outside. Firestorm sat down at the front of the carriage, her radio blaring with several voices at once.
"17-LIMA TO DISPATCH!" one voice yelled. "We've just had another blast on about the 65th floor! Transmitting 5th alarm at this time for Fire & Rescue!"
A few moments later, another voice chimed in, saying the two words Firestorm had hoped she'd never hear in her career: "ALL HANDS! ALL HANDS! All off-duty police officers & firefighters are to be recalled at this time! Please respond to the command post at 618 Bridleway Street...."