All Out
Why are we doing this?
What do you mean? Isn’t this what you wanted? To be noticed?
Well I-
To finally be respected?
Yes, but-
But nothing. The best way to be respected is to be feared.
Are you sure?
Of course my friend. I promise you, when I’m finished here, you will bring honor to your family’s name.
I… I will?
Yes. But right now, we have more work to do.
What work?
First, we must substitute somepony with more… potential. And I know just who to get.
*****
The sun sat in the center of the sky shining its light upon a frantic Ponyville. All of the ponies either hid in their homes or panicked through the streets looking for loved ones. It was chaos like nopony had ever seen before, and yet nopony knew what it was. The very essence of fear flooded the air all around the frightened town.
Quick as lightning, Rainbow Dash blew through the clouds. She desperately scanned the ground below searching for her friends. Finally, she spotted Twilight Sparkle and swiftly flew down to her.
“Rainbow Dash! Any luck?”
Rainbow landed on the dirt road, sweating and panting heavily. She looked back up at Twilight. “Not… a thing… I flew… all around… Ponyville… and couldn’t find them anywhere…” She said through gasps of air.
Twilight sighed at the news and hung her head. “I didn’t have much luck either. I’ve looked everywhere and still no sign of them.”
The two ponies sat in the midst of a catastrophe with no solution out as far as they could see. The cries of terrified ponies echoed in their ears until they could barely hear themselves think.
Suddenly, the two heard flapping nearby. They turned around to see a familiar yellow pegasus pony landing right next to them.
“Did you find them?” Fluttershy asked with a hopeful glint in her eyes.
Twilight just looked down and sighed again. “I take it you didn’t find anything either…?” She said in a disappointed tone.
Fluttershy looked away from Twilight. She took in some air and said “No… and you’re not going to believe this, but the post office and hospital are empty too.”
“WHAT?!” Twilight and Rainbow yelled simultaneously, both stammering to attention. Rainbow Dash approached Fluttershy intensely.
“That’s not possible! I flew by there just a minute ago and they were packed!”
Fluttershy gasped at her friend and backed away a few steps. “I…I’m sorry…”
Rainbow was shocked at her own rage. She shook her head violently and apologized to Fluttershy.
“This is unbelievable.” Twilight said pacing back and forth trying to concentrate. “First Ditzy Doo, then Snips, Snails, and Silver Spoon. Bon Bon and Sweetie Belle, and now Boxxy Brown and Redheart?!” She marched in her rut faster and faster, her anger building by the moment. She finally let out a furious yell, “How can we stop something when we don’t even know what it is!?”
Rainbow and Fluttershy swapped worried glances and slowly approached the unicorn. Rainbow Dash hovered just above Twilight and patted her shoulder. “Calm down, Twilight. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
The exhausted unicorn sighed. “I hope so.”
Looking around at the surrounding chaos, she collected herself and said,
“Alright, first we need to regroup. Fluttershy, go tell all the ponies you can to meet in the main town square. There’s safety in numbers, after all. Dash, you go to Sweet Apple Acres and get Applejack and her family. I’ll get Rarity and Pinkie Pie and meet you at the library. I have a feeling we’ll need the Elements of Harmony to overcome this.”
As they quickly sped off, Twilight headed towards Carousel Boutique the cries of the citizens growing further and further away. As it came into view, she noticed that something was wrong. None of the lights were on, but the ‘open’ sign was lit. Upon closer inspection, she saw the side window was broken. She gasped and quickened her pace to a gallop.
“Rarity! Are you there?” She yelled, busting down the front doors.
She hoped for a voice, a sound, anything to tell her that it was ok. The boutique was a mess: clothe hanging down from the dressers and mirror and the floor was scattered with gemstones. Poniquins stood all in a row except for one knocked over by the staircase. Out of the silence, a small sniffle crept its way to Twilight’s ears.
She followed the sound to the stairs and looked up with anxiety and fear. “Rarity?” She called out quietly, taking one step up. The sound of crying became more audible with each quivering step. At last, she reached the door, but stopped herself before opening it for fear of what she might find. She lifted her hoof up and reached for the door as slowly as possible. It creaked quietly as the purple unicorn finally walked in.
She saw Spike sitting face down by Rarity’s bed. His sobs seemed to carry over to Twilight. She stopped in the center of the room and looked around. Ears drooped and head hanging, though she already knew the answer, she quietly asked, “Spike… are you alright?”
“She’s gone… Twilight… he… he got her…” he choked out in a muffled voice.
Twilight walked over to her friend and patted him on the shoulder. She tried to hold back her tears, but she could not. “I’m so sorry Spike…”
He looked up at Twilight for a second and then embraced the pony. “It’s all my fault Twilight. He came in and then… and then…” He shut his eyes tight, unable to finish his sentence.
Twilight lowered her head to his level to try to comfort him. Trying not to pry, she gently asked, “Who did this?”
Spike didn’t answer for the longest time. Finally, looking up with teary eyes he shakily said, “It was a pony, I think… There was this crash; I heard her scream… and a flash of light. And then he left…”
“What did he look like?”
“He was… was gray, with a red mane. He had these weird bumps on his back and head. And his eyes… I’ll never forget those horrible yellow eyes…”
The two stayed motionless for some time.
“What are we gonna do, Twi?” Spike asked, trying to hide his obvious sorrow.
For once, Twilight didn’t have an answer. This catastrophe was too far out of her reach. She looked down at her friend. “I don’t know Spike… I don’t know.”
She paused for a moment, thinking of what to say next. She slowly rose and said, “But we have to get out of here. Head to the library. You’ll be safe there. I have to get to Sugarcube Corner to get Pinkie.”
She hugged her friend one last time before turning and rushing down the stairs and out the door.
Spike followed down the staircase still mourning the loss of Rarity. “I’m a failure. A big, useless failure.” In an instant, the purple dragon tripped and crashed down the rest of the staircase. He landed at the bottom with a loud slam and grunted from pain. His aching outside, however, paled in comparison to his shattered heart.
And there he lay. He tried once or twice to get to his feet, but just fell back down. “Rarity needed a hero… but all she got was me…”
Pounding his fist into the floor, he yelled, “WHY AM I SO WEAK!”
…
“You don’t have to worry about that any more.”