//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: Steel Wings 
// by jazomcspazo 
//------------------------------//

Prologue

“Is it really just us out here?”
“Of course. I told you no pony would look for us out here.”
“Do you think we’ll get caught? This is awfully far from town. My dad’s shop looks pretty small from here.”
The two teenager ponies found themselves cuddled up on the hillside overlooking the town of Whitetail. Down on the bustling streets the nightlife was full of energy. Both mares and stallions trotted through the streets enjoying the warm summer air. Soon both ponies would be in school again and they knew that each other’s family was not fond of the other. If they knew the two were dating there would most certainly be a quarrel over it.
“Hey Thunder Struck,” The female unicorn asked softly, “When do you think we’ll be able to leave this silly little town?”
Thunder Struck chuckled as he scooted closer to his date, “I thought your pa wanted you to stick around here and manage his shop, Strawberry Flash.”
The unicorn snorted from laughing, “Thunder, darling, that grumpy old loon would never let me live my life the way I wanted to. You’re avoiding my question though, when are we going to leave this place?”
Thunder Struck could feel his wing feathers quiver in excitement, “If both of us chip in I’m sure once we graduate high school we can board the quickest train to Manehattan.” 
“Manehattan,” Strawberry sighed in a pleased manner, “it sounds just as dreamy as Los Pegasus. I can’t wait to start our lives anew, without our parents telling us who to be, or who to hang out with.”
She allowed her body to fall backwards on the long grass and look up at the stars. Thunder followed suit and quickly snuggled up against the mare. Crickets chirped around them and up above the night sky was clear and displaying its stars and moon in full detail. The stars sparkled as if they were winking back at the couple.
“The world is ours to explore, Strawberry.” Thunder explained, “We can go anywhere our hooves allow us to trot on. Shoot, we can go as far as the Crystal Empire if you want. I heard it was beautiful up there during this time of the year with the mountains!”
“Really?” Strawberry leaned in slowly.
Thunder Struck felt giddy as he leaned in for the kiss, “I told you Strawberry Flash, the world is at our hooftips.”
Just as their muzzles touched a low rumble came from the ground. Both jolted up onto their hooves as the rumbling picked up in strength. An eerie whistling noise filled the warm air and washed out all other din.
“Is this an earthquake, Thunder?” Strawberry asked in panic.
Thunder shook his head, “There’s no way this is an earthquake. We’re in the middle on a plate. Something isn’t right!”
To their horror above them and Whitetail a magical barrier manifested and was quickly spreading as it formed it’s exact path. The high pitch whistling noise was replaced with thunder and lighting as rain slammed the once peaceful air along with high speed winds. Strawberry held onto Thunder as the couple quickly decided what they needed to do next.
“Strawberry,” Thunder shouted above the din, “What the hell is that?” 
Strawberry’s eyes filled with horror as she turned around, away from the barrier’s starting point, “That’s the town’s emergency barrier system! They only use that if there is a threat present on the outskirts or middle of Whitetail. We’re gonna be trapped in here if we don’t leave now!”
A bolt of lightning struck a massive pine tree nearby and it lit up as fire consumed it. The lit tree came barreling down to the ground and Thunder slammed into Strawberry; pushing both ponies out of the way before they were crushed by it’s massive branches. Up above, the dome like barrier was forming at an alarming rate.
“Shit,” Thunder coughed as he staggered back up onto his hooves. He helped Strawberry up and they started to sprint in the opposite direction of town. 
“Thunder!” Strawberry screamed as they ran, “What about town? Our families and friends? Whatever is attacking town could end up being sealed in here with them!”
“There’s no way the ponies in charge of the barrier are awake at this hour of night, Strawberry!” Thunder replied, “Something isn’t right and I’m not sticking around to see what exactly is going on. We need to tell somepony outside of Whitetail what’s going on!”
Back in town the others were now just noticing what was taking place. Chaos filled the streets as the citizens ran and sought shelter from the storm. For the few town members that knew what was taking place, they knew something had gone terribly wrong, but had no way to stop the barrier from forming. Even the old farts that operated the barrier would soon find out what happened and would be unable to undo the barrier. Yet, down below the streets in a secret location the pony responsible laughed in pure delight, knowing that they had just doomed an entire town. This would be just the beginning though for the pony.
For Strawberry and Thunder they felt as if they were moving in slow motion. The smell of smoke mixed into the air, causing both of them wheeze and cough for air as they continued to run in the opposite direction of the barrier. The black smoke blinded both ponies as they tried to move forward. Thunder tripped over a rock and was sent tumbling to the ground; injuring his front hoof. He had slammed accidently into Strawberry and the pink unicorn was sent falling into a patch of dirt and grass. She struggled up to her hooves and rushed over to Thunder Struck. They were only a couple hundred of yards away from where the barrier’s dome like structure was forming at.
“Thunder, get up!” Strawberry screamed.
He looked up in pain as he tried to get to, “I broke my hoof Strawberry. We’re not going to get out of here in time!”
“Use your wings!” She said he they discovered his wings were also badly damaged.
Thunder Struck shook his head, “They’re no good!”
Strawberry had to think fast as her lime green eyes widened, “I think I can teleport us out of here!”
“Do it then, we don’t have much time!” Thunder exclaimed.
Strawberry looked around them nervously, “I haven’t tested out of Teleportation magic yet, so I don’t know if this will even work.”
Thunder Struck moved his uninjured hoof up and caressed Strawberry’s cheek, “I have faith that you can do it, Strawberry.”
“I...I...I” Strawberry trembled with fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of possibly losing her life. The fear of never seeing her loved ones again, or never being able to tell any of them how much she loved them. She grew up thinking she would never have to face a life or death like situation. She felt that she was too young; too innocent and immature to handle what was happening in front of her. Yet, the instant the barrier had completely formed she knew that neither her or Thunder would be able to get help and possibly be the ones that saved the town.
“Strawberry!”
The unicorn had made her choice at last. She held onto Thunder Struck with all the strength she had as she closed her eyes and began to focus. She imagined the scenery in front of her a couple of hundred of yards away and the horn on her head began to flicker and glow. The ground rumbled and shook as the barrier neared completion, but Strawberry Flash cleared out everything else from her head except for the imagery of the field ahead of her. An orb formed around the teenagers as a crackling noise accompanied it’s formation. The more Strawberry imagined the field, the more she could feel herself being there. Dirt outside of the orb was kicked up and within a millisecond a whip snapping noise hit along with the scent of brimstone. The orb with the two ponies had vanished from its spot.
“Did we make it?” Strawberry wheezed as she slowly opened her eyes.
To her amazement she had successfully teleported the pair to the cliffside where the field ended almost half a mile away. Outside of the now completed barrier, the weather was just as nice as it was before it had started to form. The clear night sky looked beautiful and the familiar warm breeze softly blew the mare’s blonde hair back. Yet, her eyes filled with tears as she realized what just happened and where Whitetail was at.
“Damn, Strawberry,” Thunder Struck coughed, not noticing her current state, “I thought you were taught in Magic class to be gentle when handling certain spells.”
Strawberry began to cry, “Oh Thunder, look at town from here!”
She helped the stallion up onto his three good hooves and he had a good look. Down below Whitetail looked as if it was in its own tiny snow globe because of the barrier. No pony inside could escape now. Thunder Struck leaned over and tenderly kissed the top of Strawberry’s Flash to calm her down as they looked at the barrier in horror. They could see the lights of the firetrucks and police cars going off as they tended to the forest fire that was quickly growing in size. The glow of the barrier sent shivers down both ponies spines as they tried to figure out what to do next.
“I can’t believe this is actually happening.” Strawberry softly sobbed.
Thunder frowned as he looked down at his injured hoof, “We have to get going. We need to make it to the closest town and tell them what happened. That’s the only way we’re going to be able to save our town. Help me make a splint for my leg, I need to be at least somewhat mobile if we’re going to be trekking so far.”
“You got it.” Strawberry replied as she wiped her eyes and went looking for a piece of wood that would work well for a splint. 
Silence filled the air. The warm breeze picked up a brief scent of burning wood before losing it to the smell of live greenery. Yet, to the ponies the breeze now felt foreign, almost alien like in a manner. They felt like strangers roaming an unfamiliar land. Home for the time being was just a memory.
“I’m afraid for Whitetail, Strawberry.” Thunder confessed as he helped to construct the leg splint.
Strawberry nodded, “I am too Thunder. I’ve never felt so alone before in my entire life.”