//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: Who We Choose To Be 
// by milesprower06 
//------------------------------//

"Thank you, fillies and gentlecolts. Please give a warm welcome to the one who made this entire event possible... our neighbor, Coco Pommel!" the head of the Method Mares Theater Troupe, announced.

The navy blue pegasus Stratus watched from near the front of the crowd as cheering theatergoers surrounded the cyan-maned mare and lifted her up and passed her over their heads to the front of the stage, where she stood between On Stage and the rest of the troupe as she stepped up to address her neighbors.

"Thank you all so much for coming. The Midsummer Theater Revival was always something that meant so much to me, and it seems it means quite a lot to all of you as well. I really can't take all the credit though..."

The pegasus stallion Stratus stood and listened as two more mares were brought on stage, Applejack and Rarity, who had helped Coco put this event together at the last minute. The two of them explained how they had initially started big, then turned to more simple solutions when it was clear that everything wasn't going to pan out. As Stratus looked at the ponies and neighbors that had gathered for the past couple hours, he felt a sense of community that he hadn't experienced in years. Then, all around his neighbors, he saw the state of the rundown park, and all the work that still needed to be done. It was marvelous what had happened here tonight; in the heart of this bustling city where nothing seemed to stop or even slow down, a community seemed to start to come together again.

As the starry night sky twinkled over the metropolis of Manehattan, the navy blue pegasus made his way down Avenue A's sidewalk as the theatergoing crowd started to disperse away from the park and back to their homes. The past couple hours had been rather relaxing at the rather unexpected start of the Midsummer Theater Revival. What had started as under a half dozen spectators at the very beginning ended with an audience of nearly one hundred Manehattanites in front of the rather modest stage. Now, ponies from all over the entire borough were forming small groups and figuring out how to clean up and fix the park, continuing the work that Coco Pommel and her friends Applejack and Rarity had started. Stratus was trying to figure out how he could contribute to the restoration efforts with the rather limited free time he had available. At the very least, perhaps he and his wife Cirrus could keep the skies clear for next week's play, or keep them cloudy, or even use clouds as a backdrop for the stage, entirely depending on whatever the Method Mares decided to put on. Needless to say, he was already looking forward to next week. Honestly, it felt good just to get out of the apartment for an evening; his home life with his wife and two fillies wasn't exactly the most stress free. He did what he could, but... Sometimes he felt that it was never enough. Tonight had been a very badly needed breath of fresh air.

As he turned the corner to Third Street, a shockwave knocked him off of his hooves. A split-second later, flipping end over end, he felt searing heat, and heard the sound of glass shattering, the startled screams of ponies down the street, and what sounded like a rush of flames. His vision faded in and out for several moments as he regained complete consciousness, and realized he had been knocked into a tree and onto his side. As he got back to his hooves, grunting in pain, he heard a set of galloping hooves behind him, and turned to see a fire wagon turn the corner and barreled down Third Street. As his vision cleared some more, he saw a blazing fire erupting out of a third story apartment building window halfway down the block. His heart started thundering against his chest when he realized that it looked like his building. He broke into a gallop down the sidewalk, not quite keeping up with the fire wagon. It skidded to a halt on the street in front of the blazing apartment complex, and the firefighters quickly emptied out of the back and began hooking up their hoses to the nearest hydrants. The ambient temperature continued to rise as he closed in on the chaotic scene on the street and sidewalk.

Stratus' heart crept up in his throat when he confirmed that not only was the blaze in his building, on his floor, but in his apartment.

"Cirrus!!!" He screamed, bolting for the front steps as coughing ponies stumbled down the front steps of the apartment as black smoke began to billow out of the front door. More neighbors began to pour out onto the sidewalk and street as the commotion only increased. Ponies in adjacent buildings ran back inside to get roommates and loved ones out of their homes inc case the fire spread.

One of the lead firestallions saw Stratus approach at a full gallop and had to nearly tackle him to prevent him from racing into the burning building.

"Sir, I need you to stay back!" The chief commanded.

"My family's in there!" Stratus objected, but the pegasus was absolutely no match for the strength of the earth pony that held him back.

"The stairs need to be kept clear for ponies coming down and out. Don't worry, we'll find anypony in there as fast as we can."

Stratus was about to take flight towards the infernal windows, but two neighbors saw what he was about to do and came to assist the fire chief in keeping him down.

"Sir, you fly up there, all you're gonna do is add to the body count! We'll handle it. Hold him down!" He instructed the neighbors who had come to his aid.

The pegasus stallion was impossible to calm down as he was effectively pinned to the sidewalk to keep from getting in the way as the hoses were finally started up and jets of water began to spray in and around the windows of the third story.

"Cirrus!!! Nimbus!!! Cozy!!!"