After a couple of hours of traveling, the Mane 6 finally reached Starlight’s hometown of Sires Hollow.
“Well, if we’re gonna go, let’s go,” Twilight said nervously.
The girls all jumped out of the train and stepped outside. The newspapers weren’t kidding! The whole town was destroyed. Buildings were barely recognizable, smoke and dust took over the town, and there wasn’t a pony in sight.
“Maybe everypony escaped?” Rainbow said nervously, her voice shaking.
As the seven walked through the town, gazing at all the destruction, they came upon the stallion whom Starlight talked to.
“What is the princess of friendship doing here?!” He asked, shocked. “The town has been hit by a powerful earthquake, there were only 23 ponies here before it happened, and most managed to escape or survive. So what brings you six here?”
“Seven!” Spike shouted from the group of ponies.
Twilight spoke up. “Well, we saw from the newspaper that there had been an earthquake here, and we wanted to check up on a friend. How many deaths were there?” She asked sadly.
The stallion looked at his notepad and replied, “There were 15 survivors, and only one death.”
The girls looked at each other with worry. They thanked the pony and set off further into the town. They passed through countless destroyed buildings and rubble. Most of them were trudging along with a frown, except that Pinkie was bouncing along the path with a smile. She wasn’t clueless about the situation, she was just trying to lighten the mood. Plus, it was just a habit of hers.
After about 10 minutes of searching the town for Starlight and her dad and not finding them, they git worried. Even Pinkie started getting anxious. However, after they had almost given up, assuming they had escaped, Fluttershy heard a sound. It sounded like breathing. However, it wasn’t coming from any of the girls, or Spike. When they got closer to the sound, they could finally see what was making the sound. Starlight Glimmer. They had found her!
“Starlight!” All the girls, and Spike, exclaimed joyously. They all ran up to her and noticed she was sleeping.
“Starlight! It’s us! Oh, do wake up!” Rarity said. That was when they realized what, or, who was beside her.
Starlight was startled out of her sleep and looked up at the girls. Then, she started sobbing uncontrollably. The girls noticed that the pony beside her was, Firelight, her dad! And, he appeared to be….to be…….dead. He had no heartbeat, and he wasn’t breathing. The girls and Spike all hugged Starlight while they cried. Her dad had just died. But, Applejack especially, was crying, as she knew what it felt like to be without her parents for a very long time. However, in Starlight’s case, it would be forever.
They all eventually broke the long, heartfelt hug and looked at Starlight with sadness. Starlight’s eyes were especially puffy, as she had been crying for a long time. Then, Starlight spoke up.
“Sniff* How did you guys know about the earthquake?”
“W-we saw it in the newspaper. So we decided to come and check on you and your dad, and the town. We……didn’t know what we’d find. I’m so sorry, Starlight. I don’t know what to do. Apparently, there was only one pony dead. And, well, uh, never mind,” Twilight sadly answered.
Starlight looked down at the cold ground. Her tears could almost freeze on it, it was so cold. Then, the snow started to fall down on the town.
“Darlings, it’s getting cold. We should get indoors,” Rarity said after some awkward silence.
“Where? Everything’s destroyed! This place ain’t getting fixed for a long time,” Rainbow Dash answered with worry.
Starlight hugged her dad once more and cried into his cold fur. She could still hear her dad calling her cute nicknames and getting on her nerves. Why did it have to happen to him?! On Hearths Warming?! This was the first time in years she had even attempted to spend Hearths Warming with her dad, and it was all ruined. By a STUPID EARTHQUAKE!!
Twilight sat down by Starlight and wrapped her wing around her. She couldn’t stand to see her friend this broken. Starlight was freezing and shivering, both from crying and the temperature. She then looked up at Twilight. Her face appeared sad and weak.
“What do you say we go home? It’s about dinner time. And the temperature’s dropping as we speak. We could come back for your dad later and give him a proper burial,” Twilight offered gently, trying to lighten the mood for Starlight.
“Sniff* O-okay.”
The girls and Spike all felt compassion for their friend, so they all told her that they would always be there for her. Then, everypony boarded the train back to Ponyville.