There is a commotion, in the lobby. We descend. The commotion enters the stairwells. There is only one. She moves to help. It backfires. I reach out. Nothing connects. I blink. There are more of them now. I hear something above me. I look to it. I see...nothing. I look back to the commotion at the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes, they stare back at me. They ask questions I have no answer for. I run. I can't do anything else. No one can. I blink again. Even more of them. The door is barred behind me now. If I had wings, this wouldn't be the end for me.
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Sun, boiling sun again. There wasn't anywhere on the surface of the earth wherein a pony could lay and avoid it. Atop the crest of a hill three young ponies sat, drenched in sweat, upon their chairs.
"Ok, I know I said I can bear the heat well, but I think they've broken me."
"Ugh, me too. What about you Amber?"
"Flip me over, I need to cook on the other side."
"Alright, that's it, we gotta do something about this." Nova Bomb declared, standing on shaky hooves. A glare from behind mirrored sunglasses and an unmoving head met him.
"So that's a no?"
"Nov," Crystal Light started, pushing herself up just slightly in her seat. "It's hotter than the sun out today. Our pool is practically evaporating before us, and look at Amber, she's catatonic! What could you possibly want to do?"
"Would you just get up for a moment?"
There was something in the last few words that made even Amber Breeze turn around to look. Something sharp, something unnatural. They had never heard such a tone from their friend before.
"What's going on?"
No response.
"Nov, hey, what's happening?"
Amber Breeze was now on her hooves, the worry in her face as apparent as the beating sun in the sky. Nova Bomb ran a hoof through his jet black mane, turning to face the town at the bottom of the hill.
"I just... something doesn't seem right. I know this sounds stupid, but, I'm worried. There's somepony we have to check on."
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Though it was market day, there was a very scarce number of ponies in the street. Many of them were indoors, searching for some body of water to relax in, or tending to their suffering crops. The trio walked carefully through the streets, the nervous stallion taking the lead.
"Nov, will you at least tell us where we're going?"
Nova Bomb did nothing in response to the question. His pace continued uninterrupted, as did his straightforward gaze.
"You try." Crystal Light whispered to the obviously struggling pegasus to her right.
"Umm, Nov? Isn't this our neighborhood? What are we doing here?"
Nova Bomb stopped, the first time his pace had changed since they descended from the hill. As he turned to his friends, they saw the worry on his face.
"I just need to check something."
A scream ripped through the air, effectively silencing the conversation and turning the ponies' heads to the source. From a house to their left, through the window, a commotion. Nova Bomb's eyes widened.
"It's here."
Nova Bomb immediately moved, running to the front door of the house.
"Wait, Nov!" Amber Breeze shouted, stepping forward. "What are you doing?!"
"Just get to your house, I'll meet you there!"
Amber Breeze opened her mouth, but no words were able to escape. She watched in wide-eyed horror as Nova Bomb burst through the front door of the house, dissapearing into the dark front room.
"Let's go!"
The two mares ran, though one stayed wavering for a hesitant moment. The objective house was not a very far distance away, a timeline narrowed further by the adrenaline fueling the sprint. The door opened from the inside seconds before it was even reached from the outside. A white pesasus mare with a bright green mane waved a hoof and called the young ponies inside. Amber Breeze ran into an embrace with her mother, holding her tightly as Crystal Light ran to the window. The older mare adjusted her mirrored sunglasses and looked with both fright and relief at her daughter.
"Dearie, we're so glad you're here! Your cousin was over and just went out lookin' for you now."
"Where did he go?"
"He went t'look for you at the hill your always on top of. How long ago'd you get back to town?"
"Not very long. He'll-"
The front door was thrown open, and the mother and daughter's heads snapped to the door. Crystal Light, having seen him through the window, ushered in Nova Bomb before quickly shutting the door behind him. The three mares gasped when they saw the glinting trickle of scarlet running from the small gash almost hidden under his mane.
"Nova Bomb, what happened?"
Crsytal Light recieved no response as the dreary looking stallion moved slowly and nearly fell into a seat at the kitchen.
"They're gone."
"What?"
"I..."
Nova Bomb muttered something further, almost unintelligibly, before breaking into a small fit of sobs.
"We need to go. We'll find your cousin and head for somewhere safe. Crystal dearie, you and Breezy go get your parents, come back here, as soon as possible."
"Wait, mom, what about Nov's parents?"
"They were just about over for a drink, should be here in just a minute."
"I'll be fine here until they come. Where do you guys keep the bandages?"
"Right, well just hold on, I'll get you covered up there."
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The town was a madhouse. Ponies ran through the streets, looking for somewhere to hide, or somepony to protect them. There was a growing air of dust and debris. The two young mares raced through the chaos, the crippling heat pushed aside by the overwhelming gravity of the situation.
"Do you think they'll be home?"
"I haven't thought about it!"
"Well, your-"
"I didn't want to think about it!"
Amber Breeze was going to respond, but she was tackled to the ground by a stallion. The yelp that escaped her was sharp enough to catch her friend's attention, and she spun around as quickly as she could. The stallion was attempting to strike her, but Amber Breeze was managing to dodge most of the attacks. Crystal Light ran her full body weight into the stallion, and recovered quickly, rushing to her friend's side.
"Are you alright?!"
"I'm not sure."
"We'll sort it out at my house, let's go!"
Crystal Light helped her friend up, but when the momnt came to start running, Amber fell to the ground again, the pained yell causing Crystal Light's panic to escalate.
"What's wrong?"
"My leg, I think my leg is sprained!"
"Just fly, we need to go now!"
Crystal Light looked to where the initial fray had occured as she helped Amber Breeze to her hooves again. The stallion was standing just feet from them, and was looking to the sky. He opened his mouth and let a violent scream erupt from it. The mares took off again, their nerves shot now more than ever. After just seconds of running, they heard a noise they hadn't ever heard before, and the scream ended much more abruptly than it had began.
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"Mom, dad!"
The words rang through the house as Crystal Light sat the limping pegasus down in one of the kitchen chairs.
"I'm gonna go grab something for you, just stay calm. Hello?!"
Crystal Light ran through the house, calling again and again. There were only so many rooms to check, and the backyard.
The house was empty.