//------------------------------//
// Ashes 
// Story: I Was Once a Fool But Then the Communism Bus Came and Drove Me to Salvation 
// by GermanBrony_12 
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For once in its history, a light flurry had come to the city, betraying its ancient shield of warmth which denied the Frozen North beyond its entrance. It was beautiful, decorating the city in soft white specks, descending in great chunks which drifted by in the wind. The ponies couldn’t help but reach out to touch a bit, but it seems the snow was too cold, for it burnt their hooves to touch it. It was good to be home, away from the struggles of their journey.

A blast erupted from the centre of the city. Fire! Fire! The Crystal Palace had turned to magnesium and was alight with a fiery inferno! The dazzling snow about them had been naught but ashes all along! 

Unicorns ran in all directions, fleeing the glowing haze which met them at every turn. The palace was too bright to look at, but its heavenly light made a perfect frame for the revolutionaries outside it, flags high in the sky. The city was burning.

Our Friend and Liberator, Cadence, was quick to abandon her saviours, and Tizzy Humbug and Mort Swain were left staring in awe at the blaze. Out from the Smoke leapt Quip Pundit, followed by Big Macintosh, both dressed in military fatigues. 

“The unicorns are no more!” he shouted. “They who once preached equality, yet placed themselves above the rest, have been overthrown. All that’s left of the FCP is the ashes you see now! Join us, Mort Swain, we shall found a new group, the EPC, Equal Pony Council!”

“I- uh…” began Mort Twain, but before she could answer, Quip Pundit swept her up, for really, she had already agreed; no one had resisted so far.

At this, Tizzy Humbug was angered, “She never agreed to that! The only thing ponies have agreed to without asking is the instalment of a unicorn council. There’s a reason that unicorns got special treatment here, though really, it was hardly better than what you received, and that was because they needed to be able to perform magic! I was barely able to lift Mort Swain earlier after I got hit by your guys’ bus earlier.”

Just then, Doughnut Joe leapt forward from behind a burning building. He, despite his sleep-deprived state, froze Tizzy Humbug in a block of cheese.

“We can’t let the unicorns continue to corrupt the minds of the masses. Mort Swain, grab her! We have to finish them off.”

The group sprinted through the streets. Ponies all around were dressed in military fatigues, burning the city to the ground. It was chaos, but it would surely bring about a greater peace. Once they reached the centre, Quip Pundit, stopping to kiss his boyfriend, Big Macintosh, grabbed the block of cheese and tossed it into the flames, which glowed a delightful red and yellow, showing that it was pleased by the cheese.

Mort Swain screamed at the sight of the sacrifice, or perhaps at the fiery demon which crawled out of the ashes behind Quip Pundit; either way, she was terrified. 

“It’s fine, Mort Swain; think nothing of it. What has been thrown into the flames was merely a block of cheese and nothing more,” cried Quip Pundit, desperately trying to be heard over the shrieks of the fire god. 

Big Macintosh held him tightly as the great beast towered over them. With a final request through the infinite heat, the creature raised its embers to the sky and destroyed the unicorn race, all but one: Donut Joe, who, unlike the others, had only good intentions with his being a unicorn.

At last, Equestria, in its new form of: “The Ponies’ Republic of Equestria,” had come to peace. The great nation lived on in perfect unity under the careful guidance of Doughnut Joe and the EPC, and Big Macintosh followed his dream, spreading the blessings of the revolution across all time periods. Equestria had been purged of the unicorns.