//------------------------------//
// File 5: Month 1-Part 1: Ballon Popping 
// Story: SWWC: Something Wrong With Canterlot 
// by Lighttone GryphonStar 
//------------------------------//

It started with several loud bangs. My head shook violently with the noise echoing around me. The volume forced my eyes open, but I couldn't process everything right away as everything was fuzzy. I just knew something had happened. I heard a shrill scream, as if something was tearing through the air.

"Get up, you two!" A female voice called out.

I looked up to see a pink blurry figure. I wanted to get a better view, a bright light above them forced my head back down. My eyes winced open and closed in sheer pain. "I can't see..." I managed to answer through the throbbing.

"Don't worry, I'm right here!" The pink mare placed her hand on my head. "I'm not leaving either of your sides."

"What..." I turned to see another pony beside me. The height alone was enough to tell me it was another stallion like me, but the longer I looked at the blurry shape the more confused I became.

"Please get up!" The pink blurry shape called out to the other stallion.

I tried to clear my sight yet the more I rubbed the more pain filled my body. "Is he okay?!" I tried to stand and get closer to the pink pony and the other stallion.

"I'm here. I'm here. It's going to be okay!" The pink pony repeated over and over in a sheer panic.

"We're here. We're right here!!" I reached out to her. I didn't know what told me to say we, I could barely remember anything before this moment. But I felt a great connection to these two and couldn't lay there while she cried.

"Take cover!" The pink pony shouted at me and the other stallion, helping us up. She sounded so familiar yet I couldn't figure out why. Everything before waking was a complete daze.

Getting into some shade, the pink mare stopped and took a deep breath. We were far enough from the sounds that she could relax. I noticed her trying to check on the other stallion for wounds and didn't stop her. "He'll be okay..." She slowly turned to me and shook away violently. "We... We need to get help..."

Her shaking denial shook me to my knees. "What happened?! Is our friend, okay?" I pegged for answers. Yet the blurry pink mare continued to stare back at me with horror and confusion.

"You... your body..." The pink mare shivered into my chest. "And him... His leg is shattered!"

"What?!" My scream only made her shake worst. "We're going to need to brace it together with something." I don't know where this knowledge came from, but I was glad to have it. "Find some wood and some cloth!"

"How can you say such a thing, in the state you're in!!" She screamed at me.

"Think about him and you!!" I screamed back. "I can't see well, that's better than his broken leg!!"

"But... But... That's not it... " She slowly turned away from me and searched the surrounding rubble.

I wish I could help her but my eyes. I winced in greater pain as it felt like thousands of needles tearing through my skull. "Hurry!"

"Okay, okay!" She moved across the area faster than I thought possible. Yet I didn't seem to be surprised by her cartoonish like speed. How much did I know of this mare before everything went fuzzy? I knew this much, from the warmth in my heart upon her return that I didn't want her leaving our side again.

"This is the best I could find." She presented them to me.

"Now, break the wood into two or three long pieces and compress them around the limb with the cloth." I leaned against the wall and attempted to watch her work, forcing my eyes to concentrate on shapes. "He's going to wince in pain at first--" I was stopped at his screams.

"Done!" The pink mare continued to shiver until I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"Okay..." I took my other hand and pressed it against my skull, about my eyes.

"I... I can't fix those!" She jumped away from me.

"What do you mean?!" I screamed at her. "I need to see!!"

"I don't know what to do?!" the pink mare cried out.

"Nevermind!!" I turned my back against the floor and rubbed my eyes for several moments. As I did, the sounds above got louder. "What's happening out there?"

"He just showed up and boom, crash and bang!" The pink mare was so sparse on details.

"Alright, what's his name?" I took a deep breath. "Why was he here--" My eyes opened their widest as blurs turned into worse shapes. The colors faded around me. Rubbing harder and harder did to little change the fact my eyes weren't getting better.

"I don't know... Something about waiting five thousand years to complete this mission. And that the Pale Mare wouldn't stand in his way now!"

I dropped my hands at the pointless effort as nothing changed. Every attempt to fix my eyes made them worse. "Damn it, I need to get to my first aid kit." Again, the words jumped ahead of my mind. I couldn't remember my own name, yet I somehow knew about having a first aid kit. Was I some kind of nurse?

"I don't know where it is. I didn't have time to keep track of it with all the explosions..." The pink mare stopped and thought about it for a moment. "Maybe... could it be by the balloons!"

"Balloons..." Something sparked in my mind at that word. An image flashed by my head of balloons being pumped with air, the smell of cheese and the sounds of party canons. Everypony was having so much fun. Two royalties dancing around with several ponies. And two other figures that meant everything to me.

The longer I thought the more the details became clear.

There was the princess, Celestia, and she was dancing with Discord. A yellow mare was flying around them dropping flowers, Fluttershy. A rainbow echoed above from Rainbow Dash. Applejack had just left to get some more apples. The posh mare and her dragon, Rarity and Spike had still yet to arrive, something about them still being very busy. Twilight sent a message to Celestia, using Discord's breath for a change, crashing it into her face. Princess Luna arrived and laughed at their embarrassing moment.

Just before everything went blurry, another figure appeared.

I reached out to the image playing in my head. The figure's species was a complete unknown to all of them. In fact, none of them appeared to have invited him. It was an orange pony in a white robe, there was an emblem on his cloak, that of changeling wings. His K shaped mask and crooked horn poked out of the hood and looked over them all.

Another party canon fired off in the memories and I turned to the position the pink pony was standing. I longed to see her face free of the blurriness. Slowly the memories filled in the gap of her face for me. I reached out as the image became clear in my mind "Pinkie Pie..."

"... yes." She slowly turned toward me. The memories faded as a shadow stood behind her. It was the figure with the crooked horn and the K shaped mask.

"No..." I shivered and jumped forward. "Pinkie Pie--" Everything stopped as bright light consumed all.

******

A bright light decintagrated the area they stood on. King Kray dropped his hand and admired his work. A giant shattering blue crystal was unveiled in place of the three ponies. "Phase 1 complete. Removed the most unpredictable one first. One down, five to go."

He smiled in victory until a stallion shook his way out of the rubble. Narrowing his eyes, his crooked horn glowed with the same spell. "Now, you are a stubborn one." He joked as the stallion continued to pull his way free.

"Pinkie... Pinkie Pie!!" I continued to scream in great pain. I fought through the pain all over my body and tried to face him. My eyes were still so blurry, but I knew where the enemy was. "Bring her back!" I screamed.

"No." He answered so boldly.

My legs kicked forward, rushing at him with all the force I could muster. "I said, bring her back--" I was stopped as the ground crashed into me.

"Oh, It seems you were in even worse shape than you thought." The figure mocked me by walking over and kicking my arm. Much to my shock it shattered to dust. "Incredible." He picked up the remains of the limb and waved it at me. "It seems you were burned to a crisp by her canons being destroyed." He turned back to his crystal creation. "Shame, you call out to her all you like but she knew everything..."

"What are you talking about--" I was stopped as he reached down and pressed his finger against my left eye. The entire left side went completely black.

"She knew from the moment you awoke why you couldn't see a damn thing." He shoved his hand over my other eye and pelted it with black dust. "You're literally nothing but ash now..."

"Stop!!" I tried to fight through the darkness only for my other hand to fall apart as well.

"It's like you've been inside a kilm. And it's all Pinkie Pie's fault." His footsteps echoed over me. "Don't worry, I am a merciful King!" I could feel his hands press against my chest. Ash echoed as his fingers dug into my heart. My insides filled with so much heat that felt like every pour was on fire. "And with my power, you shall be restored to a greater vision than you ever were before!! Yes, you shall be the first of my Anti-Six. Slice Kilm,"

******