It certainly wasn't any natural wildfire that brewed in the distant horizon. But this was the Everfree, so we should've figured as such. Our emergency rain clouds did nothing to quench the hungry flames, and our attempts to study it any closer left us burnt feathers and blistered wings. The wall of fire rushed on towards Ponyville, stopping for none, consuming all. It ignored its headwind, travelling at a blinding, terrible, steady pace. We had at most a quarter of an hour before it hit.
Rainbow Dash, as ever, remained calm in the crisis. She sent us out to form evac routes from the moment we knew it was going wrong. She went from team to team, shouting and shepherding the throng of civilians to move out and get safe. She sent letters to Celestia through Ms. Sparkle's dragon and rounded up her hero friends. If anyone could stop this ungodly conflagration, it would be them.
We watched in awe as the six of them checked every building for anyone unable or unwilling to leave. They loaded us up with town records, canned food from basements, rare books from the library. And still their work wasn't done. They emptied out the hospital while the terrible fire showed on the horizon.
Sweet Apple Acres was long gone, and Fluttershy's cottage full of wildlife was'nt long for this world. She and Applejack had grimly chased the animals they could find out of Qhotetail woods and toward the distant plateaus that would be safe from the flames. For once, Fluttershy had no time to spend on gentleness, snarling and shouting and head butting any stragglers with a determined glare etched onto her angelic face. It no longer seemed so strange that she could shout dragons into submission.
The flames writhed and stretched unnaturally, reaching for the buildings of Ponyville with fiery talons. And they bade us farewell with a smile and a salute before turning back, shoulder to shoulder in grave camaraderie. The last we saw of them, they were facing down that wall of fire, defiant till the end. Their power should have moved the very world like on any other day, and for a minute we thought they would pull through as the cursed fire grew smaller, contained by their wit and ingenuity.
The rest is ashes, blown on the wind.