//------------------------------// // Desolation Greets the Dawn // Story: Odrsjot // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// A midday sun rose over the ruins of Lerris. Due to the clouds and trailing smoke, it was no brighter than that very morning. The Noble Jury had long landed along a southeast patch of grass. Its hangar doors hung open, and a thin train of ponies shuffled back and forth, carrying pieces of metal equipment. With quiet teamwork, they set up a small encampment along the edge of town, complete with blankets and first aid kits. It was a hopeful gesture. Nopony said much of anything--least of all Rainbow Dash, who flew briskly over the camp as she gave the buildings another flyby. She wasn’t alone in her task. Roarke covered the central parts of town while Eagle Eye and Josho explored the ruins of farmhouses to the west. With swift wings, Rainbow darted into every building that afforded the space for her body to squeeze through. Fighting the scant fumes of the previous evening’s blazes, she called out, loudly announcing her presence. There was never a reply. At last, she resorted to pulling fallen debris apart, lifting crossbeams and searching beneath collapsed rooftops. She eventually did find the villagers of Lerris--or at least whatever shreds remained of them. Each discovery she made put more and more weight on her wings, so that she carried on with the grim task with increasing ennui. Ultimately, she resorted to shoving a stake into the ground of each house she searched and scratching a visible marker for how many bodies she found inside. Checking across the town, she found Roarke doing the same thing. The two mares exchanged cold glances, and then Rainbow Dash rushed back to her task. Night fell. The encampment that the Jurists had set up lay bare. Roarke and Rainbow continued searching, the first aided by a lantern and the latter aided by the glow of her pendant. Floydien and Zaid had exchanged places with Josho and Eagle Eye, and they searched the remaining farm houses with somber resolve. A light rain washed over the town past midnight. After searching and researching the same row of apartment buildings, Rainbow had finished calling out for names. She had finished doing everything altogether. She sat on the scant remains of a second story balcony, her pendant creating a blurry aura of red rain pattering around her. She took shallow breaths, squinting at the desolation all around her. At some point, her eyes drifted tiredly across the village. She caught sight of Roarke’s lantern-lit body rummaging through the wastes. A pair of copper lenses glinted, staring straight back at Rainbow for a moment. Then--almost with a flinch--the Searonese mare turned away and resumed with her task. Rainbow clenched her jaws shut, allowing her eyes to rest for the first time in hours. All she saw in the darkness was flame and lightning. With a wince, she uncoiled her wings, sighed, and flew back into the dilapidated rows of houses. On board the Noble Jury, Pilate lay on the bed inside the tiny one-room infirmary. He wasn’t alone. Eagle Eye squatted beside his mat, tightening a bandage around the nape of the zebra’s neck. After tending to the stallion’s wounds, Eagle waved a glass of water in front of him. He paused for a moment, bit his lip, then leaned the glass forward until it brushed lightly with Pilate’s muzzle. At last, the zebra registered the gesture. He nodded slightly, grasping the container in two shivering hooves. Eagle Eye assisted, tilting the glass so that Pilate could take a few liberal sips. Once finished, Eagle Eye put the glass away and exchanged a few soft words with the stallion. Pilate nodded, and Eagle Eye trotted off, leaving the zebra alone. Pilate could only wince, curling himself tighter beneath the one blanket draped over him. His gray eyes stared wide into nothing, and his ears twitched in a constant, anxious fashion. He tried to make out the sounds coming from the passenger quarters a few rooms away, but he was at a loss. His breaths came out in pitiful little squeaks. Down a few compartments, Props sat with Bellesmith, replacing a few bandages over her wounds and wrapping them over her tender body. The blonde mare smiled delicately before murmuring something in Belle’s ears. Belle nodded quietly, but gently dismissed her friend. Props trotted slowly out, her eyes glossy while she nevertheless complied. Belle sat in silence. Gradually, she turned and gazed at the filly seated on her cot. Kera squatted, staring directly at the corner of two metal bulkheads. She had been bathed twice over the course of the passing day. With all of the bloodstains gone, she actually had considerably less wounds on her body that needed bandaging than either Belle or Pilate. A single strip of gauze stretched over her throat from where the Enforcer’s blade had grazed her. The only hint of pain was in her eyes, tiny and icy cold, staring infinitely into nothing. Quietly, with motherly gestures, Belle grabbed a hoof-brush and tended to Kera’s mane. It mattered little; her hair was straight enough as it is. But it didn’t stop Belle from sitting on the bed behind her and stroking the filly’s mane for the better part of ten minutes. At some point, she stopped, leaning in to kiss and nuzzle the child’s ear from behind. Kera didn’t budge an inch. It was this that brought the tears to Belle’s eyes. She leaned in and hugged Kera gently, resting her chin on the foal’s shoulder as she refused to let go. The next morning limped over the gray horizon. The search had stopped completely, turning into something else. With metal tools, Floydien, Eagle Eye, and Zaid dug a deep array of holes in the earth. Hours into this, a grim procession marched forth from all parts of the town. Roarke, Josho, and Rainbow Dash were the first ones to carry the bodies. Later on, Flodyien and Eagle Eye passed the digging onto Props and Ebon Mane so that they could assist in the heart of the village. By that afternoon, seventy graves had been dug and filled. It was not enough. There were more bodies beneath the wreckage--everypony knew. At this point, however, all Roarke and Rainbow could find were pieces of the ill-fated villagers. The group paused, congregating by the neatly arranged graves as they muddled over what step to take next. All the while, Rainbow Dash perched on a low hanging cloud above the valley. Her ruby eyes reflected the disturbed pieces of earth stretching below. A deep shudder ran through her body. She looked down at her hooves. A familiar pair of goggles rested in her grasp. When she tried looking at the initials, her vision went blurry. With a blink, Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. Swiftly, she slapped the goggles on, turned around, and dove off the cloud with spread wings. Trembling slightly, she glided southwest, skimmed over the mountains below, and made for a tiny speck of buildings along the gray horizon.