//------------------------------// // Second Not Much Better // Story: Squad Z // by Fort Impression //------------------------------// Today seems like it’s going to be a good day for Serus. It’s going to be Squad Z’s first mission on the field today. He looked out the window and watched the bright sun being lifted into the sky by Princess Celestia’s magic. Beautiful, nimbus clouds pulled in by the Pegasi from Cloudsdale. It seems like everything’s going to turn out fine for Squad Z. Serus heard glass shattering down stairs, breaking his gaze off the sunrise. He cautiously went downstairs to investigate the source and finds Griselda trying to get herself a glass of water. Instead, the glass slipped out of her claws and shatters into a million pieces below. Griselda cursed to herself and reached for another one; again, shattering another glass. “By the stars, Griselda,” Serus bellowed in shock, “what are you doing?” “Can’t you tell I am getting a drink,” the griffon replied with a sense of annoyance in her voice. “Can’t you already tell that you’re unable to even hold a single glass? You've broken four cups already,” he complained as he grabbed a broom from the nearest closet. “Well, you could go buy some new ones.” “Does it look like this squad is made of money?” “You get paid more than me.” “I’m surprised you’re getting paid at all.” “I’m not,” she chuckled. Serus groaned and face-hoofed himself. He began to sweep up the mess of shards scattered around the floor. “Just go lay down and let me get you some water,” he commanded. “Ah don’t hafta lissen to you. Ah…Ah don’t…Ahh… water.” Her words slurred as the knocked up griffon fell into an unconscious state; she ended up shattering yet another glass cup. The white unicorn groaned as he dropped the broom and went over to Griselda’s aid. The griffon was too heavy for him to lift so he grabbed her by the tail and pulled her out of the kitchen and into, what he thought was the living room. It took a lot of his strength to pull her onto the couch. After Serus finished cleaning up the mess Griselda made, he went back upstairs in search for Aknow. He knocked on the Aknow-labeled door covered in various star consultations, but gets no response. “Aknow, it’s time to wake up so the team can get their first job.” No response was given. “I’m coming in,” he announced, slowly opening the door. He sighed seeing the night pony passed out on her bed. Taking in a deep breath before he shouting in her ear, “WAKE UP, AKNOW!” “Five more minutes,” she mumbled. “It’s freaking time to wake up. I don’t want our team to be late on their first day.” She continued snoring. Serus rolled his eyes and flips the entire bed. Aknow stood up in utter rage. “What the hay did you do that for?” she shouted. “You didn't wake up when I told you to,” he lashed back getting heated up in the moment. “It’s time to get our first mission as a team.” “Well, why didn't you just open a bag of chips in front of me?” “Why would I do that?” Serus bewilderingly asked losing track of the conversation. “Because then I would wake up, and I wouldn't have to worry about opening the bag myself.” Serus face-hoofs himself; this left a red mark pasted onto his forehead. “I don’t know whether to call that stupid or just... plain weird. Well, put on your armor, we have to go.” Getting dressed, with a nice grooming of her mane, Aknow was ready to tackle the day and began to make her way down stairs. She met up with Serus, who waited at the base of the stairs. She jumped over him to see what he was doing, but only found him staring over at a vacant couch laying directly under the window displaying a earthy view of their backyard. “Wh-where.. what.. ho-..” he stuttered confused by the missing link to this portrait: the hungover feather friend. “She’s over there,” his teammate motioned her head towards the luckily-still-breathing griffon that lied in her nest soundlessly. They both made their way to the front of her bed tripping over a couple instruments, and stepping on some broken glass, along the way. “Look at her sleeping like a foal,” Aknow squeaked in bliss of the violent vigilante that showed signs of enjoyable slumber. “That’s great and all, but we need to muster in ten minutes. You can think that we won’t wake her up right now, but I don’t intend to be late on our first day. So help me wake her up,” he finished while they took a gander around the room, which didn't have that much in it surprisingly. Griselda continued to sleep in peace without being disturbed to recent noises. Aknow began to think really hard about the other times she has been with her. Like a light bulb turning on, she ran outside of the room without mentioning her intentions to Serus. He remained standing wondering what it was that the pegasus was thinking of doing, and it frightened him even more when their grandfather’s hand progressively closed the gap between it and the base of its face. Time flew by before Aknow returned with a can of whip cream in her possession. “Here we go,” the Lunar Guard announce face plastered with mischievous intent. “I know how to wake her up.” “What are you doing with-” It took a second for him to gather the information in his mind. “Oh, heavens Celestia, no,” he begged dramatically leaning against the wall unable to carry himself further. “Yup! I am going to spray it onto her claw and make her slap herself in the face.” “Don’t do that, she’ll kill you if you tried.” “Don’t worry, she likes it; she does it to me all the time,” she assured Serus, which made him roll his eyes instead. “Oh for Celestia’s sake, if she gets pissed over this, which she would, then you better not blame it on me.” Silently flying her way over the sleeping, yet deadly, griffon, Aknow prepared the whip cream to get lathered onto Griselda’s claw. Coating her claw with its fluffy, damp structure, the night guard began to place her tail over her ally’s nose; she swayed her hips back and forth lightly brushing her tail enough to cause Griselda’s natural instincts to kick in. Quickly taking charge of the situation while she believed her prey was off guard, her claw descended upon her face.Sounds of a cracking whip, corroded the barracks, and the cream flew off in various directions, one of which coming close to hitting a poster of what was assumed to be her favorite singer. Aknow had trouble restraining herself from laughing, but Serus, on the other hand, slowly backed up to avoid any projectiles that might have been thrown or claws that would begin to swing. “Goooood morning, Gris,” Aknow sang with a cheery smile. “It’s time to get up because we have our first mission.” Leaving no room for silence to creep its way back in, Griselda jumped in front of the prankster and half-scared pegasus and roared, which caused a cup that sat on her nightstand to shatter before their eyes. She grabbed a bottle that laid close to her feet, surprisingly still in one piece, and threw it into the ponies’ direction; it shatter against the wall right next to another poster signed by the singer the portrait displayed. “Who did that!?” she bellowed stomping her talons and cracking the earth beneath her. If Serus didn't have his life flashing before his eyes at the moment, he would have commented the strength she possessed shook the ground beneath him. “I swear, if none of you speak up, I will cut open your bodies, rip out your eyes, eat them, and play hopscotch in your chest cavities!” The moment after, the room was overtaken by the silence as they waited for Griselda to regain her breath. Both ponies blinked expecting more to come, but the griffon simply rested her hind quarters on the ground. Serus looked at Aknow, wondering whether or not to say anything knowing their partner was seconds from turning them into filly cheese steaks. “See, I told you so,” Aknow pointed out casually. The Captain paced around his office growing very impatient for the last squad to arrive for their first mission. Squad Z finally entered his office looking like they barely escaped a ferocious war. “Where in Equestria have you been?” Shining Armor roared. “You three were supposed to be here-” he took this time to look at the clock to finish what he was getting across, “Forty minutes ago.” “Apologies, Captain,” Serus answered, lowering his head. “Some of us have a different sleeping schedule than everypony else.” “No excuses! You of all ponies should know that punctuality is strictly exercised in your field of command.” Shining Armor began to lecture them, “What happens if you show up late to your post?” Aknow went to answer his rhetorical question, but Serus glared at her with a stern look. Their captain continued ignoring the faces being pass about the office, “Your post will become unmanned, and this give the enemy the potential of attacking us! What you did just now, you just caused Canterlot to fall into the hands of those that wanted to take it; you just put the Princesses in great danger.” Guilt coursed through Serus’s veins, and he became lightheaded from the realization of his failures. Pressure build itself on his knees, forcing him to falter, but he used the strength he had to stand his ground. Aknow seemed to have already taken his words to heart after the mention of the Princesses; she could barely look straight at Shining or anyone for that matter. Griselda, however, didn't seem to care about anything he was telling them. Shining shook his head in disappointment. “You guys need to exercise being to your muster times fifteen minutes early. I expect you to show up the next time as such, or I will have to take measures to ensure you guys are punctual.” “Yes, Captain. I understand,” Serus responded attempting more to assure himself than his own captain. The Captain sighed before rubbing his temples and continuing, “There may be a few of you, but this mission only needs teamwork from the three of you. You will be assigned to help with the construction workers building an HQ just outside of Ponyville. This is very important, but I’m sure you will all be able to handle this. Head on over to Ponyville in search for Mayor Mare, so she can instruct you on where and how to build it. Am I clear?” “Yes, sir!” They all shouted in unison, some more enthusiastic than others. Ending on that note, the squad left his office and came face-to-face with a group of Royal Guards. They were very well acquainted with Serus, for they have been his friends ever since the start of basic training. “Hey Serus,” the grey unicorn said. “It sucks to hear what happened to you.” “Doesn't matter, at least I’m working for the Princess anyways.” “We also heard you got positioned in Squad Z: The Group of Rejects.” The group behind him giggled at the comment and nudged each other around. “They are not rejects,” Serus argued, stomping his hoof on the ground. “We were carefully selected by both of the Princesses, so our flaws would be blanked out,” he muttered unsure whether he could even believe the words he said. The group of Royal Guards burst into laughter, and none of Squad Z was happy about it. “Wait, are you sticking up for these freaks?” He questioned. “Squad rule 41: Always stick up and protect your team. It’s my job.” “Okay, whatever you say. At least you make the squad of freaks complete: a half-witted Lunar Guard, a juvenile griffon, and a Royal Guard reject. I guess you do belong in this squad because you all have something in common.” The group laughed at as they clapped hooves with each other and made their leave. Heart-broken, Serus drowned in his own sorrow; he never thought the people he knew the most would turn out to be so brutal and stab him in the back with such callous smiles on their faces. He winked back his tears and spread out his wings. “Let’s go, girls,” he called out to his squad behind him. “We have a building to make.” They ascended into the air and made their way towards Ponyville where they must complete their first mission. The train ride to Ponyville was spent with the sound of the rattling train passing through the air, which was mixed with malaise feelings, between the half-beaten squad. Griselda slept soundlessly on her seat as blood rushed to her talon that hung off and lower than the rest of her body. Almost thinking she was inspecting the delicacy and well-sown rug that encased the metal flooring, Aknow dared not look up at her fellow friends knowing their faces would just put her further under the train. Serus was studiously carving words into the scroll pressed against the glass; it gave him glances of the scenery as it ran through various vibrant colors, and once in a while, when he took his mind slightly off his letter, the scene would lighten his mood bit by bit. Aknow heard the quill furiously writing and decided to take her eyes off the floor to absorb in her surroundings. She focused her attention to the source of the sound she was hearing. The mare slowly lifted herself from her seat, her blue wings batting her behind the white pony without making a sound, and she watched him for a few seconds before breaking him out of his trance. “Hey, boss-” Aknow began, but couldn't finish before Serus jumped out of his chair and swiped his head around to face the pony unaware to his senses. “Sweet Celestia, Twist, when did-” “What are you writing?” she asked over him; her overall being looked slightly disturbed about something unknown to Serus. Despite wanting to ask his partner what was wrong, he sighed, “I am writing a letter to my family.” His looked quickly dropped to one with a sense of loneliness. “I haven’t really gotten the chance to send them a letter since I got into basic training, and the mailing system was atrocious.” He continued writing, but his motions were less briskly as he put some of his focus on the mare behind him expecting her to continue attempting to talk to him. For a while, she simply took a glimpse around and noticed Serus’s carefully treated mane, which she assumed fit the regulations of the Canterlot guards. This made her giggle a little bit, but Serus didn't care too much to ask her what was on her mind. After letting the silence settle in for a little bit, Aknow asked, “What is your family like?” Serus looked back at the gleam-eyed night guard, but he gave her a scornful look of discomfort. “I bet they are really proud of you,” she attempted to ease him in. To the mare’s delight, her blonde friend set his letter down and turned to face her; he expressed she has his undivided attention. “I have a family of four,” he began, and Aknow focused all of her attention on his story. “My mother, father and older brother, but none of them could really make it to my graduation, thankfully, because they were too busy with their own problems. However, I am sure they are glad that I at least made it into some squadron, and I will do my best so that I can help support them… well, more my mother than the other two,” he murmured under his breath, but Aknow heard it clear as day. “Why don’t you want to support your dad and brother?” she wondered the moment he stopped talking. “I’d rather not talk about it...” The mare was a bit irritated that the stallion that talks all high and mighty about what it’s like being in a squad doesn't even open up the basic details of his life to their members. In the end, she only stood back up and walked her way back to her seat while Serus watched her with his head cocked. Finally sitting down, she replied to his previous comment, “Fine, forget rule seventeen. For such a lawful pony, you forget your own rules,” muttering to herself but at a tone in which could carry itself to Serus’s ears. Before he got the chance to interject, a happy, orange-haired pony opened the door to their trolley, and she pushed forward a cart filled with many decadent treats. The scent of the food it held, swayed its way across the room and filled the sleeping griffon’s senses; it overloaded her brain with all of its snacks from its perfectly-baked cookies to its heavenly-roasted peanuts. The choices ran through her mind for what seemed long enough to tired anypony before she came to a conclusion. Yellow eyes revealed themselves to a seemingly unfamiliar surrounding at first before directing its center of attention to the cart, and as she shot her way up to her feet, she called out pointing to the mare, “Serus! Get this pony to give me roasted peanuts!” The walk to the construction site was almost as dead as the train ride. Nopony dared to look at each other or speak to one another; they were all irritated at this point. Aknow started to slowly fall behind before she came to a total stop in the middle of the mildly business town ponies trying to get to their homes or work. Serus probably would have continued onward forever if Griselda didn't catch his attention. With a loud cough, he looked at her, and she motioned her head to the spaced-out pegasus before walking onward leaving them behind. “What’s up?” he asked trotting to her side, but she didn't pay any mind to him as she remained lost in deep thought. “Aknow!” he tapped her on the head, and she immediately came back to reality. “I-I was thinking..” she started the second she grasped her bearings and put forth enough focus to answer the blonde stallion, “m-maybe we could grab a snack before heading to the s-site.” “What do you mean? We just had a snack on the train,” he backfired with a sense of annoyance. “We aren't going to take another break anytime soon, and I would like to finish this job quickly. The faster it is done, the happier the captain will be, and we could use a bit of his happiness on our side.” With that, he continued forward as if trying to influence her to keep moving. The grey pegasus hesitated a little, but reluctantly, she ran to catch up with him. Upon arrival, they found Griselda talking to an late-aged mare wearing glasses. They walked along side her hearing only the last bit of the conversation. “We plan on finishing up within a five hour time period,” the mare stated, “and it would be very much grateful if you could help out or even just watch for the safety of everypony.” “No problem, Mayor,” Griselda respectfully replied waving off to her as she parted. Griselda turned to face her colleagues and filled them in, “That was Mayor Mare, and she wants Serus helping with the construction on the outside of the building. Aknow, you are wanted to help with the construction on the interior portion of the building, and I will be walking around making sure these ponies don’t get hurt because they don’t know how to carry some objects.” Aknow interjected, “Maybe I c-could work on the outside- you know- well… because it w-would be easier… since I can fly.” The other two comrades looked at her puzzled by what she was trying to say, and Serus simply flapped his wings to express that he is more than capable of flying himself. The mare went to argue, but Serus voiced his words first, “Don’t complain about where you work, and just get the job done.” They separated to their working posts before Aknow could get the chance to talk back. She stood there alone, legs trembling as memories flooded her mind, and a grimace look sketched its way onto her face. With a trembling, raspy voice, mouth dry of any saliva, she whispered to herself the only word that she could muster, “B-but…” Working hard, aside from his intention to have the construct work over with, Serus was covering all corners of his assignment, and he would always stop his own work to help the other ponies that were struggling. He was forgetting his idea to finish the job quickly, and his mind took on a new persona: to ensure the building finishes without anypony getting hurt no matter how long they sat there working. He became engrossed in his job; however, the same could not be said the same as his colleagues, and when he noticed their problems, it would only irritate him for their lack of commitment. Griselda’s job as safety watch only lasted not much longer than five minutes before sleep took over her desires, and it placed her on top of a stack of beams, which she happily conformed into something similar to a bed. She was the least committed member of the group being she only joined because they said it would get her out of jail; because of this, she has taken in the mind set ‘she is only there to be out of jail, so why should she put forth the effort when she gets the same without it’. Serus yearns to the Princesses that she would get punished for her mistakes, but he was also busy looking at his other disappointing member that was working inside. Aknow, unlike their feather friend, was working, but her pace and workload doesn't come close to equating to Serus’s efforts. Went almost immediately from carrying beams and heavy objects to more simplistic items such as plaster, Aknow would lose her strength and will to carry these tools into the building for other ponies. This caused her mentality to falter as she exponentially lost the courage to leave the near eight story building and re-enter on a continuous whim. Every second that passed, every moment she left the building to grab more supplies, she took longer looking at the building before mustering the power to return; this got to the point where she would take ten minute breaks every five minutes. Serus wouldn’t have minded this unprofessional behavior, but it has been three hours since they started working; they have done very little within this time. It was also bad that their behavior only progressed as it grew closer to sun fall, so Serus decided that he needed to take charge of his team before it gets worse. Serus prioritized his attention to the griffon first being her job is very important for all of the worker’s safety. He flew his way to the top of the pile of beams and settled himself in front of her as she lay spread out across her back; the noise she made as she was sleep was dreadful enough to get the animals of the forest packing. Serus kicked her until she woke up and gave him her undivided attention. “Could to at least look like you are doing your job?” the pegasus scolded, but the griffon simply shrugged it off. “I am doing my job,” she replied. “You have been sleeping since we started working, and you need to patrol around the building checking for any signs of mishaps. Your laziness is turni-” “Shh, wait,” Griselda interrupted sitting up as she scanned the scene. “Did you hear that?” Serus stood quiet for a moment to listen for what she heard, but he responded, “I don’t hear anything.” “Exactly. There is no screams, no moans, and no complaints. Why? Because everyone is safe. Unless there is a dire emergency that arises, don’t attempt to wake me up, or I will break your wings and kick you off of this mountain,” she threatened as she walked closer to Serus and getting close to his face before he was inches from falling of the edge. “Got it?” Despite the blonde pony’s desire to talk back and stand his ground, he didn't want to cause a commotion that will attempt to put his team at risk of a bad review. He jumped off edge backwards and started flapping his wings; he glared back at the griffon for a moment before breaking eye contact. “Fine,” he spat before flying off back to the building to see his other colleague he needed to convince. He landed himself in front of the entrance to the interior portion of the site. At the same time as he went to talk into the build, an earth pony wielding a large abundance of materials needed for his work; there was enough to put Equestria’s strongest pony in exhaustion, and this pony looked like he was struggling. “Excuse me, sir,” Serus called out the this tan pony causing him to turn really fast; some of the beams, which was mixed in with the miscellaneous stuff he was carrying, collided forcibly with the beams that were already placed up inside the build supporting its weight. The sound, as loud as a large metal bell, rung its way through the building and caused part of the building to shake in the process. This sensation carried its way all the way to the third floor, where Aknow hesitantly walked around taking supplies to various other working ponies. The very slightest sense of these vibrations cause the night pony to freeze with a bad taste in the back of her throat. She immediately dropped all of the equipment she was carrying and dashed her way downstairs. “Whoa!” Serus yelped running to the pony’s side and bearing some of the weight. “Be careful, sir. This is a lot of stuff to be carrying at once, and it would bother me to see you get hurt.” “Don’t worry, Sunny,” the elderly stallion rejected, “I carry this much all the time, and it has yet to fail me.” “Okay, just for my sake, maybe you could carry a less so I can sleep peacefully tonight.” The earth pony gave him a smile before walking off with his over-sized load to the floor he needed to get to. Serus was left alone as he watched the stallion disappear up the stairs; he thought very much about the help of that pony and hoped he wasn't pushing himself too hard. Serus was lost in thought for a second, before and unbeknownst voice entered his ear. It sounded very much like a pony biting down on a potato chip, except it was deeper and carried a tiny echo through the empty floor. The voice was later followed by something that could be mistake as a pony dragging their foot across the floor. Serus immediately started to look around for the source of the noise he heard, but he was interrupted when he noticed a familiar pegasus running in his direction; however, Serus was ready to keep her from going any further. The white pony jumped straight in her way causing her to crashing into him. Being as tall as he was over her, he was able to stand his ground without falling over, but Aknow didn't show similar results, who fell hard on her rump. “H-hey!” the bewildered mare stutter as she went to massage her soar flank. “Hey,” Serus repeated back to grasp her attention, which was successful. He continued, “What are you doing?” “W-we-well… um- you see- i-i was j-just..” she attempted to say, but Serus grew impatient with what he thought was stalling. “You have already taken a break, five minutes ago to be exact. You need to stop slacking off. I know this may be boring, but that doesn't not excuse that you shouldn't lead by example.” “But.. but… w-well.. could we- um- switch?” she attempted to ask with pleads dancing in her eyes, but her stallion colleague disregarded them. “So that I have little visibility over you and the stupid griffon that isn't doing her job either? I don’t think so! I need to stay outside, so I can make sure you ponies are doing your job, which you aren't doing.” “B-but.. you don’t underst-” “No, I do understand,” he interjected stomping his hoof on the grow; Aknow shrunk in his rage. “You simply want to slack off more and avoid doing a lot of work, but that is not going to happen! I want my team to be hard working and diligent, and you and feather brains out there are neither of those things! What is wrong with you two that you don’t want to do a little work!? Where is your commitment to your job!?” A still silence passed through the air. Aknow stayed silent for a little bit so she could regain her composure before speaking again. “C-can we take this outside, please?” she attempted to ask again. She was rejected again with, “No, we are settling this here and now!” “But I can’t stay here!” she argued back, her fear creating anger. “Why can’t you stay here?” “Because I can’t!” “That isn't a good enough answer, Aknow!” Their argument pressed on between the two pegasi, and a crowd began to form hearing the commotion. Griselda, waking up from her slumber, heard them from their position, and she looked up to see if she could spot them. Her vision was covered by the crowd of ponies that encircled the fighting teammates. She tried to listen more intently on the conversation, but her hearing caught a rather unpleasant sound. This sound was similar to the one that Serus heard, but the sound continued to go on until she eventually heard a snap. After a second of decipher what it was she heard, only one option came to mind, and the griffon’s spine began to shiver. Without giving it a second thought, Griselda was up in the air, and dashing for the disaster that was soon to unfold. Unlike the griffon, the ponies near the incident couldn't hear anything over the shouts of the feud they were focused on. As this was going on, the previously broken beam became incapable of bearing the weight of everything above it. It’s structure began to break down before it eventually broke off. The beam, in which stood in the middle of a crowd of ponies began to fall, and it only became notice by a pony at the last second. “Look out!” a stallion yelled over the shouting for everypony to hear. As if instinctively knowing what he was referring to, all the ponies turned their attention towards the falling beam and moved out of its crushing way. It fell to the ground shattering shards of its anatomy across the ground, and this lead everypony to remain dead silent; however, this was the worst decision for all of them to make. The ceiling of the building under their position began to break down under pressure; it chipped away piece by piece, and the cracks grew larger until it reached beyond the area covered by frightened ponies. This fear only spread further as the ceiling slowly started to cave in. They remained petrified, denying what they wanted to be a deception to their eyes, but it was as real as the griffon that crashed landed in front of the entrance. “Everypony out, now!” she roared to the audience with prestigious motivational fear. Reality came back to everypony, and they all began to rush their way towards the door. Some would push their way over other in order to get how, leaving people to get trampled, but luckily there were some that would help their victimized ponies to their feet and out of the collapsing building. Serus, doing what he could, helped get everypony out of the building before leaving himself. As he started head out himself, he noticed Griselda shouting at him, but he wasn't able to make out her words over the shrieks and sobs of the citizens. She began pointing into the direction of the building, and it hit him with non-opposing force- out of all the ponies that ran out. He turned around quickly to find Aknow remaining steady under the close to falling ceiling. “Aknow!” he called out to her but wasn't sure she heard him, for she remained still not moving or looking in his direction; she only looked up at a ceiling. Eyes dilated passed a healthy rate, memories filled the night guard’s mind, and it drowned out all of her senses. All sound escaped her ears, deafening her, and her vision began to blur and revitalized into a seen that was only familiar to her. Demons surrounding her and consuming everything it touched; it would become plagued black and reeked of denatured compounds. It’s work even became visible to ponies as it create a black shadow that engulfed entire hallways of the apartment complex. Its presence only stressed the body of this tiny pegasus filly making her sweat under its force and grow weak with each passing second. Yet, the grey-coated filly remained in place focused on the older mare that held on to her. She saw the mother’s mouth moving, but couldn't make out what she was saying. She would drag this filly around the death-filled building looking in every room. What is she doing? the filly thought as she surveyed the area watching the demons drop from the sky closing more of their possible exits, but the mother didn't not care for she was busied with her search. She eventually turned around and faced the filly, and the filly showed her the same respect. Tears covered the mare’s face as she spoke softly to the young pony, but she still couldn't make out the things she was trying to say to her. Her thoughts cut short when she noticed the demons that circled above them almost teasing them. Without warning, the creatures of chaos descended upon them, and her vision went black. “Mommy?” Everything that was happening right now: ponies running from the falling building, Griselda keeping them at bay, and Serus calling out to his night walking member; this all didn't matter anymore. Silence and terror halted the whole town, everypony bewildered and frightened to react, as the voice of a banshee sang its tunes; Aknow screamed horrifically no pony, but nonetheless screamed as her body lost strength to hold her fast and the rain began to fall from her pores. The wails that escaped this pony’s snout seemed god-strikingly impossible, yet she cried her heart out with a single breath silencing all, including the falling debris of the collapsing building, leaving only her voice to be her; her voice to be recognized. “Make it stop! Make it stop,” She repeated. Serus simply stared, unwilling to move as the mare’s wails continued on; this voice he heard became more frightening than being threatened with death by Griselda. His hooves began to quiver, his mind drawing a blank, and the only thing that seemed to be functioning right were his eyes: they showed what was truly happening to this distressing pony. He would always attempt to move himself forward, but her cries deafened his sense of bravery and held him steady. He has never been in a situation like this in his life when someone he was supposed to care for was on the verge of death’s row. It was only then he realized her fear and let it pick at his mind. Why didn't she say anything? he asked himself. Why wouldn't she tell one of us she was scared the building might collapse? The idea tempted his brain to think and look back at everything he missed. The train ride, when she came to understand his family; the walk towards the site, her hesitation to move forward; her requests to always work somewhere outside. She has been telling him for the longest time now, but he was simply pushing her away and making her work against her fears. It wasn't that she didn't tell him… it was because he didn't listen. The sudden breeze sent a fraction of realism guide its way across the Royal Guard’s spine and bring him back from his trackless world. Focusing back to the matter at hand, the ceiling broke apart and starting making its way back to the earth and through the shaken pony. I can make it. Serus believed extend his wings. With both his hooves and wings, he push himself forward, and he blasted his way back to the building reaching out to Aknow. I will make it! Coming close to being crushed along with his comrade, Serus pulled through, scoping the mare up under his wing. They tumbled their way across the floor while Serus protected Aknow. Unable to slow down, the other side of the build, still supported with no tension on its side, held a wall that respectfully acted as their stop sign. The two ponies crashed forcefully into the wall, but Serus, keeping his friend from harm, got the brunt of the damage; he hit the wall back first causing his body to follow through the arch and smack his head into the wall as well. With that, the white pegasus fell into a deep sleep. It was silent; there were no screams, cries, fights… nothing. Nothing made itself known to Serus’s half-woken state, except for a cold splatter that touched and stung his face. Slowly opening his eyes, he was greeted with a blur of an object that hung over him. He could quite make out what it was or what was happening; to be fair, he couldn't think at all as his previous incident dazed him. He yearned to discover what this thing was the stung his face and lingered above him as he was too weak to figure it out himself. Then, a voice rang his ears. “Mommy,” the voice of what he thought was a foal began to speak and slightly pressed against him with its nose. “Wake up.” This only confused him more. He put every ounce of energy he had left to focus on who it was, and his vision, become a little better, focused on a mare with hair almost as blue as a night sky. Tears fell gracefully from her cheeks, which were puffy and red. It was Aknow, but her voice, once again, seemed different from what it actually was. “Mommy,” she repeated. “I found Daddy… He was cold and wouldn't answer me… Mommy?” Aknow.. Serus fell back into unconsciousness only hearing but the one question she wanted to ask. “Is Daddy… dead?”