Lily and I cautiously made our way into town, moving from cover to cover until we found ourselves huddled behind an overturned cart. Across the street, a Diamond Dog tore through a hut, the screams of the occupants fading away as they fled.
“Where’s Derpy?” I asked in a whisper.
“She—” Lily began, stopping herself as another Diamond Dog sprinted past our hiding place. It disappeared around a corner down the road, and shortly afterward came the sound of splintering wood.
“She left, and said that she would try to find Rainbow Dash.”
“Why didn’t you go with her—” I was interrupted as our cart was heaved aside.
Towering over us, the Diamond Dog cackled with glee at his discovery. Lily reared back, her wings spread defensively to shield me.
The Dog swung a powerful right hook. I ducked beneath its wide arc, while Lily stumbled backward and out of reach. I shot forward and slammed a fist into his ample gut, which seemed to absorb the force completely. He grunted in response, and as I backed up for another attack he brought his left hand forward, spread wide to sweep me away.
There was no time to dodge it—I was smacked aside. My vision exploded with bursts of color as I tumbled like a ragdoll, my knees striking the earth first and taking the brunt of my momentum. Sprawled out on my back, I tried to breathe but found that the impact had knocked the wind from my lungs. I was completely helpless.
My ears were ringing. I couldn’t even hear if he was coming to finish the job. I just stared at the turbulent sea of clouds above me, and wondered if that was the last sight I would ever see.
“Max!” Lily’s voice sounded as though I were hearing it through a tunnel. Her face came into view, etched with concern for me.
Rolling over, I struggled to prop myself up into a crouch. The Diamond Dog lay motionless just past Lily, face down in the mud.
I fought for air, coughing and gasping. Lily turned away to check the street, and revealed a long, deep gash down her side.
“Are you hurt?” I croaked.
“I’m fine,” she said tersely. “How about you? Can you stand?”
I shakily rose to my feet while the rush of adrenaline was fading away. Every joint from my hips down protested; the pain surged in all at once.
“I’ll survive,” I managed. “But I need my bow. I left it back at the range.”
Lily nodded, and started up the road. “Stay close to me.”
I limped along behind her, struggling to keep pace as she darted between structures and around piles of rubble and debris. In the distance, the flames were dancing above the rooftops, barely stunted by the increasing tempo of the storm. Rain soaked through my clothes, and matted Lily’s mane. Where it ran off her back, it mingled with the blood seeping from her wound and left streaks of crimson on her coat.
We passed by an alleyway that connected to the town square. There was a crowd of desperate, terrified ponies gathered there. Applejack and Fluttershy hurried back and forth, trying to tend to the chaos. It seemed like the Diamond Dogs hadn’t managed yet to make it that far.
KABOOM!
An explosion sent us scurrying backward to avoid flying splinters and chunks of wood. Just ahead of us, a hut had ceased to be—one unfortunate Diamond Dog tumbled backward through what remained of the building’s smoldering rear wall. It made no effort to rise after it had ground to a stop.
Beyond the demolished home, Twilight stood facing us. Her eyes were glowing pure white, and her horn shimmered with energy. She wheeled around to confront another Diamond Dog that was charging up behind her, blasting him with a magical pulse which sent him sailing down the road and out of sight.
“Let’s go!” Lily urged. We set off again toward the outskirts of town.
“Twilight and her friends, they’re the Elements of Harmony or something, right? Can’t they stop this?” I asked.
“All together they would stand a chance, but they won’t be complete until Rainbow Dash can join them too.” Lily answered, without looking back.
“I hope Derpy finds her soon,” I said. Lily didn’t respond.
We managed to reach the archery range without further conflict, though the sounds of battle were never far away. The bow was still propped against the tree where I had left it, and I retrieved my arrows from the target downrange. I had a dozen arrows in one fist, and my bow in the other—I felt ready to take on anything, despite the throbbing pain in my legs.
“I’ll need a satchel to store the arrows,” I thought aloud. “I wonder where I left mine.”
“We’ll find you one. For now, we should head back to the town square,” Lily said. “I’m sure they could use our help.”
“Let’s rock,” I smirked.
Lily raised an eyebrow.
“Conceited fools,” bellowed a deep, commanding voice. “You thought that you could hide from my fury?”
Lily’s eyes widened with terror. We spun toward the source of the threat, as he hovered above the heart of New Ponyville. Powerful wings stirred the clouds, obscuring the serpentine figure behind tendrils of fog.
Dissonance had arrived.