//------------------------------//
// Pulled In Too Deep 
// Story: Gryphon Problems 
// by Scootaleuz 
//------------------------------//

I was confused. Why was everypony…… gone? Ponyville looked perfect; nothing out of place, everything in tip-top condition. Yet, nopony was here. Why? I decided to do a fly-by, just in case. My wings hurt from being crumpled all that time in her bed, but I managed to get off the ground. Then, I noticed something. I hit smoke instead of clouds. So, this is why everypony was missing! I still didn’t get it though. There should be some damage, some destruction, right? I mean, it IS a dragon we’re talking about. Where’s the demolition? I did a fly-by of all of Ponyville, but still didn’t see anyone. After a while, my foggy brain noticed something. Why were there holes in the ground? They were sealed shut, with iron doors. Man, I really didn’t get it. So I flew down to investigate. I knocked once, nopony answered. I was about to leave, when a pony surfaced, wearing a mask of some kind. 

“Pinkie?”, I thought aloud. Before I could say anything else, she pulled me down the hole quickly. Quickly enough for me to clip my wing on the door. Pinkie immediately closed the door, locked it twice, and turned on the air lock. I would’ve asked more questions, if Pinkie hadn’t of taken me through another iron door, I think for the air lock. To my bewilderment, everypony was there. Pinkie, Twilight, AJ, even Rarity and Fluttershy were there. Without saying a word, they gave me a mask. I put it on, without thinking about it. I had a lot of other thinking to do. I started asking questions, but Twilight put a hoof to my lips. “It’s all fine. You will be sent to trial soon.”

“Trial?”, I asked. “What’s trial? Why are you all down here? Why am I down here?”. Twilight looked disappointed. “We’ll explain it all soon. Now, follow me. You have a lot of explaining to do”.

I followed Twilight and the rest of my friends to a white, sterile room. A drastic change from the dirty and unkempt tunnels I walked through earlier. There was nothing the room but two chairs, a table, a window covered by some shutters, and an apple. I was instructed to sit down, and I did. My mind was buzzing, and fast. I still didn’t know what happened after I kicked the dragon, or how long I was holed up in my bedroom. Twilight sat opposite me, and the others stood by her side. Twilight held up the apple. “Do you see this, Rainbow?, she asked. I was just glad that they still knew who I was, so I didn’t really answer. After a moment, Twilight continued. “This is one of our last apples. Due to your recklessness. we have been forced to retreat underground, along with the rest of Ponyville.” She opened the shutters at the other side of the window, and gave me a glimpse into what life was like down here.

There was a large room on the other side, devoid of furniture. Ponies sat on the ground floor, nothing but half a bread slice in front of them. Everypony looked and acted miserable. There was no noise, but the occasional crying foal. “This is……… awful.”, I stammered. “W-What happened?” “You don’t know?”, asked Fluttershy. There was no emotion in her voice. Just like the underground facility, I suppose. Twilight answered Fluttershy. “She was……… away from us, for a while.” She then turned her attention to me. “Do you see what you’ve caused? This is why you’re on trial. I am the judge. Fortunately for you, it will be a quick trial. The verdict is……. mostly decided.” I paused for a minute, sinking everything in. “Can you just tell me what happened?”, I asked. 

“After you kicked the dragon, it stormed out from the cave. Then, you fled.” Oh boy, I thought. Another Twilight Sparkle lecture. Somehow, I could remember all the times in the castle that Twilight lectured me. I wondered if the castle was still standing. Of course, I thought, everything else was. Twilight continued, “But the dragon didn’t attack. All it did was move to a new cave, this time on the outskirts of Las Pegasus. It kept moving whenever we caught up to it. Spread smoke everywhere.”. Like Fluttershy, there was no emotion whatsoever. Where had THAT gone? Maybe I’ll never know. “With the smoke in the air, we couldn’t grow food. The problem in the Lion & Eagle factions repeated itself, all over Equestria. Smoke also means we can’t breathe correctly. Many ponies have suffocated, thanks to you, Rainbow.” Twilight Sparkle paused for a second, and so did my thoughts. “Hello? Rainbow Dash? I don’t think you realize the magnitudes of your actions.”. I was so lost in thought, as I was often back then, that I stopped listening for a bit. Happens every time Twilight lectures, I guess. She started again. “Everypony is now underground, to prevent from suffocation. Celestia & Luna are in the Canterlot bunker. Cities like Cloudsdale, in the sky, don’t have bunkers. Most bunkers, including Ponyville’s, refused to let pegasi in, for fear of overpopulation & starvation. This includes Gilda. Nopony knows where she is, or even if she survived.”, Twilight finished. So much information was dropped on me, all at once. I couldn’t handle it. So I did what I always do. I ran.