//------------------------------// // The Fire Pt 1 // Story: Us Against the World // by Chelis //------------------------------// A farmer always had a sixth sense for everything, drought, harvest, a good time to plant, a good time to prepare for the worst. It was always passed down generations, and it usually told of impending doom. For the Apple family and Fluttershy, they felt it. Having lived by the forest’s mercy her whole life, Fluttershy felt it even worse. Big Macintosh and Fluttershy would feel it when they spend their time together, which interfered with their together time. That time, which they would usually spend holding each other and kissing, were now paralyzed them both in an uneasy feeling that something major was going to hit them, either a late summer rainstorm that will cause downed trees and bring hail the size of apples. Maybe it was the dry lighting that would cause the major forest fire. Either way, Fluttershy and the Apple Family were on edge, even to the point of double and triple checking their emergency go bags every day to make sure they were able to evacuate at a moment's notice. A day went by since the initial feeling of dread, then a few more, then a week to a month of the uneasy feeling between them. They eventually shrugged it off, since it probably was a false alarm, which happens usually since the afternoon thunderstorms usually caused them. Then, it came. It started in the news as a car starting a small brush fire fifty miles away, which was barely a blip in their local newspaper. After the third day, it exploded. The smoke was seen for miles around, the response to the fire was massive. Helicopters and airplanes flew over the town occasionally, an aircraft that the forestry service borrowed from the rest of the country. Thousands of firefighters across the nation joined in, in what was dubbed as the "Marble Fire". No one in town cared about the fire, since it was moving away from the town, and would burn up an unoccupied forest. It wasn’t untilthe wind shifted tothe opposite direction with hurricane force winds that people started to care. It was fifteen miles from the town a few days later, the land having been lost because no one expected the shift and having to move men, trucks, gear, and planning to a different path of the fire in an instant was something no one prepared for. The second the fire changed directions, the apple family went to work, loading up their animals in trailers and carrying them to relatives and away from danger. The process took many trips, most of them taking them all night. In the end their livelihood had been saved. When it was ten miles from town, the Apples were preparing to move into the evacuation center with the rest of the town. They assumed they would most likely lose everything, but at least everyone in town was accounted for. Except one. "Rarity, we ah the last ones, is anyone missing?" Applejack asked on her cell phone. The ash falling around them like a snow day from hell. "Well, everyone but Fluttershy," "So just Fluttershy?" Big Macintosh’s heart sank, looking at the looming plumes of smoke blanketing the sun to a bright orange. There was no question what his plan was, only how to not get caught doing it. Without anyone looking, he leashed Winona to the flatbed, making sure she didn't go after him. Dropped his backpack in echange for for the Apple family highlighter yellow medical bag. The family was about to head off into town when Big Mac prepared to make a run for it. He was right behind the truck, hiding from the rest of hisfamily as they were getting the last things they needed.. "Ya going to get her, big bro?" Applejack asked. He looked up to see his sister on the bed of the pickup, looking down at him. "Y-yes" "You like her, don't cha." "Yup." "And I can take a wild guess yall been seeing each other." Big macintosh nodded, looking at the hellish horizon. "Well then, I'll be honest. I'm glad to hear it. Y’all seemed pretty happy together lately. Well, I’ll drop off granny and Apple Bloom and come back with the ATV-" He didn't let her finish and bolted over the wooden fence and to the fire line. "Go get er', and ya both better come back alive, ya hear!" Applejack hollered. He ran through the tall grass to the fire line, while the fire trucks were slowly headed to the town to prepare for the fire fight to save the town.