The Most Dangerous Game

by uberPhoenix

Equestria as We Knew It (Be Rainbow)

[obstinateNarcoleptic created memo “Equestria as We Knew It”]

Panic is not a pleasant thing to feel. Your chest starts to violently heave, your breath comes in quick and ragged gasps, and every part of you feels numb.

Panic can hurt. A lot. But that’s not what makes it terrible. It’s the overwhelming fear, the shame, that feeling of helplessness that really gets to you. Because whatever made you panic isn’t something you can do anything about, or you would have done it already. You can’t help but feel weak and helpless. And then it starts to dawn on you that you can’t help but feel helpless, and you add that to the list of things out of your control. And then you start to realize you can’t control that list either.

And so on and so forth in a vicious cycle. Panic is when the whole world crashes down around you and won’t stop crashing.

The only way to get rid of panic is to do try and something about it anyway and try to make the best of a bad situation. Which is fine when you’re the only one involved. But when you’re watching it happen to someone else? When you’re far away in Ponyville and they’re in Canterlot? There really is nothing you can do. When that happens, you resort to the next best strategy. You find something to do and you tell yourself you’re helping, even if you think it has no chance of success.

The flexible eye of the PASTR spell had revealed the meteor to me moments before it struck. The large flaming ball of space rock was plummeting earthward directly above the tower. I scrambled for my book and scrawled a warning.

ON: get out twi
ON: do it
ON: now

Then I realized Twilight had left her book in her bedroom with the Alchemiter. I watched Twilight enter the lab, oblivious to the imminent danger she was in.

I didn’t know how much time I had. I did the only thing I could.

I flew.

I don't think I was actually expecting to reach Canterlot in time to save Twilight. Assuming the timer was counting down to the meteor, (and it seemed like far too much of a coincidence to be anything else,) I wasn't going to be able to reach Twilight in time. I was a fast flyer, but not that fast. I don't know what I was actually expecting to find or do.

There wouldn't be a shortage of work for me, however. Canterot had become a disaster area.

As it turns out, a meteor does a lot of damage when it hits, more damage than one would expect based on the size, because its speed and heat become energy. The term, Twilight would later tell me, is kinetic bombardment. The damage sustained by Canterlot was astronomical; the entire palace was rubble, and the shockwaves had spread out from the point of collision, collapsing buildings. I began to feel extremely heavy as I began to realize that there must be ponies trapped in there. All thoughts of Twilight vanished. She wasn't the only pony in trouble.

I think that, if it weren't for all the work to keep me occupied, my thoughts would have drifted back to Twilight. Instead, I flew down to the nearest building, which looked like a sweets shop of some sort. I began digging through the stones, which felt warm in my hooves. I shuddered as I realized that the heat from the meteor was likely being trapped underneath the piles.

Fortunately, I would later discover that Celestia and Luna had begun evacuating the city as quickly as they could in the last couple of minutes. Most of the ponies had escaped. But most is not all.

There. A flash of orange. I waded over and pulled somepony from the rubble.

I don't think I'd ever seen anypony more relieved. Pony Joe smiled at me.

A street down, I watched some members of the royal guard grab a pegasus and pull her out of the rubble. I realized that we were going to need all hooves on deck. In my haste, I had accidentally brought my pestertome with me, contained in the pouch Rarity had made to fit it. And if there was one thing we needed, it was a medic.

obstinateNarcoleptic [ON] began nickering panickyNaturalist [PN]

ON: fluttershy
ON: something bads happened
ON: canterlots in trouble
ON: ponies are hurt
ON: we need your medical skills
ON: fluttershy
ON: ?
ON: please tell me youre there
ON: we could really use your help
PN: oh.
PN: i’m sorry, rainbow dash.
PN: i’m a little distracted at the moment, so i didn’t notice you trying to reach me.
ON: great
ON: but we need you
ON: how fast do you think you can fly to canterlot
PN: canterlot?
PN: i’m sorry, rainbow dash.
PN: i really have my hooves tied at the moment.
PN: i understand that this is very important and ill be there as soon as i can.
ON: for ponys sake flutters whats so important that you cant help us out
ON: we need you out here
PN: i have a wounded animal that needs my help.
PN: i found the poor thing just outside my home, and it’s struggling to make it.
PN: i’m sorry, rainbow dash, but i refuse to let an innocent woodland creature die on the off chance i might be able to help you.
PN: i’ll be there as soon as i’m sure that the poor little thing is safe.
ON: but flutters
ON: these are ponies that are hurt
ON: not little pets that pass away all the time
ON: its the circle of life flutters
PN: HOW DARE YOU!
PN: COULDN’T YOU SAY THE SAME THING ABOUT PONIES?
PN: WHAT MAKES A PONY SO SPECIAL?
ON: ...wow
ON: im sorry
PN: oh my gosh.
PN: oh my gosh, i’m so sorry rainbow dash.
PN: i didn’t mean to do that just now.
PN: please don’t get angry with me...
ON: um
ON: its fine
ON: help your animal friend
ON: i hope it recovers
PN: me too!
PN: i've never seen anything like it before.
PN: its not a species of creature i recognize.
PN: i wonder what it looks like under that hard black shell it has.
ON: be careful fluttershy
PN: you too.

obstinateNarcoleptic [ON] ceased pestering panickyNaturalist [PN]

I tried to remember the layout of the streets. Assuming where I was right now used to be Pony Joe's sweet shop, the Canterlot castle couldn't be too far.

Unfortunately, the castle fared no better than the rest of the city. Worse, probably, since it was at the dead center of the collision. Instead of rubble, the surrounding materials had been ground into powder, or even melted into glass. The entire east wing had become one enormous crater.

“Rainbow Dash!” I heard a mare call my name from within the crater. I flew down and spotted Cadance, Twilight's sister-in-law.

“Thank goodness you're here,” she told me. I had noticed that she never resorted to the phrase “Thank Celestia,” perhaps because her actual blood relation to the princess had prevented her from seeing the princess as any sort of divine being. (If Celestia had ever noticed this behavioral quick, she didn't seem to mind. Although now I'm curious what the princess herself would say in such a situation. Or who's name she would cry out if things took a turn for the worse.)

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

I don't think I have ever asked a dumber question in my life. I spotted a frantic mare standing in the middle of a fresh meteor impact crater, and I asked her if there was a problem. No dip, Sherclop.

“Have you seen Shining?” she asked me, her voice betraying her desperation.

Shining Armor was Twilight's brother and Cadance's husband. “He wasn't with you?” I asked.

She shook her head. “We were in the first group to be evacuated, but he refused to leave. He had a duty as captain of the guard, he said, to get together as many ponies as possible, warn them, get them out. He's always selfless, always keeps his cool, even in danger. That's why he's the captain.”

“You must be proud,” I told her. What the hay else was I supposed to say?

She smiled. “I am. But don't get sentimental yet. Not until we know. Last I heard, he was coming to get Twilight. But he's not here, and neither is Twilight. And neither is the building.”

I felt my throat close up. I had seen Twilight in the final seconds before the meteor hit. I'd watched the countdown timer. But had she managed to escape in the precious moments between when I had left my post and when the meteor fell? Hopefully she'd be observant enough to teleport away. And Shining Armor was about as powerful as she was.

Just as I came to this conclusion, the pouch around my neck chimed. Cadance stared at the tome confusedly as I dragged it out and opened it.

Twilight. I hadn't even realized that I had been holding my breath. But now that I knew she was alive, things were looking good for Shining Armor and Cadance, too. Cadance looked over my shoulder as I began to write.

nebularOedipus [NO] began nickering obstinateNarcoleptic [ON]
NO Rainbow Dash!
ON: twi
ON: where in the name of celestia are you
ON: your part of the castle is completely gone
ON: i think the meteor pulverized it
NO The meteor?
NO But I stopped it! I solved the puzzle in time and I stopped it!
ON: you cant stop the meteors twi
ON: no one can stop the meteors
ON: but you can escape them i guess
NO ...What is that supposed to mean?
ON: i dunno
ON: it just seemed appropriate
ON: so where the hay are you then
ON: because really im just glad youre alive
NO I don't really know.
NO The spell transported me somewhere at the last moment, and it took the entire wing with it.
NO I'm in the Land of Pillars and Knowledge, although so far all I see are pillars.
ON: you would
ON: leave it to you to pick the nerdiest possible place to land
ON: if i were you id be in the land of awesome and awesome
NO And you'd be the Witch of Awesome too?
ON: what
ON: hay no
ON: witches are ugly and creepy and stuff
NO Thanks.
ON: id be the captain of awesome
ON: or the champion of kickass
ON: or something cool like that
NO Fortunately, I don't think you're going to get to be the anything of anything.
ON: what
ON: why not
NO Because you are not going to use the client spell.
NO I forbid it.
NO We are not going to summon another meteor.
ON: okay
ON: besides who would i connect with anyway
ON: there are only two of those records
ON: the only pony that could be the server is you
NO True.
NO So what's going on right now?
NO Are you still on the farm?
ON: no
ON: im in canterlot right now
ON: your meteor left quite the mess
NO Goodness!
NO Is anypony hurt?
ON: hurt yes
ON: dead no

I wasn't going include Shining Armor among the list of the dead, not until we knew for certain.

NO Thank every god!
NO I'll let you get back to the relief effort then.
NO I imagine there are quite a few ponies who could use your help.
ON: what about you
ON: what are you going to do
NO I'm going to explore this new land.
NO Find out why I was brought here.
NO I'll let you know if I find anything, alright?
ON: okay
ON: later twi

“This is a curious device,” Cadance commented. “Are you really speaking to Twilight with it? How are you certain she has not been replaced with an impostor?”

“You are really paranoid about impostors now, aren't you?” I asked her. She shrugged.

“If she's alive, might my Shining be with her?” she asked.

Good point. I put the pen back to paper.

ON: wait
NO Yes? I'm still here?
ON: have you seen shining armor
NO My brother?
ON: yeah
ON: cadance thinks he might be with you
ON: i hope he is because otherwise
ON: i just really hope hes with you
ON: we cant find him anywhere
NO I'll be on the lookout for him.
NO I trust him though. Regardless of whether he got carried with me or if he's still in Equestria, he's more than capable of taking care of himself.
NO I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up coming to my aid.
NO So chin up, okay? We'll find him.
NO We'll find him, I swear.
ON: okay twi
ON: this is probably another good reason to get back to exploring your surroundings
ON: theres work for me to do here
NO Okay, I'll gojmgfdsgfhgdf
ON: wait what
nebularOedipus [NO] ceased nickering obstinateNarcoleptic [ON]

A moment later, her name went gray, meaning Twilight wasn't at her book anymore.

“What happened to her?” Cadance asked me, but I didn't have any answers to give her.

ON: Respond when you read this

I wrote a response anyway, even though I already trusted her to explain herself. However, she had now earned a track record for not being particularly prompt with her responses, so another nudge couldn't hurt.

“Is it true that you and Twilight summoned this meteor?” Cadance asked.

“I don't know,” I truthfully answered. “I don't know anything. Twilight's looking for Shining, wherever she is. So let's keep looking for him here. After all, he's not the only pony who still needs help.”

I think we both needed some busywork.

[obstinateNarcoleptic closed memo “Equestria as We Knew It]

Be Twilight

Be Fluttershy

Be Rarity

I've Been Everypony

Comments

[flowandthought]

Noticed you used "hands" instead of "hooves" a couple times. Just saying.

[uberPhoenix]

889536

Thanks.

Also, nice username.