Millennia: Eye of the Storm

by Thunderblast

45. Into the Eye of the Storm - Part III

Down seemingly endless flights of stairs whose structural integrity was jeopardized from the initial quake, the two Marines hastily started ushering frightened employees out of the damaged tower. High pitched one-tone alarms sounded throughout the lobby, reverberating off the fractured windows and walls in an ear-piercing manner as they ordered evacuation.

When Ashfall and Nightpath reached the lobby, a second, much stronger tremor launched its attack against the already-crippled city. Lights powered by backup generators flickered, leaving the ground floor in temporary veils of darkness as the shaking intensified.

A harmony of screaming and crying deafened the building's alarms as ponies in the tens squeezed out every possible exit, some even kicking out large glass panes to create other alternatives out to help frightened employees escape quicker. Chips of stone rained in pebbles while cracks licked along the high ceiling, threatening to drop weakened sections of the floor onto fleeing ponies and result in dozens of casualties.

Acknowledging the looming danger, both earth ponies opted against leaving until everyone was safely outside. Even then, they were unsure moving civilians out into the elements would be the wiser choice. Chunks of debris smashed into the ground as buildings of older construction crumbled and collapsed under their own weight, producing a hectic outdoor environment. Fire hydrants not previously affected burst one by one with jets of water shooting up two or three stories from the release of pressure, running newly-formed streams along curbs and inadvertently creating a monsoon across the island.

Water from ruptured pipes spilled down into the GenTech lobby, gradually gathering along the tiled floor with nowhere to go and creating a new hazard when snapped wiring still live with electricity hung dangerously close to the flood and dozens of ponies trying to make their way out.

"Ash, wires!" called Night warningly, glancing over the rushing crowds at his fellow Marine.

"On it!" Ash responded. Leaving his post near the door in replacement for a security guard, the moss-green stallion splashed his way to the utility room in the basement in search of the building's electrical breakers.

Anxious anticipation gripped the draft stallion as his attention darted between the hanging wires and the ponies running past him in a panic. Some of the unicorns among the crowd whisked up forcefields that protected small groups clustered near them while others unable to do so made use of briefcases to shield their heads from pieces of concrete raining upon them.

Moments later, the whole of the lobby went almost pitch black, signalling the electricity having been successfully manually cut by Ashfall. Frightened screams caused by the abrupt loss of power forced Night to pin his ears, and while the threat of mass electrocution had been eliminated, a new danger arose. Without light, the thinning herd of employees had instances of ponies stumbling over fallen objects or each other and added to the panic.

Night's ears perked to the cracking of cement above him. Lifting his gaze, he noted of a large concrete slab sinking, threatening to crush a mare who had tripped upon climbing out from under the receptionist's desk, unsuspecting of the danger. His dark cores shrunk to pinpricks, jumping straight to action as the chunk of ceiling started to give way.

Looking up just in time to see the piece of the above floor coming down, the buttermilk unicorn screamed and closed her eyes, raising her hoof in hopes that it would do something to protect her. Instead, Night leaped over the terrified mare and stood tall with his head dipped defensively. The heavy slab struck his spine and shoved his lower half down, forcing a pained bellow out of him. Despite the impact potentially causing significant damage to his back, the brown draft stallion continued to stand over the mare long enough to bark one last order.

"Go, get out of here!" he shouted through clenched teeth in repeat of his earlier encounter with her, except in a protective manner. Without hesitation or a single word spoken apart from a terrified sound, the unicorn scrambled to her hooves and rushed out the exit.

Finally, Night's forehooves lost balance, slipping out from under him. His chest splashed into the inch of pooling water, chin cracking the tile beneath and emanating a guttural noise as the second blow left him stunned. Eyes shut and teeth gritted, the dark-coated earth stallion weakly squirmed on the floor, half pinned beneath the broken slab settled across his rear. At that point, all he could do was shield himself with both hooves wrapped atop his crown and pray a loose girder doesn't finish him off.

"Night!" cried Ash, rushing from the stairwell doorway to his friend's side after having taken immediate notice of his situation. He grabbed one piece of the slab and tossed it sideways almost effortlessly, proceeding to slide the other off Night's flank and hinds until they were freed.

Ichor from the stallion's chin trickled into the water, producing a thin stream of sanguine originating from his muzzle in the pooling water. With his eyes hardly cracked open, Night blinked slowly. Though utterly stupefied from hitting himself on the hard surface and potentially internally wounded along his lower half, he was still very much alive.

Bringing the stallion's hoof up around the back of his neck, Ash worked the draft pony up to carry him out of the building, even as the shaking noticeably began to diminish, signalling the near end of the second event at long last. "Come on, buddy. Let's get you out of here."

***

"Easy does it..." grunted the stocky earth stallion in full firefighter's gear, easing down his end of the gurney until it gently met the ground.

Laying down the other end, I stood back up, glancing over the bleeding, quietly-sobbing mare laying on it. She pressed a cloth to her forehead to clean up the red that painted a quarter of her face down to her muzzle, holding it over top a gash cut open by a shard of glass fallen from a nearby building.

Plucking off his helmet, the taller stallion wiped his dusty sleeve across his sweat-slicked forehead before placing the piece back atop his crown and tipping it at me. "Thanks for your help."

I gave a single nod in return. "Of course. Anything else I could do?"

"Tell you what, there's some water by the generator. Would you mind going around with it?"

"I would be happy to." I smiled softly, starting toward the single diesel-powered generator keeping the area well-lit.

"One bottle per, that's what we are restricted to right now until we get our hooves on some more," the firepony called, tending to another pony in the midst of a panic attack, kneeling beside and attempting to console him.

Near the edge of the tiny relief camp sat most of the gathered resources necessary to support a few hundred to a thousand at a time. Alas, with a city of millions in need of the drastically limited amount of first responders' aid, not everypony in the hundreds that passed by every few minutes could have what little food and water we had. Despite word of ships carrying supplies from neighboring cities inbound and due to arrive overnight, it was uncertain whether or not they would be able to. Trotterdam Tower's beacon lights were intended to serve as a lighthouse for arriving vessels, but in the wake of its collapse, nothing shined skyward, and with the vast majority of maritime guidance stations out of service or completely destroyed, our ships had been sailing blind in the dark and will continue to be until dawn arrives.

Orders by a police sergeant taking command were that only those with moderate to severe injuries receive adequate treatment with the available supplies. It was a tough decision on her part, one neither of us working around the place keeping it running fully agreed with, though sacrifices had to be made. To our relief, no rioting had sprung up as a result as one would expect in such a calamity. I imagine it won't be long before there is, however.

Taking a pack of sixteen plastic bottles and cutting open the wrapping for easy access, I began carrying it around on my back, handing out water after water to victims scattered about either standing, sitting, or laying down. It was advised of them to conserve as much of it as possible while supplies dwindled. However, it wasn't required of them to follow instructions in any way.

Some forty or fifty ponies occupied the camp for aid, the grand majority of which suffering some type of treatable wounds with a few in between inflicted with borderline life-threatening injuries. The sight was absolutely sickening, even to those with a stomach of steel. Blood was tolerable, knowing how many times I've seen it just in the past twelve months alone. It was the more severe lacerations and gorier afflictions where areas beneath the flesh were showing. A couple of times I found myself gagging, threatening to lose a lunch I never had.

One of the younger fireponies working actually did, utilizing a nearby fissure to dispose of his contents without contaminating the environment above ground. The last thing we needed to be concerned about was the spread of disease, which was bound to happen as well in the state of total discord mercilessly gripping the region.

On top of that, only a select few radios were usable for first responders to communicate. Even then, frequency connection was spotty at best and transmission disruptions were all too common. It sparked concern, though not nearly as much as my own. Heavy doubt in my mind told me no police officer and no firefighter was truly aware of the situation, and despite the urgency of it all, the disaster and its severity inflicted across the general populace came first and foremost.

Without the helmet from the skydive, I wouldn't know if Lieutenant Snow Storm had been attempting contact since landing some nine hours ago, and once more I was separated from my platoon and short of proper orders from Hardstaff. While I was, in fact, helping out where summoned, I felt an overbearing perception that my presence was gravely needed elsewhere.

But where could I go? I lacked the trust in myself to fly across the river after narrowly surviving a fall without a parachute on a literal wing and a prayer. Subway tunnels around the city were caved in or at risk of, and word came that the main thoroughfare bridges leaving Manehattan Island were severed by the first quake with some rumors sliding that their peculiar similarly-timed destruction rather was caused by reported detonations of sorts, leading to my own personal speculation that Armet strictly does not want anypony leaving, whatever his next intentions may be.

Passing out water to the victims taken in was a part of the simpler tasks, one that was also satisfactory. It brought warmth to my heart to be helping these poor ponies who have quite possibly lost everything, providing a temporary shelter until support from neighboring areas is able to reach us and the process of full-scale recovery initiates. I paused to help one colt shaking like a leaf take gentle sips from his bottle, his voice rendered gravelly from dire thirst. Over no more than a minute, he was able to speak without coughing up a lung. He and his accompanying mother showed individual appreciation by giving quick hugs, which I promptly returned. It was small things like these that made me proud to serve.

However, the spurt of fulfillment was abruptly ended by the intermittent beeping of the ham radio set up inside the main tent, sounding an emergency tone that I recognized immediately. The two police officers and five firefighters around the small camp immediately stopped what they were doing and gathered under the cover to listen to the transmission. I didn't have to go very far to hear what was said with the volume being as high as it was. In that instance, as I stood up from the mare and her foal, the tension in the air went static.

"Attention all maritime operators and emergency responders in the area. At 1740 local time, the Coast Guard station at Point Haven is reporting buoy anomalies approximately fifty-two nautical miles due east-northeast of the city and port of Manehattan. Large scale tidal wave imminent as a result of major seismic disturbances in the region. Any and all vessels in the Port of Manehattan are advised to sail eastward or upstream before the wave crests and makes landfall. A tsunami warning is also being issued immediately for much of the north and south coast neighboring the city of Manehattan, and tsunami advisories are in effect from Alderneigh to Horseshoe Bay. Waves are expected to top forty to over forty-five meters within the hour. Civilians near the coast are gravely ordered to move inland as quickly as possible."

At that, the message began to repeat itself, albeit drowned out this time by the sudden chatter between police officers and firefighters discussing a plan. With the predicted height of the tsunami, where we now stood in Manehattan will be completely washed away by roughly one hundred and fifty feet of rushing seawater. Many low-rise structures would be submerged instantly, and skyscrapers weakened by the two quakes wouldn't stand a chance against the momentum of that much water crashing into them.

As if the situation could not get any worse, it did, as we now had tens of immobilized wounded to move out of harm's way in such a limited time window, not to mention the hundreds of others currently heading the opposite direction of the advised evacuation route, oblivious to the newly-announced threat.

Just as the arguing had begun inside the tent, a stern voice bellowed above the ambiance of the surrounding crowds. Glancing in the direction of the new voice, my sights fell upon a golden earth pony whose coat spectacularly shimmered with the texture of crystals. His armor, a purplish silver with the gloss of diamonds, represented the uniform of the Crystal Empire Royal Guard. Ponies halted in their tracks, turning their undivided attention to him as he stood tall atop an abandoned taxi carriage and boomed with an authoritative, yet soliciting demeanor.

"On behalf of the orders of Prince Shining Armor, any and all able and ready unicorns are requested to muster at Batterneigh Park as soon as possible. Time is of the essence! If you wish to volunteer, keep moving east. The rest of you, especially pegasi and earth ponies, follow the designated evacuation routes and head inland, as far away from the ocean as possible!"

***

“Command, this is Gibbous. Do you read me? Over.”

Silence was all that returned. Not even the slightest of static.

Grunting in frustration, Fair Winds brought the receiver back to his muzzle in yet another attempt. “Command, this is Gibbous. Do you read me? Over!”

Again, no response. The radio was still dead after hours of tinkering, fried beyond repair by the electromagnetic pulse. Furiously, the turquoise stallion threw down the receiver hard enough to crack the plastic.

"Fucking hell..." he said in exasperation, rubbing his forehead. "No surface radar, no VHF... nothing."

"Captain, sir," began the quartermaster, shining a dying flashlight over his work station. "If we can't change course or escape the wave, we will wash up somewhere in Manehattan. Perhaps a few miles inland."

"I am acutely aware of this, Petty Officer. But I'm afraid there isn't much we can do from here on out. Even if we do restore power and attempt to realign the ship's stability, what's stopping us from capsizing at the slightest of adjustments?" Fair Winds remarked, before turning his attention out the window to the Aphelion, trapped beside their vessel along the front of the tidal wave. A faint light cast upon either ship as the distant sky gave birth to dawn light of the approaching sunrise. "It's a miracle we haven't already."

"What do you suggest we do then, Captain? Two hundred and eighteen of us on board. Combined that's roughly four hundred lives at stake!" queried the officer of the deck, desperately seeking orders, as were just about anypony else on board.

With a stern tone, the commanding officer glanced between the silhouetted sailors on the bridge. "Start prepping the crew for when we make landfall. We get as close to Manehattan or directly into as quartermaster predicts, there will be plenty of shit we'll make contact with that will cause hull damage. If we start taking on water at any given time, we damn might as well have the crew topside to jump overboard should the time call for it."

***

Sweeping the block one final time, ensuring no soul lingered about and headed west, my patrols looped me back around to the vacant camp. There, only those working by my side previously to tend to the wounded, now striving to make sure everypony left safely and orderly, remained. While some ponies still strolled by, they moved in the direction instructed and no arguments of anyone trying to go into the danger rather than away from it were created.

Compared to how it was a mere half hour ago, the block in which the camp was set up on now sat strictly void of life. Where crowds once streamed past in routes to leave the island, perhaps one or two stray civilians hurried by, running for their lives ahead of the flood.

Emergency protocol ordered a prioritized evacuation of the wounded, particularly the severely injured. As such, the forty or so ponies we had taken charge in caring for were quickly airlifted by pegasi paramedics due to conditions being too hazardous for a helicopter to squeeze between the buildings and land. That, and it would kick up a blinding dust that would slow efforts to a crawl. With little time to work with, the last thing we needed was something like that.

"Area's clear from what I can tell," I reported to the sergeant, gathered with another officer and a firepony.

"Excellent." She nodded once, looking between us three. "Our work here is done, gentlecolts."

"Ma'am, what about the supplies? Not all of it has been moved, we can't afford to lose more of our scarce resources," the firepony remarked, pointing his hoof to the small collection of boxes and packs of water stacked a couple yards away.

The mare officer shook her head. "No time, Hydrant. Civilians first, then ourselves. That wave is coming in faster than a bullet. One more second spent moving shit that ain't breathing and don't have a family is one less second we have ahead of certain death. Now, all of you, get yourselves someplace safe."

At her orders, her fellow officer threw up a firm salute. Hydrant tipped his helmet. I gave a nod, then a respectful salute. Regardless of what she was, the mare held authority over us, and she outranked me anyway.

The four of us parted ways. All three started moving west, further away from the shore. But me, I headed straight for it. Prince Shining Armor ordered unicorns to the park at the east end of the island, evidently with a plan that could save the city. I myself had orders to leave, though nothing stopped curiosity from its will on my body.

On approach to Batterneigh Park, it became increasingly difficult to navigate as the crowds thickened. Most of these ponies were unicorns, with the exceptions of a few pegasi and earth ponies in the mix. Despite the mass evacuations, it seemed interest in observing gripped a large number of frightened civilians in the same manner as it did me.

Pulling up as far as I could go and as close as possible, my sights raised above the wide collection of heads and horns of varying length, setting upon a tall, snow-white stallion with a mane of two-toned blues, bright and dark, bouncing gently to the ocean breeze, his figure somewhat silhouetted by the coming sunrise.

"That wave will kill thousands if we don't do anything to stop it!" bellowed the Crystal Prince, pointing a hoof seaward, his assertive yet phlegmatic voice carrying over the expansive crowd of unicorns all shapes and size, military and civilian, with equal weight and volume.

"I am going to form a shield, but I won't nearly be strong enough to bear the weight of the water. Its momentum alone will shatter it upon impact. It is a lot to ask for, but I need everypony to put everything they've got into holding the shield for me! Pick a panel and stick with it!"

A barricade of police and fire formed a tight meat wall along the rear of the gathering to keep others out. Those not participating had firmly asked us, even ordered to leave the area. Among the discord sprung up some fights where friends or family begged their loved ones to run with them and not stay behind as volunteers. It was somewhat harrowing to say the least. Despite all of the conflict, all of the turmoil, these brave souls stayed put.

Hundreds. Thousands. Never before had I seen so many unicorns in one spot at one time. There simply had to have been twice as many mustered at Batterneigh Park than there are residing in Canterlot as a whole. It was truly an astonishing sight to see.

Most of the other bystanders were frozen by fear or acknowledged running wouldn't matter should the plan fail. By now, any unicorn or earth pony still in lower Manehattan couldn't escape the flooding streets in time, even if the shield did buy them a minute or two. The only escape route was up, and frankly, none of the surrounding skyscrapers were stable enough to take refuge in. At this point, I could have flown away for my own safety, but what kind of a coward would that make me?

Minutes later, the water along the edge of Batterneigh started to lower. Whichever way one looked, you could see the mouths of either river and their heavy contents beginning to drain into the Antlertic, pulling islands of debris having fallen into them. Stationary boats unable to get upstream in time struck the ocean floor as waters completely receded, feeding the gigantic wave cresting the eastern horizon, shadowed by the rising sun off in the distance. As it drew nearer, it engulfed the sun, casting Manehattan in darkness once more.

Ponies stranded on their beached watercrafts made a run for it while they had time, including members of the Coast Guard whose own small boats were unable to elude the draining harbor's will and scraped against solid ground. A thick layer of quicksand-like mud that thirty, in some spots even fifty feet of ocean once covered made efforts to escape difficult and trapped some unable to fly or teleport their way to safety.

Some weren't ready to watch those innocents be washed away. Quick-thinking pegasi heroically raced out to those stuck and returned them to shore, and soon, essentially everypony not airborne was safe and sound—for now.

The light blue irides of Shining Armor glared right at the face of furious nature. He knew the odds were ultimately against him, and everypony standing by his side. His confidence in their ability to save Manehattan from being washed off the map and potentially millions of lives being lost had only two possible outcomes. The risks were there, but, nothing else could be done to stop the oncoming danger.

"Ready?!" he shouted, voice booming over the low rumble as he gave one last glance over his shoulder to the horde of reluctant, yet confident ponies backing him up.

It was an astounding sight indeed. Tens of unicorns, potentially in the hundreds—thousands, even—ignited their horns in preparation. The combined noise of magic casting echoed for blocks. Shining Armor's horn lit up in its bright magenta hue, sitting idle as he waited for the right moment.

The wave roared, its mighty rumble quaking the ground beneath our hooves and rattled surrounding buildings, even breaking windows weakened by the two prior tremors. Some ponies ducked and covered, believing it was the start of another aftershock. Many of those who stayed to watched the wave took off in all directions as it approached and gathered height as it reached shallower waters.

Pegasi instinctively snatched up random ponies off of the ground and began carrying them to nearby rooftops as a last ditch effort to move others out of harm's way. A few of them were quick enough to make more than one run, or able to carry two or three ponies at a time. Most of the stronger pegasi consisted of Marines, firefighters, police officers, and even some of Shining Armor's crystal guards.

One could feel the overall fear of ponies rise as the wave grew larger, mere seconds away from making landfall. Boats large and small shoaled by the waters receding were picked up along the front of the wave or completely smashed upon impact, or vanished beneath the surface with no signs of coming back up.

"Now!" boomed Shining Armor. Like a bullet shot from a sidearm, an aural beam of arcane magenta shot forward, powering a barrier thin as paper yet strong as titanium that stretched both horizontally and vertically to compensate the tsunami's width and height. It stretched along the coast as far as the eye could see, effectively guarding every last inch of Manehattan from north to south.

Only seconds later, the combined onomatopoeia of magic casting loudly reverberated off the Manehattan skyline. A rainbow of alternating color struck the bubble at once, thickening and reinforcing it with the might of tens of hundreds. The blinding light produced forced many behind them shielded their eyes long enough to adjust, including myself.

Every pony braced for impact. The total momentum water's high-speed collision along miles of pure magical energy was powerful enough to shove the entire barrier back three and a half feet, digging up mud along the bottom that cemented it in place. Like a bomb had been detonated, it shook the earth, startling many. Efforted grunts emanated throughout the crowd as some of the weaker unicorns present struggled to hold their designated panel with equal strength as the rest.

Water climbed along the side of the vertically-sloping shield as the sea behind the start of the wave began to collect with nowhere else to go but up. It rose many stories over us, blanketing the park in total darkness. Terrified innocents screamed, bracing themselves to be swept away at any moment when the forcefield breaks. I even ducked beside another stallion, half protectively covering him. Come to my surprise, however, nothing happened, compelling me to look up and around.

"Th-that's it!" shouted Shining Armor through a mixture of a groan and a grunt, his eyes tightly shut as he focused every bit of energy in him to holding the shield. "Just... nnngh... a little while longer!"

As if the tsunami itself wasn't enough, many of the marine vessels carried along with it—including the Gibbous and the Aphelion at the mercy of the wave—smashed into the barrier with enough force to crush their hulls inward. The Aphelion struck bow-first at a thirty-degree angle, sending the stern spinning sideways to impact seconds after.

Consequently, the destroyer's bow was rendered downright unrecognizable; the steel twisted many tens of feet sideways with stress cracks lining the starboard. Its momentum as it struck was even strong enough to bend its mast at the center point toward the shield, where it crashed against, leaving cracks in the bubble, like after shooting at ballistic glass.

Somehow, against all odds and the crushing weight of multiple ships and millions of tons of tsunami moving at the speed of a freight train, the shields held strong. A shadow loomed across the park as fifteen stories of ocean sloshed terrifyingly against the enormous bubble. With a burst of additional energy depositing into the shields by more unicorns opting to join in on the efforts, the fractures gradually healed until they were no more, and at long last, the ships and everything else caught and tossed like toys slowly shifted away from the shield as some of the ocean had already begun to recede back out to sea. As a result, the bow of the Aphelion dipped below the gigantic wave's surface as it took on water, but proceeded no further than to swallow the forward weather deck as it bobbed gently along the top.

After a five-minute battle, one that seemed to last much longer and defied all likelihood and possibly physics as we knew it, the signal came for ponies to lay off. The forcefield was now stable enough to sustain the tsunami's weight long enough for it to fully withdraw.

A multitude of unicorns came dangerously close to passing out from prolonged use that spent most of the magical energy within them, yet their weakened state did nothing to quell the unified cheering that erupted throughout all of lower Manehattan. It was a miracle. By the valiant acts of hundreds of civilians, ones that could have instead long left and watched as their home was wiped clean off the map, we were all saved, as well as hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions more beyond.

***

Soft, polite and brief slurps were among the few noises in the quiet control room as the maroon unicorn savored a mug of fresh coffee, suspended midair by his own blue sparkling aura gripping the handle. After each swig, the scheming stallion would temporarily place the all-white cup on a levitating coaster beside his chair as he worked.

It was merely a minor setback losing his pulse device. The damage to vital infrastructure had been done, though much of his plan was now in jeopardy with the looming threat of widespread flooding that would most certainly delay the next step on the list. The notion of further obstruction caused a headache for him, both figuratively and literally as thought after thought pondering moves on the board in his one-player game of chess processed through his riled genius.

When the elevator doors at the rear of the expansive room opened, down trotting one of his trusted skippers, he rubbed his temple in annoyance as the migraine intensified to the added noise.

"S-sir, Prince Shining Armor has rallied the city's unicorns at Batterneigh Park! They are stopping the tsunami!" the stallion announced as he pulled up short of his commander's station.

Swiveling his chair, Armet Mace stood, looking somewhat surprised. "Pull up eyes of the park at once. I want to see it myself!"

In the immediate seconds following his order, the main digital monitor in front of the room lit up with a singular screen of colored miniature drone footage hovering near the park, situated high enough up to where the majority of the area and the hundreds of unicorns mustered below now came into view for everypony present.

The sight was absolutely spectacular. A sturdy wall of pure magical energy in a shade of dark magenta half as high as a skyscraper had been placed down in the bone-dry harbor stood tall with perhaps a thousand or more individual beams shooting from every unicorn gathered below, putting everything they had in them to sustain the shield against the massive tidal wave's weight and the many large vessels being shoved into it.

In his years of witnessing some truly astonishing moments, particularly his own scientific breakthroughs, this one, by far, left Armet in total shock and awe. For a good two minutes, there were no words spoken by anypony in the control room. Everyone had paused in what they were doing simply to watch the scene unfold before their very eyes, as well as occur right above their heads. A waging war between the power of nature and pony gradually leaned in favor of the latter.

With his mind cleared enough to finally form a response, shifting to his next thought process, Armet muttered audibly, "All that magic..." he chuckled darkly afterward. "Look at all of it. Isn't it just beautiful?"

Blinking in utter disbelief as he too watched, unable to look away from the screen, Armet's skipper nodded slowly. "It is, sir."

A wily grin crossing his muzzle, without removing his eyes from the screen, the maroon stallion addressed for all to hear, "Commence phase two!"

***

Hours past dawn, and once waters receded to a safe level, the shield incrementally lifted to let the rivers to steadily fill on their own and securely grant transportation via boat to mainland Equestria. Any vessel large and small not damaged from beaching or untouched by the tsunami itself was then utilized for evacuation efforts by mandate.

Having since handed off Nightpath to medical personnel to treat his injuries sustained in the second quake, Ashfall took up volunteer work in the endeavor to move shaken civilians to designated locations in surrounding areas of the city. While greatly concerned for his friend and battle-buddy's well-being, aiding fellow Marines and first responders came before even himself, and he knew the help was desperately needed.

"The Harmony Island Ferry, commonly known amongst Manehattaners to routinely shuttle ponies to and from the Statue of Harmony, has now been transformed into an emergency transport vessel to move civilians trapped on Manehattan Island across the river, where a large relief camp has been set up at the joint naval base in Bronclyn," addressed a news reporter of a local station, stood tall before a camera mounted atop his companion's shoulder, at one of the boarding docks where a double-decker ferry sat idle, taking on as many ponies it could carry at one time and undoubtedly occupying more than it was built to handle.

"With train service suspended, and all bridges in shambles, taking a boat is currently the only way off the island. For those of you watching this broadcast that may own any type of watercraft larger than a jet ski, Mayor Gold Pendant orders it be indefinitely commandeered by the Coast Guard and Lunar Navy, as help is, for the time being, a scarce commodity in our fair city."

In a shift of his immediate attention, the moss-coated earth pony took notice of the pegasus off to the side of the line. He briefly abandoned his post to approach the two and request they follow instructions. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to board the ferry. It is imperative to your safety that you do."

The reporter glanced over his shoulder, spinning to directly face the stallion and having to slightly look up in order to make eye contact. "Not yet, we aren't done here!" he sternly protested.

Ash narrowed his reddish irides on to the slightly shorter greyish-blue pegasus, speaking with an authoritative, condescending tone. "On the ferry, now! I won't ask again."

Not intimidated by the Marine who, overall, was physically larger, the pegasus scoffed, gesturing to his camerapony. Lowering the device from his shoulder, the duo reluctantly proceeded to file in with the tightly-packed cluster of civilians squeezing onto the boat as ordered.

At the blow of a whistle on an officer's person, Marines untied the vessel from its moors, allowing it to drift away from the jetty. With aid from its rudders, it turned slowly, aiming for the opposite side of the massive waterway. Once a safe distance from the shoreline, its twin engines hummed to life and began propelling it to the other shore.

As Ash turned focus back to his duties, he was stopped by a familiar voice calling his name from somewhere amidst the crowd. Glancing in the direction it originated, his gaze set upon two sailors looping around a line of dust-covered civilians.

"Anchor, Silver? Ah, thank fuck!" Ash hooked a swift arm around the pegasus' neck, bringing him into a rough, cordial hug, patting his back firmly before backing off with a hoof placed on his shoulder. "Didn't think you guys would be back so soon."

"Yeah, neither did we," commented Silver, visibly shaken and wiping down his blouse.

"I heard there was a huge ass tsunami, but Shining Armor was still in town, and he—"

"We know, Ash. We were there."

The moss stallion blinked twice, bewildered. "You... were?"

Anchorage gave a curt nod of his head. "Had to abandon ship 'cause it was takin' on water in the harbor. Carried Silver off the stern chopper pad, and we had to fly high up to cross the forcefield."

In realization, Ash's eyes widened. "So you were... damn. Are you hurt?"

Silver shook his head firmly. "No, surprisingly."

A pair of ice blue cores glared cold daggers at the beige unicorn. "Speak for yourself, I'm gonna be sore for a whole week!" retorted Anchorage, rubbing a shoulder bruise under his sleeve caused by a flying tool. He softened his glare, looking back at Ash. "Where's Night? Weren't you with him?"

The moss stallion softly grunted at that. "Being treated at Joint Base Manehattan's relief camp. Dumbass jumped under a falling beam to protect somepony, probably broke his spine. I hope he didn't, obviously, but he could have."

"Shit..." was all the pegasus' could say as his gaze faltered, half stunned hearing this news.

Silver cocked his head a little, briefly studying the taller pony's form for notable differences. "What about you? Are you okay?"

Ash gave an affirming, yet unsure-of-himself nod. "As well as I can be right now, just trying to move the—"

"Look out!"

At the sudden call-out, the Marines and few sailors posted along the dock ducked down as something faster than a bullet whisked over them. No more than a second later, a massive explosion rocked the jetty, completely engulfing the ferry not even halfway across the river.

Countless from the shoreline observed in absolute horror as flames spread out in a shockwave as far as ten feet from the ferry's hull across the water, dispersing into smoke, while a towering ball of fire wider than the watercraft itself rose skyward, and pieces of the ferry flew every which way, ejected many hundreds of feet airborne by the explosion. Screams of all sorts confusingly came from all around as innocents scattered. Ponies that managed to survive on the ferry leaped off into the water to douse the flames eating at their coat and flesh, but it wasn't to last. Leaked fuel and oil spreading out from the boat's tanks instantly ignited the water surface, essentially trapping those still on board.

The pained cries of those burning alive struck every Marine and sailor present with a mutual weight. Uncovering and lifting his head, Ashfall's stupefied sights refused to flick away from the ferry, having only moments prior been carrying nearly two hundred with not one of those souls expecting it. His ears tried to pin back as hurt gripped his essence, but were ultimately stopped inside his helmet.

Four pegasus Marines lined up along the edge, preparing to fly over and pull survivors to safety, only to be stopped by a staff sergeant's order to stay put, assuring there was nothing that could be done. To their disconcert, the pegasi reluctantly moved back from the water as they were instructed.

Along Ash's side, both Anchorage and Silver Edge also watched much less in horror, but shock, for they had just once more witnessed murder; not of one or two, or a thin group, but masses. Tens of innocent civilians, gone in one second. By then, every pony who wasn't military or emergency services had fled the scene as the threat of another strike against them loomed menacingly.

Shouting over the roar of the flames many yards away, a first lieutenant barked an order both aloud and through a hoofheld radio in contact with a pair of helos in the area. "Get me eyes on whoever or whatever fired that missile!"

Ashfall's gaze fell to his gloved hooves and the rifle dangling from his neck. In that very instance, all sound seemed to fade as he drowned out the chaos around him. His jaw hung slack, gone limp by every one of his senses falling victim to trauma. A form of pained emptiness and a feeling of failure filled his core, numbing a deadly combination of emotions deep within.

Pushing himself to all fours with the barrel of his rifle, Ash began to walk slowly away from the jetty. Silver and Anchor watched their friend drift elsewhere, exchanging glances with one another before following behind.

The moss-green stallion walked into a corner diner, trashed by the disaster with broken plates, rotting food, and other fallen objects littering the once-pristine tile flooring. Mirrors lined the back wall behind the counter, some cracked or completely shattered already with only one remaining perfectly intact. A sudden burst of rage surged throughout Ashfall, compelling him to snap the chin strap of his helmet in two as he ripped it clean off of his crown, tossing it straight into the glass at full strength.

The force of the top of his helmet striking the mirror cracked it, raining tiny shards chipped off the center point onto the floor. Chest heaving, eyes furiously staring at the damage he had caused, Ash's rump fell to the floor atop a pile of strewn napkins. He lifted a hoof, running it through his messy walnut mane, where he then began to silently cry to himself in the vacant restaurant.

Anchorage and Silver rushed in, halting just beyond the doorway when the two's gazes set upon the grieving Marine. Minding their step of potentially hazardous objects under their hooves, they approached carefully.

A singular tear rolled down the roughened stallion's cheek, choking over his own words as he spoke. "I... I made them get on that boat..."

"Ash..." Silver pulled up short of him, dipping his head to eye level with the earth stallion, hoping to console his friend. "It's not your fault. You didn't see it coming."

"I told them they would be safe... all of them! As they walked past me, I told them they would be fine, that... everything... would be fine!"

"Not... everypony can be saved, Ash. You gotta understand that," said Anchorage, retaining a softened tone. While shock still very much had a firm hold on him as well, his attempt intended to coerce Ash out of something potentially stupid.

"But I could have fucking done something!" Ash snapped his head around, his tear-glazed, reddish cores blazing with lamented fury, Silver recoiling and back stepping a couple paces. "Instead there's a hundred and eighty charred, dismembered bodies floating upstream! Tell me, how does that make either of you feel?"

Taken slightly aback, the unicorn and pegasus were at a loss for any sort of response. Ash did have reason to sulk, regardless of whose fault it was then. He knew the missile wasn't of his doing, though it weighed heavily on his shoulders as if it were.

"I'm waiting..." spoke Ash lowly, narrowing his stabbing sights on the two. His body trembled at the boiling of his own blood, already livid for the destruction Armet inflicted upon his city and Nightpath's consequential injuries. Watching helplessly as a boat packed with scared civilians violently exploded was the icing on the cake for him.

"Listen, Ash. Neither of us are brushing it off," Anchorage innocently began, trying at a new approach. "In fact, I'm fuckin' pissed. But I am not about to let that get in the way of my duties when they come to me. Ponies died, they were slaughtered right in front of us. That's where we instead focus on saving those that desperately need it. I ain't goin' to give in to an endless loop of bickerin' to myself about what I could've done much less let it linger and fog my mind in a fight if it comes to that and focus on what I should do to save more lives. I sure as hell ain't about to let you stoop into that abyss, either, ya hear?"

The moss stallion stared in total silence, softening the glower on his countenance. He lifted a hoof, rubbing tears from his glassy eyes along his dirtied sleeve, sniffing heavily to clear his nostrils. "I hear you."

Sighing softly, the pegasus continued, shifting his folded wings. "I ain't askin' ya to be a machine, Ash. At the end of the day, we're all pony. But we need your mind in the game. They, need your mind in the game, because right now, they need a figure to stand tall for them and offer security in a time of despair. You might have your personal reasons, as does everypony in their own case, but this is the real reason we signed those papers. We are who those poor ponies look up to. What good does it do to show weakness before them when now is the moment to be strong?"

Setting a gentle hoof on his shoulder in a cordial gesture, the greyish-white northern pegasus steadily locked his cold blue irides with flaming red. "We are goin' to find Armet, and we're goin' to make him pay," he affirmed, hoping this would spark motivation in his companion. "For home, for family, for country."

Another period of quiet pervaded the diner that lasted no more than a couple of seconds, broken by the shifting of Ash's gear as he straightened his spine, perked his ears, and stiffened his mien. "Oorah."

Then, a distant impacting thump gently shook the ground below their hooves, alarming the three and everypony else outside.

"D-did you feel that?" whispered Silver as his heart raced, looking around them alertly as another thud rattled the area.

This time, it wasn't an earthquake.

Author's Note:

This chapter would have been much longer originally, but I felt it might have carried on for too long. Instead what wasn't included will start off chapter 46.

Four chapters left.

Comments

[Skyfire Storm]

This was such an intense chapter 😀 I loved it, dude.

Can't wait for chapter 46