DAY FIVE
BOOM.
A distant blast of noise echoed throughout the innards of the hollow tree. It had been days since this endless cacophony had begun, and the three fillies huddled underneath the table within the darkness could no longer distinguish the rumbles of distant thunder from the explosions of bomb shells.
At this point, they no longer cared which was which. They were scared all the same.
Scootaloo held her two best friends ever closer, wrapping her orange wings around them. They shivered under her protection—whether it be from cold, or fear, she did not know. Together, the trio hugged each other in the darkness as the rumbling reverberated within the Golden Oak Library.
In time, silence descended upon them once again, and all that could be heard was the soft pitter-patter of rain and the whistling of wind as it blew past the holes that had been blown through the ancient tree.
Slowly, Scootaloo lifted her wings and sat up. “I think that one was just thunder.” Her voice was scratchy and cracked, parched from hours of thirst.
“Maybe the shelling stopped?” asked Sweetie Belle to her right, peeking out from behind her mane slightly. The filly gave Scootaloo a worried glance, and all she could do was offer a helpless shrug in reply.
Helpless. That’s all Scootaloo had felt in these last several days, and it was the worst feeling in the world.
“I sure hope so,” said Apple Bloom, looking up from underneath the oversized Stetson that adorned her head. “Feels like it’s been forever since I got so much as a wink o’ shut-eye.”
“You and me both,” muttered Scootaloo. Her stomach growled. “And I’m hungry as a manticore.”
Sweetie Belle curled up slightly next to her friends, leaning her head on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “I still can’t believe this finally happened.”
“This war’s been going on for weeks,” Apple Bloom muttered darkly, holding the other filly close. “It was bound to hit Ponyville someday.”
“But why? Why here? Why us?” Sweetie suppressed a sob. “It’s not our fault. We didn’t do anything.”
“The gryphons don’t care,” replied Scootaloo, gritting her teeth. “To them, we all might as well be the bad guys.”
“I hope Rarity’s okay…”
“She’s gotta be, sure as sunshine,” said Apple Bloom in reassurance, only a slight tremble in her reply betraying her true fears. “Big sis and the rest of their friends are together. They’ll be back any day now.”
“Yeah,” agreed Scootaloo with a nod, reassuring herself. “Rainbow Dash wouldn’t let anything bad happen to them either.”
“She promised…” Sweetie Belle sniffled. “They all promised they’d help stop the war.”
“If only it were that easy.”
BOOM.
Scootaloo flinched, clenching her ears shut. The ground shook wildly, causing several books to topple off the shelves around them with a loud crash.
“Eek!” shrieked the fillies, clutching each other ever more tightly.
Scootaloo spared a quick glance around the dark library. They were underneath the table in the center, far enough away that the books didn’t pose a serious threat. But it was still frightening.
Everything was frightening.
“Please make it stop…” whimpered Sweetie Belle.
“Sun and Stars protect us,” prayed Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo gritted her teeth. Rainbow Dash told her that she needed to be brave for her friends. So she tried to be brave.
It didn’t matter that they hadn’t gotten any sleep or food in hours. She tried to be brave.
It didn’t matter that any of those shells could hit them next. She tried to be brave.
It didn’t matter that she and her best friends could be incinerated in an instant. She tried to be brave.
“We’ll be okay,” she whispered, more to herself than the others. “We’ll be fine.”
She had to be brave for her friends. Even if she was scared out of her mind.
Scootaloo did not rest easy that night.
– — T H I S W A R O F O U R S — –
With a start, the sirens began blaring, tearing into Ponyville’s peaceful afternoon atmosphere.
“Eek!” Sweetie Belle’s milkshake slipped off the table, some of it spattering onto her pristine white coat.
“Ugh, seriously, another drill?” Scootaloo grumbled, shooting a deathly look at the siren pole that stood only a few meters away, almost directly over the dining patio of Sugarcube Corner.
“This is the third one this week!” growled Apple Bloom despondently.
Scootaloo glanced around, noticing that everypony had stopped in their tracks to stare at the pole, and she silently wondered why they even cared at this point. Ever since Rainbow Dash and the gang had left for Canterlot to help with negotiations, they had been running these drills more and more.
“Well, better finish these fast, I guess,” said Scootaloo in resignation.
“But my milkshake…” sniffed Sweetie Belle glumly.
“Hey, wait a second…” said a pony at a nearby table, suddenly standing up and staring at the pole. “Where’s the drill announcement?”
“And…” Sweetie Belle quirked an ear. “…What’s that noise?”
Scootaloo strained her ears. An odd, piercing whistling sound slowly became audible through the silence. She had never heard that before…
“ALERT,” boomed a sudden voice from the pole. “WE ARE UNDER ATTACK. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.”
Scootaloo stared at the other Crusaders.
“…Oh no.”
BOOM.
A low, loud rumble reverberated in the distance. As one, the Crusaders’ heads snapped in the direction of the sound, and they saw a plume of smoke rising just over the houses to the east.
There was only a moment of cold silence as everypony in the patio slowly registered what had just occurred.
And then, in an instant, everything descended into chaos.
– — T H I S W A R O F O U R S — –
“SCOOTS!”
Scootaloo woke with a start, and was instantly blinded by light. She jumped to her hooves and—
BAM.
“OWWW!” Scootaloo gripped her temples as pain lanced through her head. “Ergghh! Sweetie Belle? Apple Bloom! What happened?!” she shouted, frantically shaking her head to clear her vision. “Is everyone okay?! Did we get shelled—”
BAM.
“OW! Sun damn it!”
“Scoots, calm yer knickers!” came Apple Bloom’s shout, and Scootaloo felt hooves on her shoulders. “We’re okay, everything’s fine! And for land’s sakes, get out from under the table!”
As her vision resolved, the scene around her came into view.
The first thing Scootaloo noticed were the panicked expressions of the other Crusaders, apparently startled by her short outburst. Aside from their disheveled, ashen appearances, they looked no worse for wear.
“Everything’s… okay?” she finally asked, somewhat incredulous.
“We’re fine,” reassured Sweetie Belle gently. “The shelling is over for now.”
For now.
Scootaloo let out a relieved sigh, dragging herself out from under the table. “Thank the Stars.”
“How’s yer head?” asked Apple Bloom with concern, helping Scootaloo to her hooves.
“Feels like I got hit with a train,” she replied, holding a hoof to the side of her head. “But I think I’ll be— ack!” She winced, pulling back her hoof to find it reddened with blood.
“Uh-oh, lemme look at that real quick,” said Sweetie Belle, moving closer to examine the side of Scootaloo’s head. “Looks like a big scratch. Wait one sec, I’ll go grab the bandages.”
As Sweetie Belle turned around and trotted off to the bathroom, Scootaloo glanced around the damaged interior of the Golden Oak Library. Books and debris were strewn everywhere, and she could see light from the morning sun filtering through several holes in the walls and ceiling, but somehow, it was still miraculously intact.
“Wow,” she said in awe. “I’m surprised this thing is still holding up.”
“The tree did get a mite battered this time,” said Apple Bloom, “but not too much. Don’t think we got hit with anythin’ super big.”
“Yeah, I was scared it was gonna catch fire or something,” said Sweetie Belle, returning with a first aid kit in hoof, “but I guess Twilight was right about it being pretty tough, thanks to being grown with magic and all.”
Several cracks echoed in the distance—gunfire, most likely, from who knows what. It rattled the two fillies to the core.
“Glad we took her advice to come here then,” said Scootaloo with a nervous glance to the door.
“Yeah,” agreed Sweetie Belle with a nod, shaking herself from her reverie. “Now sit still so I can patch you up.”
“Yes, mom.”
As Sweetie Belle set to work on Scootaloo's wound, she sat and basked in the momentary silence. After the chaos that she had been through these last several days, it was a welcome respite.
It had been nearly a week since the war with the gryphons had reached Ponyville’s borders. There had been months of buildup, during which the entire town had doubled-down on war preparation and safety courses, and Twilight had left town with Spike and the rest of the Elements to hopefully help with negotiations in Canterlot.
Before leaving, Twilight had advised the trio to seek shelter in the Golden Oaks Library if anything happened while they were in town, despite her reassurances that everything would be okay. It was thus that, immediately after the first several shells had hit the town, the trio had galloped straight to the library, somehow managing to avoid getting blown up in the process.
Every day had been the same since—occasional shelling at night, random gunfire during the day. At this point, Scootaloo had no idea what state Ponyville was in—the fillies had peeked out the door once, on the first morning, only to see several distant houses still ablaze, and soldiers frantically scurrying about the streets and exchanging fire with an unseen enemy. Upon spotting the fillies, one soldier had immediately rushed to the door and shoved them back inside, ordering them to barricade every opening and stay put.
Scootaloo glanced at the door, which had been blocked with a bookcase and some other furniture. After that day, the fillies had been too afraid to venture outside. Throughout the week, a few ponies did try to force their way in, but the fillies hadn't recognized any of their voices. They had been too scared to open the door, worried that it might be a gryphon or some other bad pony they didn’t know.
Thankfully, the barricade had held up, and nopony had tried to breach the windows or any of the other ground-level openings in the treehouse, which had been tightly boarded up since before the war had hit. They were as safe as could be… for now.
The Crusaders still held onto the hope that somepony from one of their families might show up, but no such thing happened. Scootaloo merely figured that it was simply too dangerous for anypony in town to venture outside, and occupied herself with that thought… rather than the dozens of other horrific possibilities that might have come to pass.
Scootaloo shuddered as the silly, derpy-eyed expression of her aunt and caretaker invaded her psyche.
“I hope everypony’s okay,” she muttered out loud.
“Worried about yer godmother?” asked Sweetie Belle, tearing off a piece of bandage and slowly roping it around Scootaloo’s head with an aura of mint-green magic.
“Yeah. Her and Dinky. I really hope they survived…”
Sweetie Belle paused, opening her mouth as if to say something, before quickly shutting it.
Just as well—there really wasn’t anything to say in response to that, not even an, “I’m sure they’re fine”. After all, as horrifying as the thought was… there really wasn't any way to be sure, was there?
“…Well, at least your mom is fine, right?” Sweetie Belle finally offered.
“Yeah. I mean, unless the gryphons suddenly declared war on Saddle Arabia and ran over whatever digsite she’s excavating. Which I doubt.”
“Yeah…” Sweetie Belle paused for a second. “I wonder if she knows that Ponyville got attacked.”
“I hope not. She'd be going bananas right now.”
“Hehe. Bananas. It's funny 'cause she's in a jungle.”
“Uh, nope. Wrong continent, Sweetie.” Scootaloo smirked. “And here I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.”
“Says the idiot who didn't pay attention during first aid training,” she retorted with a silent raspberry.
“…Touché."
As the last of the bandage wrapped around Scootaloo’s head, Sweetie Belle’s magic faded and she stood up. “All set, Scootaloo.”
“Thanks, Sweetie. I’m glad someone was awake for this crap when I wasn’t.”
“I’ll bet we’d all be dead meat if ya hadn’t been,” came Apple Bloom’s voice as she trotted back into the room, balancing a tray of hastily-made sandwiches on her back. “Gather ‘round, time fer lunch!”
“Finally! I could eat a horse,” rejoiced Scootaloo, trotting over to Apple Bloom and snatching a sandwich.
“And today, we learned that Scootaloo is secretly a pony-eating gryphon in disguise~” sing-songed Sweetie Belle.
“Hey, that's actually kinda 'propriate,” quipped Apple Bloom as they sat down to tuck into their food. “Ya know, what with her bein' a chicke—”
“Apple Bloom, I swear, if you finish that sentence, I'm gonna shove this sandwich so far down your throat you'll be in the bathroom faster than I can fail flight school.”
The other two giggled lightly. Scootaloo grumbled, but smiled nonetheless, glad that her two best friends were here to keep her company in these dark times.
“Urk.” Scootaloo flinched from the stale taste of the month-old vegetables. She shuddered for a moment before forcing herself to swallow.
“Heh, sorry ‘bout that, Scoots,” said Apple Bloom apologetically.
“Nah, not your fault that the fridge hasn’t been restocked since Twilight left.”
“What I wouldn’t give for a fresh leaf of lettuce,” sighed Sweetie Belle wistfully.
“Don’t complain too much,” replied Apple Bloom. “This is the last of it.”
“…Seriously?” Scootaloo stared incredulously at the yellow filly. “I thought you were rationing what we had left!”
“I was,” she grunted in response. “The rest of it’s gone bad. This is the last bit that’s remotely edible. Better enjoy it while it lasts.”
“...Just great,” groaned Sweetie Belle. She took another bite out of her sandwich without further complaint. With a sigh, Scootaloo followed suit, taking extra care to draw as much pleasure out of the dried-out mungy lettuce that she could.
Two weeks ago, a fresh leaf of lettuce would have been nothing. Hay, at this point in her life, Scootaloo couldn’t imagine eating a sandwich without it. Just trot on over to the market, throw down a few bits, and you had an entire head of it, maybe two. Easy peasy.
It was sobering how much they had taken for granted.
Staring at her sandwich, Scootaloo felt her mood drop slightly at this realization. The lack of fresh lettuce seemed like such a small thing… yet, like everything else in her life, it had changed. Fresh food, a steady supply of water, even things to do for fun. They couldn’t step outside, they couldn’t play with the other fillies and colts in their class, they couldn’t even share a proper dinner with their families after a long day of work or school.
Instead, every day was filled with anxiety. How much longer would it be until they were completely out of supplies? How much longer would it be before they drove themselves miserable from boredom? How much longer would the tree withstand the bombardment?
How much longer would they even live?
A sudden musical chord sounded throughout the hollow tree, shaking Scootaloo from her reverie and causing her to turn around. Apple Bloom had apparently finished her meal, because she was sitting on the floor by the table, a guitar in her arms. Slowly, she drew her hoof across the strings, humming a mournful tune.
Sweetie Belle stood up and trotted over, sitting down and resting her head on her friend’s shoulder. Her eyes closed and her expression softened as the melody began to form.
Scootaloo rarely listened to music, but whenever she did, she usually only tuned into the radio channels that played fast, energetic, awesome stuff like rock and metal, rather than whatever folk thing Apple Bloom was playing right now, or whatever showtunes that Sweetie Belle usually listened to.
But with no power, there was no radio. And with no radio, there was no rock.
Another luxury lost.
Slowly, Scootaloo came to her hooves, and she joined Sweetie Belle by Apple Bloom’s side. Of course, she didn’t lean on Apple Bloom like Sweetie had—touchy feely stuff wasn’t really her mojo—but she sat there nonetheless, offering the comfort of her presence as she herself indulged in the companionship of her very best friends.
She closed her eyes and smiled. Even if it was all they had... it was more than she could have hoped for.
– — T H I S W A R O F O U R S — –
“I said OPEN UP!”
With a start, Scootaloo was forced awake by the noise. She stared around frantically, her eyes adjusting to the darkness.
“What the—”
“Shh!”
An ivory hoof covered Scootaloo’s mouth. She turned and saw Sweetie Belle’s frightened eyes, the filly holding another hoof to her own mouth and slowly shaking her head.
The banging at the door became more insistent.
“OPEN UP, DAMNIT! We know you’re in there!”
It wasn’t any voice Scootaloo recognized. The trio stared at the door with bated breath.
A moment of silence passed.
“Alright, then. If you wanna play fuckin’ hardball, then let’s! We’ve got grenades! Open this door or we’ll blow it up!”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “Oh no.”
“Just blow it, boss, they ain’t answerin’.”
“Please don’t!” shouted Sweetie Belle, before clapping her hooves over her mouth.
“KNEW IT! Open this door RIGHT NOW!”
“Horseapples…” swore Apple Bloom. “Girls, what do we do?!”
“I’m givin’ ya to the count of ten!”
I gritted my teeth. “Looks like we don’t have a choice.”
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I am noticing a pattern with your titles.
Alright, then. Let's see how you'll fare this time, Swanny.
5546160 http://store.steampowered.com/app/282070/
Also: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT
5546162
Oh, I remember that!
I got it but never got around playing it. Probably because I hate fun.
Alright, finished reading.
I actually haven't read war fics before, so I don't have anything to compare this. But judging it on its own, seems like you could give a good look into the lives of ponies in a war-torn city.
So consider this added to the "Silently Judging as I wait for Updates" list.
Just thought I'd point this out. I'm sure you won't take it out on me in a future chapter.
Haven't ready a story this good in a while. Better than Grave of the Fireflies.
That's not ominous at all...
I'm going to pretend we didn't learn the EoH were in Canterlot. Gotta be ominous, yo
When did this become first person?
7382059 Agreed. The very last line: