The Day Everything Changed

by Replach

Chapter 10: Lockdown

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11:30 AM

Crimson Moon was now one block west of the burning building, watching from the entrance of a Maneway station. According to announcements that she could hear from the loudspeakers inside, all Maneway service in and out of Manehattan had been shut down. In her mind, she was surprised the city wasn't on complete lockdown yet. To be fair, people needed to evacuate from the city, but absolutely nobody besides emergency services should be allowed in.

As Crimson kept rolling, a firefighter galloped up to her.

"Ma'am," he told her, "we're moving back the blockade to a 5-block radius. You need to move back to where it's safe."

Crimson, for what felt like the umpteenth time today, got up from her spot, and started to move back, following a large group of office ponies being evacuated from the building across from her. As they ran, yet another battalion of fireponies ran the opposite direction, headed straight to the tower. Crimson didn't know anyone braver on this day than the emergency services responding; in her mind, they were headed for certain death, at least if the building came down. She knew they were as fearful as everyone else, but that only made their bravery even more powerful.

Crimson stopped just for a moment, to look at her surroundings. This could be the last time I'm ever here, she thought. Down one street, a badly injured pony was being loaded into a medical carriage. In the opposite direction, only one pony was running up the street, filled with paper and ashes. Finally, she looked back up at the tower, one corner of which was being engulfed in flame. Crimson was sure that even if the fire up there could be put out, there was probably no way to save this tower.

Crimson moved a few blocks to the east and found herself in one of the many city parks. It seemed tiny, but there was still a bench to sit down on, which is exactly what Crimson did. All this running around was making her tired, and she needed some rest. She also needed to clear her head, as her emotions were starting to get to her. She'd been on the verge of bursting into tears many times, but for the most part, she'd held it in.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound forced Crimson to shoot up from the bench. A group of ponies that were at the street corner to her left started screaming all at once, and a few took off galloping down the street. Crimson ran into the road to see what was going on. The sight caused her to scream herself, and she dropped to the ground in tears.

The Brass Head of the building was coming down!

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11:36 AM

Fallen Angel and Shining Star were at the blockade, packet of water bottles completely empty. To Angel, his mission for today had been completed successfully; even in a little way, he had played his part in helping at the scene. Shining Star, however, was lost in her thoughts. Though it didn't show on the outside, she was experiencing the worst flashbacks she had ever had.

Three years ago, Shining Star had been talking with her father about plans for college. Even though she was only 15, Star was becoming a very intelligent mare, and she and her father both knew that high profile colleges were keeping an eye on her. Who knew, maybe even the School for Gifted Unicorns was watching! She was the most stable she had been in her life, and had all but figured out her plans for life.

That is, until the fateful day came.

In the blink of an eye, Star had seen her entire world crumble around her. She and Fallen Angel had been at the first mass of the Summer Sun Celebration in the First Celestial Church of Canterlot. She had watched in horror as a gunmare had pulled a revolver out and opened fire inside. By the time the gunfire ceased, Star had escaped, but hostages had been taken in the church. The situation ended up lasting for 12 hours, all ending with the Equestrian Royal Guard intervening, inadvertently starting a gunfight and coming out victorious. It hadn't come at a cost, however.

By the end of the gunfight inside, most of the hostages were dead, including both of their parents. Angel had been hit in the shoulder, and carried out by the Captain of the Royal Guard himself. He had been in the hospital for almost a month, while Star stayed by his side. That was only because she didn't have anywhere else to go. If it hadn't been for Cloud Sweeper and Comet Trail, they would've been homeless. Star thanked them almost every day for everything they'd done for them--

"STAR!" Fallen Angel yelled, snapping Star back into reality. "Have you even heard a word I just said?"

"Sorry," Star replied, "I was... zoned out."

"We've got to head further north, they've got us at a 5 block radius now."

Star groaned as she hopped up from the strangely-comfortable sidewalk and started trotting back to the new blockade point, Angel following close behind. Police officers followed them on either side, escorting civilians out of the emergency zone. Meanwhile, many other officers, firefighters, and medics were headed in the other direction. Star assumed that they were part of the group that recieved the all hands call.

Suddenly, a mare in front of them who'd turned around started to scream. Star turned around, as did Angel. The pair watched in horror as the Brass Head on the top of the building started to crumble. Angel turned right back around and started sprinting up the street, but Star was frozen in fear as the Brass Head turned into a cloud of golden dust, ash, and metal, and crashed to the streets below!

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11:42 AM

33rd Floor, read the sign Firestorm passed. She was with the crew of Engine 231, which had come all the way from the center of Bronclyn as a part of the All Hands call. They were getting close to the floor where a report of a group of injured ponies came from. They had passed a couple of them on the way up, and some of the group had left to lead them out.

Firestorm saw the marking on the stairwell wall that read 34th Floor. She could hear murmurs coming from above them. The lead firefighter, Third Alarm, gave a command to quiet the squad, then called out, "Hello?"

The sound echoed through the stairwell, and Firestorm covered her ears. After today, she was surprised she wasn't deaf from all of the noise.

"Can you hear me?" Third Alarm called out again. The crew waited a few moments in complete silence. Quietest it's ever been in this city, Firestorm thought.

Finally, a response came: "Help us!"

Firestorm breathed a sigh of relief. They had finally reached the injured ponies! The squad rounded the staircase to find a group of at least 20 ponies, all of them leaning in some way against the wall. One of them, a young stallion no more than 20, shot up from his spot and bolted to the group, wrapping his forelegs around Third Alarm in a thankful embrace.

Third Alarm said nothing in response, telling the stallion to sit down as he started to check him over for injuries. Thankfully, he only had small cuts, although there seemed to be a lot of them. Firestorm, however, had her eyes on another stallion, on their side at the end of the wall. Her stomach tightened as another firefighter trotted over to him. They checked for vitals, only to turn away. They had come too late for him. Firestorm choked down a cry of grief as she looked away. She knew this happened all the time, but it hurt her every time.

"Firestorm," Third Alarm beckoned for her. "Why don't you check her out?"

Firestorm turned back and saw the chief pointing to a young filly in the middle of the group. She had to be no older than 12, and Firestorm couldn't tell what she was doing in the building. If she were on the way to the observation deck, she'd have taken the elevator, and probably would have been rescued by now.

"Hi!" Firestorm switched flawlessly to her soothing voice. Whenever she had a call that involved foals or pets, she would always use this voice to calm them down, and it worked every time. She could tell that it was needed here, too, as the filly had been crying.

"Are we doing okay?" Firestorm asked as she wiped a tear off the filly's face. The filly only shook her head, too frightened to speak. Firestorm found that her right foreleg was badly cut in multiple places. Firestorm wondered how she had gotten them, but she quickly had her question answered. The elevator doors were wide open, stopped on this floor. She must've been hit by some debris falling down the elevator shaft.

Firestorm looked to the mare beside her. "Are you her mother?" she asked, and was met with a choked out "Yes." This mare looked like she was in some real discomfort, and Firestorm called over another firepony. As they focused on the mare, Firestorm turned back to the filly, pulling a bandage out from the first aid kit she'd been given. As she started to wrap it around her foreleg, she asked the filly in her soothing voice, "What's your name, sweetie?"

The filly managed to force out the name, "Silver Spirit."

"Well, hi, Silver!" Firestorm replied, "My name's Firestorm! And I'm going to help you get out of here! What do you think of that?" This got a little smile from the filly, and Firestorm beamed as she gave Silver Spirit a hug. She took her hoof, and helped her back up, telling Third Alarm, "I've got her ready to go!"

As she did, however, a loud rumbling sound echoed through the stairwell. Firestorm looked up, and even though she didn't see anything, she ducked, placing the filly underneath her to protect her in case anything fell. Nothing did, however, and soon, Firestorm sat back up, making sure the filly was okay.

"73-Uniform to 72-Uniform!" the call came out on Firestorm's radio. "Firestorm, do you copy?" That was Shiny Cloud.

"Go ahead, Cloud!" Firestorm called back.

"You guys need to get out of there as quick as you can! The Brass Head just came down!"