Chapter 1

It was not the fire raining down, nor the metal careening through the sky the woke me up. Rather, the things that arose me were the screams of ponies, loud and full of terror. I bolted up, drowsily taking in my surroundings. I was in my bed, the same bed I had laid down to sleep in. However, and quick look out of my window proved that Ponyville was not the same town. Fires were ignited on many of the houses, and ponies ran screaming through the streets.

Panic attacked me. Adreniline rushing through my veins, I galloped through my open bedroom door and down the stairs of my humble two-story home. I pushed open my door and stood in shock at what was happening.

The normally beautiful navy sky was streaked crimson and silver. Fireballs both small and large descended from the sky, turning everything they landed on into cinders. Giant chunks of steel poured down, crushing anything in its way, be it pony or structure.

I was stunned.

'What is going on?' I thought feebly, my tired mind unable to comprehend what it was seeing. I watched in horror as a column of fine marble fell from the sky and landed dead in the center of town, destroying the library and anypony within. Shards of rock, glass and bark flew everywhere, some barely missing me, embedding themselves in the outside wall of my house.

I couldn't move. Shock washed through me. Eventually, my brain kicked in.

'Ponyville is being destroyed and you're just standing there? RUN!' My body obeyed this simple command by turning right and galloping down the street. I stopped just in time to see my house sliced by an airborne sheet of metal. The building was cleanly in two.

I was just scared now. Titanic pieces of industrial equipment rained down, crushing the districts of Ponyville as if a giant foal has merely dropped a toy crane. Coincidentally, it was a crane that fell next, destroying a lane of houses.

I returned to running, horrified. The streets were littered with ponies. Some ponies were screaming, terrified beyond measure, surely having no idea as to what was going on. Other ponies had more of a reason to be screaming and running around: they were on fire. Some of the scattered infernos had passed the heat onto residents of this once fair town. I continued galloping, unable to stop and watch as the ignited ponies tried to snuff the flames scorching their fur to no avail.

I intended to get out of the town, escape the danger faced there. My mind was goinga mile a minute.

'What is happening?! What caused this?! Why?!' I thought, distraught. I looked up into the sky, past the flames and decimation. My eyes searched the sky for the ever-present Cloudsdale, to see if the fine city had survived this catastrophe. I couldn't find it. That was impossible. Cloudsdale was magically tethered to the ground, firmly between Ponyville and Canterlot. The tether was created by Princess Celestia herself, so the spell isn't going to wear off anytime soon. However, I couldnt find it.

My mind slowly pieced together what had happened. Giant plates of metal, column of marble, industrial equipment falling from the sky. A sky which lacks the city of Cloudsdale.

'No.' I thought to myself after coming to a conclusion. 'That can't be.'

I couldn't believe it. I had to be wrong. But, all the evidence pointed in that one direction. Cloudsdale! It's been destroyed! My mind reeling, I stumbled, falling to the ground face first. Groaning, I got to my knees.

"Help." My ears perked up.

"Help!" Someone was calling out.

"Please, help me!" I rose, trying to focus on where the cries were coming from over the screams of other ponies, and fire crackling.

"Please!" The voice was feeble, but I could hear it coming from my left, a couple houses ahead of me. I jumped up, immediately getting into a gallop to the house. As I got closer, I noticed smoke pouring from the roof of the house. I subconsciously backed up, fearing the flames that could be inside.

"Please..." The voice was getting progressively weaker. I gathered up my courage, and burst through the door. I was met with a lungful of smoke, and a flash of heat. I coughed, eyes shut tight, sweating almost instantly. I crouched down, trying to get as close tot he ground as possible while still having some mobility.

The smoke now out of my watering eyes, I could see, albeit very little. I crawled forward, searching for the owner of the voice calling for help. I found that owner in the dining room of the house. She was a turquoise unicorn, with a teal and white mane, and a lyre as her Cutie Mark. I recognized her as my casual acquaintance, Lyra.

"Lyra!" I called to her. I got no reply. Her lower body was crushed by a china cabinet, her upper body free, but useless. I crawled to her, again calling out.

"Lyra!" She roused slightly, lifting her head. Her eyes blearily focused on me.

"Time Turner, is that you?" she asked. I smiled despite the circumstances; her voice was as beautiful as ever.

"Yeah, it's me," I replied. "Let's get you out of there." She nodded, barely able to stay conscious. The screams continued outside, but I tried to ignore them for now, focusing on the task at hand.

I took a deep breath, and stood up, braving the smoke. Balancing on my hind legs, I put my forelegs under the cabinet and lifted up. It barely got up, for the cabinet was very heavy, but it was enough to get it slightly off her body.

"Crawl, Lyra!" I yelled, smoke invading my lung, making me hack wildly. I almost dropped the cabinet because of my violent coughing, but I managed to steady it. I couldn't see whether Lyra got out from underneath or not, but I continued to hold it up, smoke restricting my airway. Lyra tapped my hoof, and I lowered the cabinet.

Immediately dropping to the floor, I vomited heavily onto the wood in front of me, my body desperate to get the invading smoke out of me. After I recovered, I looked to my left to find Lyra had passed out, still on the floor, but nevertheless free from her cabinet.

I gently reached over and grabbed her foreleg, placing it over my shoulder. With Lyra secure, I started crawling along the ground, back to the entrance, Lyra with me. I got a fair distance to the door before Lyra got snagged on something. Quickly deciding that looking and fixing it would cost us precious time, I started trying to pull her again. Her unconscious body just wouldn't go free. I mustered up my remaining strength a pulled as hard as I could.

POP! Pain shot through my body, violently shaking me. I screamed out. I had never felt something like this before, it overwhelmed me. I blacked out.

I awoke a few minutes later, my shoulder throbbing in pain. Looking at my leg, I noticed it was limp, and bending at an awkward angle. Everything in my body desired to just lay down and die; to give up, and just wait for death. But, the body next to me gave me hope. Lyra needed to be saved, and nopony would do it, if not for me.

I turned myself, wincing at the sharp pain I suffered. I pushed Lyra back, and inspected what was holding her: close to the ground, the was a blood-soaked nail that was not fully hammered in. Looking back at Lyra, I spotted a deep gash in her hind leg, a result of me pulling her while she was caught.

A mixture of shame and guilt pulsed through me, but I managed to ignore it for then, determined to get Lyra to safety.

Deciding a different method, I got very low to the ground, essentially on my belly. I slithered my way backwards, sliding Lyra on top of me. Using the crawl I had learned at Military camp when I was but a colt, I inched ahead, Lyra lying on my back.

When I finally got her outside, I stood up, pain once again burst from a dull throb to a feeling of ultimate pain. Gripping her mane in my mouth, I dragged her forward, out of harm's reach.

I sat down, looking at her house. The flames burnt the foundation of the building, and it collapsed in on itself. I looked down at Lyra, glad she was still alive with me.

I don't know whether it was the heat of the fire I experienced, the pain of my dislocated and broken shoulder, the smoke in my lungs, or the general shock of it all, I slumped to the ground, unconcious.

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