The Day The World Exploded

by TheMajorTechie

3 | Holing Up

"Hm?" Jewel hummed, turning in the direction of the stallion, "Oh, I didn't expect to see you around here, especially around this time."

I stared at Jewel in confusion.

"Don't worry, he's just a guy I know around town."

The stallion nodded.

"Yes," he continued, "once again, you're right." He paused, frowning at the looming clouds above us. "We must hurry. The ash will blanket us in a matter of minutes."

He took off in a sprint, the small crowd that flocked him following suit.

"C'mon, do you wanna be a fossil?!" Jewel shouted, running ahead of me. "Catch up already before you do!"

"Y-yeah," I stuttered, running after my marefriend, "I'm coming!"

---

We passed many fragments of Canterlot Castle. Their dust-coated exteriors gleamed eerily in the darkening sunlight, echoing the dull rumblings of the oncoming armageddon. I caught up with Jewel and the others in the meantime, trailing just behind the stallion as he led us to our new sanctuary. We abruptly came to a halt before the ruins of what appeared to be a section of one of Canterlot Castle's towers. The stallion turned, a deep frown plastered across his face.

"Jewel," He began, "I've seen your abilities. Are you able to clear the entrance?"

Jewel groaned.

"Again," she groaned, "I cannot levitate things even if my life depended on it."

"Of which it currently is," I noted, earning a quick hoof to the cheek.

"Shut up," Jewel seethed, stomping ahead of me to the stallion. "I'll see what I can do."

"Better hurry, the ash is getting dangerously close," the stallion observed, squinting at the cloud descending upon us.

Without another word, Jewel lit her horn. A faint aura materialized the crumbled remains of the tower, gently pulsating as she added more power to the spell. Slowly, small pieces began to fling off to the side, sending a shower of dust and pebbles in every direction as Jewel grunted, her horn growing ever brighter.

Another stallion stepped past me, his own horn lighting up as he added to Jewel's efforts. One by one, ponies trotted past, all adding their own strengths to the task of clearing the rubble.

"Rusty, get your plot over here and stop standin' around!"

I turned glanced over my shoulder just in time to see the rich-looking stallion pass by.

"You'd better help your marefriend, Rusty," he murmured as he brushed past, "doesn't matter if you're a unicorn or not."

I nodded, following the stallion to the ruins.

"Finally you decided to join," Jewel growled, "I nearly thought you were thinking of ditching us!"

"Well, I--"

"Just shut up and start pounding this wreck to bits. I can handle smaller pieces better."

I took a final glance at the approaching cloud and got to work.

---

I winced as another gust of wind blew ash between us. Nearly all of the rubble had been cleared, and it was becoming evident that we were digging into what appeared to be some sort of bunker entrance.

"Almost there, c'mon!" Jewel hollered into the dusty air, "Before we're buried alive!"

A wave of barely-audible murmurs spread across us as we doubled-down on our efforts. The wind intensified as we dug, sending troves of pebbles raining upon us.

"That's good enough!" Jewel yelled again, heaving as she lifted a final slab of rubble. She turned to the rich-looking stallion. "Is there a lock?"

The stallion shook his head.

"Just open it up, quick!"

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Look don't get me wrong, the story sounds good, but I find it a little hard to believe that one volcano, even a big one, could do this much damage!

[TheMajorTechie]

9277221
I've had the Yellowstone Supervolcano in mind the entire time I've been writing this. It's predicted that it'd at least take out a sizable chunk of the western United States, and the resulting ash cloud would cause temperatures all across the globe to drop.

[nothingtoseehere]

9277221
I don't know why. Krakatoa leveled an island archipelago and caused a global, five year volcanic winter. You ever notice how in late nineteenth century art the skies are always these weird greens, purples, and reds, and everyone's all skinny and wearing heavy looking coats? That's because all of the volcanic discharge literally changed the weather. Then there's the Deccan Traps, a super volcano in India the size of France that erupted for 800,000 years, covering one- to two-thirds of the continent in lava and probably killing off the dinosaurs. Mt. St. Helens, Omoa, the Siberian Traps, Kilauea- volcanos are no joke.

[TheMajorTechie]

9277862
A volcanic winter is actually the direction that this story is currently headed, too.