Not with a bang, but a roar.

The warm, scented steam floated up from her black coffee, and Milkshake found herself smiling as the muscles in her back loosened. Her mouth watered slightly, anticipating the first sip and the beginning of her lunch break. The bookshop had been quiet today, as usual, books not being in high demand during these times of war. Tiny dust motes danced in the sunlight streaming in through the windows, the murmur of the busy business day muted and quiet, adding an ambiance to her musty old shop that she just adored.

She was lifting the cup to her mouth when the entire bookshop exploded and she was thrown to the ground, her cup clattering away from her. The shelves collapsed in on themselves, books thudded everywhere and dust showered down from the higher shelves. She screamed as the roof of her shop caved in, debris and wood splintering around her, the loud screaming of the support beams as they tore in half hurting her sensitive ears. Sobbing in fear, Milkshake curled into a small ball and held her hooves over her head. The rumbling of destruction seemed to take an eternity to stop, the muffled screams from outside the shop giving her the knowledge she wasn’t alone, this wasn’t an isolated incident.

A strange stillness fell upon the shop, and Milkshake found herself slowly reaching her hooves out from under the beam that had fallen just above her head. She shimmied out from under it, barely breathing for fear of disturbing it and bringing the rest of the shop down on her head. Slumping down in a corner, her numbed mind began to race. This had to be an attack by the Zebras, those stripes were the only ones barbaric enough to kill so many. There had been announcements in case this happened. If one bomb had hit, more were on their way. She had to get to Virtus and get to a stable, protect themselves. Virtus was her best friend, and she worked on the other side of the city.

Her mind slowing and becoming eerily calm, Milkshake stood on trembling legs and walked out of the shop, into a nightmare.

Fires were all around her, more explosions echoing in the distance as more bombs fell. There was a strange green glow around the centre of the city, and a rolling nausea hit her as she realised that half of the city was missing, wiped out. It hadn’t been a bomb that had hit her shop, it had been a shock wave. Ponies were screaming, running around calling frantically for loved ones, others simply lay still, the stench of death and pain permeating her nose. Where the city had been hit, there was nothing left.

Dust blown up from the explosion created a thick haze around her, and a strange green and ash coloured snow had begun to fall from the murky sky where the sun had been shining moments ago. The sickness intensified momentarily, and Milkshake found herself emptying her half digested breakfast onto the pavement. The foulness spattering against her hooves and the sharp acrid smell cleared her mind of fear, and her survival instincts kicked in. Wiping her mouth on her now dirty sweater, she made a hasty plan.

Get her bag, get the first aid kit. She needed rad-away, as much as she could find. Enough for her and Virtus. Virtus was on the east side of the city, it hadn’t been hit yet, she may still be there. Find Virtus, find the stable. Get to safety. These words rang around in her head as she carefully stepped into her broken shop, deftly avoiding the carnage of the ceiling to reach the break room. Her hoof crunched onto something, a sharp pain as it left a shallow gash in her hoof. Looking down, she saw her cup, coffee still spilled around it. Milkshake stopped, tears blooming in her eyes, it had been her mother’s cup. Anger roared in her chest at the injustice of the lost coffee, the fear for her friend and the shock at losing her city. She had to fight, to live. Find Virtus, keep her safe. Live.

The bitter orange taste of rad-away burned at her throat, and she slung her saddlebags across her back. Pausing only to grab a bag of coffee beans, she began to gallop through the broken city.

A stallion smashed into her and knocked her to the ground, his hooves pawing and tearing at her saddlebags.

”Please! I need water! My family, I have to save them! The fire... Help me…” his words trailed off as MIlkshake bucked him free, scrambling to her hooves. His eyes were mad with desperation, and he made to launch himself towards her again.

“No!” Milkshake cried, knowing she had to protect the precious bag of water and supplies. She smashed a hoof across his muzzle, knocking him to the ground. It gave her the moment that she needed to flee, the stallions desperate cries chasing her. Her hooves pounded across the ground, slipping into back alleys to avoid being found again. Ponies weren’t thinking clearly, they were turning as savage as the Zebra’s who put them into this hell.

Time fell away, lost in her mad dash through the city. Leap over debris. Duck under broken buildings. Hide from ponies. It fell into a rhythm, so easy it was terrifying. A dance to the beat of the bombs that still fell upon her home, a steady stream that brought destruction and silence wherever they landed. How could she go from a bookstore to this? Fucking zebras! She cursed her choice not to wear a pip buck like her mother had told her to, perhaps if she had then she could have been safe in a stable by now.

Crouching, her breathing was laboured and hard, but silent. She didn’t want to be found, she had seen ponies tearing at each other over mere scraps, and she held enough supplies in her saddlebag for two, not even counting the two stable tickets that she had won. Those were priceless, the key to the survival of her friend. Milkshake scanned the crossroads. Beyond this section was a plaza, and beyond that was Virtus. She was alive, Milkshake wouldn’t allow herself to think otherwise.

Breathing in, she adjusted her big knitted sweater, tugging it back down over her flank where it had ridden up from the running. She ran her hoof over the soft wool, now dirty and stained with the strange soot that fell from the sky, lamenting how long it would take her to remove the filth. Using this brief respite to drink another rad-away, she went over the map of the city in her mind, mentally blocking out that half of it was now gone.

A clatter from behind her startled her, shouts echoing and more screams. This spot was too dangerous, she had to keep moving. The sky was darkening further through the gloom, she was losing time sitting here looking at her sweater. She could be found. Ponies may have helped each other before, but the strain of fear and war had broken the undercurrent of kindness that once permeated their land, only selfishness remained now. Milkshake gritted her teeth as she began to gallop again.

Skidding across the road, she tore into the plaza, shock momentarily stilling her hooves. There were ponies everywhere, the plaza must have been full when the biggest bomb hit. Tears swam in her eyes, but she blinked them away, scanning the area for the best path across.

Suddenly, as if a light was shining from the sun itself, she spotted a small pink form across the plaza. Squinting and shielding her eyes in the snowy haze, she stared at the pony until she came into focus through the murky mist of dust. Her heart skyrocketed as hope filled her chest, it was Virtus! She was here! Alive! The form had turned to her direction, and was now raising its hooves, waving enthusiastically. Simultaneously, both mares stepped off the pavement, desperation to meet up hurrying their hooves.

A loud bang and groan from above halted them, and as one their heads turned upwards.

The building that had partially collapsed had reached its limit as another bomb had smashed into it, and it now fell towards them, the loud groaning and crashing as it fell howling like a freight train.

Milkshake stared in horror as the tower came down between them, the loud booming crunch as it began to hit the ground echoing around her and blocking out her sight of Virtus. The last thing she saw as the building hit the ground was her friend’s horrified face, her mouth open as if calling to her.

"Virtus!" She screamed.

Author's Note:

Slightly older fic that I forgot to upload. This was a collab fic with Solarshine5, a friend from Equestria Amino. Virtus belongs to her.

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