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New World2,372 words
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New World

What Went Wrong?

Chapter 2 - New World

It took a near monumental force for Derpy to not fall out of the room, but she managed it. Her house wasn't supposed to be half-destroyed.

Ponyville wasn't supposed to be a bunch of blackened ruins either. Yet they were.

"What...?"

How could Ponyville change so rapidly in such a short period of time? How could her house be half demolished without anyone asking her first? And why were her muffins broccoli?

"What happened?"

As far as she could see, which was quite the distance, everything looked blasted and burnt. There was no grass, no flowers, and the trees stood as blackened reminders of their former majesty. A cloud of dust rolled through the town, picking up loose pieces of building and foliage. Derpy shielded her eyes from it, feeling the dust stick to her coat.

"I can't quite put my hoof on it, but something seems..."

Something creaked. Derpy looked around in concern. Nothing seemed to have happened. "Ah well, guess it's my imagi-"

The floor jolted violently forward, nearly throwing Derpy out of the room. The creaking grew louder. The floor shifted again, the old wood snapping. Seeing no other option she leapt out, flapping her wings like a madpony. She screeched to a halt, and turned around just in time to see what little remained of her house collapse on itself, disappearing in a cloud of dust. Derpy coughed, clearing her throat of things ponies really shouldn't breathe.

"Oh no! My house!" She landed in front of the ruins, a look of disbelief on her face. "No no no no no! It's broken! Why is it broken?!"

The cloud settled, and it occurred to her it had been pretty much destroyed beforehoof. Only her room had remained standing, and even then. Her weight must have tipped the balance of it, causing it to collapse. Then she blinked. "Wow, that was pretty smart of me."

She trotted up to the house and looked where the front step had been. The welcome mat had disappeared. Cautiously, as not to have what little stood of the house collapse on her, she crawled in, looking around. Everything was a wreck, with all the rooms destroyed and many of the things in them missing. Dinky's room was completely empty. The kitchen was devoid of any appliances or muffins. She managed to find her diary and her saddlebags amongst the remains of her room. She also pulled out a green scarf and sweater from a broken chest of drawers, just in case things got chilly... which they might. The clothing was musty, but in good condition, considering rest of the house.

She decided to look around to see if any buildings were still intact. Surely one would be, right?

Apparently not.

Sugarcube Corner was gone. Mr Breezy's Fan Emporium was gone. The quills and sofas store was gone. Carrot Top's place was gone. Heck, as she kept looking around, everything was gone. In fact, the only thing she saw that didn't look gone was Canterlot, way in the distance.

Derpy found a park bench and sat on it, at first like her friend Lyra usually did, but then like a normal pony. She sighed, looking around. "Everything seems to be broken. I wonder what happened..."

She heard a whooshing sound in the air, followed by two more. Pegasi. She saw three of them flying above her; a mare and two stallions.

"Hey, ponies! Hey! HEY! I'm over here! Hey!" She waved her hooves at them, but they just kept flying off. "Aww..."

She found her way into the ruins of Sugarcube Corner and looked around. Nothing of value, but she had expected that. "That was rude of them, flying over me and ignoring me like that. I wish they would come over here and tell me what's going on."

No sooner had she finished speaking when three pony-sized blurs rushed at her. One of them jumped on her, pinning her to the ground with all four hooves trapping hers. A cold steel blade rested on her neck, and she screamed in terror. The pony covered her mouth with a hoof, and talking through the handle on the blade, growled something that sounded like "who are you?"

"Aaaagh! Don't hurt me! I didn't do anything!" Derpy cried, squirming.

"'Ehrfy?!" The mare on top of her shouted, spitting out the blade. "What the hay?"

"Huh...?" Derpy said, looking up at... "Rainbow Dash?"

"Derpy?" Asked an ebony coated stallion, looking like he had seen a ghost.

"Thunderlane?"

"Who's this?" The third pony, another stallion queried, more confused than anything.

"You disappear for Luna-knows how long, and show up now?"

Derpy just blinked. "I what?"

Dash growled and got off Derpy, letting the pegasus stand. "Darn it, Derpy! What the hay happened to you?"

"I let Twilight do some magic sciencey stuff and then I appeared here." She cocked her head in curiosity. "You look older."

Dash turned around, and did in fact look older. She looked more muscular than before, but her eyes were heavy and black-rimmed from lack of sleep. There were some emerging wrinkles around her mouth. "Derpy... it's been fifteen years."

Derpy's mouth dropped. "Fif..."

Thunderlane found an old seat and sat down carefully. "Yeah, fifteen years. Fifteen years since you were last seen."

"And oh boy, what you've missed." The other pegasus said, smirking. His coat was a pale blue and his mane a very dark blue. "War, death, the destruction of Cloudsdale..."

Dash rounded on him, her magenta eyes locking onto his green ones. "I told you never to mention Cloudsdale again, Soarin'."

"Oh yeah, right..." Soarin' muttered, looking down to the floor. "Sorry chief."

"Wait, Soarin'?" Derpy asked, looking even more confused. She turned her head to Dash. "Chief?"

Dash flew up into the air and posed, showing her awesomeness off. "Yep! Air Chief Marshall Rainbow Dash!"

"Wow, cool!" Derpy gave her rainbow-maned friend a little applause. Dash floated down, thanking a virtually invisible crowd. When Derpy finished, Soarin' burst out laughing. Thunderlane simply looked around.

Dash turned to Soarin' again, annoyed. "What's so funny?"

Soarin' wiped a tear from his eye, chuckling. "S-sorry, chief, just that was a little over the top."

Dash rolled her eyes, smiling. "Ha ha, Soarin'."

Thunderlane pulled his head back from beyond the door. "I think we'd better return to the Fort."

Dash coughed, clearing her throat. "Good idea, Thunderlane. Derpy, we need you to come with us."

Derpy tilted her head, frowning. "Why?"

"Ponyville isn't safe." She turned away, looking out a broken window. "Not anymore."

"W-w-w-we're going into there?" Derpy squeaked in terror.

Soarin' floated in front of her. "What, the Everfree? Of course."

"B-b-but w-wh-w-why?"

"It's where the Fort is." Dash added.

"B-b-but isn't the Everfree Forest full of creatures with nasty sharp pointy teeth?"

"Nope, not any more. Well, ok, the manticores refused to leave, but they stay well away from the path."

Derpy nodded, still trembling. Her eyes drifted to the bow-like thing attached to a box on Soarin''s side. "Hey, what's that?"

"Huh? Oh, this?" Soarin' grinned. "Dual-torque crossbow with switchable inferno and paralysis enchantments."

Derpy leaned towards the crossbow, and poked it. With a loud THUNK the bolt loaded on it shot out, slamming into a tree. Soarin' panicked, but quickly regained himself.

"Fortunately that was paralysis." He turned to Derpy, frowning. "Don't touch it again, ok?"

"Okie dokie." Derpy muttered, just about as scared of that thing as anypony who was near the business end.

Thunderlane stepped forward, taking a ground route. "Come on guys, we don't have all day."

Dash straightened up. "Right, Thunderlane has a point. Let's report back to the Princess."

Derpy opened her mouth to ask about that statement, but the pegasi took off before she could even get a word out. Flapping her wings rapidly, she eventually caught up with them, struggling to keep up to their pace.

The grey pegasus had to admit, she was always too scared to enter the Everfree Forest. It was dark and creepy and didn't work like the rest of Equestria. She felt like the trees around her were trying to eat her. She knew that idea was silly; trees don't eat ponies. Even so, she couldn't shake the feeling.

If Dash, Soarin' and Thuderlane were feeling the same, then they were hiding it well. Dash kept her eyes forward, but the two stallions at her side turned their heads around, looking for trouble. The pegasi passed over a broken cliff pass, and landed down at a little dirt path. Dash turned around to the group. "Sorry guys," she muttered. "I've gotta stop here for a minute." And without a word more she walked off into the bushes.

Soarin' sighed. "She always stops here. I tried asking before, but... well... she hit me for it." He reached up to his cheek and rubbed a sore patch that no longer existed.

Derpy blinked, turning to Soarin'. She pushed her glasses up a little. "Hang on, you're Soarin'. Of the Wonderbolts."

"Yep." Soarin' stood proudly. He was pretty large for a pegasus, but years of athletic activity would do that. He wore a teal scarf around his neck, his flight goggles sitting on his eyes. "While the Wonderbolts technically don't exist anymore, I'll be damned if I ever give up my title."

Thunderlane scoffed. "I'm surprised Luna didn't make you the ACM."

"She knows Dash more than me, and she's got what it takes. Me?" Soarin' smiled. "I'm just Soarin'."

Derpy frowned. "But, as a Wonderbolt, you'd technically be better to lead..."

"Me, lead?" Soarin' chuckled, turning to face her. "I barely made the team. If any of us, 'Fire should be the ACM."

"True." Thunderlane agreed. "She was your captain."

"What ranks are you?" Derpy asked, a curious look on her face.

"Wing Commander." Soarin' said proudly.

"Flight Sergeant." Thuderlane matter-of-factly said.

"Wow, cool." Derpy smiled at them. Thuderlane blushed a little.

Soarin' grinned. "Yep. Pretty cool being high up. Not as much time with the ponies as I'd like," he turned to Thuderlane. "But I manage."

Thunderlane was about to say something when his pupils became pinpricks and his ear twitched. "Sh!"

Derpy blinked, looking around. "What is it? I don't see-"

"Shh!" Thunderlane hissed, putting a hoof up to his mouth. He scanned his eyes as his head panned around. "Trouble."

Trouble launched out of the bushes in the form of a chicken. Well, sort of a chicken. It had the head of a chicken but the body of a winged serpentine creature, and it slithered in the air as its leather wings flapped. Thunderlane shouted "Cockatrice!"

Derpy had read about cockatrices before. Something about that it was very very bad when you looked at its eyes. She shut her eyes tight and screamed. The scream wasn't intentional, but nonetheless it did happen.

Thunk! Thunk! Thuthunk!

The cockatrice gave a pathetic squawk, and hit the ground. Derpy opened her eyes and saw that it was lying limply with a number of wooden bolts sticking out of its body. Green patches matted its white plumage. Soarin' laughed.

"So much for the myths." Thunderlane muttered, trotting over to the limp and (hopefully) dead creature. He tapped it with a hoof. "Dead."

"Good." Soarin' walked up too. "Good thing we weren't looking at its eyes."

"I tried shooting at its eyes. Seems I was off by... well... a bit."

"A bit? You got it right between the eyes!"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"And another in the heart! I think. Where's the heart on these things?"

"I don't know. I just know they're creatures."

Soarin' turned around, keeping his head locked on to Thunderlane as well as he could. "I swear, Thunder, you were aiming for-"

He saw Derpy just standing there with a horrified expression. "Oh... darn."

"What?" Thunderlane asked, turning around before seeing the grey pegasus for himself.

Derpy looked at them. "I-i-is it dead?"

Soarin' sighed, looking at the serpentine creature. "Yeah. Sorry you had to see that. But after you kill seven of them, you get over it."

Derpy trotted up to the creature, still staring. Thunderlane walked up to her.

"Derpy. Come on."

"Y-you killed it..."

"Only because it was going to kill us. Besides, it was just dumb luck we got it in the vitals." Soarin' added. "Besides, at least none of us are stoned..."

Derpy turned around, closed her eyes and reopened them. "Yeah, I guess..."

Thunderlane, once again, was about to say something when Dash returned. "You good, Chief?"

"Yeah, I am. Come on." She took to the air and flew ahead, slower this time. The other three joined her, and Derpy couldn't shake the feeling that Dash was hiding something.

Dash pushed aside more branches, making sure they didn't snap back to hit the others. Derpy thanked her.

"Ok, we should be close to the HQ now." Dash murmured. "Soarin', check our position."

Soarin' nodded and flew up, breaking through the foliage. He returned a second later, dark green leaves falling down on them. "Straight ahead, Chief."

"Thanks." Dash kept her pace up, and after a few more metres she poked her head out of the treeline. "Alright, guys, we're here."

"Wait, why did we go through all this forest when there was a perfectly good path to use?" Derpy asked.

"All the ballistae would be pointed there. And anyway, it allows us to check the path for tracks." Thunderlane added.

"Oh."

Dash trotted out first, loudly informing whoever was beyond the foliage that they weren't enemies. Soarin' followed her, Thunderlane shortly after. Derpy took a step out and her jaw dropped.

In front of her was an old, broken palace complex, patched up with new-looking stones and plates of metal. Most of it was obscured by a huge metal wall, painted olive green with the occasional white 'PLR' sprayed on it. At least ten pegasi floated around above and between the walls, and other, non-winged ponies, dressed in various types of armour, trotted on the tops of the walls. Giant crossbows were sparsely mounted across the walls, each one tended to by two ponies. Dash turned towards Derpy and smiled.

"Welcome to the Fort."

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SigmatheAwesome

SigmatheAwesome #1 · Sep 7th, 2012 · · ·

Oooh, shiny...

And I want to know what Dash was doing in the bushes. Something not at all sexual, I assume.

Inferno demon Dash

Inferno demon Dash #2 · Sep 7th, 2012 · · ·

Hmmm....this brings up so many questions such as what the hay happened to Equestria? Why is Soarin with Dash and Thunderlane? Which Princess are they servering? And will Derpy get a very bad ass weapon of her own? Also what happened to Dinky and if the CMC or Mane Six (besides Rainbow Dash of course) and Spike will be in this or not.

StormbadgerXIII