Anon - Aftermath

>A small lamp sings inside of a dull steel grey room
>Inside of the artificial looking area were two chairs and a table
>Sitting on the chairs was a man wearing a suit with a deep red tie and a young girl
>The young girl had a soft, pretty face but was smudged with small bits of ash
>Had she bothered to comb her hair, she might’ve noticed the small bit of shrapnel in it
>She was visibly shaken, yet sat with a frozen look on her face of slight confusion
>The man tapped a sharpened lead point onto the table and cleared his throat
>Over the buzz of the light in the room, it was even possible to hear it
“Please state your name” He said with mechanical purpose
>The girl looked down at the small recording device laying on the table
>Inside the machine, she could almost make out the soft whir of two tape reels
>To anyone else, it would be normal, but to her it was almost comical to have such archaic recording devices
>Even with the absurd thought, no smile came to her face as the suited official cleared his throat again
“Please speak your name. This will go easier if you co-operate”
> “T-Twilight Sparkle” She said with a dry throat
>The words hurt, but she found it odd that she had stuttered over something simple like her name
“Thank you. Now, do you know why we brought you here?” He asked with a calm voice
> “No. I was just in the wreckage when...when...” She started to say before the tears came
>She’d been told by her mother not to hold back tears of sadness because they reminded you of the good times
>Right now she felt no happiness, not even a fading memory of that now foreign emotion
>All she knew was that she was weeping over untold number of corpses
“Miss Sparkle? Are you alright?” He asked, a hint of concern in his robotic tone

> “I’m fine. I just can’t seem to say it..o-out loud” She replied, choking up at the last part
“That’s alright. How about I read what we here know and you correct us?” He offered the broken girl
> “That would be nice, thank you”
>She put on a brief smile, not out of thankfulness but reflexive courtesy
“Okay, so at 5:00 P.M. after the main festivities began for the canterlot royal banquet, the police were given a bomb threat” He read off of a sheet
>Twilight nodded thoughtfully as she tried to remember what she was doing then
“Guards were informed and all of the princess’ were called to leave the area for safety reasons”
>Twilight tried to remember the faces of her friends from the party
>They had all had such a good time then, happy throughout the whole thing
>Why couldn’t she remember their smiles?
>Something inside of her told her not to try to remember, perhaps it was her brain’s attempt to defend itself from the memories
“Luna and Cadance left quietly, but Celestia didn’t. She chose to stay and oversee the evacuation herself, despite the protests of-”
> “Shining Armor. My brother” Twilight spoke up finally
>The story and turned to something she was there for and she decided to join in
“Your brother? We received reports that he...” The man trailed off as he looked back up to Twilight’s face
>Tears were there, but she made no motion to acknowledge them
> “H-he told me...told me too...” She tried to speak
>The man let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair as he dropped the robotic atmosphere for a moment
“Listen, you’ve been through a lot, would you like too-”
> “No! I mean, no. Please, I need to know what happened...to my brother” She said the last word with reverence
>A flash returned to her as the fires blazed in front of her once again
>Just as she did then, there was no scream, but wide eyed fixation on the impending doom

>No thoughts came to her until the glimmer of golden armor brought her back to reality
>Her brother blasted the flames with a fire extinguisher as a growl grew on his face
>Shining Armor snarled at the encroaching flames, daring them to touch him before forcing them back with the cool gas
>He turned to her and for a moment lost the growl and a look of terror replaced it
>A shout should’ve escaped his lips, but Twilight heard nothing over the crackle of wood
>Twilight was helpless as she watch Shining bolt over to her and lift her up on his shoulder
>She was an adult, why was he carrying her?
“Miss Sparkle? Are you alright?” A voice shook her from the nightmare
>The fire of the room snapped into the steel grey of reality
“Okay, listen, we’ll try again tomorrow. Just rest and-” He started to get up
> “NO!” She shouted before lunging across the table at him
>At first he recoiled, but the streams of water from her eyes made him relax
>The twin rivers washed away some of the soot from her face and dropped onto the metallic table
> “P-please...tell me what happened to him! He’s my brother, please!” She pleaded with him
>The man closed his eyes to try and collect himself
>Despite the cold exterior, the long hours and sudden flurry of activity had worn on him
>How could he not be?
>He sighed and placed one hand over Twilight’s prompting her to move back to her seat
>Normally she would have blushed from acting so brashly, but to her it was an under reaction
>She deserved, no, needed to know what happened to Shining Armor
“We received a report that he had gone into the fires of the western terrace...to save his sister”
>The idea he’d gone in for her didn’t surprise Twilight
>Her brother had always been protective of his little sister, even more so now that he was the captain of the guard
>Still, the news struck her in the chest, making her lean back in her cold chair slowly

“He reportedly saved not only you but over 35 other people trapped by debris. Your brother was a real hero”
>The difference in tense struck her ears like a gunshot, making them prick up
>The man placed one hand back on the table after he finished, pausing to make sure she heard the compliment
>She looked up quickly into the man’s eyes with wide, unknowing terror as he went on
>At the sight of her terrified eyes, he hesitated to go on, but knew better than to ask what she wanted
“But, after retrieving the last person, he returned to the structure to look for more survivors”
>The man paused and looked back up at Twilight
>Despite the cool nature and tone he had, this was growing difficult for him to say
“But...there were none. As he returned, a stray beam apparently fell in his way, blocking his leaving”
>Twilight tensed up as if the man was describing something she was witnessing right then
“He pounded his shoulder against the beam and it eventually gave way but...” The man paused and looked to Twilight again
>She was staring at the table in horror as she imagined the scene play out in her head
>Her brother was captain of the guard, the best brother she’d ever had
>He was invincible
“Miss, you don’t want to hear this”
> “Tell me...” She said before looking back up
>There weren’t any tears coming from her bloodshot eyes anymore
>Even the deepest parts of her thought had become swallowed by the sorrow, taking even the tears from her face
>The man coughed and swallowed, taking a few moment to regain his official composure
“But the flames had given him 3rd degree burns over a majority of the right side of his body” The man continued
>He watched her reaction briefly before going on, not knowing what she would do
“The adrenaline let him make it back to the ambulances, but the damage was done by then” He finished

“The adrenaline let him make it back to the ambulances, but the damage was done by then” He finished
>He placed the paper down and place a hand over the outstretched one Twilight forced onto the table
“His last words were “Tell Twilight I love her and that I’m sorry”. I’m...I’m sorry for your loss” He said before looking down to the table
>Even he was taken back by the story, despite having heard nearly a dozen similar ones tonight
>A few moments go by and twilight doesn’t move as the flashback comes to her again
>The world is swept up in a swirl of fire and chaos as she bounces on Shining’s shoulder
>Finally, his voice could be made out over the fire
>He was yelling desperately and occasionally cursing as flames jumped from various obstacles at them both
>Eventually the flames disappeared and Twilight felt rejuvenated right before being placed down against a surprisingly cool wall
> “W-wait, Shining, wait!” Twilight called out as she saw him run towards the fire
>He turned back to look at her with slight shock that she was conscience
> “Please...don’t...” She weakly called out to him
>Shining put on a cocky grin and lifted a dismissing hand to his sister
“Come on Twiley, I’ll come back. i promise”
>But now the memory shifted to her imagination as the news morphed her mind
> “Please no-!” She started to protest as she felt herself get pulled towards a stretcher
>A half burnt Shining Armor looked up at her and slowly opened it’s mouth
>His good arm grabbed a nearby medic’s and pulled him close to hear his final whisper
>Despite it’s actual volume, Twilight heard it loud and clear
“Tell My sister I love her...and tell her...I’m sorry”
>The tears came back to her as she fell to her knees and started weeping once again
“Miss Sparkle? Miss Sparkle!” The man said as he rushed to her side
>She’d fallen to the floor and began convulsing in weeping shudders
>As soon as he knelt next to her, she latched onto him and hung onto him for dear life
> “It’s m-my f-fault! H-he...he..!” She tried to work out
>The man could do nothing but rub her shoulder as she cried on the floor
>Above them both, the lamp finally came to a rest, making the flame like shadows stop their dance