The Changeling Conflict. It's something that seemed so surreal to those of us who weren't there. The ones who were listening on the radio or staring through a screen.

This isn't happening to me, so why should I care?

This is in a different land, which means it shouldn't come here!

None of this makes sense! Why are they at our borders?!

We chose to blindly ignore every bit of it until it finally came to us. Can you guess how surprised we were? We were living our cushioned lives in Equestria, ignorant to the fact that everything we held dear would be swallowed by the abyss known as the Changeling Conflict. The first few days of the invasions weren't so bad, that is for those more inland. The outer lands near the borders were bombarded by those that fed on our feelings, our very emotions. This eventually lead to the fall of the Crystal Empire. After the Crystal Empire fell the public transport across Equestria shut down. Soon after, we had militia, whether it be royal or local, stacking up barricades, blocking up roads, taking up lodging in others' residence, especially in my home town of good ol' Ponyville.

We had hope, we shacked up in refugee camps and listened to the radio, which was only matched by the sounds of bomb shells, crumbling buildings, and stray magic. That's when I heard it. The transmission that broke the very will and being of Equestia. Canterlot Castle has fallen, The Elements of Harmony have fallen, our benevolent ruler, Princess Celestia, has fallen.

At that point, it was only a matter of time until they engulfed our precious home, the land we took advantage. You can't help feel like we're the ones to blame. Almost like if we were not so ignorant to what was happening around us, we would have had a different outcome. One that didn't in the hundreds of thousands of lives ended by the hunger of an unholy beast such as the changeling. But this is our future, this is what we have made it, and all we have left is the primal need to survive the fall of Equestria.

"Rumble!"

I shook my head and turned to look at what called my name. Redheart, a nurse for the Ponyville medical clinic before the fall, was giving me her concerned gaze.

"Yes miss Redheart?" I inquired.

"Okay, one, just called me Redheart, we've known each other for months. Two, your brother needs help with the fire wood for the soup tonight, mind helping him?" She asked with her usual warm smile.

I gave a quiet sigh and hopped to my hooves. I stretched a bit before making my way through the house we've shacked up in. We've been here for six months, living off of military rations and the boiled river water. Ponyville itself was decimated, the militia that were stationed here had all perished when the changeling army swarmed the entire town. We barely made it out alive if it had not been for Rose Luck, who had a hatch to a hidden basement under her rug that she used to store plant seeds in. We stayed down there for three days before my brother, Thunderlane, even worked up the courage to take a peek outside.

I made my way to the front door, before noticing Rose Luck relaxing on the couch, her hooves dirty from pulling weeds in the garden.

I smiled "Hey Rose! What's up?"

She looked up, giving me a smirk "Well hey there, Rumble! How's your wing holding up?"

I looked down at my left wing, which was wrapped firmly in bandages. It was hurt when the roof of one of the houses we were looting caved in. I hopped out of the way in time to avoid fatal damage, but the damage itself was still there.

I gave her a nod "It's doing fine, still a bit stiff and it hurts if I flex it, but all the same."

She gave a sheepish smile "That's good!"

I chuckled lightly before making my way outside. I scanned the area before noticing my brother Thunderlane across the street. He looked up, probably at the sound of the door opening, and when he realized it was me, he waved me over. I sighed and approached him.

"You know you shouldn't be doing this." I told him in the best stern tone I could muster.

"Doing what?" He asked, tearing a plank from the wall of the house we were in front of. "The world's gone to shit, buddy, no one's going to need this."

I sighed once more "Not that, you doofus, I'm talking about working!"

"What about working? I'm fine to work! It doesn't even hur- o-ow! What was that for?!" He yelled as I prodded his side with my hoof.

I failed to mention this before, but the only reason I survived is because Thunderlane shoved me out of the way, leaving him in the open. A broken pipe from the plumbing system of the house gave way and it pierced his rib cage like it was tissue paper. He would have died, but luckily Redheart patched him up with the medical supplies she instinctively brought alone with her when she escaped from the clinic.

"It was to prove you're not well enough yet, brother. You need to go rest, I've got the wood collecting." I told him, grabbing the piece of wood he pried off of the wall and dropping it in a pile of wood he gathered already.

"But what if-"

"No buts, this is what I want to do. You're my brother, and you risked your life trying to protect me. You deserve respite, now go."

He stood there for a moment. Starring at me, before nodding slightly and limping across the street, back to the house. I looked back, giving him a gentle smile before I picked up where he left off, pulling board after board off of the house just to stay warm that night. I don't know how we survived, or why we even have the right to do so, when all others have fallen, but I'm certain that this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to keep working until the bitter end and then some. This is what I am striving for, my life and the lives of others around me is my magnum opus.