86-34: Arc 1: Fight the Power, Fight the Fad

“...the best night ever!” exclaimed Twilight and her friends.

“Why haven’t I heard of this place before? The donuts here are amazing!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

“Heh, do I know how to pick ‘em or what ?” Spike said, triumphantly.

“Ah' second that, Rainbow. We should do this more often,” Applejack added.

“We should definitely do this more often”, Princess Celestia said. The others turned to her in surprise, and all shared a good laugh.

Their laughter was interrupted by a guard who came through the door. “Your Highness, we have an emergency situation. Canterlot is under attack!”

“What?!” They exclaimed. The sheer emotional change from happiness to urgency gave them. Princess Celestia a shock. “By whom?”

“We’re not sure, Your Highness, but right now we need to get into the palace for your own safety. I will escort you inside immediately!”

Spike sighed as he eyed his last donut. “Aww, but I was just going to finish this donut with extra sprinkl..ooof!” He was cut off by Twilight telekinetically pulling him onto her back as they sped off.

~~~

The streets were in chaos. Civilians ran in panic, as Directive 34 soldiers marched up the streets. “Rejoice, for the Directorate of Anarchy, Ravaging, and Killing is here to liberate all of Equestria!” chanted a D34 unicorn. “Once we take over, free flanks for everyone!”

This dumbfounded some of the civilians.

“...you get sloppy seconds too”, the unicorn added. This sparked a riot on the streets, which added to the existing chaos.

The Canterlot Royal Army guards arrived and attacked them with spells, the same spells they obtained from the defence contract between Alicorp Industries and Canterlot High Command. This grave mistake cost them dearly, as the D34 soldiers knew the strengths and weaknesses for each spell, dodging their castings and countering them during moments of exposure in their attacks. The guards’ thick armor was tough. It deflected most bullets but it made them slow and encumbered. A few shots to  their legs weakened them, and eventually they were brought down with a combination of spells and firepower.

“They know our spells. How could they know?!” A guard exclaimed, losing his patience and composure.

“We’re keeping them at bay, but we’re taking heavy casualties. Retreat to the palace!” shouted a Sergeant as they pulled back.

~~~

   “This way, your Highness,” the guard said to Princess Celestia, followed by Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie.

They reached the main banquet room, which was empty at this point. The guard waited at the door and gestured to Princess Celestia, prompting her to come out of the room.

“Wait here till the other guards arrive. They will escort you to a safe place. Till then, stay quiet and lay low. I will see you soon”, she said to the rest, as she turned off the lights. “What’s the situation?” She asked the guard.

“Your Highness, the enemy is making their way here. We can slow them down, but we can’t stop them", reported the guard.

“Understood. Have the guards defend the palace entrances and fall back to the throne room if necesssary. We will make our final stand there.”

“Yes, Your Highness!” the guard said, saluting with a hoof.

~~~

Canterlot Palace was swarming with air patrols as the city continued to be engulfed in turmoil and flames. Cipher and Badger flew in from the foot of the mountain and slowly worked their way upwards, keeping an eye on the horizon. They eventually reached a portion of the Royal Gardens.

“We can sneak in through here”, said Cipher, as he wielded a Mauser 98k scoped rifle. Similar to his SMG, this rifle retained it’s stock, but the trigger guard was removed, and the trigger size was enlarged. Badger nodded in agreement, as they entered the palace. Most of the sections were dark and empty. Occasionally they had to bypass ground patrols along the corridor and air patrols above the upper walkways.

“I’ve never seen so many guards deployed at once”, Badger whispered “They must be in a real tight spot.”

“Exactly, which is why we need to find Princess Celestia and the Six before those D34 soldiers do.”

~~~

“So, when are those handsome stallions coming back for us again?” Rarity asked in the dark.

“I’m not sure, but we can’t leave here in case they come back only to find us missing,” Twilight replied.

“Man, this stinks! Even during a siege like this we’re being babysitted! I’d like go out there and fight the invaders myself! I’ll even put one hoof behind my back”, Rainbow Dash said, punching the air with her left hoof.

“Well, whatever it is, I hope at the end I get back home, to my nice warm bed”, Spike said.

“Umm...maybe the invaders are gone already and the guards just forgot to come get us?” Fluttershy remarked optimistically.

“Ah’m with Fluttershy on this. We gotta stay positive if we wanna keep all of our apples in one basket, if you know what Ah' mean,” Applejack said confidently.

The others looked at her, dumbfounded.

Suddenly, the doors burst open and a wounded guard slumped inside the dark room.

“Twilight...ngh...run...” the guard mustered all his strength to say those words before he was mercilessly gunned down from behind. A unicorn holding a gun in his mouth walked in.

“Ooooh, Tfwilighf,huh? zhackpot! Quickshilver’s gonna make a real exhample of you,” the unicorn said, holding an MO pistol in his mouth as he illuminated the darkness, checking the room bit by bit, “We’f gotta fhank you and your friends, for your friendship and schuff. It’s truly ...magical....heheheh. Our exahmple-making will be all the more....effective.”

Suddenly a blue hind leg burst out of the shadows right in the unicorn’s face.

“Take that!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she flew back up.

The unicorn fell back and dropped his gun. “Rainbow Dash is here too? Heheh this is a pleasant coincidence!”

“There’s more where that came from, punk!” Dash exclaimed as she swooped down.

“You need your wings clipped”, the unicorn said as he unleashed two waves of telekinetic knives. The knives struck both Dash’s wings with two small red clouds bursting out of them as she fell to the ground.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight cried.

“AHA! Found you,” the unicorn grinned, advancing towards her. What he didn’t expect was a headbutt out of nowhere, throwing him a few feet away.

“Take that, ya varmit!” Applejack exclaimed, frowning. The headbutt really hit the spot, as the unicorn found it hard to get up. Before he got to his hooves, the huge circular banquet table flipped over and crashed down on him. Twilight, exhausted from that feat, collapsed.

Suddenly the table exploded with a shockwave as fragments flew everywhere. The shockwave knocked the six ponies back and a hail of little splinters peppered them. As the dust cleared, the unicorn emerged.

“Alright, no more games”, he said, approaching them, his face ridden with anger. Before he could cast a spell, a burst of rounds hit him from behind. He slumped to the ground, and as he turned to see who it was, a bullet found its mark in his head.

“Are you ponies alright?” came a muffled voice in front of them. The six ponies were too terrified and too weakened to reply. They could see two shapes coming towards them.

“Damn, what happened to Rainbow Dash?” Cipher said as he rushed to her side to examine the wounds. “She’s lost a lot of blood. Check the others.” Badger examined each the others. “Aside from some splinters, nothing much.” He heard a soft sobbing and recognized it as Fluttershy. “It’s ok, Fluttershy, we’ll get you somewhere safe. Here, let me help you up.” He held out a hoof to her, and slowly pulled her up.

“This is all I can do for now, hope it holds”, Cipher said as he injected Rainbow Dash with the healing serum. He then proceeded to Twilight.

“Twilight...can you hear me?”

“...hhuh....wha...Who are you?” asked Twilight. She couldn’t make out the shape of her saviors, as their faces were covered, and her blurry vision didn’t help either.

“Doesn’t matter. We need to get you and your friends out of here, especially Dash. She’s too weak to fly. Can you show us the way?”

Twilight looked over to Dash. Seeing her friend in a critical state, she suddenly snapped out of her daze.

“The quickest way is through the eastern exit. Follow me”, she said, still a bit out of breath.

“No, we can’t. The enemy is already inside. Do you know of any secret passages nearby?”

Twilight closed her eyes and thought hard for a moment. “...There’s one, in a ballroom down the hall.”

“Alright, gather your friends and we’ll cover you. Quick, we don’t know when they might find us”, Cipher said, the urgency clearly present in his words. “Badger, I’ll need you to carry Rainbow Dash on your back while I cover the front.”

“Got it”, Badger replied. I bet any fan would consider this an honor, he thought, smiling to himself.

They left the banquet hall and proceeded down the corridor. Cipher lead the party on two hooves, his rifle kept down range, with Twilight following second. Badger was at the other end, with Rainbow Dash on his back.

As they came to a junction, Cipher raised his left hoof, signalling them to stop. He peered around the corner, and gave the all clear sign. The moved further down and reached the ballroom. It was dark but the moonlight from the window allowed them to see without switching on any lights. Twilight led them behind a statue, and telekinetically moved a lamp holder on the wall. A section of the wall slid downwards to reveal a tunnel.

“Everypony inside, hurry”, Cipher instructed. Twilight and Rarity slowly levitated Rainbow Dash off Badger and onto Rarity’s back.

“I don’t know who you are, but....thank you...I can’t express my gratitude enough”, Twilight said to Cipher with a weak smile.

“Just keep the true magic of friendship alive no matter the odds. That is thanks enough”, Cipher said in his muffled voice. He knelt down to Spike who was scared, and put a hoof on his shoulder.

“Spike, take good care of Twilight, ok? I’m counting on you,” Cipher said in a warm tone.

Spike’s face became serious and he saluted. “You can count on me, sir!”

They entered the tunnel and the wall closed behind them.

“They’re safe, now...let’s go kill some D34 scumbags.”

“Yes. Let’s”, Badger replied with a frowning smile.

~~~