My Little Pony: Storm Raiders

Just as Alberto was about to give up all hope, he heard two male voices in the very same room.

“Looks like the master has done it again.”

“Yeah, he did this to us, and seems like he wants to do it to that guy over there too.”

“Yeah, true.”

Alberto picked himself up. “Who said that?” he gasped.

No-one answered, but Alberto spotted a smiling miniature grandfather clock and a smiling candlelabra standing on the mantelpiece. He thought he saw the candlelabra winking at him.

“Don’t tell me…. YOU spoke??” he cried.

“Hmmm, you must be new here,” said the candlelabra. “Needless to say, we too are new here. The master asked us to work for him, and when we refused, he got his — er — missus, if that’s what you call it, to turn us into our present forms, and dragged us with him all the way here.”

“Yeah,” said the clock. “And the master knows I’m afraid of mice, and he deliberately put us in this underground cellar where rats and mice are rampant. I’ve been having mice running up and down me at really wee hours especially around 1 a.m. every other night. Good thing I have a chime to chase away those dirty, smelly rodents. Ewwww!”

“Oh, so you were living on earth as well,” said Alberto. “My name’s Alberto, by the way. May I be so kind as to find out your names, and also as to how Benz Guz…. I mean Professor Smith, brought you here?”

“My name’s Daniel Coatsworth,” said the clock; “and this is my friend, Isaac Lewis,” he said, pointing at the candlelabra.

“Peace,” said Lewis, gesturing his two candle-shaped arms in a sign of peace.

“Peace to you too,” said Alberto.

“As to how Professor Smith brought us here,” went on Coatsworth, “welp, let’s just say that his missus is…. er… a witch of some sort. She has…. er…. very strange powers. Otherwise we would never have become the way we look to you now. You’re very lucky they haven’t done it to you yet.”

“You mean….” began Alberto.

“Yes, you heard us right,” said Lewis. “The master and the missus do have extremely strange powers. You’re lucky you’re here with us. He rarely, if at all, comes down to this cellar. This is a cellar in the basement of Canterlot Castle.”

“So now tell us how you came to be here?” asked Coatsworth.

“It’s kind of a long story actually,” said Alberto, choking back a sob; “but I’ll still tell you nonetheless. I’d rather not talk about it though…. I’d rather sing about it.

About 5 years ago, on a train bound for Dover.

I met up with the ponies, when they passed right through my keep.

They took me down the by-way, to that castle on the hilltop;

And when boredom overtook us, and they commenced to speak.

They said, “Friend, you’ve had a life of fighting and hell-riding;

But there’s good news for you: what was naughty can be nice.

Cos if you don’t mind our saying, we can see your life’s a downturn;

So if you intend to repent, we’ll give you some advice.”

So I handed them my faith, but for years I suffered badly;

Though I found some interest, in a love to settle down.

But when night got deathly darkness, then my face lost all expression;

And the ponies said, “That’s where you’re gonna come right into town.

“Cos you’ve got a heart strong as horses, so keep on your courses;

Ring out the hurt and wrong, ring in the right.

You won’t ever waste no-nothin’, on a night of hell and heartbreak;

Cos the shouts of joy will come at break of dawnin’ of light.

“Now everypony knows that the secret to survival,

Is knowing how to spread the love, united in one accord.

Cos every hand’s a winner just like every hand’s a loser;

So the best that you can hope for is your heavenly reward.”

And when they finished speaking, they took me out a-ridin’,

Showed me the things around, and told me what was wrong;

And somewhere down the road now, I realised all my blunders.

And that was when I knew that I’d a mission to carry on.

Cos I’ve got a heart strong as horses, I keep on my courses;

I rang out the hurt and wrong, and rang in the right.

I didn’t ever waste no-nothin’, on that life of hell and heartbreak;

Cos the shouts of joy will cme at break of dawnin’ of light.

“Cos I’ve got a heart strong as horses….” he began again, but suddenly a few mice darted out from a mousehole which happened to be on the same wall just where Alberto was leaning. The mice made straight for Coatsworth and ran up on him. Coatsworth chimed out in fear. “DONG! DONG! DONG!”

“Diam lah, Coatsworth! You’re raising the alarm for nothing!” cried Alberto.

“I can’t!” chimed Coatsworth. “Those mice…. DONG! DONG! …. just get them off me will you?! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! …. “

“Just DIAM!!” screamed Alberto, trying in vain to stop the chiming by covering Coatsworth’s mouth, not for one minute guessing that the mouth is not where a clock’s chime resonates.

“Enough, the two of you!” cried Lewis. “There’s a cave just opposite this cellar! Just go to the cellar door and straight ahead!”

“But….” began Alberto.

“JUST DO IT!!!” yelled Lewis.

Alberto picked up Coatsworth and Lewis and ran straight for the cellar door; he opened it and dashed straight ahead.

If he had turned left, he’d have gone into a corridor where some wine barrels were and which would in the end lead to the great hall of Canterlot Castle; but he went straight ahead as Lewis had instructed him, and ended up in a huge cavern, reminiscent of that of the Frozen North, except that this one was a lot more humid and warm, being underground.

“Phewph!” gasped Coatsworth, who had stopped chiming by now. “I hope NEVER to see those horrible rodents again — the very thought of them just creeps me out!”

“Let’s just find a place to rest for the night,” said Alberto. “Hopefully those muchachos will never catch us here.”

“Follow me,” said Lewis; “I know a secret…”

Alberto turned out to be right somehow; for indeed Benz Guzman heard Coatsworth’s chiming, and came running down to the cellar together with Morgana as well as four of his generals Justino Diaz, Nick Cook, Dario Coleda, and Jovento Bajaran, and his head cook Jaime Lozada, to see what was going on.

“That’s funny, the clock and the candlelabra are missing,” said Guzman. “Yet ironically, apart from the mice scampering around the place, everything else seems intact.”

“Those two couldn’t have run off by themselves,” said Bajaran.

“Then what about the chiming?” wondered Diaz. “Surely someone must have broken in and stolen them.”

“If they did, they’d have nowhere to go,” said Coleda; “I’m aware that this cave is a one-way ticket to death, and further inside there’s a bottomless pit which very few would even be able to detect, considering the darkness therein.”

“Come with me, everyone,” said Morgana; “we need to strategise. And get your clothes on."

Meanwhile back in the Frozen North, night had fallen, and the ponies were very concerned. A whole day was almost over and Alberto had not returned. They turned on Rarity in anger.

“Now look at what you have done,” scolded Braeburn. “We’ve just lost one of our three biped saviours — thanks to your negligence in handling him!”

“And now we don’t know as to whether he’s still alive even now!” added Applejack.

“Guys, I’m really sorry!” pleaded Rarity. “You see, I had to make somepony do something…. but it’s all over now.”

“And just WHAT do you mean by THAT?!” demanded Big Mac, fixing Rarity with a severe glare.

“You tell us, how are you going to get Alberto back?!” shouted Applejack. “GO AND BRING HIM BACK NOW!!”

“Yeah fine I’ll do it,” said Rarity, very grudgingly.

Derpy, who had been chatting with Bond and Cartman separately in another part of the mountains, heard the noise and came cantering up, with Bond and Cartman walking behind. “What happened?” she cried. “Alberto’s dead?!”

“CHOY!” Braeburn rebutted. “I know Alberto well enough; he won’t die so easily. However what’s worrying us, is why he hasn’t come back until now. He’s been away for like more than half a day now. And it’s almost midnight.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a text from him,” said Bond, taking out his handphone, which had just beeped in his pocket. He read the text to the others:

Am stuck in a cavern underground from Canterlot Castle after almost getting caught by Benz Guzman and his men. I’ve got this friendly clock and candlelabra who can talk, here with me. We’re not sure how to get out of here. Somepony please come and deliver us. Muchas gracias. Alberto

“This means somepony will surely have to step in and save him,” said Derpy. “Bond and I will fly up and get Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to fly with us to Canterlot. Meanwhile, Cartman, you ride Rarity; take Snips and Snails with you, and go and take Manehattan. Be careful of the Everfree Forest and of Neighagra falls!”

“Si!” said Cartman, hopping onto Rarity’s back. “Giddy up! We’re homeward bound!” he called out, echoing the fourth line of the refrain from the Equestrian National Anthem.

Rarity neighed, and together with Cartman on her back, she and the two unicorn colts galloped off down the mountains in the direction of Manehattan.

After Rarity left with Cartman and Snips and Snails, the other ponies knew they had to strategise somehow.

“From what I can gather,” said Big McIntosh, “I’m suspecting lots of revenge and violence here. First of all — it turns out that ‘Professor Smith’s’ real name is Benz Guzman. And yes, we know who he is: the most wanted man on the FBI list, who recently managed to escape the maximum security dungeons in Washington DC.”

“And wait, didn’t our friend Alberto have kind of an infamous run-in with him five years ago?” asked Shining Armour.

“Yeah, and we helped Alberto defeat Guzman and his men,” said Braeburn. “We just never expected that five years later he would break free and manage to hack his way into our land to take his revenge. I mean, this is just really appalling.”

“What we need this time,” said young Featherweight, “is speed and power. We need more speed and power if we are to defeat those scums before they defeat us.”

“You have a point there,” said Applejack. “The Crystal Empire’s main asset for its apparent indomitability, is its speed and power; HRH Princess Cadence has done a wonderful job with her guards.”

“I received training under her,” said Flash Sentry, “and so did Shining Armour. Now we need to apply what we’ve learned to this case. And so far, from what I see, we’re doing so well: We’ve got Bond to go with my fellow pegasi to take Canterlot, while the unicorns under Rarity and Snips and Snails and our other human friend Cartman, have gone to defend Manehattan from the invaders. Now we just need those of you who are earth ponies, to do something. And believe me — you CAN.”

Applejack walked to the edge of the mountains and looked over Equestria. She saw another army of minions advancing over to Manehattan again, attempting to go by Neighagara falls this time. Her eyes filled with tears. “If they succeed,” she said, “Manehattan will end up exactly the way Sweet Apple Acres is now — a collectivised cooperative farm. And we all will have one less bloomin’ home.” Then casting her eyes to the distance, she sang:

All I want is a room somewhere,

Far away from the cold night air.

With one enormous chair.

Oh! Wouldn’t it be loverly?

Lots of chocolate for me to eat,

Lots of coal makin’ lots of heat.

Warm face, warm hands, warm feet,

Oh! Wouldn’t it be loverly?

Oh, so loverly sitting absolutely bloomin’ still.

I would never budge till spring crept over the window sill!

Someone’s head resting on my knee,

Warm and tender as he can be.

Who takes good care of me.

Oh! Wouldn’t it be loverly?

Loverly, loverly, loverly, loverly!

“Brava, cousin Applejack, that was a beautiful rendition!” cried Braeburn. “But we’ve got other things to think about now besides chamber music!"

“What we earth ponies will do,” suggested Big McIntosh, “is to go down to Ponyville and open fire on the inhabitants therein. It’s kind of like a backdoor for us — while Guzman and his people are busy trying to take Manehattan and defend Canterlot, we will come in and take back Ponyville, and then Appleloosa. There should be more than enough of us to do that at once — Applejack, Pinkie, and myself, we’ll deal with Ponyville; Braeburn, Noteworthy, and Pipsqueak, you three will tackle Appleloosa."

“Good idea bro!” cried Applejack. “How did you come up with that? Will it work out?"

“Yeah, it will,” said Big McIntosh. "I’m sure our bipedal friends have brought some guns in their backpacks — they should all be in the cave still. I’ll go get ‘em now.”

It was during this time that Derpy had managed to get Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy; the three pegasi, together with Bond riding on Derpy, were now flying over to Canterlot for an important mission that Bond had assigned Derpy to do.

“We stop over here,” said Bond, “and Derpy, drop this envelope down to this balcony of the castle. We’ll see what happens.”

“What was in that envelope anyway?” asked Derpy.

“I’ll tell you later,” said Bond; “cos power ponies cannot reveal too much information when in dangerous territory. Right now, we have to fly away just in case they detect us. I suggest we fly to Manehattan and alert the inhabitants therein. Dr Whooves and some other earth ponies are there too.”

“Yeah, and don’t forget, Manehattan is probably the only other place in Equestria which actually has business dealings with Earth,” mentioned Fluttershy. “It’s the only other place where bipeds from Earth come to do business with us ponies. These bipeds have legal access here as they have been brought in by ponies, usually unicorns; some of the famous businessmen who currently live in Manehattan, include YouTuber Toby Turner, porn star Jamie Sanders, musician Joel Zimmerman alias DeadMau5, and Team Fortress 2 creator Gabe Newell."

“It’s our one main source of revenue,” said Rainbow Dash. “It’s a key target for those invaders, because of the gold we keep therein.”

They soon arrived in Manehattan within a matter of minutes. “I’ll alert the town,” said Derpy. “The place to do so is at Speaker’s Corner, over there at Gallop Ayer Community Center. You guys wait outside the city gates; Bond, you ride Dashie; and Fluttershy, you follow behind. When I give the signal, ride into the gates.”

Bond nodded in agreement. “Stand by, the two of you,” he said to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

Derpy flew to the Speaker’s Corner, and when she was sure the time was right, she cried out:

Rejoice, daughter of Manehattan!

Shout, daughter of Canterlot!

Behold, here cometh thy saviours, riding into thy gates!

She winked at Bond. “Giddy up!” cried Bond. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy neighed, and they slowly trotted into the city; the ponies therein started waving palm leaves and calling out in many voices.

“Please! Deliver us!”

“Blessed are they that cometh in the name of dear sweet Celestia!”

“You in the highest heaven! Please! Deliver us!"

Bond slowly rode up to the podium of the Speaker’s Corner and spoke out in a loud voice.

“Listen up, everypony! Equestria is under attack from unwelcome assailants! Canterlot, Appleloosa, and Ponyville have already fallen to the invaders! Everypony now hurry to the Crystal Empire for safety! This is our one chance! Let us, your saviours, defend you from the invaders!”

Just then, a few well-dressed gentlemen showed up at the Speakers’ Corner. “What’s going on?!” they cried. “Why suddenly all this paraphernalia when we’re halfway at the office?!… Oh wait! Aren’t you Agent 007??"

“This is a national emergency!” shouted Bond. “I don’t care if you’re bipedal or quadrupedal, human or horse; just hurry to the Crystal Empire! This is for your own safety and security!”

“All right! Fine!” shouted the men, as they followed the rest of the pony citizens of Manehattan out to the Crystal Empire.

“Now it’s just us,” said Fluttershy.

“Nope, there’s still one more citizen left — I think he’s still inside his house over yonder,” said Rainbow Dash, indicating to a unit in a block of flats in which the window was open and a man was calmly looking down from there at the sheer scene. “And best part is that he’s a human too.”

“I’ll go get him,” said Bond. He ran up to the block of flats, took the elevator up, and saw the unit door; the name outside read:

SEAN O'HARA

Management Consultant

He knocked on the door of the unit. The very man whom they had seen, opened the door; he wore a naval uniform and had a monocle in his eye. This was, obviously, none other than Sean O’Hara himself, the resident of this unit.

“Well, what can I do for you?” he asked coldly.

“Mr O’Hara, sir? We’re under a state of emergency,” said Bond. “Would you mind, for your own safety, joining the others in going to the Crystal Empire?”

“Ohh! Wait! You’re Agent 007, right?” said O’Hara, suddenly looking happy and giving Bond a pet on the back. “Come in for a cup of tea! Never mind about the emergency; I’m Sean O’Hara, and if you know me well enough, you’ll know that I’ve got the means to deal with all kinds of emergencies!”

Derpy, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy flew up to O’Hara’s window. “Mr O’Hara, we don’t know what means you have, but this is for your own safety,” said Derpy, looking grave. “If you don’t come with us, we won’t force you; we’ll just leave you here to your fate.”

“This is not a joke,” added Fluttershy.

“Like I said,” said O’Hara, “you’ll see what means I have to deal with the matter. Excuse me a minute please, I need to make a call.”

He went into his room for a while, locked the door, and when he was sure no-one was listening, he made a call to Sean Brink, his Chief Operations Officer. For after all, Sean O’Hara was an evil man — he was none other than the man who had masterminded everything evil for the last five years; he was the brains behind the now-defunct All Lee Enterprises, and he too was the man who had instigated Morgana to miraculously smuggle Guzman out of prison and give him power to invade Equestria as was happening at present, hence this was not at all a real emergency for O’Hara, not in the least.

“Hello, Brink?” said O’Hara. “O’Hara here…. we’ve got visitors; three pegasi and one human…. I suspect these visitors are actually aiding the defense of Equestria, seeing that they’ve actually got the citizens of Manehattan to flee to the Crystal Empire for refuge…… What? General Spettro failed? What about General Ruiz — is he on his way down?…… Very good; I assume you know what to do next; tell Guzman that we need to rush those super-powered hang-gliders quickly….. yeah….. right….. ok….. ok talk to you later. Bye.”

He then opened his door and was shocked to see Derpy, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Bond still standing there. “What the…. are you still here?” he asked.

“Er… we were waiting for you,” said Bond.

“Yeah, waiting for you to decide whether or not you want to go to safety,” added Fluttershy.

“Like I said,” said O’Hara, “I’ll be safe here. You don’t have to worry about me.” His Dublin-accented voice now had a hint of annoyance therein.

“Very well, suit yourself,” said Derpy. “Bond, get on my back; and let’s all go.”

After they flew out of O’Hara’s window, O’Hara rubbed his hands in glee. “He! He! He! They’ve left the entire city in OUR hands now!” he said. “And General Ruiz will soon be marching in with his minions — and what is now Manehattan, will soon be renamed Peaking, for all its industries, businesses, and MONEY, will be collectivised! He! He! He!”