The Canterlot castle guard had been at his post for almost two hours without hearing so much as a leaf rustling. The cool night breeze gently passed over his body calming his mind, and pardoning him from his fatigue. Only his bored hoofsteps seemed to disturb the dark night and suggest that he was one of the few ponies so unlucky as to have a night shift. The guard was bored stiff after keeping watch over Canterlot, though reluctant that somepony would soon relieve him of his post and would soon be arriving.
The sentry gazed out toward the city of Canterlot. From his post he could see nearly all the houses below creating a maze of buildings, shops, and decorative architecture that was as extravagant as it was varied in size and design. Some simple cozy houses were next to carpenter shops while a few blocks down a grand mansion home to aristocrats of great power and extravagance stood overlooking the neighborhood in the same manner a castle towers before a cottage.
Canterlot was a place of great prosperity, fashion, and taste but despite this there was a surprising variety of social classes and economic positions. Still, Canterlot enjoyed a prosperity, tranquility, and stability unlike any other city in the known world thanks to the Equestrian royal line and their command of the sun and the moon. What nation would dare declare war on the one that controls the very source of power that brings life to the world or rest to the weary? If nothing else thought the guard, the banishment of Princess Luna did nothing if not strengthen her rule in the eyes of other kings, Emperors, Queens, and Tyrants by showing that treason and deceit would be meet with a thousand years of banishment. True to one such as Luna such a time frame is but a long timeout, but to the world that was explicit display of authority. Matter of fact thought the guard Such rulers of power have visited Canterlot and bestowed upon Princess Celestia great gifts and treasures in exchange for her blessing. It is said that to be at peace with Equestria is to be at peace with the world. The saying had some truth in the matter as it is a known fact that Equestria and the Chrystal Empire have had their fruitful relationship blossom into a mutual alliance. To declare war on Equestria the beacon of life, love, and hope. To declare war on this fruitful Matriarchy is surly to declare war on the free world?
As his mind wondered away into other topics a rush of guilt overwhelmed him though not an uncommon occurrence due to his station. The guard pushed aside his intruding thoughts and scanned the city once again. Above Canterlot many miles away lay in the air another city. Cloudsdale, he had never been to it but had heard it was a city with no earthly rival. Its foundation built out of clouds. Truly the guard was jealous of Pegasi- it seemed hardly fair they get their own city. Despite the aristocratic nature of Canterlot all are welcome to rest their weary hooves at any number of inns, Princess Celestia has even been as generous as to grant the privilege upon visitors of far off lands with her glorious presence. Yet can I, let alone any earth or unicorn pony visit Cloudsdale without utilizing advanced magic or the expensive services of Pegasus steered coaches? If he could just visit the city he has seen in countless paintings and dreams all his melancholy feelings would vanish and his mood would never darken when he sets eyes on that tranquil city so far up and away in the sky.
The lookout sighed and with it all his fatigue and sadness escaped for a brief moment. He was moving to perform an about face when suddenly near Cloudsdale three figures seemed to dive off the clouds into the seemingly infinite space below. Against the dark of night the guard could vaguely make out the trail of their mane. They flew down to the earth in formation creating a trail behind them the color of their manes. Red, yellow and blue. They quickly separated with the yellow one flying far to the west faster than before, the red pony going to the east, and lastly the Blue pony flew straight to Canterlot.
Suddenly the sky seemed to explode in color. Yellow, Red, and Blue shockwaves of color lit up the dark night, nearly blinding the guard by the light- petrifying him with fear. He had just remembered who those three were who had personally escorted princess Celestia not as her entourage but as her shield and sword. Those mono-colored rainbooms only meant one thing… an emergency, an SOS, a cry in the night to take heed as some great peril was approaching. He understood what he had to do. His horn shined brightly as he used his magic to bring to bear a most particular tool. Using his magic he spun the magical artifact churning the device. Soon a most unnerving sound reverberated in the air. The sound of an Alarm. The calling of arms. Equestria was under attack.
“What is going on out here sentry!?” The sergeant said so all the castle could hear. Private first class Zippy of the Pegasi recon division followed behind his commanding officer awaiting orders. “The castle seems to be under attack, three mono-colored rainbooms were spotted below Cloudsdale. I think it was a warning sir.” Said the guard.
“Zippy go out and Recon” the sergeant bellowed. “And you.” Turning to face the guard at attention. “Meet with your squad and prepare for battle. Get moving.”
“Yes sir!” The two soldiers replied. The guard went to go group up with his squad while Private Zappy flew out to recon- but stopped when something caught his eye. It looked like something had dashed by just outside his peripheral vision but upon gazing in the general direction of the anomaly he saw nothing but trees and shadows near the main grounds. Surly it was his imagination and with his curiosity satisfied he set out to complete the assignment given.
“Where is the princess? Our squad is charged with defending the royal family! Whose Job was it to guard the princess and escort her across the grounds!? Now the nine of us look like incompetent foals while the princess is in dang-“
“I found her I found her!” Interrupted the Royal Guard as he dashed across the hallway toward his comrades. “She’s near the throne room making her way to balcony!” the frightened guard yelled.
“Let’s mov-“Suddenly the window next to soldier shattered and the pony found himself unable to finish his sentence. His neck having been pierced by a razor sharp spear that was coated in the late stallion’s blood. The remaining nine stood in shock for a single heart beat then swung into action just as the remaining windows were shattered by five more assassins.
The first assassin used a spare hoof to free his spear from the prison it was lodged in. Its prey falling to the floor creating a puddle of blood that drenched the immaculate looking floor with crimson red. His horn visibly glowed under the pitch black camo the pony was wearing and to the Royal Guards surprise the intruder leaped over the nine of the guards then sprinting to the throne room.
“Celestia damn him” mumbled a guard as he fired a spell from his horn striking the pony in the head. “Stopped him dead in his tracks” thought the guard. Before diving out of the path of another spell- magic missile. Magic missile being a standard issue spell used all over the world from civil defense, to recreational hobbies, and even assassination attempts on royalty apparently.
The guard fell to the ground and was about to be hit by another magic missile when a comrade next to him cast a magic shield sparing the two of them.
“We out number them nine to five! End them!” the guards opened fired- only for the assassins to teleport behind the guards. Three more guards fell to either steel or magic. The guards now outnumbered the dastardly assassins six to five.
“Oh Celestia give us strength” said a guard whose voice shook more than his spear. He dodged a shot at him and barely blocked a spear from ending him. He thrust his weapon at the assassin only for the intruder to teleport to the side and disarm him with a hoof to his face. The assassin was about to deliver the killing blow when a guard opposite of him threw his spear at the assassin readying a coup de grace. The assassins cried out in agony as his side was pierced but he was not dead yet. With the last of his strength he collapsed his body onto the disarmed guard and slammed his hoofs into the guard with strikes like that of thunder. The assassin screamed in pain as a spare guard ripped out the spear from his flank and pieced his body again. In the assassins last breath he brought forth all the power he could muster and smashed the trapped guards face against the ground cracking his skull before exhaling his final breath. “Who are they?” cried another guard. Before being ripped asunder by magic missile.
“They are even with us! They are even with us!” The guard said as the assassins’ teleported erratically only stopping to fire a single volley or teleporting behind the four remaining guards to strike with a spear. One by one the assassins killed the guards but not before the guards had killed one more of the assassins.
“Follow” commanded one of the assassins and like a shadow in the night they slipped into the dark hallway drifting ever closer to the throne room... and Princess Celestia.
Princess Celestia stood near the far end of the throne room near a side passageway that leads to one of the many balconies overlooking Canterlot. Above the throne at the opposite end of the room from where Princess Celestia, was a glass stained window of Celestia with her wings spread, raising the sun, and showering the mural with an almost holy light. She stopped near the entrance of the balcony and peered across the hall to see the door to the right of the throne open and three cloaked figures walk inside.
“If you think you can defeat me you are sadly mistaken” Celestia proclaimed as a matter of fact.
The assassin replied, “You are to surrender your crown or we will not show any mercy to you or your ponies.”
“I will not abandon my subjects to such evil and malice. Nor will I surrender to one who must use petty coercion and murder to achieve their lust for power.”
“Very well than, you two.” The leader of the group said to the two other assassins. “Inform the commanders that negotiations have failed and we will be required to engage in more persuasive means.” They departed. “You will come to change your disposition” declared the masked figure. At that moment the stained glass picture of Celestia shattered and a blue Pegasus crashed into the throne room.
“Can’t believe I crash landed like that… You there! Get your dirty hoofs away from the princess before I make you!”
The masked assassin scoffed at the blue pegesi’s order. “You’re threatening me little Pegasus? I just killed four of your fellow Equestrians without so much as breaking a sweat and you have the arrogance to threaten me? I assure you that will be the last mistake you ever make. Allow me to demonstrate the superiority of the unicorns.”
“Bring it.”
At that moment Princess Celestia said, “I leave this in your hooves Blue of the Dash family.” And trotted outside onto the balcony. After the door had closed Blue Dash and the masked assassin commenced combat. Blue launched himself into the air with a powerful flap of his wings- out the window he had come crashing through. “…Cowar-“ The last thing the assassin saw after being kicked through the air was the plank of a blue stallion, with a cloud that bore a single blue lightning bolt, and the door the Princess had walked out of coming to a rest once again.
“Blue, thank you for ridding my presence of him” “It was an honor my Princess” and Blue Dash bowed to his Princess who caught a glimpse of the tattoo he had adopted below his right eye as a sign of his commitment to Equestria and her. The mark simply read, “Loyalty”. After he had finished bowing Blue took off to meet the enemy in the air.
“It is time to cast aside this darkness and bring light and hope to Equestria.” As she said this she beckoned to the sky, her horn aglow with yellow energies and power and slowly the sun rose casting out the darkness that the night had held over the land.
“No.” a single word, filled with the realization that this may be the last ray of hope Equestria sees for a long time.
Celestia knew that she had no choice but to surrender or Equestria would truly be destroyed.
“Alright foals line up. I want the unicorns in a 8 by 3 herdfront formation and the earth ponies in a double line for formation. For those of you earth ponies who haven’t graduated elementary school that means 20 in the front and 20 in the rear. ” The commander shouted to the platoon charged with the defense of the main entrance to the castle. “Unless Princess Celestia raises the sun the missile troops will need to fire a steady volley of flares to keep the sky light up. I don’t want so much as a bird getting by our defenses. The unicorns will hold in the rear in a large herdfront formation and will target and destroy any Aerial threat the herdfront commander designates while the earth ponies in the front will hold and push back any offensive made against our position. This is very basic formation so I’m sure you pity excuses for soldiers can at least shoot and stab at the pony that isn’t wearing a Canterlot uniform. If you can’t do that you might as well go home and sleep with your mommy like the foal you are. Do any of you need to go home to your mommy?”
The Platoon of 64 shouted back, “Sir! No sir!”.
“I didn’t think so. Now is the fun part ponies. Now we wait with our hooves up our rears while we wait for the enemy and the sun to rise”.
Zippy flew closer toward Cloudsdale. Despite her keen senses she could scarcely make out clouds let alone other ponies. She flew strait up and as she did the sun slowly rose with her. If she survives she knew the sight she saw would be a sight she never forgets. Just on the horizon lay what looked to be hundreds no thousands of black armored troops. Their manes not so much flowing as it was pulsating with ethereal energies. She felt as if a thousand pair of eyes were staring at her. She didn’t waste a second more and turned to fly back to Canterlot Castle to report her findings. When Zippy got halfway there she heard a voice scream out.
“Stop I need your help. We have to stop them.” Zippy looked behind her and saw a yellow Pegasus that bore a cloud with a yellow lighting bolt on her flank.
“Are you crazy? We can’t fight them!”
“You idiot you were so busy scanning the horizon that you didn’t even see the hidden threat that loomed below. Beneath us Unicorns are trying to open a portal.”
Zippy looked down to the earth. “I don’t see anypon- oh dear. I see them. What is that?” Zippy said out of genuine curiosity. “I’ve never seen a spell like that before.”
“That is a transporter spell and we need to fly down there and break the magical circuit or Equestria is even more fucked then it is already.” The yellow Pegasi began her decent to the ground and Zippy trailed behind her.
“How do we do that?”
“Easy. We kick the mages in the horn while not getting shot. Just follow me and you should be fine.”
“I should mention I’m a SCOUT I’m not exactly a battle hardened warrior.” Zappy said with worry and fear filling her voice.
“Don’t worry! Yellow Dash has got your back.”
Yellow and Zappy soon reached a standard terminal velocity. Zappy shouted at the top of her lungs to Yellow Dash, “Where is everypony? Shouldn't the air force be scrambled by now?”
“Why would they do that? The battle hasn’t started.”
“But you just said Equestria was fucked? Why aren’t they fighting?”
“Rushing into an enemy formation could do more harm than good. It’s better to assess the strategic situation first then respond in the most tactically viable manner.” Zappy’s dumbfounded expression was replaced with that of disbelief and rage.
“Then… what… are… we… doing?” Zappy struggled to say as their decent to the earth propelled them faster and faster toward their foe.
“Being…. Fucking… Hero’s!” At that moment Yellow launched far ahead of zappy and soon a cone developed around her and she seemingly disappeared in front of a sonic yellow bloom that blinded Zappy forcing her to slow her decent.
“Dammit, if they didn’t know we were coming they do now.” Zippy said. After regaining her composer she flew toward the earth as fast as she could to catch up with Yellow.
To be continued…