Rainboom Revolution

Young fillies Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon watch in terrified amazement as Diamond's father, Mr. Filthy Rich, charges the armed rebel intent on taking his life and those of the fillies as well! The pegasus stallion rebel is knocked off balance by the unexpected attack, then downed by another push from Mr. Rich. The two stallions wrestle, Mr. Rich's clothing getting rumpled and torn in the process, the business magnate staring death in the face to protect his daughter and her best friend!

The rebel finally manages to get on top, but before he can take advantage of that fact a roaring screech is heard just behind him and he gets knocked off by a sidelong hit, the shape a vague blur of gold and red. When Mr. Rich can get to his hooves, he sees the griffon Upper Class Excelsior wrestling the rebel that was attacking Mr. Rich, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon letting out shouts of terror as the two continue their wrestling match.

"SIR, I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND... THAT YOU GET OUT OF HERE!" Excelsior shouts out in Mr. Rich's direction as the former struggles to pin the rebel he's fighting with.

"I'm not leaving without the fillies, not without my wife still missing!" Mr. Rich exclaims back, gesturing with a foreleg to the still-cowering Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

"With all due respect... sir... you have an awful..." Excelsior begins to reply, only to get cut off by Lieutenant Vesper nearby.

"EXCELSIOR, NOW IS NEITHER THE PLACE NOR TIME FOR CRITICISM!" Lieutenant Vesper shouts out in reprimand as he finally lands a solid hit on Agent Deceit, knocking off his helmet and exposing the neck to a bite attack.

Excelsior's apology is drowned out by the screaming that Agent Deceit emits after suffering a bite from Vesper, crimson liquid spilling onto the floor of the hotel suite. The distraction of the pain and gushing blood finally allows Vesper to turn and slam Deceit with both hindlegs in a bucking attack, knocking the Agent of Chaos cold in the process. With that blow, the battle is essentially finished - upon seeing what has happened to his leader, the other rebel realizes the futility of continued resistance and immediately announces his surrender.

Mr. Rich rushes over in teary relief to hug the two fillies he had been protecting, grateful above all else for their safety. Behind him, Lieutenant Vesper announces instructions to Excelsior for dealing with the rebel prisoners and fallen fellow batpony. For the first time, Mr. Rich notices his rumpled clothing and attempts to straighten it out while the two Royal Guards work.

"This is the worst sleepover ever! I want my part of the expenses refunded!" Silver Spoon shouts out, the fear dropping enough to loosen her tongue.

"Silver Spoon, that's not helping anything! Where's Mom, Daddy?" Diamond Tiara shouts out, first to Silver Spoon and then to her father, the worry for her mother still evident on her face.

"We'll find her, honey, I promise. The batpony and griffon will help us!" Mr. Rich replies reassuringly.

"I'm afraid, sir, that will be much easier said than done." Lieutenant Vesper states with exhausted worry in his tone of voice. "I fear the rest of my command will be heavily engaged, something is going on here that has not happened for a long time. Something that has bubbled up out of hatred of friendship and harmony."

"Well what CAN we do, Lieutenant?" Mr. Rich replies, looking back as he picks up Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to have them ride on his back, something the two fillies only accept reluctantly.

"Let's get you and the fillies to the lobby, we can figure out what to do from there." Lieutenant Vesper replies with as much certainty as he can, attempting to staunch the bleeding on the unconscious Agent Deceit while Excelsior behind him pulls off a sheet from the suite's bed to cover the deceased batpony laying on the floor, the batpony already having been placed into a respectful pose.

"Alright, lead the way Lieutenant." Mr. Rich affirms, double checking to see if Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are still placed on his back. Meanwhile, Excelsior was taking custody of the surrendered rebel, now bound with bands holding the wings down and a hood placed over his head, restricting sight enough to prevent him from trying to wander away.

"Leave him, Excelsior, there's nothing more we can do for him now. We'll have to take him away later." Lieutenant Vesper states, pointing to the dead batpony now covered by a sheet, surrounded by bloodstains now staining the plush carpet lining the hotel suite's floor.

"Yes, sir." Excelsior replies, leading away the prisoner out of the hotel suite. Mr. Filthy Rich somberly looks back at the mess left behind in his hotel suite before following Excelsior out, Lieutenant Vesper behind him to prevent from being surprised from behind...

Lieutenant Vesper's party cautiously makes its way down toward the ground floor of the hotel, passing by some signs of rebel activity elsewhere in the hotel - holes in walls, smashed objects on the floor, etc. They pass by a wounded batpony who gives a critical update on the situation the squadron is facing: several other suites containing celebrities had been attacked, only to be driven back by their batpony guards. The attempts at petty theft foiled, the rebel forces fell back to the hotel lobby, trying to "hold the line" to protect the rebel second-in-command currently emptying the hotel's supply of available cash.

"We'll need to speed up our progress, otherwise the rebels might get away with a whole lot of bits!" Lieutenant Vesper exclaims.

"You heard the Lieutenant, Mr. Rich. Doubletime march!" Excelsior tells Mr. Rich.

"Can you watch the prisoners, Guard?" Lieutenant Vesper asks his wounded subordinate, hoping to offload the extra burden onto him.

"Yes sir, it's just bruises and scratches, nothing more serious." the wounded subordinate replies.

"Good, take custody of the two prisoners. Excelsior and I will keep escorting Mr. Rich and the two fillies to find a way out." Vesper orders.

"My name is Diamond Tiara, and this is Silver Spoon. We have names too ya know!" Diamond Tiara indignantly interrupts, trying to maintain her balance on the back of her father.

"I'm sure they know, honey. But now is not the time for things like that." Mr. Rich gently corrects. "We still need to find your mother."

"And we're wasting time in talking. Doubletime to the lobby!" Lieutenant Vesper exclaims, starting again at a fast trot pace down the hallway. Mr. Rich and then Excelsior follow after a moment at the same speed...

A minute later, Vesper and those following him emerge onto a balcony overlooking the lobby of the Alicorn's Star hotel. There they discover the bulk of Vesper's forces fighting against rebels in scattered duels across the lobby, several hotel guests and staff in corners trying to stay out of the way of the fighting. To the dismay of both Mr. Rich and Vesper, Mrs. Rich is not seen among them.

An armored pony, emerging from a staff area behind the main desk and with the desk clerk tied up, is seen dragging a large bag full of something that jingles - doubtless the bit haul he intended to steal. Another rebel rushes over to help lift the bag, and both ponies make a series of whistles that mimic the battle call for tactical retreat. They then disappear through the broken front door with their haul. Vesper's command is too distracted fighting other rebels to stop them, as Vesper himself realizes in frustration.

The batpony Lieutenant is debating what to do next when the door on the opposite side of the balcony from where his group is suddenly busted open. Two ponies emerge through the doorway - which Vesper and Mr. Rich immediately recognize to great relief as Vesper's second-in-command Arcturus and Mrs. Spoiled Rich! The two rush over to Vesper's group in tearful relief, and another earth pony - a mare with a light blue-grey coat and a manestyle that reminded Vesper of Rarity's, only with a blue color scheme and tighter "coils" - emerges through the doorway.

"Thank Celestia you're safe!" Mr. Rich exclaims as he embraces his weeping wife, Diamond Tiara quickly mimicking her father's action.

"Arcturus, report!" Vesper shouts out as he glimpses at the two rushing rebels that emerged behind the earth pony mare. The latter turns around in a defensive measure, ducking and dodging the pair of rebels to keep their attention focused on her.

"We were cornered, but one of the hotel guests helped get us away!" Arcturus explains, gesturing back toward the mare fighting the rebel pair.

"Hey, I recognize her!" Diamond Tiara exclaims, standing beside her father as she speaks. "She's the singer of all those pop songs I keep hearing sung and talked about over and over again!"

"It's true her music is not to your taste, dear, but she probably helped save your mother's life, so I don't want to hear anything bad about the Countess. You understand me, young mare?" Mr. Rich firmly asks, preempting any attempts at criticism of the embattled Coloratura's musical performances. At the same time, Arcturus and Excelsior now rush out to help her, but before they can get there a rebel's blow knocks her off balance near the top of the stairs leading down to the lobby proper, and she can't recover in time to avoid a tumble down the gilded staircase.

As the popstar tumbles down the staircase, some of the hotel patrons and staff rush toward where she'll land, and Vesper notices to his frustration the rebels are beating a general retreat, some with plundered items in packs. The batpony squad begins chasing after them, but it's no guarantee of success. Vesper can only console himself with the fact that there appeared to be no further casualties among his command.

As soon as Coloratura lands at the foot of the stairs, two of the patrons that had been hiding in a corner - one being her manager Svengallop and the other one of the hotel baggage handlers - give her a brief lookover as she's helped back onto her hooves. Meanwhile, Vesper, Arcturus and Excelsior work together to bring down the two rebels on the balcony, knocking them down and holding them in place.

"Arcturus, Excelsior, secure the prisoners. I'm going to escort the Rich family down and see what's going on." Lieutenant Vesper commands, for the first time noticing the ruined condition of the hotel lobby - glass and crystal shattered, desks and chairs overturned and broken, and finally the clear evidence of wanton plundering by the items missing from their usual places.

Arcturus and Excelsior go about their work as Vesper escorts the Rich family plus Silver Spoon down the staircase to the trashed hotel lobby, and once at the bottom of the stairs Vesper takes a moment to check out the situation in more detail, observing Coloratura being checked out for bumps and bruises and noting the tied-up desk clerk pleading to be set loose.

"You'll be alright from now on? I have to take stock of what's happened here." Vesper asks Mr. Rich, the confusion and uncertainty finally coming to the surface.

"Yes sir, thank you for all you've done sir." Mr. Rich replies, which the batpony Lieutenant takes as permission to go attend to the desk clerk.

"Filthy, there's something going on at the castle! Look outside!" Mrs. Rich suddenly exclaims, dramatically pointing a forehoof through the destroyed entrance to the Alicorn's Star hotel.

"Dear, I've told you not to... oh. Oh my!" Mr. Rich exclaims as he follows the direction of the gesture to see a bright magenta-colored bubble enclosing an area around the castle of Canterlot!

The Rich family as a whole, along with Silver Spoon, now rush out to just outside the destroyed entrance, temporarily ignoring the shattered glass around their hooves to stare at the bubble, which was currently being pounded on by a good number of barely-visible pegasi. It certainly did not portend anything good, and for the first time the rumors of attempting to resurrect "the chaotic one" that they heard were believed to may be true.

"Daddy, I'm scared! What's going on?" Diamond Tiara exclaims, cowering again beside her father as she watches.

"I wish I knew, honey. I wish I knew..." Mr. Rich answers her daughter, neatly summarizing the sinking dread the entire group was feeling at that very moment...