Anon-a-Miss: Retaliationby The Blue EM2ChaptersOpening MovesThe Hunt BeginsResistanceThe Cavalry has Arrived!Last statementResolutionOpening MovesIt was yet another winter morning in Canterlot, and it looked to be another terrible morning in a few weeks that had brought a succession of terrible mornings. The students of Canterlot High School shuffled through the corridors like zombies, waiting for another buzz from their phones or another ding from the computers to inform them of the latest MyStable post. For the last few weeks, a mysterious MyStable account called ‘Anon-a-Miss' had been posting personal information of a number of students on the Internet, producing a garbage fire of information that had led to tensions flaring up across the school. Many had taken the opportunity to settle old scores and humiliate old rivals by submitting secrets about other students, which had led to broken emotions, lots of tears, and fights in the locker areas, cafeteria, and practically everywhere else on the school site. It had turned what had once been a relatively peaceful place that had been running on a high of optimism after the defeat of the Sirens into a complete warzone. It had got so bad that Celestia and Luna had been seriously planning banning smartphones and blocking internet access on the computer system. Not to mention the list for the student councillor was now full to overflowing with requests for appointments. Safe to say, it hadn’t been the season of goodwill many had hoped for. Naturally enough, many had tried to figure out who was behind it, and had found a clue in the account itself. The avatar for the account was an image, admittedly crude, of Sunset Shimmer. Sunset had been a bit of a terror back in the old days of the school, so several students had simply put two and two together and gotten four, concluding that Sunset was indeed the one responsible. This even included her former friends, the Rainbooms, who had walked away from her without so much as a second thought. Just there was one problem. And that problem was that is wasn’t Sunset. Sunset was innocent. That morning, students pulled books out of their lockers and got ready for another tiring and no doubt emotionally tense day. They were awakened from their zombie-like slumber when the school intercom engaged and began to transmit a message. “To all students of Canterlot High School,” the voice of Vice-Principal Luna said over the speaker, the sound crackling as it did so. "I would like to inform you all that you are to attend a special assembly this morning. Proceed to the main hall immediately and be seated as soon as possible. That is all.” The intercom switched off with that, and the students began murmuring amongst themselves. “What could this be about?” asked Micro Chips. “Don’t look at me!” Wallflower answered. “Not least because you probably wouldn’t see me, but I have no idea what this assembly could be about.” “Anon-a-Miss maybe?” a boy by the name of Dumbbell suggested. “Maybe that bitch Sunset will finally confess to her crimes,” Gilda said with satisfaction, rubbing her hands together with glee. Once the entire student body had taken their seats on the bleachers, Principal Celestia stepped forward with a microphone in her hand, stepping toward a table; upon which, a laptop had been placed, with a tangle of wires running out of it that linked up to a small projector mounted on a table next to the first table. She pushed a button which started a short film about the dangers of cyberbullying, retelling one real case that pushed a girl to suicide. Once it had finished, Celestia began to speak. “Good morning students,” she said. “At least as good as it can be given the last few weeks. I trust you all know what this assembly is all about?” “Is it going to be Sunset finally owning up?” shouted Flash. “Yeah, I thought I smelled horseshit in here!” shouted another. Celestia shook her head. “That’ll be after school detentions for the both of you. But yes, this concerns the matter that has been going on with social media for a few weeks now. I know that this ‘Anon-a-Miss' has been leaking personal information of yours for several weeks now, and it has led to a state of chaos in the school.” There was a brief pause, before she continued. “We have finally brought an end to this incident, and the perpetrators have been caught. But before they come forward, there is someone here to speak to you.” She stepped back, and Sunset stepped forward and took the microphone. “Look,” she began, “I know that many of you have a low opinion of me at the moment, and that you want a scapegoat for this mess, but-” “No shit Sherlock!” Rainbow Dash shouted from the crowd. “Just confess now and save us our time!” “Indeed!” Applejack added. “You’ve been causin’ enough pain around here fer now. Mah poor little sis’ came home cryin’ from that stuff ya posted!” Sunset shook her head. “But please, ask yourselves this; after all that I had done to redeem myself from who I used to be, and saved your lives at the Battle of the Bands-what would I actually gain from this? Being alone isn’t fun, and it hurts. Just like the truth you are about to receive. I hope you had fun enjoying your little lie Applejack, because it is time to end this charade once and for all. That’s all I have to say.” She walked back, and Celestia took the microphone once more. “Could Anon-a-Miss please step forward.” At those words, the group collectively referred to as the ‘Canterlot Movie Club’-Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo-stepped forward, with three security guards behind them to keep them moving if they didn’t. However, it seemed as if they didn’t need much encouragement, as they stepped forward consistently, looks of crushing guilt and fear on their faces. “Yeah,” Apple Bloom said quietly. “It was us.” There was a brief silence. And then the entire hall burst out laughing. “Good God!” one student howled. “You really expect us to believe that?” “Sunset put you up to this, didn’t she?” asked another, a student by the name of Trixie. Apple Bloom sighed. “Gotta do this the hard way.” She stepped over to the laptop, opened MyStable, and signed into the account. Now all was clear. The account page was displayed, with the queueing and status bars clearly visible. The response was mixed. First there was silence. Then there were some shocked gasps. And finally, there was rage. “YOU BASTARDS!” a student in the front row roared. “YOU WRECKED OUR LIVES! YOU WILL PAY!” Guards came over to remove him from the premises, whilst the crowd went on booing and shouting profanities too rude to reprint here. Celestia stepped forward, and cleared her throat. “SILENCE!” she boomed. Silence fell. Celestia went over to the CMC. “Girls, would you care to explain why you acted why you did?” she asked, her voice indicating intense displeasure. Apple Bloom took the microphone, and began to speak. “Some of ya folk out in the crowd may be wonderin’ what it would take ta motivate us ta do somethin’ like this.” Her head sank, the girl unable to make eye contact with anybody else due to the shame she felt. “It was jealousy. Jealousy of Sunset!” Sunset looked shocked. “What? Why? Didn’t you knuckleheads understand I saved you from the Sirens?” “You took them away from us,” Sweetie Belle continued. “Took who, exactly?” Celestia asked. “Our sisters,” Scootaloo answered. Sunset looked baffled. “Scoots, you and Rainbow aren’t even related. I swear Flash is your brother!” “Our siblin’s were spendin’ time with Sunset, and not with us,” Apple Bloom finished. “We were alone and left out. So Ah concocted the plan to get them back. Those secrets came from us.” “I took Sunset’s phone during the slumber party,” Sweetie Belle added. “I uploaded the pictures from it onto my PC, and from there onto the account.” “But it got out of hand,” Scootaloo continued. “People started sending us other stuff. We didn’t post most of it, of course, but-” Sunset’s face had turned redder than usual, and the look of pure rage was on her face. “But nothing,” she snarled, walking over with her fists closed. “You should never have posted any of it, at all. Not only are you three complete idiots, you also show a complete lack of self-control.” “Who are you to tell us what we should have done?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What’s done is done, and we can’t take it back.” What happened next shocked everyone. There was a percussive bang the volume of a thunderclap, and in a split-second Sweetie Belle was on the floor, clutching her face. Her friends formed a protective circle around her, to fend Sunset off if need be. “Now that was uncalled for!” Rarity shouted. “Oh really?” Sunset smiled back. “She’ll remember that next time she tries to do something to utterly idiotic again!” Celestia intervened. “Only one thing remains to be done,” she said, helping the prone member of the CMC back onto her feet. “Delete the account.” Apple Bloom nodded, and walked over to the PC. She then clicked the account name, and pressed the ‘delete’ option. Warning: This will delete the account ‘Anon-a-Miss' and all content associated with it. Are you sure you want to do this? Yes/No Apple Bloom clicked yes, and the screen changed to show a new text box. Account deleted With an audible sigh of relief, the situation stabilised. Until Applejack stood up. “Yer in fer a switchin’, missy!” she shouted. “You’ll be lucky if you manage to stay in Canterlot!” Rarity added, focusing on her own sister. “Not cool, kid. Not cool,” Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath, planning in her mind the ways in which she would punish Scootaloo. Celestia spoke up again. “I will assure you now that these three will be severely punished, with-” Suddenly, the lights in the hall turned off, and the display on the laptop screen changed to show a display with a large logo floating in the background, with a cityscape behind that. A moment later, a man appeared on the screen, wearing a black suit and flanked by two soldiers in strange armour. “Fellow citizens,” he began to speak, “for 20 years the ADVENT Coalition has worked tirelessly to repair the ravages and injustices of the Old World. Under our stewardship, our cities prosper, our people flourish, and our world heals.” Celestia looked furious. “Is this your doing?” she demanded of Apple Bloom. “Stop the video. Now.” “This ain’t us!” the girl replied in fright. “Ah got no idea what this is!” “It’s some sort of live broadcast!” Sweetie Belle added. “But what I don’t know.” The speaker on screen then continued. “And yet, among us, there are still those who would refuse to acknowledge the truth; who are determined to see that all we have achieved crumble!” There was a brief pause, before the tone of the address suddenly changed. “That must end. Even as I speak to you today ADVENT peacekeepers are on their way to put an end to the Resistance scourge known as ‘Anon-a-Miss'.” The sound of aircraft engines was suddenly audible outside, and the glass on the windows of the hall shattered as soldiers smashed their way in through the windows. The doors burst open, to reveal more soldiers storming the auditorium, a mixture of those in black armour, with a few in red with capes mixed in amongst them. One of the red ones barked orders in a strange language, and the soldiers opened fire. Bullets rained down through the auditorium and smashed through several students, pools of red and mangled remains building up. Flash was one of the first to go down, his skull cratered by a high velocity railgun round. The soldiers stormed forward, guns continuing to blaze, as the speaker continued. “We will ensure your continued well-being and safety during this crisis,” he continued, without a hint of irony to his voice. “With your co-operation we will overcome these radical elements, and usher in another 20 years of peace and prosperity.” Celestia attempted to shout instructions. “All students, evacuate the-” She never finished her sentence, as both she and Luna were torn apart by a hail of bullets. Sunset covered her face as their blood splattered over her clothes. “Run!” she shouted, only to see more blocking off the stage exit. They closed in, and shouted at her, guns primed, when suddenly one flew backwards and into the wall. Sunset looked over, to see Cheerilee advance with a shotgun. She fired again and again, felling two more, and motioned over to the girl and the CMC. “This way!” she called. “We have to get out of here!” They fled for the door, not looking back whilst the soldiers continued firing. When they could stop, Sunset asked; “Who the hell are they?” Cheerilee looked back to her. “ADVENT ‘peacekeepers’. They are here for our blood.” Author's Note Greetings fellow travellers! In case you did not know, this year marks the 5th anniversary of Anon-a-Miss, and in honour of that I shall be writing 3 Anon-a-Miss stories this year, all of them ideas I have not seen done before. This is the first of them. Catch you tomorrow! The Hunt BeginsCheerilee led both Sunset and the CMC through the corridors that ran from the back of the gym toward the cafeteria. Gunfire and shouting could be heard echoing throughout the corridors as ADVENT troops continued their bloody rampage, the sounds of rounds hitting true mixed in with the screams of the dead or dying. “Who the hell are these soldiers?” Sunset asked. “What do they want with us?” “They are soldiers of the ADVENT administration,” Cheerilee explained, as she checked the corridor ahead for targets. “Essentially, they are deployed whenever they want someone or something getting rid of.” “But isn’t shooting civilians against the Geneva Convention?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Since when did ADVENT care about the Geneva Convention?” Cheerilee replied. “The Elders will stop at nothing to keep the planet under their control, using force if necessary.” “Elders?” Scootaloo enquired, looking confused. Cheerilee sighed. “Our world is not our own. We were spared the worst of it here, but 20 years ago aliens invaded and took control. Humanity capitulated, and most of our species is now under the rule of ADVENT, living in fear and misery.” She paused. “But there are those among us who refuse to believe their lies. There is one organisation that fights for our liberation, the last remnants of the defenders of Earth 20 years ago...XCOM.” “How do you know this?” Apple Bloom asked. “And why are ya tellin’ us?” “Because it may just save your life,” Cheerilee replied. “I’m an undercover operative for XCOM, and was deployed here to ensure the aliens didn’t expand here. As a result, this part of the planet was relatively untouched by the carnage the rest of the world suffered. But now, thanks to you three, the aliens know we are here, and are performing cleanup.” Sunset Shimmer wheeled on those three girls. “All this carnage and destruction,” she snarled. “All because you didn’t get invited to a bucking slumber party.” “How were we to know that some government we had never heard of was going to deploy soldiers and try to kill ua because of our actions?” Scootaloo retorted. “It didn’t cross our minds!” “Nothing ever does,” Sunset answered. “Those deaths are on you three.” “We didn’t fire the shots!” Sweetie Belle fired back. “But you provided the primer for those shots,” Sunset retorted. Cheerilee spoke up. “Save it for when we’re not in danger of dying! Right now, we should focus on clearing out the aliens and getting a distress call to XCOM. For that, I’ll need my Commnication gear, which is in my classroom.” The five of them set off once more, rounding a bend in the corridor, when Cheerilee waved to them. “Get down!” she hissed. The girls dropped to the floor, quiet as a mouse. Cheerilee looked around the bend once more, and looked at what was approaching. It was a tall, humanoid robot, carrying a weapon that no human could hope to carry due to its size. It lumbered forward, with a speed and grace that defied a machine of its size, its white frame pristine as its head scanned around for targets. Cheerilee inwardly cursed. MECs, she thought. Why does it have to be MECs? The MEC approached closer, when suddenly a door burst open and two students, Derpy Hooves and Micro Chips, ran out into the corridor. The MEC shouted some unintelligible words at them, which they ignored and kept on running. It was a grave mistake. The MEC opened fire, shredding the two students into complete paste. Blood, guts, and mangled body parts flew through the air and impacted the opposite walls, the two students reduced to an unidentifiable mess of flesh and bone. The MEC spoke again, and moved onward, turning right and marching toward the sound of more gunfire. Cheerilee indicated to the others, and they moved on. Sweetie Belle looked visibly distressed. “That...that thing killed them!” she exclaimed, her skin paler than it usually was. “Well spotted,” Sunset replied. “I take it you are a detective?” Scootaloo, on the other hand, was pale as well. She went over to a trash can, and vomited. When she had finished, she looked back at the others. “I’m never gonna be able to get that out of my head,” she whimpered. Apple Bloom looked equally distraught. “Good lord, what have we done?” she asked. Sunset smirked cruelly. “As I said, those deaths are on you.” Cheerilee turned around herself. “Sunset, if you don’t drop the attitude, I’ll shoot you myself. There was no way these three could have known this was going to happen.” Sunset shrugged. “Whatever. Thought you’d like to know there’s an alien over there.” Cheerilee whirled around, to see a tall humanoid creature with no armour and a green device attached to the arm. “Sectoid!” she shouted. “Get back!” The alien closed on them with incredible speed and agility, climbing over lockers and other rubble, as it closed in on its target. It shrieked, and fired a shot from its device, which now turned out to be a gun of some sort, but thankfully the shot missed and crashed into a wall, burning a hole in it. Cheerilee braced her shotgun, and fired at point-blank range... …missing. “Shit!” she cried, pumping the shotgun and firing again. The Sectoid’s skull exploded in a cloud of gore, the body flying backwards at least 10 feet and crashing into another set of lockers. She waved to the others. “Let’s go!” she called, waving to another set of lockers. They arrived in Cheerilee’s classroom to find it deserted. The room had not been swept by ADVENT troops, and seemed to be in relatively good order given the bedlam going on all around. Cheerilee locked the door, and booted up the PC, linking it to a device next to her. The display changed to show a logo with an X burned into the centre, with the words VIGILO CONFIDO below. “What does that mean?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Don’t ask,” Cheerilee replied. She then hit another button, and the image dissolved, to show the face of a man in his mid-50s with black hair that was slowly turning grey, as well as a distinctly unshaven look. “Field Operative Cheerilee,” he said, with an abrasive tone. "Glad to hear from you again.” “No time for that Central,” Cheerilee replied. “ADVENT have attacked Canterlot High and are slaughtering everyone in sight. We could do with reinforcement.” “I’m informing the commander now,” ‘Central’ replied. “In the meantime, use the weapons in the ammo cache and hold them off as best you can.” “Understood,” Cheerilee replied. “Signing off.” The screen reverted to the previous display, as Cheerilee got up and disconnected the device. “What did he mean about weapons?” Sunset asked. Cheerilee went over and opened up a box filled with several different firearms. There was another box, which had a blade in it, and another with a small robot. Next to that, was a grenade launcher, or rather a box containing one. She lifted out the assault rifle, and switched on the drone. “Sunset, you take the shotgun and the sword,” she commanded. “This gives you unparalleled short-range firepower, but be wary at longer ranges. That sword will also make a mess of anything that gets too close to you, so don’t hesitate to use it.” She then indicated to Apple Bloom. “Take the Gatling Cannon and Grenade Launcher.” Apple Bloom picked the Gatling Cannon up and attached the Grenade Launcher to her back. “These weapons allow you to lay down heavy firepower from extreme range, but be wary, as those grenades cannot distinguish between friend or foe. Be careful of collateral damage.” Sweetie Belle was up next. “Take the sniper rifle and revolver. These give you the power to support your peers at both long and short range, as the sniper rifle has incredible range, and at the same time the revolver has superb short-range stopping power.” Finally, she pointed to Scootaloo. “You will have the second assault rifle,” Cheerilee continued. “This will allow for effective combat at all ranges, but it is not as effective as the more specialised weapons.” Diamond Tiara poked her head out of a classroom to see if the corridor was clear. It was the fault of those losers, the Canterlot Movie Club, her archnemeses and now it seemed arch fools. She waved to Silver Spoon. “C’mon, let’s go!” she said, as she stepped out into the corridor. This proved to be a mistake. Just then, two of the soldiers appeared, followed by one in red armour. He loudly barked at the two girls. “We-we’re not the ones you’re looking for!” Diamond cried. “Yeah!” Silver Spoon added. “You want these three!” She showed the officer her phone, which had a picture of the CMC on it. The officer nodded, and just then Diamond saw something out of the corner of her eye. “That’s them there!” she shouted, as she saw them, Cheerilee, and Sunset navigating a corridor. The officer shouted again, and took one of the soldiers with him. Diamond internally smirked. At last! Her mortal foes would be out of the way, and she could rule this school year with no op- Diamond’s internal monologue ended quite suddenly. Although she saw the flash, she never heard the percussive crack of the rifle that ended both her and Silver’s lives. Author's Note Anybody here gonna miss DT? Stay tuned, as tomorrow...CHS fights back! ResistanceSirens blared aboard the Avenger as the Commander ran from the command quarters to the bridge, where Central Officer Bradford was waiting for them. “What’s happening?” the Commander asked, the remains of a sandwich in their hand. “Commander,” Bradford replied. “We’ve received a report of an ADVENT assault on a civilian outpost. It’s a resistance sector, Canterlot, which had previously been out of sight of ADVENT, but somehow they’ve located the area and are killing anyone in sight.” “What are we looking at in terms of hostiles?” the Commander asked, a look of concern on their face. “Mostly ADVENT grunts,” Bradford continued, flicking through some images captured on the school’s CCTV feed. “A couple of MECs, mixed in amongst the troops, a few officers, and a reported Sectoid from our ground operative.” The Commander nodded. “Contact the troops and ready them for deployment. Operation Devil’s Driving Engine is go!” Bradford sighed. “I hate the random mission name generator some days.” He switched on the radio. “Rise and shine, troops! Time to deploy!” A group of six soldiers ran across the ship from the Armoury to the loading bay, where the Skyranger awaited them. One of them turned to the other. “Hey, have you seen my E.X.O Suit anywhere?” he asked. “Kowalski’s still got it!” the other soldier replied. “Remember, he wore it when you were out for falling asleep on the battlefield!” “Weren’t you always hunkering down at every conceivable opportunity?” the first soldier retorted. “Shut it you!” “Listen up!” shouted the voice of Central Officer Bradford, who approached from across the loading dock. “We’ve got civilians to protect, and assets in the region to secure. No telling what ADVENT is packing, so load up and get ready to fight!” One of the soldiers raised his hand. “What’s the bet there’ll be a Faceless in there somewhere? Every time we’ve had to stop an ADVENT raid on a civilian camp there’s been one!” Bradford sighed. “10 bucks,” he replied. “Let’s go!” he shouted, grabbing his rifle and heading for the Skyranger. The platform on which the Skyranger sat began to elevate, bringing it to the deck of the Avenger. Its engines engaged, and the Skyranger surged into the sky, flying away into the morning sky toward Canterlot. Meanwhile, Cheerilee and the CMC, plus Sunset of course, advanced through the corridors, turning right at one point into another corridor. Loud bangs suddenly echoed behind them, and Sweetie Belle looked back. “I hear gunfire!” she said to the others. “Well, no shit,” Sunset replied. Sweetie Belle pouted. “Those shots weren’t from us, nor were they aimed at us!” Cheerilee spoke next. “They must have found some other survivors. Nothing we can do for them now, of course.” She motioned forward, when suddenly more shots rang out. Bullets whizzed over their heads as several ADVENT troopers opened fire. “Now THOSE shots were aimed at us!” Scootaloo added. “Not helping!” Cheerilee replied, swinging around and firing off some shots from her assault rifle. The shots tore through the armour of one soldier, knocking him down instantly, whilst the other looked on in confusion. Just then, an officer appeared, and the two soldiers gave chase. Apple Bloom stopped, deployed her assault cannon, and opened fire. The recoil was massive, and even with her above-normal strength that was typical of members of the Apple family, Apple Bloom had difficulty keeping the weapon on target, mainly laying down a hail of suppressive fire upon the advancing soldiers. Sweetie Belle aimed a shot from her sniper rifle, squeezed the trigger, and fired. The shot blew the officer’s head clean off, and he fell to the ground. The other soldier, visible confused by this, opened fire randomly. Bullets flew through the air and hit Apple Bloom, knocking her to the floor. “Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo called, charging out front, and firing her shotgun. The blast dispersed, missing the soldier by a considerable distance and impacting into the walls and surrounding scenery. “Damnit! Out of range!” Scootaloo shouted, stopping behind a locker to avoid being shot at. The soldier advanced, firing once more, before being taken down by another shot from Sweetie Belle. Cheerilee activated her drone, which flew over to Apple Bloom and stemmed her injuries. “That’ll hold for now,” she explained, “but you’ll need medical attention when this is over.” Apple Bloom shakily got to her feet, holstering the weapon and following along. “Should we check the cafeteria? Ah imagine a lot of students woulda gone there.” “It’s a good shout,” Sweetie Belle noted. “And it’s not far from here either.” Cheerilee motioned to them, and away they went. When they reached the cafeteria, all was quiet. Far too quiet. “It’s too quiet,” Scootaloo whispered. “Funny y’all should say that,” Apple Bloom observed. “Why?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Because that’s usually the line spoken in a Western moments before someone gets shot,” Scootaloo added. Sunset shook her head. “We’re trying to survive being killed by soldiers intent on killing us, and you crack jokes?” “Gotta be mad ta stay sane,” Apple Bloom finished. The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a loud bang, and the doors to the cafeteria flew open, followed by a body flying out of the door and crashing into the lockers opposite. He attempted to get up, only for a second blast to render him lifeless. “Let that be a lesson to ya!” shouted a voice. An old, familiar voice. And who should step through the door but Granny Smith, clad not in her usual attire, but old armour plating with the X symbol seen on Cheerilee’s computer terminal. “Granny!” Apple Bloom cried. “Keep it down sugarcube!” Granny Smith replied. “Who knows how many more o’those thin’s there are out here.” Cheerilee walked over. “Mrs Smith,” she began. “That’s Colonel Smith ta ya,” Granny Smith replied. “Ah was fightin’ these aliens before ya were even born.” Apple Bloom blinked. “Ya work fer XCOM?” “Used ta,” Granny Smith continued. “I fought back in the first invasion back in the 1980s, when we beat them off our world, and good riddance too!” She checked her shotgun and motioned to them. “Come inside! The meat packin’ room and freezer are just this way. Most secure rooms in the whole school, and perfect for an ambush.” They proceeded inside, and went into the freezer room. It was very, very cold. “If you don’t mind me asking,” Cheerilee asked, “where were you back in 2015? XCOM could have done with older operatives coming out of retirement.” “Ah’d have blown mah cover,” Granny Smith replied. “Besides, bein’ here allowed me ta keep mah family safe. The Rainbooms are in the freezer as well, incidentally.” “How’d they survive?” Sunset asked. “They exited the hall as fast as they could when the firing started,” a voice started. It was the voice of Rainbow Dash. “You traitor!” Sunset snarled, raising her weapon. “You turned on me effortlessly and without so much as a second thought!” “The traitors are with you,” Rainbow rebuffed. “She’s right, ya know,” Applejack added. Cheerilee sighed. “Can we all please refrain from killing one another until AFTER we’ve defeated the aliens?” “Indeed,” Granny Smith observed. “Open up the ammo lockers, and arm yerselves. ADVENT is closin’ in.” Author's Note Anybody spot the XCOM jokes? The Cavalry has Arrived!The atmosphere in the freezer was so tense you could have cut it with a knife. They had settled on a staggered deployment. That is not entirely correct. Granny Smith had settled on a staggered deployment, being not only the most experienced in this field, but being in such a position of seniority that her word was essentially law, and thus had to be obeyed. At the front, the Rangers had been positioned, namely Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Sunset Shimmer. A row behind them, and slightly off to the side, were the Grenadiers, who were composed of Apple Bloom, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. Behind them were the Sharpshooters, namely Sweetie Belle, Rarity, and Fluttershy. Lastly, the Specialists-everybody else-were mixed in to use their drones to provide medical support. Granny Smith herself was positioned far back, in order to ensure full tactical control. Cheerilee was helping to relay orders forward. Scootaloo looked over to Sunset. “Look, with all that’s happened, I’m-” “Save me your apologies,” Sunset replied. “I’ve heard, and issued, enough to last me a thousand years.” “Harsh,” Rainbow Dash added, “but fair.” Further back, Apple Bloom raised some questions. “How many of those thin’s do ya think are out there?” she asked. “five, ten, a hundred maybe. What’s it ta ya?” Applejack snapped. “Well, ammo conservation and all,” Pinkie observed. “We can’t affort to waste it, after all.” Applejack shook her head. “Apple Bloom, Ah swear ta God if we die, Ah will tan ya so hard y’all have ta-” “Ya can’t tan me if ya dead,” Apple Bloom observed, her deadpan tone obvious. “We should focus on NOT dyin’.” Applejack was speechless. Pinkie simply nodded her head. “Always the priority!” she said cheerfully. “Staying alive!” There was an interruption. “Just a second,” Cheerilee radioed. “We’ve got movement. At least thirty foot mobiles, some MECs as well. Focus your shots, and we’ll get out of this.” There was suddenly a loud bang, and the doors of the freezer were blown off their hinges. They landed with a loud and furious clang that left a massive dent in the walls. Through the hole that was created by the absence of the doors stepped an ADVENT officer and two troopers, walking in through the smoke. At that very moment, the Rangers fired, having set up in ambush. All three soldiers were thrown through the air and flew back at least 10 feet, smacking into soldiers behind them. “Good shootin’!” Granny Smith called. “But we got more approachin’!” The next wave of soldiers closed in, charging forward with stun batons deployed. They got blown over by the percussive roar of Gatling cannons, shredding armour and throwing the Enforcers through the air and onto the floor next to their comrades. It was then that things changed. Ten round objects flew through the air and landed on the ground next to the front-line defences. “FLASHBANG!” shouted Sunset. “COVER YOUR-” It was too late, as although she meant to say ‘ears’, the grenades went off with a bang. The three students fell about, their eyes blinded and their ears ringing as the boxes next to which they crouched caught fire. In advanced another wave of soldiers. These ones wore white armour, and were surrounded by red auras. They formed a wall in front of the advancing line, closing on the Rangers. “Sharpshooters, engage!” Granny Smith ordered. They were all equipped with armour piercing ammunition, and these slammed clean through the shields, leaving the soldiers who had deployed them vulnerable. And they were, as suddenly a volley of grenades flew through the air and crashed into their positions. The storm of shrapnel cut through armour and the percussive explosions from the grenades more than had the desired effect, as they fell. Scootaloo came back to her senses, and saw the foe apparently withdrawing. “They’re pulling back!” she called. “We did it! We held them off!” “You think that’s it?” Cheerilee radioed. “That was just testing the water. We need to do something different. They are not retreating; they are regrouping and moving in with different assets. Brace yourselves, this is about to get messy.” Red smoke emerged in the distance, accompanied with raised voices and loud clanking noises. The MECs-large, white robots with massive guns no human could hope to carry-lumbered into the freezer room, discharging a volley of grenades into the area to clear it. More disorientation grenades, of course. But then came the real surprise for them. A group of drones flew at them, and suddenly discharged bolts of electricity into the MECs, temporarily disabling them. “Grenade volley! Now!” The three Rangers, as well as the Grenadiers, either threw or fired a grenade, which flew at the robot targets and hit them, blowing them backward out of the room. They flew through the air and landed on top of the next group of soldiers, crushing them. “Good tactic!” Pinkie observed. “Explosives really do make things sweeter!” A loud series of further bangs sounded behind them, what sounded like energy weapons. “We did it!” Cheerilee called. “We did what exactly?” Rarity asked. “We held off the enemy long enough for XCOM to arrive!” Granny Smith came forward, her shotgun loaded. “Let’s go!” she called. “Drive them back!” The militia stormed forward, producing an incredible storm of firepower as they closed on the foe. Weapons roared and shots hit true and the enemy buckled under the weight of being attacked from two angles at once. As they began to run, one fired off a shot-that hit Granny Smith. “No!” Applejack cried, as the other XCOM team entered the room. “MEDIC!” Bradford indicated to one of the others. “Get the drone over there, patch her up!” Applejack and her younger sister bent down to try and stabilise Granny Smith’s injuries. “C’mon, c’mon!” the younger apple said. “Ya can pull through Granny! Ya got to!” Granny Smith looked over to her, and smiled. “Mah race is run,” she said weakly. “Ya need ta...fight back the aliens and send them back ta where they came from. Besides...ya were played from the start.” “What?” Applejack asked. And her face was filled with horror. Granny Smith’s body, clothes and all, simply seemed to melt into nothing, becoming a quivering puddle on the floor. But then the mass began to reform, growing taller and morphing into a horrifying creature at least 15 feet tall, with a featureless face and horrifying claws. One of the soldiers called to Bradford. “You owe me 10 bucks!” Bradford shrugged. “I think I’m going to need a bigger gun.” Author's Note Bet you didn't see that coming! Last statementFirst off, sorry for the ending. I agree, it was shit, and the entire story is shit I will confess. This will stay up for now, but will probably either be heavily revised, or just deleted entirely. Sorry for the mess, The Blue EM2. ResolutionThe massive creature towered over them, letting loose a deep, guttural roar as it lumbered toward the Rainbooms. “Put some fire into that thing!” Bradford shouted, taking command almost immediately. Firepower lit up the room as bullets slammed into the creature. However, that simply made it angry. With another roar, it simply swung at the wall, demolishing it and causing rubble, plaster, and wreckage to fall down onto the floor, thankfully missing most of the squad, but making a mess nonetheless. “How do we take that thing down?” Cheerilee shouted. “An’ since when was mah own Granny a towerin’ monster?” Applejack added her voice to the din that was going on all around. “I suspect it infiltrated a while back, and then sat there for a while until it was needed.” Everyone stared at one of the soldiers. “What?” “Not...helping!” Sweetie Belle shouted, as she fired off her sniper rifle again, hitting the creature once more. This just made it angrier, and it swung again, sweeping people off their feet and causing them to hit the floor. It was just then Bradford saw the weak point. He aimed his rifle, and fired. The shot hit the creature’s eye, and it fell to the floor, dead. Apple Bloom looked amidst the carnage and rubble that was Canterlot High School. “How many of us are there now?” she asked. “We haven’t seen anybody else, so we have reason to believe you are the only ones left alive,” Cheerilee told her. “Hopefully this will ensure that jealousy won’t get the better of you next time.” “What’ll we do?” Scootaloo asked. “We have nothing left here.” Bradford sighed. “You could join XCOM,” he suggested. “You all fought like lions today, and you survived. Good grounds for new recruits, I think.” Author's Note So here ends this story. Hope you enjoyed the ride!
Opening MovesIt was yet another winter morning in Canterlot, and it looked to be another terrible morning in a few weeks that had brought a succession of terrible mornings. The students of Canterlot High School shuffled through the corridors like zombies, waiting for another buzz from their phones or another ding from the computers to inform them of the latest MyStable post. For the last few weeks, a mysterious MyStable account called ‘Anon-a-Miss' had been posting personal information of a number of students on the Internet, producing a garbage fire of information that had led to tensions flaring up across the school. Many had taken the opportunity to settle old scores and humiliate old rivals by submitting secrets about other students, which had led to broken emotions, lots of tears, and fights in the locker areas, cafeteria, and practically everywhere else on the school site. It had turned what had once been a relatively peaceful place that had been running on a high of optimism after the defeat of the Sirens into a complete warzone. It had got so bad that Celestia and Luna had been seriously planning banning smartphones and blocking internet access on the computer system. Not to mention the list for the student councillor was now full to overflowing with requests for appointments. Safe to say, it hadn’t been the season of goodwill many had hoped for. Naturally enough, many had tried to figure out who was behind it, and had found a clue in the account itself. The avatar for the account was an image, admittedly crude, of Sunset Shimmer. Sunset had been a bit of a terror back in the old days of the school, so several students had simply put two and two together and gotten four, concluding that Sunset was indeed the one responsible. This even included her former friends, the Rainbooms, who had walked away from her without so much as a second thought. Just there was one problem. And that problem was that is wasn’t Sunset. Sunset was innocent. That morning, students pulled books out of their lockers and got ready for another tiring and no doubt emotionally tense day. They were awakened from their zombie-like slumber when the school intercom engaged and began to transmit a message. “To all students of Canterlot High School,” the voice of Vice-Principal Luna said over the speaker, the sound crackling as it did so. "I would like to inform you all that you are to attend a special assembly this morning. Proceed to the main hall immediately and be seated as soon as possible. That is all.” The intercom switched off with that, and the students began murmuring amongst themselves. “What could this be about?” asked Micro Chips. “Don’t look at me!” Wallflower answered. “Not least because you probably wouldn’t see me, but I have no idea what this assembly could be about.” “Anon-a-Miss maybe?” a boy by the name of Dumbbell suggested. “Maybe that bitch Sunset will finally confess to her crimes,” Gilda said with satisfaction, rubbing her hands together with glee. Once the entire student body had taken their seats on the bleachers, Principal Celestia stepped forward with a microphone in her hand, stepping toward a table; upon which, a laptop had been placed, with a tangle of wires running out of it that linked up to a small projector mounted on a table next to the first table. She pushed a button which started a short film about the dangers of cyberbullying, retelling one real case that pushed a girl to suicide. Once it had finished, Celestia began to speak. “Good morning students,” she said. “At least as good as it can be given the last few weeks. I trust you all know what this assembly is all about?” “Is it going to be Sunset finally owning up?” shouted Flash. “Yeah, I thought I smelled horseshit in here!” shouted another. Celestia shook her head. “That’ll be after school detentions for the both of you. But yes, this concerns the matter that has been going on with social media for a few weeks now. I know that this ‘Anon-a-Miss' has been leaking personal information of yours for several weeks now, and it has led to a state of chaos in the school.” There was a brief pause, before she continued. “We have finally brought an end to this incident, and the perpetrators have been caught. But before they come forward, there is someone here to speak to you.” She stepped back, and Sunset stepped forward and took the microphone. “Look,” she began, “I know that many of you have a low opinion of me at the moment, and that you want a scapegoat for this mess, but-” “No shit Sherlock!” Rainbow Dash shouted from the crowd. “Just confess now and save us our time!” “Indeed!” Applejack added. “You’ve been causin’ enough pain around here fer now. Mah poor little sis’ came home cryin’ from that stuff ya posted!” Sunset shook her head. “But please, ask yourselves this; after all that I had done to redeem myself from who I used to be, and saved your lives at the Battle of the Bands-what would I actually gain from this? Being alone isn’t fun, and it hurts. Just like the truth you are about to receive. I hope you had fun enjoying your little lie Applejack, because it is time to end this charade once and for all. That’s all I have to say.” She walked back, and Celestia took the microphone once more. “Could Anon-a-Miss please step forward.” At those words, the group collectively referred to as the ‘Canterlot Movie Club’-Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo-stepped forward, with three security guards behind them to keep them moving if they didn’t. However, it seemed as if they didn’t need much encouragement, as they stepped forward consistently, looks of crushing guilt and fear on their faces. “Yeah,” Apple Bloom said quietly. “It was us.” There was a brief silence. And then the entire hall burst out laughing. “Good God!” one student howled. “You really expect us to believe that?” “Sunset put you up to this, didn’t she?” asked another, a student by the name of Trixie. Apple Bloom sighed. “Gotta do this the hard way.” She stepped over to the laptop, opened MyStable, and signed into the account. Now all was clear. The account page was displayed, with the queueing and status bars clearly visible. The response was mixed. First there was silence. Then there were some shocked gasps. And finally, there was rage. “YOU BASTARDS!” a student in the front row roared. “YOU WRECKED OUR LIVES! YOU WILL PAY!” Guards came over to remove him from the premises, whilst the crowd went on booing and shouting profanities too rude to reprint here. Celestia stepped forward, and cleared her throat. “SILENCE!” she boomed. Silence fell. Celestia went over to the CMC. “Girls, would you care to explain why you acted why you did?” she asked, her voice indicating intense displeasure. Apple Bloom took the microphone, and began to speak. “Some of ya folk out in the crowd may be wonderin’ what it would take ta motivate us ta do somethin’ like this.” Her head sank, the girl unable to make eye contact with anybody else due to the shame she felt. “It was jealousy. Jealousy of Sunset!” Sunset looked shocked. “What? Why? Didn’t you knuckleheads understand I saved you from the Sirens?” “You took them away from us,” Sweetie Belle continued. “Took who, exactly?” Celestia asked. “Our sisters,” Scootaloo answered. Sunset looked baffled. “Scoots, you and Rainbow aren’t even related. I swear Flash is your brother!” “Our siblin’s were spendin’ time with Sunset, and not with us,” Apple Bloom finished. “We were alone and left out. So Ah concocted the plan to get them back. Those secrets came from us.” “I took Sunset’s phone during the slumber party,” Sweetie Belle added. “I uploaded the pictures from it onto my PC, and from there onto the account.” “But it got out of hand,” Scootaloo continued. “People started sending us other stuff. We didn’t post most of it, of course, but-” Sunset’s face had turned redder than usual, and the look of pure rage was on her face. “But nothing,” she snarled, walking over with her fists closed. “You should never have posted any of it, at all. Not only are you three complete idiots, you also show a complete lack of self-control.” “Who are you to tell us what we should have done?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What’s done is done, and we can’t take it back.” What happened next shocked everyone. There was a percussive bang the volume of a thunderclap, and in a split-second Sweetie Belle was on the floor, clutching her face. Her friends formed a protective circle around her, to fend Sunset off if need be. “Now that was uncalled for!” Rarity shouted. “Oh really?” Sunset smiled back. “She’ll remember that next time she tries to do something to utterly idiotic again!” Celestia intervened. “Only one thing remains to be done,” she said, helping the prone member of the CMC back onto her feet. “Delete the account.” Apple Bloom nodded, and walked over to the PC. She then clicked the account name, and pressed the ‘delete’ option. Warning: This will delete the account ‘Anon-a-Miss' and all content associated with it. Are you sure you want to do this? Yes/No Apple Bloom clicked yes, and the screen changed to show a new text box. Account deleted With an audible sigh of relief, the situation stabilised. Until Applejack stood up. “Yer in fer a switchin’, missy!” she shouted. “You’ll be lucky if you manage to stay in Canterlot!” Rarity added, focusing on her own sister. “Not cool, kid. Not cool,” Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath, planning in her mind the ways in which she would punish Scootaloo. Celestia spoke up again. “I will assure you now that these three will be severely punished, with-” Suddenly, the lights in the hall turned off, and the display on the laptop screen changed to show a display with a large logo floating in the background, with a cityscape behind that. A moment later, a man appeared on the screen, wearing a black suit and flanked by two soldiers in strange armour. “Fellow citizens,” he began to speak, “for 20 years the ADVENT Coalition has worked tirelessly to repair the ravages and injustices of the Old World. Under our stewardship, our cities prosper, our people flourish, and our world heals.” Celestia looked furious. “Is this your doing?” she demanded of Apple Bloom. “Stop the video. Now.” “This ain’t us!” the girl replied in fright. “Ah got no idea what this is!” “It’s some sort of live broadcast!” Sweetie Belle added. “But what I don’t know.” The speaker on screen then continued. “And yet, among us, there are still those who would refuse to acknowledge the truth; who are determined to see that all we have achieved crumble!” There was a brief pause, before the tone of the address suddenly changed. “That must end. Even as I speak to you today ADVENT peacekeepers are on their way to put an end to the Resistance scourge known as ‘Anon-a-Miss'.” The sound of aircraft engines was suddenly audible outside, and the glass on the windows of the hall shattered as soldiers smashed their way in through the windows. The doors burst open, to reveal more soldiers storming the auditorium, a mixture of those in black armour, with a few in red with capes mixed in amongst them. One of the red ones barked orders in a strange language, and the soldiers opened fire. Bullets rained down through the auditorium and smashed through several students, pools of red and mangled remains building up. Flash was one of the first to go down, his skull cratered by a high velocity railgun round. The soldiers stormed forward, guns continuing to blaze, as the speaker continued. “We will ensure your continued well-being and safety during this crisis,” he continued, without a hint of irony to his voice. “With your co-operation we will overcome these radical elements, and usher in another 20 years of peace and prosperity.” Celestia attempted to shout instructions. “All students, evacuate the-” She never finished her sentence, as both she and Luna were torn apart by a hail of bullets. Sunset covered her face as their blood splattered over her clothes. “Run!” she shouted, only to see more blocking off the stage exit. They closed in, and shouted at her, guns primed, when suddenly one flew backwards and into the wall. Sunset looked over, to see Cheerilee advance with a shotgun. She fired again and again, felling two more, and motioned over to the girl and the CMC. “This way!” she called. “We have to get out of here!” They fled for the door, not looking back whilst the soldiers continued firing. When they could stop, Sunset asked; “Who the hell are they?” Cheerilee looked back to her. “ADVENT ‘peacekeepers’. They are here for our blood.” Author's Note Greetings fellow travellers! In case you did not know, this year marks the 5th anniversary of Anon-a-Miss, and in honour of that I shall be writing 3 Anon-a-Miss stories this year, all of them ideas I have not seen done before. This is the first of them. Catch you tomorrow!
The Hunt BeginsCheerilee led both Sunset and the CMC through the corridors that ran from the back of the gym toward the cafeteria. Gunfire and shouting could be heard echoing throughout the corridors as ADVENT troops continued their bloody rampage, the sounds of rounds hitting true mixed in with the screams of the dead or dying. “Who the hell are these soldiers?” Sunset asked. “What do they want with us?” “They are soldiers of the ADVENT administration,” Cheerilee explained, as she checked the corridor ahead for targets. “Essentially, they are deployed whenever they want someone or something getting rid of.” “But isn’t shooting civilians against the Geneva Convention?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Since when did ADVENT care about the Geneva Convention?” Cheerilee replied. “The Elders will stop at nothing to keep the planet under their control, using force if necessary.” “Elders?” Scootaloo enquired, looking confused. Cheerilee sighed. “Our world is not our own. We were spared the worst of it here, but 20 years ago aliens invaded and took control. Humanity capitulated, and most of our species is now under the rule of ADVENT, living in fear and misery.” She paused. “But there are those among us who refuse to believe their lies. There is one organisation that fights for our liberation, the last remnants of the defenders of Earth 20 years ago...XCOM.” “How do you know this?” Apple Bloom asked. “And why are ya tellin’ us?” “Because it may just save your life,” Cheerilee replied. “I’m an undercover operative for XCOM, and was deployed here to ensure the aliens didn’t expand here. As a result, this part of the planet was relatively untouched by the carnage the rest of the world suffered. But now, thanks to you three, the aliens know we are here, and are performing cleanup.” Sunset Shimmer wheeled on those three girls. “All this carnage and destruction,” she snarled. “All because you didn’t get invited to a bucking slumber party.” “How were we to know that some government we had never heard of was going to deploy soldiers and try to kill ua because of our actions?” Scootaloo retorted. “It didn’t cross our minds!” “Nothing ever does,” Sunset answered. “Those deaths are on you three.” “We didn’t fire the shots!” Sweetie Belle fired back. “But you provided the primer for those shots,” Sunset retorted. Cheerilee spoke up. “Save it for when we’re not in danger of dying! Right now, we should focus on clearing out the aliens and getting a distress call to XCOM. For that, I’ll need my Commnication gear, which is in my classroom.” The five of them set off once more, rounding a bend in the corridor, when Cheerilee waved to them. “Get down!” she hissed. The girls dropped to the floor, quiet as a mouse. Cheerilee looked around the bend once more, and looked at what was approaching. It was a tall, humanoid robot, carrying a weapon that no human could hope to carry due to its size. It lumbered forward, with a speed and grace that defied a machine of its size, its white frame pristine as its head scanned around for targets. Cheerilee inwardly cursed. MECs, she thought. Why does it have to be MECs? The MEC approached closer, when suddenly a door burst open and two students, Derpy Hooves and Micro Chips, ran out into the corridor. The MEC shouted some unintelligible words at them, which they ignored and kept on running. It was a grave mistake. The MEC opened fire, shredding the two students into complete paste. Blood, guts, and mangled body parts flew through the air and impacted the opposite walls, the two students reduced to an unidentifiable mess of flesh and bone. The MEC spoke again, and moved onward, turning right and marching toward the sound of more gunfire. Cheerilee indicated to the others, and they moved on. Sweetie Belle looked visibly distressed. “That...that thing killed them!” she exclaimed, her skin paler than it usually was. “Well spotted,” Sunset replied. “I take it you are a detective?” Scootaloo, on the other hand, was pale as well. She went over to a trash can, and vomited. When she had finished, she looked back at the others. “I’m never gonna be able to get that out of my head,” she whimpered. Apple Bloom looked equally distraught. “Good lord, what have we done?” she asked. Sunset smirked cruelly. “As I said, those deaths are on you.” Cheerilee turned around herself. “Sunset, if you don’t drop the attitude, I’ll shoot you myself. There was no way these three could have known this was going to happen.” Sunset shrugged. “Whatever. Thought you’d like to know there’s an alien over there.” Cheerilee whirled around, to see a tall humanoid creature with no armour and a green device attached to the arm. “Sectoid!” she shouted. “Get back!” The alien closed on them with incredible speed and agility, climbing over lockers and other rubble, as it closed in on its target. It shrieked, and fired a shot from its device, which now turned out to be a gun of some sort, but thankfully the shot missed and crashed into a wall, burning a hole in it. Cheerilee braced her shotgun, and fired at point-blank range... …missing. “Shit!” she cried, pumping the shotgun and firing again. The Sectoid’s skull exploded in a cloud of gore, the body flying backwards at least 10 feet and crashing into another set of lockers. She waved to the others. “Let’s go!” she called, waving to another set of lockers. They arrived in Cheerilee’s classroom to find it deserted. The room had not been swept by ADVENT troops, and seemed to be in relatively good order given the bedlam going on all around. Cheerilee locked the door, and booted up the PC, linking it to a device next to her. The display changed to show a logo with an X burned into the centre, with the words VIGILO CONFIDO below. “What does that mean?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Don’t ask,” Cheerilee replied. She then hit another button, and the image dissolved, to show the face of a man in his mid-50s with black hair that was slowly turning grey, as well as a distinctly unshaven look. “Field Operative Cheerilee,” he said, with an abrasive tone. "Glad to hear from you again.” “No time for that Central,” Cheerilee replied. “ADVENT have attacked Canterlot High and are slaughtering everyone in sight. We could do with reinforcement.” “I’m informing the commander now,” ‘Central’ replied. “In the meantime, use the weapons in the ammo cache and hold them off as best you can.” “Understood,” Cheerilee replied. “Signing off.” The screen reverted to the previous display, as Cheerilee got up and disconnected the device. “What did he mean about weapons?” Sunset asked. Cheerilee went over and opened up a box filled with several different firearms. There was another box, which had a blade in it, and another with a small robot. Next to that, was a grenade launcher, or rather a box containing one. She lifted out the assault rifle, and switched on the drone. “Sunset, you take the shotgun and the sword,” she commanded. “This gives you unparalleled short-range firepower, but be wary at longer ranges. That sword will also make a mess of anything that gets too close to you, so don’t hesitate to use it.” She then indicated to Apple Bloom. “Take the Gatling Cannon and Grenade Launcher.” Apple Bloom picked the Gatling Cannon up and attached the Grenade Launcher to her back. “These weapons allow you to lay down heavy firepower from extreme range, but be wary, as those grenades cannot distinguish between friend or foe. Be careful of collateral damage.” Sweetie Belle was up next. “Take the sniper rifle and revolver. These give you the power to support your peers at both long and short range, as the sniper rifle has incredible range, and at the same time the revolver has superb short-range stopping power.” Finally, she pointed to Scootaloo. “You will have the second assault rifle,” Cheerilee continued. “This will allow for effective combat at all ranges, but it is not as effective as the more specialised weapons.” Diamond Tiara poked her head out of a classroom to see if the corridor was clear. It was the fault of those losers, the Canterlot Movie Club, her archnemeses and now it seemed arch fools. She waved to Silver Spoon. “C’mon, let’s go!” she said, as she stepped out into the corridor. This proved to be a mistake. Just then, two of the soldiers appeared, followed by one in red armour. He loudly barked at the two girls. “We-we’re not the ones you’re looking for!” Diamond cried. “Yeah!” Silver Spoon added. “You want these three!” She showed the officer her phone, which had a picture of the CMC on it. The officer nodded, and just then Diamond saw something out of the corner of her eye. “That’s them there!” she shouted, as she saw them, Cheerilee, and Sunset navigating a corridor. The officer shouted again, and took one of the soldiers with him. Diamond internally smirked. At last! Her mortal foes would be out of the way, and she could rule this school year with no op- Diamond’s internal monologue ended quite suddenly. Although she saw the flash, she never heard the percussive crack of the rifle that ended both her and Silver’s lives. Author's Note Anybody here gonna miss DT? Stay tuned, as tomorrow...CHS fights back!
ResistanceSirens blared aboard the Avenger as the Commander ran from the command quarters to the bridge, where Central Officer Bradford was waiting for them. “What’s happening?” the Commander asked, the remains of a sandwich in their hand. “Commander,” Bradford replied. “We’ve received a report of an ADVENT assault on a civilian outpost. It’s a resistance sector, Canterlot, which had previously been out of sight of ADVENT, but somehow they’ve located the area and are killing anyone in sight.” “What are we looking at in terms of hostiles?” the Commander asked, a look of concern on their face. “Mostly ADVENT grunts,” Bradford continued, flicking through some images captured on the school’s CCTV feed. “A couple of MECs, mixed in amongst the troops, a few officers, and a reported Sectoid from our ground operative.” The Commander nodded. “Contact the troops and ready them for deployment. Operation Devil’s Driving Engine is go!” Bradford sighed. “I hate the random mission name generator some days.” He switched on the radio. “Rise and shine, troops! Time to deploy!” A group of six soldiers ran across the ship from the Armoury to the loading bay, where the Skyranger awaited them. One of them turned to the other. “Hey, have you seen my E.X.O Suit anywhere?” he asked. “Kowalski’s still got it!” the other soldier replied. “Remember, he wore it when you were out for falling asleep on the battlefield!” “Weren’t you always hunkering down at every conceivable opportunity?” the first soldier retorted. “Shut it you!” “Listen up!” shouted the voice of Central Officer Bradford, who approached from across the loading dock. “We’ve got civilians to protect, and assets in the region to secure. No telling what ADVENT is packing, so load up and get ready to fight!” One of the soldiers raised his hand. “What’s the bet there’ll be a Faceless in there somewhere? Every time we’ve had to stop an ADVENT raid on a civilian camp there’s been one!” Bradford sighed. “10 bucks,” he replied. “Let’s go!” he shouted, grabbing his rifle and heading for the Skyranger. The platform on which the Skyranger sat began to elevate, bringing it to the deck of the Avenger. Its engines engaged, and the Skyranger surged into the sky, flying away into the morning sky toward Canterlot. Meanwhile, Cheerilee and the CMC, plus Sunset of course, advanced through the corridors, turning right at one point into another corridor. Loud bangs suddenly echoed behind them, and Sweetie Belle looked back. “I hear gunfire!” she said to the others. “Well, no shit,” Sunset replied. Sweetie Belle pouted. “Those shots weren’t from us, nor were they aimed at us!” Cheerilee spoke next. “They must have found some other survivors. Nothing we can do for them now, of course.” She motioned forward, when suddenly more shots rang out. Bullets whizzed over their heads as several ADVENT troopers opened fire. “Now THOSE shots were aimed at us!” Scootaloo added. “Not helping!” Cheerilee replied, swinging around and firing off some shots from her assault rifle. The shots tore through the armour of one soldier, knocking him down instantly, whilst the other looked on in confusion. Just then, an officer appeared, and the two soldiers gave chase. Apple Bloom stopped, deployed her assault cannon, and opened fire. The recoil was massive, and even with her above-normal strength that was typical of members of the Apple family, Apple Bloom had difficulty keeping the weapon on target, mainly laying down a hail of suppressive fire upon the advancing soldiers. Sweetie Belle aimed a shot from her sniper rifle, squeezed the trigger, and fired. The shot blew the officer’s head clean off, and he fell to the ground. The other soldier, visible confused by this, opened fire randomly. Bullets flew through the air and hit Apple Bloom, knocking her to the floor. “Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo called, charging out front, and firing her shotgun. The blast dispersed, missing the soldier by a considerable distance and impacting into the walls and surrounding scenery. “Damnit! Out of range!” Scootaloo shouted, stopping behind a locker to avoid being shot at. The soldier advanced, firing once more, before being taken down by another shot from Sweetie Belle. Cheerilee activated her drone, which flew over to Apple Bloom and stemmed her injuries. “That’ll hold for now,” she explained, “but you’ll need medical attention when this is over.” Apple Bloom shakily got to her feet, holstering the weapon and following along. “Should we check the cafeteria? Ah imagine a lot of students woulda gone there.” “It’s a good shout,” Sweetie Belle noted. “And it’s not far from here either.” Cheerilee motioned to them, and away they went. When they reached the cafeteria, all was quiet. Far too quiet. “It’s too quiet,” Scootaloo whispered. “Funny y’all should say that,” Apple Bloom observed. “Why?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Because that’s usually the line spoken in a Western moments before someone gets shot,” Scootaloo added. Sunset shook her head. “We’re trying to survive being killed by soldiers intent on killing us, and you crack jokes?” “Gotta be mad ta stay sane,” Apple Bloom finished. The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a loud bang, and the doors to the cafeteria flew open, followed by a body flying out of the door and crashing into the lockers opposite. He attempted to get up, only for a second blast to render him lifeless. “Let that be a lesson to ya!” shouted a voice. An old, familiar voice. And who should step through the door but Granny Smith, clad not in her usual attire, but old armour plating with the X symbol seen on Cheerilee’s computer terminal. “Granny!” Apple Bloom cried. “Keep it down sugarcube!” Granny Smith replied. “Who knows how many more o’those thin’s there are out here.” Cheerilee walked over. “Mrs Smith,” she began. “That’s Colonel Smith ta ya,” Granny Smith replied. “Ah was fightin’ these aliens before ya were even born.” Apple Bloom blinked. “Ya work fer XCOM?” “Used ta,” Granny Smith continued. “I fought back in the first invasion back in the 1980s, when we beat them off our world, and good riddance too!” She checked her shotgun and motioned to them. “Come inside! The meat packin’ room and freezer are just this way. Most secure rooms in the whole school, and perfect for an ambush.” They proceeded inside, and went into the freezer room. It was very, very cold. “If you don’t mind me asking,” Cheerilee asked, “where were you back in 2015? XCOM could have done with older operatives coming out of retirement.” “Ah’d have blown mah cover,” Granny Smith replied. “Besides, bein’ here allowed me ta keep mah family safe. The Rainbooms are in the freezer as well, incidentally.” “How’d they survive?” Sunset asked. “They exited the hall as fast as they could when the firing started,” a voice started. It was the voice of Rainbow Dash. “You traitor!” Sunset snarled, raising her weapon. “You turned on me effortlessly and without so much as a second thought!” “The traitors are with you,” Rainbow rebuffed. “She’s right, ya know,” Applejack added. Cheerilee sighed. “Can we all please refrain from killing one another until AFTER we’ve defeated the aliens?” “Indeed,” Granny Smith observed. “Open up the ammo lockers, and arm yerselves. ADVENT is closin’ in.” Author's Note Anybody spot the XCOM jokes?
The Cavalry has Arrived!The atmosphere in the freezer was so tense you could have cut it with a knife. They had settled on a staggered deployment. That is not entirely correct. Granny Smith had settled on a staggered deployment, being not only the most experienced in this field, but being in such a position of seniority that her word was essentially law, and thus had to be obeyed. At the front, the Rangers had been positioned, namely Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Sunset Shimmer. A row behind them, and slightly off to the side, were the Grenadiers, who were composed of Apple Bloom, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. Behind them were the Sharpshooters, namely Sweetie Belle, Rarity, and Fluttershy. Lastly, the Specialists-everybody else-were mixed in to use their drones to provide medical support. Granny Smith herself was positioned far back, in order to ensure full tactical control. Cheerilee was helping to relay orders forward. Scootaloo looked over to Sunset. “Look, with all that’s happened, I’m-” “Save me your apologies,” Sunset replied. “I’ve heard, and issued, enough to last me a thousand years.” “Harsh,” Rainbow Dash added, “but fair.” Further back, Apple Bloom raised some questions. “How many of those thin’s do ya think are out there?” she asked. “five, ten, a hundred maybe. What’s it ta ya?” Applejack snapped. “Well, ammo conservation and all,” Pinkie observed. “We can’t affort to waste it, after all.” Applejack shook her head. “Apple Bloom, Ah swear ta God if we die, Ah will tan ya so hard y’all have ta-” “Ya can’t tan me if ya dead,” Apple Bloom observed, her deadpan tone obvious. “We should focus on NOT dyin’.” Applejack was speechless. Pinkie simply nodded her head. “Always the priority!” she said cheerfully. “Staying alive!” There was an interruption. “Just a second,” Cheerilee radioed. “We’ve got movement. At least thirty foot mobiles, some MECs as well. Focus your shots, and we’ll get out of this.” There was suddenly a loud bang, and the doors of the freezer were blown off their hinges. They landed with a loud and furious clang that left a massive dent in the walls. Through the hole that was created by the absence of the doors stepped an ADVENT officer and two troopers, walking in through the smoke. At that very moment, the Rangers fired, having set up in ambush. All three soldiers were thrown through the air and flew back at least 10 feet, smacking into soldiers behind them. “Good shootin’!” Granny Smith called. “But we got more approachin’!” The next wave of soldiers closed in, charging forward with stun batons deployed. They got blown over by the percussive roar of Gatling cannons, shredding armour and throwing the Enforcers through the air and onto the floor next to their comrades. It was then that things changed. Ten round objects flew through the air and landed on the ground next to the front-line defences. “FLASHBANG!” shouted Sunset. “COVER YOUR-” It was too late, as although she meant to say ‘ears’, the grenades went off with a bang. The three students fell about, their eyes blinded and their ears ringing as the boxes next to which they crouched caught fire. In advanced another wave of soldiers. These ones wore white armour, and were surrounded by red auras. They formed a wall in front of the advancing line, closing on the Rangers. “Sharpshooters, engage!” Granny Smith ordered. They were all equipped with armour piercing ammunition, and these slammed clean through the shields, leaving the soldiers who had deployed them vulnerable. And they were, as suddenly a volley of grenades flew through the air and crashed into their positions. The storm of shrapnel cut through armour and the percussive explosions from the grenades more than had the desired effect, as they fell. Scootaloo came back to her senses, and saw the foe apparently withdrawing. “They’re pulling back!” she called. “We did it! We held them off!” “You think that’s it?” Cheerilee radioed. “That was just testing the water. We need to do something different. They are not retreating; they are regrouping and moving in with different assets. Brace yourselves, this is about to get messy.” Red smoke emerged in the distance, accompanied with raised voices and loud clanking noises. The MECs-large, white robots with massive guns no human could hope to carry-lumbered into the freezer room, discharging a volley of grenades into the area to clear it. More disorientation grenades, of course. But then came the real surprise for them. A group of drones flew at them, and suddenly discharged bolts of electricity into the MECs, temporarily disabling them. “Grenade volley! Now!” The three Rangers, as well as the Grenadiers, either threw or fired a grenade, which flew at the robot targets and hit them, blowing them backward out of the room. They flew through the air and landed on top of the next group of soldiers, crushing them. “Good tactic!” Pinkie observed. “Explosives really do make things sweeter!” A loud series of further bangs sounded behind them, what sounded like energy weapons. “We did it!” Cheerilee called. “We did what exactly?” Rarity asked. “We held off the enemy long enough for XCOM to arrive!” Granny Smith came forward, her shotgun loaded. “Let’s go!” she called. “Drive them back!” The militia stormed forward, producing an incredible storm of firepower as they closed on the foe. Weapons roared and shots hit true and the enemy buckled under the weight of being attacked from two angles at once. As they began to run, one fired off a shot-that hit Granny Smith. “No!” Applejack cried, as the other XCOM team entered the room. “MEDIC!” Bradford indicated to one of the others. “Get the drone over there, patch her up!” Applejack and her younger sister bent down to try and stabilise Granny Smith’s injuries. “C’mon, c’mon!” the younger apple said. “Ya can pull through Granny! Ya got to!” Granny Smith looked over to her, and smiled. “Mah race is run,” she said weakly. “Ya need ta...fight back the aliens and send them back ta where they came from. Besides...ya were played from the start.” “What?” Applejack asked. And her face was filled with horror. Granny Smith’s body, clothes and all, simply seemed to melt into nothing, becoming a quivering puddle on the floor. But then the mass began to reform, growing taller and morphing into a horrifying creature at least 15 feet tall, with a featureless face and horrifying claws. One of the soldiers called to Bradford. “You owe me 10 bucks!” Bradford shrugged. “I think I’m going to need a bigger gun.” Author's Note Bet you didn't see that coming!
Last statementFirst off, sorry for the ending. I agree, it was shit, and the entire story is shit I will confess. This will stay up for now, but will probably either be heavily revised, or just deleted entirely. Sorry for the mess, The Blue EM2.
ResolutionThe massive creature towered over them, letting loose a deep, guttural roar as it lumbered toward the Rainbooms. “Put some fire into that thing!” Bradford shouted, taking command almost immediately. Firepower lit up the room as bullets slammed into the creature. However, that simply made it angry. With another roar, it simply swung at the wall, demolishing it and causing rubble, plaster, and wreckage to fall down onto the floor, thankfully missing most of the squad, but making a mess nonetheless. “How do we take that thing down?” Cheerilee shouted. “An’ since when was mah own Granny a towerin’ monster?” Applejack added her voice to the din that was going on all around. “I suspect it infiltrated a while back, and then sat there for a while until it was needed.” Everyone stared at one of the soldiers. “What?” “Not...helping!” Sweetie Belle shouted, as she fired off her sniper rifle again, hitting the creature once more. This just made it angrier, and it swung again, sweeping people off their feet and causing them to hit the floor. It was just then Bradford saw the weak point. He aimed his rifle, and fired. The shot hit the creature’s eye, and it fell to the floor, dead. Apple Bloom looked amidst the carnage and rubble that was Canterlot High School. “How many of us are there now?” she asked. “We haven’t seen anybody else, so we have reason to believe you are the only ones left alive,” Cheerilee told her. “Hopefully this will ensure that jealousy won’t get the better of you next time.” “What’ll we do?” Scootaloo asked. “We have nothing left here.” Bradford sighed. “You could join XCOM,” he suggested. “You all fought like lions today, and you survived. Good grounds for new recruits, I think.” Author's Note So here ends this story. Hope you enjoyed the ride!
