My Honour and My Fatherland

Chapter 2: They Shall Not Pass

Part 1

He can hear them...

They're outside....

They're planning to assault, to attack, charge and capture him, to kill him and display him like a trophy, to be paraded around as if he was a fox that had been hunted for sport.

He peeks out of one of the windows. He can see them. They're six in total, small and colourful, looking like small ponies, but he won't be fooled.

It's a trick, he knows it's a trick. They're trying to confuse him, make him lower his guard as he did when the pink one was in front of him.

But it won't happen again: he knows what they're up to.

No, no they won't dislodge him, they won't take him. At least, not alive.

He shakes a bit, in exitement or fear he's not sure, as he slowly opens his napsack and looks inside. There's some bullets inside, but none that'll fit the revolver, along with a cylinder shaped object with a removable cap at the top.

A manic grin spreads across his face. He's got a surprise for them they won't see coming.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle gazes with an observant eye at Sugarcube Corner, looking for any signs of it, even the slightest hint of the creature inside that Pinkie Pie met. Then, barely visible through the dark window, she sees it for the briefest of moments, wearing the steel helmet that her friend described, before it dissapears back into the darkness.

She squints her eyes, trying to get another glimpse of it, but gives up after a few moments of nothing. She turns her head to her friends, all gathered in a hurried fashion after Pinkie burst into her castle and screamed her name as she ran all the way to her room.

She was up after the second scream, but Pinkie wouldn't stop shouting until she used magic to close her mouth for a moment to get her to take a deep breath.

Once the situation had been explained, they gathered the rest of their friends from their various homes. They all look tired, particularily Rarity, who'd complained on the way that being awoken from her beauty sleep was terrible for her complexion.

Still, she's gathered them for a reason.

"Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why I've gathered you here." She begins.

"I'll say," Rarity mumbles in a less than pleased manner, "do you know how long my process for getting ready for bed is?"

"Oh, can it, Rarity," Now it's Applejack who interjects, "Ah'm sure Twilight's got a reason fer draggin' us out here in the middle of the night."

"Is Equestria in danger? Oh, are we gonna fight a big, scary monster?!" The exitement in Rainbow Dash's voice is only matched by the exitement that shines in her eyes at the thought of getting into a hoof fight with a big, bad, horrific creature.

"D-do you really think it's a-a big and scary monster?" Fluttershy's voice begins to quiver at the mere thought of whatever beastly monstrosity hides away inside Sugarcube Corner.

"I hope it's got fangs, oh! And claws, and really big, red eyes that can suck out you soul in an instant!" Rainbow continues and gazes up at the sky with a wide grin as her wings make her hover above the ground a little while her hooves rub against one another.

"I'm sorry to dissapoint, Rainbow," Twilight Sparkle breaks Rainbow out of her monster fighting fantasy to bring her back to reality, "but it's got none of those things."

"Aw, really?" Rainbow's exitement is shattered like glass to be replaced with sheer dissapointment all over her face as she slumbs down and lands on the ground again. "Way to burst a bubble, Twilight."

"Sorry, Rainbow, but based on what Pinkie Pie says, this may be a creature we've never seen before."

"Really? Well, how does it look?" Rarity asks and turns her head to Pinkie Pie who's remained silent throughout the exchange. After they'd gotten their friends Pinkie had been unusally quiet and not her usual, bubbly self.

Twilight figures this is likely because the creature tried to kill her, but it may well be something else they need to talk about in greater depth later. For now, though, her friends wants answers, and frankly so does she.

"Go on, Pinkie," She encourages her friend in a reassuring manner, making sure to speak as gently as she can, "tell us what you saw."

Pinkie's eyes darts between her friends. She seems to consider what to say before she sighs and takes a deep, calming breath, releasing the air before she begins.

"I-it sorta looks like a bigger and taller version of Spike." She manages to say in a shaky voice, making Applejack place a reassuring hoof on her shoulder along with a gentle smile, "Go on, Sugarcube."

Pinkie Pie can't help but smile to her dear friend, "It didn't have any hair on its body, but it had a little beard, and I think I saw some hair underneath its helmet."

"It wore a helmet?" Fluttershy asks, her interest having been piqued now too upon hearing there wasn't much dragon about this thing.

"Yeah, it wore a blue helmet and had a big, blue coat on that was really, really dirty and...bloody."

"Bloody?" Twilight asks with a quizicall gaze, "Bloody how, excatly?"

"Well, it looked as if blood had been sprayed on it, or if somepony filled a balloon with it and then threw that balloon on the ground infront of it."

Twilight looks at her friends' reactions. It's a mixture of disgust, strange fascination and, on Fluttershy's part, worry.

"Oh, no, do you think the poor thing's hurt?" She says as her natural tendency for kindness flares up while she looks with worry towards Sugarcube Corner.

"I-it had scratch marks on its cheeks, as if it had been clawed in the face like this," To illustrate, Pinkie drags her hoof quickly down her cheek with an accompanying swish sound.

"Oh, no! The poor dear, we have to help it."

"I don't think it'll let us, Fluttershy." Twilight says much to Fluttershy's confusion before Pinkie continues, "It has a little party cannon, but instead of shooting confetti it shoots...I don't know what it shoots, but I think it was trying to...kill me."

"What?!" Rainbow bellows and turns towards Sugarcube Corner with a furious gaze, her mouth forming into an angry scowl as she stomps her hoof into the dirt, "Let's get it!" She then takes off, but stops and falls to the ground as Applejack bites down on her tail.

"Whoa there, nelly, we shouldn't rush anythin' right now." She says after spitting out Rainbow's tail.

"Why not?" Rainbow quickly shoots to her feet and gets all the way up into Applejack's face, "It tried to kill one of our friends," She motions towards Sugarcube Corner as she says it, "we should go in there and show it why you never mess with any of our friends!"

"Ah agree that we should take action, but rushin' in like we're a herd o' stampedin' cattle ain't gon' solve diddly. It'll propably just result in somepony gettin' hurt." Applejack tries to reason, but Rainbow barks back, "Yeah, somepony's gonna get hurt, somepony who's got it coming!" She turns her head and shouts the last part towards Sugarcube Corner.

Just then, the window of Sugarcube Corner opens up ever so slightly, "Der Kaiser bist scheisse!" A clearly male voice shouts back above the pitter patter of the rain, and the occasional thunder that still roars not too far off.

All the ponies stand stock still, shocked that it actually answers back. Twilight can't understand what it shouted, but the way it shouted it, it sounded kind of like it was trying to gloat them into trying to get it.

Based on Rainbow's impatient and slightly angered look, it seems to be working.

"Hello?!" She tries with a raised voice, "Can you understand us?"

Instead of an answer, the window slides shut, but she can just barely make out movement from within the building.

"Okay, girls, we need to come up with a plan."

"Okay, so how ya reckon we do this, Twilight?" Applejack motions towards Sugarcube Corner, "Ah don't suppose we can just waltz on in and tell it ta put its cannon down."

"Um, it sounded more like a 'he' to me." Fluttershy corrects quietly, but not so quiet nopony heard her.

"He or not, darling, it doesn't change the fact that whatever beast is in there tried to harm our dear, little Pinkie Pie." Rarity puts a reassuring hoof on Pinkie's back and gently pets her hair, making Pinkie smile a bit, happy for the close contact from her friend.

"Guys, we still need a plan." The impatience in Rainbow's voice is growing, "That thing's taunting us, we need to get this over quickly so we can make it eat its words. Whatever it said."

"Okay, girls, listen up." Twilight has already formed a plan: now she just needs to tell her friends.

"Rainbow Dash, based on what Pinkie Pie told me, the creature seems sensitive to the sound of thunder so I need you to clear away the clouds so that the sound won't agitate it further."

"Got it!" Rainbow says with a salute.

"Applejack, if things go sour, I need you to be next to the door to Sugarcube Corner so you can lasso it in case it tries to escape."

"Good thing Ah brought mah strongest robe then." To emphazise, Applejack swings said robe around her hoof before tying the end into a lasso knot that can catch any critter, big and small.

"Rarity, did you bring the gems like I asked?"

"But of course, darling," Rarity opens her saddlebag and shows Twilight several yellow gemstones, "but why do you need these?"

"Because Pinkie said the creature has a cannon, which means it needs to see to aim. If the creature does try to aim at us, you're to use your magic to activate these gems. That should create a powerfull enough light to blind the creature before it can properly aim."

"Uh, Ah'm no scientist, but how does that work?" Applejack asks in confusion.

"There's a reason I asked specifically for these gems." Twilight picks up one of the gems in her magic, making it glow not only with her magical, purple aura, but also with a soft yellow glow.

"These are sun gems, they're incredibly sensitive to light of any kind, and if they're hit by it, they light up. The more powerfull light they're hit by, the more powerfull they'll glow in turn, and it's my theory that if they're hit by concentrated magic to light them up, they'll glow so powerfull that they should be able to blind it."

"Won't we be blinded too if it's so powerfull?" It was Rainbow's turn to question Twilight's train of thought, making her pout a bit.

"We won't be holding them, Rainbow. Rairity'll throw them into Sugarcube Corner after activating them. They should glow for just long enough, and that'll hopefully blind it long enough for us to subdue it if it gets necessary."

"I must throw these through the windows?" Rarity says with a hint of guilt as she looks at the windows of the bakery.

"Only if necessary, Rarity."

"Ugh." Rainbow groans, but doesn't say anything more as Twilight turns her attention to Fluttershy now.

"You, Fluttershy, will have the most important job."

The yellow pegasus tenses up at her name being called, and the word 'important' in the same sentence, "M-me?"

"Yes, this creature is obviously intelligent, so I'd like you to try and talk to it and try to get it to surrender itself."

"B-but what if it doesn't want to? What if it would rather eat me whole?"

"Oh, come on, Fluttershy, weren't you the one saying that it was 'just a poor dear' a minute ago?" Rainbow says in an impression of Fluttershy at the end.

"I guess so." She mumbles in return.

"Great," Twilight says with a smile, "and don't worry, I won't be far behind. Hopefully that won't be necessary, but if it does, I'll try to chase it out with my magic so Rarity can blind it and Applejack can lasso it. Everypony ready?"

"Hold on, why ain't Starlight here? Don't ya think she'd be a huge help with her magic?" Applejack asks making everypony look to Twilight for answers.

Twilight begins by sighing deeply, "Well, she was supposed to be at the castle for studying, but it turns out Trixie needed some help collecting some things from the Everfree Forest, and just so happened to need Starlight's help." She speaks with a slightly annoyed tone in her voice.

"What if I go get her?" Rainbow asks, "I have wings, you know."

"I don't think there's time: we need to get that creature now before it harms anypony."

"Um, Twilight?" Pinkie speaks up with a slightly raised hoof.

"Oh, yes, Pinkie?" Twilight asks and looks at her pink friend.

"What about me? Can I do anything?"

"Hmm, yes, there is. You know the layout of Sugarcube Corner like the back of your hoof. Is there any way inside Sugarcube Corner we could use to our advantage?"

"Well, um, we could try and get in through the upstairs windows, but I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

"But why not?" Asks Rainbow, "We gotta get this thing, and I'm gonna make sure we do just that!"

"Just you?" Applejack asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, of course you guys are here to help, but we all kno-"

Before Rainbow can finish, they all hear a loud yelp from inside Sugarcube Corner.

* * *

"Der Kaiser bist Scheisse!" He shouts through the tiny crack in the window before he retracts and listens for a reply.

He breathes as calmly and quietly as he can, clutching the revolver tightly in his hands, before he hears a female sounding voice from outside say something muffled.

He listens, but he can't quite make it out. It's likely a threat, or perhabs an order to start lobbying bombs through the windows to drive him out!

He quickly shuts the window, denying them the chance to do so.

He briefly peaks over the window sill to get a look at them, but thanks to the rain what he sees is only a muddled picture of the outside world.

He slides past the window before he stands in the middle of the room, surrounded by candies of all kind. They're good, no, perfect for his empty stomach. He knows it isn't the healthiest, but damn it, he deserves something!

He goes to the door and listens closely. Over the sounds of the rain and the occasional roar of their cannons he can hear them outside, plotting, planning how to get in and kill him.

He checks the revolver.

One bullet left. Damn.

This isn't good, but at least he has a surprise in his bag waiting. He needs to barricade himself quickly, before they attack. He looks around for anything he can use. The counter of this bakery could be a small barricade, but there isn't much room to manouver around in here.

The windows can work, unless they have bombs or flamethrowers.

Hmm...there has to be something he can use, anything. He sneaks back to the counter, but on the way he slips, letting out a yelp as he does, and lands face first onto the wooden floor, followed shortly after by a loud thud right infront of him.

He quickly looks up and aims the revolver at where the thud came from, only to see that it was a box that had fallen from above. He looks back over himself to see that he slipped over his own bootlace, which he sits up to quickly get retied.

Afterwards, he curiously looks around a bit for where ever the box came from. He sees above him a spot on a nearby beam that looks like it can hold such a box. It must have been sitting loosly enough for his fall to knock it out of its spot and down onto the floor.

He slowly edges closer to the box before he opens it up and looks inside. A wide grin spreads across his face as he sees the contents inside.

Just then, he hears three, gentle knocks on the door. He aims at it, expecting something to come through, but nothing does.

He hurries to put on his mask and bring his lighter out of his pocket before he picks up the contents of the box and sets them out on the counter. He has a special surprise for those little Huns now.

* * *

Fluttershy looks back at Twilight after knocking three, timid times so as to not scare the creature inside too much, "Uh, T-Twilight?"

"Don't worry, Fluttershy, I'm right here." Twilight says behind one of the bushes close to Sugarcube Corner.

"I-I know, but-but what if-"

"Listen, you're the kindest pony in Equestria. If anyone can convince this thing to give itself up and let us help it, it's you."

"O-okay, I can do this," Flutershy breathes in and prepares herself for whatever is going to be behind the door, "I can do this." She raises her hoof to knock on the door again, but as she does the door flies open, and reveals a six foot tall humanoid in an incredibly dirty coat.

Fluttershy shakes in the knees as her gaze travels upwards to look at the creature's face, only to see that it'a wearing what looks like a brown bag with two eyeholes that has round pieces of glass inserted in them, like glasses of some kind.

Before she can speak, she hears a familiar whizzing sound, only to see smoke emerging from behind the creature's right arm. Following the stream of smoke, she sees a firework rocket being held in the creatures claw, which has a piece of cloth wrapped around it to protect it from the sparks.

The rocket itself, however, is aimed directly at her face.

She manages to duck just in time before the rocket flies over her head, streaming down the streets of Ponyville, before it explodes in a magnificent show of light, sparks and loud, crackling sounds.

Pinkie Pie's amazed by the show, but it doesn't take her long to realize that the creature must have gotten ahold of her fireworks stash hidden up on one of the beams in Sugarcube Corner.

"Twilight!" She pops her head out of a bush, "He has my fireworks!"

"I noticed!" Twilight calls back while Fluttershy looks back to see the creature picking up another rocket to light up with a small flame being emitted from a little, metal looking box.

"Now wait just a minute, Mister!" She asserts while flying up to his height, trying to make eye contact through the glass.

"You think because you're a big, scary creature that you have the right to try and harm my friends? Well, you're wrong! You will not fire that rocket that Pinkie Pie saved for some foal's birthday: You're going to put that rocket down right now, and apologize to all of us for scaring us and Pinkie Pie."

Fluttershy feels the stare may very well be her best option as she gazes into the black orbs that are the eyes of the bag like mask. For a brief moment, she can see its eyes, but there's none of the emotion she's ever seen in any animal or pony.

It's as if she's staring into the sunken eyes of an abyss, devoid of all life and emotions with nothing to spare for any and all.

Then suddenly an emotion flares up: rage. A raging fire erupts in the canvas of darkness, a resistant spirit that will not budge, a defiance, a willingness to kill to survive, to put itself in terrible danger to achieve its goals.

And it terrifies her to the bone.

Before she can react, the creature rears its head back and quickly slams the dome of its helmet against her nose, sending the sound of bones breaking through the air, and making her fall backwards onto the ground. She holds her hooves over her shattered nose as fresh tears stream down her cheeks that mix with the blood and rain.

Twilight's eyes go wide when she sees her friend lie helplessly on the ground, but as she turns her horn towards the creature in the door frame, a rainbow streak shoots across the sky, yelling in furious rage.

A rocket streams towards her, but Rainbow expertly dodges it before it explodes behind her in a great mess of pink sparks. She smashes against it, sending her and the creature backwards into Sugarcube Corner.

"Rainbow!" Twilight calls out as she hurries to the door where she sees Rainbow atop the creature with a raised hoof.

"I'll teach you to mess with-"

Before she manages to finish, the creature smacks its cannon against the side of Rainbow's head, sending her off of it as she groans in pain.

Twilight lights up her horn, but it's quick to aim its cannon at her. The air around them becomes tense and heavy. She can hear its heavy breathing over the mask it wears, and she's sure it can hear her own.

It hasn't fired yet. Why not? Is it out of shots? Or maybe it's waiting for her move.

Twilight casts a quick look at Rainbow Dash and gulps as she decides to take the chance. In a flash she dissapears and reapears next to Rainbow, whom she quickly wraps up in her magic before she teleports both of them outside again, using her magic to shut the door as well as bring Fluttershy over to her and Rainbow.

Twilight breathes heavily and sits down in the middle of the road. She can hear the sound of ponies galloping towards her, and when she looks she sees the remainder of her friends running fast towards her.

"Twilight! Are you okay? What happened to Rainbow and Fluttershy?!" The worry in Applejack's voice is as clear as it is on her face as she tries to help Rainbow sit up. She responds with a pained moan, "Ow, my head. What happened?"

"The creature, it hit you on the side of the head with its cannon." Twilight explains while Rarity helps tend to Fluttershy's nose. The poor dear's whimpering and crying still, the tears not stopping for even a moment

"Oh, pshhh, that's it? Come on, girls, let's get back to-ow!" Rainbow is forced to sit back down as she brings a hoof to her head, a pained expression crossing her face while she feels on the spot where the cannon hit. Some blood is running down the side of her head thanks to the wound.

"Easy, Rainbow, you have a wound, and you may also have a concussion. I don't think you can help anymore tonight." Twilight says much to Rainbow's annoyance.

"Oh, come on, Twilight, ow."

"No, Rainbow, concussions are serious; you need to get to the hospital right now."

Twilight turns to Pinkie Pie with a serious look on her face, "Pinkie, can you bring Rainbow and Fluttershy to the hospital while Applejack, Rarity and me try to figure out a solution?"

"O-okay, Twilight." When she sees the damage done to her friends close up, Pinkie feels a terrible sense of guilt rush over as her hair goes straight and tears begin to well up in her eyes.

"Pinkie," Applejack puts a hoof on her shoulder, "if ya wanna help, help our friends get medical help."

Pinkie gives a small nod before she helps both of them up and begins to bring them both to Ponyville Hospital.

Meanwhile, the townponies are beginning to emerge from their homes, curious as to why somepony's shooting off fireworks in the middle of the night.

"It's alright, everypony, the situation's under control, just stay inside your homes and let us take care of it."

Most seem to accept Twilight's explanation, but there are still those that linger a bit before going inside, yet all looks out at them through their windows.

Twilight sighs deeply before turning to her two remaining friends, "It's down to us now. Rarity, you got the gems?"

Rarity nods and shows the sun gems to Twilight.

Twilight gives a nod and steels herself before she begins a slow trot towards Sugarcube Corner where the door is beginning to creak open again.

End of Chapter 2: They Shall Not Pass Part 1