Soldiers: Skyfall

"This is Deputy Drops, group of us are heading for Deep Water Canyon Caves, anyone hearing this can find us there."
--Transmission heard in Dusty Rocks County.

Date: August 9th, 1666 CC
Time: 18:34
Name: Tricks
Location: Lunar Square, Eastern Canterlot

Colonel Tricks stood in a mobile command center watching 3 technicians work to monitor the evac corridor they managed to open to ensure it remained under their control. Outside a steady stream of Canterlot refugees were coming in and being sent out of the city via the water works below the street as the enemy seems to have not yet realized Canterlot is honeycombed with a maze of paths that go all the way to the mountain where there are various ways out. Allowing the refugees to escape down the mountain.

It wasn't a perfect plan as the water works were not meant for so many people to travel down them and they would need to hike through rough terrain but it was a plan that was working.

Colonel Tricks had originally been ordered by High Command to reinforce the 4th and 8th army in defense of the city but Tricks had always had issues with following certain types of orders when he saw things differently. It had earned him many reprimands and commendations. He always liked to view it as everyone playing chess by the rules and him ignoring those rules when he didn't see the point, after all why shouldn't he have his pawn jump all the other pieces and take the king when that was the end result?

And why should the unicorn follow an order to defend a city that had effectively fallen and just needed others to admit it? Because it was the capitol? That was a flimsy reason to Tricks and so he chose to admit what was written on the walls of the city and change from fighting a battle to launching a large-scale rescue operation of everyone still inside the city.

High Command most likely won’t be pleased, he may even get demoted for disobeying their direct order but in the end he will know he did what needed to be done and what was right.

“Sir, the next group is ready to head through.” A tech reported.

Tricks nodded. “Good, send them through.”

Tricks knew he couldn't save everyone, eventually his forces will be overwhelmed or the enemy will figure out what he was doing, heck he might not make it out of this to be reprimanded by High Command but he figured he will keep rolling those dice as long as he could and gamble with the time. Each successful roll of the dice was another group that escaped.

There was a loud rumble that echoed over the square and could even be heard inside the mobile command center. Quiet enough to almost be mistaken for a thunderclap, except for the fact a thunderclap wouldn't be heard inside of this room.

Which meant that it had been very loud outside.

“Report, what was that?” Tricks asked.

“Unknown, all we know is it was loud.” Came the reply.

There was another thunderclap like sound and Tricks felt a small shift below his hooves and alarm bells went off in his head as another thunderclap echoed across the square and the shifting increased.

Another came and Tricks was finally able to tell what the shifting was, the ground was starting to slope.

“Sir the civilians are becoming concerned and our troopers are requesting what to tell them.” A tech asked.

Tricks looked at the pony sitting at the station and then at the other 2.

“Sir?”

Tricks’ horn glowed and the three techs vanished in a poof of magic as there was a corresponding poof on the mountain. It was draining but it had to be done.

Tricks rushed for the door as another thunderclap echoed followed quickly by another as the sloping was now so noticeable objects began falling from the table.

The door opened as a deafening thunderclap like sound echoed across the square where the civilians were starting to panic as the ground sloped more and more.

Then the loudest explosion of stone, metal and other materials echoed across the square and everything began to shake as the entire city tilted while the distant mountain slope rushed away above the city.

Screams filled the square as Tricks had to grab the railing of the stairs to keep from falling till he got his hooves under him.

A mare was running past and Tricks horn glowed again as she vanished in in a poof of magic as Tricks pushed himself off the stairs and stumbled into the panic watching as a distant tower collapsed as a city works truck, the back filled with multiple civilians started backing away from the square rapidly in an attempt to escape what was happening.

Tricks reached a trooper trying to keep her hooves under her and she vanished in magic a moment before the ground she’d been standing on opened up as the square started to split in half, many troopers and civilians falling into the chasm as it opened.

Tricks didn't have time to worry about that, he didn't have time to worry about orders, he had to roll his dice as fast as he could as he reached another pony and teleported them away as another chasm opened up behind him swallowing the command center.

He saw pegasi take flight as they realized what was happening, most of them grabbing others near them before taking flight to escape.

Tricks could easily do the same, he had the magic to teleport to the mountainside but the thought never crossed his mind as he sent another there in his place.

He stumbled and at times crawled from person to person as the ground shook, buildings collapsed and screams of terror filled the air.

Tricks teleported a Keeper and his head jerked back as it felt like he took a hammer to the forehead. His head pounded and he smelled burning as nausea filled him.

He reached a stallion as he reached for magic and was met with the pain of magical burn out.

Tricks did the only thing he could think of as one last toss of the dice against impossible odds as he threw himself over the stallion as the city disintegrated around them…

Moments later the city of Canterlot smashed into the ground at the base of the mountain and shattered.

Canterlot had fallen