Ruins of Canterlot

by heavyweaponspony

Prologue

Prologue

I examined the structure in the clearing through the binoculars. It was a wide box of concrete with a metal covering most of the roof. I could see a few more buildings behind it. There were a couple of guard ponies armed with rifles beside the simple steel door. The guards were scanning the area around the building, not looking towards my position in the trees 50 yards away.

The compound was a "secret" facility built by rebels that were planning on overthrowing Princesses Celestia and Luna, and taking control of Equestria. As part of the Royal Army's Special Pegasus Service, it was my job to make sure that didn't happen. My patrol had been sent to the Everfree forest to sabotage the facility after it was learned that the rebels had high power artillery guns here. Our job was to get in, plant explosives on the guns, grab any information we can, then escape.

I looked at the diagram of the rebel compound. There were four rectangular buildings around a circular center building, which held the command center and barracks. Our target was in the building labeled "AB02". Red paint above the door to the building confirmed that this was the correct section of the compound. I floated the diagram back to my bag and set the binoculars on the branch, ready to regroup with my patrol and begin the raid on the compound. I slung the binoculars' strap over my neck and jumped down from the tree.

My patrol was camped a few yards away. A bright red pegasus with a yellow and orange mane was checking a bag full of equipment. A light blue mare was examining a diagram of the compound, and another pegasus, already suited up in his S.P.S. barding and mask so you could only see his yellow mane, was tinkering with a disassembled pistol. Blaze Rush, the red pegasus, jumped up.

"What did you see?" he asked.

"That's the right building," I told him. "There are only a couple of guards, so getting in shouldn't be difficult. You have the explosives, right?"

"Of course," he answered. He was the demolitions pony for the patrol, so he was in charge of the bombs we were using.

"I think we need to wait until dusk before we begin the raid," I told them. "I'll take out the guards and sneak in. According to the diagram, there are four artillery guns in the main room of the building, and a control room on the far side of that room. I'll get into the control room and see if I can find any useful information. You three plant the explosives and get out. We'll regroup here before we radio Canterlot."

"Sounds like a good plan," the blue mare, Sky Shard, replied.

I slid on my S.P.S. mask. Being the only unicorn in the S.P.S., mine was custom made to allow for my horn. Likewise, my S.P.S. barding was fitted with protection over where my nonexistent wings would go. I had only been allowed to enlist because of my stealth skill, which surpassed that of any pegasus in the S.P.S., which was also the reason my patrol was assigned this mission.

---

I glanced at the door from behind a tree. The guards were not a big problem. In the dim light of twilight, the guards would not be able to see me unless I stood out in the open. I could only see them because I had used magic to adjust my eyes to the darkness. I slipped my handgun from the holster, fitting it with a silencer and grasping it in my hooves. The glow of magic would give away my presence, and I wasn't going to let them see me. The guards were at least ten yards apart, looking away from each other. I took aim at the guard on the right of the door. I squeezed the trigger. The gun gave a small kick and almost invisible flash, then the guard fell with a hole in the back of his head. I quickly adjusted my aim and fired at the other guard twice. He collapsed from a hit in the neck and a hit in the shoulder. After a couple more shots, he stopped moving. I signaled the rest of the patrol. We approached the door.

"I'll take out any guards by the door," I said. "Slip in after I give the signal."

I opened the door slowly, my horn glowing as I used magic to make myself disappear. My cloaking spell would make sure none of the guards knew I was there unless they bumped into me. I entered the doorway, stepping into a short, dim hallway. There was a door at the end of the hallway, two doors on the left, and one door on the right. A guard was dozing next to the door on the right. I quickly took him out with a single shot to the head, then levitated the body out the door so it wouldn't be seen. I cracked open the door he was standing by and glanced inside.

This room was the guards' quarters. Cots hung from the far wall. Two of them were occupied. A unicorn with a rifle across his back was sitting at a table playing cards with an earth pony guard. Neither of them noticed the door open slightly. I slipped inside and behind the unicorn guard. My combat knife slid from its pocket in my barding and positioned itself next to the guard. The knife slowly became visible as I dropped my cloaking spell and plunged the knife into the guard's throat. Blood splattered across the table. Before the other guard could react, I drew my pistol and shot him straight in the forehead.

I recovered my knife and magically scraped off the blood before sheathing it. I turned my handgun on the two sleeping guards as they began to stir. I killed them both quickly, with a single shot to the head for each. Then I turned back to the hallway and glanced around the corner, making sure nopony had entered the hallway while I was clearing the room. I then returned to the entrance and signaled my patrol.

"About time," Blaze Rush said jokingly.

We regrouped in the guards' quarters. Sky Shard picked up the rifle from one of the guards, and Blaze Rush was fitting his submachine gun with a suppressor and laser pointer.

"When we get in there, we can open fire and drop the stealth," I told them. "There will be enough guards in there that we won't be able to reach the guns without the alarm being activated." I judged from the amount of cots that there would be around eight to ten guards. "Blaze, get to the guns as quickly as possible. We'll give you covering fire. After you've planted the bombs, get back out this way and detonate them as soon as you get out the door."

They all nodded, and we exited the room.

---

I reloaded my submachine gun. I was pinned down behind a crate with Sky Shard. There had been more guards than we had expected, with at least 15 guards protecting the guns. The alarm had sounded and more would be here soon. The others were pinned down at the first artillery gun, which I assumed had already been fitted with explosives. I looked around the crate and almost immediately had a rebel firing a rifle at me. I managed to fire a few shots from my SMG, one hitting the rebel mare in the hind leg, causing her to fall over. I reloaded again.

"Sky Shard, can you distract them?" I asked.

"I can try," she replied.

Sky Shard burst out from cover and flew towards the ceiling, firing a barrage of bullets from the rifle she picked up. The noisy weapon drew the attention of a few guards, and hit one in the side. Blaze Rush shot a distracted guard and ran over to the next gun. I took the chance to dash over to the control room. The door was open, with a guard standing in the doorway. A quick burst of bullets cleared the path. I shoved the guard out, then closed and locked the door.

The control room was small and windowless. There was a desk with a radio and folder full of papers, as well as a computer. I ran over to the desk. Looking through the file of papers, one caught my eye.

Weapon Description

Talon III Artillery Gun
Ammunition: 172mm Chaos-enhanced High-Explosive rounds
Range: 64 km
Crew: 4 ponies
Weight: 8,240kg

It had a picture that perfectly matched the guns in the room outside. I was alarmed when I read the ammunition that the guns use. 172mm HE rounds could be devastating, but Chaos magic ammunition would magnify the power of the shells and disable magic within a large radius. If these bombarded a city, it would be ruined. I grabbed the file with my magic, turned to the recently used computer, and searched for information. Most of the files were messages between "Central Command" and "Captain Sparks." Captain Sparks was apparently the officer in charge of this section of the compound. Most of the messages were about guard postings and supplies, but some had useful information.

From: Central Command

Captain Sparks,

We have delivered the artillery units to your sector. We're posting extra guards for now. You will need to have the weapons set up and ready for use in 16 days. The attack is scheduled for then.

I checked the date, and it was three days ago. I printed the message off of the computer. Then I saw a file labeled "weapon_supplies.doc"

Weapon Supplies

Stored in Central Command:
24 Rifles
12 SMGs
12 Shotguns
32 Pistols

Stored in Sector AB01

24 HE Grenades
24 Fragmentation Grenades
24 Incendiary Grenades
4 Talon III Artillery Guns

Stored in Sector AB02

24 SMGs
24 Pistols
24 PDWs
4 Talon III Artillery Guns

Stored in Sector AB03

12 Pistols
12 Revolvers
48 Rifles
4 Talon III Artillery Guns

Stored in Sector AB04

24 Civilian Shotguns
24 Combat Shotguns
24 Combat Knives
4 Talon III Artillery Guns

I realized that there were more than 4 artillery guns. According to this file, there were a total of 16 guns in the facility. I printed the file, stuffed the paper in the folder, and put it in my barding's saddlebags. I unlocked the control room door and burst out.

Blaze Rush was working on the last gun with the others covering him. There were 5 guards left, two taking cover behind a group of supply crates, the others next to the door that connected this sector to the rest of the compound. I slipped out my submachine gun and took one of the guards by the door by surprise. One of the other two turned their attention to me. I dodged the burst from his rifle and reached the spot where Blaze Rush was working. He finished setting up the bomb, and looked up.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Definitely," I replied.

I shouted to the others and turned for the door. They fired a couple of final bursts at the guards before following Blaze and I. We dashed down the hall and burst out of the door into the clearing. We caught our breath and Blaze Rush held up the remote detonator. He adjusted something, then hit the switch.

The walls and roof of the building behind us blew apart, showering us with bits of cement and steel.