In the early days of Equestria's history, shortly after Canterlot was built and established as the kingdom's capital, whenever the city was under attack by hostile forces a group of highly skilled Unicorn Mages would project a shield spell over the city. This shield in question would be able to keep hostile forces out of the city and away from the civilians while also protecting the city from any sort of magical or projectile attacks, like catapults, cannon fire, or dragon fire.
But the system wasn't perfect.
For one thing, the shield's integrity was reliant on the focus and health of the Mages in question. If something happened to make them lose focus the shield would fail. If they were sick, tired, or if they happened to have a bit too much wine before the shield was put up, the shield's integrity would be compromised and be nowhere near as strong. Plus there was always the case of an enemy already being inside the city and taking out one of or all of the Mages holding up the shield.[1]
As such, in the second century of Celestia's rule she commissioned the Unicorn Mages to find an alternative. And they did. Powerful runes would be carved into and in front of the walls, which could be activated at a moment's notice and generated a powerful magic shield that could take a lot more damage than if it were created and maintained by a Mage. The drawback was that they could only take so much damage before the runes would break. Granted it would take a lot of continuous damage in a short amount of time before that would happen.[2]
The shield lasted about five minutes under continuous fire by the blasters of the ten AT-STs, and the blaster cannons of the AT-AT. All the Royal Guards on the walls could see in those five minutes was a rapid swarm of bright red laser bolts.
As the shield began to dissipate was down, Stone Wall said "Ready the cannons!"
The cannons themselves weren't traditional cannons. Rather than using traditional cannonballs propelled by gunpowder, they actually fired highly concentrated bolts of magical energy, courtesy of the crystal battery powering it. The cannon could fire up to six shots before needing to be swapped out for a new one. [3]
As such once the shield fell fully, the Imperial troops were treated to the sight of ten large cannons peeking out over the ramparts, all of them made of crystal and colored deep blue, purple, or even lavender. Two guardsmen were manning each cannon; one to call out targets and the other to aim and fire it.
"FIRE AT WILL!"
At that each of the cannons fired, unleashing a volley of large purple magic blasts towards the enemy. One of them slammed right into the "head" of the AT-AT, two of them nailed one AT-ST each, and the rest landed among the troops.
Seeing the blasts moving towards them on the ground, the Stormtroopers in its path immediately moved out to try and avoid them. Which was a good thing as the moment the blasts touched ground, they detonated in flashes of purple light, simultaneously kicking up a cloud of smoke.
The two that struck an AT-ST apiece also detonated, both being obscured by the flashes of light.
The last one that struck the head of the AT-AT detonated, knocking the head to the side-
-only for it to immediately turn back to face the defensive wall, with many of the Guards imagining it was glaring at them. (The pilots inside definitely were.) That was kind of a spirit breaker, seeing as how it tanked a high-powered magic blast straight to the "face" and all it did was scratch the paint.
And it got worse as once the flashes of light and the smoke cleared, it revealed that their initial volley didn't do as much damage as they were hoping. The AT-ST's that had been hit had suffered some degree of damage; one of them had lost the left side of it's cockpit (and was now missing the missile launcher that had been on it) and the other now had a large hole where it's right "eye" had been, but both of them were still functioning and walking towards the wall.
The Stormtroopers that had the common sense to move out of the way of the magic blasts were mostly unharmed, though some of them were still hit by the blast wave and got sent flying. While a few were visibly shaken, they were soon getting back up on their feet, protected by their armor. The only ones that had been killed by the blasts were the unlucky ones who hadn't been able to clear out in time, about fifteen of them.
Before Stone Wall could order another volley one of the field commanders (evident by the orange pauldron over his right shoulder), pointed at the rampart and commanded into his radio "Take out those cannons, now!"
There was a chorus of "Yes, sir!" through the radio and the AT-AT and AT-STs trained their weapons on the cannons, making the eyes of all the Royal Guards widen.
Fortunately Stone Wall was able to get his wits together and yelled "TAKE COVER!" just as the Commander yelled "OPEN FIRE!"
As one, the AT-AT and AT-STs opened fire with their blasters, cannons, and a few missile launchers from the left "cheek" of the AT-STs.[4] In moments the top of the wall was enveloped in a series of explosions, whether from the missiles or when the lasers struck the magic cannons and the batteries exploded, adding purple to the red and orange fires.
Some of the guardsmen had heard the Captain give the order to take cover, and had jumped away and down off the rampart back to behind the wall. The fall was only about ten feet, but fortunately Stone Wall and the other unicorns had managed to catch everyone in a Levitation spell and slow their fall so they could gently (mostly) land on the stone.
Helping one of his friends up, Stone Wall asked "How many did we lose?"
His reply came from a Pegasus guard. "All the cannons are either completely trashed beyond repair. And..." He sighed. "Red Shirt wasn't able to get away from his cannon in time. Neither was Ol' Hickory."
He clenched his fist. "Damn it. And Ol' Hickory was two days away from retirement with full benefits."[5]
Another Pegasus guard landed in front of the captain, a pair of binoculars in his hand. "Captain, they're moving the majority of their troops and their giant metal beasts towards the main gates."
"Alright. Wait, majority?"
He nodded. "Yeah. About twenty or thirty of them started moving towards the walls. I don't know why-"
There was a series of rapid Cling! sounds and everyone looked to see small metal grappling hooks being thrown up over the top of the wall, hooking themselves at the top. "Oh crap," one of the guards muttered with a horrified look on his face. "They're climbing up the-"
Fwoom!
Whatever the guard was going to say was ended by a streak of red light that slammed into chest and knocked him to the ground, dead as a doorknob.
Said shot had come courtesy of an E-11 Blaster rifle, held in the hands of an Imperial Stormtrooper that had just ascended the wall.[6]
And was soon joined by several more, with blasters ready.
Thinking quickly Stone Wall yelled "SHIELDS!"
Quickly three Unicorn Guards threw their hands up and each created an energy shield in front of them and the troops on the City Wall. Just in time, as the Stormtroopers started firing the moment the shields were up. One of the Unicorn Guards holding the shield up said "We can't hold these up forever! We need a plan!"
He nodded, looking back at two Pegasus Guards who were loading their crossbows. "Don't even think about flying, you two. With their weapons the moment you fly up you'll just be target practice."[7]
They couldn't argue with that, not that they'd have a chance to because at that moment one of the Stormtroopers pulled something from his belt and yelled "Fire in the hole!" and threw it into the air. It landed just behind the shields and amongst the Unicorn Guards, a silver metal sphere about the size of a softball, with a red light that was rapidly blinking at the one end.
And before anyone could move, the sphere exploded like a firework. Only instead of colorful sparks and patterns it was a massive explosion of fire that engulfed the three Unicorn Guards, while simultaneously sending the Guards closest to them flying back via a concussive blast wave. Those three Unicorns were dead, along with five others who were too close to them when the Thermal Detonator went off.
Before any of them could react one of the Stormtroopers yelled "OPEN FIRE!" and they started laying down suppressing fire. Stone Wall managed to take cover behind the wreckage of one of the cannons, while a few of the remaining Guards found cover either behind the stone steps or other wreckage. The two crossbow-wielding Pegasi that Stone Wall had "grounded" had taken positions behind the doorway of the tower, taking potshots at the Stormtroopers.
But they quickly learned that whatever the Stormtroopers' armor was made of was much stronger than they thought. Strong enough that when the crossbow bolts they fired struck the white plates, they either bounced off or straight up shattered. The only vulnerable spot on them seemed to be the black spots in between the armor plating, as one of the Guards managed to nail a shot in the spot on one Stormtrooper's left shoulder. It wasn't fatal though, and to the surprise of everyone the trooper simply dropped his weapon and pulled out a small version from his hip and started firing that with one hand.
One of the guards who hadn't been shot yet yelled out "Captain! We're being overrun!"
Stone Wall couldn't refute that statement. The Stormtroopers pretty much had every advantage at this point. They had better armor that made them almost completely immune to their crossbow bolts. Their weapons had far more range and did far more damage, enough to punch through their armor like it was tissue paper (which made sense since they had FRICKING LASER GUNS! Seriously, how unfair was that?) And if he had to guess from how they moved, acted, and fought; they clearly had far more experience in warfare.
The worst part though was since they couldn't attack from range with crossbows (not effectively anyway) this left the Royal Guard having to engage in close combat. But since the Stormtroopers clearly had the edge in ranged combat and now had the numbers advantage, a frontal assault with swords or spears would be suicidal.
As such, Stone Wall gave the only order that he could. "GUARDS! FALL BACK!"
One of the guards threw out a black orb which broke on impact with the ground, releasing a huge cloud of thick black smoke that obscured them from the Stormtroopers. They then retreated to the tower, slamming the thick wooden doors shut and barricading them with the nearby timbers.
Once that was done, Stone Wall looked around at the remainder of his troops.
And it was not a pretty picture.
When they started at twenty five troops, they were now reduced to roughly fifteen. But that was being generous, since three of them had been injured to the point they had needed to be helped/carried into the tower. The remaining twelve weren't much better; some sporting burns from being grazed by the blaster bolts, a few were cut up by some shrapnel from that bomb that was thrown. Other than that they just looked panicked, scared, or crestfallen.
And after what just happened, he couldn't blame them. "That could've gone better."
One of the Guards said "Yeah, no kidding. No offense, Cap, but how in Tartarus are we going to be able to fight these guys? Even if we had managed to pierce their armor or protect ourselves from their weapons, they've still got a few thousand more out there!"
"Not to mention their giant metal beasts, and their giant metal triangle ship that probably has even MORE troops," another Guard added.
"And probably has weapons of its own to fire on this city if they wanted to."
"I know," Stone Wall replied, shutting them up. "But we're not just going to hand them over our kingdom, our home, without a fight." Looking at the barricaded door, he said "And that door's probably not going to hold them for long."
Even through the 12-inch thick wooden doors, he could faintly hear the Stormtroopers moving around. He couldn't hear anything they said or tell exactly what they were doing, but he could only assume it wasn't good.
"Sir?"
He saw one of the Pegasus Guards; a young man of about twenty with silver eyes and white hair that matched his wings. "What is it, Silver Lining?"
"I think it's fairly obvious we've lost the East Wall, and our radio got fragged when those metal monsters opened fire on us. We need to warn Princess Celestia, right?"
He nodded. "That's what protocol says."
The second Pegasus Guard, this one a woman in her early thirties with electric blue hair and eyes, while her wings were a dark orange said "Sir, we're the only Pegasus Guards here. If we need to get a message to Princess Celestia, we'll be able to get it to her the fastest."[8]
It made sense when he thought about it. None of the Unicorn Guards currently with them knew the Teleport Spell; and while Earth Guards were known for their strength that could move mountains and their stamina that could let them run for days, they weren't really known for their speed. And Celestia would need to be warned about these events, preferably as soon as humanly possible.
But at the same time, they didn't know how far the Empire had gotten into the city yet. If they had managed to get through the main gates, there was a chance they'd be flying right into a firing squad.
Sadly he didn't really have much options, so he said "Okay. Private Silver Lining," he pointed to the young man. "Sergeant Storm Sentry, I'm entrusting you with this mission. Fly as fast as you can to Canterlot Castle, warn Princess Celestia. And do us all a favor and stay alive while you're doing this."
They both nodded, with Storm Sentry saying "I've got two sons. One's ten and one's five, and they're waiting for me in one of the shelters. No way in hell I'm letting these bastards kill me."
Stone Wall smiled. "That's the spirit. Now go!"
They both left for the window by the staircase, with Silver Lining giving them one last look and saying "See you guys on the other side."
They then leaped out the window, spreading their wings out and taking flight.
And it was a fortunate thing they did, because at that moment something struck the door and exploded, tearing the door apart and scattering splinters and wooden shrapnel in with a massive blast. The Guards were all knocked off their feet and onto the ground, this time much harsher than with the Thermal Detonator as they were in a much more confined space.
Pain shot throughout Stone Wall's body as he tried to get back up, feeling something stuck in his abdomen. Looking down, he saw that a large wooden splinter roughly the size of his combat knife had somehow penetrated his armor and was now embedded in his right side. He could feel his warm blood oozing out of the wound, some of it dropping onto the floor. "Ow," he grumbled while slowly forcing himself to a sitting position, desperately trying to block out the pain. "Hopefully now those jackasses are out of explosives."
Almost as if to say "HEY! WE HEARD THAT!" several Thermal Detonators were thrown into the tower.
And as if to add insult to injury, one of them bounced once then twice before rolling to a stop right in front of him.
As the light stopped blinking and went solid, he deadpanned "Me and my big mouth."
Silver Lining and Storm Sentry had just about reached the Main Square when they heard the explosions behind them. They both turned to look behind them, and saw the top of the tower had been completely destroyed in a massive fireball.
As well as the brave members of the Royal Guard who had tried in vain to fight back against the Empire.
Storm Sentry had to fight back tears at the sight. Many of the Guards who were in that tower were friends she had made either when she was in the Academy, or when she had become a full-fledged member of the Guard. For their lives to just be quashed like that was-
She felt a hand on her shoulder. "We can mourn for them later," Silver Lining stated. "Right now we need to get this warning to Princess Celestia. Hopefully we'll end up saving more people this way."
Storm nodded, pushing her sadness to the back of her mind as they continued their flight. "You really are one to look on the bright side of things, aren't you?"
"Well, my name is Silver Lining."
"Let's hope we still have one at the end of the day."
It was looking less and less likely that that was going to happen as time went on.
Darth Vader looked at the squad in front of him; ten Stormtroopers belonging to his personal legion, the 501st.
Or as many parts of the galaxy knew them as, Vader's Fist; one of the most highly trained and dangerous Stormtrooper legions, having taken part in some of the most dangerous and brutal operations the Empire has ever conducted.
Didn't hurt that they were also known for having one of the highest body counts of ANY Stormtrooper legion in the entirety of the Galactic Empire's five years.
Looking at the group's Commander, he said "Give them the mission briefing."
He nodded. "Yes sir." Turning to the rest of the men he said "Alright men, listen up. Our orders just came in from the top. Imperial Command's charged us with taking the city's castle, where the ruling body of this kingdom is. According to the information our Probe Droids have gathered these past few days, our prime target is one High Princess Celestia Cosmos." One of the Stormtroopers raised their hand, and he asked "Yes, Rookie?"
The Stormtrooper, the youngest one of the bunch with exceptionally clean armor, asked "All due respect, sir, but if we're going for the ruler of this kingdom shouldn't we be going for the Queen?"
Nobody laughed or joked about it, since he did make a good point. The Commander nodded, and replied "Ordinarily you'd be right, but apparently their political system is different. One of the Probe Droids overheard some of the nobility explaining that the ruler of this kingdom takes the title High Princess instead of Queen because, and I'm quoting them here: 'She didn't want anyone to believe she held absolute power over her subjects, or that she was above everyone else.'"[9] Looking back at the troops he added "Yeah, I don't get it either. But that's not important. What is important is what we need to do." Activating a hologram projector on the deck of the ship, he projected a map of the city, including the troops and where they were moving. Pointing to the East and West Walls he said "Our troops have already taken these walls..." He then pointed to the Main Gate, and the AT-AT and AT-ST walkers. "while our walkers are working on taking down the main gate. We, on the other hand..." He keyed a code and a hologram of their shuttle appeared, with a TIE Fighter covering each flank. The three ships were flying above the city and over the battle and heading straight for the castle. "...are going to be flying over all that and heading straight for the castle. Our job is to take the Castle, capture the nobility and royalty if possible, kill if necessary. With their leaders in our custody, the rest of the soldiers will follow suite."
"Specially if we put a blaster to her head," one Stormtrooper added, to which everyone agreed.
"Ahem."
Every trooper in the squad turned to look at Darth Vader. "I believe there was another part of those orders, Commander."
The Commander nodded. "Yes, my Lord. I was just getting there." Turning back to the squad he continued "Princess Celestia is to be brought in alive, by any means necessary. If you have to shoot her, make sure you either set your blasters for Stun or you aim for her arms and legs. But she needs to be breathing, have a pulse, and still be able to speak. Is all of that understood?" They all nodded. "Lord Vader himself will be accompanying us on our mission, in order to ensure there won't be any foul ups."
Pretty much every trooper that wasn't the Commander gulped at that while their faces went pale behind their helmets. Every Stormtrooper had heard of Darth Vader's exceptionally low tolerance for failure, as well as his... powers. Several of them were already having flashbacks of what happened to that one Imperial Officer who disobeyed a direct order from Vader and completely botched a whole operation, and then had the balls to disrespect the man.
The image of Darth Vader closing his fist and choking the officer out without even touching him would be permanently ingrained in their nightmares for many, many years to come.
So with that being said, they all filed into the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle and sat down, ready to get the mission underway.
Darth Vader himself remained standing, looking through the cockpit window, eyeing the castle in the distance.
There was another reason he was going with them on this mission, one the Commander hadn't been informed of.
Ever since the Star Destroyer had touched down near the city, even through the planet's strong connection to the Force, he had felt it.
Someone in the city was strong with the Force.
Strong enough to make Vader think there was a Jedi somewhere within that city.
But that didn't make sense. As far as they could tell, this planet had never been in contact with the rest of the galaxy. Which would mean the Jedi had never set foot on this planet. Unless somehow a Jedi had hyperdrive-jumped here by accident, either long before the Clone Wars or shortly after Order 66 was given.
Not that it mattered to him. If there was a Jedi here and they made the mistake of trying to fight him, then he would deal with them accordingly. As I have dealt with all Jedi before.
"Thank you for bringing me this report," Princess Celestia told Silver Lining and Storm Sentry.
They both nodded, with Storm Sentry saying "You're welcome."
The two of them had thankfully made it to the castle in one piece, not coming across any Stormtroopers inside the city (though for how long that was going to be they didn't know) and had delivered the news to Princess Celestia, who was now wearing golden and white armor.
While she was clearly saddened by the loss of so many soldiers, including the Captain, she pushed those thoughts down and soldiered on. "Right now the main gate is holding, but for how much longer we don't know. As it stands with the East and West Walls being overrun by the enemy, they'll probably have those doors open or destroyed much sooner than we anticipated."
"So, what's the plan," Silver Lining asked.
Princess Celestia sighed. "As of right now? With all of the civilians safely in the shelters and the nobility in the Royal Bunker, the only thing left to do is to make sure the Crystal Heart is safe."
Both of them were shocked at that news. "You really think things are that bad?"
She nodded solemnly. "I've already foreseen this, Private. Equestria as it is now cannot withstand the brutal might of this dark empire. Only by making sure that the Crystal Heart is safe will Equestria have any chance of surviving."
"But wait," Storm Sentry stated. "You're not going with her?"
She shook her head. "Not today. I shall stay, and I shall fight."
"All due respect, Princess, but that's suicide!"
"Perhaps. But I will not abandon those who are willing to lay their lives down for this kingdom just so that I may live. If this kingdom falls, then I shall fall with it."
"And what about the Crystal Heart? How do you think she's going to feel when she finds out you decided to stay behind and sacrifice yourself without saying goodbye to her?"
She paused, seeming to consider what Storm Sentry had just said. Only to reply "Then I pray over time she'll forgive me."
At that moment an alarm was sounded all throughout the castle, and a voice yelled "We have incoming aircraft! Three of them are heading right for us!"
Celestia swore under her breath. "Damn. I thought we'd have more time." She looked to Silver Lining and Storm Sentry. "If the two of you wish to help, I've already sent Lieutenant Shining Armor with the Crystal Heart to our fallback base." She handed them a role of parchment. "The location is on that paper. Memorize it and then burn it. Once you're there, they'll tell you what the next steps are."
They both looked at her like she was insane, but nodded. "We won't fail you, Princess," they both said in unison.
"I know you won't. Now go. Quickly!"
Silver Lining left the room first, muttering a "Good luck, Princess." before he was gone.
Storm Sentry moved to leave, then turned around and said "For what it's worth, it's been an honor and a privilege, Princess Celestia."
Princess Celestia couldn't help but smile, before tossing her something. Once she caught it, Storm Sentry's eyes widened when she recognized it: a silver shield badge, with a ten point sunburst engraved upon it.
Celestia simply replied "The honor was mine, Lieutenant Sentry."
The newly promoted Lieutenant nodded, gave the Princess a quick salute, then rushed off.
Once she was gone, Celestia looked back out the window, seeing the three strange craft finally arriving and touching down in the courtyard. "So, this is how it ends," she said to herself. "Not with the return of my jealous sister, not with the return of the shadowy king of the Crystal Empire, but by an alien invasion." She giggled despite herself. "Have to admit, I did not see this one coming."
As she walked to sit on her throne and wait for her enemy to come to her, she felt her right hand grip the handle of her sword. "I haven't drawn this blade in over three hundred years," she muttered. "Hopefully I'm not too rusty."
Darth Vader felt his hand gripping the hilt of his lightsaber as he walked down the hallway towards the throne room.
The 501st had made short work of the guards in the castle, as was expected of them. Any of the guards that managed to get past them and close to him were easily dealt with via Force Choke. Not once through the march through the castle had he had to ignite his lightsaber.
But now, at the door to the throne room, he felt now was the time.
Unclipping it from his belt, he turned to the Commander and said "Take your men and secure the rest of the castle. I shall take care of the Princess."
He nodded. "Yes, Lord Vader," he replied, before motioning the rest of the troops to move out.
Now alone at the door, he felt something he hadn't in a long time.
Anticipation.
Thus with a single movement of his hand, the two doors were flung open with a powerful Force Push, offering little to no resistance against his overwhelming power.
Seeing his enemy sitting on the throne, obviously expecting him, Darth Vader stepped forward. "Princess Celestia, I presume?"
"Yes, I am Princess Celestia," she replied curtly. "And who might you be?"
"My name is Darth Vader. And I am here for you unconditional surrender."
It was pointless to ask for that, he knew it. But that wasn't the point.
He could already sense her emotions flaring inside of her. Disbelief and anger at what he had just said, a deep rooted sadness at the many lives of her men that had been lost today, and a stifling desire to tear him to pieces with her weapon.
And all the while he could sense the power within her; the Force was strong in her, but to his surprise it wasn't near as refined as he thought it had been. She has the power of the Force equivalent to a Jedi Master. But she has no idea how to use it. She's no Jedi, but she may still prove to be a challenge.
Princess Celestia rose from her throne. "To surrender to you now, would be to spit in the eye of every one of the brave men and women who laid down their lives to protect this kingdom from monsters like you." She then drew her sword, a three foot long double-edged blade that shone a dazzling gold. "I will die before I ever fall so low."
He had already figured she would say that, so instead he held his lightsaber ready and ignited the blood red blade, bathing the area in its glow.
"Then so be it."
-To Be Continued-