//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Rising Tide // Story: Shattered Worlds: The Cataclysm // by Puppeteer //------------------------------// Twilight did not hesitate to answer forte’s question. ‘’I have reason to believe that a group has formed within the Sisterhood, which is dedicated to the abolition of the Apple family.’’ Fort raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Twilight Sparkle as the citadel filled with nervous murmurs. ‘’If what you say is true, Twilight, then we could have a very grave matter to deal with. The question we need to ask now, is how you obtained this information, miss Sparkle. Would you care to elaborate?’’ ‘’Yes, I would. I have just returned from a scouting mission, and on my way to the city, happed to stumble upon a small meeting of members of this organization. I overheard some of their plan, and was nearly killed over it.’’ ‘’Before you go any further, Miss Sparkle, could you specify exactly how many ponies were in this supposed meeting, and where it took place?’’ ‘’Uh... Yes. There were about five or six of them, and they were meeting in an alley. They were also wearing some type of green metal helmets.’’ Twilight wanted to continue, but it was obvious that Forte was thinking over the new information, so she decided to wait. After all, Forte was best known for being a careful thinker and strategist. After a few seconds had passed, Forte’s attention returned to Twilight. ‘’I have thought over the situation, Miss Sparkle, and have come to a couple of relevant conclusions. assuming that you are telling the truth, and I see no prevalent reason for you to lie, the meeting that you encountered was most likely comprised of the group’s leaders. The Apple family is most definitely a force to be reckoned with, and it would take a very large group to even hope to oppose them. If the ponies that you came into contact with were making decisions important enough to kill you over, there would have to be a much larger meeting in the immediate future, in order to inform the entire group. Since this information has been compromised, they will attempt to adjourn, and re-organize this meeting, meaning that we will have to intervene before that is possible. Building off of what we already know, a meeting of that size would take effort to conceal. It would have to take place in a large and unoccupied structure. The only other explanation would be if they passed information from ear to ear, but that would be far too unorthodox for such an organization. Therefore, I have chosen to assume the former of the two possibilities.'' Twilight decided to speak up. ''The meeting will take place at exactly 3:00 in the storage room. I overheard them discussing it.'' Forte glanced down at the silver pocket watch that lay just in front of him, and then back up at the council. His eyes narrowed with determination, and he wasted no time in taking action. ''Then we have no time to waste. Mr. Cloud.'' Sir Forte said, addressing a black Pegasus in the front of the room. ''Alert patrol squad 4 that they should close in on the storage room immediately. Use the communications speaker system just outside of the armory. If they are on schedule, then they should be near enough to hear it. Their orders are to stand guard at the exit, and to stop anypony from leaving the area. If they are met with resistance, use of lethal force is authorized.'' Forte paused for a second to make sure that Mr. cloud was complying, and then resumed in his signature monotone. ''Once I am certain that squad 4 is in position, I will make an announcement over the entire intercom system directly addressing these rebels. In the meantime, would any of you who won't be necessary here make their way to join squad 4? In case negotiations do not go as planned, we will need as many ponies as we can get down there.'' almost immediately, most of the ponies in the citadel, including crow, began to make their way to the exit. Twilight knew that she wouldn't be of any use here. All that she could do was group up with the rest of the ponies, and hope for the best. Twilight trotted out of the citadel, but paused for a moment once she was outside. She needed to think for a moment about exactly where she should go. She could attempt to alert other ponies to the threat, but that would probably be handled by Storm Cloud. She could go straight to the storage room, but she wouldn't be able to make much of a difference as she was. She wasn't too good in a fight, and her magical barrier wasn't quite as good at blocking bullets as it was slow moving objects, or spells. She really wouldn't make a noticeable difference unless she went to the armory first. Wait, the armory? Twilight did a quick mental facehoof while trotting down the stairs to the Central District. The armory was built very close to the storage room, so it wouldn't take to much time to stop there. Being the lead scientist meant that she would have access to the armory. If she was fast, she could also round up some of the ponies headed out from the Citadel, and arm them. That way, she could make a considerable difference. Twilight turned to her left, and called out to the small group of three or four ponies to her left, who were also heading out from the citadel. ''Hey! I'm the Sisterhood's lead scientist, so I have top clearance level. If you come with me, we can access the armory before heading to the storage room.'' The ponies to her left exchanged glances as they reached the bottom of the staircase, turned back and gave twilight approving nods. The group began to work their way through the crowd of ponies in Central district. The brown Pegasus of their new group flew just overhead, and shouted for ponies to get out of the way. This made things go a lot faster, and the group was almost out of Central district and into the streets by the time that that the intercom crackled to life. ''Mares and gentlecolts,'' The telltale monotone of Sir Forte's voice droned over the intercom. ''It has recently come to my attention that a very dangerous and controversial group has formed inside of Dome City. A group that could pose a threat to our wellbeing as a society.'' Forte kept talking, but Twilight was more focused on what was immediately in front of her. From here on out, the crowd was much more widely dispersed, so the group was able to make it to a road that would take them to the armory before Forte even began his next sentence. ''Now bear in mind that I do not, in any way, oppose the formation of groups or organizations other than the Sisterhood within Dome City. The reason that the existence of this particular group raises concern is the fact that their reason for existing is to dispose of our closest and only allies, the apple family. This group must be stopped if we are to ensure our survival as a city.'' Twilight and the small group traveling with her had just taken a left at a fork in the road, and were fast approaching the armory, which had two guards stationed at it. One was a male unicorn, and the other a female Pegasus, both with white coats and blue manes. The armory itself was a generally rectangular, polished, metallic structure positioned at yet another fork in the road. ''Quick!'' Twilight shouted with an air of urgency. ''We need access to the armory immediately. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I have top level security clearance.'' The unicorn guard raised a questioning eyebrow. ''Yea. I know you, but what about them?'' he said, gesturing to the small group of ponies behind her. ''Do they have clearance to access this area as well?'' ''Well no, but they're with me. I know it doesn't follow protocol exactly, but it's an emergency for Celestia's sake. Besides, you need to go to the storage room. That's where the rebels are gathered.'' ''And how exactly would you know that, huh? How do I know that you aren't just trying to get us out of the way so that you can raid the armory? There's a reason That we have to guard this place you know.'' Just then, Forte continued to the next part of his speech. ''This group is currently holding a meeting in the storage room in the Eastern section of Dome City, and I assume that by this time they have already realized that the exit to said area is heavily guarded. They won't be able to disperse without conflict, but that may not stop them from trying to do so for long. I strongly urge anypony in the immediate vicinity to help those who are already gathered to contain the situation. It is of utmost importance that the situation is handled carefully, and that we are able to resolve the incident before they are allowed to disperse. The worst kind of enemy is the one you can not see.'' Twilight glared victoriously at the unicorn guard who was grinning sheepishly. ''Sorry. It's my job to be suspicious.'' He said while sliding the metallic door open. The Pegasus guard rolled her eyes at him dismissively. ''Don't mind him Twilight. He's always like that.'' Nopony wasted any more time talking. The two guards rushed off, and everypony else made their way into the armory. Inside, it was obvious that the metal walls were not nearly as thick as they appeared on the outside. It was also apparent that the structure's dimensions were slightly miscalculated during it's construction, but that was hardly unusual for any structure in Dome City. The walls of the armory were laden with an assortment of firearms. Guns were a generally new invention. The explosive material that propelled the lethal projectiles was discovered a few years ago, and only recently incorporated into a more advanced form of weaponry. As is with most new inventions, guns were all rather clunky and haphazard. They all held a generally rectangular shape, and had no handle or real way of wielding them. Unicorns had the option of using magic, but earth ponies and Pegasi had to strap them to their left fore-hooves. Similarly, if you were a Pegasus or an earth pony, you would have to fire your weapon by pulling a small switch on the right of the weapon back with your teeth; the alternative obviously being magic. The containers of ammunition would be inserted into the top of the gun, and replaced once depleted. Twilight grabbed a gun that was slightly smaller than the one she had been using, but with a much larger clip. These guns could hold up to six rounds of ammunition, and could fire them at a slightly faster rate than the standard issue could. The downside to this gun was that it was moderately less accurate than the normal ones, but it wasn't an extreme difference. Twilight turned to see how the other ponies were doing. None of the ponies were unicorns like Twilight, and as such, were busy fiddling with straps. Up until this point. Twilight had been to preoccupied to really pay any attention to Forte's speech, but now that she had a moment to pause, the words rang out with much more clarity than before. Forte had moved on from talking to the public, and was now addressing the rebels directly. ''Your actions are extremely disturbing, and will require major explanation, and punishment. Punishment will be later decided by the council based on your explanations and level of co-operation in the matter. the explanations themselves, however, can be dealt with much sooner. I have set the intercom system in the in the storage room to broadcast to all of Dome City. You may now speak in your own defense. How can you possibly justify your actions?'' There was a pause of a few seconds before a second voice crackled onto the intercom, accompanied by heavy static, and a loud click. This voice obviously belonged to a mare, but the light pitch of her voice did little to hide to hide the bite in her tone. ''So, you wish to communicate with us. Very well, but first I need confirmation that my voice is being heard.'' ''Yes, we can all hear you. Now it is my turn to ask a question. What is the justification for your unconditional hostility towards our closest ally?'' ''Does my response even need to be voiced? They are impure. Simply being associated with them is a disgrace. They have been driven to the point of insanity, and yet you embrace them with open arms. I don't care if they have learned to control themselves. That doesn't change the fact that their minds have already been lost. Their minds no longer belong to them, and therefore they no longer belong to our world. You are all fools who have been blinded by your desperation. In the eyes of the seeing, the apple family are a plague just like the Cyv. The impure must be cleansed at any cost! If you have even an ounce of sanity left, you'll see that, and allow us to disperse back into the city. Call off the ponies that you have guarding our exit immediately, or you will give us no choice but to respond with violence.'' ''You know how much I would like to do that. Avoiding bloodshed would be ideal, but if I were to allow you to leave, you would only cause more bloodshed in the future. However much I want to, I can not allow you to leave.'' ''If the pure must be sacrificed to purge the impure then so be it!'' ''It saddens me to see you so willing to throw your lives away. This is not a fight that you can hope to win. You are outgunned, outnumbered, and outclassed. I will only say this once more: You are throwing your lives away. If you do not surrender immediately we will kill you, and in the end you will have accomplished nothing. Don't cause needless bloodshed.'' ''Go to hell!'' There was a loud clicking noise signifying that the intercom had just been disconnected, and in the background Twilight could hear gunfire. Forte tried one more time to salvage the situation. ''Order your troops to fall back immediately or I you won't survive. I will not give the order to back down, even if it means causing innocents to die. I don't like having to make this call, but in the end the decision is yours and their blood will be on your hooves. Please see reason.'' There was no response on the intercom, and the gunfire in the background intensified. There was no going back now. Everypony stood in silence. Just a block or two away from them a battle had begun.