Knights of Old Equestria:
Chapter Three - Welcome to The Lower City
The steel from the elevator shaft and the elevator itself ground together loudly as Ditzy and Dash made their way slowly down into the lower city. The two ponies stood silently side-by-side, waiting for the elevator to stop and open into the new world.
The cool steel elevator slowly came to a stop, the muffled sound of yelling could be heard coming from the other side of the steel doors. As the metal doors slid open, a barrage of blaster crossfire and yelling impaired the senses of the two ponies. Ditzy and Dash pressed their bodies against the wall on either side of the elevator in an attempt to find a spot to analyze the current situation without putting their bodies at risk of being fried. Lying before them was a squad of about ten Sith troopers firing from behind cover, but they weren’t firing toward Ditzy or Dash. They had their sides facing the elevator, and were focusing on an enemy somewhere to the left side of the elevator, down a wide corridor.
While the two ponies were busy trying to remain unnoticed, Ditzy caught the eye of what appeared to be the leader of the Sith squad. Ditzy shrunk back, fearing the worst.
“Get your flanks out here and open fire!” ordered the soldier.
Ditzy then realized that her and Dash were still suited up in Sith uniforms, and motioned for Dash to follow her out into the corridor and behind some cover next to the the Sith that called them out.
Blaster fire whizzed by Ditzy as she crouched behind a small pile of rubble next to Dash, the sound intense enough to deafen any other noise around her. The world became a blur as Ditzy laid still behind the pile of stone and metal scraps, and had to fight her strongest instinct to brave a peek to see who it was the Sith were fighting. Perhaps it could be other Republic soldiers, or even Twilight. If it was, Ditzy knew she had the advantage of sitting within the ranks of the Sith, and she could easily terminate any of them within the blink of an eye if she had too.
Ditzy slowly raised her head above the rubble, just enough for her eyes to peek out. She had to lift her visor slightly to see more clearly, as condensation had started to collect on the glass from her ever quickening breath. Ditzy had never been in this sort of combat, usually she took her enemy by surprise, but this time the battle was already waging around her.
Thankfully, the Sith weren’t firing toward familiar faces. But that itself was a dual edged sword, if she knew the Sith’s particular foes she could overpower the sith at her position and gain a few more companions for their quest. Instead, the Sith’s opponent appeared to be a random collection of ponies, pegasi, and unicorns alike wearing basic armour over civilian clothes.
Ditzy didn’t think twice before opening fire on the ponies shooting at her, Dash, and the Sith. The last thing Ditzy needed was to be questioned by the Sith for not firing. She did make a point to fire above the heads of the Sith’s opponent. Dash joined Ditzy in the firefight, and after a few minutes of combat the blaster fire began to die down. Soon the fire had ceased completely and Ditzy raised her head from cover to absorb her surroundings.
The hall was littered with more than a dozen of the ponies the Sith were fighting, and on Ditzy’s side there were only a few Sith casualties. The structure they were standing in was more a platform just below the surface of the upper city. The sounds from the upper city could be heard faintly through the thick ceiling, but this area was nothing like the bright, shiny surface of Taris. The lighting was dim, and the walls were dark concrete slabs covered in a thin layer of moisture that floated up from the undercity. Ditzy walked over to the edge of the platform and looked down through a blast hole in the wall. What she saw appeared to be a bottomless descent, with fog covering the actual ground below. Ditzy picked up a piece of rubble and tossed it over the edge, it took several seconds for the chunk of concrete to hit the ground and reverberate the noise back into Ditzy’s ears.
Ditzy was so focused on hearing the noise of the rubble and trying to calculate its descent distance that she didn’t notice the Sith leader approach her from behind.
“I need you to grab some medical supplies from the base, soldier.”
“Huh?” Ditzy forgot where she was for a moment before remembering that she was supposed to be impersonating a Sith soldier. Taking on a much lower voice she said, “Oh, right! Yes sir, right away!” with that Ditzy rushed past the leader, motioning for Dash to follow.
Ditzy had no idea where the Sith base was, but she knew that this would be the perfect time for her and Dash to vanish. Ditzy led Dash down the hall away from the Sith, and over the corpses of what remained of the skirmish. As soon as the two ponies turned the corner and were out of sight of the Sith, they moved into a full on sprint in any direction away from the troops. Dash and Ditzy continued until they were certain that they were far away from the troops, and found a concealed corner to remove their armour.
“Whew, that was crazy!” Dash exclaimed. “I never expected I would be standing with Sith troops in a fight.”
“Yeah.” Ditzy said, removing her Sith helmet. “But I wonder who those ponies were who the Sith were fighting. Do you think there’s some kind of resistance going on down here?”
“I don’t know about that, Ditzy, I feel like we would have heard about it already. I mean I’ve been out and about for days and I never heard about any sort of resistance.”
“Maybe that’s because the Sith want to keep it concealed from the populace, to prevent any escalation of a rebellion.”
Ditzy and Dash continued removing the heavy metal armour from themselves, contemplating the idea of a resistance against the Sith.
“You know,” Ditzy began, adjusting her blaster in its holster, “If there is a resistance, we could meet up with their leader and convince him to help us find Twilight.”
“Well we’ll need to find this resistance leader first. I think we should head over to that cantina up ahead and ask around.” Dash motioned with her head, bringing Ditzy’s attention to a cantina she hadn’t noticed before.
“Alright Dash, let’s do it.”
Activating the mechanism to the door, they winced slightly at the increase in noise in the cantina as it opened. Giving each other a slight nod, they entered the establishment. Pazaak tables lined the walls of the entrance, odd shifty types gave them sneers as they went deeper into the bar. A distinct odor wafted through the air that made Ditzy gag, yet Dash seemed relatively unaffected by the smell. They got to the center area of the cantina, a circular room with wings branching off into separate sections.
“Hey, I’ll stay here and see if I can get any info from the bartender. Ask around, and see what you can find,” Dash told Ditzy.
“On it,” Ditzy replied.
Not to mention, I need a drink, Dash thought to herself as she approached the bar. “Hey, what’s up?” Dash asked the bartender.
“Hmmph,” he grunted. “Whatcha’ gonna have?”
“Surprise me,” Dash sighed, rubbing her temples. The bartender poured her a drink and she went on to say, “So, how about that rebellion eh?” She looked at the bartender with a mock air of knowledge. The bartender just stared at her. “Come on, what do ya’ think about it?”
“You aren’t from around here are you?” the bartender asked.
“Oh come on, a good looking stallion such as yourself must hear something about it, right?”
“I’m a mare,” the bartender responded in a deadpan voice.
“Oh,” Dash replied, as she re-adjusted herself on the seat uncomfortably. She motioned for a few more drinks before propping her head up on her left hoof, trying to avoid making eye contact.
After a drink-or-two Dash began to notice two ponies sitting in a table on the wall shooting glances at her. Dash kept her eyes focused on the glass in front of her, using her periphery to examine her observers. From what she could see there was one orange earth pony. She couldn’t tell details but it looked like a mare. The second pony at the table was a sight, even with Dash’s limited vision. This pony was obviously a stallion, no mare could ever grow to be that huge. He was red, and seemed to be covered in bandoliers and weapons. These two were obviously no average Lower City scum, these two meant business wherever they went. Dash took a note in her head to keep an eye out for these two later on.
Ditzy walked through the cantina listening for any interesting conversations, it wasn’t long before she was stopped by a larger looking pony who blocked her way. “Pardon me, I need to get through,” Ditzy stated.
“No ya’ don’t. Come on, sit down, have a drink with me and the guys. I’m sure we can give you anything you need.”
Ditzy rolled her eyes. “No thank you, I’m quite alright.”
“Oh really? Has anyone told you that it’s rude to talk like that to somepony that offers you a drink? Hey, how ‘bout you keep both eyes on me when I’m talkin’ to ya’?”
“I guess one eye just couldn’t stand the sight of you,” she replied, cocking an eyebrow.
“I guess you can get away with it ‘cause of how cute you are,” he reached up to try to stroke her cheek. It was quickly slapped away by Ditzy.
“Don’t touch me,” she said in a warning tone.
“Oh, what are you going to do about it?” he asked mildly amused. He picked up his hoof to try to shove her back slightly. Ditzy had enough at this point. Grabbing the other pony’s hoof, she pulled him in to stretch out his leg. Picking up her own hoof, she brought it down hard on the joint, popping it. He screamed with pain and threw a blind hook, hoping to catch her unaware. She saw it coming and raised her own leg to block it. At the same time she brought her other hoof into the fleshy part of her opponent’s neck. At this point the other thugs were realizing what was happening. Working on adrenaline she saw one of them try to bring out a blaster pistol from their holster. Before he could even get it level with the horizon, Ditzy had attacked. She slid over and threw a directed kick at the gun, bucking it in the middle of the pistol and crumpling the metal beneath it. He screamed in agony as she broke the bones beneath the gun. Seeing the other, she whipped her leg around into the face of her third and final attacker, hitting him in the jaw and stunning him before she backhoofed him across the face.
With all her attackers neutralized, Ditzy turned to the gaping bartender and said, “Sorry about the mess.”
At that, Ditzy motioned for Dash to follow her out of the cantina, the last thing both of them needed was more attention.
Leaving the cantina, Dash turned to see if her watchers were still looking at her and Ditzy, but the table the two ponies had been sitting at was now vacant, save for a small piece of paper. Dash made a point to quickly run back inside and grab the note before Ditzy would notice she had left her side.
As the two exited the cantina Ditzy spoke up, “Well that was a waste of time. The only ponies in there were complete scum. Now what are we gonna do? We’ve obviously been noticed by a majority of the Lower City citizens, and we don’t even have any new information.” Ditzy paused a moment, then sighed in defeat. “Finding Twilight is going to be a tricky task after everypony down here knows about that fight.”
Dash had kept her mind focused on the two ponies she had seen in the corner of her eye earlier. Who were they? Can they help us in some way? Dash kept her thoughts open to any possibilities, knowing that they could easily be Sith spies, or just random drunks who liked the look of her. Either way, she thought Ditzy could use some good news at a time like this, “Hey Ditzy.” She started, “I don’t think it was all in vain.”
“Hmm? Wait, did that bartender tell you something?”
“Well, yeah. The bartender did tell me something, but it wasn’t relevant to anything we’re after.”
“Well what was it then?” Ditzy asked, getting slightly more irritated.
“This.” at that, Dash presented Ditzy with the note.
“Oh cool.” Ditzy said, “You found a napkin, woopty doo.”
“No you foal, it’s what’s on the napkin that’s important. Check this out.”
Dash began reading the note aloud.
Meet us at the elevator to the Under City in 15 minutes.
We have the information you’re looking for.
AJ & M
“AH HA!” Dash exclaimed, “I knew those two were eyeing me from their table. This is fantastic, hopefully they can help us find Twilight and get us off this planet.”
Ditzy remained silent for a moment before responding, “Yes, but we should proceed cautiously. For all we know, these two could be part of one of the gangs down here that could have captured Twilight. Or worse, Sith spies.”
“I’m sure that if they give us trouble we won’t have a problem holding our own. I mean look at us, you’re like a freak of nature with that vibroblade, and I’m the best shooter in the system!”
Ditzy couldn’t help but crack a smile at Dash’s overconfidence, it was good to have somepony with her that could help her relax and assist her on her mission. Doing this job alone would be near impossible if it were just her working, not to mention it was Dash who saved her life once already. Ditzy owed a lot to Dash, she was a good companion to have in these dire times.
“Okay Dash, let’s head over to that elevator now before they show up. That way we can stay hidden just in case some funny business happens.”
“Good idea,” Dash responded, “I prefer stealth confrontations anyway, it’s easier to get the upper hoof.”
“Right, let’s go.”
The two pegasi began the short trek to the elevator, following the main walkway until they turned a corner and saw the doors of the elevator about forty meters ahead. The elevator was guarded by one Sith pony, but it wasn’t the pony that would be the problem. Surrounding the one Sith soldier were five robotic auto-turrets, programmed to fire at anything that moved within a range that was unknown to Dash and Ditzy.
“Damn, what are we going to do now?” Ditzy asked. “ We can’t overtake the guard with those turrets watching for anything that moves.”
“Hmm,” Dash mumbled, “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about the turrets.”
“Huh? Whaddya mean? They’ll shoot anything that get’s near them! We can’t just run though-”
Ditzy went quiet as she saw what Dash meant. Two ponies were only now revealing themselves from a ventilation shaft above the Sith guard. The first was an orange mare, who sprang into action and jumped on top of the Sith from the vent before firing a single blaster round through the back of his head. The turrets resumed their duty and continued scanning in the forward area toward Dash and Ditzy, who were still hiding behind the corner, and so the turrets didn’t see the hulking stallion jump out of the vent shaft. The red stallion hit the floor with a loud ‘THUD’ that caused the turrets to shake from the floor’s vibrations. The stallion towered high above the machines, and used his vibroblade to simply crush each one from behind until it was nothing more than scrap metal.
As soon as the stallion finished the last turret he walked over to the orange mare and stood close behind her.
The two unfamiliar ponies stood by each other in front of the elevator and stared directly at Dash and Ditzy, who were both still looking around the corner awestruck at how easily the two ponies before them had cleared the turrets so quickly.
The orange mare whispered something that neither Ditzy nor Dash could pick up. The red stallion responded to the mare with a loud “Eeyup.”
“Come on out y’all, we otta be gettin’ down this here elevator before anymore Sith show up.”
It was the orange mare who spoke, she had such a strange accent that Ditzy couldn’t quite put her hoof on. It almost seemed lazy, but educated at the same time. While Ditzy was trying to identify where the mare could be from Dash stepped out from behind the corner and started toward the two strange ponies who had just cleared the elevator.
“Dash!” Ditzy hissed, “What are you doing?! They look dangerous.”
“Relax Ditzy, these are the two ponies I saw in the cantina, I think they’re on our side. Besides, they did just clear the area of Sith, so they obviously aren’t Sith spies.”
“I...” Ditzy wasn’t sure how to respond, so she simply followed Dash toward the two standing by the doors to the elevator. Ditzy kept her vibroblade slightly unsheathed, just in case something happened.
The orange mare smiled when she saw the two approaching and turned to activate the elevator. As soon as Dash and Ditzy got next to them, the orange mare turned and grabbed Dash’s hoof.
“Hey there! Ma name’s Applejack, but y’all can just call me AJ. And this big feller here, well this is Big Macintosh. We all just call him Mac fer short downstairs though. Anywho, what’s yer names?”
“I’m Rainbow Dash, the best shot in the system. And not too bad of a pilot either if I do say so myself.”
“I’m Ditzy Doo. I guess I’m pretty good with a blade. But, sorry, what’s downstairs? And exactly what information do you have that could help us?”
“All in time friends,” AJ stated, “Fer now, just follow Mac and I into the lift and we’ll be safe to talk about anything you want once we leave this level.”
“Alright sounds good, because I have some questions.” Ditzy said with caution in her voice. She kept a grip on her blade inside the elevator as the doors shut.
“Alrighty then,” AJ began, “Let’s talk business, shall we?” At that, the orange mare pressed the ‘Down’ button and the elevator began the slow descent to the undercity that lay below the four ponies.