//------------------------------//
// Chapter IV: Battle of Equestria 
// Story: My Little Clone Wars 
// by ThunderDasher07 
//------------------------------//

The LAAT gunships circled around the city of Canterlot with the loud sound of their repulsorlifts. 
Obi-Wan ordered the pilot, “Odd Ball, land in the open plaza in front of the castle.” 
“Yes, General,” he replied from the cockpit. The gunships touched down in the empty area and the bay doors of the ships opened. The red signal in the cabin turned green, indicating the time to depart. The clone troopers emptied out the gunships and secured the area. 
“Perimeter secured,” a clone trooper declared. 
The heroes entered the castle and made their way to the throne room. The princesses trotted down to meet them. 
“We received your message, Twilight,” Princess Luna said, adding, “We must defend Canterlot.” 
“In our rush to come here, I forgot for us to retrieve the Elements of Harmony from Golden Oaks in Ponyville.” Twilight informed the princesses. 
“I understand,” she replied. “However, I'm not sure how much good they'd do against these foreign invaders,” she added. 
“Can’t we just ask them nicely if they would leave us alone?” Fluttershy asked optimistically. 
“You know that ain’t goin' work, sugar cube,” AJ replied. 
“I can create the same magic bubble shield to protect the city that your brother, Shining Armor, made during his wedding when Queen Chrysalis attacked,” Celestia stated. 
“I’m not sure if your magic shield will work against laser fire,” Rex responded. 
Luna nodded in agreement and replied, “That may be, but we must protect our citizens.” Celestia and Luna’s horns glowed as they both shot a magic beam into the sky, combining to create a purple magic bubble around Canterlot.
“We should move all civilians to safety and out of harm’s way,” Anakin said. 
“Is there anywhere they can be protected?” asked Ahsoka. 
Twilight nodded and answered, “The crystal caves under Canterlot.” 
The princesses nodded. “Indeed, that should be a safe place,” Luna said, agreeing with her. 
They quickly rounded up and brought as many of the younger and elderly ponies down to the crystal caves as possible. These were the same caves where Twilight and Princess Cadance were held prisoner by the changeling queen. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rex and Ahsoka helped evaluate the ponies from the city. The royal guards were split into two groups, one of which would stay here to protect the other ponies. The other group, mostly consisting of unicorns and some pegasi, would fight against the enemy. Ahsoka looked around the caverns. They were larger than she expected and seemed to go on for miles. There was a mine cart and a railway track going through the caves that were clearly abandoned long ago. 
“Twilight wasn’t kidding, these caves are huge!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. 
The crystals consisted of a variety of different colors. She knelt down to more closely examine some of the crystals. 
“Master, these crystals—” she said in a surprised voice. 
“Yes, they are kyber crystals,” Anakin answered before she could finish her sentence. 
“But how are there still crystals here? I was told that greedy unicorns mined all the gems in the caves until there was nothing left,” Twilight exclaimed as she rubbed her head with her hoof. 
“Au contraire, darling, it seems like those thieves didn’t get everything,” Rarity replied. 
“The crystals clearly didn’t reveal themselves until now,” Obi-Wan said. 
“Kyber crystals, what are they?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head. 
Ahsoka answered, “They are crystals imbued with the Force that Jedi use to create the blade for their lightsabers.” 
“They only grow a number of worlds in the galaxy,” Anakin added. 
“How fascinating,” Rarity chimed in. The group went back up to the city once they were finished. 
“Our forces are landing at Point Spire,” Cody told them. They watched as Low Altitude Assault Transport/carriers brought in All Terrain Tactical Enforcers, All Terrain Recon Transports and BARC speeder bikes. Celestia and Luna emerged from the castle clad in armor. It was shining in the sun. The armor they had was made of gold, while Luna’s also included  blue fabric. They were wearing helmets and body armor.





Several C-9979 landing crafts began to come down to the planet’s surface with Vulture droid fighters in escort. A Sheathipede-class transport shuttle came down for a landing first as, overhead, their escort broke off in perfect formation. The shuttle rotated in the air as its clawfooted landing legs opened up and set down on the ground. The exit ramp on the shuttle lowered as Grievous and the tactical droid departed, followed by several IG-100 MagnaGuards wielding electrostaffs. 
The ST-tactical droid turned to Grievous, stating, “The natives have created a defensive shield barrier around the city. Curious, as it is not created by any known energy shield and is of unknown technology.” 
“No matter, it will not save them,” he replied. 





Through the macrobinoculars, a clone trooper saw the Separatist ships landing. 
“Sir, our visual and sensor scans indicate the droids are beginning to deploy their forces from orbit,” a clone trooper informed them. 
The Republic troops set up their main command center outside the castle. The ponies and their allies were all huddled together in a circle to discuss their battle plan. “R2, bring up the map of the city,” Anakin requested. R2-D2 beeped as he brought up a holomap of Canterlot and the surrounding area. 
“How did y’all git this here thang?” AJ asked. 
“I had R2 make a scan of a city planning map of Canterlot while we were here the last time,” he answered her. 
“The first defensive position should be the main city gate,” Skywalker said. “I want two AT-TEs positioned outside. I want troops on the gate, including snipers. I also want several snipers in high towers.” Anakin stared at the map for a short period of time, putting his closed fist to his chin. He turned towards the princesses as he asked, “Is there any other way to enter the city than the main road and railway?” 
Celestia shook her head. “No,” she answered. 
“If there was one, we would know about it,” Luna replied. 
“R2…” he began. The astromech gave a curious beep in response. He finished by saying, “Zoom in on the cliffside.” R2 beeped affirmatively, doing as he was told. “Rex, does that cliff look too steep for the walker droids to climb?” he asked. 
Rex sighed, taking a moment before speaking, “Possible, sir. Why?” 
Skywalker answered with a question, “What about our walkers?” 
“Compared to what we had to deal with at the Battle of Teth, it shouldn’t be a problem,” he replied with a chuckle. 
“Good, leave four AT-TEs at varied elevation levels on the cliffside as a surprise attack,” Anakin said. 
He clicked the comlink on his wrist. “Admiral Yularen?” 
“Yes, General? What can I do for you?” Yularen replied. 
“What are the stats of the crafts in working condition in the hangar?” he requested. “Right away, sir. We have one hundred and ten V-19 Torrents, one hundred and fifteen Z-95 Headhunters, fifty Y-wings and thirty ARC-170s,” he responded. 
“Thank you, I’ll update you shortly,” said Anakin. 
“Rex, lay down several mines in these areas,” he told him as he marked a few places on the map. “Hopefully, it will slow the droids down.” 
“Yes, sir,” Rex replied. 
Anakin pressed his communicator again. Admiral Yularen’s voice came on again. “Yes, General?” he answered. 
“I want to put one squadron of Z-95 Headhunters, ARC-170s and Y-Wings to hide behind the mountain,” he requested. 
“As you request, sir,” Yularen responded. The starfighters left the star destroyer’s hangar and got into position behind the mountain.
“Are you positive this is a battle we can win?” asked Twilight. 
Ahsoka turned to her, telling her, “We have won battles with odds stacked against us before.” 
Rex mentioned that “General Skywalker is known for his unorthodox tactics and battle strategy.” Anakin received a confirmation message on his comlink. 
“Red and Shadow Squadrons are in position, sir,” Red Leader informed.
Obi-Wan stroked his beard. “Well then, I’ll take my troops to the east and north sections of the city,” he stated calmly. 
“I’ll be sure to give you a helping hand once I’m done with my part of the battle, Master,” Anakin commented smugly. Kenobi rolled his eyes at the remark. 
“I want LAAT gunships to give support whenever possible,” he said.
Twilight glanced over at Fluttershy. She knew she was scared because she had been quiet this whole time. She was shaking like a leaf and Twilight could see the fear in her friend’s eyes. But this was no ordinary fear; it was true terror. Twilight didn’t show it on the outside, but she was just as afraid as her friend. Fluttershy could see that Twilight’s eyes showed the same terrified look that hers had. They had been in battle before, but never one with such violence and death as they were about to experience. 
“Fluttershy…” she whispered and assured her, “You don’t need to be here if you’re scared.” “You can go down to the caverns, keep the young ponies company and calm.” 
Twilight was generally confident in most situations, but she wasn’t sure how this would go. She wasn’t sure if they’d all make it out of this. Fluttershy nodded her head and went to the evacuation zone.
Commander Cody listened to a transmission in his helmet. He turned to Obi-Wan. “General Kenobi, I just received word that General Grievous is here,” he reported. “We identified his shuttle and the Invisible Hand from orbit.” 
“Anakin, you stay here with Ahsoka. I’ll handle Grievous,” Kenobi turned and told him. 
“We can face him together,” he insisted confidently. 
“No, you have your own job. I know what to expect from him and there’s no time for arguing,” he countered. “Maybe next time.” Kenobi smiled softly. He took several steps away, then turned his head towards him. “May the Force be with you, old friend,” he said before jumping down to a lower street level, his robes flowing, as Commander Cody followed after him. 
“Who is this ruffian they are talking about?” Rarity asked curiously. 
“General Grievous is the Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies. He is the Separatists’ military leader. The Jedi have been attempting to defeat or capture him for a long time. He has killed numerous Jedi,” Ahsoka clarified.





The droid landing crafts came to a perfectly synchronized landing. The long, H-shaped landing crafts began unloading their cargo of droids. There were numerous Armored Assault Tanks, Multi-Troop Transports, DSD1 Dwarf Spider Droids, NR-N99 Persuader-class droids, LM-432 crab droids and STAPs. The ST-tactical droid slowly turned to its right where General Grievous stood. 
“Our forces are ready to proceed, General,” the droid told him. 
“Commence the attack,” Grievous ordered as he stared at his droid forces. 
The MTTs opened their main trooper hatches and deployed their load of B1 battle droids, B2 super battle droids and droidekas. The skeletal droids reached behind them, retrieved their E-5 blaster rifles from their booster packs, held them across their chests and marched in line with a loud clanging sound with every stride towards Canterlot. With blaster rifles drawn and ready, the 501st Legion stood behind Anakin, Rex and Ahsoka. 
“Alright men, let’s show these ponies how we deal with clankers,” Rex stated. He pulled out his two DC-17 hand blasters from their holsters. The clone troopers got themselves into defensive positions. “Defend the main gate,” he said. Several troopers took up positions at the entrance gate. Two of the AT-TEs were stationed outside.
The droid army marched up the mountain in a tight phalanx formation towards the city. The sound of the droids and the hum of repulsorlifts continued to grow louder as they drew closer. When the first AAT came into range, one of the walkers took aim with its mass-driver cannon. It fired the shot, hitting the tank, causing an explosion, followed by a secondary fiery explosion from another shot. The battle had officially begun. At the end of the line, the ST-tactical droid was stationed in the top hatch of an AAT. 
“Take down that shield,” the droid ordered. The tanks rotated their turret-mounted heavy laser cannons and began bombarding the shield with laser fire. 
Each hit caused a reverberating booming sound inside of the city. BOOM! To the surprise of everyone, the magic shield blocked the droids’ lasers. 
“It seems like the shield is holding,” Twilight commented on it. 
“Yes, but for how long?” Anakin asked with his arms folded. 
“And will it hold back the droids?” Rex speculated as he watched the rank and file droids continue to march towards them. 
The droids came to the edge of the shielded city. The walkers were holding their own against the droids, thanks to the safety of the shield. 
Grievous ordered, “Take out those walkers!” 
Several B2 battle droids armed with rocket launchers aimed at the AT-TEs. They slipped through the magic shield with ease. It seemed it was of no use against droids. 
“Open fire!” Rex ordered. 
The blaster fire erupted into a fury of red and blue laser bolts from both sides. The B2s fired their rockets, the canopy of one of the AT-TEs exploded from the blast. The second’s legs were disabled by the rockets. Anakin and Ahsoka both powered up their lightsabers. They began blocking laser bolts from the droids as they ricocheted off, moving their sabers in long, sweeping motions. Two droidekas rolled out in front of them. The destroyers unfolded into attack mode with their shields on. The master and apprentice reflected their lasers back at them. 
“Rex, droid poppers!” he shouted. 
Rex pulled out two EMP grenades from his belt. He tossed them and they slowly rolled on the ground under the droidekas’ shields. Blue electrical bolts engulfed the droids, disabling them.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie grabbed onto Twilight’s tail as she used her horn like a machine gun, firing magic lasers at the droids. 
“Welcome to Equestria!” she shouted as the battle droids were knocked down. 
A nearby trooper pulled out a thermal detonator. “Take cover!” the trooper yelled as he pressed the activation button and tossed it in the direction of some B1 battle droids. 
“Uh oh!” one of the droids said before being blown up. Areas in the shield began to crack, showing it was weakening from the AAT fire. Princess Celestia shot up a magic bolt to increase its strength. 
“Let me help you, sister,” Luna said. Her horn glowed blue as she also shot up a magic bolt. It seemed to work for a while, until cracks appeared again, gradually getting larger with each hit. 
“Cease fire and send in the bombers,” Grievous ordered. 
“Yes, sir,” came the reply from the tactical droid. 
“They’ve stopped,” Luna said. 
“Sir, our scanners are picking up a new reading; three enemy bombers are incoming from the south,” a trooper told Anakin. 
“See if the walkers can take them out,” he replied. 
“The walkers aren’t able to get a lock on them from their position.” 
The ponies gazed upward as they watched three Hyena-class bombers and escort Vulture droid fighters come into view as they soared over the city, dropping their payloads onto them with several explosions. Suddenly, there was a tremendous noise that sounded like shattering glass. The shield around Canterlot broke down into small pieces like a shattered mirror. The AT-TEs hidden on the cliffside fired their mass-driver cannons on the much slower Hyena-class bombers when they made their turnaround and were in range. They got direct hits, the droid fighters spun out of control before hitting the ground. 
“Fall back further into the city,” Anakin ordered. “We can’t hold this position.” 
The Republic forces retreated into the city streets. 
Ahsoka asked, “How much longer until Master Yoda arrives?”
Rex answered, “He should be a few minutes out by now.” 
Several LAATs swooped down on the outer edge of the city, raining missiles and lasers onto the droids. Droids flew into the air as they blew up in a fiery inferno as debris showered onto the battlefield. 
“We’re going down!” a LAAT pilot declared they were struck by an enemy missile, crashing into a building.
Not too far away from where Twilight and Pinkie were, Applejack spun a lasso over her head as she charged at a group of B1 battle droids. 
“What are you waiting for?” one of them said. “Blast her!” 
She threw the rope at them in a long arc and caught them in it. Before the droids knew it or could open fire, the earth pony had hogtied them together. 
“Yee-haw! Now that’s how we do things ‘round here!” she shouted. 
The droids let out a groan in unison. “Outwitted by a small four-legged mammal…” said one droid. “We’re pathetic!” another replied. “You can say that again,” said the other.





On the other side of the city, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Commander Cody were holding the line on their front. Kenobi used the Force to pull a B2 battle droid toward him, cutting off the right arm with the wrist blaster and then performing a diagonal upward stroke, slicing the torso in half. Two Dwarf Spider Droids rounded the corner of a building. There was a phew, phew sound as they shot from their cannons. The lasers collided with a nearby building, damaging a wall and the spire collapsed as the brinks crumbled. 
Several clones were taken down by the droids. “Ahhh!” 
“Taking heavy fire!” another trooper exclaimed. 
“Take cover,” Kenobi instructed as he and Cody dodged lasers and hid behind a rumble barrier with a few other troopers. 
“Blast it! We need to take those out! Get us some firepower,” Cody ordered. 
A clone trooper came out with an RPS-6 rocket launcher. He kneeled down, inserted the ammo, aimed and fired. A cloud streak was left in its wake before hitting its first target. He then took out the second spider droid. Crab droids scurried across the cobblestone streets. One trooper jumped on top of one, blasting it in the head. Another threw EMP grenades that disabled the droids.





Rainbow Dash soared through the sky, kicking and punching droids with her hooves. An ear-deafening sound suddenly occurred, along with strong gusts of wind. A sonic boom made of a rainbow was seen in the sky causing droid fighters to spin out and crash. Luna created a magic energy ball, shooting it at a few battle droids and a crab droid, disabling them. Celestia created a magic barrier to defend herself and a group of clone troopers nearby from laser fire. Rarity’s horn glowed as she defended herself against a few droids. 
Rex informed Anakin, “All mines are set.” 
“Do it,” he replied. 
Rex clicked the trigger button for the mines; several explosions appeared across the city. 
“Red Squadron, Shadow Squadron, begin your attack,” Anakin stated. The starfighters powered up their engines and soared into the sky, banking around the mountain to reach the capital city. 
“Bombs away!” was shouted as the Y-Wings released their payloads on the droids and tanks below. An AAT glided down the street. Ahsoka looked at two nearby clone troopers. 
“Take out that tank,” she ordered. 
“Right away, Commander,” they replied. The clone troopers ran up behind the AAT that was close by and threw grenades into the top and main hatchways. Shortly after, there were explosions coming from inside that disabled the tank.





Above the battle in space, an Acclamator-class assault ship and two Pelta-class frigates came out of light speed in front of the blockade around the planet. A beeping communications signal came from Anakin’s comlink. He immediately answered it. 
“Come to assist you, the Preserver has,” a familiar voice said. 
“I’m glad to hear you, Master Yoda,” he replied, sounding relieved.





Grievous was taking out clone troopers left and right with his lightsabers. He sliced their blaster rifles in half before cutting the troopers themselves down, as well as tossing them around like rag dolls. Anguished screams were heard all around him. 
“General, the Invisible Hand is reporting enemy reinforcements of a single Acclamator-class ship and two Pelta-class frigates have entered the system from hyperspace,” the tactical droid informed him. 
“Ha, ha ha, ha!” Grievous laughed. “My droids still outnumber your forces, Republic scum,” he boasted. 
As the battle raged around him, Grievous noticed Kenobi from afar. He cackled as he watched him cut down several battle droids. Quickly, he climbed up onto a nearby balcony that looked over at the Jedi Master. He then leaped off into the air, swiftly splitting his two arms into four, taking out all four of his lightsabers and igniting them. Grievous went to strike down Kenobi with a surprise attack from above, but he blocked it at the last moment as their lightsabers clashed. 
“Thought you could defeat me so easily, Grievous?” he asked. 
“This time there is no where you can run, Kenobi. You are trapped and your lightsaber will be mine,” Grievous replied. 
Their blades remained interlocked with each other, sizzling. Obi-Wan called upon the Force, removing his left hand from his lightsaber and pushing Grievous back into the wall. 
He heard the electrical crackle of electrostaffs behind him. He spun around to see two MagnaGuards whirling their weapons. Kenobi blocked each of their attacks. He sliced off the droid’s right arm, then the head and through the midsection. He blocked two hits from the second droid, then made a diagonal slice from the midsection to the left shoulder, finally cutting off both legs and the head.





Gunships poured out of the Acclamator-class assault ship. They broke through the blockade. Droid tri-fighters and Vulture droids met them in the skies above Canterlot, firing upon them. They watched as two of them turned into fireballs. 
“We just lost gunships six and twelve!” 
The droid fighters were being taken out one by one by the Z-95s. “Red Squadron is clearing a path for you. Nice to see you, 41st!” 
On the ground, BARC speeder bikes screamed down the streets, taking out enemy droids. 
“Take out those snail tanks,” Rex said. 
The BARCs zoomed past two NR-N99 Persuader-class droids and tossed timed explosives onto them, shortly after the snail tanks blew up. Suddenly, one of the bike riders took a shot to the head, sending him flying off with his bike careening to the side, crashing into Joe’s Doughnut Shop. 
“Sniper droid!” 
With a pair of macrobinoculars, they discovered the location of the sniper. 
“Sniper is at thirty degrees south southeast, the second highest tower.” 
“I’m on it. Cover me,” another replied. He ran up to the tower, aimed and launched his ascension cable at the balcony. He went all the way up, jumped onto the balcony and shot the droid in the head. “Sniper is down,” he said into his helmet communicator.
A distress message was received from a clone trooper from another part of the city. 
“Can anyone hear me? This is Crusher. We are being overwhelmed in sector six, near the Canterlot Library! We need reinforce— Ahhh!” was all he said before he was cut off. 
“You heard him. Sector six, on the double,” Rex told them. 
“Yes, sir,” the others replied. They mounted AT-RTs. Pinkie and Twilight hopped on and moved out. Some of Yoda’s clone forces landed in an LAAT gunship to help hold their current position.





Grievous coughed as he got up and leaped out of the dust cloud at Kenobi with his sabers drawn. Obi-Wan got himself into the traditional Form III stance with his lightsaber above his head and other arm outstretched. The lightsabers spun around in his hands. He sliced left to right with each hand. The Jedi blocked and dodged every strike. He jumped onto a skyway bridge above him. He was quickly followed by his enemy. Grievous pulled out his E-5 blaster with his lower right hand, taking a few shots at him. The blaster bolt ricocheted off the Jedi Master’s blade. He then sliced the blaster in half. Grievous came down with both upper lightsabers. Kenobi blocked them over his head. He powered up his fourth saber before going in for a stabbing attack. Obi-Wan spun out of the way in time. 
The cyborg general kicked him to the ground, knocking his lightsaber out of his hand. Grievous then tossed him through the door of the nearby Canterlot Tower. 
“Ha, ha, ha, ha!” He laughed, walking through the broken-down doorway. He picked up Kenobi by his throat, choking him as he stared into his eyes. “This is the end for you, General Kenobi,” he stated coldly. 
Obi-Wan, gasping for breath, glanced over at his fallen saber and reached out with the Force. It slowly began to move towards him before flying up into the air and igniting the weapon as he caught it in his hand. Grievous let go of him, but not before he lost half his wrist to Kenobi’s blue blade. He let out an angry yell. 
“You’ll pay for this, Kenobi!” he growled. 
Commander Cody appeared with a few other troopers. “General!” 
Grievous saw as one of them held up a Z-6 rotary cannon and began firing at him. He deflected several lasers with his spinning lightsabers and ran across the hall. He then broke a window with his sabers and jumped out of it, disappearing into the sculpture garden and hedge maze below.





In the middle of the space battle, a Venator-class star destroyer appeared from around the far side of the moon. 
“This is the Liberator, ready to give assistance.” The star destroyer began firing its turbolasers on its unsuspecting enemy. It started to take out one of the Munificent-class frigates. 
“Liberator? We thought you were lost in battle,” Anakin said. 
“We hid behind the planet’s moon and lost our communications,” the comms officer explained. 
“Glad you’re here then,” he replied. The capital ship began to aid Yoda’s forces against the enemy ships.





When Captain Rex, Twilight, Pinkie and the others arrived at the Library of Magic, Twilight was thankful that the library itself was unharmed. A few of the LAATs carrying the 41st Elite Corps landed to beat back the droids. Twilight stood there watching as clone troopers yelled as they fell to the ground after being hit. She unleashed a barrage of magical beams from her horn. Rex hurled two thermal detonators at the droids, causing them to explode into pieces. Pinkie pulled out her much larger party cannon. Two nearby B1 battle droids stared at it. One of them exclaimed, startled, “A cannon!” “Run!” The other responded, “Ahhh!” said the other. They collided with each other, quickly turning around and fleeing in the opposite direction.





Sometime later, three Venator-class star destroyers and two Acclamator-class assault ships came out of hyperspace. The Venators immediately opened their central hangars. Squadrons of ARC-170s and V-19 Torrents exited as they were being led by the Blade of Dorin. 
“We are coming to assist you, Masters Kenobi and Skywalker,” Plo Koon said. Their turbolaser batteries opened fire on the Separatist fleet. “Watch out for those turbolasers!” An ARC-170 was hit by turbolaser fire on its left engine and went spinning into the bridge of a Munificent-class frigate. With the help of Plo Koon, the Republic’s forces were able to destroy two frigates and damage the supply ship and one destroyer. With Plo Koon’s help, they were able to destroy two of the Munificent-class frigates.





The tactical droid found Grievous after he fled from his dual with Obi-Wan. 
“General, our forces are overwhelmed. I recommend we should retreat,” ST-tactical droid suggested to him. 
“Get my shuttle prepared for takeoff,” he ordered. 
“Yes, sir,” the droid replied. 
The two of them get on STAPs and zoom off. The droid landing crafts began to make their ascent into the upper atmosphere. Grievous quickly climbed up the ship’s ramp as it retracted. The engines powered up and the Sheathipede-class shuttle lifted off, leaving the planet. It landed safely back in the Invisible Hand’s hangar. The Separatist fleet moved away from the planet and once they were out of range, jumped into hyperspace. 
“Our scanners are indicating a full retreat by the Seps,” Cody informed them. 
The ponies cheered, “Woo whoo! YES!” “We did it y’all!”