Canterlot City Mall
Mall Food Court
Back in Canterlot City, the three month long Summer holiday was drawing to an end. At the tail end of the holidays, the citizens of Canterlot thronged to the City Mall to enjoy their last few weeks of vacation before the new school year started. The general mood in the mall was hectic to say the least. However it was coupled with a feeling of contentment and satisfaction for the memorable activities done and friendships made during the break. There was also a sense of excitement for the new school year ahead, with many youths waiting to see their friends again after a three month hiatus. Unlike most of their peers who were out to maximize their remaining break time, the remaining members of the Rainboom band sat at the mall food court with none of them having any sort of liveliness in them. In fact, the mood around them was dull and sad, a sharp contrast to the mood of the people surrounding them. None of them spoke to the other as they were indulging their thoughts, trying to grapple with their sense of defeat while at the same time, picking on their food. Just then, the large mall advertising screen started playing a familiar music video (Dance Magic (Song) - MLP: Equestria Girls [Movie Magic]) [1] adding even more fuel to the already depressed mood and to a lesser extent, annoyance.
It has been more than three months since their close friend, Sunset Shimmer, had suddenly disappeared after leaving behind an ambiguous message to them. Her sudden disappearance left a large void in their once strong and unbreakable bond of friendship between them. They had exhausted every available resource to find their missing friend. They were not alone of course. Most if not all the students of CHS joined in the efforts to find their beloved and cherished school mate. Even Principal Celestia and her sister Luna had greatly contributed to the search, using their contacts in the Mayor’s Office to speed up the official search efforts. They collectively formed a committee, the ‘Find Sunset’ Committee to coordinate search efforts and thanks to the generosity of Twilight’s wealthy family [2] (Who contributed out of concern of their daughter’s mental state), managed to pay off the rent of Sunset’s apartment unit and turned it into the group’s operations base. However after searching every corner of the world tirelessly for three months for the entirety of Summer vacation, the girls have started resigning to the fact that their friend may never be found, perhaps ever.
“Why the sulky faces everyone ? I’m sure Princess Twilight will be writing to us some good news anytime now.” Pinkie Pie, in an attempt to uplift morale amongst them, pointed to Sunset’s former journal on the table, which she used to communicate with Equestria. “That’s if she even finds anything from their search, which I doubt.” Rainbow Dash shot back at Pinkie in a despondent manner. When Sunset first went missing, the girls immediately contacted Princess Twilight for help. The Princess, who was equally taken aback by Sunset’s sudden disappearance, quickly traveled through the portal between their worlds to join in the search efforts. Even Princess Celestia had organized a massive search effort spanning multiple kingdoms in Equestria to find her. Eventually the pony Twilight had to return home due to her duties but promised to update them as soon as Equestrian search efforts found a lead. Since then, they’ve been carrying the journal along with them, waiting for her to write back, if she ever finds anything. “ Can’t you just be a little optimistic Rainbow Dash ?” Applejack said mildly. “I’m merely stating the facts. If we couldn’t find anything after three months, what makes you think she will ?” Rainbow Dash argued back, her voice iced with controlled anger and despair. Who could blame her ?
Sensing tensions building up within the group, Fluttershy moved quickly to defuse them,“Twilight, are you alright ?” Fluttershy’s question snapped the depressed nerdy teen girl back to reality. Twilight always had a personal connection [3] with Sunset, and as such it came as no surprise that she would be the hardest hit, emotionally speaking , when Sunset vanished. “I would be lying to myself if I said yes. I really miss her.” Twilight said. She was unable to bring herself up and face her friends. The tensions dissipated as the girls turned their attention to their dejected friend. All of them knew well Twilight was the most affected of them all. “ All of us miss her too, darling.” Rarity comforted her as she placed her arm over Twilight for her to have an arm to rest on. Twilight had tried her best to stay emotionally strong but she just couldn’t. She wasn’t strong like Sunset Shimmer to hold her feelings. As soon as she rested on Rarity’s arm and being unable to hold it off any longer, she started crying relentlessly, as if a stream of tears which had it dammed up for a long time was suddenly released. Even Rarity shed tears in her bid to console her. Her disappearance had taken a toll on everyone.
“I just don’t understand, why would Sunset do this ? This isn't like her at all.” Twilight sniffled. Unfortunately the girls didn’t have the answers to her questions. “We all are wondering the same thing too.” Rarity said as she hugged her weeping friend. Twilight couldn’t stop crying to the fact that she may never see her best friend ever again. Her family had told her to move on but how could she ? No matter how well intended their advice may have been, Twilight Sparkle couldn’t just easily move on from this, especially when the guilt that she could have stopped Sunset from vanishing haunted her. “ This might just be my fault. I should’ve stayed with her that night instead of leaving her alone. That’s when everything went downhill.” She sobbed, blaming herself for Sunset’s disappearance. “Now hold it right there Sugarcube,” Applejack said out loud. She couldn’t stand to see Twilight take the blame for Sunset’s own actions. It was just not right. “ This definitely ain’t your fault in any way.” She intoned. “AJ’s right. You’re not to be blamed for Sunset’s own actions.” Rainbow Dash concurred with her. The others also rallied behind them, being unable to see Twilight blaming herself for what had happened. It wasn;t her fault, or anyones for that matter.
“ Don’t be so hard on yourself Twilight.” Fluttershy said to her friend. As they were busy comforting their friend, three people approached them which Rainbow Dash noticed and recognised as fellow schoolmate Flash Sentry, Twilight’s boyfriend Timber Spruce and Sour Sweet, their occasional rival/friend from Crystal Prep Academy. “Any news from the Princess ?” Flash asked in a concerned tone. After the girls, Flash Sentry was perhaps the next individual to be affected by Sunset’s disappearance. While their relationship had ended a while ago, the both of them, in a way, always cared for the other’s well being. “ So far this book isn’t glowy, so the answer is no.” Pinkie summed it up. “What about you ? Anything from your Crystal Prep contacts ?” Rarity asked Sour Sweet. “Nothing but dead ends.” Sour Sweet grumbled in her sour voice. “We may have a lead, however.” Timber stood forward. “A lead ? What do you mean?” Twilight asked as she took out her glasses to wipe off any tear residues on her eyelids, composing herself as she listened to this new lead. “ Someone reported seeing Sunset entering the Eastern part of the Everfree forest the night before she went missing.” Timber said.
This seemed to have gotten the interest of everyone else on the table. This could very well be the first major lead any of them have gotten in the entire duration of their search. This was a major breakthrough, and yet Timber chose not to reveal it the first thing. “And you’re telling us this only now ?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. “We wanted to know if you girls had better luck than us.” Flash reasoned as he defended Timber. “I thought we did a clean sweep of the Everfree forest sometime back.” Applejack said with an unsure tone. “Not East Everfree.” Timber clarified, “That part of the forest is too remote. One could easily get lost in there.” “Timber and I are about to head out there to check this lead out.” Flash said. “We’re coming with you,then.” Rarity said to them to which girls concurred with her. This was by far their best lead on finding Sunset and they weren’t going to be left out from it. Timber Spruce however, thought otherwise, “ I think it's best for you girls to stay back, in case other leads pop up or if your Princess friend writes back.” Rainbow Dash was about to argue back for being left out before Applejack lifted her hand to stop tomboyish from opening her mouth, “ If that’s what you say, Timber. Notify us if you guys find anything.” She said calmly to the boys calmly.
“You got it.” Flash said as the trio left the table in which the girls were seated to pursue their lead. “What the heck was that for ?” Rainbow Dash snapped at Applejack incredulously, “That was the first major lead we’ve ever gotten in a while.” The Rainbow coloured haired girl grumbled. “ I am cautiously optimistic about this lead. All our past leads led to dead ends after all.” Rarity said warily. The others realized that Rarity, no matter how overdramatic she can be, had a point. They’ve pursued all kinds of leads, some more hopeful than the other only to end up in square one. Their hopeful expression quickly turned into a dull, indifferent one. “What happens if this lead turns out to be like the others ?” Fluttershy asked unsurely. It was a painful realization for the girls, that this lead, no matter how bright it may be, turned out to be a dead end like the others. “Then we keep looking.” The girls turned their attention over to Twilight, who now had a determined, stubborn expression. Her voice was iced with resolve and firmness. “ We shouldn’t give up searching for her no matter how many dead ends we hit. It’s what Sunset would’ve done if it was one of us who went missing.” She said with resoluteness. No matter how depressed she may feel about Sunset’s sudden disappearance, she wasn’t about to give up looking for her just yet. In fact, none of them were. Sunset Shimmer was still out there, and they will do whatever it takes to bring her back home.
Just then, the light from the Sun that penetrated the transparent window shields that covered the roof of the mall became dimmer and dimmer, as if something was blocking it from reaching the ground on which the mall stood. Pinkie Pie was amongst the first to notice the sunlight getting weaker and weaker. “Is it me or is the sky getting darker ?” She alerted the others to their surroundings. “That’s strange, there aren’t any Solar Eclipses today.” Twilight remarked, confused as to why the sky was turning dark. “I don’t think that’s an eclipse.” Rainbow Dash pointed out to the sky, her legs were shaking in fear, something uncommon for the bravest and adventurous person in the group. That's when they saw it. A massive dagger shaped like object, bigger than anything they’ve ever seen before, directly above them, obstructing the sunlight as it flew directly between it and the mall. The strange object appeared to be metallic in nature and had a large opening in the middle, as if it was the entry point of this massive alien object [4]. Whatever this was, it clearly wasn’t from their world. “What in tarnation is that thing ?!” Applejack gasped. She wasn’t the only one. Everybody else in the mall was also freaking out at the massive alien ship in the sky, with multiple screams and whimpers being echoed throughout the mall. “Is it from Equestria ?” Fluttershy asked as she trembled in fear, trying her best to keep calm as possible. Being the one in the group that is most easily frightened, the fact she had not screamed in fear is considered an achievement. “ That thing doesn’t look Equestrian to begin with.” Twilight said, trying to make sense as to what was covering the sky. A part of her was bewildered by this strange ship-like object while at the same time intimidated by its size. “Whatever it is, it's doing a great job of freaking people out.” Rainbow commented about their chaotic surroundings.
As if things weren’t in a pandemonium enough, the multiple LED screens scattered across the mall went static abruptly all at once, as it was pre planned, raging even more panic and confusion amongst the people. “What’s happening ?” Rarity asked, her voice iced with fear and confusion. On her right hand, she held her cell phone, which went static similar to the mall screens. It wasn’t just her phone. All of their phones went static abruptly. As abruptly as it came, the static screens suddenly replaced with an alien looking crest. The crest had a cog like shape, with six spokes branching out of it. It was at the center of a red coloured background, making the crest stand out. The screening of this peculiar emblem was accompanied with a symphonic somewhat patriotic theme being played. It sounded militaristic and tyrannical in nature(Star Wars Rebels Season 1 OST - Glory to the Empire) [5] “I’m pretty darn sure it’s related to that thing.” Applejack pointed Rarity to the dagger shaped object in the sky. Just then, a male voice started playing through the multiple screens. It sounded domineering and like the background theme and militaristic like:
“ Attention people of the Utthar System, fear not for our technological superiority. We represent the prosperous, civilized Galactic Empire, the legitimate government that rules over this Galaxy under the benevolent rule of the great Emperor Palpatine. Our presence here is to liberate you from your primitive confines and bring this civilisation to par with Galactic Standards. Henceforth, this system is declared as an Imperial Protectorate world to ensure peace and security as your new government seeks to establish itself. Please stay indoors to ensure a smooth and harmless transition of power. Your new Empire thanks you for your cooperation for the greater good.”
“Well it's official. This isn’t Equestrian Magic.” Pinkie Pie remarked following the rather unsettling announcement that came from all available screens. “What are we going to do now ?” Twilight asked. They were used to having Sunset Shimmer be their answer to any calamity that arises. But this time was different. The problem at hand wasn’t exactly magical like the previous ones and most importantly, there was no Sunset for them to look to for solutions. In other words, they were on their own now. ‘Would Ponying up save the day ? Will their magical geodes even be effective against this foreign threat ?’ These were the questions raging in their heads. Their thoughts however were soon distracted by the deafening city emergency siren being echoed throughout the mall. (Emergency Air Raid Siren Alarm) “ That means run !!” Rainbow Dash shouted out loud, sending everyone into a state of chaos.
Meanwhile,
‘The Repulsor Star Destroyer
Utthar Orbit
From the command bridge of the Star Destroyer ‘The Repulsor’, Darth Vader and Tarkin oversaw the Imperial fleet they commanded descending into the atmosphere of this new world that is being brought into the Imperial folder, regardless of what the natives would have to say. Admiral Katz walked up to them to provide a status of their Annexation. The two strongmen barely paid attention to the Admiral as he walked to them. “Sir, we have begun the expropriation process of the planet.” Katz said. Tarkin was indifferent to what the Admiral had to say as he turned to him, “Any signs of resistance by the locals ?” “ Our forces have encountered little to no opposition from them.” Katz said, his tone slightly stronger than usual. He had given himself a small pat in the back for being able to report positive developments to the Grand Moff and Lord Vader. “Fear of our technological might and superior firepower has driven them to submission.” The Sith Lord said indifferently. “Indeed fear is a very persuasive element.” Tarkin intoned before turning over to Katz, “The Empire will make a note of your exemplary service, Admiral.” “Thank you sir.” Katz bowed to Tarkin before leaving the two of them alone. Deep down, the Admiral was over the moon for receiving an approval from the Grand Moff himself, a rare commendation not many Imperial officers can boast of.
As soon as Katz left, Tarkin then turned attention back to the fleet before him, “How do you plan on apprehending the girl that the Emperor seeks ?” He asked the Sith Lord.“ Our presence in her home world will draw her out. She will come to rescue her people and when she does, she will be entrapped.” Vader answered Tarkin. Tarkin understood the basis of the Sith Lord’s plan, being no stranger to such tactics. He planned to use the nobleness of this girl to lure her into freeing her people, only for her to be walking right into a trap deliberately set by them. It was after all, how the Empire deals with Jedi Survivors, by having their own principles betray them. Tarkin was then interrupted by black cladded uniformed officer who, on his left hand, held a datapad. “Governor Tarkin, this requires your immediate attention.” The officer handed over the datapad to the Grand Moff for inspection. Tarkin inspected the information that was stored in the datapad(Information regarding Project Stardust) and realized that his intervention was required,again. “ If you excuse me Lord Vader, I have some matters that require my urgent attention. I’ll leave you to oversee the rest of the annexation process.” Tarkin said to Vader. The Sith Lord only stood in silence as the Grand Moff left the bridge with the officer by his side. He saw no need to reply as Tarkin had given him complete authority of the fleet. There was nothing else he could ask for-not that he needed to in the first place.
Meantime,
Back in Canterlot City Mall
CHAOS ensued as the people in the mall ran towards the exit in a state of panic, mostly caused by fear of the unholy object in the sky, coupled with the strange voice and crest that appeared on every electronic gadget screen proclaiming the establishment of this New Empire, which none of them had ever heard of. The girls were no exception to the wave of pandemonium, joining the chorus of people running. They’re no strangers to calamity but yet the feeling has never been more alien to them than it is today. After all the incidents they’ve dealt with, they should have been the level headed ones amongst the swarm of panic stricken people but yet they were a part of them. “Why are we running again ?” Applejack panted as she was running out of breath from running. “Obviously from that !” Pinkie screamed as she pointed to the ship above them. It was quite clear at this point none of them were in the position to think straight, even Applejack, the most rational minded in the group couldn’t keep her head straight for long due the state they’re in, she could do nothing but accept the flow of the others.
“ We should stop running and Pony Up !!!” Rainbow Dash bellowed out loud to the others as she ran. While she could tap into her geode powers which would give her super speed abilities, she didn’t. Doing so might only make things worse by violently pushing those ahead down to the ground by her super speed, only to be stampeded to death by the others unwillingly in their state of pandemonium. Rainbow Dash loved using her powers, even for the most mundane purposes, but never at the cause of someone’s detriment, in this case the lives of innocent people mattered more than boasting her powers. Back to the situation at hand, Rarity couldn’t believe what was coming from Rainbow Dash, but then again, she was known for being the complete opposite of Applejack, often relishing herself as some kind fictional all powerful awesome superhero. “Is every solution of yours to be ponying up ?” She grumbled loudly at her. “ You got a better idea ? Cause I’m all ears to hear it.” The blue skinned teen snapped at her, unmoved. There wasn’t much time to argue however, as the group soon managed to exit the mall, only to see the full extent of the ‘liberation’.
The City was in chaos as large military looking spaceships descended from the skies to Occupy the planet. The so-called Empire wasn’t kidding about establishing itself as the new dominant authority of Canterlot City and perhaps the planet as a whole. The skies were crowded with spaceships ranging from what appeared to be large command ships to smaller sized transports. It was the transports that were descending to the ground, with the larger ones staying in the air, being as unnerving as possible to the locals below. The girls weren’t spared from being intimidated like the others. This was far more than they could have imagined or dealt with in the past. “Well, I guess ponying up isn’t going to work this time.” Rainbow Dash resigned to herself. “ This looks like an invasion rather than a liberation.” Twilight beckoned as the sight she was seeing was,who concurred by Applejack, “I reckon that.” “WHAT THE HECK IS THAT !” Pinkie bellowed loudly pointing her forefinger at what appeared to be some kind of large quadrupedal metallic vehicle structure of some kind that was held by a Transport ship. The massive quadruplet structure that bore some resemblance to equines appeared to be some kind walker. It was docked to the transport magnetically [6]. As the transport flew past them, one of the walker’s massive stomp-like legs collided with the mall’s exterior walls, causing it to crumble down.
Standing right below the crumbling structure was Flash Sentry. Being too terrified to move his legs, the popular CHS boy could only lift his arms up to his head in view of the crumbling structure above him. He shut his eyes tightly, anticipating a massive blow to the head which will knock him out permanently, if not kill him instantly. The hit never came, and the longer he held his eyes shut, the more curious he became. He eventually opened his eyes and lifted his head up only to find the crumbled parts floating midair, held by a purple aura. Flash knew where the aura came from. He turned his head to the right, to find Twilight Sparkle with her hands extended forward, giving out the same aura as she clearly struggled to telekinetically hold the debris. Her geode gave her the ability of telekinesis, an ability she used sparingly in times of emergency such as this. Before Flash could react, Rainbow Dash dashed towards him using her superspeed before pulling him away from the way of the midair suspended debris. With Flash safe, Twilight lets go of her telekinetic grasp of the debris before falling to the ground panting. She had used a tremendous amount of energy in holding it, something the athletically inept girl didn’t have much of.
Rainbow Dash, thanks to her super speed brought Flash away from the imminent danger he was in to the rest of the girls. “You alright Flash ?” Applejack asked the shock stricken boy. “Never better, Applejack.” Flash panted out, still coming to terms with everything that happened so fast. “What are we going to do now ?” Fluttershy meekly asked. Before she could get an answer however, they were interrupted by a voice which sounded as if it was slightly muffled, “Hands up Savages !” The girls turned to the source of the voice only to find that they had been surrounded by what appeared to be at least a dozen of white armor cladded beings with some kind futuristic looking weapon pointed at them as a whole. They wore identical helmets, similar to the designs of their white armor. They donned similarly designed helmets, and as such, one couldn’t tell the difference between the other if they were placed side by side. The girls could only wonder what or who was behind the helmets.(For all they know, these beings could be Clones or humanoid robots) Rarity would offer a rather critical comment on the design of their armor if not for the fact they had never before seen firearms pointed at them. If that wasn’t enough, they had air support in the form of two gunships with a pair of half folded solar panels at its front beside the cockpit with its two front turrets pointed in their direction. In other words, they were cornered with nowhere to escape. “I won’t say again, Hands Up !!” Came the trooper, who had an orange coloured shoulder pad which distinguished him from the rest, probably marking him as the leader, his tone even more agitated than before. “Alright calm down there fellas,” Applejack spoke to them in a calm but yet nervous tone, “We surrender.” Applejack raised her hands up, walking the talk. She was soon joined by the others including Rainbow Dash, who all raised their hands up. Even Rainbow knew any reckless heroic attempts would very likely backfire on them, with disastrous results. “Please, just don’t hurt us.” Twilight naively said as she raised her hands up, her fear more evident than Applejack’s.