//------------------------------//
// Its a Canter-alot 
// Story: Breaking the Day 
// by Airyona 
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Starlight, Trixie, and Tempest stood huddled together in the dark halls of the abandoned Crystal Castle, deep in thought. On the table were city maps of Canterlot and its defenses, scribbled over with red markings. Their faces were illuminated only by the dim light of the Cutie Map, which flickered and buzzed with barely concealed anxiety. The castle had been abandoned by its Princess long ago when she was converted by the Empress to serve as her Grand Inquisitor. It's a shame that the bomb Starlight had planted didn't kill her. The thought of facing down her old friend was eating at her core.

Friendship was no longer an answer to the Civil War. The three ponies knew that all too well. Instead, they had to rely on strategy, tactics, and brute force to take back what was rightfully theirs. Starlight peered over the maps once again, refocusing herself.

The mountains over Canterlot were defended by the best of the Royal Guard, who knew that the HRM would shell the city from above if given the chance. The railways into Canterlot had been fortified with a tunnel network, and a heavily armored frontal gate. The first key-switch was inside the tunnel itself while the second one was in the train station within Canterlot, only unlocked via specialized keys or cards. The tunnel also has walkways into the Crystal Caverns, but not to the train station itself.

The Train Depot was designed as a killzone deathtrap. It had all open space, with very few train cars kept out in the open to deny cover from potential attackers. The Station was designed to be as difficult to hold as possible with most of its walls replaced by large modern glass panes, making angles of fire impossible to cover from within. With the few structural walls and pillars left, any well-placed explosion would likely collapse the whole station and send shrapnel of glass in all directions.

The main bridge into Canterlot and its walls had been fortified, and the path to the drawbridge had been turned into a fortified hellhole of tank traps, landmines, and barbed wire off the main road. The drawbridge was now raised and lowered with electrical motors that could only be turned on with a keycard carried by the specific royal guards subunit, the Gatekeepers.

Starlight's concentration was broken as Tempest spoke up. "As crazy of an idea as this is, we need to seek the assistance of the Pie Sisters or other rock farming specialists. They could help us find new ways into the Crystal Caverns or positions where we can strategically blow up fortified enemy positions."

Trixie shook her head. "We lost track of, ugh, the 'P-Team,' as Pinkie calls them, after they caused a major rockslide in Solar-occupied Yakyakistan. It was to deny reinforcements from Equestria and give Yona's uprising a better chance of success. They could still be up there, but we don't have much time to go looking for them. The Solar Forces have armies closing in from our south, and there's a possibility they have an entire army in teleportation reserve, waiting for us to siege the city so they can launch a counterattack!" Trixie slammed her head into the Cutie Map, causing the overview of Equus to flicker before stabilizing again.

Tempest pulled closer a map of the batteries overlooking Canterlot. "Not to mention that even if we got our hooves on the Gatekeeper's Keycards and managed to overrun the entrance to the city, these batteries would not hesitate to shell us and any remaining civilians. We would be dealing with entrenched Solar positions and potentially facing loyalist civilians who blame us for the hardships they've endured. Moreover, those batteries would prevent us from utilizing Cloudsdale too closely to the city."

Trixie lifted her head, pressing her chin firmly against the table map. "As if Cloudsdale's aid would even matter. The old airship docks have been retrofitted with advanced airfields housing the most sophisticated fighters and bombers the Empress can afford. Not to mention the presence of Inquisitional Strike Teams based there. Even if we manage to land, we won't just be fighting auxiliary units, but the best shock units she has. It would be an anti-air suicide mission that I don't think Spitfire would agree to."

Starlight lowered her head, a sense of defeat in her voice. "Even if everything went perfectly—if the people welcomed us, if the Solar Guard turned their backs on the Empress and joined our cause—even if we managed to overtake the docks and airfields flawlessly, knock out the batteries and royal guards on the mountains... it wouldn't solve the fortress within a fortress that her castle has become. I can barely even see the stained glass windows anymore... She has even replaced the ones from when she was Celestia." Starlight sighed, burdened by the weight of their predicament. "We would be facing down the power of the Sun incarnate, and what do we have? Bullets?"

Tempest paused for a moment, contemplating. "...I have these orbs of petrification I helped create during my time with the Storm King, but I doubt they would keep her restrained for longer than a minute before she breaks free." Trixie's mind seemed to be working, ideas forming on how to defeat Daybreaker and Starlight pondered as well, even just a minute of holding her still would be enough to perform a spell ritual, it wouldn’t be as simple as a banish to the moon either. “You might onto something, Fizz-” Starlight’s ears perked up as they were disturbed by the sound of hooves approaching. Princess Cadence stepped into the dimly lit room, her warm glow providing a stark contrast to the cold darkness. She walked over to the table where Tempest, Trixie, and Starlight had gathered, their faces etched with concern and frustration.

"Shining is managing to keep the shield up for now," Princess Cadence began, "It'll buy us a few hours before he needs to rest. Have any of you found any weak spots?"

Starlight shook her head. "Daybreaker has thought of every possible angle of attack. How can we possibly siege this?" Cadence raised a hoof onto the table before pointing towards the cliff face. "There, the old sewage drains. Daybreaker can fortify the city all she likes, but there is little she can do to infrastructure like the underground sewage of a city of that size. It would be a monumental task to fortify them all. I reckon that maybe they have grating over the drains to keep anyone from climbing in them. Cutting them open would definitely draw attention from the cliffside fortifications. So teleporting through the bars and then cutting them open would be the best way to start."

"We don't have any sort of maps of the sewer system to truly know what's down there," Tempest spoke up. "However, if it lets us set up a base under the Empress' nose, then it's an opportunity we should take."

"I don't want to send our best into a trap. There are so many factors we don't know," Starlight responded before Cadence countered. "You know more than anyone here that we need to take risks against a foe like her. In the same manner, you took the risk to divert your forces to save my family from Solar captivity. If I must, I will lead the strike into the sewers."

The Cutie Map suddenly hummed to life, making the half-awake Trixie recoil off the table as the map of Equestria shifted and zoomed in towards Canterlot. Though it made no attempt to call upon any cutie mark to answer it, it showed a red glow of the labyrinth of tunnels under Canterlot. Granted, the Canterlot in the display was old, but how often does a sewer system change? Starlight smiled for the first time in a long while.

However, for Cadence, this was more than just a revolution and a long road to harmonic recovery. It meant saving her daughter from the manipulation of a tyrant who sought to turn her daughter's heart as cold as the north. She and Shining had to come to terms with the fact that their daughter might stand against them. The thought weighed heavily on her mind and Shining's, even if he refused to show weakness in times like these.