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// Harmony Hoof Grenade 
// Story: Cadance: The Love Arsenal 
// by IndiBrony 
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"Know how I said it's not all sunshine and rainbows over here in Equestria? Well, you're about to witness some of that first-hand because we're off to a protest. It was supposed to be our first task this morning, but I just couldn't overlook little Lightning Dash. The big stuff is obviously important, but sometimes the little stuff even more so. Who knows, maybe that was a turning point in Lightning Dash's life - he could grow up to be king, or he could have grown up to be a criminal. It often takes a while for me to see the results of my influence, and it doesn't always turn out so well, but I like to think it helps to spread as much love as I can, especially today."

Cadance spots a large crowd of ponies in the distance, just on the boundaries of Canterlot, being confronted by a large group of Celestia's guard. "In every walk of life, you'll have people who disagree; it's just the way of things. Life wouldn't progress, we wouldn't evolve or thrive if we all settled into the same mindset. Ponies aren't meant to all be the same. Sometimes that creates friction, conflict and pain. It's never nice, but it can be civil - we can always settle our differences peacefully and respectfully. We're here to ensure nothing goes awry."

Cadance disables her scouter. "Having this on is pointless. You can feel there is tension between the group of protesters and the royal guard." She pulls out a couple of grenades. They're white with gold plating, and complete with the Equestrian coat of harmony. "This is what we call the Harmony Hoof Grenade. It has a blast radius of about five metres and helps to calm the nerves of large groups of ponies. We don't need to hit every pony in the crowd with these, just enough to prevent them from fighting each other. We prefer peaceful protest, but it doesn't always work like that. We need to hit this crowd before they turn into a riot; the sooner the better, because even a good hit won't guarantee it'll work. It's important to remember that whilst we can influence each other with our actions, we can't alter their paths, that has to be down to them."

Cadance pulls the pin on her grenades, throwing one down near the front of the protesters, and another one near the front of the royal guard. Just as the grenades hit the floor, the first act of violence is instigated by the protesters. A handful of bricks are thrown at the Royal Guard. The grenades go off. The guard lift their shields to protect themselves from the projectiles. "This could be bad. They started fighting before the grenades went off..."

The Royal Guard keep their shields up, refusing to move. Calmness temporarily washes over the protest. "This is it. We've got another opportunity. We have to make this one or else we've got a riot on our hooves." Cadance quickly levitates three more grenades in front of her, pulling the pins and throwing them down to the rabble. Each go off almost simultaneously. Unfortunately, it's not enough to stop the protesters from advancing and kicking things off properly.

"Great." Cadance sighs. "I need something a bit more heavy-duty." Out of nowhere, the Princess pulls out about a dozen shotguns, levitating them in front of her. "This could get messy." The Princess swoops down, using her magic to fire off shots at protester and royal guard alike. As each shot is fired, she discards a gun, pulling out another from her Arsenal. Each shot visibly calms the ponies caught in the path of the shells. Cadance focuses her efforts on those who are creating the most violence on both sides. "If we take out the ones causing the most trouble, the riot should cease sooner rather than later."

Cadance continues her onslaught, swooping in and out of the fight, observing the progress of the riot, calculating the best course of action to take to end it. As she swoops down back into the rabble, she's struck down by one of the protesters with a plank of wood to one of her wings. The Princess' magic is knocked out of whack momentarily, causing her to drop her weaponry. Acting quickly, she takes a gun and strikes an incoming protester across the face, dropping the gun to the floor as it strikes. The pink alicorn pants as she regains her composure. "We call that a 'love whip'. Heh."

Gathering her senses, Cadance takes off, collecting her shotguns along the way. Utilising her magic, she fuses the guns together, creating one giant rifle. "Coup final!" she yells as she pulls the trigger. The force of the shot sends both her and the rifle flying into the air as a huge bullet rockets down into the brawl. Upon connection, the whole area is filled in a pink haze. Both groups settle down. Arrests are made, some protesters are taken away, and some guards are helped to receiving medical attention, but overall, the fighting ceases.

Cadance observes the scene from a distance. "That didn't go so well. You'd think with being the Princess of love, I'd know how to deal with that better. As I said before, though, you can't force ponies to do what you want. That got a little too sketchy, though. Let's hope I don't have to do that again..."