Ratchet and Clank: The Equine World

by Richer19

Chapter 7: Battle for Canterlot

Canterlot was a mess. All around were destroyed buildings and fire everywhere. The only place that didn’t seem to be a war zone was the castle itself, which had a large yellow shield covering it. All over the skies were dropships that were from a variety of Ratchet and Clank’s past. Lasers were firing out of the shield towards them as well as on the ground.

“The city needs help. Let’s go and see if we can find the per...pony in charge,” Ratchet remarked as he followed the guards that were on the train. He figured they would go to whoever was in command for orders.

To both the Lombax and the robot’s surprise, the ponies were handling themselves quite well. At first they thought that they were like the Fungoids in terms of technology yet the forces they were following were able to handle most of the enemies in their way.

Eventually the group reached what could only be described as organized chaos. A large black dome was above them with four beams appearing to power the dome. Ratchet followed the beams to find four unicorns wearing black armor were sitting. They unicorns were sitting on cushions and their faces were deep in concentration. Off to the left were the sounds of groans and moans as medics were working to patch up some of the injured forces. Again Ratchet was impressed to find that the infirmary wasn’t as full as he had thought. On the right was a tunnel that the troops they were following went to.

Standing nearby was a pony who was different from the others. He, for his physical features marked him as a stallion, was wearing armor similar to the rest. On his back was a large scythe that was humming a bit. What was strangest of all was that where there should have been a leg that was covered in fur; there was an arm that had black scales and a paw where there should have been a hoof. The stallion pointed to the tunnel and shouted some words. The force saluted before charging into the tunnel and most likely into the fray.

The stallion finally noticed them and started to walk towards the two. “Heard what you two did on the supply train. I thank you for making sure it got here in one piece. We are pressed thin as is.”

“Who might you be?” Clank remarked

The stallion gave a soft nod “Apologize. A war zone shouldn’t mean that introductions aren’t in order. My name is Captain Moonsaber. I’m the one in charge of our forward base.”

“What is the situation, captain?” Ratchet asked as they followed Moonsaber towards the table where there was a large sheet of parchment resting on top. A closer look revealed it to be a map of what Ratchet assumed to be Canterlot.

Moonsaber lifted up his scale arm to point at two spots. “Right now we have enemies trying to assault us from these locations. Now we have been able to hold them off, since we discovered they are quite vulnerable to magic. However given that they seem content to shoot at us, we are unable to get in close with our warriors. Now the castle itself is still protected, and that is where all the civilians are located. We also need to hold this position so we can continue to receive supplies and reinforcements.” Moonsaber took off a necklace that he was wearing. Giving it to Ratchet he continued, “This will let the others know you are friendly. It is also the key to activating our defense grind. I need you two to get to the castle and find Captain Solarshield. She should be the one in charge. Activate the defense grid and we will be able to clean up the rest.”

“So how should we get to the castle?”

“Fastest way is through the city streets. Also, it goes without saying, but anything you can do to reduce their strength will be a benefit to us. I’ll leave it up to your discretion.”

“You can count on us,” Clank said as the two made their way towards the front lines.

“Wait. Before you go, also take this.” Moonsaber presented a small odd looking device.

Ratchet took it, and following Moonsaber’s gesture placing it inside his ear. Moonsaber continued, “That is a communicator. It will allow me to relay intel as well as help guide you to the castle.”

The Lombax nodded. While he was more used to intel being delivered via his Nav-Unit, he noted that the ponies were still a long way behind the rest of the galaxy. The heroes once again made their way through the passageways towards the front lines. As they were traveling, they saw ponies running back and forth through the streets, yelling and screaming as they were being shot at. Ratchet was keeping himself low to the ground to dodge under the fire. However there were a few close calls. Once he got to the front, he saw several makeshift barriers that the ponies had constructed. The unicorns were firing at the advancing Dreadzone robots while the earth ponies covered them. Pegasus ponies flying above them working to get air superiority from the flyers. They watched two pegasus striking one of the helicopters and forcing it to the ground.

Ratchet took out his Warmonger and started to shoot at the robots advancing. His aim was true, as he avoided hitting any of the ponies in the back, and each rocket took out several robots at once.

Once the wave cleared, the two advance forward. The guards would have joined, but their orders were to hold the line. With nothing shooting in front, the unicorns turned their fire towards the sky providing some decent anti-air cover. A bit farther ahead, Ratchet noticed a bolt crank. Normally something that he wouldn’t give a thought about, he now found it odd to be here of all places. Placing a finger to the communicator, he said, “Hay Moonsaber I found a bolt crank here. Any idea what its for?”

There is a bit of static before his voice came in clear “Hold on let me get a visual on what you are looking at.” The Lombax looked around and saw in the sky a pegasus fly towards them. The pony was staying low to the ground to avoid most of the fire coming from the sky. The two watched as the pony circles around them, glancing back and forth between the bolt crank and the enemies in the sky. After a few moments the pony flew back towards the direction they came from. There was a minute or two of waiting before Moonsaber said “Is that what those things are called? I’ve gotten reports about them right before we were attacked. They appeared to have connected to our defense grid. If you can unlock them, parts of the grid should come online and allow us to regain control of the skies.”

Ratchet nodded as he attached his wench to the crank. Spinning around it, he saw part of the street start to open up. Once fully open, a spherical object on a cylinder emerged. The sphere had small circles all over it, and he watched as more magic started to shoot out of it. Unlike the others, the shots homed in on their targets. Several enemy filers got hit and crashed into the ground.

Smiling at a job done, Ratchet moved deeper into the city towards the castle.

Comments

[OmniFox]

Hope there's Royal Pets rescue side quest.

[ferretmasre]

The fact this exists is proof a god exists.

[Fox Jones]

And the you don't hear from them for four years...