• Published 15th Apr 2019
  • 3,125 Views, 100 Comments

Hoof and Claw Versus the World - Chythar



What if Nightmare Moon wasn't defeated, but came to our world and tried to conquer us? Join her and her brony minion as they first try to conquer Southern California, then the world!

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Act 2, Chapter 4 - Breaking and Entering

Nightmare Moon and I had narrowly escaped capture by hiding in a filthy drain pipe. We managed to escape, then resumed our trip to a nearby city where we hoped to find an easier conquest for the night.


At long last, the night lights of Twentynine Palms came into view. The desert sands and brush beneath us slowly gave way to darkened homes and telephone poles. The dirt roads changed to paved, and dark streets became lit by street lights. Businesses joined the homes below, and we overflew what looked to be a major street. So I knew we had to be close.

But after that major street, the businesses disappeared and the homes quickly gave way to desert again. We only saw one large building in the area, but its large signs and bright lights marked it as the local casino. Beyond the casino, all we saw were some tall hills and a small subdivision of homes to our left. The two of us halted our forward flight at the same time, and met up in midair to discuss our options.

"It seems we have overflown our destination, my student."

"Yeah, I guess so. I was expecting the town to be bigger."

"Not all are large, nor their edges clearly marked. Dost thou remember the size of this hamlet in your memories?"

"No, I just remember there being one town directly south of the base."

"Then it appears that we have found that which we were searching for. I suggest we return to the densest concentration of buildings, and start our search there."

"Sounds reasonable."

Together, we turned north and flew the several blocks back to the main street. I paused high over a building with a red & blue roof, and informed the dark mare of my plan for finding a police station.

"Okay. The building we want should be on this street somewhere, it's the busiest street we've seen. I suggest we split up. We want a building that may say 'police' or 'sheriff'. Or there may just be a gold star emblem on the side. We'll meet back here afterwards and compare notes."

"As you wish. I shall return forthwith."

Nightmare Moon took off to the east, following the roadway. I watched her form shimmer, then disappear entirely. As for me, I turned and followed the road to the west.

Nightmare Moon's stealthy action got me thinking, and I realized that she had the right idea: search while hidden under an illusion spell. I would have to fly slow and low to read the signs on the buildings, so low that anyone not looking down could see me. Even folks with their nose buried in their smart phone had to look up once in a while, and it only took one to scream and point. But the new illusion spell, the one we used to escape the drain pipe, solved the problem perfectly. Under its power, I could move freely yet still stay hidden. Anyone using magic would know I was there, but on this world no one but Nightmare Moon could do that. So, I was sure it was safe enough.

As I cast the illusion spell and disappeared from sight, I idly wondered if I was still visible on the infra-red spectrum. My inner monologue admitted that I had no answer, so I focused on my search instead.

The desert breeze ruffled through my fur & feathers as I slowly flew down the road. I scanned the road ahead, looking to the left and right at the buildings on either side of the pavement. There were plenty of businesses to see; some familiar brands, many not. But nothing that even remotely looked like a police station. The faint smell of gasoline and exhaust fumes surrounded the gas stations I passed by. The scent of grease and cooked meat rose up from the fast food joints, oil and exhaust smells came from a truck dealership. Occasional cars passed beneath me, the roar of their engines and radios unmistakable. I passed a Motel 6 on my right, and a Holiday Inn on my left. But after I passed a strip mall on my left side, there was little left to see except a few homes and desert sand.

I decided that I had gone far enough, and turned around to meet up with my Mistress. As I picked up speed, I expected I would meet her back at the building with the red & blue roof. However, she apparently had a different idea. Just as I approached the Motel 6 I passed earlier, the dark mare flickered into existence off to my left. She hovered in mid-air, and her head followed me as I invisibly flew past her. Both surprised and pleased at her presence, I dropped my own illusion spell and rapidly flapped my wings to kill my forward momentum. After some more awkward wing work, I was able to reach Nightmare Moon and came to a hover in front of her.

"Found something?"

"Nay. Civilization gave way to desert not long after we parted ways. I continued a bit farther to verify I had reached the end, then retraced my steps to find thee."

"Oh. I didn't find anything either. That's strange, I would have expected a police station to be easier to find."

"I see. How would one normally find one of these guard posts?"

"Well, usually you call them with a smartphone and they tell you where their nearest location is. Since I don't have mine anymore, I'd look instead for a local and ask for directions. But I don't think any of the locals would be willing to talk to us when we look like this."

"Such contact may also alert the local guard to our presence, thus I do not recommend it. Dost thou have any other suggestions?"

"None, except to keep searching. But that could take us all night."

"I concur. We shall then require help in our search."

Several seconds of magical casting from Nightmare Moon, and with a sudden flash three pegasus ponies appeared in the air next to us. Two were stallions, who looked virtually identical with slate-gray fur and dark blue manes & tails. The third was a mare, with a light blue-grey coat and a lighter blue mane & tail than her companions. All wore the same purple & black jumpsuits with yellow goggles. The three Shadowbolts looked around themselves, presumedly to figure out where their Mistress had summoned them to this time. One of the stallions waved at me, while the other two did not react to my presence.

"My Shadowbolts, this feline here is my personal student. You shall follow his commands as if they were my own. Now, he shall educate you as to what we are searching for."

All three nodded in confirmation, then turned to me.

"We're looking for a building that says 'police' or 'sheriff' on the side, or there might only be a large gold star emblem. The building might also have several police cars packed next to it. You know what a 'police car' is?"

All four ponies shook their heads.

"Didn't think so. Alright..."

I looked around the area for a car of some sort, and found several in the Motel 6 parking lot. Pointing to the parking lot, I resumed my lecture.

"...see those wheeled things down there? Those are cars. They are kinda box-shaped, with four wheels and windows on all sides so the people - er, ponies inside can see outside. They can be many colors and shapes, as you can see. Go ahead take a look."

Pausing my lecture, I gave the ponies a few moments to familiarize themselves with the cars in the parking lot. I took the time to look around for a particular car model in the area. I was in luck, a Ford Crown Victoria was parked in the Holiday Inn Express parking lot across the street. Gliding over, I studied the Crown Vic closely. Then, with some carefully applied illusion magic I created a small-scale version of the Crown Vic in my hands. The illusory model was about four feet across, colored white and lacking a number of small details. But it was close enough for its intended purpose.

With my new car model in my hands, I returned to the cluster of ponies then cleared my throat to get their attention. Once all four had turned to look at me, I presented the illusory car model to them and began my lecture.

"Okay, you've seen how varied cars can be. This one on my hands is commonly used by police in this country. Not all use them, but they all should look similar. Some are colored white like this, others have a black and white color scheme."

To demonstrate, I changed the illusory car's colors to match my words: black front and back, with white in the middle.

"The vehicles might say 'police' on the sides, 'sheriff' or just have a gold star on the sides."

As I spoke, I first placed 'POLICE' in blue letters on the sides of the car model, then 'SHERIFF' in black, and finally a gold six-point star on the doors.

"All police cars have bright flashing lights on them, to be used when confronting someone. Otherwise, the lights are off and may not be seen. The lights may be in the back window..."

Under my direction, the car model flashed red and blue lights from the rear window.

"...or they may be in a special light bar on the roof."

The lights in the model's rear window went out. I placed a police light bar on its roof and made its lights flash red and blue.

"Each town chooses their own pattern for their police cars, so I don't know exactly what you'll find. But you'll find some combination of those features, like so."

I changed the car model to the black and white color scheme, with blue "POLICE" letters on the sides and a light bar on top. Then, the model became all white with a six-point star on the sides and a light bar. The model changed again to black and white, with black "SHERIFF" on the sides but no light bar. Finally, the model became all white with a seven-point gold star on the doors, but no light bar.

"You should search wherever you see buildings with roads next to them. If you only see an empty road with no homes, or open desert sand, you've gone too far. Also, there's a military base to the north that you should avoid at all costs. So don't go anywhere that has a high fence or mentions the word 'Marines'.

"If you find any car that looks like a police car, even one that's not near a police station, report in and I'll make the final determination. Got it?"

The three Shadowbolts nodded.

I took a moment to go over my words, and tried to think of any important details that I had missed. When I couldn't think of anything, I looked over at Nightmare Moon.

"That's about it. I think they should search that side of the road and we'll take the other side."

I indicated with a finger towards the northern side of the road.

"My Shadowbolts, you have your instructions. Now go!"

The Shadowbolts flew off towards the north side of town, and in short order one reported in. Therein, we discovered a problem. While Nightmare Moon could see through the eyes of her Shadowbolts, I could not. So the Moon Mare thought for a moment, then summoned some sort of magical mirror. This mirror could focus on one Shadowbolts and show us what they were looking at. I could then see that the Shadowbolt had not spotted a police car, but a white compact car with a roof rack. The next Shadowbolt that reported in had found a patrol car, but it was from a security company rather than an actual police car.

Two more false alarms came in before we found jackpot: a white sheriff's vehicle with a seven-point star on its side and a light bar on its roof. The Shadowbolt was instructed to break off its search and follow that car, while the rest of us continued searching. About five minutes later, the Shadowbolt reported that the vehicle had turned on to the main drag and was heading west.

The sheriff's patrol car was followed down the road, past the point where I had turned around, and kept going until it pulled off on to a side street. The patrol vehicle then navigated a large parking lot and parked next to a brown and cream-colored two-story building. When the Shadowbolt reported that there were more patrol cars parked there, and the building read 'County of San Bernardino' on the side, I knew we had found our target. Nightmare Moon recalled her other Shadowbolts and within a few short minutes we had arrived at the alleged police station.

A quick aerial reconnoiter around the building verified that the Shadowbolt had indeed found a sheriff's station. A few police cars could be seen parked outside the building, along with a van and some civilian vehicles. However, I also noted a California Highway Patrol building right next door. The presence of the CHP building worried me, as it meant that reinforcements could be close by. If things went pear-shaped we might be in real trouble. The Moon Mistress sent her Shadowbolts out to scout the immediate area and to watch out for any approaching danger.

Nightmare Moon and I remained in the air in front of the sheriff's station, and we discussed the best way to start our attack.

"From what mine eyes can see, the only viable avenue of attack is through the main entrance. Any other avenue of attack might alert the guard prematurely to our presence."

"And the fact you prefer an all-out frontal attack has nothing to do with it, right?"

The Night Mare gave me a wide, pointy-tooth filled grin.

"As you say. Regardless, do you see any other viable entrances?"

"No. No, I don't."

"Excellent. Now, do you have any knowledge of the building below, or of what kind of force we may encounter?"

"Well, each building will be different but they all follow a similar pattern. Most locations have a reception desk at the main entrance. It will be staffed by one or two guards who will help route visitors to someone who can help them. The building will be segmented into several smaller rooms hidden behind many locked doors. The design is intended to be confusing; not only to entrap escaping prisoners on the inside, but to also hinder outside attackers like ourselves. Guards will likely be spread throughout the structure."

"Hmm. With the guards so spread out we will have to move quickly to subdue them. Anything else?"

"Most officers will be armed with a handgun. It's a device held in one hand that fires metal projectiles at a target."

"Similar to a small crossbow?"

"Sort of, in the sense that it's a small personal weapon that can be easily carried. However, these fire metal slugs that travel faster than the speed of sound. Remember the smaller weapons that we witnessed earlier? The ones that threw many slugs at once?"

The dark mare gave a small grunt of disapproval.

"I do not believe I shall forget for some time. To answer your question, yes."

"Handguns only fire one slug at a time, but they travel about as fast. They're going to slam into your shield pretty hard."

"That should not be much of a concern, my student. My shielding will be sufficient."

"Perhaps so, Mistress, but these handguns are designed to automatically reload themselves with another slug after one is fired. This allows the wielder to fire these slugs...perhaps one every second or two."

"Before tonight, I would have presumed you were lying to me. But after seeing those...tanks on the battlefield, I am much more inclined to believe you."

FINALLY.

"Thank you, Mistress. Also remember that there will be a number of guards present, perhaps a dozen or more. Your shields will need to handle multiple slugs at once."

"I am still confident that my shielding will hold, my student. Remember, I was able to withstand four of those slug-slinging weapons at once, and those were able to toss slugs much faster then one per second."

"Okay, if you say so. May I suggest that we put our shields up before we start our attack?"

"You are welcome to do so, my student. However, doing so is a classic sign of weakness and will merely embolden the guards."

"And the sight of two dark figures encased in silver armor won't scare them? Armor is rarely worn here Mistress, and wearing armor will make it very clear that we are here to fight."

"Marvelous! Then this will be over quickly. Remember my student, we should endeavor to subdue the guards instead of killing them as we need their numbers to bolster our ranks. Now, let us begin."

The Night Incarnate tilted her wings downwards and alighted in the parking lot near the front entrance of the building. I touched down next to her a moment later. However, as we approached the entrance I noticed something alarming: a distinctive white box mounted just above and to the side the front door. Fearing early discovery via the security camera, I rushed forward to block the mare's path with an arm.

"One moment, Mistress."

"I presume you have a good reason for barring my passage?"

"Yes, Mistress. The white box above the doors will allow the guards to see us."

"It is of no concern. The guards within will see us momentarily with their own eyes."

"True, but these boxes can also save what they see and replay it later. The guards will be able to warn others about us and allow them to prepare for further attacks."

"As I have said, they are of no concern to me. However, if you are concerned then they are now your responsibility."

"ME?!"

"That is what I have said. Consider it a challenge."

Wonderful.

Short of destroying the camera, which could also alert the officers, I chose to block its view instead. Focusing my magic, I summoned up a palm-sized snowball into my hand. I then threw it at the clear plastic sheet in front of the camera lens. My aim was true, the snowball hit the clear plastic dead center and completely covered it. While I knew the snowball would melt quickly in the desert heat, it would also block the camera long enough for us to pass by. The Mare in the Moon, unconcerned about being recorded, strolled past the camera and opened the doors in front of us with her magic. We then casually walked inside.

A quick survey of the room determined the layout was about what I had expected. Immediately in front of us and spreading to our left was a set of typical lobby furniture: numerous padded chairs, several small low-slung tables, and some number of magazines strewn about. The walls were painted some boring shade of white, and there were the usual generic paintings framed upon the walls. I could hear nothing in particular, but I could smell the faint reek of cigarette smoke. To our immediate right was a large floor-to-ceiling window, and farther down the wall was another large floor-to-ceiling window. To our left and on the far wall was the reception desk, which was staffed by a single officer.

Hearing the door open, said officer looked up with a bored expression upon his face. However, once he got a good look at us his expression was quickly replaced by alarm.

"What the--"

Nightmare Moon silenced his exclamation with a bolt of paralyzing lightning. The officer's body immediately began to spasm. After a second or two, the mare ceased her attack. The officer dropped bonelessly behind the counter and out of our sight. A quick glance around the edges of the room revealed another security camera, and another snowball of mine took care of it temporarily. The immediate threat over, the two of us nonchalantly walked up to the reception desk. I took a moment to make sure the officer behind it was relatively unhurt.

After glancing around the room herself, Nightmare Moon finally turned to me.

"It appears that there are three exits from this room, not including the one we entered from. Which exit shall we choose?"

Facing the reception desk, I noted there were metal security doors to our left and right and a double door just to the left of the reception desk. Not having a clue how to answer, I shrugged instead.

"I don't know, the inner workings of police stations are kept a secret for exactly this reason -- attackers will not know which way to go. But in our case, we have magic on our side. Can you cast a spell that will tell us where the officers - er, I mean the guards are?"

"I know of no spell to detect guards, my student."

Hm. Time to get clever.

"What about spells to detect life, Mistress? It's not like there will be much alive in here that isn't a guard."

I ignored the fact that this station might have a number of canine officers boarded on-site, and may have prisoners in an on-site jail as well.

"Excellent idea, my student. One moment while I cast the spell."

The Mare in the Moon closed her eyes, and a moment later her horn illuminated brightly with her magic. Several seconds passed in silence as the magic covering her horn pulsed slightly. At last, her magic faded out. The ebony mare opened her eyes, and gestured with a hoof towards a spot above the reception desk.

"There is a large concentration of life towards the back of the building. I sense much anger and fear from many of them, and most are asleep."

Must be the jail, then.

Before I could comment, the dark mare continued.

"Most other life in this building is sparse and scattered about. However, another concentration of life can be found therein."

Nightmare Moon then gestured toward the doorway to our left.

"Sounds like we've found our target, Mistress. Once we start our attack, an alarm will go off and the rest of the guards should be drawn to us."

"I concur, my student. Let us proceed."

Nightmare Moon and I strode over to the doorway on the left side of the room. Grasping the door handle in my hand, I was not surprised to find it locked.

"Locked, Mistress. The desk where the guard sat at should have a button to open the door."

I turned around to return to the reception desk, but a few steps later the voice of my Mistress stopped me.

"That shall not be necessary."

I turned back around just in time to see the ebony mare had summoned a magical bolt of force, and used it to blast the door in! The door was hit so hard it was ripped off its hinges! The slab of metal flew into the room beyond and smashed into some (fortunately) empty furniture. It then bounced off the carpeted floor and slammed into the wall on the other side of the room. As it came to rest, I could see the metal door had visibly buckled and bent. And there was a large hoof-print embedded in the metal.

Nice! Now THAT is an impressive entrance.

The Night Mare turned to me and flashed a wide grin, revealing a set of sharp and gleaming teeth. Then without another word, she snapped her wings up in the air and strode confidently through the now open doorway.

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