Chapter 2
Lightning let out a sigh as he sat in the train car. It had been several days since the festival, but Lightning and his friends had been unable to leave the small town. Their little dip in the hot spring had had...strange consequences. The town's doctors had told them they were fine, but Lightning still felt a little weird.
He sat beside Script, who was reading a scroll on runes while Wild was checking his puppets for damage. Gorgenia had a bunch of clay in her hooves, which she reshaped into different forms and hardened before melting it again to reshape it once more. At one point, she even showed off the crystal magic she had learned from Ruby and Cadance in the Crystal Empire.
Lightning smirked as he watched them work, glad that they were all okay after their little incident. As he thought this, he kept telling himself what he needed to do next. He needed to asked Rarity to marry him, though he still didn't have a full plan for that...or a ring.
But as the train rolled along the countryside toward Ponyville, he thought about what Rarity was doing at that exact moment, only to remember that Rarity had gone to Canterlot to check in on her boutique there. She was probably still there, working with Sassy Saddles in order to confirm the different dress designs she would be selling there.
'That should give me some time to think.' he thought, 'Though I can't wait to see her again.'
Canterlot...
Rarity was hard at work in her store as Sassy unboxxed the new dresses Rarity had brought over, the white unicorn now going over the books. Having three stores in three of the most important locations in Equestria, though Ponyville had only become important after she opened her store there, had seriously gotten her name recognized. Rarity couldn't help but wonder how many more stores she would open over the next few years...and where?
As she finished looking through the books, Rarity turned to a photo behind the counter. It was something she had hung up so that she wouldn't feel homesick whenever she was in Canterlot or Manehatten. The photo was of her, Sweetie, Lightning and all her closest friends. She couldn't help but smile when she saw Lightning standing beside her while also thinking about how far the pair of them had come. When she first met Lightning, she absolutely hated his arrogant attitude. Him attempting to conquer Equestria also didn't help with that idea.
But when he came to live in Ponyville, showing how different he had become, she learned to see past his flaws and saw the true gentlecolt he could be. And over time, her admiration for him became an attraction. And when they started dating, it developed into love. Now, Rarity couldn't imagine a future without him. She hoped he would always be a part of her life, which brought her to thinking of a simple question. "When is he going to ask me?"
"Ask you what?" Rarity looked up and saw Sassy pushing a rack of dresses into the room. "Is there a problem?"
"Oh, no problem at all. Everything's great. It's just missing something to be perfect."
"Oh?" Sassy raised an eyebrow, "And what would that be." She gave Rarity an inquiring gaze, then noticed her employer glance over at a photo on the wall. Seeing this, she instantly caught that Rarity was focusing on the stallion in that picture.
"Lightning Blitz. Something to do with Lightning Blitz." She hummed, "I think I get it. You want him to propose?" Rarity blushed at this, making Sassy laugh. "Girl, you've got it bad. So you want your boyfriend to pop the question."
"Is that so wrong?" Rarity asked, "We've been together a long time, and enjoy so many of the same things."
"That's true," Sassy nodded, "But you can't rush a stallion with these things. The mare is usually more open to the idea of marriage than the stallion. Try and force the issue and you might end up scaring him away."
"I guess," Rarity sighed as she placed her head on the counter. "But half my friends have already gotten married. And I bet it won't be long before Flash chooses to pop the question. When they get married, it'll be even bigger than Cadance and Shining's wedding. How am I supposed to follow that up?"
"I don't think you can," Sassy giggled.
"Exactly!" Rarity groaned, "I mean, I don't mind waiting, but Lightning had better ask me soon. It's one thing getting married after Rainbow. But if Applejack gets engaged before me, then I'll be really annoyed."
Up at the castle...
Iron was having the guards do their morning exercises. He was following Flash's training regiment, actually impressed by how well it was designed. Having each guard unit do their training after their days off, meaning they were fully rested and ready to improve themselves, was a smart move.
As he watched the group run around the training ground, Iron thought about the meeting taking place in Manehatten. Today was supposed to be the day of the meeting. So if all things go well, Twilight should be back in Canterlot by tomorrow. But even if she was, Iron probably wouldn't be back in Ponyville for another few days. Given what Cold had told him about this Overthrow group, he wanted to hear what Twilight planned to do with the rumors going around. Hopefully, they didn't mean anything, but Iron's gut was telling him there was more to it than that.
"Sir Core!" A guard marched up to him, Iron recognizing him as an unicorn known as Cobalt. "There's a visitor at the gate."
"There shouldn't be any visitors coming right now," Iron replied, "Who is it?"
"He's a former Royal Guard who retired from the ranks a few years back. He said he wanted to talk to somepony about rumors he heard involving a group of ponies called Overthrow."
Iron's eyes went wide. "Escort him to the throne room. I'll meet you there with Cold Steel." Cobalt nodded before running back to the gate while Iron rushed to Cold's office. "I hope I'm wrong..."
Meanwhile...
Twilight, Flash and Pinkie had just finished the last touches for their big meeting. The Grand Hotel was prepared for all the guests while a detail of soldiers was keeping the press and other ponies from getting inside. Flash and Twilight were now at the reception of the hotel, watching as one of the delegates arrived. "Springer!" Flash cheered, seeing his old friend.
Springer smiled back as he and Mirage walked in, the two hugging while Twilight and Mirage exchanged pleasantries. "Still running with the new look?" Springer asked, gesturing to the new blue sections of Flash's body.
"Hey, you know this is totally for me," Flash chuckled, "What about you? Things in Aurarora going well?"
"Yup," Springer nodded, "In fact, a lot of young jakhowls are asking about attending the School of Friendship."
"They are?" Twilight gasped, Mirage nodding.
"Can you blame them? Ace and Mira are always talking about how much fun it is. I was a little worried they wouldn't enjoy it so much, once you stepped down and let that other pony take over. What's her name again?"
"Starlight," Twilight replied, "And you don't have to worry about the school's quality going down. She was my first and best student. She knows what needs to be taught there and the best way to teach it." Mirage nodded as the doors opened and two other ponies walked inside.
The first was a Celestia sized pony with gray fur and a green mane that surrounded her entire head. The kirin leader smiled at them while the other kirin looked around and gave a giddy smirk.
"Hey there!" The cream creature exclaimed, her red mane fluttering as she rushed forward and excitedly shook Twilight's hoof. "It's so nice to meet you!" She shook Flash, then Springer's paw. "Well, we've technically met before but we were kind of in the middle of something there. Now we get to really introduce ourselves and it's awesome!"
"Calm yourself, Autumn." Rain Shine slowly said, "We don't want you accidentally flaming up and ruining this hotel."
"Oh, sorry." Autumn Blaze giggled, pulling her hoof back while the others just smiled.
"Don't worry about it," Flash assured her, "We've taken precautions. The entire hotel's been specially enchanted so the place can't catch fire. But please don't take that as a challenge."
Everyone laughed at this as more and more members of the U.F.C delegation arrived. Outside, the pony press were trying to get pictures of the delegates as the guards pushed them back. But as this happened, amongst the group was a lone pony wearing a black hooded shirt. Their coat was pure white and when they looked through the hood, their bright red eyes stared at the building.
"You sure he said Overthrow?" Cold asked, the pair making their way to the throne room.
"That's what he said," Iron nodded, "It's possible he's talking about something else, but two groups sharing the same ominous name is a bit of a stretch."
"True." Cold grumbled as they opened a pair of doors, only to see Cobalt along with an older earth pony. He turned to the Royal Knights, the two looking him over and seeing a dark green pony with mud colored hair and a saddlebag over his back.
"Halberd?" the Frozen Wanderer asked, "What are you doing here?"
"You know him?" Iron chimed in.
"He was part of the Royal Guards back when I was still in training. He left not long after I became a knight...and after I saved him and a few more guards during a mission they were on."
"Yes," Halberd chuckled, "I remember that mission. We were simply supposed to arrest some criminals, but had somehow gotten their hands on a legendary relic. That relic was said to grant the wielder incredible power, which would have made him completely unstoppable if he used it."
"Yes," Cold nodded. "Luckily, the relic had lost all its magical power and he couldn't use it. Without it, he didn't stand a chance against me."
Halberd nodded back. "After that, I decided I was too old for the guards and retired. And I'm guessing the relic was placed in the Canterlot Castle vault." Cold nodded again, "Good. There shouldn't be any danger with it in there. But that's not why I'm here. I need to speak with Princess Twilight about an urgent matter."
"You said it had something to do with a group."
"Indeed," Halberd sighed, "A few days ago, a group of ponies came to my door. They were a part of this group that called themselves the Crown Crushers."
"I thought they were called Overthrow?" Iron asked.
"The organization is called Overthrow," Halberd replied, "But the members of it are called the Crown Crushers. So named because they wish to overthrow the current state and crush those currently wearing the crown of Equestria. Twilight Sparkle is in danger."
"And they came to you?" Cold asked, "Why?"
"I think they intend to contact anypony who's ever been part of the military. Retired ponies and washouts from the core." Cold and Iron grimaced at this, only for Halberd to add, "They told me the time of the monarchy should have ended when Celestia and Luna stepped down. That it was time for Equestria to be ruled by those that actually protect it."
"Have they not been paying attention?" Iron asked, "Twilight has been protecting the kingdom. That's why she was chosen to be the next ruler!"
"That's what I told them," Halberd responded, "When they realized I wouldn't be joining them, they told me I'd regret it once the kingdom was under their command. After that, they left and I came straight here."
"Thank you," Cold nodded. "You've confirmed the rumours we've heard about.
"Twilight needs to be made aware of this," Iron added, "If they're only recruiting members, they're not ready to wage an assault. We can counter them before they cause any problems."
"Twilight should be back from the conference tomorrow," Cold continued, "But if she's not, I'll head to Manehatten and inform her."
"Manehatten?" Halberd asked, "So that's where the princess is. I was wondering."
"Would you be okay staying here?" Iron replied. "Twilight will want to hear about your meeting with them."
"Of course," Halberd nodded, "But I don't suppose I could be given a place to rest up. Getting here at my age wasn't easy."
The two nodded and Iron turned to Cobalt. "Show him to one of the guest quarters." Cobalt nodded back and gestured for Halberd to follow, the two leaving as Iron and Cold turned to one another. "Overthrow. Crown Crushers. Everything's been peaceful for almost a year, and now...now this happens."
Iron shook his head, "Twilight and the others risked everything to make sure Equestria was safe. We can't let their efforts be in vain. No matter what. We have to stop this group before they cause serious problems."
"Agreed. Let's hope we're not too late."
As Cobalt and Halberd made their way to the guest quarters, Halberd glanced around, "This place has certainly changed a lot since I was last here. But I guess given how many times the castle was invaded and destroyed, it makes sense that they would rebuild it differently." Cobalt nodded as Halberd raised an eyebrow. "Cold said he'd go to Manehatten and inform the princess. But how in Equestria would he get there so quickly?"
"Probably with the Rune Gate," Cobalt replied, "It's the fastest way to travel to any spot in Equestria."
"Rune Gate?" Halberd slightly gasped, "I heard of that, but never got the chance to see one. Is there one in the castle?" Cobalt nodded. "Don't suppose I could see it, could it? One guard to another, do me a favor."
Cobalt glanced back at him, only to do a slow nod. "Alright. It's not too far." They changed course and were soon at the gate. Two unicorn guards stood in front of the door, leading to the room in question.
"That room leads to the Rune Gate?" Halberd asked, Cobalt nodding. "Good." As he said that, a big grin appeared on his face before he reached into his saddlebag. Cobalt turned to him, only to see the older pony pull out some kind of deodorant can. The next thing he knew, the can was unleashing a white mist that struck both him and the soldiers guarding it.
"What?!" Cobalt yelped, coughing as the mist filled his lungs. "What are you doing?" Then he heard a clanging sound, making him glance back and see the guard's spears had fallen to the ground.
"My magic!" One of them cried, "It won't activate!" Cobalt then grunted as he tried to activate his own magic, but his horn wouldn't even spark.
"What did you-" He turned back to Halberd, only for a hoof to slam into his face. As Cobalt fell to the ground, the other two guards reached for their spears, only for Halberd to close the gap between them and deal a swift kick to each. The pair were sent staggering back as Halberd kicked the door open to the Rune Gate. He then reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a metal disk with several runes carved into it, which he threw at the stone platform. When it landed, the runes on the disk glowed and caused the Rune Gate to power up. A second later, a new portal formed and ponies began walking out of it.
Cobalt glanced up at this, only to see a bunch of armored ponies wearing helmets walking out of the portal. He then turned to Halberd. "Why?"
Halberd shined the biggest grin at this, "Because it's time for a new regime to begin." With that, he thrust his hoof into the stallion's face.
Iron and Cold were heading back to the training ground, wanting to make sure the guards were ready for when they went out to take this group down. But as they made their way through the castle, they heard a bunch of heavy hoof-steps marching through the corridors. "What's the-" Iron commented, "The patrols aren't scheduled to start yet."
As he said that, screams from the servants filled the air and the pair quickly took out their weapons. Iron pulled his spear off his back while Cold formed an ice sword. More screams echoed through the castle at this, the pair turning a corner to see the maids running toward them, followed by a bunch of soldiers. And when the soldiers spotted them, they stopped and raised their weapons. The ones at the front were positioned so the pair could see their flanks, letting them get a good look at the marks on them.
"Overthrow?!" Iron asked, "How did you get in here?!"
The soldiers then moved aside as two ponies stepped forward. One was a soldier like the others, only he wasn't wearing a mask and had long white hair covering one side of his face. But the other was the true shock.
"Halberd?!" Cold gasped, then growled. "You helped them come here?!"
"I apologize for the deception, but I had to gain access to your Rune Gate." As he said that, cries filled the air. Yells of battle going on as ponies seemed to be fighting. "At this moment, our forces are overrunning your defences. Soon, all of Canterlot Castle will be ours to command."
"Don't underestimate the guards in this castle," Iron growled, "They were trained by one of the best Royal Knights Equestria has to offer."
"Maybe." The other pony stepped up, "But against the Phantom Magic, they don't stand a chance."
"Phantom Magic?" Iron and Cold replied in unison before sharing a glance, only for both to shake their heads before looking back at them. "Doesn't matter what tricks you have, you've made a serious mistake invading this castle. This is your only warning. Surrender, or I take you down."
The pony laughed as he looked up at Iron, his one uncovered eye glowing as he stared him down. "You really think you can beat me? I know everything you know about fighting. After all, I was trained in the same manner as you. And with my powers, I have the edge over you."
"What are you talking about?" Cold asked, "You have the same training? Why would...you were a Royal Guard."
The guard nodded before reaching up to the hair covering his face. "And I gave everything to protect Equestria. Mind, soul...and body." He moved the hair and revealed the other side of his face, which was badly burned, scarred and disfigured.
The pair grimaced at this, only to quickly shake their heads again. "I'm sorry for the pain you obviously went through," Cold replied, "But we will not give Canterlot Castle to you." Iron nodded before he started charging, several Overthrow soldiers rushing forward to do the same thing.
But as they got close to the knight, Iron easily disarmed them with a series of spear swipes before kicking them away. Halberd and the other pony moved back at this as the Overthrow ponies kept charging, some getting past before finding themselves fighting Cold. The knight smacked them back, his ice magic pushing them away, only for more to keep charging in. And as the pair fought through the army, they found that the ponies had been well trained, Iron seeing that they had better endurance than most. Iron wasn't sure if the rest of the guards could stand up to them, the knight yelling, "We need to tell Twilight about this!"
He then unleashed several iron shards at this, only for the group to dodge and deflect them all. The sight made him almost flinch, only for Cold to add, "I've got a jar of Spike's dragon fire in my office. I can send a message to them." Iron nodded, as some more soldiers charged, Iron slamming his spear into the ground and causing a bunch of metal spikes to fly out, knocking some of them back.
"GO!" Iron yelled as he spun around and kicked two of the ponies, slamming into more. Cold nodded and teleported away, reappearing two floors up as he ran to his office, only to hear fighting. He turned to see a bunch of guards fighting some more soldiers. And as they fought, the soldiers suddenly raised their hooves and unleashed a bunch of white mist. The mist filled the corridor and quickly consumed the guards. As it did, the unicorns found their weapons falling to the ground and the pegasi found their wings were suddenly not working. The earth ponies found they couldn't carry the heavy armor they were carrying, making them all vulnerable.
Cold watched in shock as the guards Flash had worked hard to train were taken out easily. "Was that this Phantom Magic he was talking about?" He whispered before rushing to his office. Quickly grabbing a scroll and quill, he hurriedly wrote a message to Twilight before moving it to a jar containing an eternally glowing green flame.
The door suddenly burst open as Cold placed the scroll inside the flame. Soldiers rushed in and Cold unleashed a blast of ice, trying to form a wall between him and the attackers, but the soldiers raised their hooves and unleashed the white smoke, which melted through the ice and soon struck Cold.
"Augh!" He cried as the last of the scroll burned up. Moments later, the smoke flew into the jar and doused the flames. The soldiers charged in at this, Cold trying to spark his horn, only for nothing to come out. As such, he started fighting hoof to hoof, but the unicorns now starting firing beams at the knight.
"Gyah!" One struck him, only to get hit again and again. He fell over at this, the soldiers beginning to dog-pile on him and tie him up. "No..." he grunted as he tried to summon his magic again, but nothing happened. "What...is going on?!" he growled before a hoof slammed into his face.
Iron was now running through the castle, knowing that Cold had likely sent the message by now, so chose to try and get out. There were just too many of them to fight on his own, especially when he came across a bunch of guards that had been knocked unconscious. But as he arrived at the stairs leading to the exit, he saw Halberd and the other pony waiting for him. "Going somewhere?" Halberd asked as Iron glared at him.
"I'm leaving," Iron hissed, "And I'm taking you down on my way out!" His spear transformed into a sword as he charged just as Halberd reached into his bag and took out a spray can. And as Iron got close, he unleashed the mist, which completely covered Iron, "Augh!" Iron suddenly felt his strength waning. "What is this?!"
"This is just one of the powers of the Phantom Magic," the unicorn laughed, "To create a mist that de-powers anything magical that comes in contact with it." The smoke faded and Iron staggered back, his Celestic Gear becoming completely inactive.
"Iron Lance Fury!" Nothing happened as he held it up. "Armorize!" But still, there was no response. "No way."
"Yes way," the unicorn cackled, "What will you do now that you don't have the magic of your Celestic Gear or Earth Pony strength?" Iron glared at him and charged, but his spear felt way heavier than it usually was. And as he tried to slash at the unicorn, he and Halberd side-stepped with Iron staggering toward the edge of the stairs. "Pathetic." The unicorn's horn then unleashed a blast of magic, that struck Iron in the chest.
"GYAH!" Iron was sent flying, the pony crashing down the stairs with his spear flying off to the side. The following pain brought Iron to the edge of consciousness as he landed at the base, several soldiers marching in while dragging a tied up Cold. Iron groaned as he fought to keep himself awake as Halberd and the unicorn stepped down the stairs, both smiling as Iron growled, "Who are you?"
"My name is Mould Breaker," he replied, "And I'm the one who's going to lead Equestria into a future. A future where the military will always be ready to destroy any threat that comes our way. Where we won't have to rely on such fragile concepts like friendship to fight against evil."
"You...you won't get away with this. Twilight and the other Royal Knights will stop you."
"They'll try," Breaker hissed, "But I've already sent troops to deal with them and gather what I need. Soon, my reach will spread all throughout Equestria. And there's nothing you can do to stop it." And with that, Iron was hit in the face, knocking him out as Halberd started giving orders.
Manehatten...
The delegates had all gathered and were about to start their meeting. "I'm glad you could all come," Twilight commented, "Today's meeting is to discuss the details involving the Kirin joining the U.F.C and adding to our combined strength." The other delegates turned to Rain Shine, who smiled back as Twilight nodded. "Now, we've got a lot to discuss before-" She stopped when Spike suddenly started gagging. They all turned to the dragon as he suddenly burped and unleashed a blast of green fire. From that fire, a scroll appeared, and Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"That can't be good," Flash muttered, "Everypony who can send a message that way knows you're in an important meeting." Spike grabbed the scroll and started reading, his eyes going wide as he turned to Twilight.
"Canterlot's being attacked." Twilight gasped and rushed over to grab the scroll, reading through it as fast as she could.
But as she did this, a sudden banging noise made everyone turn to the room's main doors, now seeing them broken down, caused by a pair of guards being thrown through them. Flash zipped over, Springer doing the same as the guards slid along the ground and stopped right in front of them. "What happened?" Flash's question was met when a bleach white pegasus pony marched into the room. He took off his hood and smiled at them, Flash drawing Lightbringer and pointing it at the pegasus. "Who are you?"
The figure said nothing, Twilight stepping forward. "Are you part of Overthrow?" The pegasus just smiled, Twilight glaring at the pony, "You attacked Canterlot."
"The monarchy must come to an end," the pegasus replied, "The right to rule should belong to those that worked to earn that right, through grueling training and physical sacrifice."
"Have you been living under a rock?" Flash barked back, "Twilight did all those things! Now surrender, or else." The pegasus got into a fighting stance in response, "Fine. You asked for this!" He and Springer charged, but the pegasus raised his hooves and unleashed a blast of mist.
The pair flew through it before they knew what was happening and stopped on the other side as Lightbringer stopped glowing and Springer's Steel Paws returned to his spikes. "What the?" He tried to form an Aura Blast, but nothing happened.
Flash tried to summon his sword's power, but it didn't even flicker. "Armorize!" But nothing happened, "My power...what the-"
"Why you!" Springer roared as he ran up to try and punch the pegasus, but the bleached pony dodged the jab and grabbed him by the wrist before suddenly throwing Springer across the room, shocking everyone. The others got angry at this, Mirage more than anyone. She leapt forward, creating a bunch of Aura Mirages. But the pegasus unleashed a blast of mist that struck them all and caused the fakes to vanish.
"What?" She yelped before the pegasus slammed his hoof into her stomach. "Augh!" He then kicked her into Flash, the pegasi now noticing his wings weren't working. As such, the pair were knocked to the floor. The pegasus then saw Twilight was about to blast him with magic, so reached into his pocket and took something out.
As Twilight fired, he held up a crystal that blocked the beam, the alicorn now seeing her magic get sucked into the crystal, the gem glowing once it was full before the pegasus leapt into the air. He then thrust his hoof out and unleashed the white smoke which filled the room and infected everyone inside. Twilight found her magic disappearing, Spike's doing the same while Rain Shine couldn't transform into a nirik. "What have you done to us?" The pegasus said nothing, and when the smoke faded, the pony flew out of the room and made for the exit.
"Hey!" Flash ran after him, his wings still refusing to work. And as he reached the exit, Flash came to a stop when he got out as he saw guards littered all over the place. "What is going on?"
Lightning and his friends all had big smiles on their faces when they learned Ponyville was the next stop. Lightning considered not going straight home, the idea of going to Canterlot and seeing Rarity making him smirk. However, as the train turned a corner, Lightning saw something that made that idea fly out the window. "Is that smoke?" Wild asked as the four saw a bunch of black clouds rising from behind some trees.
The four friends got up and headed for the door at this, soon outside the train as they used their magic to teleport up to the roof to get a better view. "I'm teleporting there," Lightning commented, the others grabbing onto his cloak, the unicorn seeing the look on their faces and realizing they had no intention of letting him go alone. "Hang on!" He teleported to the marker he had placed at Carousel Boutique.
In a flash, the four appeared in the town, only to gasp as they saw that the town was mostly untouched, though the smoke was coming from the center. Quickly running over, they saw the first pony laying on the ground. "Rainbow!" Gorgenia cried as she ran over to the pegasus. The mare let out a moan as she was rolled onto her back, as more yells filled the air.
They looked ahead and saw Grand, Applejack and even Big Mac fighting against a trio of unicorn and earth pony soldiers. Scattered around them were other ponies, like Rogue, Starlight and Trixie. Grand swung his hammer at this, but the soldier dodged it before firing a blast of magic. Grand leapt to the side, but was quickly tackled by an earth pony and sent flying. At the same time, another unicorn picked Applejack and Mac up in his magic before throwing them both into the side of a building. The pair smashed into the wall and crashed through it, screaming as they were buried under the rubble.
This just left Grand, who picked himself up as his hammer had been thrown out of reach. The unicorns all charged up a blast and fired at him, but Lightning had seen enough. In a flash, he teleported over to Grand and summoned a shield to block the attack.
"Lightning?" Grand yelped as Script, Gorgenia and Wild appeared beside him a second later.
"Are you alright?" Script asked, Grand nodding as the shield vanished.
The four stared at the invaders, rage flowing through them as Lightning growled, "You've got a lot of nerve, attacking my home." Lightning took out a pair of daggers and charged them with energy as the other four prepared to attack as well.
"Be careful!" Grand yelled, "They-" But he couldn't finish as the soldiers unleashed a blast of white mist that surrounded the four. "NO!"
But as Grand screamed that, he went wide-eyed as he saw a bolt of lightning explode out of the cloud. It struck an earth pony and blasted him back, shocking everypony as the mist faded. Lightning charged at this, his daggers still floating around him as he fired them at the soldiers, who all barely managed to block them with their weapons.
"What?!" One asked, "How are you using magic?!"
"I'm a unicorn," Lightning deadpanned, "It's kind of what we do. Gatling Spark!" Multiple lightning bullets flew out of his horn, the ponies gasping as they all scattered to dodge the attack. But as they did this, flying puppets suddenly flew down and smacked them, the puppets laughing causing the soldiers to lose focus as Gorgenia fired at them with her horn. They dodged this as well, but the blasts caused crystals to fly out of the ground, pushing them back. Script then took some paper out of his saddlebag and in a flash, runes appeared on them before he threw the paper at the soldiers.
The ponies all began to backpedal at this, the paper then reaching them before exploding, knocking them all back. "This is impossible!" An earth pony cried, "Are they immune to the Phantom Magic?!"
Lightning and his friends stood in a line, looking ready to finish these ponies off as one of the unicorns stood up. "Mould Breaker needs to be made aware of this!"
"Mould Breaker?" Grand whispered.
"We're leaving!" the ponies grouped up as the unicorns summoned their magic.
"Oh no you don't!" Lightning charged, but they all vanished in a flash of light. "NO!"
Script and the others began to help those that were either knocked out or injured in the attack, Wild freeing the Apple siblings from the destroyed building whilse Script started creating runes that would negate any pain they might be in. As they did, the rest of the town's folk came out of hiding. This included Fluttershy, the animal lover having shrunk down to avoid drawing attention to herself. But now, she was back to her normal height. "Are you all okay?" She asked, seeing Rainbow looking badly banged up and Applejack's head bleeding.
"I'll be better when I get some payback on those jerks!" Rainbow growled before looking back at her wings, "What did they do to us?"
"What do you mean?" Lightning asked as Grand turned to him.
"That white smoke they sprayed you with," he responded, "They sprayed all of us with it too. And when they did, our magic stopped working. My Earth Pony strength is gone and Celestic Gear isn't responding."
"So's our magic," Trixie added.
"And my wings aren't working," Rainbow complained. "They blasted me with that stuff and the next thing I know, I'm falling out of the sky!"
Grand nodded as he turned to the four, "But why wasn't your magic affected?" The four shared a glance, only to shrug, "Whatever the reason, we're gonna need to find a way to reverse whatever they did to us. If they come back, I don't think they'll be alone."
"They said they were going to tell somepony about us," Gorgenia continued, "Mould Breaker?" Lightning noticed Grand's frown.
"Do you know who that is?" Everypony else turned to Grand, the pony's frown growing.
"There was a pony who went by that name in the guard, but he left a long time ago. He was one of the best guards I ever trained. I actually expected him to one day be Royal Knight material, but then he was injured in the line of duty. A unicorn criminal with fire magic was on the run and Breaker was injured attempting to capture him. He spent months recovering, but was badly scarred and chose to leave the guard after that. I haven't heard of him since."
Everypony frowned at this, wondering if this Mould Breaker and the one Grand talked about were the same pony. If they were, there was no telling how much trouble they could be in, or how big this threat could truly be.
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Wow! I didn’t expect Overthrow being a bunch of former Royal Guards who are either retired or washouts… that's a good twist.
Considered how Royal Guards tend to get their ass whooped by villains and not being taken seriously, it's understandable why they would turn to evil… though, their reasons are not good.
Here's highlights
Why would Halberd be asking about Rune Gate? I knows he probably want to check it out but-
YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!!
OH HELL NO!!!! YOU TRAITOROUS ASSHOLE!!!! YOU WILL GET PAY FOR THIS!!!!!
Yeah! I knew that hot spring would come in handy! Take them out, Lightning!
Grand can't really take a break? First, he have a best friend who let his obsession over Cutie Mark get to him and almost blew up Canterlot, then, his son becomes a megalomaniac who creates a weapon that would put Equestria in danger and now, his former student wanted to take Twilight out so he could be the ruler of Equestria.
Poor Grand.
So, this group is called Overthrow and the members are called Crown Crushers. Their goal of wanting the guards to be the actual rulers of Equestria, since they are the ones facing the threats, basically sounds like they are just trying to make it a military dictatorship.
I know that the Royal Guards tend to get a lot of flak for their extremely poor track record in the series, but the idea of a villainous group of former guards that have retired or washed out is interesting. You can taste the irony that these guards are more competent as villains than they were when they were actually doing their jobs. Plus, whatever that weird mist is it is able to negate any powers it comes into contact with. It's not exclusively negating magic, because it is even depowering the Jakhowls. That's scary.
For whatever reason, Lightning and his friends are all immune to it. If I had to guess, it would probably have something to do with that hot spring and whatever made them all sick afterwards. But whatever reason, the fact that they are immune means they are the one best suited for stopping Overthrow and taking Mould Breaker down.
That's cute. Rarity reflecting on her relationship with Lightning Blitz. They are perhaps the most surprising and unlikely couples you would have suspected to get together when this series started, yet they became one of the best. I think it's cute that even Rarity is just waiting and hoping Lightning will propose to her soon. I wonder what she would think if she found out the reason he is hesitant to do so though, due to worrying for her safety?
Oh yeah, Flash and Twilight's wedding (whenever it will be) will definitely be the wedding of the century, maybe even the millennium. Though I also have to admit Rarity has a point about how embarrassing it will be if she gets married after Applejack, considering AJ got in a relationship last out of the group.
Wow! This chapter was really intense, I don’t even know what to expect in the next chapter.
Highlights below:
Really, nothing? Not even a little time traveling?
You accidentally wrote “asked” instead of “ask”.
Hey Sassy good to see that you made it into the series. Also Rarity how do you feel about opening a boutique in Yakyakistan?
You won’t have to wait much longer Rarity
I always thought that Twilight and Flash would be the next to get married.
Good to see that Flash is whipping everyone into shape.
Hey Cobalt, good to see you again.
Good to see you again Springer. Also I wonder if the Student Six will get their own story?
Yay, we get more Kirins
Uh oh
I wonder if that means they’re gonna contact Lightning Blitz and the Washouts?
I don’t trust this, something’s up
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Ok I need to know this guys backstory now!
DONT SAY YOUR PLANS WHEN THE VILLIANS ARE LITERALLY RIGHT NEXT TO YOU!
Ok, he was able to send a letter good
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Canterlot has fallen!!
They’re immune!?
Thank you magic hot spring!
So that explains the “Two Face” look
Can’t wait to see what happens next week
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He’s basically an evil version of Zuko
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Plus Dragons, Changelings, and what other creatures are there
At least she wants to be married to so he wont have to worry about her answer just has to ask
Yeah, I had a bad feeling about Halberd the moment he asked that.
The hot spring those four bathed in made them immune, didn't it?
How did they not realize that? 