POV Rio
As soon as the last Griffon leaves through the portal, I store all the Gunships and almost forget to grab Loona and Moxxie. However, it was too late as the storm had already arrived. Which was a bit suspicious, as we should have had another 10-20 minutes. Either way, I ran towards Loona and Moxxie but froze as I started to hear something. It sounded like a voice. Deep and commanding. But it was coming from the clouds. As I am focused on that, I arrive above Loona and Moxxie and have to quickly cast a shield as a combination of hailstones and lightning strikes at them.
"You have to get out of here!" I scream at them.
They both look surprised, but before they can respond, I open a portal and shove them through. It was right on time, as the shield shattered and scorched the area they had just been in. Not long afterwards, the storm seems to pause as it senses the targets disappear, then I hear the voice of the storm more clearly.
"You have only delayed their demise, young wizard," the dark and commanding voice says threateningly.
I ignore it and start casting a spell.
"Let the light within me guide this spell. Send the shadows back where they came from. Let those who worship evils might fear my power, Beacon Of Light!" I can't before I cast a beam of pure light into the storm.
The beam pushes the storm back.
"You are a fool, young wizard. You have no power here! The age of Light is at an end, and the age of darkness is here. Now begone!" the voice says before a massive burst of evil magic surges, and my original body is thrown a dozen feet back from the backlash of my magic clone being destroyed during the magic duel.
Cait rushes over to me, but falls over when the entire palace shakes from an explosion. Quiet also stumbles but only slightly. Loona and Moxxie both faceplant from the unexpected blast.
"What the hell was that? And why did you go flyin' all the sudden?" Cait asked.
"I lost a magic duel, and it seems I might have underestimated the rebels. It seems they discovered gunpowder. Or perhaps someone gave them gunpowder; either way, that storm outside is made by an immensely powerful wizard. Likely the one behind this rebellion, or at least partially," I reply.
"Then it's time to fight," Quiet said firmly.
"Yes, my magic clones will handle any survivors of the loyalists coming to the palace. They should be able to identify any of the enemies as long as they became hostile to our allies. Everyone else to the palace entrance, we'll hold them there," I order.
Everyone starts running towards the palace entrance to the city. There were only 3 total entrances to and from the surface. The first was a secret entrance to the palace, which was fully blocked with Workshop creations. I only managed to do that thanks to speaking with Cadenza and getting permission to 'build some things'. I had to get permission to build anything on owned land, so this worked. Thankfully, this technically doesn't apply to public spaces, as they are labelled unowned. The second entrance was the Palace Entrance, which, as the name implies, is the only entrance connecting the palace and city directly. It was not fully blocked off, but had a metal window that was waiting for us to pull out the Heavy Repeating Blaster. The last entrance was the Main Entrance, which connected the surface to the city. It was built to prevent needing to go through the palace to get to the surface. It was also completely blocked off with massive stone walls thanks to the Workshop. The tunnel was labelled as public property, so I didn't need permission.
I had a magic clone waiting at both the secret and main entrances to prepare for any surviving loyalist guards. But based on what I could see, it was hard to say if any would survive. The royal guard was caught by surprise and ambushed by the traitors, but honestly, it was so chaotic that there was likely a lot of friendly fire on both sides, as they all wore the same armour and had a disguise spell that made them look even more identical. Combine that with it being a chaotic close-quarters melee, and you get a recipe for disaster.
I couldn't help them, as if I joined in that mess, I would have to kill the traitors, which would likely cause even more deaths. The best I could do was send in my magic clones when they started to retreat. How effective that would be is a bit suspect, as it all depends on whether General Iron Hide can organise a retreat.
It took over 30 minutes, but eventually the loyalists started to retreat. It almost turned into a rout, but General Iron Hide barely managed to organise them into some sense of structure. It was right at this time when they started to retreat that my clone appeared. I decided to have a little fun and to confuse the enemy at the same time.
POV General Iron Hide
I was exhausted, and despite the fear in my troops' eyes, I had to look tough. That wasn't hard when you had an arrow sticking out of your eye and were covered in the blood of the enemy. Even the damn traitors were scared to approach me. But I knew the chances of making it to the palace were nearly zero. But if we die, then I would die taking down as many traitors as I could, and even then I would use my corspe to block the tunnel.
Tap Tap Tap
A strangely loud tapping sound came from behind us, and I was scared that the enemy might have already taken the palace, but the enemy looked a bit surprised as well and even a little wary. I take a risk and look behind me, and what I see makes me very nervous. It was a creature I had never seen before. It looked like a Diamond Dog but without nearly as much hair. It was wearing a grey cloak and a very pointy hat, almost like the kind you would see ancient wizards wear. They had an incredibly long beard, which made us assume this creature was male.
"It seems you are in quite the pickle, General," says the voice, and for a moment, I feel confused, but the voice seemed friendly.
"I'm afraid you arrived too late stanger. We're about to retreat," I reply.
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to," says the voice in a strong voice.
I can't help but chuckle a little bit.
"Well then, you got a very unique sense of timing," I reply with a grim smile.
"Fall back to the palace. I will cover your retreat," the creature whispers to me.
A spell is cast, and a wave of light passes over us. A simple shield covers us, and I nod before signalling to retreat. The enemy starts to pursue us, but I see the wizard walk in front of them.
"Move aside, creature or else!" demands the enemy leader.
What happens next I will never forget. The wizard raises their staff and yells in a commanding voice.
"YOU! SHALL NOT! PASS!" the wizard yells, followed by a blast of force that emanates from the staff.
I could linger any longer and followed the rest of my troops back into the palace. But I do hear the roar of the enemy as they charge the wizard.
POV Rio
The magic clone lasts a decent amount of time, but eventually it is overwhelmed, and to be fair, it wasn't meant to destroy the enemy, only delay them long enough to allow for General Iron Hide to retreat. Speaking of the guard. The troops that retreated with her were heavily infiltrated with traitors. Which was the purpose of the spell my clone cast. It wasn't a shield but a spell that would harm enemies and heal allies. It made it so that enemies who tried to flee with the loyalists lost their lives or stamina on the trip to the palace. It would look like it was a natural cause of the injuries they suffered. Causing as little chaos as possible in the situation. Those who still made it even further would be afflicted with paralysis. Not the spell but the loss of limb function, which is often related to spinal injuries.
Once the General arrived with her troops, I started healing them as fast as I could. Thankfully, Stimpaks were the biggest lifesaver here, as even I could heal over 400 ponies at once. At least not do that and save all of them. The injuries were pretty bad, but arguably one of the worst was the General herself. She lived up to her name with an incredibly tough hide, but that just meant she took a lot of arrows and didn't go down. She had incredible luck as she was struck in the eye and somehow it missed her brain by mere centimetres. She had 4 other arrows lodged in her. One in her front left fetlock. One on her front right shoulder. One in her neck. And the most painful by the looks of it. One in her anus. Except it didn't go right in, but slightly to the side, causing a nasty wound and extension of the usual hole. It was without a doubt infected. Oh, and all the arrows she was shot with were poisoned.
"Honestly, I'm not sure how you are still alive. The poison is enough to kill a mare 3 times your size and is meant to cause paralysis and heart failure. It's almost scary how tough you are," I say to her as I heal her.
"My mama didn't raise a quitter. And dying is for quitters," General Iron Hide says with a joking tone.
"Must have been one hell of a mare," I reply.
"Hah, she was the previous leader of the Royal Knights. She scared the sh*t out of me! But she was a damn fine teacher and dam," General Iron Hide says with a smile.
"Sounds like it," I reply with a smile of my own.
"So doc, how's the damage report? Will I ever be able to sh*t properly again?" General Iron Hide asks.
"I swear. Yes, you'll be fine. You will be out of combat for at least a day, but otherwise you'll recover fine. As I am your doctor, I can notice certain things, so I will ask that you refrain from such activities for at least 3 weeks, otherwise it could reopen or cause some long-term damage," I reply quietly.
Despite speaking quietly, I hear a few snorts and stifled laughter. General Iron Hide blushes heavily and glares at everyone who makes a sound. The ponies all go deathly pale and have a look of eternal regret. Except one that seems to think it was a worthy sacrifice. And even quips at the blushing general.
"Ahh, it seems you did finally take the last step with that nice stallion, good for you, Hide. Also, I thought you said you never went for those backdoor shenanigans," a Major based on the rank on the armour says cheekily from nearby while staring right at the General.
"You breathe a word of this to anyone, and I will have you on latrine duty for 30 years. And you will be in charge of Noble Duty until you die of either annoyance or old age," General Iron Hide threatens openly to everyone in earshot.
They pin their ears to their heads, and they look horrified by the threat.
"I'm not sure what this Noble Duty is, but I ask you don't harm my patients until they are recovered," I reply to the General.
Everyone looks at me like I am their savior as the General grumbles but doesn't disagree with me.
Healing the remaining wounded wasn't too bad, but several had lost limbs and would be crippled for the rest of their lives. Or had other various injuries that will take much longer to heal. But eventually, that could all be solved with magic and technology with enough time. But basically, none of the guards were combat-capable for at least a day or more, but that was fine as the rebels were completely stalled at the gate.