The Atlantean-Dominion War

by The Atlantean

19. Attempt on Mirage

Crimson, Platinum, Southern Lights, Pseudonym, and Mirage all sat around a circular table, chatting about the modern world. The three soldiers described their home in great detail, from the color of the lighthouse to the width of the roads. Mirage was fascinated by the peacefulness their stories and descriptions gave her to picture.

“Summercrest sounds like quite the town to visit. I should go sometime.” she said.

“My home serves as the VIP guest house. You’d be welcome anytime.” Crimson smiled.

Platinum was about to say something when his ears perked up. “You guys hear that? Hoofsteps.”

“I hear it, too.” South was out of his chair, holding his repeater close with his magic. “Armored. I think they’re tired, as if they just dug out a ton of rock.”

“What makes you say that there’s more than one?” Mirage asked.

“It’s not hard.” South looked incredulously at the Princess. He then turned back to his job: protecting her. “If I fire a round, get out the back way. I’ll follow as quick as I can, if I can.” He opened the door a crack, walking down the dimly lit corridor. He almost didn’t even see the four black-armored Dominion Elites staring back at him.

“HOLY SHIT!” South yelled, shooting a single bullet into the group and turning around. He raced for the door and swung it shut, pulling the lock down into position.

Crimson and Platinum were already out the other way, covering both sides while Mirage and Pseudonym followed. The gunshot was echoing throughout the entire base, dissipating slowly. The Changeling Princess had a look of pure terror on her face as she bolted just behind the Atlanteans.

One of the ponies from the 4th Midlands walked out of his room to see the four run past him, followed by South, who went backwards. “What the hay’s going on?” he yelled.

“A squad of Doms just came outta fucking nowhere, that’s what!” Southern Lights yelled back. “Get the others up; they might be after our leaders!”

The Midlands colt just blinked. Then another gunshot rang out, from a Dominion gun this time, and he ducked. The initial surprise wore off after a few seconds. But it was a few seconds too late, as the Dominion Elite shot him in the side of his head. He fell over instantly, his blood splattering on the rocky floor.

South fired a single round into the squad. He was lucky enough to hit one. The Dom faceplanted and nearly tripped the one next to him as he fell. The other three dodged and moved on, slowly gaining on the tiring Atlanteans and Changelings.

Mirage rounded a corner, leaping over a magical net cast in her direction. Pseudonym climbed the wall and leaped down, racing to keep up. Crimson, Platinum, and South skidded into the wall and sprinted after a brief recovery. They continued taking wild shots at their pursuers, but missed every time. The Doms missed as well because of their subtle zigzag running pattern. One near miss went right through a hole in Mirage’s left hind leg.

South dove into a crevice at the side of the hall. He watched as his pursuers past him, waited a second, and stepped back into the hall. He stared down the sight, pinpointing his target, and pulled the trigger. The Dominion pony instantly fell as blood oozed from a little hole in the back of his head. The remaining two turned around to face this “new” threat. Crimson and Platinum took that chance to put bullets in their heads, killing them.

“Damn, South. I didn’t think about that.” Platinum said, walking to the three dead soldiers.

“Yeah,” Crimson commented. “Princess, it’s safe!” he called to the shivering Changeling. She walked shakily to the growing pool of blood.

“It was nothin’,” South said. “I just saw an opportunity and took it. After all, this dark hallway would’ve kept them from seeing me do it.”

“Let’s get to the Colonel,” Crimson said. Then he saw the group of ponies approaching, clad in Atlantean uniforms. “Or we can wait. She’s coming to us.”

Silvercrest eyed the dead Dominion ponies. “Good job.”

“South had the idea.” Platinum stated.

“That’s not what matters to me. What matters to me is the fact that you three kept our ally’s current leader from being killed or captured. Also, we found the hole they came through. It seems to go all the way to the hive.”

“We can retake our home!” Mirage brightened.

“I think we’re all planning on it.”

-------------------

A lone Changeling, tall and slender, limped to her hive’s evacuation rally point. Her weight painfully transferred to her broken right foreleg and her limp shifted back to the left. The crooked horn atop her spherical head had been snapped at about halfway and greenish blood still trickled out of it, getting in her green eyes. Her transparent green dragonfly wings were torn and folded along her scratched, cut, and bruised torso.

If Chrysalis were to come right now for a “state visit,” I’d be taken quickly - and, in effect, what’s left of the hive, she thought.

She’d long discarded all thought of reaching the Atlantean underground base dug from Mount Emberforge. The Dominion armies had surrounded it and were now shelling the place with explosives that went off upon impact with the ground. She could still see the smoke from here, four miles to the south. The haze from the fighting in the valley a few days ago had finally been carried away by the wind.

Turning to the north, she watched the bright flashes light up the early-evening sky. Response flashes came from the mountain and a deep rumble drifted down from the constant cannon fire. She turned back south and trudged on.

The established evacuation rally point was still a few miles farther. She stopped walking to lie down on the ground, curling up with a flower bed around her.

She woke early the next morning to a much louder rumble than before. The guns hadn’t been moved; that much was obvious. If they had, somepony would’ve caught her by now. Instead, something was probably going by somewhere above her.

She looked up. A massive wooden-hulled vessel had approached during the night and was circling Mount Emberforge. The Dominion colors flew behind it, waving in the wind. The Changeling dropped down, staring up at the thing. It was enormous! The thing had to be at least seventy meters long and not quite thirty across. The dirigible balloon it hung from was even bigger, casting a shadow that enveloped both the vessel and the ground far below. The vessel’s guns had been firing at Emberforge, and their proximity woke her.

Now that she was up, she began walking on, away from the battle, the chaos, and her lost hive. Her limp had worsened overnight; she’d slept on top of her broken leg without realizing it. She kept going, though, and reached her destination an hour later.

What’s this? Not one of my fellow Changelings made it out that day? She walked down the low hill and saw that somepony had indeed camped here. Then they’d left abruptly after a single night, heading towards Emberforge, back the way she came. A note, pinned on a tree, caught her attention. It read:

To whomever it may concern:
We are the Changelings of the Emberforge Valley Hive. Our hive was taken from us and we camped in this spot for that night. Afterwards, we left for Mount Emberforge, hoping that the Atlanteans within its base’s walls would help us reclaim our home. Our Queen Duplicate was captured by the Dominion of Apollo. Her daughter Princess Mirage is all we have left. With her guidance, we may just have a chance.
~Hive Guard Captain Pseudonym

The lone Changeling looked at the note, reading it again. It certainly was Pseudonym’s hoofwriting. Then she looked north, where the white smoke of cannon fire hung low and the Dominion dirigible circled. Queen Duplicate stood as straight as she could on a broken leg and started hobbling on her three working legs.

Don’t worry, my daughter, she thought. I’m coming for you.

Author's Note:

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