The Thousand Year Change

by Darthvalgaav

First come the calm

Captain Starway looked out at the screen before her which showed the planet. It still amazed her to no end how…breathtaking the planet looked up close. From here she could better make out some of the details the surface had like the mountains which were tipped with snow or how the more forested areas had a different shade of green to them than the valleys. Starway felt like she could get lost in this beauty. And when Princess Luna rose the sun, its majesty brought tears to her eyes. Now more than ever it felt wrong that ponies like Equestrians were allowed all of this wonder.

As she continued to look out at the wondrous sight before her bridge crew were issuing various status reports. The first crew member to report said that all of the satellite crystals they had brought with them for Operation: Umbrella were in there proper placed forming a grid like pattern around the planet. The next informed her that their holding bays were at 85% occupancy, full of food and other provisions that they had taken from Equestria. As more ponies continued to talk, Starway could help but think that they were ready.

At least, for the most part. The only delay currently known came from Shining Armor and his shuttle. They had been moving from city to city all night in search of Princess Cadance with no positive results thus far.

‘At least this means she’s not in the capital.’ thought Starway to herself since Canterlot was the first place Shining Armor had scanned. ‘Now we don’t have to worry about pulling our punches.’

The sound of a door opening and closing behind her caused Starway to turn around. Seeing that it was Princess Luna dressed in her armor once again Starway started to bow but stopped halfway. To put it simply: Princess Luna looked drained. The parts of her coat that she could see seemed to have a sheen of sweat and seemed to be breathing as if she had just run a marathon around the moon without pause. To make matters worse, Starway could clearly see that her princess’ eyes were drooped from all the way across the room.

“P-Princess on bridge.” stammered Starway as she watched Luna move towards her. Each step the princess took seemed slow and a bit wobbly.

“At ease.” said Luna while trying to appear strong. However, once the ponies saw her they knew she was putting on a show for them.

“Princess, are you alright?” asked Starway as she moved over to Luna’s side as quickly as she could.

“I…will be fine.” admitted Luna while choosing her words carefully. “Raising and setting both the sun and moon was considerably draining. It will be several hours before I’m back to full strength.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t go planet side.” urged Starway. “In your current condition-”

“The sentiment is appreciated.” said Luna as she held up a hoof to silence the captain. “However, you are forgetting a few things. While I may not have my magic, my armor will more than make up for that inconvenience. Not only will it help me in battle, but two new functions have been added like an emergency teleportation system that will return me to Dome Zero should either it detect my life is in danger or I issue the command verbally. The other is our ace in the crater: the activation system for Operation: Umbrella. Only I have that so should I deem the war is not going in our favor then I shall activate it. What’s more, there will be three hundred of our fully armed soldiers coming with me.”

For a moment, the two ponies stared the other in the eye before Stareye blinked and looked away. Slowly she sighed in utter defeat.

“Shall I teleport you and the others into position then?” asked Stareye.

Princess Luna shook her head. “No Captain. Bring Crescent Hope close to the surface so that we may make a show of it.”

Starway’s mouth was agape at this. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see that all the other ponies in the room were expressing their shock in a lesser manner. Why would the princess ask them to do something like that? It wasn’t like they lacked the power or that it would tax their systems. The only thing it would do would waste their time.

“Princess, please help me to understand.” said Starway. “Why do this?”

A grim smile appeared on Luna’s tired face. “It is called ‘Shock and Awe’, Captain. We are going to make sure their army knows what they are up against. Remind them just how much more advanced our technology is compared to them. When they see Crescent Hope flying above them, dropping our troops off onto the ground, then the seeds of fear will be planted. And then they will lose hope.”

-x-

Poisoned Apple looked at the sign above her with all four of her legs trembling. Everything else around her was so serene. There was the early morning sun which created a light mist across the open fields behind them. Before her were dozens, if not hundreds, apple trees that were just waiting to be bucked while the sweet scent of their blossoms filled her nose. All of these things brought back happy yet painful memories of her life when she lived with her grandparents, almost bringing tears to her eyes. This wasn’t the first time she had seen this place, the last time being up in the sky when she and the rest of her colony were making their way into the Everfree Forest. At the time there had been a slight pain in her heart and a fearful idea as to who these fields belonged to. But now, her fears were confirmed by the sign that said Sweet Apple Acres in big friendly letters.

“There’s no need to be afraid. I’ve met with them before.”

Poisoned Apple turned to look at Cadance who had been the one speaking to her. On her back was Midnight who was looking around in abject wonder of everything around her. To her right was Ruby, while flanking her left was Lone Wolf. Behind Cadance was the remainder of her guards as well as Darkwing. Each of the adults, including Poisoned Apple, carried one of the circular stones that had been given to Midnight as they followed Cadance to their destination.

The stones had caused a bit of a problem for them. Under normal circumstances they all could have flown out of the forest and been here in less than an hour. However due to the weight of the stones, and Cadance’s fatigue from staying up for so long wouldn’t allow her to levitate them, forced them to make the trek on hoof. At the time, Poisoned had complained about the amount time they were wasting saying that they could have just left the dumb rocks back at the old castle and just come back for them. Now, however, she was wishing that the trip had taken even longer.

“Ah’m not yellow.” said Poisoned. “Ah’m just…surprised. Not seen hide nor hair of any of mah kin before now. Don’t got no idea how they’ll react ta me.”

“Well, we’re all here for you.” Cadance said while stifling a yawn. The pink princess of love had been awake ever since she had left Appleloosa. From flying from the desert to Ponyville, talking to the bat ponies, her encounter with Jackal, and now the long walk here had naturally left her exhausted. It was only thanks to the endurance from both her earth pony and pegasus parts that kept her going. “I’m sure they’ll not only be willing to help your colony but welcome you with open hooves.”

“If that were true then Gran and Gramps wouldn’t of hide me.” muttered Poisoned under her breath as the party made their way to the farm house.

Luckily for them, the house and barn weren’t too much farther away. Soon they were nearing the barn when Cadance noticed something that caused her to pause. The barn door was open. Not all the way, but just enough so that a pony could get in. Eyeing this detail Cadance looked at the door, then the house, and then back at the barn.

‘Somepony could be in there.’ thought Cadance. ‘Or somepony left it open from last night. Regardless, it wouldn’t hurt to check. And, if somepony is in there like Applejack, then I’m sure the bat ponies would prefer to talk to her out in the open than an enclosed area.’ This wasn’t a particularly pleasant thought for Cadance. She would have liked to go into the cozy, down to earth environment that she was sure that the Apple family would have inside their home. However, she had to take into account the pasts of the bat ponies following her. Being in an unfamiliar place like this might make them…nervous to say the least.

So with that in mind, Cadance adjusted her course so that it would take them to the barn. The rest of the bat ponies followed her without question. On her back, she felt Midnight moving around. When she turned her head to see what was going on a smile appeared on her face. A large butterfly was moving around Midnight whom was reaching out a hoof in the hope that it would perch on it.

As they got closer to the barn everypony became aware of several things. First was there were faint noises coming from the barn, as if a pony (possibly two) were struggling with something. There was even a slight odor in the air that caused several of the ponies to stop and sniff. Whatever it was, it wasn’t manure.

Cadance slowly moved towards the door, but Ruby moved in front of her in order to stop her princess. She pointed Cadance with her hoof and then at the ground, indicating that she wanted the princess to remain where she was. Ruby then pointed to herself before pointed at the door. Cadance caught on quickly that Ruby was telling her that she would check things out in case there was trouble. With some hesitation Cadance nodded.

Ruby crouched low to the ground. Or at least as low as she could in her armor. She knew from personal experience that this was the best way to peek into a room without being seen. Slowly she crawled over to the open door to peek in. What she saw caused her face to glow bright red before jumping into the air. As soon as she landed again, Ruby shut the door quickly, then stood upright and putting her back to the door, Ruby spread her forelegs and wings wide across, covering as much of the door as she could, the bat pony mare leaned hard against it.

“Ruby, what’s going on?” asked Cadance with a raised eyebrow.

“N-Nothing that we s-should interrupt,” stammered Ruby while shaking her head back and forth, waving Cadance and the others to stay back while blocking the door. “B-Besides, I think they’ll b-be d-d-done soon.”

-x-

“One more push.” cried Scootaloo right before she slammed her shoulder into the air vent cover. Said cover went flying off, landing on the floor to create a loud clanking sound. Moments later, eight small hooves landed besides it.

Scootaloo found it odd that it was so easy to get around the castle through the air duct system. From everything she had learned about the Lunar Republic, they were super secure in almost every way possible. There was scanning devices at the doorways leading into the more secure areas of the castle. Technology that could redirect teleportation spells. Guards with stuff that the young filly would freely admit that she had no idea what they did but at least looked super important. Yet there was nothing in the air ducts. Not even a trip wire. Her best guess for why that was would have to be that they were too small for anypony that might be considered a threat. Only ponies her size could get in there and there was still some minor difficulty to move around. Perhaps the Lunar ponies thought it would be a waste to put security in there since so few could get in there.

Hopefully nopony had invented a particle that could alter the size of their molecules or something to that effect. An army of Ant-Mares? That would be chaos.

Regardless, the young filly was thankful for the lack of security. It had made searching for Twilight much easier. Each time the duo passed by a lit air duct cover they would slow down so that they would not be heard and gaze into the room. So far every room they had seen had at least one pony in it. The first series of rooms mostly had nurses making sure everything was taken care of in the rooms or going over inventory. After a while, the two began to see various scientists. Some seemed to be engrossed in their research while others had the ponies arguing over various topic. One even had two ponies bickering on what to call their latest weapon: the Sunshine Smile Gun or the Orbital Friendship Cannon. While this was amusing to say the least, Twilight hadn’t been in any of these rooms nor did the two fillies hear anypony talking about her.

Finally the two found a dark room with seemingly nopony in it. Scootaloo had whispered to Dinky that they should check it out in the hopes that Twilight was tied up in there or something. Dinky thought it might be risky since they could see anypony in there meaning the pony or ponies who took Twilight might be in there and they could be captured as well. Plus she doubted that the door could be opened from the inside so if Twilight was in there then they couldn’t get her out. Nor could they find her again since they didn’t know which room they were in. However, despite all of this Scootaloo remained determined to find her mother at any cost.

“DNA Cementation process at 99%,” came a female computerized voice from every direction. Slightly scared, both Dinky and Scootaloo began to look around the room where the only sources of light came from the various devices attached to the walls. What they saw was shocking.

The room was a mess. All across the floor was glass along with various liquids meaning that it could have been test tubes. Scootaloo, after her eyes adjusted to the low light, also noted that there were several skid marks on the floor. Raising her head, she saw that some of the computers and other sciency stuff was not looking good. Some of the machines looked like they were on their sides. Others looked slightly dented while others looked smashed with sparks randomly flying out of them. There was even a table that looked like it had been flipped over before being forced against the wall.

Scootaloo gulped loudly. “I…I think something bad happened here.” Scootaloo’s voice barely came out as a whisper while she took a step or two back.

“I think you’re right,” whispered Dinky whose entire body was shaking. “We should get out of here!”

Scootaloo nodded in complete agreement. But as the two of them turned to go, the computer spoke up once more. “DNA Cementation process is now complete.” When the sentence had finished, a circular hole in the back of the room opened up creating a hissing noise in the process. Quick like lightning a cylindrical tube made of something that could have been glass or plastic shot out of the hole, stopping when it hit the ceiling. The two fillies watched in awe as a light began to glow from inside the cylinder to reveal that inside of it was a semi-transparent liquid which was keeping a still ponied Spike suspended in the middle. The once-dragon, now unicorn colt, was curled up into a ball with his eyes closed yet twitching slightly. The cylinder then made another hissing noise before the liquid began to disappear from the tank slowly. As it drained, Spike seemed to continue to float where he was and when the liquid had completely vanished a hole appeared in the middle of the tube. The two fillies then watched as Spike was gently levitated out of the container to be placed on the floor in front of it.

As the cylinder retracted back into the ground, Scootaloo began to move towards Spike. She walked slowly so as not to step on any of the glass but there was still some urgency in her movements. As she got closer she could see that he was still breathing, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief. The young pegasus then reached out a hoof to nudge him slightly which resulted in him waving her off with his hoof.

“Let me sleep, Moondancer,” he muttered in his sleep. “It’s a holiday. We can sleep in.”

Scootaloo let out a small relieved laugh as did Dinky who was moving closer to the sleeping colt. Once more Scootaloo nudged him but a bit harder this time. It seemed to do the trick as Spike slowly opened his eyes. There was confusion on his face as he looked at the two fillies before him, which only seemed to get worse. He stood on all fours and began to look around the room with his mouth hanging open.

“W-What happened here?” he asked.

“We don’t know.” said Dinky.

“What do you remember?” asked Scootaloo.

Spike sat down slowly as he brought a hoof to his chin. “Well, I remember Bunsen Burner bringing me here. Said there was a process that could make me a pony forever and after that he was going to do something to my brain to help me adjust to life up here. And, well, that’s it. The place was fine before he put me in that tube thingy.”

“So you don’t remember anything at all?” asked Scootaloo. Spike simply shook his head leaving Scootaloo to grow more concerned. If what Spike was saying true then that meant something happened to Bunsen Burner. That he was taken away just like Twilight had been only. Looking around the room made it clear that either the ponynappers were complete klutzes or that Bunsen had put up a fight. And Scootaloo had a feeling that it was the second option.

As Scootaloo thought about this, she could hear Dinky telling her and Spike that they should get back into the air duct system. Scootaloo nodded, yet as her body moved her mind was doing its best to process all of these only to have more questions pop up. Why would somepony ponynap Bunsen Burner? Especially when the Lunar Republic was going to war. Or was it because they were going to war. Maybe whoever it was choose this moment because every other pony’s attention was focused on their own preparations. Scootaloo thought it might have been somepony from Equestria but that thought was quickly dashed when she remembered all of the security this place had. It seemed impossible for them to get here.

So the question still remained, who? And more importantly, why?

-x-

Several ponies huddled around the window of farm house that sat on Sweet Apple Acres. They all tried to stay low so as to only peek through in the hopes that they wouldn’t be spotted. They watched as Poisoned Apple sat at one end of the table with Big Mac and Granny Smith sitting at the other end. The zebra Zecora was off to the side a bit while still remaining close to Big Mac. None of these ponies seemed to notice that they were being watched or, if they did know, didn’t seem to care. They were far too engrossed in their own conversation to notice anything other than the other ponies in the room.

“I should be in there.” muttered Lone Wolf as he pulled himself away from the window. “That mare is my responsibility. I should have been allowed to speak in her defense!”

“Defense of what?” asked Cadance calmly, who was standing away from the window. She was the only pony who was not watching the events unfold. “Poisoned hasn’t been accused of anything. They just wanted to talk to their long lost cousin.” Lone Wolf, in response, grumbled something under his breath that Cadance couldn’t make out before returning to peek into the house.

Cadance let out a soft sigh. Things hadn’t been turning out exactly like how she hoped they would. Shortly after Ruby had slammed the barn door shut, a very sweaty Big Mac and Zecora had raced out. Judging by their heady scent, sweat-matted fur, and nervousness in both their expressions Cadance had a good idea what she had interrupted. Although, to be fair, most ponies would look nervous if a princess surrounded by bat ponies suddenly showed up. Still, the red draft stallion tried to his best to act like everything was alright and Cadance never brought it up. Cadance did find it interesting that this stallion would give his heart to a zebra. Not that she had anything against it but it was one of those things that you just never really saw in Equestria. She didn’t need to use any magic to detect his feelings for her, they were written all over his face. And hers said that she felt the same way as well.

Trying to move on, Cadance introduced herself causing the lovers to bow on the spot. As soon as they rose, Cadance introduced the rest making sure to use their titles. Ruby looked as if she was going to faint with pride when Cadance introduced her as “Captain Ruby Moon”, but instead managed to stand at attention and salute. Big McIntosh and Zecora greeted each of them friendly enough, usually giving the pony introduced a polite nod. That changed when it was Poisoned Apple’s turn. Big Mac’s face became unreadable then and then asked to speak with Poisoned inside the house. When Lone Wolf and Cadance asked if they should join them, McIntosh Apple politely but firmly refused them, saying that this was Apple family business.

And so, for what felt like the longest time, all of the other bat ponies and Cadance waited outside. From what she could gather, Big Mac’s expression hadn’t changed one bit. The only thing he did was nod alongside his grandmother who looked like she was tearing up. As for Poisoned, she had kept her muzzle down staring at the kitchen table the entire time.

“I don’t like this.” hissed Lone Wolf. “These ponies you brought us to, they’re no different than any other pony in Equestria. They’re probably telling her she needs to drop that ‘Apple’ part of her name!”

“I don’t believe they would do that.” replied Cadance, shaking her head.

“I should go in there right now and get her out.” growled Wolf as he extended his wings. “Then I’ll…” Lone Wolf trailed off as the scene before them unfolded. It started with Granny Smith producing a hanky from out of nowhere to dry her eyes while Poisoned lifted her head looking slightly confused about something. The old green mare was saying something that caused Big Mac to nod his head before walking over to Poisoned and hugging her. Almost all of the ponies outside smiled widely when this happened except for Lone Wolf seeming to be shocked.

“T-They really are accepting her.” he stammered while taking an awkward step back.

Soon Big Mac let go of Poisoned so that Granny Smith could embrace her niece while running a withered old hoof through the younger ones mane. As this happened, Big Mac walked towards the door and exited the room so that he was now outside followed by Zecora. It seemed perhaps they did know the bat ponies were watching for the two of them made a beeline straight to the window where Cadance’s group was. Once there he stopped in front of Lone Wolf.

For a while, the two just seemed to stare at each other while the rest of the ponies just watched in complete silence. Finally, Big Mac smiled as he extended a hoof to Lone Wolf.

“Thank ya for helpin’ my kin,” he said. For a while, Wolf just stared at the hoof as if unsure what to do. He looked up at Mac’s face to see a small, friendly smile on his face before returning his gaze onto the extended hoof. Then, slowly, Wolf extended his own until the two bumped.

“I-I was just helping out my kind.” said Lone Wolf as he lowered his hoof.

“Still mighty obliged.” said Mac whose hoof also lowered. “Granny been torn up something fierce ever since we heard that Great Aunt Sweet and Great Uncle Sour passed away in a fire. Tried ta get the details, but nopony there would talk. All we heard was that the mayor was caught stealin’ fund from the town. But…now we all know the truth now. Guess this explains why we hadn’t heard from them in so long.”

“And…you’re ok with her being a bat pony?” asked Wolf slowly, watching as Big Mac blinked at the question. They all saw that the stallion began to look down at the ground in shame for a moment before speaking.

“If ya’ll had come a few days ago, ah might have had a problem. My little sis would have too.” Mac then looked over at Zecora and smiled before raising his head to look at Lone Wolf. “But ah’ve learned a few new things lately. Been meetin’ all sorts of pony folk who are different an that ain’t bad at all. Even met a bat pony here a few days ago who had a nice unicorn who seemed smitten by him.”

Wolf blinked at this. “Well, I- ah- never would...” he stopped there looking a bit confused and unsure how to proceed. The Flight Master turned to look at Cadance for help however the pink princess was just watching all of this with a smile on her face.

“Now then, what can ah do ya for?” asked Big Mac in a friendly tone. Lone Wolf looked at the other stallion for a moment before returning to look at Cadance who merely nodded her head as if to say ‘you can handle this’.

Wolf looked back at Big Mac and took a deep breath. “Me and my colony have recently lost our old home. Thankfully we managed to find a better place for us within the Everfree Forest. We have plans on creating a true home with some help from Princess Cadance.”

“If you wish to dwell in the Everfree you must do so wisely.” said Zecora with a slight frown on her face. “That forest holds many dangers that you should not take lightly.”

“We are well aware of the dangers,” said Wolf. “In fact, it is my hope that those dangers will hopefully keep away those ponies who might think to invade the lands which Princess Cadance has given us. Still, there is much work that needs to be done and my ponies lack the necessary tools. Princess Cadance brought us here because she believes you might be a liaison for us. Perhaps you could help us get things like proper wood and tools.”

Big Mac brought a hoof up to his chin. “Ah think ah could help ya’ll with that. But can go doing that for free now.”

Lone Wolf narrowed his eyes. “And what would be a passable payment system?”

“A little work.” said Big Mac after lowering his hoof. “Help around the fields an ah’ll get ya whatever ya need brand new from the hardware store. Even throw in a couple barrels of apples since ah bet ya could use them. And knowing Granny, she’ll be makin’ some of her famous apple pies for ya fresh each day. Heck, ya’ll lend a hoof durin’ cider season an ah’ll help ya with some of the construction. Ah’ve been told ah’m mighty good with a hammer.”

Lone Wolf couldn’t hide the surprise from his face. As soon as Big Mac had said he couldn’t just do it for free the bat stallion knew that his ponies would have to work. However he thought it would have been more like slave labor, working long hours for a rusty nail or rotting slab of wood a day with no meals. But this…this sounded fair. No, it sounded better than that.

“But,” continued Big Mac, “There is one other thing.”

“And that is?” asked Lone Wolf, who realized this all sounded too good to be true.

“Poisoned Apple.” said Big Mac. “Ah’d like ta ask her ta move here an be with family. Know it’ll mean a lot ta Granny an ah know Apple Bloom will love her ta death. Not gonna force her or anything, be her choice an all since she’s a full grown mare. But ah just want ta know if that would be a problem with ya.”

Lone Wolf once more found a look of complete surprise on his face, something that he realized might be happening a lot in the near future. This was one of those things that had never happened before. Sure, a bat pony could leave the colony whenever he or she wished it like how Ruby and the others left to join Cadance’s Guard. But this? Everything about this from the request and the polite way it was being asked was unheard of to all of bat pony kind! Part of him wanted to still say no since they needed Poisoned Apple to help them with the monsters, yet that part was being overshadowed by this instance.

“I-If she w-wants to come here than I won’t stop her.” Lone Wolf managed to say.

“And there’ll be no hard feelings if she decides ta stay with ya,” affirmed Big Mac. “Now, lets get inside so we can go over the detail over breakfast.” The bat ponies cheered as they all made their way into the house. Cadance would have followed them in, but stopped in her tracks as Big Mac smacked himself upside the head. “Oh shoot, ah plum forgot. Princess Cadance, Princess Celestia sent some of her Guard down ta help with the farm work. Since ya’re here an all, if ya want ya can tell’em they can head back home. Look’s like we got more than enough hooves ta help an ah bet they got better things to do.”

Cadance chuckled. “I’m sure they’re enjoying this more than standing around staring at nothing all day. Nothing interesting ever happens to them in Canterlot,” she said before turning to look at her daughter. “Midnight, would you like to go inside while mommy goes to speak to the Guards?”

“Na-uh,” said Midnight as she shook her head. “I wanna stay with you, mommy.”

“Ok, but then you are walking,” acceded Cadance. Cadance turned to look at Big Mac as the bat filly fluttered down off her back and stretched her legs. “Tell the others I’ll be in soon.”

“Sure ya don’t want ta bring one of them along?” asked Mac. “Them Guards are in the fields right now. Might go faster with two of ya.”

“We’ll be fine,” assured Cadance. “It’ll give us some mother daughter bonding time.” Mac nodded as she and Midnight turned to walk into the fields.

-x-

Over in Canterlot, or to be more precise around the mountain that held the pony capital, there was a mighty sea of ponies. All of them were clad in the golden armor of the Royal Guard hailing from all corners of Equestria. To the untrained eye, they all seemed to blend together with no way to tell them apart. But those who had once served in the Guard could see the amount of organization that had gone into all of this.

Hot Pants herself looked out at the troops from the command center. Unlike last time they were much closer to the battle field, situated in a command tent that lay on an outcropping that was found at the halfway point between the city and the valley below them. This allowed her and the other officers to see everything that happened to better direct the troops while still being out of harm’s way. It was an open tent, meaning that there were no walls to block their view. They would not be receiving any special treatment this time. No fancy foods nor comforts of any kind. All of those present, with the only one currently missing was Stareye, were focused on the task before them.

To Hot Pants, everything seemed to be ready. All of the former ranking officers had already spoken to their units, informing everypony in them of the various flare colors and their meaning. Along the base of the mountain were the trebuchets while large piles of boulders next to team as well as teams of ponies who were either strong enough or talented in magic to lift them and then set them in the siege machines. In the air above them were two dozen thunder clouds, each one hiding their pegasi archers. When signaled they would rain down ice arrows upon their foes. And to the side, waiting in the wings, was the Wonderbolts who were ready to show everypony that they were the best fliers.

The city above looked as if it were in the middle of a festival. Many of the ponies who had remained were laying out blankets and picnic baskets along top of the wall that surrounded the city as well as on certain spots along the edge of the mountain. Among them were family members of the Guard who had made large signs to support their loved ones fighting today while a few ponies, like the Flim Flam Brothers, were selling various items like Equestrian flags and various other knickknacks to help others show their support as well.

In the castle, a similar thing was going on. Many of the nobles were seated on the various balconies that also overlooked the future battlefield. Instead of sitting on blankets, they sat on the finest silk pillows while the servants laid platters of fruits and expensive drinks next to them. There were even a few musicians playing calming melodies on their instruments. Each noble also had opera glasses floating in their magic grasps so that they could better see the events that were to transpire.

Sitting alone on the balcony adjacent to the throne room was Blueblood looking a little worse for wear. He didn’t look as bad as he did last night, but the bags under his eyes as well as his slightly unkempt mane spoke volumes. He had been forced out of bed earlier than he would have liked due to an alarming number of problems and complaints of all sizes. Reports were coming in from all corners of Equestria via magical fire or pegasi messengers informing him of the Republic’s raids. There were also more reports of the Changeling army advancing slowly as well as a few reports of dragons being spotted closer to their borders. Then there were the nobles who came to him just to whine about their own troubles in the hopes that he could fix them. Blueblood was beginning to tire of this power, wishing he could return to the old days back when his aunt ran this and he could do whatever he please. But he had made his bed and was stuck with the choices he had made.

The only good thing that had happened so far was that Ripper was on his way to kill Cadance. The griffon assassin had taken the magical compass and headed off in the direction of that dirt town called Ponyville a few hours ago. With any luck Cadance would be out of the picture by the time this battle was over.

“Prince Blueblood.” came a mare’s voice which shook Blueblood out of his train of thought. He turned to see Majesty walking towards his with a frown on her face. “My dear prince, I just heard the most awful thing. It is truly dreadful.”

Before Blueblood could say anything, Majesty looked around as if she were afraid somepony might be watching and then leaned in to whisper into his ear. The arrogant prince when through several expression starting at annoyance to surprise and then anger. When Majesty pulled her head back the prince was trembling in pure, utter rage. He quickly stood up and slammed a hoof to the ground while clenching his teeth so hard they could break.

“That moron!” growled Blueblood as a red tint began to cloud his vision. “Has Stareye lost what little sense he has? This violates several laws established in the New Neighshore Treaty! Everypony in Canterlot will see this! Does he not understand how it will look?”

“I know, I know.” said Majesty in a calming voice. “He truly is making a mess of things for your cause. Hopefully hearing about this now will help you in some way.”

Blueblood looked at Majesty, his vision clearing slightly. She was correct that this knowledge would help him plan his next move. It was too late to undo the damage, he couldn’t remove Stareye or undo his blunder in the short amount of time before the war started. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t minimize the damage or find way for it to benefit him in some way. The prince closed his eyes so he could think more clearly.

“Stareye has indeed gone too far, that much is certain.” breathed Blueblood. “If ponies weren’t already clamoring for his dismissal they certainly will now. As soon as the other nobles see this I’ll inform them that he shall be arrested on the spot and that I had no idea what he was thinking.”

“Which is certainly true my good prince.” said Majesty with a nod. “But perhaps ordering his execution would be best. He is, after all, breaking some major laws so I’m sure that there won’t be too many ponies upset by that decision. There is also the danger that he might true to plea bargain. He could true to sell you out in order to get a reduced sentence.”

Blueblood chuckled. “Oh, I’ve already had a little talk with him on that subject. The moment the thought of betraying me enters his mind my assassin will kill him and make it look like the fool took his own life. Or perhaps making it look like a failed breakout attempt. Regardless, I would rather not look like a savage by publicly ordering his death before a trial. It might cause…unrest among certain ponies.”

“I see,” said Majesty with a smile. “Please forgive my foolishness.”

Blueblood waved her off. “It wasn’t foolishness in the slightest my lady. You were simply looking out for my best interests and presented me with one possible course of action. Besides, I’m sure there are many among us who would love to see that buffoon killed on the spot. It is rather tempting.”

“It is, isn’t it.” agreed Majesty. “Still, there is the matter of who will command your troops once Stareye is taken out of the picture. And with the damage he has done with your endorsement of him things will be far more difficult to move Equestria in the proper direction. But I do have a good suggestion: Hot Pants.”

The prince tapped his chin with his hoof several times as he considered this. Hot Pants had already proven she was on top of things during and after the last battle with the Republic. Sure she wasn’t an experienced military officer, but neither was Stareye. But at least she was keeping track of their losses and could appear competent in court! Hot Pants was the niece of Fancy Pants so not only would he get to keep a pony of noble blood in charge but also he might even earn some points with Fancy Pants!

The problem, however, was that she would prove difficult to manipulate. She was smart and he could tell that the mare knew he was up to something. Meaning she would be on her guard constantly. And if he tried to convince her to extend the war for as long as possible she would turn on him in a heartbeat, probably arresting him on the spot. But that was a moot point given the situation. With the Republic and the Changeling invasion both happening at the same time, he needed victories instead of stall tactics.

“That is a very good idea Lady Majesty.” said Blueblood with a nod. “Yes, I think Hot Pants could serve our purposes very well.”

“I am pleased I could assist you.” replied Majesty as she gave him a short bow. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must find a seat.” She turned and began to walk away only to be stopped after taking three steps by Blueblood calling out her name. Majesty turned to see that the prince had a small smile on his face as his eyes shifted from her to the pillow next to his.

“Lady Majesty,” he began. “Soon some of the other nobles will be arriving to join me. I was wondering if you would do me the honor of sitting by my side.”

“My prince,” gasped Majesty as she placed a hoof over her heart. “Truly, there must be others who should get such a great honor.”

“None more deserving than you,” said Blueblood as he walked over to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Since this endeavor began you have supported me. Your loyalty to me has been unmatched thus you deserve to be by my side from now until we see the final victory.”

An odd smile crossed Majesty’s face. “There is no place I’d rather be.”

-x-

“Please reconsider!” As Blueblood and Majesty sat down on their balcony seats, that cry was heard by everypony in the command tent. Turning in the direction it came from Hot Pants as well as the other lieutenants saw Boot Licker walking a few paces behind Stareye.

Both ponies looked horrible. Stareye in particular looked as if he had gotten no sleep at all. Gone was the air of importance that he always held onto. His armor looked like he hadn’t asked his servants to polish it this morning nor did he have his usual saddle bags. While walking he was constantly checking behind him as if he were afraid that somepony other than Boot Licker was following him. As for Boot Licker he looked as if he were in a panicked state. Sweat was quickly covering his coat while veins could be seen on both his neck and forehead.

“I shall not!” screamed Stareye. “I am in charge here!”

“Please sir,” begged Boot Licker before glancing out into what would soon be the battlefield. “It’s not too late. You can call send them back and nopony will have to know! What you’re doing goes against-” The stallion got no farther as Stareye’s magic lifted him off the ground before throwing him across the tent.

“I MAKE THE RULES!” bellowed Stareye in rage. “IT IS UP TO ME TO DECIDE WHAT IS BEST FOR VICTORY! NOT SOME FOUR HUNDRED SCRAP OF PAPER! QUESTION ME AGAIN AND YOU WILL BE WHIPPED TO DEATH!”

Boot Licker remained silent as he struggled to get up. Luckily, several of the other ponies in the tent rushed to his side to help him onto his hooves. There was pity in their eyes for they all knew it couldn’t have been easy for Boot Licker. He was a brown nose by nature, yet even the most dedicated toady would have had a hard time being around Stareye for as long as he had. And the amount of courage it must have taken him to disagree with him, to question whatever horrible thing Stareye had planned was to be admired.

While helping Boot Licker stand, Hot Pants and the other began to hear various gasps, screaming, and shouting. A feeling inside all of their guts told them what it was even before they turned to look out into the field in front of the mountain. Descending from the sky was the thing that had blocked the sun shortly after Celestia had been taken from them. And seeing it for a second time did not make it any easier. Hot Pants felt her body take a few steps back without her telling it to. She wasn’t alone in this for everypony in the tent expressed their own fear in their own way. Below them, their fellow Guards were also backing away from it. Some however just stood there with their jaws open, too afraid to take a single step.

For a second the ship seemed to hover there, completely unmoving. Then, one by one, Lunar ponies began to fall from the ship only for some magical force to slow their drop before they touched the ground. Once they were on the surface they began to line up in groups of five. Using her magic, Hot Pants summoned a telescope and looked through it to get a better look at her enemies. From the looks of it they were all wearing the same silver armor as before.

“Wait,” whispered Hot Pants as she looked down at her foes. She could tell they were short. Quickly she counted there were forty rows meaning there were only two hundred Lunar Guards standing at attention.

“Something is wrong...” said Hot Pants a little louder this time, causing everypony in the command tent to look in her direction. “They’re a hundred short.”

“Are you sure?” asked Crème as she walked over to her friend. Bitsworth also walked forwards and began to count them himself.

Hot Pants nodded. “I just counted them. Something must be up. We were told there would be three hundred coming to attack us. So, where are the missing hundred?”

“It’s obvious!” sneered Stareye as he shoved the two mares away and took Hot Pants’ telescope. “The reason they’re short is because their army doesn’t have three hundred. It’s as simple as that. Now enough of this foolishness!”

It was then that more objects began leaving the giant sky ship. Hot Pants and the others noticed several large things shooting out of it so fast that they were nothing more than blurs to the young unicorn’s eyes.

But what happened next caused a feeling of dread to appear in the pit of Hot Pants’ stomach. Several more silver coated objects were now descending towards the ground. But these were not troops. Fifty of them looked more like boats without their sails. Once they got close enough to the ground they floated six feet, give or take, off the ground. Now that she could get a better look at them, Hot Pants could help but notice just how sharp the bow of the ‘ship’ looked. Taking her best guess, she estimated that each of them was only nine or so feet tall. On deck there were four ponies, two on each side, all standing behind mounted cannons that she was sure would fire the same energy blasts as the ones on their armor. In the middle of the ‘ship’, was a single armored pony working some kind of control station.

The only one that was different was the middle one. The stern of the ‘ship’ was elevated a several additional feet. Sitting in the middle of this rise was Princess Luna herself wearing the same kind of armor she did when she defeated Princess Celestia. As soon as her ‘ship’ landed several blue tinted squares appeared around her, taking up most of her interest.

What came down next was much faster and smaller. There were thirty of them in total, each carrying a single stallion or mare. Each of these ponies looked like they were laying in the middle of these stretched out, silver ovals that buzzed around at high speeds. Hot Pants noticed more than once that at the end of these things was a hole and underneath all of them was another energy weapon.

The last ten objects to land were the widest. Like the others that came before it, each one of these hovering crafts looked like they were made of silver. Their shape, however, was different. All ten looked like a crescent moon with the arch pointing away from the Equestrians. In the middle of each of them was something of a wide lump that had a blackish oval that looked big enough to hold a single pony. And above that were the weapons. Nine of them had two cannons that looked about four feet long. The last one, which was in the middle, had only one with the length of the canon that seemed to be longer than the rest of it with something that looking like a sharp, pointed crystal at its end.

Once these three landed, the sky mammoth began to move upwards into the sky. When Hot Pants first saw this she let out a sigh of relief, glad that it was joining in the fight. That relief was sadly short lived for as it passed over Canterlot Hot Pants saw that there were smaller air crafts that had taken its place. There were about ten of them in total. From this distance, seven of them looked like rectangles with the edges rounded off with bat wings attached to their sides. The remaining three looked bigger, bulkier, and less streamlined.

“HEAR ME PONIES OF CANTERLOT!” came Luna’s voice, loud enough for those at the very top of the castle to hear it. “SOON THE HOUR OF WAR SHALL BE UPON YOU. I SHALL GRANT YOU ONE LAST CHANCE TO SURRENDER. DO YOU ACCEPT?”

For a moment, there was no reply. In that time, Hot Pants’ wondered if Blueblood was considering surrendering and ending this foolishness. Clearly these…things that the Lunar troops had brought with them would cancel out Equestria’s number advantage. That hope died when she heard Blueblood’s reply.

“THE GREAT NATION OF EQUESTRIA WILL NEVER BOW TO SCUM SUCH AS YOU! TODAY WE SHALL TAKE THE FIRST STEP TO RETRIEVING OUR BELOVED PRINCESS CELESTIA WHICH YOU HAVE STOLEN FROM US! NIGHTMARE MOON, YOUR DAYS ARE AT AN END! HIGH COMMANDER STAREYE, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!”

With a disgusting smile on his face that made all of the other ponies around him uneasy, Stareye’s horn began to glow for a brief moment. As it did, Boot Licker began to shake his head no over and over again with tears running down his eyes. Yet, when it ended, nothing seemed to happen. Hot Pants was surprised for she was half expecting something horrific to happen like a demon summoning.

But what happened could actually be considered worse.

Bitsworth was the first to spot it, shouting at the others to look. Looking down into the front of the battlefield were more ponies. About a third of those ponies were clearly local officers, still in their blue uniforms and armed only with batons. It looked like Stareye had gathered together every law enforcement agent in Canterlot. And with everypony else in the city watching the battle that was to come, crime could run rampant in the streets with ease.

Seeing who the other two thirds were, however, caused everypony’s blood to run cold. They were training recruits! All of them were wearing leather armor that was designed to protect them from training weapons which was what they were carrying. Nothing but wooden swords and padded spears. Useless in actual combat! The crowd above them began to shout in anger while Blueblood wasted no time in informing the other nobles sitting around him that he was greatly angered by this and that Stareye would receive a most fitting punishment.

“Th-This is madness!” said Crème as she took several steps back.

“Prince Blueblood demands that we do everything in our power to ensure victory.” said Stareye viciously while ponies turned to glare at him. “I merely saw that we had an untapped resource.”

Crème looked like she was about to say something, however Hot Pants spoke up first as she moved towards their commanding officer. “Very well. But I must insist that we move them to the back so that they can provide support. That will allow us to free up more skill-” That was as far as she got before Stareye smacked her across the muzzle.

“You DARE tell ME what to do?!” he growled. “Stupid mare, learn your place. I give the commands! I am IN CHARGE! And I will do whatever it takes to ensure victory!” He then pointed a hoof at the recruits. “Those worthless maggots out there have one simple job, to be a shield for our forces! While those Lunar scum waste their time killing them, our soldiers will be able to get in close and slaughter most of them.”

As Stareye began to pant angrily, all of the other officers rushed over to help their fallen comrade. He opened his mouth to shout at them, but stopped himself. While he was a higher ranking officer, superior to all of them in every way, he faltered under their angry gazes. He looked around to see that everypony there had the same expression, a mixture of hate and disgust. It was then that he began to feel the same dread and terror that he did when Blueblood attacked him.

-x-

Princess Luna looked out at the battlefield in disgust. Originally, she had been slightly impressed. According to the display hovering in front of her there were plenty of pegasi in the clouds that could have proved a problem if they had remain undetected. A good strategy that would have allowed them a surprise attack. Also, looking at the field Luna could see that the enemy troops were well placed in order to take advantage of their greater numbers as well as having siege weaponry in the back. But whatever praise she had dwindled when she saw who was being pushed into the front line. Just by looking at them Luna could see that they were recruits.

She had seen this behavior in the past going as far back when she was just a filly. Many times sadly. The idea was to use them as a shield, or ‘meat for the grinder’ as some put it, in order to protect or distract the enemy from the real soldiers. This was an act that appalled her even back then. And it was one of the few things that she and Celestia were in full agreement on.

Thankfully the crowd watching the upcoming battle from the Canterlot wall seemed to be in full agreement as Luna could hear their disapproval from all the way down here.

Suddenly one of the scenes began to flash red then blue. Waving a hoof over it, the image of a mare in her armor appeared on the floating screen. Even through the visor was down, hiding the mare’s face, Luna knew who this mare was. Night Glider, one of the best fighters pilots in the Republic and taking the lead in the aerial battle.

“Princess Luna this is Cupcake Leader,” said the squad leader of their air forces. “Do you read me? Over.”

“Yes Cupcake Leader I read you,” answered the princess. “What is your status?”

“We are in position and holding tight ma’am,” replied Night Glider. “According to our scans there is a massive group of pegasi waiting to enter the engagement zone as well as some hiding in those clouds. Would you like us to start thinning their numbers out now?”

“Remain where you are for the moment,” replied Luna. “The point of all of this is to ingrain into them how hopeless it is to fight against us. It would be far more effective if they saw it. Wait until I give the command.”

“Roger that, Princess,” said Cupcake Leader. With a nod, the image of Cupcake Leader vanished from sight. Once that was done, Luna waved her hoof over the screen once more while concentrating on the pony she wanted to speak to. Instantly a dark purple earth pony mare in armor appeared with a candy sucker in her mouth.

“Lots-O-Hugs, are you ready?” asked Princess Luna.

“Ready and willing to blast them Equestrians to the void ma’am!” came the overly cheerful voice as she moved the sucker from one side of her mouth to the next. “I am locked on to one of those toys in the back.”

“They’re called trebuchets, Lots-O-Hugs,” said Luna.

“Well, whatever they are, they won’t be here for much longer!” laughed Hugs. “I’m locked on and ready to fire! Just say the word and they’ll be less than moon dust.”

-x-

“Ok, this changes everything.” said Bitsworth as he looked out at the Lunar troops, biting his lower lip nervously.

“I agree,” said Crème with a nod. “They didn’t have one of those last time. Probably here to help them even the odds.” She then turned to Hot Pants. “How do you think we should handle this?”

As Hot Pants brought a hoof up to her chin, Stareye began to seethe in rage. Until this moment he had been sitting in a corner due to fear of the others. But that fear had vanished. How dare they?! Had they all forgotten that HE was in charge and not some lowly mare? Well he’d show them! He knew the right way to handle a situation like this. And once they saw him taking change and winning this battle quickly, then they would fall in line while begging his forgiveness!

“ALL TROOPS.” shouted Stareye while using magic to amplify his voice. “CHARGE!”

All of the other ponies started to shout at him, but it was too late. The recruits and the local officers all began to move towards the Lunars. However, most of the other units refused to budge simply because it was Stareye who gave the command. There were a few units that charged forwards as well intent on providing backup for those ahead of them.

But as they ran forwards, the crystal on the cannon began to glow bright yellow.

Comments

[keaton-furman-prower]

Holy crap! Double Update!

Also, somepony needs to kill Stareye

[56]

“I-If she w-wants to come here than I won’t stop her.”

if->then

[Ese Wey]

And so it begins...

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

DOUBLE UPDATE AND FINALLY THE WAR!

[Brony-wan-kenobi]

Big Mac! Don't do that in the barn! What would granny say?

[AyanamiRei]

7439089 I mean it's one thing to do it in the barn, but to leave the door open??? Like not cool Big Mac! What if Applebloom saw you, or maybe Granny Smith?! T_T

[Mr Swanky Hat]

8147961 applebloom isn't on the planet, and granny would be happy about seeing great grandfoals

[Circut Breaker]

Yeah, Blueblood's entire administration is gonna get lynched or executed.

[Silentwoodfire]

Since Blueblood made such a glaring error, will there even BE a Equestria left when alls said and done? The Changelings arent oging to stop now, and the dragons are considering the same