Eight Weeks After Metamorphosis
The thing about the Badlands is that they can be unforgiving on the best of days.
Located over most of southern Equus, the Badlands cover the southernmost portion of Equestria and the southeast portion of Concordia. the most fertile regions of the Badlands are mostly found within the country of Mexicolt, but most of it is barren rock and desert.
Cacti and other desert plants are in abundance here, but what is truly unique is the wildlife. Just as Concordia has a dinosaur-dominated ecology, the Badlands are dominated by giant arthropods.
Here, creatures such as Bloatflies (giant flies), Stingwings (giant scorpion flies), and Bloodbugs (giant mosquitoes) prey on unwary travelers from above, Dust Devils (giant ant lions) build conical pits into which their prey falls into their waiting jaws, Piranha Bugs (giant whirligig beetles) and Mirelurks (large relatives of the horseshoe crab) roam the rivers, and fearsome predators such as the Ragodes (giant windscorpion) and Deathfluff (giant jumping spider) ambush stragglers.
Non-arthropod fauna makes its home here as well. Migrating herds of Stonebacks, flightless, armadillo-like dragons, stampede across the dust plains in a constant search for food, the blind Fanged Mulies- carnivorous descendants of the Mule Deer- stalk the rock spires, and a few hardy dinosaur species roam to and fro.
Thorax and the rest of the Aos Sí were comparatively lucky, as their kingdom lay literally on the edge of the Badlands, away from where the fiercer fauna roamed. Nonetheless, a kingdom needed protection not only from these beasts, but also from invading outsiders.
Thorax had called a meeting with two members of royalty to discuss this very thing.
It had been a full week since Stag had arrived on his cousin's doorstep. Word had been sent to the Princesses, and Twilight had come as their representative. The two had talked and debated, and after 5 days they had agreed that the alliance between Neighpon and Equestria should continue. The changeling prince promised that he would make sure his mother would be kept under wraps for an acceptable period of time, but warned that a curse of the caliber of that which had possessed her had a way of lingering, and a relapse on the part of the caster of the curse could cause her to try something again, not of her own volition.
With this in mind, Twilight agreed to the terms and conditions, and would send word to the Princesses to make an announcement across Equestria and the Crystal Empire- changelings were still okay.
Now, one week later, they found themselves together again in the newly rebuilt throne room with Thorax discussing the defense of a nation. And once again, the argument was heated.
"All I'm saying," Stag continued, "Is that rebuilding that throne would make an acceptable defense against other nations."
"And all I'M saying," Twilight countered, "Is that it drains all non-changeling magic! If it's rebuilt, will Thorax and his subjects even be able to use their own magic in its boundaries?"
Stag paused. "That's... actually a good question. Thorax?"
Thorax thought about it.
"Well," he began, "On one hoof, we may have basically been changelings when the shield was up, but the fact is that we're Aos Sí now. On the other, we don't know how much our magic differs from changeling magic. During the Metamorphosis, we used the Love Blast to destroy the throne and defeat your mother, but the throne itself didn't seem to notice that attack..."
Twilight put a hoof to her chin and thought on something.
"Stag," she finally said. "How diverse is the changeling family tree overall? I mean in terms of species and closely related species."
Stag quickly did the math in his head.
"Well, counting the Changelings themselves there are 13 in the 'main' group, 21 in the Sylvian group, 2 in the Halfling group, 3 in the Tiefling group, and 4 in the Siren group. Counting the Aos Sí, that's 44 species altogether."
"Well," Twilight continued, "what if the black rock..."
"Thromnambulite," Stag interrupted.
"What if the Thromnambulite only cancels out magic that isn't similar to changeling magic? Say, for example, an elf of any kind. Would they be able to use magic within the barrier?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure, honestly. I think Pop-pop mentioned a Glamourling noble who used magic around a piece of Thromnambulite with no problem, but the Glamourlings are closer to changelings genetically than elves..."
Here Thorax interrupted. "But the Aos Sí are directly descended from changelings. If the throne was unable or unwilling to see our offensive magic as 'non-changeling', then logically it wouldn't have a problem with more mundane magic, right?"
"Well, we'll need to do some tests first," admitted Stag. "But theoretically..."
"You two are forgetting one thing," Twilight interrupted. "Whether or not Thorax can do magic, that still leaves the fact that ponies can't do magic if that stone's active!"
"...That is true," Stag admitted.
But Thorax was still thinking.
"What if we somehow found a way to turn the shield on and off at will?"
Silence fell on the chamber for several minutes.
"The magic is... feasible," Twilight finally stated. "However, you'd need a Paracelsus-Level Alchemist to change the properties of a stone like that, or a very skilled geomancer."
"But it can be done?"
"Yes," answered Twilight. "Or at least it can in theoretical terms."
Here Stag interjected.
"We can discuss the ins and outs of magical defense at a later time. An easier task for the moment is more mundane defenses. Guards, patrols, warriors..."
Thorax smiled. This solution was far easier than the question of the anti-magic barrier.
"Well the simplest way to fix that will simply be to find those of my subjects who were in the guard prior to the Metamorphosis and simply give them their old jobs. Of course some sort of training program would be needed to teach new recruits, and we're a little understaffed at the minute..."
Stag smiled. "I can think of one way to lighten the load on the guards."
"Oh?" asked Twilight. "And that would be...?"
Stag stood and walked to a window overlooking the vast landscape of the Badlands.
"Nature," he began, "has given many gifts to the creatures that dwell in the wild. And harnessing those natural weapons is an ancient practice. Historically, hives of bees and wasps were catapulted over city walls, and many countries employ larger and more spectacular beasts for warfare. There are few sights more intimidating than a dinosaur bedecked in Concordian armor, to name a nearby example."
"Not to be rude," Thorax interrupted, "but how does that affect me and my kingdom?"
"Simple, dear cousin," Stag answered.
"In the Badlands there exists a creature large enough to carry off an adult alicorn, a beast which preys on creatures many times larger and smaller than itself, ruthlessly attacking and carrying them off to eat, a monster... which only eats arthropods, and has no interest whatsoever in attacking anything that isn't a giant bug."
"I speak, naturally, of the Skyreaper, the massive robber flies which are found here in the Badlands, guardian angels of travelers in the wastes. Over time, they have learned that soft-bodied prey like ponies attract things like giant spiders and wasps, and they will follow the wanderers, swooping in and attacking many would-be predators and inadvertently saving the lives of those travelling through the deserts. It would be a simple matter of either convincing a few to come here, or else hatching them and letting them grow to adulthood. Then, the Skyreapers take care of the bugs, while the warriors of the Aos Sí deal with creatures such as Stonebacks and blackhorns."
Again, silence permeated the chamber.
"I'm... impressed," Twilight finally said. "Not only does that provide a viable defense for a country lacking a good number of guards, but it also eliminates the need for large forces to be sent to deal with wildlife, since the Skyreapers can simply carry the attackers away to a safe distance. Thorax?"
The king was looking out the window.
"My scouts will need help finding and identifying Skyreaper eggs. Aditionally, another thought occurs to me. What if we used Dust Devils as well? The sand pits made by the larvae are ingenious traps, and if placed in the right spots, they could provide an adequate ground defense."
Stag grinned. "You're a genius! Twilight, what do you think?"
Twilight was also smiling. "I think we've at least temporarily solved the problem of defense."
"I'm glad to hear it," replied Thorax, a small smile on his face. Things were going increasingly well, and he hoped he could keep doing this whole 'king' thing correctly.