Canterlot, The Early Hours of the Morning
The new day had come, and all apprehension from the previous day returned with it in full force. Each calm moment would only serve to build upon the already run-down nerves of the ponies, the idea of the ‘calm before the storm’ filling them with dread for anything that may have led to chaos in the next moment. They knew the changelings were coming, it would be foolish of the Empress to wait until their strength returned, it was just a matter of waiting for their move.
It would be a busy morning, the now rested Princess Celestia and Princess Luna meeting up to continue discussions regarding the country’s uncertain future. Captain Broad Sword and Captain Vladimir Vespertillio would likewise be attending their own duties as Captains of the Royal Guard. The shield above the city shimmered a pink hue, signifying that Prince Shining Armor was, at that moment in time, keeping the barrier energised and protecting them from any outside intrusion.
But not everypony, or everyone, had places they had to be. The remaining free changelings did little more the hole up in their provided room, and that was how the guard preferred it given the circumstances. None of them had desires to fall to the Empress, and the guard were on edge enough as it was with a changeling swarm inevitably on approach.
Not that they dared protest when the former Captain Carduus, alongside his family, decided to stretch their legs and take a walk through the castle. He was a personal friend of their bosses, after all.
They had just departed their rooms, Iuvenes glad to do something other than stare at the same walls for hours on end, and headed off in the directions of the royal gardens. Iuvenes walked a little bit ahead of her parents, while Panacea walked a step behind, next to her husband, accompanying him as he limped his way through the many halls.
“I heard that the princesses returned to the city yesterday,” Panacea noted to her husband.
“Yeah, I did too,” Carduus confirmed. “Their cover story still holds, not that there’s much point to it now. They failed.”
“Obviously, since the shield is still up,” Panacea replied dryly. “Honey, I would ask what happens now but… I know I won’t like the answer.”
“You know the answer too,” Carduus pointed out, glancing up at Iuvenes with concern. “I want you both to remain deep in the castle when it happens, with Scarlet and Valiant Snow.”
“I will, with you right there alongside us,” Panacea stated. “You’re not limping off to die when you can barely move on your hooves.”
“Somebody has to help. I’m not that useless.”
Panacea sighed. “Why does no one ever listen to their doctor?”
“I’m afraid it’s just a fact of life, honey,” Carduus said with a smirk. “Your medical skills might do some good back here when it all hits the fan. There’s going to be plenty of inured, have no mistake.”
“I know,” Panacea responded sadly. “But I’d rather you not be among them.”
“I’d rather no one had to be injured at all,” Carduus noted. “The Empress has other ideas. I… still find it hard to believe that the Queen is going to be the one fighting against us…”
“I don’t want to think about it.”
“You’re not the only one,” Carduus muttered.”
“Dad!” Iuvenes shouted from up ahead, pointing a hoof through a doorway. “The gardens are through here!”
“Alright, head on through,” Carduus stated back, he and his wife moving to follow their daughter through the doorway.
The doorway led into a brightly decorated courtyard, a small but breath-taking example of what the royal gardens had to offer. There were many exotic flowers around the place, the grass cut to precision by the pony in charge of maintaining it all. Looking around, Carduus quickly came to the conclusion that it was in that very courtyard that Queen Twilight had arrived some time before, ready to then head off towards the Crystal Empire and the lands beyond it.
The very start of all that had befallen them.
But they were not alone in the courtyard, there being a single other occupant standing directly in the centre under the stone gazebo. She was sat against one of the pillars holding up the structure, her back faced to the family. Her eyes seemed to be closed, a look of remembrance upon her face.
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza didn’t even hear them approach, too engrossed in whatever thought crossed through her mind. The pink alicorn seemed to be largely at ease, though a small aura of sadness was definitely visible to the emotion sensitive changelings.
“Princess Cadance,” Carduus softly greeted, causing the alicorn to open up her eyes and turn her head to see the source of the voice. “Good morning.”
Cadance smiled. “Good morning, Carduus. Had you wished to relax here in the gardens?”
“My family and I wanted to take a stroll round, stretch our legs and maybe our wings,” Carduus commented, flicking one of his gossamer wings in demonstration. “I suppose you wished to do much the same?”
“Something like that,” Cadance confirmed. “How are you all?”
“We’re fine, your highness,” Panacea responded. “Equestrian hospitality has been… generous, considering.”
“There’s nothing to consider,” Cadance responded adamantly. “None of this is your fault, why would we turn you away? Especially you and your family, Carduus. You were Twilight’s Captain of the Guard after all.”
“Back in the days of yesteryear,” Carduus acknowledged with a small smile.
“He still tries to act as if he is,” Panacea added in with a small smirk. “The old stallion is stubborn until the end.”
Cadance chuckled. “My Shining Armor would be much the same in his position. But then again, wouldn’t all husbands like ours?”
Panacea and Cadance giggled, even Iuvenes joining in on the amusement. Carduus just gave them a deadpan glare, making no comment.
Eventually, to Carduus’ immense relief, the intense tittering stopped. Cadance gave a small sigh, walking out from under the gazebo and up to the family.
“Anyway, I shouldn’t remain for too long,” Cadance stated. “My aunts may have need of me, and I need to let my husband have a break at some point.”
“What were you thinking about?” Iuvenes asked curiously.
“Oh, Flurry Heart,” Cadance explained. “We took her to this garden once, many years ago. I remember her running about and playing in the grass. There was some diplomatic conference or another on at the time, so Twilight was there. Flurry would keep asking Twilight to turn into various things, and she’d always accommodate her when she could.”
“The Queen loves being an aunt,” Carduus noted softly. “I… think she always wanted her own daughter someday.”
There was a tell-tale sparkle in Cadance’s eye at that statement. “Oh, I am aware. She has been an ongoing project of mine, after all.”
“I’m not even going to ask for details on that,” Carduus deadpanned.
“Probably for the best,” Cadance agreed jokingly. “But it’s an ongoing process. I have every intention of finishing it too.”
“I hope you do,” Carduus responded.
Cadance’s smile faltered a little. “Yeah, so do I. If only I could just go into that hive mind and drag her out myself…”
That final comment had been under the Princess’ breath, but Carduus had heard it all the same. She then said her farewells. Once she had departed, this just left the changeling family alone in the courtyard. Iuvenes wandered off to have a look around, while Panacea looked quizzically to a rather thoughtful looking Carduus.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Panacea asked.
“Drag her from the hive mind…” Carduus muttered.
Panacea frowned. “Don’t get any idea. You know that changelings are absorbed the moment of assimilation.”
“Yeah, no changeling can retrieve the Queen,” Carduus acknowledged. “But I know that Princess Luna is looking into accessing the Empress’ hive via her dream magic.”
“Yes? And?”
Carduus sat on his rump, humming to himself in thought. “I need to think on this, but I think I might have an idea on how we can help with that.”
Carduus began to relay his concept to his wife, who listened intently and only spoke up on it when he was finished. If they were right, it had the potential to provide the missing link for Luna’s plan to infiltrate the Empress’ hive mind.
But while they continued on with their self-set task, the rest of the world did not sleep and wait for them. The cogs kept on turning, and events continued to unfold around them. Somewhere, not as far from Canterlot as the ponies would have preferred, the swarm persisted. They approached, a pitch-black nightmare to consume all who set eyes upon it.
It wouldn’t be long.
Equestrian Countryside
Canterlot sat far in the distance, the pink bubble soon being swapped out for a cyan coloured one. This view was achieved from a small village a fair distance further from the capital than the now devastated Ponyville, but they still just barely had a view of the city from their location.
The village was far smaller than Ponyville, only holding a population of a hundred or so ponies. All of the inhabitants were of the Earth pony variety, having founded the village in order to have nice and peaceful lives away from the major hustle and bustle of the major settlements of Equestria. It was a village where everypony knew everypony, and its general unimportance had meant that not a single changeling had ever set hoof within its borders.
But they had seen the effects of the war. They saw the distant smoke that had enveloped Ponyville, and they all could easily see the shield. The local paper and imported national paper had all told them about the destruction of Manehatten and the conflicts in other locales around Equestria. The radio never talked about anything else, the war being the singular most important story throughout the entire country.
But the village had remained safe. Uninteresting to the swarm. Unnoticed and ultimately untouched.
And that morning was no different to any other. Mares and stallions alike arose from their beds, throwing back their curtains and blinds to reveal the first rays of the morning sun. Those with fillies and colts got their children ready for a day at the village’s small schoolhouse at the edge of town. The schoolhouse itself wasn’t dissimilar to Ponyville’s own, with similar bright colours and with various happy drawings created by foals scattered all around.
The market wasn’t often considered ‘bustling’, but it was nevertheless the social centre of the village. The adults would gather here to buy general groceries and meet up with friends and talk about their days. The war was often mentioned, though many tried to banish it from their minds and continued with their lives unabated. Their lives weren’t adventurous and exciting, but peaceful. They were fine with that, they had chosen it themselves after all.
Unfortunately, they were between the city of Canterlot and the largest changeling swarm anypony had ever seen.
It started small. A few hushed and fearful gasps and distant black dots circumventing the town and heading in the direction of Canterlot. But then more began to pop up, and the swarm kept on getting thicker and thicker.
And then it was all over for the village.
Countless changeling drones swooped down upon the defenceless ponies and began tearing through homes, businesses, and even the schoolhouse. It was like an unstoppable rogue hurricane set loose upon some woefully unprepared buildings. Screams echoed for miles, the villagers attempting to find shelter anywhere they could. Some tried to flee into the fields, others tried hiding in their homes, boarding themselves within closets and bathrooms.
When they fled to the fields, green spellfire cut them down.
When they hid in their houses, they were torn from their foundations and scattered to the winds.
Some, numbering in the single digits, may have been lucky enough to escape for their lives. The swarm came in as an unstoppable force against a very movable object, but it didn’t stick around to check its work. In but a few minutes the whole village had been rendered piles upon piles of rubble, and swarm moving on and leaving the mourning sky clear once more. Those few survivors would then poke out their heads, beaten and terrified. Then, once certain that the swarm had passed, they forewent burying their dead for the time being and instead made for the nearest town after them for help.
And yet the swarm persisted onwards. Their target was clearly visible on the early horizon, a cyan jewel twinkling under the sun’s rays.
And the Changeling Queens all looked onwards; onwards towards the end.