//------------------------------// // Names // Story: The Thousand Changeling Warriors // by BradyBunch //------------------------------// The battle was over at last. After harassing the enemy rear as the remains of Chrysalis's changelings fled the battlefield, the mix of surviving Royal Guard and reformed changelings finally set about to post-battle business. Taking care of post-battle responsibilities was the worst part of the whole affair. It involved gathering the Equestrian bodies for documentation and preservation and digging mass graves on the fringes of the site. Changelings and ponies alike would be thrown in separate graves and covered up. The wounded were another matter entirely. The surviving Royal Guard were going around with spears sticking holes in mortally-wounded changelings to ease their departure from mortal life. The Equestrian wounded were being delivered to Fluttershy, who in addition to being a captain, acted as a chief medic. The once-dry ground was now fertile and wet by the large amounts of spilled blood, so that every step squished beneath the hoof and left an imprint. Their hooves quickly became scabby and hard with old blood. The stench of the bloody plain was unbelievably foul, with the fly-infested bodies gathering infection. The sky above them was grey and gloomy. Twilight was sitting back against a supply wagon wheel. The entire day had been a nonstop course of adrenaline. Twilight was exhausted, and she had no room for any desire in her mind except for a hot shower. Twilight's head was between her knees. Her blue armor was still on, and her violet sword was on the ground next to her. Her mind was dizzy. What was going on around her? She couldn't say. The contours of space barely made sense anymore. Twilight was more focused on the pain inside. Shining Armor… Approaching hoofsteps made her look up. Estoc was there, his dented armor spattered in droplets of both red and green. He was remorseful as well; Shining Armor had been his captain. “How many of Chrysalis's army did we manage to kill?” Twilight bleakly asked. She almost didn't want to know. “It's still too early to approximate that, princess,” Estoc replied. “But...when Chrysalis fled, and after we were done harassing their flanks, I couldn't estimate more than several hundred changelings who made it out.” Twilight put her face in her hoof. In a single day, they had managed to kill almost ten thousand of Chrysalis's drones. It was a resounding victory. Chrysalis would be left with almost no forces in western Equestria. The war was almost over. But this did not feel like a victory to Twilight at all. “And what about the...Royal Guard?” Twilight mumbled. “More than half are gone,” Estoc reported mournfully. His brilliant blue eyes were pointed at the ground. “And all of the chief captains were slain.” Twilight put both of her hooves in her face now. What about her own army? Her own children, mere teenagers, mere boys and girls who had volunteered for this mess. What was she going to do? A few more hoofsteps reached her and Estoc stepped aside respectfully. Fluttershy, in a white nurse's coat and hat, was there, along with Stern, Arista, Proto, Meso, and Ocellus. Each of them was bandaged up in some way. On the face, legs, body. Those patches of white strips sent Twilight's mind reeling. It made her afraid to ask the question. “How many…” Twilight croaked, trying not to look into Fluttershy's eyes. “Of my sons and daughters…” Fluttershy sat next to Twilight and hugged her upper body gently to alleviate her distress. Twilight tried to finish, but found that she couldn't. “Just give me their names,” Twilight eventually said. “Just their names!” Twilight braced for the list of her beloved son's names to come at her. Suddenly she wanted to leave before it reached her ears. But for some reason, all that happened was that Fluttershy pulled away to look Twilight in the face. Her expression had a smile on it. “Oh, Twilight. I don't have any names to tell you!” Twilight, on the verge of tears, felt her stomach jolt. “You mean-?” “They live!” Fluttershy guided Twilight up to a standing position. “All of them!” Twilight’s gasp was clearly audible. Her legs felt very, very weak. “Mom?” Arista asked in concern. “Are you all right?” “Do you need some water?” Ocellus followed up. Twilight took several staggering steps. It was not possible! But if it was...“Show me, Fluttershy.” A field hospital was often a dirty, crowded place. It was no exception now. Rows of 2x4 boards acting as beds bore injured ponies and reformed changelings. Bandages were on everyone to some degree. The stench of medical alcohol and sterilized bandages didn't entirely mask the pervasive smell of blood. Fluttershy led her way through the maze of patients, allowing Twilight to see the results. Every changeling she passed, he or she would salute or stand up, if they were able to. It made Twilight's heart pound in her chest with pride for her soldiers. These sons and daughters had looked up to her that much? She already knew it, of course, but seeing it affirmed like that for every single changeling she passed by was overwhelming. She felt herself on the verge of tears more often than not. “I heard field reports,” Estoc was saying to Twilight, “of these changeling's bravery and skill. Without them, hundreds more of the Royal Guard would have perished.” “All I did was follow orders,” Arista mumbled. “But you obeyed them with swift exactness,” Estoc commended. “And Chrysalis fled because of you. She's afraid of your potential.” Twilight continued to walk, aware of every word that was spoken behind her. Though the losses were heavy, a miracle had occurred. It was a tender mercy, one that Twilight fondled and treasured. She did notice that they hadn't gotten out uninjured. Every changeling had been wounded to some degree. Some had even fainted with blood loss, and were overlooked at every instant by an I.V bag. And Twilight, though she was tired and dirty and distressed and broken, felt so much admiration well up within her that she almost spilled over. Oh, the sacrifice her sons had made! Oh, the ponies they had become on the field of battle! Though they were but boys, girls, teenagers, they were some of the greatest souls to walk the earth. Twilight came to the large but soft Gupe. He was lying on a mattress; he had been prioritized more than others. His left hind leg had been broken in three places. Wrapped in sterile white strips and a splint, Gupe was clearly in pain. When he saw his alicorn captain, however, he instantly eased himself off his mattress, gently settling onto the soft soil. Wincing, clearly in pain, he slowly raised his hoof in a firm salute as she came by. That was the push that sent Twilight over the line. Twilight wept openly, without stopping, with shuddering breaths. Gupe managed to smile. “Down, soldier,” Fluttershy whispered, coming over and easing him back down onto his mattress. Gupe made no resistance, and settled onto his back while Fluttershy elevated his leg. Before she passed by, Twilight smiled back at him, though her face was tearful. The day was won. Her brother would not be forgotten by anyone who had fought with him, and Chrysalis was alone and weak, stranded in the middle of the open desert. The final stage was just ahead.