Starlight Glimmer (speaking to Queen Chrysalis): I know what it's like to lead by fear and intimidation! And I know what it's like to want everypony to do what you say! But I was wrong. A real leader doesn't force her subjects to deny who they are! She celebrates what makes them unique and listens when one of them finds a better way!
After a brief and brazen commercial break for various smuggled products, Amber Manganese addressed the Block Media viewers again. A coffee cup sat on her desk, and her hair looked frazzled. She’d clearly been without sleep for quite some time. Either no other anchors were there to relieve her, or she was that committed to her job.
“Good evening, Petra. It’s now twenty-four hours into this new timeline. Supreme General Cesium is taking his time to make a plan and activate his forces. Unlike with Sombra, the Petran armed forces will likely sneak attack Queen Chrysalis and her Changeling swarm. So far, it seems Chrysalis is blind to Petra’s presence.
“The military has put restrictions on Block Media and other news outlets. Our reporters are not allowed to venture any further than a few miles beyond Petra’s northern borders. If any ponies were to travel beyond that, it could reveal Petra’s existence to the Changelings. Now that it’s evening, our bat pony reporter, Darkened Way, is permitted to bring us this exclusive.”
The footage cut to Darkened Way, who flew a few miles above the ground. It was much higher than where she’d been hovering during the King Sombra timeline. At this height, she wouldn’t be visible from the ground. At least, Starlight guessed it, based on her own spying experience.
“Amber, the coming assault is like the blowing sand here in the Southwest Basin… you can feel it in the air. I’m above one of the few lakes in this area of Equestria: Shining Lake.”
Darkened pointed, and the camera zoomed in on a lake about two miles in diameter. True to its name, the evening sun rays reflected off the surface and cast a glare onto the camera eye. The camera then panned to a massive facility on the northwest shore of the lake, about a square mile in size. It was a compound made of dozens of buildings. Their sandstone walls were covered in Changeling goop like gross graffiti. The barbed wire fence surrounding the buildings, though, was normal. Starlight recalled that the changeling hive had been just a black towering thing with swiss cheese holes… but clean. Was the goop the Changelings’ way of marking Equestria’s territory as their own?
The compound stood about twenty feet away from the fences at all sides. Plenty of room for the guards to take out any suicidal intruder who managed to get over the fence. Changeling drones buzzed around the area. Or rather, little black dots that Starlight could only guess were drones.
Starlight blinked. She turned to High Flyer as he paused the video. “Is this… the Arid Sector? You aren’t even allowed to take pictures of that. It’s top secret. Nopony even knows what’s inside.”
High Flyer nodded. “Well, it’s nothing cool like aliens or hovercraft. It’s the place where Equestria’s threats aren’t killed, they’re merely ‘rendered inoperable.’ Never really did its job in these timelines. So much for Equestria’s most classified base. It might redeem itself yet...”
He resumed the video.
Darkened said, “The Military Records Department has instructed our crew to fly at this height above this location. While other news organizations like PNC or The Eon aren’t willing to risk their reporters in a potential warzone, Block Media brings you this exclusive!”
Amber Manganese smiled. “Your bravery is second only to our boys on the ground. I don’t know how you keep your stamina.”
Her horn flashed white, and her coffee cup magically refilled. Now that was a spell Starlight wanted to learn!
Darkened said, “The Military Records Department didn’t exist until yesterday. Since our coverage of Sombra, the Petran military has become very interested in wartime footage.”
“Why’s that?” asked Amber.
“So that we never forget those we lose. So that someday, we can show the truth to war crimes tribunals or conspiracy theorists."
By this point, the sun was barely lucid, and though the full moon was coming out, it was still hard to see the Arid Sector compound.
“Darkened,” said Manganese. “We can’t see back here. Could you fly closer to the base, if possible?”
Darkened looked away, blushing. “Sorry. I don’t really notice the darkness, or the distance… being a bat pony, you know, I can see everything at night.”
Manganese smiled. “We all have our gifts; it’s nothing to be ashamed of. If only the changelings knew that their gift is to thrive on love, to never be hungry or thirsty. They have a limitless energy source, but by enslaving ponies, they’re making it nonrenewable. They shall run dry and perish unless we save Equestria, by saving the changelings from their wicked, backward ideology and the queen who preaches it.”
This news channel has no problem with editorializing, Starlight thought, though she did agree fully with everything Manganese had just said. In this timeline, Petra was the only hope that Equestria had, for better or worse. It’s hard for a journalist to be fully objective when their entire way of life is threatened.
As Darkened Way and the camerapony descended, several loud bangs and flashes of light erupted.
“Amber, I’m hearing massive explosions near the complex!”
“Please, stay safe!” Amber exhorted her.
Starlight leaned into the screen to catch the strained footage. It was kind of like watching a hoofball game from the cheap seats. A tall, concrete guard tower was in flames, with changelings fleeing by wing. Some of them were on fire, chittering and chirping. The explosions continued near all the other guard towers. Roller golems emerged from the sand, crashing into the fences with a clanky metal sound, and Petran fighters poured through the gaps. Roughly two hundred Petrans made it through, with more on the way.
Dozens of aerial changelings charged up their horns, dive-bombing the Petrans as they ran through the busted fence towards the compound doors. Several of the Petrans fell to the ground, screaming as changeling fangs tore apart their flesh. Bat pony snipers and changelings were dogfighting, some whizzing just a few yards past the camera.
The battle raged on as Changeling reinforcements arrived, but they couldn’t stem the tide of the Petran minotaur golems who’d just arrived. Their rock hard bodies were impossible for fangs to penetrate. The behemoths swung their axes everywhere, flinging changeling body parts all over the place. The battlefield was covered in green, teal, and black guts and flesh, mixed in with a few unfortunate Petran bodies. The reflection of the moon cast a blue glow on it all.
Two colors blended into indigo atop the sandy canvass, Starlight recalled from her vision.
The battle had lulled, and the Petrans recharged their golems with earth energy.
Manganese said, “We’ve won on the outside, but the remaining changelings are holed up in the massive buildings. Now, some helmet cam footage from the fighter known only as ‘Soldier A.”
The footage shifted again. In a hallway, soldiers and changelings were shooting at each other. The view was pitch black, only lit by the flash of guns and by the Petrans’ helmet-mounted flashlights. Several doors were on either side of the hallway, and changelings emerged from each one, ready to pounce. Hooves and a rifle came into view at the bottom of the screen. The scope came up, and loud bangs erupted.
“I love this part. It’s like a video game!” High Flyer exclaimed.
Soldier A was a great shot. Changelings poured through a door on the left, leading to a room with ponies trapped in cocoons. He blasted one changeling after the other, right in the head. Then, two Petran soldiers emerged from a door next to him.
“This room is clear, comrade!” one of them shouted towards Soldier A.
<Name and ID,> he thought at them.
No response.
Soldier A shot both of them, and as they fell to the ground, a green flash revealed that they’d been changelings. Though they’d mimicked the Petran uniforms right down to the dogtags, and they’d simulated the appearance (but not the functionality) of guns, their lack of telepathy gave them away.
Another Petran passed by Soldier A.
<Dolomov, ID #30053.>
<Soldier A, #80132.>
Dolomov smiled at the camera.
As Soldier A proceeded down the long hallway, the situation repeated. Petrans were shooting “Petrans” left and right. Though a third of the bodies on the floor were real Petrans, two thirds were changelings.
Starlight grinned. “I can’t believe it...they’re out hive-minding the changelings!”
“You can handle any circumstance when you use your mind,” High Flyer replied. “Old Petran saying.”
The fisher-minds cast out their thoughts and knew dolphin from shark, Starlight recalled.
Unlike the battle against Sombra, Starlight felt no queasiness here. She almost felt bad about not feeling bad at this time, but she figured that something in this recording would get to her later. She realized that she was likely biased. The crystal ponies resembled ponies, but changelings, at least in appearance, were alien.
Soldier A reached a heavily-guarded area. A giant door stood in front of him, labeled “CHEMICAL LAB.” He stood on the sidelines, providing cover fire while his comrades decimated the changeling forces.
He entered the chemical lab after the coast was clear. The lab had long rows of tables. Vials, beakers, bunsen burners, decanters, and all sorts of chemistry equipment sat upon the tables. It all smelled like sulfur--at least Starlight guessed. Posters of the periodic table of elements and complex molecules covered the walls. The opposite corner of the room had diagrams of rockets and machinery. Clearly, some serious science was being done here.
The scientists weren’t locked in protoplasmic changeling cocoons like most of the prisoners that Soldier A had filmed in the hallway. Instead, they were tied up in the corners with rope. They cheered as the Petrans untied them.
“You’re the closest to angels I’ve ever seen!” a chemist said.
“What is that funny contraption on your head, and what’s the one in your hooves?” asked a physicist to Soldier A. “Who are you?”
“A deadly firearm and a video camera. I am Soldier A, sent from the Republic of Petra to destroy the Changeling Hive and record our victory!”
“Petra? Arid Sector scientists have been preparing for Petra’s return for decades, fearing your invasion. Ironically, you’re our rescuers. But why did you wait so long to come?”
“Chrysalis cast a time spell. We’ve only just entered this timeline. At first we thought it was King Sombra who caused it, but it wasn’t.”
The physicist blinked. “Queen Chrysalis doesn’t have the magic to change the timeline. The A.S. was studying her magic very closely before her drones captured us.”
“Then who did it?” Soldier A asked.
Though Soldier A asked the question in a neutral tone, the physicist had been conditioned for his whole career to fear Petra.
He took a step back, and started sweating. “I don’t know. Please forgive me. We were going to use a new weapon we developed against against the changelings, but Princess Celestia forbid its use once she realized how devastating it would be. We’re so sorry that we didn’t use it, that we inconvenienced Petra. We never meant for you to have to clean up our mess. Don’t hurt us!”
“We won’t. We’re not the monsters you think we are. We just want to see the sky again. We’re your long-lost brothers, not your enemies. We only hate the alicorns… and so should you, because look how they abandoned you.”
“Huh,” he replied.
Later, Soldier A took a smoke break--in the hallway outside at the chemists’ insistence--and by the time he finished his cigarette, the gunshots in the compound had died down. Soon, the lab door swung open, and in walked General Cesium himself. To walk into the base so soon, he must’ve been confident that Petra had already won the battle. But why was he here? To give another one of his speeches? But of course.
“Ponies of science,” he addressed them. “I’ve learned that you invented a weapon, but Princess Celestia wouldn’t let you deploy against the changelings. It’s one that could’ve turned the tide against Chrysalis... that is, if Celestia had an IQ above room temperature. But she opposed this weapon for ‘ethical concerns.’ Apparently, a few ponies here in this room shared her sentiment, when you discovered the weapon’s effects were even deadlier than you thought.”
He took a step forward, his eyes narrowing. “But why? Princess Celestia and Luna were killed by the changelings soon after you invented the weapon. You now answer to no one, except the love you have for your fellow countrymen. Why continue to follow alicorn orders? Why put the ‘ethical concerns’ of a foreign power above your own survival? It’s the same insane self-sacrifice that we saw in another timeline. King Sombra was waging war against Equestria, a country twice the size and population of the Crystal Empire. It should’ve been an easy win for you, but your leaders crippled you and tossed unarmed and untrained bodies into the fray.
“Petra will not allow your inaction to endanger our country. You failed to contain this parasite infestation, Equestria has fallen, and the Republic of Petra is your new government. You shall work with Petran scientists to deploy your weapon onto the battlefield and correct the alicorns’ mistake of inaction. We have no time to lose!”
About half of the scientists stepped forward to walk towards Cesium, many of them smiling. But about half stayed sitting in the back of the lab.
Cesium looked at them and scowled. “Oh, did I make it sound like you had a choice?”
General Cesium stood atop the complex, victorious, addressing his troops.
“We lost many good ponies in the Arid Sector, but this battle was just the beginning of our war. We will avenge our fallen heroes. We will free our imprisoned Equestrian brethren, who will fight beside us. Our might and arms will persevere… Queen Chrysalis and her drones will feel the brunt of our golems and the pierce of our KA-97’s!”
“In the ground severed, to the sky together!” the soldiers responded in unison, holding their rifles high.
“That’s Petra’s national motto,” said High Flyer.
Equestria’s motto is ‘Forever united, forever friends,’ Starlight observed. It implies that Equestria is perfect as is, but Petra’s motto implies a temporary state of affairs... the nation is just a launching pad to something else. Interesting…
Darkened Way said, “Amber, during the lull in the fighting, I’ve been recording from near Appleloosa. It was one of the last towns to be captured by the changelings, just a week ago.”
A green and black painted train traveled down the railroad tracks which ran through Appleloosa, now a burnt-out husk of its former self. Only charred skeletal structure remained standing, while blackened timber, smashed glass, and broken saloon bottles littered the floor. It smelled of ash and booze… a stench which Starlight’s vivid imagination conjured up.
Changelings flew into the town, weaving through wreckage to find the few remaining ponies, buffalo, and sheep, who were all cowering wherever they could hide. Two by two the changelings carried them to the train, a hellish ark. The Changelings belched up green goo to smother their captives, then tossed them in, stuffing the boxcars to bursting.
The camera cut to Manganese, who said, “The PIA has read the Equestrian intelligence from Arid Sector. They’ve determined that this rail line is vital to the ‘Love Economy,’ an emotional slave trade across occupied Equestria. The exact details of this economy are unclear, but here’s what we do know.”
Another map of Equestria appeared, marked with occupied cities of Equestria, all highlighted in green. The main hive was also labelled, and it was in Canterlot. That wasn’t where it was in the main timeline, but perhaps it was symbolic. Queen Chrysalis had failed to capture Canterlot during the wedding of Shining Armor to Princess Cadance. Now that she had Canterlot, maybe relocating her capitol there was a move to stroke her ego, a symbol of her triumph.
Manganese continued, “The so-called Love Economy is neither loving nor an economy. It’s a war crime syndicate. Whenever the Changelings capture a new town, they imprison the residents in cocoons of green goo. They’re sardine-packed into trains and sent to the main hive to be processed. The prisoners are then to be turned into love slaves for the Changelings to feed off of.
“After processing, the pony love-slaves are shipped by train once more, distributed out to the new colonies in the main cities of Equestria. Each city gets slaves according to their need, a form of central planning typical of insects.”
Darkened Way asked, “Not all those ponies--or buffalo or sheep--have love to give, do they?”
Manganese shook her head. “The ponies who are lacking in love: the homeless, clinically depressed, and lonely elderlies are deemed useless. Warning: the following footage is not suitable for anyone under the age… anyone with a weak… for anyone who...”
Here eyes were misty. “For anyone.”
The camera cut to Galloping Gorge. Changelings flew giant wheelbarrows full of entrapped Equestrians over and dumped them in. Their bodies cracked and shook as their bones broke from impact. Countless ponies, buffalo, sheep, cows, and other sentient creatures filled the gorge to the brim. Changelings with flamethrowers sprayed napalm across the bodies, and black smoke billowed up. Starlight’s throat clenched. She felt like she’d throw up. At least she couldn’t smell the acrid smoke. This was something so medieval, it hadn’t been seen in the world for countless generations.
Her constitution returned after the (thankfully brief) clip was finished.
Amber added, “What’s more troubling… the Arid Sector scientists have said it’s possible that the ponies in these cocoons are entirely conscious the whole time, as no sedative exists in changeling proteins.”
“Dammit!” Starlight shouted. She slammed her hoof into the floor so hard that it left a bruise on her hoof and a dent in the floor. High Flyer patted her on the back.
“You’re doing great,” he said. “It was hell even for me to watch this, and I’ve been alive for many decades and seen all sorts of death and violence. I can’t imagine what it’s like for you. I can stop it if you want?”
“No,” she said. “I need to see what I did.”
<It. Wasn’t. You.>
His sudden telepathy caught her off guard. He leaned towards her, his face stone cold.
He clarified, “Princess Celestia’s genius idea of ‘national defense’ was to have her fave student go into a random village, pray that she’d find five other ponies with exactly the right personality types, and have them wield long-lost artifacts that shoot rainbows at things. True, that precise scenario didn’t happen because of you. But Celestia is such a doofus that she didn’t even have a backup plan.
“After the sonic rainboom was a bust, Celestia had years to find an understudy, another student after Twilight didn’t get her cutie mark in time. But she didn’t. Celestia’s a real Einstone, huh? It’s her job to protect Equestria, not yours. Is Equestria truly full of friendship, or are the amulets of harmony just compensating for something? There should’ve been loads more ponies with pure enough hearts to wield them. How could there not be? But Celestia said no to it all.
“Even with no amulets, you’ve got some badass unicorns; they were some of Celestia’s fiercest soldiers during the Regal Wars. Where were the unicorns to cast the same time spell that you did, or shoot magic laser beams? The pegasi could’ve made a tornado to blow bad guys away. And of course Celestia doesn’t allow golems, so she’s passing up a game changer. Celestia’s one backup plan against the changelings, which you’ll see here in a bit, she didn’t even want to use. Just like when she was fighting Sombra, Celestia puts the welfare of the enemy above her own people. She denies her subjects the use of their talents to defend Equestria. She doesn’t listen to ponies who propose winning strategies.”
He took a long breath.
“...And another thing, Celestia aside. In our timeline, King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis were stopped before they became a problem. Do you believe in free will? In these alternate timelines, these two became major problems… but where were the crystal ponies and changelings with consciences? No revolts or uprisings? No coup attempts by other thugs in the monarchs’ cadres with different agendas? They were even more wicked and vile than you ever knew. They observe no law. If you believe in free will, then they could’ve felt guilt and stopped at any point. Or just seen that, pragmatically, they could’ve stayed in power a lot longer by playing nice.
“Was everything that went wrong entirely your fault? Does the burglar take no blame for stealing your stuff, even when your door is unlocked? Starlight Glimmer, tell me that it wasn’t all your fault.”
Starlight blinked. She’d never thought about it that way. True, she had more respect for the Princesses than High Flyer did, but Princess Celestia did kind of drop the ball after Twilight didn’t get her cutie mark during that exam. While a lot had to go right for the six element bearers to meet each other, a lot had to go wrong for Equestria to be overtaken after they didn’t. A needle can pop a balloon, but it can’t pop a watermelon. Starlight was responsible for being the needle, but Equestria had only itself to blame for being a balloon. Sombra and Chrysalis had responsibility for being who they were, as well.
<It’s not all my fault.>
Over the next hour, a compilation of footage showed the Petrans striking the changelings all across Southern Equestria. They blew up bridges near Appleloosa, Las Pegasus, Dodge Junction, Marizona, and Birminghay. Steamroller golems ruthlessly smashed through various hives the changelings had constructed. Soldiers went door to door rescuing ponies. The Equestrians broke down in tears, hugging their mysterious heroes. The Petrans showed the earth ponies how to charge up golems, the pegasi carried the Petrans off to towns further east and west, and the high-level unicorns cast enchantments on weapons and armor.
A male voiceover said, “Block Media would like to thank our competitors for sharing the footage from their reporters, as we have shared ours. This event is so widespread that it’s difficult for a single news team to report. Rest assured that our network will retain its objective coverage, while showing all relevant footage of these events.”
“That’s President Block’s voice,” said High Flyer.
Starlight noted, “Trying to assure his viewers that he’s not joining some larger media syndicate.”
“It’s important,” said High Flyer with a serious tone. “In Equestria, every big news outlet has only positive things to say about the alicorns. In Petra, only Block Media and a few independent newspapers are truly critical of the Entrenchment policies.”
“Almost everypony in Equestria loves the princesses,” said Starlight. “There isn’t really a market segment for anti-Celestia news. As for the Entrenchment, most ponies don’t like change, whether Equestrians or Petrans.”
High Flyer added, “You’re right about change, but after over a thousand years, most people would want something different. That’s what happens in Petran elections; we have different political parties. But who wants to risk falling afoul of the hate speech laws in Equestria? I could say, ‘Equestria is too gentle. We need to take a scorched earth approach to this war,’ and I’d be arrested for inciting hatred.”
Starlight chuckled. “Those laws aren’t usually enforced. I was never arrested for hate speech, and I said that everypony’s uniqueness should be stripped from them against their will. In fact, I wasn’t even arrested for messing with the timelines.”
“That’s because you’re too powerful to arrest. You can travel through time, teleport, fly, create butterfly wings, remove cutie marks, and probably do all sorts of other cool things I don’t even know about.”
Starlight gave a tepid smile. “Hmm… I can turn invisible, turn objects into other objects, combine raw ingredients to bake a cake in seconds, clone myself, run incredibly fast, telekinetically move objects weighing over a thousand pounds, create protective shields, trap ponies in crystal, walk on clouds, make ponies speak against their will, use mind control, turn adults into children, banish people from locations… I’m probably missing a few.”
High Flyer’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “Those powers are really dope! You prove my point, though. The princesses have no way to respond to something tougher than them--this broadcast is proof. They prolly just left you alone ‘cause they were afraid of you.”
“Twilight kept me by her side because the only way to control me was to change my attitude towards friendship. It worked. I truly regret what I did to my village. And now I’m the guidance counselor at a friendship scho—wait, I think you forgot to pause the video.”
High Flyer shrugged. “It was just more war footage. Now here’s where it gets interesting.”
As the war had progressed, the Petrans’ tactics had changed. Thousands of golems marched across the deserts and grasslands, laying siege to changeling-controlled cities. Some golems were made of stone from Petra, but many were recently constructed in Equestria: from bricks of destroyed homes, or cobblestone from ruined streets. The Petran soldiers and their Equestrian allies mostly stood back behind the lines, recharging depleted golems as they came along, as the pegasi provided air support. The Petran war machine was truly frightening when it got going—and only two days had passed in this timeline.
However, Petrans were still needed on the front lines to telepathically discern who were actually ponies, and who were changelings. The golems weren’t smart enough to know the difference, so they only attacked specific targets the Petrans designated. Telling changelings and ponies apart was a very difficult task, as the changelings had changed their tactics. They were almost all mimicking civilians now… yet another serious war crime, not that Chrysalis cared.
“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” they pleaded.
The Petrans couldn’t telepathically “ping” tens of thousands of ponies. Even if they could, most Equestrians had no idea how to respond to telepathic messages, nor any idea of whom to respond to.
The Petrans’ initial victories in certain cities faded into stalemates in others, even losses in the cities of Pullsa and Husted. No one knew who was who. The Changeling collective had now adapted to Petra. What had worked at the Arid Sector—a surprise attack and close-quarters combat—didn’t work on the large battlefields and cities. Not anymore, at least.
Amber Manganese and Darkened Way were getting some much-needed sleep. In their place, Block Media brought in a military analyst, a veteran named Attack Formation. She was a wore a tan uniform with several medals on it, gleaming in the Block Studio spotlight, and chomped on an unlit cigar. She had a burly, butch look, and was one of the few females that Starlight had seen in Petra’s military.
She said, “Petran military losses have started mounting. Early reports indicate that at least a thousand Petrans have died, and two thousand of our Equestrian allies, compared to ten thousand dead changelings. Several changelings have defected to Petra, shedding their blackened forms to become who they truly are. From EIA, PIA and changeling defector sources, a siege on Canterlot would quite literally be an uphill battle. Hundreds of thousands of changelings have retreated there, destroying railroads and bridges behind them.
“Without pegasi weather control, severe snowy weather and frostbite temperatures have beset Canterlot. There’s a shortage of winter clothing. It was never mass-produced in this timeline. Pushing further north and climbing the mountain is estimated to cost over fifty thousand Petran lives, and twice that many Equestrians. Even then, at least a hundred thousand golems would need to be built to maintain supply lines, protect the liberated territory in the south, destroy obstacles, and assist in the fighting. This siege would take at least a year.
“An aerial bombardment campaign is out of the question; Canterlot houses thousands of pony love slaves, and slave laborers. It’s Equestria’s oldest city and a historically protected area. The city has important significance to both Petrans and Equestrians. While military plans are confidential, President Diamondshower has prepared an announcement, directed at Queen Chrysalis.”
Diamondshower took to his podium. His eyes were baggy and bloodshot, but he spoke in a stern voice.
“Queen Chrysalis, your reign of terror over this continent is about to come to an end. If you value the lives of your subjects at all, you shall surrender immediately and unconditionally. Otherwise, you face imminent destruction. You have one hour.”
An hour passed, with Attack Formation offering several speculative theories on the ‘imminent destruction’ that Diamondshower had promised. Starlight thought that perhaps it was the Arid Sector weapon. Though it shouldn’t come as a surprise to Chrysalis… she’d captured the base, after all, and presumably the weapon schematics. It was possible, though, that the Petran and Equestrian scientists had put their heads together to come up with something even better. Would Chrysalis call Diamondshower’s bluff? Was he bluffing at all?
Exactly one hour later, Starlight got a horrifying answer.
Amber Manganese was back at her desk. “We are reporting that the town of Ponyville has been struck by a new weapon… this is incredible.”
The footage cut to Ponyville. Thankfully it was far enough away to where Starlight couldn’t make out any ponies she knew. The changelings, though, were clearly identifiable. They were in their true forms, black, and writhing on the streets of the city. Chittering and groans rose up from them. Their limbs twitched as they died in agony. Changelings in pony form were not immune; they were struck by this mysterious illness, involuntarily reverted to changeling form, and died like the rest.
The dolphins were spared, the sharks were speared, Starlight recalled from her vision.
Amber said, “It’s said to be a pesticide which shuts down a changeling’s morphogenic nervous system. The pesticide hijacks the changelings’ ability to shapeshift and uses it against them, making the morphogenic nerves go haywire. The Arid Sector first developed it to non-lethally stun changelings, but it was deadlier than intended. Princess Celestia forbade the chemical’s use, calling it ‘potential genocide.’ Chemical weapons are banned under international treaties, but Petra is not a signatory.
“The new weapon, which Petran scientists improved upon, now has a lethality rate of 99% within 100 meters of the deployment site. The canisters are lightweight and can be easily transported by wing. President Diamondshower has threatened Queen Chrysalis once more. Her top generals and officers must surrender to Petran custody, and all changeling war criminals must be arrested to stand trial, or else Canterlot itself will be gassed.”
Starlight’s jaw dropped. She turned to High Flyer, who had already paused the video in anticipation.
“You used chemical weapons against the changelings? Didn’t you know that all you had to do was to convince them of the value of friendship?”
High Flyer rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you hear Amber Manganese’s love monologue earlier? How did we turn the defectors good? Petrans know the right way for a changeling to live, but you can only convince somebody of something if they’re willing to listen. Sometimes you have to show somebody the wrath of God for them to listen to you.”
“I guess… before she convinced me, Twilight Sparkle showed me an alternate timeline where all of Equestria had been destroyed. That’s what it took for me. I’m saying this should’ve been a propaganda war, not a genocide.”
“One town does not a genocide make. And propaganda… how would we have done that? Dropping leaflets in a language they can’t read? Pirate broadcasts on scry-orbs they don’t have? Telepathic signals to their telepathically deaf brains? C’mon, Starlight, you’re smarter than this. We had to send them a little message in a language every creature understands… death.”
Petran soldiers ascended the road into Canterlot, unopposed by the terrified changelings. They cowered in fear as the troops passed them by, as if they’d be shot. But no violence had broken out since Ponyville was gassed.
“A cease-fire is in order, and the Changelings have no choice but to obey it,” said Darkened Way, who was recording close-up footage of the Petrans claiming Canterlot. Or perhaps reclaiming Canterlot, depending on one’s view of history. Queen Chrysalis and her generals were arrested, escorted out of the royal palace by scores of armed Petrans.
Everypony cheered the arrival of the soldiers. They forced the changelings to remove all ponies from their imprisoned cocoons. Families reunited in the streets, their eyes filled with tears of joy. Several of the more good-natured changelings begged for forgiveness. Would they receive it? A changeling couldn’t survive unless he or she received love, and since it could no longer be stolen, it had to be given freely. There would be many starving changelings unless Equestrians and Petrans had compassion for them and their situation.
Elsewhere, changelings were forced to dig proper graves to bury the victims of their emotional genocide. Many of the changelings themselves looked shocked at the giant pits of bodies. Apparently, knowledge of the genocide wasn’t widespread, even among changelings.
Grief-stricken ponies shouted at them, “Look what you did! Never forget this!”
“We didn’t know…” the changelings sobbed, hauling bodies out of the mass graves to put in individual plots.
President Diamondshower once again stood to give a speech, speaking from Canterlot this time. His podium bore an emblem with a different variation of the Petran flag, this one with no black circle on it. A few changelings in their true forms, their beautiful forms of voluntary love and compassion, stood behind him. King Thorax was one of them. The transformation from evil to purity had begun, for some changelings at least.
Diamondshower said, “With the defeat of Queen Chrysalis, we now face an enormous challenge. Equestria and the Petran Republic must chart a course together, whatever that may be. Ponykind has been fractured in two for a thousand years, but re-integration is only possible with the consent and knowledge of both peoples. Equestria must re-establish some form of government in the absence of the alicorn princesses. Whether the new government unites with Petra is another matter, but our presence is known and we will no longer live in secret. We will not deny the bond of kinship which exists between our peoples.
“But we now have a third factor. The changelings have no legitimate government or power structure, either. They too are family, long removed… descended from a different line, Terrarch’s sister, the goddess Duplicity. We must ensure that all changeling war criminals face trial, but we must establish a legal framework under which to try them to begin with. We must consider what ponykind’s relation with the changelings shall b”
“it will be a long road--
“--many ethical considerations--”
“(The idea of the Light...
Darkness, distortion, and stuttering interrupted the president’s speech, until the screen faded. Another timeline shift, apparently. The Petrans reappeared inside of Petra healed of all wounds, the dead resurrected, as if it all was just a dream.
Once more, Starlight broke down in tears.
“I never knew that… so much suffering happened…” she sobbed, barely containing herself. “Why did it have to be? It could’ve been solved so easily!”
“At least the story had a happy ending,” said High Flyer. “I’m not sure what would’ve happened if that timeline continued, but the suffering came to an end.”
“And it’s thanks to Petra, which is the strangest part,” said Starlight, now with more composure. “The heroes are the ones who hate Equestria’s government? Ruthless violence, not friendship, saved the day? I won’t lie, I’m very confused.”
“Peace, not conflict, is a warrior’s goal,” said High Flyer. “His job is to never have to do his job. He, his comrades, and their machinery are a deterrent, a display of such power that an enemy would think twice before attacking. But when the time comes, the warrior takes his gun and his courage, racing towards the battlefield. He knows that pitying the enemy is treason to his own people. That was Celestia’s mistake. She didn’t see that heroism is the opposite of unearned mercy. Maybe you’re so confused ‘cause you finally see some of Celestia’s failings, and you’re uncomfortable.”
“I’m sure she had a reason, but I’m really not seeing it,” said Starlight. “Millions would’ve died if the war kept going without chemical weapons being used, versus a few thousand being killed in a very painful way in Ponyville as a demonstration. Honestly--and it makes me feel horrible to say this--I almost find myself agreeing with Petra’s decision. Almost.”
“I’m just guessing, but maybe this is one reason Maud brought you to Petra,” said High Flyer. “Without seeing this, you’d have lived your whole life not knowing what happened, not ever getting any closure for the horrible timelines that happened… again, not entirely your fault.”
“True, and at least now I know. How many more videos are there? I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” Starlight pleaded.
High Flyer smiled. “We’re through the worst of it. The next timeline actually isn’t violent at all. It’s kind of humorous, to be honest. The one after it is more like a novel, less like a bloodbath. Then we’re done.”
He resumed the video.
Amber Manganese sat at her desk. “Good evening, fillies and gentlecolts. We here at Block Media aren’t entirely sure what’s happening in this new timeline. Everything outside of Petra appears to be nonsense. Cotton candy clouds, chocolate rivers, floating windmills: insanity. Scientists have speculated that, rather than a new Equestrian timeline, we’ve instead been transported to another dimens—”
A white flash erupted in Manganese’s chair. She disappeared.
“Hello, Petra. So nice of you to finally join my chaos world!”
Discord had taken her place.