//------------------------------// // 40- Athena Promachos // Story: Changing Expectations // by KKSlider //------------------------------// For seven days and seven nights the changelings flew across the Badlands. That sounds awfully biblical and ominous, but seeing nothing but dirt, rocks, and cacti was just boring. And hot. Oest and Chamberlain Eucharis stuck close to me during the flight north, and neither were good company for long journeys. Oest because he doesn’t talk very much, and Eucharis because we couldn’t talk about many things I wanted to talk about. Like not dying, how my mother was a horrible being, and the overall rebellious phase I was in. But we did talk. We had a conversation about our jobs, and that was the only conversation with him that I was able to recall afterwards. “How long have you been Chamberlain?” “Oh… I’d say about twenty nine years now, My Prince,” He spoke loudly. The air above the Badlands was mostly stagnant, meaning our flight was actually pretty quiet. “That’s quite a long time.” “Ha! Your Highness is only eight months old, a single year is a long time for you.” “Mmm, I suppose that’s true. What were you before that?” “I was in charge of the distribution of love rations.” “I can see how you got promoted to Chamberlain, then.” There was a lull in the conversation as I desperately thought of things to talk about. “... You work with Queen Chrysalis more than any other changeling, right?” “Yes, My Prince.” “Has she told you who my father is?” “... I don’t think she’d appreciate you asking about him, Prince Phasma.” ‘Damn. Of course she’d tell Eucharis to keep his mouth shut.’ “Okay. Do you like your job, Chamberlain?” “We all do our duty, whether or not we enjoy it, my Prince.” ‘I swear, it's like he’s reading from a manual on how to spout propaganda.’ “I know. Do you enjoy doing your job?” “I do. It’s very gratifying.” “Oh, good. Good.” “Do you enjoy your job, My Prince?” “Hmm… I don’t like the paperwork. The everyday training was absolutely exhausting. Having the entire fate of the hive depended on how well I did my job is scary. But… I love feeling needed. All these changelings look up to me, and I can help each and every one of them out.” “Everything for the hive.” “Yeah, that. I could never leave this job, not when there’s more I can do for the hive. Even if I have to endure all this, it’s worth it.” ‘So long as I don’t give everything to the hive, specifically my… brain. Life? Sure. Lobotomization? Hell no.’ “I’m proud to hear that, My Prince.” “Though I’d love to have time for myself… Has Queen Chrysalis told you any of her plans about after the invasion? Or I should ask instead, have you figured out her plans for after?” “Her Majesty has a plan for controlling Equestria’s towns and populations, but… The details she keeps to herself.” “I see.” The heat of the Badlands makes keeping any conversations long an arduous task. Everyone was too busy being miserable, though I was proud I managed to go an entire conversation with the brownnoser without lying once. When the Legions finally approached the Equestrian border early in the morning on the seventh day of flight over the Badlands, with stops each night at designated locations with love-caches, they split up into the three invasion forces. I managed to resist the urge to lean in and whisper ‘Hail Hydra’ in General Aphid’s and General Labrum’s ears, though I gave another short speech about ‘love’ this and ‘the end to modern pony society’ that. I refrained from mentioning the phrase the greater good, just in case Eucharis was paying close attention. I saluted the Generals, and they in turn saluted their High Marshal. After wishing them good hunting, their Legions split off to head to their targets. The first target that the Swarm Group Center would be hitting was the small town of Dodge Junction. We arrived there just a few hours after the Swarm had split up. Unlike the next two targets, full capture was expected to take fifteen minutes most, with most of that time dedicated to continuous sweeps afterwards to make sure all inhabitants were captured. Before arriving into view of the town, the Swarm descended to fly low, just barely above the ground. Then, we all set down behind a massive mesa, hiding the thousands-strong invading force from view of the townsponies. A small team went up to the mesa, to scope out the place. Once they gave the all clear, myself and the attacking force silently flew to the top, setting down on the edge farthest from the pony village. I strode over to the edge of the mesa overlooking the tiny town, the changelings ahead of me on the edge already casting an illusion spell to hide ourselves. “Six buildings down at the base of the mesa, a seventh train station, with five outlying ranches. Any ponies outside of a mile have already been captured by the vanguard scouts,” Colonel Cricket informed me as I arrived. Of course I wasn’t traveling at the forefront of the invasion, but instead near the core of the force. “We’re ready on your order, My Prince.” I looked to my left and right. Changelings were crouched low to the ground, ready to swarm down below and blitz the town. I looked back to the sleepy, Western-themed town. I saw four earth ponies hooked up to a stagecoach parked in front of a building labeled as a bank. Across the street, a mare with a parasol slowly made her way through the tiny town. Other than those ponies, the little town seemed almost abandoned. ‘Most will be inside, avoiding this horrid heat. They won’t know what hit them.’ “Guard presence?” “None, My Prince.” “Expected number of combatants?” “Just the sheriff, My Prince.” ‘This town is so small that its capture would be completely beneath note, save for the fact that it is the first ponies we will capture.’ “Any possibilities of long-range communication?” “Forward scouts report no possibility, My Prince.” ‘This will be my one chance to feel strong and powerful before we go up against actual enemies.’ “... Then I want to have just a little bit of fun, before things get serious. Stay here, and wait for my command through the Weave. Then, you may begin the attack.” I focused on the Thread of Change, and took on the form of a pegasus. The disguise had a white coat, brown mane, blue eyes, and a bullseye cutie mark. I backed up from the illusion field, and flew up and over the mesa, before spiraling down towards the town. It was not the easiest task, given my comparative lack of flight experience with feathers, but my flight training did include both feathered wings and leather wings in addition to my normal changeling wings. I was circling down, only about twenty hooves above the street, when I saw the stagecoach pullers all look at my direction. ‘One of ‘em must have seen my shadow, or heard me falling. Hmm. I bet if I land on the far side of them…’ I touched down north of them, putting them between me and the Mesa. A small dirt cloud greeted me as I gave one last flap, killing the last of my speed. As he dust settled, much of it on me, I heard a gruff voice call out from the four stallions in front of me. ‘Annoyance. Confusion.’ I smiled as I got a good look at the ponies, the first ones I ever saw outside of a pod. ‘Look at em. So cute.’ Though they were trying their hardest to look tough and manly– stallionly?– in their cowboy– cowcolt?– outfits, the fact that they were adorable ponies in cowboy outfits undermined any attempt. I saw one of them lean towards the rest and whisper something, and the taste of annoyance faded, leaving just mirth. The stallions trotted over to me, getting a good look at me as I got a good look at them. Four stallions, two with brown coats, one with caramel, one with cream. ‘So. Adorable. They all have matching bandanas and ten gallon hats!’ The pony with the cream coat spoke up, “Heya city-slicker, what brings ya tah Dodge Junction?” The stallion’s accent made the what sound more like h’wat. “Oh hey there fella’s. My family and I are on a sightseeing tour of all the towns in Equestria, and I just had to see Dodge Junction for myself!” “Yer family? They hiding behind ya or somethin'?” “Ha! I flew on ahead you see, I heard about the sights and just couldn’t help myself!” The ponies looked around at the town. ‘Confusion.’ “Err… Just what sights are ya seein’?” “We don’t get many tourists ‘round these parts, friend. Maybe yer thinkin’ of Appleloosa?” ‘Nah, I’m thinking of Wall Drug. Ha, never visiting that tourist trap ever again!’ “I don’t think so. But anyways, what’re you ponies doing out here, sitting in the hot sun?” “We’re waitin’ on our boss inside tha bank. She likes countin’ her bits, ya see…” The caramel pony said with a smile. ‘So cute and friendly. Almost makes me want to have a moral dilemma here. However, it’s us or them.’ “I think I know the type.” “Oh, where are our manners?! We forgot to ask yer name, Mr Pegasus! I’m Rocky Rustler, these here are mah friends Straight Ace, Mornin’ Mist, and Dapper Dancer. Mind if ya share yer name?” ‘Ah! There’s the line I was waiting for.’ “Mayhem.” At my command, the changelings launched themselves forward from the top of the mesa, letting gravity speed their descent towards the town. The stallions, with their backs to the mesa, were none the wiser. They were too busy sharing a look between them, before looking back at me. ‘Can’t have bad-ass one liners without setup.’ “Mayhem? My… that’s a… unlucky name…” The changelings closed the distance at fast speeds, gliding silently on the wind. “Not for me, it isn’t.” “Wha–?” Four stun spells hit the ponies in front of me nearly simultaneously as changelings took down their targets. They were quickly bound in goo as the rest of the changeling started to clear out buildings in their assigned teams. Eighty changelings against a population of around twenty four ponies, none of which save for the sheriff having any capability to fight back. Far from a fair fight. And just the way I like it. ‘Fear.’ “What in tarnation?!” Speak of the devil, and he will kick open the door behind you. I turned to face the sheriff who was standing in the doorway of the, you guessed it, sheriff’s office. Another brown coated earth pony, though this one was wearing a vest and a silvery badge in addition to their ten gallon hat. He was looking around his town as the sound of spells being flung, ponies yelling, and furniture being overturned filled the air. There were also the tastes of fear and confusion starting to permeate throughout the town as the takeover was moving at an extremely rapid pace, but the sheriff, not being a changeling, was oblivious to his own additions to the emotion soup that was being cooked. I pushed magic into the Thread of Change and dispelled my disguise in a cloak of orange flames. As the flames receded, I tasted his fear in full force as he now stared at me with wide eyes. ‘So tantalizing… But now is not the time for breakfast.’ “Catch!” I casted a stunning spell at him. He made to dodge, but the state of shock he was in slowed his reaction so that he only managed to turn to the side before being hit by the small blue and white glowing orb that formed the stunning projectile. He went down with a grunt, and immediately two changelings were upon him, wrapping him up in bindings. “Nice catch!” I turned and started to take a stroll through the streets, but stopped almost immediately when I saw a cowboy hat laying on the ground at my hooves. I took in a taste of the air. The fear, while delicious, was not fulfilling. Already, the yelling was dying down, with the last ponies, in what seemed to be the tavern, becoming quieter and quieter. Looking around the streets now filled with changelings moving to and fro, I realized what was missing from this town and my smile slowly dropped from my face. There was a distinct lack of a very close friend here. One who would be tired after his week long journey through the heat, and would possibly wait for his friends to find him. ‘Thorax isn’t here. Damn it, I could really use his advice right about now. His sappy, unrealistic, impossibly naive advice.’ I looked back at the sheriff. He had been propped up against the wall in preparation for the Chosen Conquerors to come in and pod the pony. I could see his eyes start to focus on things again as the stun spell slowly wore off. Trotting back to him, I pulled off the binding on his muzzle. “You will answer my questions, or there will be consequences you don’t want.” “W-What’s goin’ on here?!” “Did a pony come up from the Badlands all alone in the past few months?” “Who are ya–” “Answer the damn question!” He shook his nod, not in the negative but to clear it. The confusion and fear from him never went away. “Think! Was there a pony all alone who came from the Badlands?” “N-... Yes’er. A p-pegasus came in ‘bout– A-Ah don't kno–” “What did he look like? What was his name? Where did he go?” “H-He had grey f-f-fur, black m-mane, blue eyes, and t-tree Cutie Mark–” “Name? Destination?” “Dusty Cloud! A-And he was headed north!” “... That is enough, thank you.” I replaced the bindings on his muzzle. 'A Cutie Mark that doesn't match the name? Really, Thorax?' I sighed. ‘Any infiltrator would know that being seen doing something so out of the ordinary as coming from the Badlands alone without any equipment or supplies would burn the disguise so to speak, and would make a new one immediately after leaving Doge.’ ‘But this is Thorax. Knowing him, he’s still a grey pegasus, wandering Equestria. If he isn’t waiting here…. Hmph. I’ll find him, I know I will.’ The town was quiet again, and as the Chosen Conquerors arrived and started to pod the ponies, the fear that permeated the air started to dissipate. I turned around and looked back at the cowboy hat lying upturned in the dirt road. ‘These ponies greeted me as a friend, despite never seeing me. For an edge-of-civilization town, these rural folk were awfully kind. And I came in and completely ruined their lives... No, it's us or them. Us, or them.’ A brown coated earth stallion, one of the four stagecoach drivers I recognized, trotted over and picked up the hat from the ground. I tasted no emotion from him, meaning he was a disguised changeling. He placed the hat on his head, and looked at me with a smile. ‘This is just the first town on our potential six day journey. Three days till Canterlot, with three additional planned just in case of delays. The towns of New Horseleans and Cincinneighti are up next, then Canterlot. These ponies sure do love their puns.’