//------------------------------// // "Incoming!" // Story: The Retaking of Canterlot // by Charles Rocketboy //------------------------------// It was ten at night but the sun remained up as the battle started. On the one side, twenty-four combat pegasi covering sixteen recon pegasi, each split into two-pony leader/wingpony teams. On the other side, nopony would know until the changelings came screaming at them. For the moment, all was calm. “You know, it’s not too late to pull a sickie.” “Oh shut up, Vantage,” said Air Razor. Her coat was grey-blue and in uniform, it looked like she was wearing all-over armour. “One time, one freaking time. Let it go.” “Recon’s accelerating,” he said, levity gone. “Flight and strike.” “Wilco.” Everything came into sharper focus: the city below and the battle-marked buildings, and the distant (not distant enough) black blobs; the Recon Three flight they were shadowing; her team leader; every angle of the sky that a changeling could potentially come up. If and when the changelings came, Vantage would cover the sky-spies and she’d cover him. She didn’t look behind but she knew there were eight ponies, including Squadron Leader, hanging back to cover them (and everyone). She did her job and everyone did theirs, then everything should be fine. One minute crawled by, then two; she could see the changelings were watching but Recon Three was going unmolested. Vantage glanced back, checking for any signals from Leader. He didn’t say they were being drawn in because a foal of four could have guessed that. Do your job and they do theirs. ***** General Strect had been with Chrysalis since the start and he was loving how Canterlot was going: kicking the crap out of ponies in minutes. It was the most satisfying parts of warfare thrown together, the intellectual thrill of intricate planning and the more savage thrill of a one-sided beatdown. Seadonia had been a nice test but this was the real deal. It was certainly better than the start, when she’d been forming her new kingdom and he’d had to slaughter any hive that didn’t fall in line. Second battle in, he’d lost his left eye and almost died from infection. He’d been soaked in ichor and he’d had to put down the elderly (the Queen was right, the kingdom needed to be strong in body and mind; it still wasn’t much fun). Monstering the prey was much more satisfying. Word had been sent down the city: every changeling on patrol was to keep an eye on the interlopers. Strect and some trusted subordinates were buzzing down the lines (four changelings weren’t going to catch much attention from up high) so that at a second’s notice, when the pegasi did what he was expecting, hundreds of changelings could attack. The ponies would think they were psychic. And until then, the ponies would be bricking it about when they were going to be jumped. The Queen would be proud. ***** “Hawker, light up!” snapped Flash Sentry – at his command, one of his unicorns sent up a flare. This was only a testing sortie, they’d have to hold out a bit longer, but the Dragoons would see his position and mark it. Help would be coming. Some of the civilians had come out of Harriers and were watching the sky. He decided, and he was sure he might regret this, to let them. They had to see that they weren’t abandoned. ***** ”They’re still not moving,” said Air Razor. “Changelings everywhere and all just watching.” “Been in the city borders for three minutes, this is mad,” hissed Vantage. “We’re going to be stuck— belay that, leader’s waving the flag, we’re pulling out! Watch my flank!” “It’s overrated.” ***** And the very second the Dragoons started to withdraw, three hundred changelings made their move. ****** “Incoming!” screamed Air Razor. “In—HELL!” Every fourth changeling coming at them was firing green energy – the shots were missing her but only just, and keeping her from falling back. A quick glance showed Vantage was hemmed in too, and Recon 3 with them – no, one of the sky-spies had just taken a glancing blow. The pegasi was lurching sideways, slow, four changelings closing in on him. “We clear the path!” yelled Vantage and dived, right through the gaps in the shots. Air Razor followed, all the while knowing every other damn changeling was coming up to them – Two shots hit Vantage and sent him spinning out into the changeling mass. She could either catch him or cover the recon team. Air Razor dived in spear-form, legs straight and hoof-boots jutting out, and crashed into the first changeling; the sudden movement scattered the other three, the sudden impact split the first’s skull open, and she turned and rose to follow Recon Three out. All feeling was shut down and replaced with cold instinct. Escape and kill. She narrowly avoided another shot. The pegasi were flying up and out, and a hundred changelings were pursuing. ***** One stallion had a snapped wing but was actually fighting for the right to fall to his death: every changeling grabbing him was taking a beating. Strect gave up after the pony hit him and gored him through the throat. A quick glance of the sky showed four other ponies had been taken hostage and they had enough food at the moment anyway. Forty pegasi had flown in, only twenty-eight remained now and that was falling. The sky was awash with green energy (twenty-seven pegasi now) that would be seen for miles. Ah, victory. Twenty six. “Well, come on, men! Let’s follow and kill!” ***** Changeling after changeling came at Recon Three and Air Razor batted them aside – she couldn’t get a good killing stroke in but at her speed, with her armour, she could deliver concussive blows. Problem was they were lagging; one of the sky-spies needed to support the other. As far as she could see, everypony else was ahead of them (or gone). A changeling got on her back and she rolled, fast, but after it fell another on was on. And then a bit of changeling fire hit it in the head. Air Razor laughed and accelerated. The support flight were just a few seconds ahead, covering the retreat; the leader was there too, soaked in ichor. So close. She ducked right below Recon Three, kicking down at any changeling that was coming up, and counted those seconds until she was out. She was at one second when two blasts hit her in the stomach and head. When she came to, she was falling fast and the building was coming up and she had time to think now I’ll never be twenty-two ****** Chrysalis had watched the whole thing from the balcony and when the last Dragoon was out of Canterlot, she went back inside to the cocoons. She touched a hoof to Luna’s prison and her horn began to glow its sickly glow, and Luna writhed. “Come on, princess. You know you’ve got to do it. Come on…” And slowly, haltingly, at the end of the first sortie of Celestia Endures, the sun finally began to set and the moon to rise. Chrysalis started to laugh. ****** Flash shouldn’t have let the civilians see, he knew that now. Damn it. “They’ll be back,” he said, and he believed it. Those ponies, those tired and scared ponies, clearly did not believe it anymore. He recognised the violinist (Octavia, that was the name) among them, and she looked tired and she looked scared but she also looked angry. Ten minutes later, she’d taken up her violin and the national anthem echoed through the store. ***** Forty had set out to pomp and ceremony, and twenty came limping back – eight of them were clearly injured, three severely. Medics were rushing out to get them and the press, shocked and sick, were snapping away, and in all of it Blueblood could just turn to his Prime Minister and say: “We had to send them.” “I know that,” she snapped. “I was in favour of it.” “I just want ponies to know we had to.” Brigadier Geldmore said nothing. Instead, he turned to a unicorn stallion with an eyeball cutie mark: “Now.” The horn flashed once, light shot out and hit the Dragoons, and suddenly two of their number became changelings. There was a brief, embarrassed second, and then one was beaten into the clouds and the other was yelling “Pax! Pax!”. “Oh look, sire,” said Salad Daze, baring her teeth. “They gathered intelligence.” ------ We’ll sing together Our different choirs With just one heart We’ll sing together In the darkest hour Of the coldest night As long as you keep Harmony in heart You’ll never sing alone - First verse of Equestrian national anthem (“Our Different Choirs”) The last hive to oppose me? That’s their leader on this stick. - Queen Chrysalis’ address to a dissident group