"Scouts report that Changelings are now airborne!" An Aurorian soldier proclaimed to the guards preparing for the attack. "Everypony move to combat positions immediately!"
The camp was packed and moved inside the hideout as the soldiers began mobilizing outside the entrance and hurrying to the trenches that were dug into the snow to provide protection from the drones that would be attacking any minute now. Civilians were being led inside the cave and Aurorian soldiers stood at the ready while a magical shield was being cast to protect the entrance of the cave. It's magical surface reflecting off rays of the dim winter sun as it encompassed the front of the entire front area. More guards were quickly pouring out of the cave to join the defense with pride in their eyes. An army was assembled, ready to engage the enemy with lethal force.
Both Aurorian soldiers and Equestrian guards were ready to face the oncoming assault of Changeling drones that attempted to breach the cave. Unicorn soldiers lit their horns, ready to blast any incoming Changeling that came close to the shield. Earth ponies brandished long spears and halberds to skewer any who tried to attack from the ground along with a few armed with crossbows to deal with drones coming from the air. Pegasi were flexing their wings ready to take to the air to combat the swarm of enemies.
"All units, make your way to your battle positions at once. We must hold off the enemy at all costs!" Silver Shriek shouted as he stood atop a boulder and relayed orders to the troops that were scrambling to their posts. He too had a magically amplified voice as it pounded in the ears of every soldier making ready. "Remember, their disguises are clever, but can be seen through as well! Focus on the behavior of the enemy, and strike when they are most vulnerable!"
After a few minutes the Elements along with Meteor Shatter appeared out of the cave ready to fight. Along with a small group of personal guards to protect them. Applejack was armed as she unsheathed a large axe and was ready to defend her temporary home. Rarity had a long sword held in her magic and inspected its gleam and shine. Pinkie Pie pulled out a giant cannon out from her mane while several Aurorian soldiers gazed at the bizarre but welcome sight with widened eyes. Fluttershy wasn't carrying a weapon but had brought a small medical kit to help with the injuries that would inevitably be sustained in the fighting.
"Where's Rainbow? Shouldn't she be out her fighting with us?" Fluttershy spoke softly.
"Give her some alone time darling, I just hope she'll come to her senses once the battle starts though." Rarity replied.
"With the number of Changelings we're facing we'll need all the help we can get. If your friend decides to take up arms with us I will be grateful." Meteor Shatter explained, drawing her sword and putting on her helmet.
"Hey aren't ya a little young to be out here ya highness? I mean this is a full-scale siege we're talkin about here." Applejack questioned, flexing her neck and gazing at the Aurorian Princess next to her.
"Hmmph, If you think that I'm just a tiny defenseless little filly with a tiara on my head then you're wrong. War is something that I was born into Miss Applejack, my Father died in this war and I seek to end what he failed to finish. I know when to talk peace... and I know when to shed blood..."] The princess explained in a dark tone as she flicked open her wings and took to the air with cold grace and suavity.
The four Element bearers shivered at Meteor's last remark as Silver Shriek had descended from his position with several other guards and trotted swiftly toward the group. He had a stern look in his eyes as he stopped in front of the Bearers and bowed softly.
"The plans for the defense are complete, and the troops are all in position. All we need now is to wait for the enemy to approach and-"
A faint boom was heard as a steady stream of rumbling was heard, everypony went silent as the rumbling seemed to be getting louder and louder and the ground beneath them was shaking slightly. Everypony was puzzled as to what it was until a Pegasus guard had shouted one word that chilled every guard that was in the vicinity...
"AVALANCHE!"
Everypony turned around to see an enormous cloud of snow and ice heading directly for the shield. The Pegasi immediately grounded themselves and the unicorns began to send energy to the shield as everypony braced themselves for the impact. The snow had impacted the shield harshly while making a muffled rumble as it continued falling over the magical surface. The Unicorn guards were showing continued looks of strain as they fed every bit of magic as they can to keep the shield stable at all costs.
"Incoming! There are rocks in the snow!"
The Unicorns were now worried as they saw multiple large boulders plummeting towards them relentlessly. Once the first rock hit a loud clang was heard as the shield vibrated dangerously. A Unicorn guard next to the group had fallen to his knees, only to rise up in determination and continue his magic.
"There's too much stress! If this keeps up they won't have any energy left to fight!" Rarity exclaimed as she cast her own magic to help out.
"This ain't good. I can bet my stetson that the Changelings were planning this. They must've learned from last time we tried this on em. Damn it! I hate it when they get smart!"
After a few agonizing minutes the avalanche subsided, and the ponies reorganized themselves. The shield was battered and looked fragile as it had multiple cracks and fractures on the once pristine surface. Most of the Unicorn soldiers were now exhausted both mentally and physically as some were dragging themselves to the medical area inside the cave while others were panting heavily. A few of them were even knocked unconscious by the strain and had to be carried by other soldiers to the medics. Rarity was helped up by Fluttershy and they both turned and moved toward the cave.
"Dear Faust! My head feels as if Applejack bucked it several times in a row! I think I need to lie down." Rarity complained while ambling toward the cave. Meanwhile, Meteor Shatter had returned to the group with a controlled but angry expression.
"Damn it all! We've lost nearly a third of our defense and most of our magical power thanks to that trick. We'll be much more vulnerable in the air without the Unicorn's support and the shield will no longer do us any good except buy us a few minutes to prepare. We'll need to see if any of the civilians inside are willing to try and repair the shield, like I said before, we're gonna need all the help we can get now."
"Hey wait a minute? Where'd that Silver Shriek fella go?" Applejack questioned.
"I'm right here Miss Applejack..."
Everypony turned and saw the Unicorn commander with confusion in their eyes as he looked unfazed by the recent magical crisis that had just happened. He coughed and shook his head slightly to clear his head while the others remained silent.
"Is there something on my face?" He asked.
"H-How did ya not collapse like the other unicorns earlier? With that amount of magical energy ya must have at least a small headache or something!"
"Ooh! Ooh! I know! I think he's a Changeling Spy who's been hiding amongst us all this time and used his Changeling magic to cause that avalanche to make all the Unicorns tired and make us vulnerable to the enemy!" Pinkie Pie explained while putting a wooden sign that read "This Pony is a Bug!" in front of the commander.
"Ahem, if I was a Changeling then how would I be able to fly up the mountain and cause the avalanche in this first place? I used the Powerband that the young prince stole from the Royal Armory remember? If I didn't have this on the effects of the magical backlash would have been much worse than a headache for me." The commander stated, revealing the golden band on his left forehoof.
"Well that here still doesn't solve our problem with the incoming attack. How the hay are we supposed ta defend ourselves with a third of our forces gone?"
"Incoming Changelings! A Pegasus soldier shouted as multiple black figures were seen flying rapidly toward the weakened shield. The true battle had begun, buzzing was heard as the Changelings had commenced their attack on the hideout. As they got closer they started glowing green as energy was being used to enhance their impact on the shield. Once the first drone had reached the shield it crashed furiously into the wall of purple energy, forming small cracks on the spot it hit. Several more joined in as more and more Changelings were entering the battlefield and pounding at the shield at an alarming rate. Once they thought they had reached the breaking point of the shield they all rose a few meters before crashing down all at once on the surface. The shield vibrated violently before it shattered into thousands of pieces of magical energy.
Seeing this, Meteor Shatter took action. "Soldiers!" She shouted through her helmet. "Take to the skies!" Meteor drew her sword and held it in her teeth as she flared her wings and took off. Followed by a large group of Pegasus soldiers armed to the teeth and ready to fight. The two groups of warriors were now charging toward each other, individual soldiers yelling in fury as they closed in on their respective targets. Pinkie and Applejack watched in awe as the two clouds of soldiers finally met and the sounds of war filled the air in response. Ponies and Changelings started dropping from the air as some were too wounded to fight in the air anymore or were already dead. Red and Green blood was spilled and dropped like rain onto the white snow beneath the fight. Both mares were horrified slightly at the carnage that was taking place right before their eyes. They looked on until a drone spotted the two standing there and informed the others of its discovery.
"There! Those are the ponies we must capture! Quickly! Grab them!" The drone along with a few of its friends shot after the two Earth Ponies as they soon noticed the group of Changelings zooming toward them.
"So Pinkie, ya ready to swat some flies?" Applejack flexed her hind legs and readied her axe as she stood ready to kick some flank.
"You've got that right Jackie!" Pinkie cheerfully replied while pulling out her party cannon and aiming it at the incoming drones, much to their surprise. "Let's... Party."
Meanwhile...
"I see that the Colonel's plot to trigger an avalanche was a success I presume?" Lord Shiftwing asked the drone standing next to them. They oversaw the battle as rumbling and shouting could be heard even from where they were standing on the mountain.
"Indeed sir, the protective shield the enemy had put up was disposed of quickly after we had weakened it with the avalanche sir." The drone explained to the lord, who was levitating a telescope with his magic to see the battle up close. He took notice of a group of drones being blasted away in a cloud of confetti, and another drone getting bucked directly in the muzzle by a mare in a stetson. He laughed slightly at the spectacle and turned to the drone beside him.
"If the Colonel survives the battle then gather any information you can from him... before you dispatch him. Leave no corpse, leave no trace, and make sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible in my absence."
"Where will you be going sir? The battle has just started and you're leaving already?"
"I've seen much more entertaining battles than this one, this is practically a bar fight when compared to what I've seen. Besides... I think it's time I pay a visit to an old friend of mine..."