//------------------------------// // Prelude to Darkness // Story: A Changeling Tradegy // by Reddling Rain //------------------------------// The next morning Lazni, Pupae, and Prominence were all gathered at the center of their war circle. As soon as the sun had come across the horizon Prominence had torn herself into action, moving the wagons into one wide circle and one smaller inner circle. All of the outer wagons were turned so as to create a perfectly circular wall. Prominence had then ordered that all important supplies be condensed into the inner wagons, cramming them full to the point where they could barely be moved even with eight drones pulling them. Next, Prominence had used Pupae's and Lazni's drones to fill the outer layer with any spare wood they could find, stuffing them all as full as possible. "And here we find ourselves at the edge of a battle. I have waited for this day." Prominence had recovered herself from the mess she had been the night before, and now seemed to only care about the oncoming day. "We are surrounded on three sides. Lalartu will attack us from hills in the south, from the mountains behind us in the east, and from the forests in the west. The weather is quite favorable. Dry. No rain for at least two days." "Do you have any idea what you're doing, Prominence?" Pupae asked. Prominence gave her a firm nod, smirking. "I will charge the forces in the forest and burn them alive there with a token force of my drones. The rest of my force will guard our flanks. If it becomes necessary, we can set the outer wagons on fire to create a wall between your drones and any danger. Lalartu soldiers are not aerodynamic enough to fly over the flames without being lit by my drones. Any of her drones that attack will not be strong enough to overcome my soldiers inside the ring. But I do not think that it will be necessary to use that. It is a precaution only." Prominence stole into one of the wagons, and in a flurry of motion from two drones helping her and her magical poweress she had donned a long red and black cloak. It allowed her to cover up all of her body except for her head, and bore the symbol of her blood red raven across her back. Lazni had to admit to herself that Prominence cut an intimidating figure despite her lack of fashion sense. "I am off to lead the charge on the Changelings in the forest. When you see the smoke, you know what to do. Stay put and keep down, because the other attackers are going to charge." Prominence turned and with a flourish of her cloak was off into the sky with a dozen of her warriors. "There's no way she can know that they'll do that." Pupae said mildly, grooming one of her hooves that had a little dirt on it. "Whatever the case, I don't trust that Prominence knows what she's doing. I just hope her fire makes up for that." "We've trusted her this far and nothing bad has happened." Lazni said. "Why would she do something to us now?" "Hmm, still..." Pupae mused, clicking her hooves and summoning a half dozen of her drones. "Drones, I would like for you to dig a trench around the inner circle of wagons. Make it three drones from one side to the other so that it cannot be jumped." "Uh, Pupae." Lazni said. "Isn't that going to trap us in here with these wagons?" From the look on Pupae's face, Lazni sensed that this was exactly what Pupae planned to be doing. Lazni beckoned for Pupae to come sit with her, and the two of them laid down in the middle of the inner wagon circle, relaxing as the sounds of digging filled the air. They had both barely laid down before multiple drones were fawning over them, doting happily on their lovely queens. "Lazni, I expect that soon there will be a shift in our group." Pupae said. Lazni nodded. She had been waiting for this conversation. Pupae continued, "When we reach Hive Lalartu, I will take the throne, and with your support, Prominence will bend at the knee to us. However, I suspect that Prominence may be on to me-- or worse, perhaps she simply is thinking along the same lines as me and trying to get me out of the way." "It's impossible for you two to not be at each other's throats, isn't it?" Lazni asked. "Did you spend all Winter plotting ways to kill her? Do you think she spent all Winter plotting ways to kill you?" "Yes and yes, uh, and yes." Pupae said, nodding to affirm all these positives. "I bet that even if we aren't in any danger, Prominence will set those wagons on fire and let the fire creep through the grass towards the inner wagons. We'll be trapped and die horribly, of course." "Prominence wouldn't do that." Lazni said. "Prominence--- I think Prominence loves me." "Then you really are a fool." Pupae said. "Prominence has used the two of us and now we are no longer of any use to her. She is ready to dispose of us and the weaker of the drones while she has the best for combat ready to take over her new hive. We are nothing to her Lazni, Nothing. Friendship is for ponies and words are for lying." "You're so wrong." Lazni said, not believing any of this for a second. "Lazni! I am your only hope for survival." Pupae snapped. "Please promise me that when the time comes, you will take my side." "Words are for lying, so I won't say anything." Lazni said. Pupae looked furious for a moment, and then her expression softened. "I know you'll make the right choice. Especially after Prominence tries to kill us soon. --- The day was eerily peaceful as the drones finished the digging the trench. Pupae left the inner circle to tend to the ditch and make sure it was adequate, leaving Lazni alone with her drones. The smallest of the drones was pressed to Lazni's chest, and had become a favorite of hers while she was travelling-- mostly due to how easy it was to carry her around. It was easy for Lazni to remember who this drone was, as she was the only child that had been changed. Despite her harsh outside as a filly when they had first met, Lazni had actually found that turning this pony into a changeling had greatly improved the filly's demeanour. She seemed very happy now, and without the stress of remembering much or any of her old life, the trauma's that Prominence had created seemed to have faded from her mind. Lazni gave a little kiss to the forehead of the drone, hugging her close as they both giggled, one aware but not understanding the danger they were in, and Lazni hoping that they would all make it through the day alive. As Lazni found herself lost in the beautiful moment of her drones surrounding and loving her, she felt a heat drift past her face. Standing up, Lazni put the drone on her back and flew into the air, looking around her. Pupae was standing at the edge of the inner circle, right above the ditch line. In the distance Lazni could see wildfire leaping from wagon to wagon, forming a circle of flames. Overhead were Prominence's drones, all of them standing ready to blow fire down at the center. Lazni felt her eyes go wide as she waited for the inevitable death, but it never came. The outer wagons all burned to a crisp, taking any nearby grass with it. Indeed, the worst part about it all was the smoke. All of the drones, Pupae, and Lazni had laid down close to the ground, doing their best to avoid breathing in the fumes of burning wagon around them. "Pupae!" Lazni called from under a wagon. "Pupae, what happened!?" "Prominence's braindead drones started a fire, probably thinking it would jump over the ditch. What they have in power they lack in brains!" Pupae called back. Lazni stopped, looking at the flames as the scents of flame drifted into her nostrils. Something was very off about this flame. It burned with a life as it consumed everything around it, this was true, but it did not truly seem to be living in the way that Prominence's fires lived. Prominence's fire had some order to their destruction, selectively consuming and burning for maximum effect. These fires were wild and untamed, doing as they pleased but without any logic. Lazni did not have to think long about the answer to this. These flames were not those of Prominence, nor of her drones. Something... or someone, else had started this fire. Lazni did not share her suspicious with Pupae however. She had a creeping feeling that Pupae might have been involved somehow, and if she just let Pupae think that she had won her over, then maybe she wouldn't try any more dangerous attempts to frame Prominence for horrible acts. Lazni shook her head at that thought. She had grown to see Pupae as a friend and trusted ally, but now she saw her for what she was-- all that Pupae had cared about and ever would care about was her own power and safety. She was not so different from Prominence. Lazni felt a beat of wings overhead pass through her ears and turned to look up. Prominence looked aghast at the situation below, and had averted course down into the flames, which she was trying to redirect away from the inner wagons. Unfortunately, she had little time to try this, as the sound of heavy buzzing filled the air. Lazni ducked her head down, holding her drones close to her as Hive Lalartu and Princess Prominence clashed above. Fallen soldiers fell away from the sky, falling towards a funeral pyre below them. Lazni could not bring herself to look at the fighting, but true to her word, Prominence never let a single one of Lalartu's drones through to the inner wagons. By the time the flames around the base had died down, so to had the fighting overhead. Lazni's drones were now capturing fire and redirected it into the air, putting it out almost immediately. There was a soft buzzing and Lazni looked up at the sound of it. Prominence's cloak had holes in several places from changelings attempting to stab her with their horns, and the ends of her cloak looked singed and partially burned away in a few places. Prominence's view focused on Pupae, who was standing with her drones looking quite pleased with herself. "I had no intention of actually using that fire, but even if it had started it would have been a trivial task to fly upwards and away from the flames. There was no need to dig a ditch around the center." Prominence said. "And just burn all of our supplies!?" Pupae demanded, clearing hoping she had Prominence in a trap. "Supplies be damned. The army of Hive Lalartu is defeated and there will be plenty of spoils. Judging by how many fell today, I think we can expect only a token resistance when I challenge her for her throne." "Challenge her?" Pupae scoffed. "That's what you're focused on while you tried to kill myself and Lazni?" Both Prominence and Pupae looked to Lazni, hoping for some sort of answer. Lazni averted her eyes, saying nothing and deciding she didn't want either of them to benefit from her input. "Unlike you, nymph, I was fighting a battle." It was Prominence's turn to scoff. Prominence lept down from her perch on top of one of the wagons and motioned for Pupae and Lazni to join her. "Come, we can reach Hive Lalartu by the end of the day if we hurry. I would like to make haste to this place before Lalartu decides to flee. I will not allow her to escape me." "Oh, yes, I'm so glad we have you to protect us, Princess Prominence. I feel so safe with you leading the charge. I remember the last time and I swear I still find mud in my mane at times." Pupae's voice was nasty and unhinged as she glared at Prominence with hatred. Prominence simply gave a whistle, two dozen of her soldiers joining her. "It's foolish to go alone, obviously I'm taking my army with me." Prominence said. "Gather your drones, a half dozen of my force will guard the supplies. "Drones, with me." Pupae said. Scores of drones flopped upwards, ready to fly with her. Lazni gave a nod to her crowd, another four score jumping up to serve. Lazni picked up the youngest changeling and put her on her back, turning to Prominence and nodding that they were ready. "Hang on tightly. We're going to go to my home." Lazni told the drone, giving her a gentle smile as they prepared to take off. Prominence and Pupae bickered the entire trip, nearly coming to blows as Lazni watched the move towards Hive Lalartu. Flying was much faster than walking, and what had been a full day for them before was now but an hour's flight to Lazni's old home. The arrival could not have come soon enough, as she was sure if Pupae and Prominence spent another moment together that they would come to blows. Lazni was sure she could end these problems, though. Pupae could keep the old Hive Lalartu, and Prominence and Lazni would return to rebuild Raspberry Creek. The daunting doorway of Hive Lalartu stood before them, a black tunnel that led down to the uppermost levels of the hive. Prominence ordered six her drones to go first, followed by Pupae and six of Pupae's drones, Lazni, and then finally herself. The rest of the army held steady, keeping a clearing open in case their leaders would need to make a quick exit back to the rank and file. Lazni took a deep breath as she followed Pupae, not sure if she was really ready for the final confrontation with Queen Lalartu.