War was unavoidable from the minute Timbucktu had blasted the ships, and the citizens of the cloud country realized that.
Orion had some reservations about this, but saw no other choice. It was for the good of his country that he had done this, and he had at least given the new empress three days to reconsider.
Nonetheless, he feared for the safety of his kingdom should she refuse to accept his offer. Neighpon was not a country to be underestimated. The island nation had successfully defeated the kingdoms of North Griffonia, and the Griffons were well-known as a race of fierce and resourceful warriors.
The fact that the leading force of the enemy would mostly consist of changelings was another worrying factor. Changeling kingdoms could be found across the world, and many of them had ties to Neighpon. Even if Timbucktu lost the battle and fled from the entirety of the Great Pelagic, there was still the feeling that they wouldn't be safe unless they fled far to the north or to the south, where there was constant snow and no chance to grow the crops the country so desperately needed.
No one could say how the crops had come to be affected by what was now known among the citizens as "Cloud Blight". Some conspiracy theorists blamed the Camels' scheming to be behind it, other individuals attested that it was some ancient curse. More religious voices cried that it was a punishment sent from Epona herself, while those of a more scientific mindset said it was the result of something in the water supply. Whatever the case, the cloud-grown crops were withering and dying, and what few actually lived to maturity brought forth blackened and inedible foodstuffs.
Personally, Orion suspected the theory concerning the water supply was the most likely to be true, though he was not sure why it had suddenly occurred. Possibly it had been tainted somehow, but the only contact prior to the Blight had been a brief stop overland in Germaney on the return journey from a diplomatic visit to Vaporia, and the Blight had not occurred until nearly a month afterwards. As Vaporia and Germaney remained unaffected, the cause was still unknown.
A solution was not as simple as simply finding an unclaimed island in order to farm, as most were tropical in nature and provided poor farmland. Some had suggested switching from cloud-based crops to land-based crops which could grow in specially built greenhouses. This had some validity, as the Blight did not seem to spread to any country which Timbucktu rained on, but the process would be lengthy and would still not provide enough for the populace, since land crops tended to produce poor results when transplanted to clouds.
Orion was not pleased with how the negotiations had turned out, but he reflected that he should have expected as much. The new empress was young, but she came from a line of stubborn rulers, all with a decent military history.
He only hoped that she was too inexperienced to formulate a good plan of attack.
He went over the facts in his mind. What changelings lacked in long-distance flight they made up for in agility, meaning that they could fly circles around a defending pegasus guard. Besides this, they were more proficient in magic, and thus capable of more long-ranged attacks.
The Kirin would also likely become involved, since they were the second most powerful of Neighpon's races. These had proficiency in air and water magic, making them one of the few non-winged creatures able to cloudwalk. The average Kirin warrior had two main weapons- the bow and the katana, along with a knife. Orion knew that they'd use their arrows if at all possible, since the sword's slashing design would be utterly useless against almost any kind of armor stronger than padded straw. If facing another warrior in armor, the sword would probably be dropped in order to wrestle their opponent to the ground, allowing the Kirin to slide a knife into the gaps. The tips of tanto-style daggers were very good at that, and Kirin were often larger and stronger than pegasi.
From the look of things, the king decided that if it came to a battle, his warriors would need to stick to close combat with the changelings, and not allow the Kirin to land on the country.
He sighed. If the battle came to his city, blood would be shed, but who it would belong to remained to be decided.
***
Aurora and Chrysalis discussed the plan of attack. While the changelings would draw most of the enemy away from the palace, the Kirin would sail under the country, and then use their magic to burrow up through the cloud layers, taking out the palace guards and completely surprising any defending forces who were not fighting their airborne enemies.
Neither were planning on losing any troops, and both agreed that the kingdom would learn its place, and the plan seemed complete.
Then Chrysalis spoke.
"While the armies attack, I'll confront Orion myself. Hopefully I can convince him to leave before too much blood is shed."
"Chryssie, you can't!" protested Aurora. "The king will probably be heavily guarded, and they'll kill you before you get into the palace!"
Chrysalis smiled. "Don't worry, Aurora. I have the perfect plan devised, and it's sure to work... at least, I hope it will..."
"Well, can I hear it?"
Chrysalis tapped her hooves together uncomfortably, not looking at the Kirin. "Um... well, no... partly because its success requires that it stays secret, and partly because you might not like it..."
Aurora lifted her eyebrow skeptically. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"Me too, Aurora," the changeling replied. "Me too."