The Chronicles of Swarm: The Equestrian Front

by kildeez

Chapter XXX: Eve of Battle

Mars waited. If anything, that was his special talent: waiting. His cutie mark would probably be a caricature of himself, sitting, waiting, building himself up and biding his time for the right moment to strike. He didn’t know how a little symbol on his ass would express all that, but it would certainly look incredible. It was this undying patience that allowed him to make so many allies, and to develop the network for them to move about the multiverse undetected by his own father. Alone, that last feat was worthy of a God, but his master stroke was The Plan. The Plan that would see his father brought to his greatest low before being utterly destroyed. The Plan that would see Mars rise to his rightful place as the god of all creation, and ultimately begin the reign of an empire that would encompass universes. And it would all start here. Equestria would be the first world conquered by forces from an entirely different universe. There had been raids, yes, air strikes and terrorist attacks aimed at spreading fear and discontent throughout reality, but this time his forces were not on a simple raid. This time, they would be conquerors! And once an entire ‘world of light’ (as his father called them) had been subjugated, well, when you combined that with the other attacks, you got quite a dark wave of emotional energy rippling through the multiverse, corrupting everything it touched. He grinned at that thought. He would need to inform his enemies of this somehow. When their children woke up screaming in their beds from nightmares of burnt landscapes in place of flowing meadows where the beautiful creatures of their imaginations were tormented and enslaved, he wanted them to know it was because of him, and because they had dared to stand against him.

Feeling his strength return, he opened his eyes and breathed. It didn’t matter that he hovered in the heart of a vacuum a few thousand miles away from any sort of atmosphere thick enough to be deemed ‘breathable.’ The breath was more a relaxation technique than a life-supporting function for one such as him.

The entire planet of Equestria laid before him. Here, he could see purple, snow-capped mountains. There, the great pink forests that stretched from horizon to horizon, teeming with life. And still, there were the crystalline blue oceans, blanketing over half the planet with the same purity they had owned for eons. It was pathetic. The ponies of Equestria had ruled this planet for millions of years as unquestionably as the humans of the multiverse had theirs and they had yet to even begin utilizing their planet’s vast resources! Even the pitiful little mongrel races of the human worlds arrayed against him had managed to expend their planets’ resources to the best of their knowledge, but here entire forests still lay untouched, the mountains still towering high over the land, unmarked except by a few basic mines built by some simpler species. What were they called again? Ah, yes, Diamond Dogs. He would have to keep them in mind. They would make perfect slaves for his allies in the years to come.

He reached his hand out, cupping it below his face at just the right angle to make it appear as though the entire planet rested in the palm of his hand. The familiar sensation of power filled his chest, his breath catching as if the sheer emotion he felt was crowding out his lungs. A look of ecstasy spread across his face. His old man was a fool for refusing something like this. To rule, to conquer, could there be a better experience in all the many worlds? If there was, he’d yet to find it.

He breathed again, and this time he angled himself towards the planet, pushing off the barely-existent atmosphere and blasting back to the surface. For nostalgia’s sake, he shoved a fist out in front as he descended, just like Superman. He loved that pose. For such a goody two-shoes, the guy had absolutely known how to make himself look like a badass.

He slammed back into the Everfree Forest with enough force to send shockwaves rippling into the distance. Trees bent and splintered away, earth was carried off to make room for him, even grass that had grown for decades without so much as a brushfire was vaporized in an instant. Power, he grinned again. Before the dust even settled, he had summoned the now all-too-familiar green glow of the inter-universal portal. It stabilized within minutes: he was getting better at opening them. The instant the portal was the size of a man, one in the dark-gray uniform of The Ridchir stepped through, flanked by guards carrying assault rifles and grenades.

“{Lieutenant Fischer, reporting for duty, sir!}” The leader barked, and all three men saluted.

“{At ease!}” Mars replied, and the men obeyed. Shit, he loved that! “{Where in the hell are the rest of ya?}”

“{Sir! Reinforcements are geared up and ready to join us the moment the portal has reached the size required for trucks and heavy equipment, sir!}”

“{The moment?}” Mars asked, cocking an eyebrow. “{Are you sure about that, Lieutenant?}”

“{S-sir?}” The man started to sweat.

“{I’m just wondering: would you be willing to bet your life on it?}”

“{I…}” the Lieutenant sighed. “{No sir, I am rather certain, but not certain enough to bet my life.}”

“{Hmm, a shame,}” suddenly, Mars’ arm whipped out and caught the side of the man’s head. Spinning around, he bought the skull in his hand down into the earth with a sickening, wet crack, blanketing the dirt in red.

“{I have no use whatsoever for cowards,}” Mars mumbled, wiping the blood off his hands before levelling a finger at one of the remaining guards. “{You! Whatsyername!?}”

“{St-Stevens, sir! Corporal Stevens!}” The guard cried, barely able to keep from wetting himself at the sight of his own commander’s blood drying in the bare dirt.

“{Well congrats, Private, you just made Lieutenant!}”

“{Th-thank you, sir!}” There wasn’t an ounce of gratitude in the new Lieutenant’s voice, but Mars let that slide.

“{Now, would you be willing to bet your life on a big-ass truck rushing through that portal the moment it’s big enough to accommodate one?}”

“{O-of course, sir! Abs-absolutely! No doubt in my mind at all!}” Stevens was shaking so hard Mars could hear the rattle of something loose in the man’s weapon.

“Hmph,” without a word, Mars reached over and grabbed the new Lieutenant’s rifle. The moment his hand made contact, he could feel the human’s heart skip a beat. Suppressing a grin, he snatched the rifle away and fiddled with the firing mechanism. “{Here,}” he tossed the weapon back. “{Keep that clean, and it’ll serve you well.}”

“{Y-yes, sir, thank you,}” Stevens mumbled as the portal suddenly expanded behind him. He whirled around, staring at it intently as the seconds ticked by. Three seconds went by with nothing. Then four. Five…

To his incredible relief, the grill of a truck appeared and rumbled through, its engine revving as it trundled along between the two. Mars glared at the human. “{5.714 seconds,}” he said. “{And a moment is defined as seven…}”

Stevens gulped; his hands trembled again, although his rifle didn’t rattle this time.

“{Sloppy work, Stevens; can’t say I’m impressed. But you’re new, so I’ll let this slide.}”

The human sighed with utter relief. “{Thank you, sir.}”

“{Don’t let sloppy work slip by again.}”

“{I-I won’t sir,}” the Lieutenant moved to rejoin the rest of his men. “{Th-thank you, s-sir.}”

Within minutes, the small clearing Mars had blasted into existence was packed with men, trucks, a full collection of artillery pieces, and even a few tanks. This was it. No more raids. No more hiding and popping out at each other in hit-and-run attacks. Now, there would be war. He grinned with the prospect and climbed into a truck as it wheeled by. “{SIR!?}” The driver asked in surprise.

“{Take me to the rally point, I shall want to speak to my men there,}” Mars said plainly.

“{Y-yes, sir, right away, sir!}" The man replied, his hands clenching the steering wheel until the knuckles turned white. He never even noticed Mars smiling in the seat next to him, grinning as they approached the city.

Comments

[kildeez]

2567249 Thank you!

[Whiteout]

63,000 words, just published, 'on hiatus'?

[kildeez]

2567393 This is actually the second version of a story. The first had a rougher beginning that I think really turned people off. You can still see the old version on my user page, if the mood strikes, but I'm thinking I might tear it down eventually.

And also, it's on hiatus because I still need to write the ending

[Protestifications]

hey hey hey! would you mind changing the name a bit, so it's not confused with story, please?

[kildeez]

2567480 Crap...okay.

[kildeez]

2601020 Um...wut?

[kildeez]

2601020 OH MY GOD I finally get it.

"Ramirez, save Shining's wife!"

"Ramirez, defeat The Ridchir!"

"Ramirez, cure AIDS!"

"Ramirez, solve world hunger!"

[kildeez]

3150059 Um...that video didn't show up. Apparently, that youtube account was disconnected. I take it it wasn't something positive though, right?