Second Strike
“Our first problem is not being outflanked but the weather factories have been working flat out on that…”
***
Dawn was breaking over Canterlot when the storm rolled in. The large, wrath-of-gods storm being pushed from Cloudsdale to Canterlot by hundreds of pegasi, pro and deputised. The changelings sent up interceptors when they realised what was happening but the pegasi were already peeling off, leaving the storm to drift on until it came to a stop. Hard rain, high wind, and lightning pounded the north and west of the city, while the clouds almost blocked out the daylight.
And Chrysalis roared and threw things at the wall, because this left it difficult for her changelings to take to the air in that part of the city – not unless she wanted an exhausted, soggy force and dozens of changelings injured before any battle. The army started to regroup.
***
“We’ll have to face the same numbers but only in part of the airspace.” Geldmore rearranged the changeling markers on the large map. “The enemy can clear the storm if they take the form of pegasi but it will take hours, and casualties.” (Blueblood was about to open his mouth) “Any pegasus can physically disable a storm cloud but doing it without injury or accident takes care and training. After the storm is in place, the Dragoons and our griffon friends will move in to central and south…”
***
It was something to see.
Thousands were in flight, armour glinting, arranged into squared ranks, weapons at hoof. Discipline, strength: you looked and felt either fear or hope. Barely noticed were the outfliers, buzzing between the ranks and above and then back, scanning the city below and the sky around for surprise threats.
Above them were four balloons, each containing two ponies and telescopes for each to spy on the battlefield; a third pony manned a stripped-down radio to code back what was happening. Behind them, guarded by a reserve platoon, was a mass of floating clouds with the red-cross-and-hearts flying on flags: medics were making last-minute checks of their beds and drugs, waiting for the inevitable.
And in the centre flew two armoured titans: the griffon Last Argument and Equestria’s Necessary Action airships, each encased in battered steel, cannon and crossbow-positions at the ready. Inside, the battlefield commanders and their staff were seated, ready to take reports from the watch balloons and to send out orders through a complex mixture of coloured flag, light show, and dedicated message-pony.
Equestria had reared up and was about to come down on Chrysalis’s skull.
***
“At the same time, North’s Watch will begin climbing Mount Canter at the north face. We hope that Chrysalis will believe that they’re clearing the way for our reinforcements, and that our forces at Midway Green are an elaborate diversion – and if that doesn’t work, that she assumes the south isn’t under immediate threat. Meanwhile, a spearhead will be moving into Canterlot from Summit via the sewage network…”
***
“What, we’re what?”
“We’re going into Canterlot first, private; which bit was unclear?” Captain Ironhoof was a thick, dull-red earth pony with a voice like the Apple family, and did not sound thrilled at Amethyst Star’s outburst. “Ponyville and Soydon Platoons have both been trained for raids, demolition, and the like. We’ll be working with four to five teams from the Emergency Cavalry and two guides from the sewage works. I hope I don’t have to tell anypony here that they need to bring their A-game and not ask silly questions.”
Yes, thanks for that, Ironhoof.
First land troops into a city full of changelings. Citation or no, there was no way they were up to this. No way.
“Our mission is critical: sneak out of the sewage works and retake Canterlot Central Station. It only needs to be held for a few minutes until reinforcements arrive. It is entirely doable as long as we bring… what is it?”
He was looking at her.
Well, screw it. She was going no matter how she felt.
“Our A-game, sir!”
***
“Griffin-headed wingtroopers will assist the remaining holdouts in the Royal Guard and civilian resistance, and allow for ‘breakouts’. Of these, our highest priority at the two holdouts in the south: we want the breakouts to join up and hold. The changelings will know about this and assume that this is how we intend to retake the station, as was the original plan. Instead, the TA’s will take retake it and the held area will be where reinforcements will head for. The objective is to take the entire south of the city.”
***
As soon as the air fleet came into view, the enemy began to double around the barricades and the sky. Flash Sentry had every Guard and civilian fighter out on the street and in the air, and Harriers boarded up behind them. Nopony would be able to fall back but he doubted they were in a fall back situation anymore.
“Attention, lunch!” A particularly large changeling in purple armour had arrived at the western barricade. “You surrender now, you get to live and serve – anypony who fights is dead!”
Flash’s ponies looked to him: time for a display. “If you surrender now, you will be treated with mercy and compassion – any of you that fights will be throwing their lives away once the Dragoons get here.”
“You think you’ll live long enough for them to save you?”
“I think if they could shatter the Taurus State’s airship fleet, they’re going to rip through your drones like they’re grass.”
The storm picked that moment to rumble with thunder and Flash Sentry was very glad of that. He knew he wasn’t the most charismatic pony, he’d take any help he got. That purple bastard was starting to look worried now.
***
“And all that sounds fine and dandy, but the changelings still have us outnumbered,” said Blueblood. “The warships will look impressive but Chrysalis will know we can’t fire often, not when stray shots will hit our own city.”
“We’re fairly sure that our training and discipline is better, and our troops more adaptable. The enemy doctrine is overwhelming mobs and, when not applicable, individual sneak attacks. We can prevent them from the former.”
“We have a reason to fight,” added Salad Daze. “We have families – foals – down there. You’ve seen the report, you know what the changelings have.”
***
The Vanhoover Lancers had been searching the countryside for hours and yes, fine, the orders said that the hive was believed ‘unguarded’ but each pony hoped there’d be a soldier or ten. Everypony wanted a chance for justice for Canterlot and the Dragoons’ recon team. By Magic, Land, And Air We Kick Your Flank.
So you can imagine the horror when they’d found the hive, entered, and found their military might was being met with terrified mothers and crippled youths and hundreds of starving larvae, their eyes sunken in. And the tiny graves with their tiny markers.
Brigadier Sunswept stared at the sight and turned to her adjutant: “What did Cloudsdale say we needed for food?”
“Ah, it was love spells, ma’am – synthesised, they work as an emergency—“
“Do we have enough and can we manufacture more if not?”
“Ah, I don’t believe—“
“Contact the mayor’s office and get us aid now.”
***
“At the end of the day, we just have to do our best.”
***
“CHANGELINGS – KILL!”
A thousand screaming maws flew at the Dragoons’, aiming for the central phalanx. Impact would be twenty seconds and their formal square would be too easy to encircle and swarm. Following behind, slightly slower but in squares of their own, other changelings waited to fire on any squad that tried to intervene.
The phalanx flew on, slow and steady.
Ten seconds.
Everypony was sweating and every nerve screamed bolt!, but they flew on.
Five seconds.
The changelings were pumped up on adrenaline and thinking they’d have an easy kill; the ponies were just too obvious a target, too slow. And because they were focused on that, what the mob weren’t seeing was that behind enemy lines was a force of fifty pegasi speeding towards the battlefield, spinning round and around as they went.
Weather ponies used the Mega-Twister formation to clear winter clouds from a large area. The slipstream had been known to almost pull trees up, if a team wasn’t careful, and airspace had to be kept clear in case of accidents. Equestrian forces hadn’t used the move in combat in over seventy years but, unknown to most, every pegasi unit had to practice it just in case.
“SCATTER!”, and the phalanx duly scattered and the changelings flew right into an incoming twister and over a hundred were killed and crippled in seconds and the roofs were torn off nearby buildings.
The central changeling swarm was scattered and panicked, and the swarms to their side wasted precious seconds on shock before unleashing a barrage of green energy – but by that point, most of the organised squares had divided into small squads, diving down to pursue those that had scattered. Pony and griffon alike took fire, but in the scores rather than the planned hundreds. For the first few minutes, Equestria had the initiative.
“THE PRINCESS PROTECTS!” screamed a thousand pegasi.
***
And at Summit’s grand sewage works – and it was grand; the Progressive Party loved their Classico-Futurist architecture, all white-and-gold shine and faux-medieval style for the latest infrastructure – D Company and friends had passed the steel doors and the marble lobby and the statue of the ‘father of sewage’ Night Bucket, and were into the dirty innards. Amethyst Star, horn shining ahead, found herself taking point as they entered the maintenance tunnel.
From this point, they weren’t going to stop until they were back in Canterlot Castle.
--
TIREK’S RIGHT FIST DESTROYED
Warship Downed By Cloudsdale Dragoons, HMA Appropriate Force
Captain Air Hammer: “The Air Is Ours”
- Evening edition of The Day’s Events, during the Sheepavia Intervention (popularly Tirek’s War)
Why aren’t they scared?
- Chrysalis’ private notes
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Tirek?!
Tirek is one of the Taurus' mythological figures? And they named their airship after him?
Good heavens, that's a scary prospect.
I really like the Equestrian force's aiding the civilian changelings even before Chrysalis is defeated
Love it! It's kickass time for team Equestria!
...I hope.
3637972 Worse even than that, I've been assuming Tirek was running the place back then - and then there was a war, and then Celestia faced Tirek directly, and... well, Celestia came back.
3638019 Ta muchly! It seemed like a very pony thing to do
3638250 EQUESTRIA BUCK YEAH
3639751
I couldn't resist...
Love the airship names, I can definitely see the Culture influence.
Every time I rewatch Winter Wrap Up and see that horizontal tornado move, I think to myself: "Pegasi are scary."
3640719 And then some of them can exceed the speed of sound! Take MLP's physics seriously and they're well 'ard.
3638250 We know what the plan is. Therefore, the plan can't work as expected.
We don't know quite what the Changeling plan is. Therefore, their plan can work as expected.
This is the Uncertainty Principle of Planning.