Order-naries: Storm-chased

by CTVulpin

7. Party Central Briefing

Gale fought down a grimace as the gel launcher strapped to her back shifted again, catching and pulling a clump of her brown fur. “Agh,” she grunted under her breath, “stupid mass-produced belts either slightly too loose or way too stinking tight…” She shook her head and cast a glance at Pharynx, who was walking just slightly ahead of her. “Are we almost there?” she asked.

“Yep,” Pharynx said, turning slightly to guide Gale and the rest of the group around a corner. "We’re holed up in there,” Phaynx said, pointing. Up ahead, standing well apart from the nearby buildings, stood a wide, three-story purple building with three towers rising from the star-studded roof.

“Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?” Trixie exclaimed. “You couldn’t pick someplace more… discreet?”

“Don’t worry,” Pharynx said, “we made the sure the enemy was done searching it before we moved in. They’ve got no reason to suspect it’s occupied now. At least, they won’t so long as we can get inside before any patrols come around.” He shot the ponies a withering look and then bolted for the school.

“He’s certainly serious about soldiering,” Gale said with a warm smile as she, Trixie, and Loopy ran after Pharynx. “Do you know how old he is, Trixie?”

“I’m not sure,” Trixie admitted. “He can’t be more than a couple years old, though.”

“What?” Loopy gasped, nearly stumbling in shock.

“Changelings don’t waste much time between hatching and becoming what we’d consider colts and fillies,” Trixie explained. “A couple of months at the longest. After that, though, I’m not sure how they normally grow. Cabbage Patch was tiny for years, but then she was chosen as Queen and - poof! - she’s as tall as Princess Luna.”

“Hey!” Pharynx hissed, holding the school’s front door open and waving impatiently, “Get in here already!”

“Ok, ok,” Loopy said, giving Pharynx a playful swat with her tail as she went through the door, “keep your shell on, kiddo.” Pharynx rubbed the spot Loopy had hit, and the irritation on his face slowly faded as he watched the pegasus walk down the hall. Gale paused upon entering the school, noticing Pharynx’s growing distraction. She looked in the direction he was looking, saw Loopy’s tail disappearing around a corner, and then looked back at Phaynx with a coy smirk. After a second, Phaynx blinked and whipped his head around to glare at Gale. “What are you feeling so smug about, pony?” he snapped.

“Puppy love,” Gale said, lightly, walking away. “She’s too old for you, you know.”

Pharynx’s face screwed up in a bemused grimace. After a second, he let go of the door and trotted to catch up with the ponies. “This way,” he said, taking the lead and heading for some stairs, “everyling’s gathering to meet us in a classroom on the second floor.”

---

The door of the classroom opened as the group approached, and a young Changeling with an unusually long horn and hole-free, iridescent wings poked its head out to look around. Its flat blue eyes widened in mild fright as it spotted Pharynx and tried to withdraw back into the room, but the small, purple-eyed Changeling pounced and grabbed the other in a headlock, dragging it out into the hall and laughing as he noogied it mercilessly.

“Phaaaarynx!” the other Changeling whined, struggling in Pharynx’s unyielding grip, “cut it out!”

“I’m just helping you toughen up, Thorax,” Pharynx replied.

Gale leaned close to Trixie and whispered, “Are these two brothers, or…”

“Exactly,” Trixie replied, equally soft. “I think Thorax is slightly older than Pharynx, but… well,” she gestured helplessly at the pair of Changelings.

Thorax twisted and bucked until Pharynx finally let him go.“I keep telling you,” Thorax said, rubbing his head, “I don’t need toughening up. I’m a going to be Lorekeeper, not a solider.”

“Psh,” Pharynx replied, rolling his eyes. “Right.”

“If you two are quite done screwing around,” an impatient, feminine voice from inside the room said, “we have some rather important matters to handle. ”Pharynx turned to look toward the speaker with his mouth open to protest, but apparently thought better of it and just slunk through the door.
Thorax let out a quiet sigh of relief and went in as well, and then Gale, Trixie, and Loopy followed suit.

Once inside the classroom, Gale looked around, lips pursed in bemusement as she identified the members of the small group inside. To start with, the three young fillies who comprised the original chapter of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were sitting together at a table and perking up as they recognized Gale and Trixie. Gale gave them a smile and a little wave before continuing to look around. Over by the chalkboard stood a white stallion with a styled blonde mane and wearing what appeared to be a steel cuirass styled to look like a tuxedo. Finally, near the back of the room, being joined by Thorax and Pharynx, were two more identical-looking Changelings which stood half a head taller than the brothers and were further distinguished by having short, red, stringy manes, long horns that had grown in a wavy shape, and raspberry eyes with cat-like pupils.

“What’s this?” the unicorn stallion asked pompously, staring down his nose at Gale, Loopy, and Trixie. “I’m told to expect ponies who could help turn this invasion around, and these mares are all that show up?”

“Go jump in a lake, Blueblood,” Trixie retorted. “And don’t bother taking that ridiculous costume off first.”

Blueblood snorted indignantly. “I have never-”

“As amusing as a contest of egos between you two would be,” Gale cut in shortly, shooting hard looks at both Blueblood and Trixie as she removed her Gel Launcher and set it aside, “can we please save it for when the city’s not occupied by a foreign army?” The two unicorns reluctantly obliged but continued to shoot silent glowers at one another. “As for you guys,” Gale said, walking over to the Changelings, “you’re the only creatures here that I don’t already know.” She held out a hoof for shaking. “You can call me Gale. I’m the sniper, mechanic, and anti-magic specialist of the Order-naries, if you’ve heard of us. My friend here is Looping Lines, journalist and semi-official public relations specialist of the Order-naries.”

Thorax stepped up and shook Gale’s hoof. “Pleased to meet you both,” he said. “I’m Thorax. You know Pharynx already, obviously, and these two,” he gestured to the matching pair of Changelings and bowed slightly to them in the same motion, “are Chard and Kale, the twin princesses of Hivetown.”

“Oh my!” Loopy exclaimed, running a hoof through her mane self-consciously, “actual royalty? Pharynx, Trixie, you should have warned us!” She bowed deeply. Blueblood’s nostrils flared, but kept whatever outraged thoughts he was thinking to himself.

Gale bowed as well, although not as dramatically as Loopy. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, your highnesses,” Gale said.

“The pleasure is ours,” one of the princesses said.

“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo have been regaling us with tales of the Order-naries ever since Pharynx reported that he’d located you, Gale,” the other said.

Gale looked at Phaynx curiously. “When did-”

“Changelings can communicate mind to mind,” Trixie answered, predicting the question.

“Interesting,” Gale said, giving the four Changelings a new, appraising look. She then turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders and said, “Now, I hope you three haven’t been exaggerating our stories too much.”

“Nah, just a little bit,” Scootaloo responded cheekily.

“Hold on a second,” Trixie said. She went over to the Changeling group and counted them. “Two, three, four… we’re missing a ‘ling.” She looked around, and then cast a spell that sent a pulse of blue light through the room to no evident effect. “Where’s Orange Peel?” she asked, looking at Thorax in particular.

“Uh, well,” Thorax said, looking around nervously and trying to hide behind Pharynx.

Pharynx, however, stepped aside and turned to face his brother as well. “I’m wondering that too, Thorax,” Pharynx said, cocking his head to one side. “Cuz last I heard, she’d snuck aboard that broken-horned pony’s airship disguised as a storm soldier.”

“She did what now?” Trixie said, keeping her tone even despite the growing tension in her ears and face. “I promised Cabbage I wouldn’t let any of you get lost. If I have to go hunting all over Equestria…” She left the statement unfinished but with a clear warning in her voice.

Thorax coughed, stared at the ground, and licked his fangs nervously for a long moment before saying, in a very small voice, “I… Orange moved outside my range about three hours ago. They were in the Badlands the last time I heard from her.”

“That’s an impressive distance,” Gale commented. “I don’t know much about telepathy, but if you Changelings can sense each other from halfway across the kingdom…”

“Most of us can’t, actually,” one of the Changeling princesses said. “Normally, a single ‘ling’s range is about half a mile, and even the entire Hive gathered together could only cover most of Canterlot. Thorax here is uniquely gifted at mental communication. He could tell you what the Changelings way up in Hivetown are doing right now.” Thorax kicked at the ground with an embarrassed smile on his face.

“I’m more interested in why, of all places, Orange Peel is on Tempest Shadow’s ship,” Trixie said.

“Tempest is pursuing Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Pharynx replied, “so we thought it would be a good idea to have an eye on the situation. We… weren’t expecting them to get so far away, though,” he concluded with a sheepish look.

“That makes sense to me,” Looping Lines said. “And Thorax will be able to sense when Orange Peel comes back into his range, right?” The Changeling in question nodded. “So,” Loopy said, with an emphatic gesture of a wing, “we’ll have a chance to prepare for Tempest returning. Or Twilight. Whoever comes out on top between them.”

“Yes,” Gale said as a slight gleam came into her eyes. She started to pace around the room, thinking. “Oh yes, that will be useful in the long term,” she said, “but in the meantime…”

“Excuse me,” Blueblood said brusquely, “but I was expecting somepony to arrive with an actual plan already in order.”

“I had a plan,” Gale said as her pacing brought her near the noble unicorn, “but now I have more resources to consider and…” She paused and gave Blueblood a measuring look. “What are you doing here anyway, Your Snobbiness?”

Blueblood’s mouth went through some tense contortions as he struggled to keep his temper. “I,” he said at last through gritted teeth, “am representing the Unicorn Council.”

“Oh, not that nonsense again,” Trixie moaned dramatically. “Have you always been so quick to try and seize power when the Princesses are indisposed?”

“For your information,” Blueblood said, staring down his nose at Trixie, “the Council is a legally recognized body organized for precisely one purpose: to maintain order in Canterlot and in the cycle of day and night should every capable alicorn become incapable of performing their duties. That the Changelings and you, Trixie Lulamoon, happened to earn our ire the last time we were convened-”

“Spare me the excuses,” Trixie spat. “That was a gross abuse of power, and you know it.”

“Ponies!” Gale said, her tone equal parts sharp rebuke and exasperation. “Stow the egos, both of you!” She pointed at Blueblood and snapped, “You, give me a good reason to care about your band of petty nobility with emergency power, or just stay out of my way.”

Blueblood’s mouth worked soundless for a few seconds in the face of Gale’s careless disregard for his rank and the deference it was due. Gale snorted dismissively and started to turn away, but then Blueblood managed to say, “Hold on.” As Gale glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow, Blueblood composed his features and said, “The Council is attempting to locate any resistance to the Storm King’s occupation, so we can coordinate efforts. I happen to know of a squadron of the Royal Guard that is prepared to act as soon as they receive information on where to strike.”

Gale’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” she said. Blueblood nodded, and Gale’s face split into a huge, shining-eyed grin. “Perfection!” Gale exclaimed, rushing over to the chalkboard and grabbing some chalk. “That should give us the bodies we need to hit every point at once.” Everypony and Changeling gathered around as Gale started expounding on her thoughts. “Here’s the situation,” she said. “The Storm King and most of his airship fleet are no longer in the city because they’re chasing Ashen Blaze, Gold Heart, and Soul Mage, who are heading to the Crystal Empire to try and cure Princess Cadance. The army’s second-in-command, Tempest Shadow, is going south in pursuit of Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony. This actually presents us with a problem because there’s no clear leader among the remaining army in the city; there’s no ‘head of the snake’ to remove in one focused strike. On the other hoof, because the enemy just seems to be in a holding pattern, we should be able to take back control of the city if we accomplish three tasks.

“First,” Gale drew a sketch of Canterlot Castle, “Celestia and Luna remain in the castle, still petrified, and the Storm King’s plans require that he possess them as well as Cadance and Twilight. He wants to steal their magic.”

“Why?” Sweetie Bell asked.

“I’m not sure,” Gale admitted, “but that doesn’t matter. He’s not going to get all the Princesses. Twilight can take care of herself, the rest of my team has Cadance, and we are going to seize Canterlot Castle, or at least hold the room the other Princesses are held in.

“Second,” Gale sketched a cage, “we need to free all the captives. Hopefully we’ll find enough ponies willing to fight back once they’re loose, but at worst we’ll sew confusion among the satyrs. Last, and perhaps most important,” she sketched an airship, “the enemy left some airships behind, so they still have control of Canterlot’s airspace. He who controls the skies controls the entire battlefield. So, we either take them over or take them out.” She finished her writing and sketching, set the chalk down, and turned to face the group. “I’ll admit,” she said, “that is a lot to pull off even with a couple squads of Guards backing up this little group of eight, but-”

“There’s eleven of us,” Scootaloo said flatly. “You, Ms. Looping Lines, Trixie, Prince Blueblood, Chard, Kale, Thorax, Pharynx, Sweetie Belle-”

“This is going to be dangerous, girls,” Gale said to the CMC.

“Seriously?” Apple Bloom exclaimed, face-hoofing. “When did you become Applejack, Gale? Look at us, we ain’t little fillies anymore. Heck, we’re older than the four of them put together!” She pointed at the Changelings. “And you didn’t think twice about counting them.”

“She makes a valid point,” Kale contributed. “Queen Cabbage holds those three in very high regard. That’s why we made the effort of freeing them from the cage they’d been thrown in.”

Gale glanced between the CMC and the Changelings, not looking convinced.

“Just let them help, Gale,” Loopy said. “You just said we’re going to need as much help as we can get.”

“Fine,” Gale said. “But I don’t want to have to explain to Rarity and AJ why their sisters got seriously wounded. You three,” she pointed at the CMC, “are going to be the team that focuses on freeing ponies, ok?”

“That’s cool,” Sweetie Belle said. “I was going to ask to be on that team anyway.”

“As for the rest of us…”Gale paused and gave Blueblood a cautiously optimistic look. “Give me about an hour to scout enemy positions and the number of zeppelins, and to determine what talents everypony here has to contribute, and I’ll have detailed plans of action for the Guard regarding taking the castle and dealing with the airships.”

“That seems reasonable,” Blueblood said with a nod. “I doubt I’ll have any issue convincing the Unicorn Council to back your strategies.” He left the room, and Gale turned her attention to the Changelings.

“Now,” Gale said, “any volunteers to go scouting?” Before anyone could respond, Blueblood backed back into the room, followed by four satyr soldiers menacing with lowered spears. “Oh,” Gale said quietly, glancing between the satyrs and her discarded Gel Launcher. “Well then…”

Comments

[DracoDarastrix]

Plans why even bother with them?