Chapter 10
Eight thousand stallions and mares ran through drill after drill in the city of Fillydelphia supervised by Shining Armor. Many of them had only arrived recently. The next batch of 2,000 recruits was arriving in pieces with many of them relegated to the medical corps rather than the main fighting force that these 8,000 represented. Shining wore a stoic expression as he watched over their training, but inside he was a mess of emotions.
Many of these ponies had never seen any form of military combat or received any form of training. While there were some limited reserves, which had been called upon immediately, they were the best-trained of these reinforcements and had been put in charge of organizing the massive influx of troops into smaller training groups. These groups had been training their flanks off for over a week, but Shining Armor could only feel a sense of dread and grief.
These ponies were civilians. They were untrained and without the desire to be guards that at least had motivated the reserves. In addition to this, the enemy had proven themselves to be powerful enough to seize a city and warrant enough of a response that princesses had run off with the whole of the regular guard to deal with them and had still called for a draft of over 20,000 ponies from the general populace to reinforce them. It was madness on a national scale. Nightmare Moon. The Changelings. Discord for Celestia’s sake! A vengeful and corrupted princess, an army of shape shifting parasites, and what amounted to a god of chaos warranted exactly six mares . . . and himself and his bride on one occasion. Yet now was when they summoned the full might of their military into action.
He sighed as he thought this to himself. The full might of the Equestrian military . . . It was such a charged and provocative phrase. It conjured up images of armies spanning miles, encased in glittering armor as they did battle with the foul forces of chaos and darkness. But the reality was far more depressing. The “full might of the Equestrian military” amounted to about 3,000 guards who hadn’t seen action in over a thousand years, a host of reserves who were more armchair generals and lazy glory hounds than patriotic citizen, the princesses he supposed, though they hadn’t fought in over a thousand years either and when they did it was admittedly disappointing, and six mares with magic gems and the power of friendship.
It made for a grim outlook when it looked like this threat wasn’t something they could just “friendship” or “love” into submission. No, this conflict was one to be determined by strength of armies and the tactics of generals. And it looked like they were sorely lacking in that department. Quickly excusing himself Shining left the drill square, the quickly and crudely modified town square if he was being brutally honest with himself, and took off on a walk. He had been doing this more and more lately, taking longer and longer patrols around the city. It helped him see how well things were coming along, but it also served a more important personal purpose: to distract his mind from the depressing thoughts of their defeat which he had been thinking of more and more as each day passed.
His thoughts drifted to, as they often did these days, his sister and his dear wife. Twilight and her friends had left Canterlot and come here to help with the preparations in any way they could. Fluttershy was working with the medics, Twilight was helping keep everything organized, Pinkie worked to keep stock of their supplies and keep them coming in, Rainbow was assisting the Wonderbolts in training new pegasi recruits, and Rarity and Spike were working with the tailors to create uniforms for the new recruits coming into the city, and Applejack was aiding in the construction of barricades, temporary barracks, and other needed facilities.
Cadence was still in Canterlot to his knowledge, helping to organize its defense and run the city in the absence of her, their, aunts. He missed her. Their honeymoon lasted all of, oh, four days or so before they got the call to return to Canterlot to face yet another threat to all they knew and loved. This seemed to be a far more regular occurrence than he would have thought possible, but those were thoughts best considered after defeating the latest villain of the day. He walked through the city eventually reaching the city border facing east towards Canterlot. As he approached he could see ponies putting the finishing touches on barricades of sandbags and wooden walls, which would hopefully slow down the enemy’s advance should they be able to come this far, along with digging a crude series of trenches. It was then that every guard at the “wall” burst into a frenzy of activity.
Shining galloped towards the commotion and when he finally reached the border guards he saw exactly what had them in such a state. Walking slowly towards the city was a large column of dirtied, bedraggled ponies. Tatters of what once may have been fashionable clothing hung from their frames or had been turned into makeshift bandages. The column stretched back quite a ways and Shining guessed that it probably comprised about 2,000 ponies or so. And at the head of the column, walking along with the rest of the refugees was . . .
“Cadence!” Shining ran out past the barricades and his wife looked up, her face lighting up at the sight of him. When they reached each other the couple embraced tightly.
“Cadence,” said Shining softly. “What happened? Why are you and all these other ponies here and not in Canterlot?” At this Cadence looked away from him in what could have been regret or . . . shame?
“I think that it would be best that I tell you and the others all together. This is something that I don’t want to say more than once.” Confused, Shining just nodded and ordered the guards at the barricade to start gathering some doctors and food for the tired column of ponies. With that he sent guards out to gather his lieutenants and commanders along with the elements. Whatever had happened, it was obvious that something truly terrible had happened.
----
Shining Armor sat alongside Cadence in the conference room of the mayor’s office. The entire building had been taken over and repurposed to serve as his command office for the duration of the war effort. Seated around the table were the elements of harmony, Captain Storm Rider of the Solar Guard, Captain Nightshade of the Lunar Guard, and their respective lieutenants. When all were seated, Cadence stood up to give the sad news.
“Thank you everypony for arriving here so quickly. The news I have is truly grave. The 2,000 ponies that arrived with me are all refugees from Canterlot. The city has been overrun by the enemy.” There was a collection of gasps at this news. Nopony thought Celestia and Luna would fail and even if they did the fall of their capital was a truly horrifying development.
Captain Nightshade quickly rose up.
“How could this have happened princess? And what has happened to the rest of Canterlot’s population?”
“The enemy caught us unawares. From what we can tell, they placed a large force within the train from Ponyville and were able to take the station. We believe that Ponyville has also been seized by the enemy. It would explain how they were able to gain access to the train.”
With this announcement the elements burst into a frenzy of activity, each one screaming out a series of frantic, panic-fuelled questions.
“Is my family okay?!”
“What about my dear sister, princess?!”
This went on for a moment before Shining finally put a stop to it.
“Girls. I understand how hard this must be for all of you, but before we can do anything we should let Cadence finish her story.” The girls nodded, calming down a degree, and turned back to Cadence.
“I’m so sorry girls, but we don’t know anything about the situation in Ponyville. We’re only guessing what happened based on hindsight. At any rate: After the enemy had seized the train station a large series of explosions reduced entire blocks of buildings into dust and rubble. We have no idea how they managed this, but when it was finished they advanced. I led one thousand guards to hold them off while the others evacuated the city.” She took a deep, steadying breath before continuing onward.
“In the main square I came face to face with their leader.” A series of gasps accompanied this announcements and Shining openly wore a look of concern for her.
“He called himself “Emperor Titus Aurelian” and claimed the city for what I assume is either his superior or his god, “Magnus” I believe it was, and his race: “Humanity.” He offered us a chance to surrender the city and allow me and the guards to leave. I honestly considered it. Their power was overwhelming and I couldn’t bear to put the citizens in any more danger. I tried to convince him to let us and the citizens go, but he said that any citizens not already being evacuated were now under his authority and would not be allowed to leave. At that the guards sprang into action and attacked the humans.” Cadence looked seriously at each and every other pony around the table.
“At that point I saw something that truly terrified me. A wall of about 100 unicorns launched a simultaneous attack on the “human” forces. A wall of pure magic rushed at them . . . and failed to even scratch one of them.” The looks she garnered from this announcement were ones of terror, shock, and disbelief.
“It was as if they actively . . . repelled magic. The backlash incapacitated the unicorns and the humans began . . . began . . . massacring them in droves. When the earth ponies in the force rushed forward they failed as well. At this point I fled to try and guide the evacuees out of the city and bring this news to you. I have sent a message to my aunts and hopefully they will have received it by now.”
The room was as silent as a tomb. Not a single pony could think of anything to say. Their capital had fallen. Another princess had been defeated at the hands of a foreign force. And another thousand of their regular military had been wiped out. But perhaps the worst news was the tales of the human’s prowess. A species that repelled magic was something that didn’t seem possible. Every single species known to Equestria relied on magic of some kind to function properly every day. Truly this was a race of monsters if they repelled a force needed for all life in the world to exist.
It was Shining Armor that finally broke the silence.
“I think we all know that what we’ve just heard bodes ill for us all. However there is not much we can honestly do about it besides continue training our troops. In light of these circumstances however I would like all of you to step up the training of our recruits. If the enemy has Canterlot than I doubt that it will be long before they begin advancing on the rest of our land. We need to be prepared to fight. Applejack and Twilight: I would like for both of you to tell the engineers to put priority on digging more trenches and crafting bigger barricades. And everypony else: I’m invoking my authority as Guard-Captain and military leader of the war effort. Send messages out to every major city in Equestria with a single message: We need more troops. I expect at least another 10,000 troops within three months. Am I understood?”
“Yes sir!”
“Good. Dismissed.”
----
Celestia and Luna sat in one of the more intact buildings in Manehatten where they had established their command center. They were mulling over the implications of the message their niece had just sent them. It raised so many questions. How could humanity repel magic when before they were horribly injured by it? Even in this battle, the two princesses had seen the same effect replayed across the human’s lines during their magical attacks.
It was Luna that eventually broke the silence between the two.
“Sister, what are we going to do now?” Celestia sighed, raising her head to look at Luna.
“I honestly don’t know Luna. We have seen the sins of our past come back for vengeance and we have seen a city taken and abandoned, only or them to take our capital of all places. And this message from Cadence only worsens things. If there are humans immune to magic, than our powers will mean relatively little in a pitched battle against them.” With a resigned expression, Celestia knew that she had to make some sort of choice and what she came up with was not one that sat well with her.
“Luna . . . I believe that there is little we can do if these magic-repelling humans are in Canterlot. We should go around the mountain and down the coast and try to regroup with our forces in Fillydelphia. Shining Armor, Cadence, Twilight, and the other elements are all there and we should not be separated from each other in this time of conflict.” Luna looked like she was about to be indignant at the suggestion that they essentially abandon Canterlot, but she stopped herself.
“You’re right Tia. But I don’t like it.”
“I don’t either Luna. But for now: we honestly have not better option available to us. May the Creators have mercy on us all.”
----
Aurelian sat upon a black throne similar to the one he sat upon on the mainland, reviewing progress made into rebuilding and repurposing sections of the city. Following the victory celebrations, that had lasted all night and into the next day, he had begun organizing the occupation government. By now a few thousand soldiers had arrived in the city and had brought with them engineers that had begun taking the debris from the areas around the train station and turning into raw material for new constructions. Smoke had already begun to fill the air as newly born manufactories were put to work.
Already, the destroyed sections of the city were being filled with scaffolding and the beginnings of new outposts, barracks, and holding areas for any ponies that got . . . uppity. Aurelian knew that the only way to shatter the morale of the ponies still free in Equestria was to show more than just an occupation. He needed them to turn on each other. Calling forth his war council, minus Arianna, Aurelian slipped into his familiar role as emperor. Once they were all gathered together, he started the meeting.
“I will begin by addressing the concerns over the latest reports from our surveymen. From what the High Priest has determined after examining the forest, it is free of the taint of the daemon-queens and is blessed by Magnus. As such, many of the creatures mentioned in the reports are similarly blessed. I will allow the attempted training of the so-called “timber wolves” and “manticores.” However I will take our surveyman’s advice and order the extermination of the cockatrice.”
“What of the dragons my lord?” asked Orrin. “From what we can tell, there may be a larger concentration of them living to the far west of Ponyville.” The Emperor considered the issue. Dragons had long been extinct in the Empire, their race finished off when Magnus personally beheaded their king. To discover a new, admittedly lesser, strain of the beasts was both a disturbing and intriguing concept. However they were beings of magic and as such could not be allowed to live so close to their borders.
“They are beings filled with innate magic. As such their domestication could prove to be a time consuming and ultimately futile endeavor. Destroy any you come across, but do not actively seek them out . . . yet.”
“Yes my lord.” With that the Emperor turned toward Empiricus.
“Empiricus, have you chosen which of your Blessed will administrate this city?” The Grandmaster produced a few sheets of paper that he had been mulling over.
“Yes my Emperor. I believe that the best one of my troops for this task would be Helmholtz. He has shown great leadership potential and I believe this would be an excellent opportunity to prove himself and gain some additional experience.”
The Emperor nodded at Empiricus and gestured to a scribe standing near the throne.
“Take this down. I, Emperor Titus Aurelian, first of my name, Lord of the Empire, Ruler of the continent, Heir of Magnus, and Protector of Humanity do hereby declare Hermann van Helmholtz of the Blessed the Governor of the mountain city of Canterlot and the settlement of Ponyville. He is to rule over these lands and be given full authority to do as he sees fit to properly administrate the city in accordance with our laws and traditions. So let it be done.”
With this, the Emperor signed and affixed his personal seal and the mark of Magnus to the document to fully empower the order before turning back to his council.
“If there is nothing else than this meeting is adjourned. We will reconvene tomorrow at the same time.”
----
Silent Storm walked through the streets of Fillydelphia. Storm was an average looking pegasus with a grey coat, black mane, and the image of a drifting storm cloud for a cutie mark. He had only arrived the day before, but already he was being forced into guard training. Silent was one of the final 2,000 members of the first major draft group of 10,000 ponies. The training had been hard and he was currently living within one of many temporary shelters that had been built for the 10,000 new recruits. It was cramped, dirty, and there was little personal space if any. Not that Silent Storm really minded. He was used to such conditions. In some cases these quarters were actually an improvement to where he was not too long ago. At least here he could have a full stomach rather than barely scraping by day-to-day.
Eventually he reached a darkened alley somewhere in the bowels of the city. After a final glance left, right, and up, because Silent Storm would be damned if he fell into the same trap as every other pony who never looked up, he walked calmly into the alley. As the shadows pooled and twisted around him, he stopped moving and waited. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed. Finally, light appeared just ahead of him and he heard a voice coming from it.
“Have you succeeded?
“Of course. I am within the city now and the guard has taken me in without incident.”
The voice chuckled, the voice dark and thrumming with an undercurrent of power.
“Excellent. With the recent confusion this endeavor has been far easier than even I dared to hope. Your orders are to remain where you are and continue your reports. We will need to know more about what is going on before we make our next move.” With that the light faded and soon Silent Storm was alone in the alley once more.
He began to chuckle darkly as he stared into the space the light had once occupied. His eyes flashed a sickly green as two small fangs jutted over his lip.
“Your wish is my command . . . my Queen.”
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Ah so the changlings are throwing themselves into this mess awesome the more the merrier
1592365
That's what I thought as well. And it makes sense: They want revenge, Equestria is in chaos. What better time to strike?
1592378 Hmmm but what will the humans think of them they are technically creatures of magic but then again maybe the enemy of my enemy is my friend or is the the enemy of my enemy my enemies enemy?
1592390
I think we'll cross that bridge when humanity knows enough about changelings to ask one question: What the hell are those creepy bug things?
1592396 Only one way to find out the use of the most scientific method in the entire universe
primalaspects.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/PokeIt-1024x379.jpg
1592402
Genius. That's why you are officially promoted to captain. Congratulations. Your poking stick has been prepared for you.
1592411
*Draws stick* FOR MAGNUS!!! *charges at changling and pokes it only for it to wake up and chasing me around in circles with fangs bared*
Ah help irogue bug thing
1592417
*A divine light appears around you and the changeling is consumed with holy fire.*
YOUR WELCOME
1592422
Praise be to Magnus death to Daemon Queens
Changelings huh? dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/lolface_Queen_Chrysalis.png We'll see how it all goes but...humanity FTW!
hum, I think that humanity's victory is going to be delayed for a couple of chapters...they are going to win, RIGHT.
Interasting... i really like this so far and i must say adding changlings to the mix just add al sorts of things such as will celestia ally with them, will the humans allie with them or is the changlings just going to be the third party... SO MANY QUESTION so little chapters...
Also would the powers of magnus protecte agansit Discord, because theres that statue in canterlot and the humans presance might realses him...
So the changelings are going to play their hand soon.
1592402
Seems legit
Oi, Changelings!!! Stay Out, This Is Our War!!!
1593768 lol, funny seeing you here XD
i.imgur.com/hkOTJ89.gif
Changelings, Eh? Talk about adding more oil to the already ever burning flames of war. It would be so ironic if they ended up allying themselves with the ponies.
10325756
I have a sinking supposition they might help the humans...