The History of the Great Changeling War

by Fireheart 1945

Chapter 6; Settling in for the long haul

As the changelings fell back from their attack on Las Pegasus, both sides began to count their losses and re-evaluate their capabilities. The military situation had been balanced, with each side having halted the other.

While the Allies had managed to gain a foothold on the coast and establish a linkup with Baltimare, they had been unable to clear the Hayseed Swamps of the changelings. The Changeling Empire had managed, at great cost in lives, to stop the Allied counteroffensives, but had not managed to advance any further. Neither side was able to seriously damage the other's infrastructure. Changeling nurseries remained safe from Allied attacks, and Equestrian factories remained in operation.

Queen Chrysalis was not happy with the Allied gains, or the failure of her assault on Las Pegasus. Her armies had suffered badly, though the losses were being gradually replaced as more warriors came to "The Front," as both sides were starting to call the front line. However, there was reason for hope on the changeling side. They were adapting to Allied doctrines; underground bunkers were being dug anywhere on the front where a unit of warriors was stationed, to reduce the number of casualties from artillery bombardments. They developed a new doctrine of their own; when it was likely that an Allied assault was to begin (in particular, when a bombardment began), a large number of the drones on that front were to disguise themselves as inanimate objects, such as rocks, bushes, and other items.

Meanwhile, on the home front, the changelings were quickly coming to realize something that they should have taken into account long before. Their initial offensives had, in addition to enslaving and imprisoning the population they captured, sought to destroy as much property as possible in order to ensure an atmosphere of fear among the conquered ponies. However, this destruction had involved burning farmlands, which their new slaves needed for food, and the weather factory in Cloudsdale had been damaged. Without a weather plan, and working farms, the changelings realized that their sources of food would starve, which would imperil their own existence.

With reluctance, the changelings allowed pegasi, under conditions of intense scrutiny, to repair the factory, and sent hordes of captured ponies to rebuild the farms that had been destroyed. It was soon clear how little the changelings, and all the city ponies they were impressing into labor, knew about farming. Ponies were ordered to work land that was bad for crops, their overseers mixed up the seeds that they were supposed to plant, fertilizer was in short supply when it was present at all, and the whole effort was, under the papering over the changelings did, a gigantic mess.

Needless to say, the changelings overall didn't really care about their new servants; it was their own need for sustenance that drove them to the effort. Given that they hadn't planned to keep much of the conquered infrastructure in place, their lack of proper organization and poor results was perhaps not surprising. The changelings did try to find ponies with farming experience, but that was easier said than done. Many farmers who had not been captured had fled south, and those who hadn't weren't always identified as belonging to their profession.

But the weather was an even bigger concern. It was necessary for crops to grow, and some high-ranking changelings liked the idea that clouds could discharge lightning; it could be used both as a weapon and as an agent of terror. With all that in mind, the invaders set their pegasi slaves to repairing the factory.

Down in the south, the Allied armies had high morale, having bested the changelings in two battles. But on the homefront of each nation involved, there was disappointment that no further progress had been made. There were few complaints in Manehattan and Baltimare, both of which were still in danger, and the citizens of Appleloosa, having personally witnessed a battle just outside their town, were for continuing the war. Las Pegasus, having been the site of a battle and having suffered many civilian losses during that fight, was in a state of outrage, with more and more of its citizens joining the army every day and vicious anti-changeling propaganda posters being pasted to the walls.

Dodge City and the town of Somnambula were a different story. The war was taking place far from the latter, and it hadn't reached the former. The ponies of those towns were naturally curious as to why the soil of Equestria was still tainted with the hoof of the invading army, and news of protests, calling either for action or peace, reached the temporary capital of Appleloosa. They were not alone; while many hippogriffs still supported intervention, a sizable minority was against it. In Griffonstone, there was some measure of resentment at the deal the elders had made, and many griffons saw no reason to spend anything, least of all blood, for a foreign power. What had the world done for them, they demanded? And while the people of Avalon were largely for the war, some expressed doubts about the military's failure to push harder against the enemy.

For all that, the Princesses of Equestria managed to keep order, and with their newfound friends, began to make further plans.

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"Principessa? Dove sei?" General Vittorio asked, clutching a set of papers and approaching the tavern room where Princess Celestia normally resided.

The Royal Guard outside the room, a white pegasus by the name of Cloud, turned toward him.

"La principessa? Lei è qui?" the general asked again.

"Errrr... General, I'm not sure...

"It's alright," Celestia's voice came through the door. "It's not like it's embarrassing or anything." There came the sound of a hammer hitting metal several times in quick succession.

"I thought you wanted privacy."

"And I scheduled a meeting with General Vittorio. I simply had an emergency. Just make sure he his who he says he is and let him in."

"...Alright." Cloud turned around. "Private Pike, come here and scan the general, will you?"

Silver Pike, a unicorn, walked over. "Sorry if this tickles, sir," he said, horn lighting.

The scan - a burst of blue light that went through and illuminated the General - apparently found nothing of interest.

"He's the real deal, Corporal."

"Right. Go in, just please don't... tell anypony outside of the other Royals what's going on."

Vittorio nodded, then entered the room. Princess Celestia was standing with her left front hoof raised. An Appleloosa blacksmith was hammering a nail through one of her golden shoes into her hoof.

"I'm sorry I forgot about our meeting," Celestia said calmly. "I threw a shoe. As you can see, even a Princess' hooves need maintenance and shoes replaced."

"I thought those were slippers of some sort," Vittorio said, bemused, sitting down on a crate.

"I have copies that are, but most of the time, I need to wear these. These horseshoes are just a bit more... ornate... than the ones my subjects use, and the nails spruced up some."

"I never saw the nails in your hooves before."

"That's because I use an invisibility paint, a variation of invisible ink, to keep them from being seen. Luna does the same." She turned to the farrier. "How close are you to being done?"

"This hoof and the other front one," the brown earth pony said; he was wearing a hat that covered his eyes from both Vittorio and Celesita's view, and he didn't even look up from his work while replying. He was obviously beholden to his job, and had no intention of allowing any interruption to keep him from doing it.

"I apologize," The Princess said. "Maybe we can meet again in an hour."

"Alright, but this is important. I'm worried that General Werner might capitulate to his people's demands to return home."

Celestia nodded. "I'm more worried about Queen Novo. She's been pressuring me by letter to try to end the war before winter arrives... or rather, before the time that winter would have arrived in Equestria. Werner and the griffons leaving us is something we can handle if it does happen, though I'll try to make sure it does not. See you soon, General Vittorio."

Vittorio nodded, got up, and left, closing the door behind him.

As he strode away, Vittorio put his left hand, which was free, up to his forehead and sighed. It was unsettling that many supporters of the Allied cause expected it to be a quick and easy affair, as if all winning it would take was pushing a little harder and going just a little bit further. The truth was, the Allies were in it for the long haul, or at least until next spring.

Come on, Matteo, what can we do? he asked himself as he walked down the stairs.

"Greetings, General."

Vittorio looked up and saw Princess Luna sitting by herself at a window seat in the tavern. An empty glass stood in front of her on the table.

"Buon pomeriggio, Principessa, Vittorio replied.

"Would you mind sitting with me?" Luna asked.

"I'm married."

Luna looked taken aback. "No, no, no, it's nothing like that, I swear."

"..."

"I know how seriously you Avalonians take your wedding vows. You have nothing to fear. My only court consort would be a stallion, if only they had the chance to live as long as I and my sister can." Luna sighed.

With that, Vittorio finally sat down. "Wine?" he asked, motioning to the glass.

"Oh, no, just apple cider. And a bit of salt on the side. I wonder how on earth the Appleloosans deal with the dry heat of this place, or why they would set up a town here." Luna turned her head toward him. "What happened? I thought you were supposed to be meeting with my sister."

"She...had to replace a set of... tires. Metal tires."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Well, that would explain it. I've thrown a shoe before, and it's no fun for the pony going through that. The nails have to be set right, or else... In any case, what are you so upset about?"

"Alongside expressing worry about Werner and his people leaving our cause-"

"-Something that troubles me not at all."

"-I also wanted to ask her to give a speech directed toward all the people of the Alliance, to tell them that this war won't be over soon and that we need to full support of our respective peoples in order to have a chance of success."

"We do need more support on the home front," Luna agreed. "I'm not pleased with the news from Dodge City." She pulled up a newspaper and began to read; "This war had been going on since April, when the monstrous host defiled our capital and ravaged our lands. Since the Battle of Appleloosa, what has the Grand Alliance done to expel the tyrants from the land that belongs to ponykind?" Luna set it down for a moment, clearly frustrated. "Oh, I don't know, maybe die in the tens of thousands trying to do just that?!" She began reading again; "Our leaders must strike, strike now, strike until the enemy is broken utterly and made to know forever that our Equestria will not tolerate, for one second more, any hostile invaders." She let it fall. "Oh really, as if its so easy to accomplish that. Meanwhile what are these fat burghers and stuck up nobles doing, other than sitting drunk at some pub, whining about how the government needs to do more?"

"We're sitting and drinking, and technically, I'm a burgher."

Luna burst out laughing. "Well, yes, that's true. I suppose we are sitting around and drinking, not that there's much else to do here. But I do get sick of all the prodding we're getting from all sides."

"The merchant houses of Avalon have been publicly rallying support for the war," the general answered. "But they, in turn, want action. Combattere Adamo can't stop talking about how pressured he is in the Merchant Council."

"'Fighting Adam?'" Luna asked, looking confused.

"Oh, that's a nickname we have for Consul Mariani. He got it in the Civil War, for his performance during the Battle of the Fiume d'Argento, the Silver River. I was only a lieutenant back then, and he a general. He had received his commission due to his blue blood, being a member of House Mariani. Despite the low expectations of the troops, he managed to fight as well as he could as the commander of a corps."

Luna saw his eyes stare straight ahead. In the few times when he relieved the Avalon Civil War, this had always happened.

"The enemy had torn up the corps ahead of us. General Alamanni had deployed us almost piecemeal, one corps attacking the enemy anywhere at once. When they waged a counterattack of their own, IV Corps got the worst of it. They were so badly beaten... maybe a third got away, False Consul Acerbi's men were jubilant. They came forward, expecting that they would shatter us."

"General Mariani hid his batteries in the woods flanking their advance. While the infantry engaged, the big guns opened fire suddenly with grape shot. My company was already engaged, as was the whole regiment. After the artillery ambushed the rebels, Mariani threw his entire strength behind a massive forward counterattack. We drove the enemy back for at least two miles, the General on his horse, shouting and waving giving us encouragement the entire time as bullets and shrapnel flew around him and tore his uniform. It was... magnificent."

Vittorio suddenly seemed to be aware once again of where he was. "Well, that's where he got his nickname, and where I was made a lieutenant. Normally, officer ranks were reserved for members of the merchant houses, but, as my senior officers had been killed or incapacitated, I was promoted."

"The Silver River... isn't that where the tide of the war began to turn?"

"In hindsight, yes. But... that was not evident at the time. We lost at least one man out of every four in IV Corps that day alone, and our entire army suffered likewise. The only thing I can say is that the traitors were even worse off."

"How did the war start anyway?" Luna asked, interested. "From what I've heard, there was a disagreement on policy by the merchant houses."

"You... could say that. Acerbi and his Espansionistas supported conquest of the zebras and other technologically primitive nations. He had a lot of support among both the higher and lower houses."

"'Higher and lower?' I thought all houses were supposed to be equal."

"By law they are; higher and lower are just general terms to describe the state of the house in question. If it is a prosperous one, it is a higher house, and if it is not doing well, it is a lower house. This can, of course, change on a dime."

"I see. Wasn't there an opposition to the Expansionists? The Isolationists, I believe they were called?"

"Si, il Iszionistiola party. They wanted to maintain the status quo. But the Expansionists didn't always wait for approval by the Merchant Council before doing something. Some fitted their ships for military purposes, and a number of other species were brought back as... they were called serfs, but make no mistake, they were slaves. Horses from Saddle Arabia and zebras from their tribes. The Expansionists claimed that, as we had originated on a world where horses were nothing more than dumb livestock, that we ought to use them as such here."

"That's appalling!"

"But lucrative. Many of them were from higher houses, or at least from houses that were considered higher at the time. And you forget, we live in a merchant republic; politics revolve around money. Or used to, until the end of the War and the rewriting of our constitution. Before the War, whenever anyone tried to ban 'serfdom', there was always enough money being filtered behind the collective back of the Council to fatally delay it, causing it to die on the Council floor."

"What'll it be, General?"

Vittorio turned briefly to the local, a yellow-ish earth pony. "You have any of that apple-flavored wine?"

"Sorry, General, we don't. We do have apple cider, but it's non-alcoholic."

"That'll be fine." The general pulled out a couple of coins and tossed them onto the table. The waiter took them, then turned to Luna. "More cider, Princess?"

"Yes, another glass would be pleasant." She levitated a few bits onto the table, which the waiter also took before walking away. "What caused the final breach?" she asked, turning her attention back to the human commander.

"Acerbi. Domenico Acerbi." The general uttered the name quietly, as though puzzling over whether or not it was a curse word. "He quickly gained traction in among the more landed elites in the Council, and wanted to pass a bill making slavery legal for any citizen who was able to acquire slaves through foreign expeditions, meaning the common peasant was out of the arrangement, as well as engage in what he called a 'colonization effort. Not that he cared for peasants, anyway; another issue was that he wanted to increase the powers of the merchant houses - especially those that supported him - over the government and common people." VIttorio shook his head.

Luna could see that the memories were becoming rather painful. She tried to change the subject; "You said that Mariani rode on a horse earlier? Doesn't that mean he approved of slavery?"

"No, of course not. It was a horse who had been freed from slavery. He went by the name of Mangiafuoco."

"Fire Eater? That doesn't sound Arabic."

"Well, no. By the time he was set free, he had been born and raised within our republic. Naturally, he was influenced more by our culture than his. You must understand, this s-" Vittorio stopped suddenly and put a hand to his mouth, coughing. Luna understood that he had been about to swear; he'd done this before. "As I say, this... nonsense had been going on for over thirty years. Many horses and zebras grew up far from their parents' homes. Mangiofuoco wasn't unique. These residents adopted our culture and our faith, mostly of their own free will. Indeed, Fire Eater, as you call him, became a devout worshiper of Cristo Re, without any pushing by his master."

"How did the poor dear become free?"

"Two years before the war broke out, Adamo came to the family that owned him. The man who would one day rise to be our Military Consul was there to settle a land dispute between two land families, which were commonplace. He saw the poor cavallo tied up, miserable after being forced to plow several fields. It was the first time Adamo was personally confronted by slavery; prior to this, he had almost exclusively resided in the capital, where slavery seemed a distant evil. It took one look for Adamo to become a true believer in the Iszionistiola cause. He bought Mangiafuoco from the family and legally freed him. They remained firm friends ever since."

Vittorio looked up as the waiter returned and set down two tankards on the table. "Two apple ciders, one for our beloved Princess and one for our honored guest of a general."

"Grazie."

"Much obliged."

The waiter turned to leave, then turned back, noticing the paper. "Them protests got ya down, Princess?"

"In a word, yes. General Vittorio-"

"Please, call me Matteo."

"-was discussing that with me just a few minutes ago. We were discussing the possibility of my sister making a speech to calm them down and let them know that this is a fight to the finish, however far away the finish may be."

"That would silence them deadbeats," the waiter agreed. "But what's the problem? Why cain't Princess Celestia do it?"

Luna sighed. "She's dealing with having to rule what's left of Equestria from the local tavern. She is constantly trying to prosecute the war and deal with various civil issues that have arisen from the war all at once. She had plenty of time to deal with things before the war, but this conflict and the pressure we're under from all sides is sapping her strength. It doesn't help when an incompetent farrier can't nail a horseshoe to a hoof properly. And her vision for a future Equestria, ruled by friendship, might well be extinguished if she fails. She's tired, and under a lot of stress." Luna sighed. "On top of that, she has to meet foreign dignitaries, and she's planning to visit Queen Novo in order to obtain her permanent support for this war, and trying to keep our alliance from breaking down. It's a wonder my sister's not falling apart at the seams. It's not that she can't do it, but a royal speech, especially one so important, must be perfect, or at least insofar as we are able to make it so, and I don't know whether she could pull it off in her current state of mind." Luna paused for a few seconds. "I think, once we get a handle on the war, that she will have more time for such a speech, and a better mindset, but that could be months, and we need something like this now."

"Well, why cain't you make that speech instead, Princess?"

"Me!?!" Luna exclaimed, truly surprised. "Please remember that when I returned just two years ago, it was as Nightmare Moon! The nation doesn't fully trust me yet, and who would blame them?"

"But yer our second Princess. If Princess Celestia's too busy ta make that there speech, then it looks like yer gonna need ta step up and do it yer own self. That is," the waiter added, looking embarrassed now, "if ya pardon me sayin' so."

"No offense taken." Luna took a sip of her cider. "I suppose I do have less on my schedule than she does. I still think that, having ruled for a thousand years, that Celestia would be a better choice, knowing the kingdom as a whole much better than I."

"But you are, as our young friend said, Equestria's Lunar Diarch," Vittorio noted. "A speech from you is a speech from the government, as much as it would be from Celestia."

Luna considered it for a minute, then finally, and slowly, nodded. "If my sister agrees to it, I shall do as you ask. And... thank you for the vote of confidence."

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As it turned out, Princess Celestia had no objections to her sister giving a speech; in fact, she was excited for Luna, who had had very little time in public so far, and saw it as an opportunity for her to grow. And, as Luna had remarked, Celestia herself was beset by difficulties.

The "Appleloosan Address," as the speech would be called in the media, wasn't long, but it did get the world's attention.

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Princess Luna quietly ascended the stage. Her heart was beating nervously inside her, but she carefully concealed her emotions as she walked up to the podium.

Generals Vittorio, Swiftclaw, Werner, and Al-Amin were already standing on the wooden platform. Facing them were pretty much all of Appleloosa's inhabitants, along with members of the nobility and numerous journalists. Most of the latter had notebooks and quills out, ready to quote her.

Luna checked to see that the rising moon was on the right course, then turned to the crowd. Silence fell over the audience, most of whom had been in quiet but earnest speech just seconds before.

"We are met," The Lunar Princess began, "near a great battlefield, one that saw the preservation of Equestria by a slim margin. Most of you will well remember the events that led us to the present, but for for those who may yet be ignorant of why we fight, I will briefly recap the conflict."

"In April, when much of Canterlot was assembled for one of the most sacred and joyous ceremonies known to ponykind, that of marriage between a stallion and a mare, Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. Little did my sister and myself suspect that our city had already been infiltrated. We were overcome from the inside. The changeling leader had played the part of our dear Cadence, whom she had imprisoned. Fortunately, my sister and I, along with the true bride, the groom, and their friends and family succeeded - for which I thank Providence - in escaping the capture of our palace and capital city."

Luna let out a breath before going on. "In order to rally resistance to our enemies, we came south, ultimately to this very town. During this time, when we could not stop them, the changelings brutally ravaged the north of our country. They imprisoned, killed, and did harm most foul unto our unfortunate and loyal subjects there. Our farms have been burned, as have our cities. Our enemy savagely oppresses our ponies, turning them into nothing more than slaves and food to their insatiable appetite. Were it not for the courage of our armies, and those of our brave allies, we would all have suffered the same fate."

"We managed to recover some small part of the land captured by our enemies, all the while taking their hive in the Badlands and driving them from that desolate wasteland. This, however, has not been enough to force our enemy to quit, nor should we expect it to in the future. In the meantime, Manehattan and Baltimare have successfully withstood the besieging armies, and it is with great pleasure that I can announce that we have opened a land route, re-establishing communications and allowing us to resupply the city."

"Without a doubt, there is much to do. We will have to drive our enemy out of our fair land entirely, and they will resist with savagery and fanaticism, as they have done whenever we have met them in battle. That is not to say, and never to say, that we are weak. Our armies have driven the enemy back and even advanced.

"Equestria has lost much in the preceding months. Many lives have been lost, uncounted bits worth of property destroyed, and our land ravaged by an unexpected and unwanted war."

Luna took another deep breath. "Our enemy, no doubt, believes us to be weak. He is mistaken. We have suffered under the initial blows, it is true, but we still stand. Equestria builds up her army and the arms to go with it; these increase every day. It will be some time before we are ready to reclaim our land, but I ask our loyal subjects - our citizens - and our allies, to be patient. The day is coming when Equestria will be one hundred percent free from our oppressors. That day may be months, even years, away, but it is coming, and the tyrant who leads this invasion will see justice done upon her for all the harm she has inflicted upon us. We ask for our ponies to remain calm and patient."

"We have much to be thankful for; we have strong allies, a considerable part of our country remains free, and our foes are paying the price for their advances. We have pushed them back and relieved Baltimare, and the enemy's recent push on Las Pegasus has failed utterly, with their army driven back in near ruin. Our defenses hold.

"Stand fast, Equestria. Stand fast, our allies. The time of victory comes. Perhaps it comes more slowly than we would like, but it is coming. For any citizens in the occupied zone who may be fortunate enough to receive a copy of this address, we ask for courage. Courage to withstand the evils the changelings inflict, courage to fight when possible, and courage to take the hard road of helping one's fellow ponies rather than take the easy road of collaboration. You may be under the tyrant queen, but you must remember that you are ponies, not changelings, and that your rightful rulers reside in Appleloosa until the day we walk down the streets of Canterlot once more.

"In the meantime, we prepare. We arm. We build up. Our enemy will feel our might in due course. Patience and courage will be key in the upcoming months.

"Thank you for your time today. We will stand victorious at the end of this time of evil."

There was some stomping and some clapping, but less than Luna expected. She looked back toward Vittorio. "I was hoping for a better reception than that."

"They're digesting it," he replied. "Give them time. It's what you called for, after all."

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Luna's speech, though perhaps not the most flamboyant or inspiring ever, did manage to make an impression on the hearts of those who heard it, and it's repetition in various media sources finally managed to calm the more belligerent ponies on the streets.

Internationally, the speech had mixed results. Queen Novo finally accepted that the conflict would be a long one, and ceased - for the moment - to offer any complaint. The rest of the Allies also accepted the speech, though, naturally, the griffons grumbled. However, the dragons saw in the address a sign of weakness, despite Luna's claims to the contrary.

As the front stabilized, the Allies dug in deep. Their trenches were constructed in a zig-zag pattern, allowing them to concentrate fire as well as minimizing the damage the changelings could inflict if they managed to penetrate, as they would not be able to fire down one straight line. Additional trenches lines were set up, in case the enemy managed to breach one, with artillery placed in prime positions behind all three of them. In addition, at night, the Allies set up barbed wire to entangle any changeling that attacked from the ground, and in certain areas distinctly marked on Allied maps, they set up minefields, which were also laid at night.

Winter's approach would have been less of an issue in other countries, most of which did not require pegasi to handle the weather. However, with the weather factory in Cloudsdale having fallen during the sack of that skyward city, the ability to manipulate the seasons in Equestria itself was badly limited. A second factory was being constructed in Las Pegasus, but it would take over a year for its construction to complete. In the meantime, the number of clouds available for rain and snow was down to 37% of normal, making a drought in the still independent south almost inevitable.

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"Okay... what went wrong now?" Dermestidae growled in a dangerous voice.

The pegasi in front of him were clearly unhappy. "We're doing our best-"

"it isn't enough. This facility should already be up and running."

"You shouldn't have shot the place to pieces," one of the ponies replied, frustrated.

The changeling commander turned, eyes glaring. "You want to be my next snack?"

"If you're going to steal my love, you'll do it anyway. We have no rights under you tyrants."

"I could show you, right now, how tyrannical we can be, unless you accept the condition that you have no rights, which means blaming changelings is out. Forbidden. Do you really want that?" He licked his right fang. "I might not even bother draining you from a distance; my fangs need testing sometime soon, and taking your emotional energy from you that way would be very satisfying."

He didn't sound like he was joking, which was because he was not. Because of that, the protesting pegasus shut up.

"Now that we have the rightful pecking order out of the way, what is the problem?"

"Sir, the damage is immense," a different pony began. "This factory is not some macaroni art that any kid in a kindergarten class could make; it requires a lot of advanced materials and engineering, and these were systems originally designed by geniuses, most of whom are dead, one way or another. We need time, not only to find out what's wrong, but to figure out how to fix the blasted thing. And it's an entire factory we're being asked to rebuild."

"Well, what went wrong with this particular repair?"

"Mainly that the clowns calling themselves our suppliers gave us the wrong type of material to replace one of the main parts, and the stupid thing broke down immediately when we tried to test it. In addition, we were given the wrong kind of clouds to work with, so that one of the chambers for making snow was damaged."

"Ah." Dermestidae didn't quite understand how cloud technology worked, but if you used the wrong materials for any project, something was bound to go wrong. "I hear there was some kind of explosion."

"Some idiot provided us with cumulonimbus clouds instead of the cirrus we requested. As a result, the new chamber blew up, and half of our team is resting in an infirmary. We were lucky they weren't killed."

"You're lucky I don't eat you alive. We need this factory up and running again in order to feed you, that you may, willingly or otherwise, feed us. I am on a schedule sent by my superiors, who themselves answer to our Queen. You don't want our Queen coming down to personally inspect this place and its workforce, let me tell you that," the drone said, licking his fangs threateningly once more. "I suggest - and by suggest, I mean instruct - you meet the necessary quotas, or else you'll really be catching it, and soon."

The pegasi looked unhappy, but Dermestidae didn't care how they felt. They had gotten the message. That was all that mattered.

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Chrysalis sat upon her throne as she read a captured newspaper. "I suppose Luna thinks that Equestria will last long enough to put up an effective resistance to us," she said contemptuously. "And as for calling for their precious little ponies to revolt against us!"

"Truly obnoxious," Aphid agreed. "It's clear that the ponies under our rule, quiet or otherwise, think they owe their allegiance to a pair of absentee Princesses."

"They owe no such allegiance. I am their ruler now. Anypony who claims to be acting against us, under the guise of being a subject of Equestria's Princesses, will pay the price."

"Yes, My Lady."

"Let's see." Chrysalis set down the newspaper and levitated a clipboard in front of her. "An interesting an useful invention," she noted. "Paper and ink has helped us keep better records of things. Maybe we owe the ponies a little after all - but don't let them hear that."

"No, My Queen."

"Hmmm. Apparently, the drones responsible for the altercation experiments are due for a visit." Chrysalis looked up. "Send in the researchers."

The two drones in front of the doors bowed, then opened them. Four other drones walked through, two male, and two female. They marched up in front of the throne and bowed.

"Be seated."

The four obeyed.

"Have you made any new discoveries?" the Queen asked.

"We have," one of the male drones said.

"And that is...?"

"May it please your highness," a female drone replied, "we have begun altering royal jelly using genetic pheromones to heighten aggression in the drones given it. In addition, we've managed to successfully test a jelly altered to induce faster healing. It has healing properties on changelings who had been injured, and we believe that a drone whose egg is changed with careful application of this jelly will be able to heal twice as fast as a drone without the altercation."

"And what about the... I believe you called it the 'aquadrone,' yes? how is that project coming along? We need to be able to counter those cursed naval fortresses the Avalonians have brought with them."

"We're trying, Your Highness," the second female drone said nervously. "We're attempting to genetically alter aquadrone eggs for faster underwater travel and to be able to sneak aboard ships. However, we've as yet been unable to get them to change form to mimic other species or objects, meaning that, if they were to board an enemy ship, they would have to be able to outfight the crew, which is unlikely given the guns they are currently using."

"At least it gives us something."

"Your Majesty, if I may?" the fourth drone, the second male, asked.

"You may."

"I think that boarding a ship is quite unnecessary. If we utilize a new type of jelly and a series of alterations I have been preparing, it may be that we will be able to sink a vessel without needing to board it and detonate its magazines."

Chrysalis' eyes opened a little wider, though her features otherwise revealed nothing. "Go on."

"...Well, if we were to boost the damage an aquadrone were able to do with its horn, it could unleash a burst of plasma that could melt through the hull of a ship."

"Underwater?"

"Preposterous!" the first of the female drones scoffed. "Energy dissipates almost immediately underwater!"

"Not with the changes I've been getting ready," the enterprising drone replied. "if the beam or pulse were to be protected from the water by a means within either the spell itself or the caster, it could reach its target without attenuating between the aquadrone and the target ship."

"And how would you accomplish that?" the female retorted. "We would probably need two aquadrones to do what you're suggesting; one to actually fire the shot, and a second to protect the energy from the water, and that would require a ridiculous amount of concentration."

"That could be a possible fix, if we manage to create a second type of aquadrone with superior eyesight and a precise ability to control the shielding spell." He shrugged. "It's better than letting the enemy fleet sit there and pound us."

"Indeed," Chrysalis interrupted. "We need the aquadrones to be able to get rid of their ships, if not by boarding, then by some other means. I want this, and I want it now. If we can stop their navy, we can take Manehattan and Baltimare and any other coastal city, not to mention holding them against counterattacks. I also want some means for our drones to be able to survive longer in battle."

"We're working on making a drone specifically made to cast a shielding spell, Your Highness, but that formula is proving rather difficult," the first male drone injected.

"Can you make them better armored, then?"

"That's... easier," he replied, "but given how much power their weapons have, I have my doubts that any amount of additional chitin will keep out bullets entirely. A drone with such modifications would be so enormous that it would be virtually immobile and essentially useless on the battlefield."

"Alright," Chrysalis said, sighing. "Continue working on the aquadrone eggs in particular, but don't stop trying to come up with more drone varieties. I also want a drone able to fight in the air against their machines."

The four bowed. "It shall be done, my Queen," they chorused.

"Good. Now, proceed with your tasks."

The four researchers left the room. The doors closed behind them.

"Hmmm."

Chrysalis turned to Aphid. "You disapprove?"

"I... fear... that continued genetic manipulation will..."

"Well?"

"It might backfire. We might become monsters, even to ourselves. What if this war transforms us into something that no changeling was meant to change into, literally or metaphorically?"

"Let the ponies worry about metaphorical problems. As for the literal, be assured that I am keep a very close watch on the researchers. If they develop something that is too much... un-changeling, then I will stop them immediately."

"I just hope that doesn't come too late."

"It won't. I am Queen, after all."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

While the two sides continued to build up their forces, outside powers took notice. The victory at Las Pegasus momentarily turned some dragons away from joining the conflict; if the Allies had a weapon that allowed them to control the skies, it might be dangerous for dragons to fight them, and most dragons, while desiring loot and fame for themselves, weren't so obsessed with wealth that they sought death in exchange. Nevertheless, the pro-war sentiments among young dragons remained high.

In the meantime, across most of the world, winter was settling in. Only Equestria was at a loss, as the Cloudsdale factory was in the hooves of the changelings, and badly damaged at that, and the factory in Las Pegasus was less than one-third complete. Snow was in short supply, and Baltimare and Manehattan, both on the front lines, were potentially dangerous places for pegasi on cloud duty. Snowfall was extremely limited, with barely an inch or two of snow. It wasn't much better elsewhere. On the front lines, there was barely any snow at all, and that only after the pegasi in the Equestrian military spread snow at night.

Winter, while normally a major problem for military forces, was actually desired by the Allies at the time. Equestria in particular just wanted to maintain the current battle line, and the cold and the snow would make a major offensive by Chrysalis' armies difficult. In addition, the Yak delegation that had visited the Avalonian base of operations in the south had informed the other Allied powers that the changelings seemed weaker in the snow, and this was not lost on the Princesses and commanding officers. Unfortunately, their ability to take advantage of this weakness was virtually nonexistent.

If not for the foolishness of the changelings, winter might not properly come to Equestria at all.

-----------------------------------------------------

Dermestidae looked over a list of ponies, crossing out a couple of names. "Lazy, foolish pegasi," he muttered. "They need to get working, and fast. Our Queen needs our new slaves to be healthy in order for us to be fed, and woe be unto anyone foolish enough to hinder Her Majesty's plans!"

"I'd say they're woebegone already," another drone laughed.

"Not as much as they will be if this factory isn't back in action on schedule." Dermestidae put down the clipboard and uncrossed his legs from the desk.

"We've given them everything they need," another changeling noted. "I've noticed that they've been working on specialized equipment, though, and that's probably what's slowing them down; the machines needed to make the weather need to be exactly right or else they won't work."

"Not an excuse." Dermestidae got out of his chair and stood up. "We're getting this place up and running, and I mean yesterday."

The changeling overseer got out of his chair and walked out of the room. Just outside, pegasi were struggling to attach a large, glass globe, within which clouds swirled, to a large stand.

"Why isn't this contraption completed yet?" he demanded of the pegasus he had left in charge of the construction.

The pegasus looked unhappy. "We've been trying to get it so that the clouds within are stable. If we don't take our time and do it right, it could cause the whole factory to blow."

"You've been 'taking your time' with the entire factory!"

"It requires specialization and care! Otherwise, either it won't work at all, which is the best case scenario, or-"

"You're just lazy... or worse, in league with Celestia and her Allied dogs!" Dermestidae slapped the pegasus across the face. "You're not slowing this down. We're getting this place up and running... NOW!"

He turned to the two drones nearby. "Get the rest of the factory guard over here. If these ponies aren't going to do their jobs on time, we'll do it for them, and make them pay the price."

The pegasus he had just slapped just stood there, face full of resignation. "You'll have only yourselves to blame if this goes wrong."

Dermestidae immediately sucked a great deal of love from the worker pony, who stumbled and collapsed. "I told you lot," he said, after he was done, "we, your conquerors, are not to be blamed for anything. Your impertinence and defiance have been noted. Once we've finished this, you're going straight to Canterlot, to the Queen Herself, to answer for your crimes."

The pegasus, gasping for breath, only managed to say, "That's if... we.. survive what happens next."

The changeling drone turned contemptuously away, grinning. "Idiot."

More changelings came flying in; one by one, they knocked away the pegasi doing the work and collectively took hold of the globe themselves.

"Don't!" another pegasus construction worker yelled. "If you set it too fast, it'll-"

For his trouble, he was also drained of emotional energy by the drone replacing him.

The changelings took the globe, which the pegasi had been very slowly setting into it's place, and roughly slammed it onto the four small pillars that it was supposed to go on.

Dermestidae grinned even more. For a moment.

It became clear within seconds that all was not well.

The clouds within the sphere turned dark. Lightning began to crackle, first between and around the clouds, then, terrifyingly, outside of the sphere. Two changelings were caught by lighting, and were both shocked to death on the spot, their lifeless husks falling to the floor; a pegasus was caught soon after, and fell, screaming from the burns and the shock.

"I.. warned you," the pegasus construction leader said. The changeling overseer turned back toward him; the pegasus didn't even look angry, just grim. "Those clouds are volatile and very, very sensitive."

Dermestidae turned back to watch as the globe began to glow white; more lightning flew from it. Pegasi and changelings alike were fleeing from the scene.

"They're going to reach critical mass fairly quickly," the pegasus said.

"Fix it!"

The pegasus laughed, then winced as the globe shined even brighter. "Too late for that. Cloudsdale is going to have a big chunk blown out of it in a short while. That would probably be true even if it dropped through the floor right now."

Dermestidae's eyes opened wide. As the pegasus laughed again, he sought a way out as the globe flared; he heard something elsewhere in the factory explode as lightning lashed out in all directions.

-----------------------------------------------------

On December 16th, 1002 EC, the Cloudsdale Weather Factory, the pride and joy of that city, and the bringer of weather throughout Equestria, exploded. A white light flared, and the deafening roar that followed could be heard as far away as Canterlot. In fact, Allied troops on the Front were able to see a distant, white flash. Unaware of what it was, they referred to it as "The Winter Star." Had they known the truth at the time, perhaps a more somber name would have been attached to explosion.

The ruins of Cloudsdale were shredded by the blast, as were any changelings and ponies caught up in the detonation. The city was virtually unrecognizable as such; if it were not for pegasi who had fled the town before and during it's sacking, perhaps none would have been left who could have found it, let alone rebuild it. Hundreds of changelings, and over a thousand pegasi, were killed in an avoidable accident.

The one good to come from the incident was the snowfall that blanketed practically the entire country, including the Front. The already cold temperatures and the water within the factory, in addition to snow that the workers had made, caused snow to not only fall not only as individual flakes, but as clods of frozen material. By the time the night was over, Equestria had been introduced to the war's first real winter.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long absence. I'm still here, and still writing.

Comments

[fanreader999999]

9021991

Trains are modern transportation. Trucks, airplanes and freighters get the headlines but trains are the bread and butter of modern transportation.

As for the story, I’ve had this on my list for months but I can’t bring myself to read it. There’s just something about the premise and summary that tells me this story won’t go anywhere.

[Earthpatriot117]

Intense awesome chapter. Xd
DOWN WITH THE CHANGELING EMPIRE!!!

[Lunar eclipse airsoft]

Add flamethrowers bud

[HedgeHo6Matt]

Is this story dead?

[Fireheart 1945]

9685842

No. I'm still working on it.

[Danior6]

9686651
That is awsome to hear! I pretty much already accepted that this story is dead but now I'm so happy that it's not!

[Fireheart 1945]

9710420

Sorry its taking so long. I've been working on it, I'm just trying to get it right.