Chapter 53; Uprising
James managed to get up early (or at least, he assumed he did; it was difficult to tell time when one was underground). He checked his revolver, decided it needed lubricant for the spinning part, and gave it more oil. He made sure it was fully loaded - although gunslingers in the Wild West had sometimes left some empty slots to keep from shooting themselves, he didn't think it was wise to follow suit, in case he forgot to fill those empty slots before battle. He would need every advantage he could get.
He looked out the window again. The hive was truly a marvel, even if it was underground. He didn't think the enemy could stop what was going to happen, but he'd been wrong before, and there would be casualties before all was said and done.
And you could be one of them. He shrugged that thought off. He'd had it before, prior to every battle he'd fought in. Even if that proved to be true, it was a risk everyone in the military took. The Queen could be one of them, too. That was harder to get rid of. Queen Metamorphosis was brave, and her heart was in the right place, but she was a loss the hive could not afford. Worse, he had no control over that decision.
He took out the cross he'd shown the Queen. We need Your help now, Lord. Please be with our mission today. May Your Will be done in all things. Amen. He made the Sign of the Cross, then replaced the cross in his coat pocket and checked his sword.
The blade was sharp and strong, and after closely examining it, he found no cracks or any clear flaw that would cause it to break easily in combat, so he put it back in it's scabbard.
Combat ready as I can be, I think. I just hope everyone else is, too.
He went over to the door of the bedroom and pulled the door open. Shield was there, as was the Major, who, James had learned, was named Silver Crest. "Couldn't sleep, General?"
"I could, but I had nightmares most of the night." James stretched. "The one where I got eaten by an evil, black dragon and munched on was... interesting."
"You don't say," Shield murmured. "I dreamed I got thrown into a bottomless pit by Griffons. Wouldn't be a problem... if I were a pegasus."
"Having my horn chewed off and thrown into jail by Changelings and Griffons wasn't much fun, either," Silver Crest noted.
"Sounds like that sucked." James looked around. "Anyone else up yet?"
"Not yet. We still have few hours to zero hour," Shield replied. "I say, let them get whatever sleep they can. We have to be well rested and thinking clearly."
"I suppose you did not consider the idea that the longer they sleep, the greater the chance they'll have nightmares?"
"Well, no. I guess... hey!"
James chuckled. "Just yanking your tail."
"Not very funny, sir. I wouldn't call a nightmare a joke."
"My guess is, we've suffered nightmares not least because we're in command," Silver Crest answered. "They only have to worry about obeying orders; we have to worry about giving them, and the effect it will have on them."
"Hmm." James sat down. His stomach felt like it was rolling over, and not with hunger. Not that this was uncommon; he'd felt that before and during battles, and sometimes even afterwards.
"We have to win. It's not just a better chance for the Changelings here, it's also a necessity for Equestria. We won't be able to survive easily without a proper line of supply, and having allies who know the land will be vital, as will the numbers they bring with them into the alliance."
"I don't doubt we can win," Silver Crest replied. "I'm just wondering if we're doing the right thing by freeing this hive, that's all."
This again. James was about to sigh when Silver Crest added, "I'll follow your instructions, though, whether or not I agree with them."
"Glad to see we're all on the same page, at least."
Soon enough, the other soldiers began emerging from their rooms, yawning and stretching as they did so. "So, where's breakfast?" Bright asked.
"I'm not sure," James replied. His own stomach growled slightly. "I'm a little concerned about that myself."
As though on cue, a Changeling walked in from the doorway leading outside the former servants' quarters. "Here you are," she said - James realized it was Cica - as she set it down. "The Queen gave me instructions to see that you were well fed."
"Instructions fulfilled." Bright quickly picked up an apple and ate half of it in one bite.
James snagged an apple for himself as the others dove in. "My thanks."
"I was only fulfilling the Queen's orders." Cica looked worried, something that was slightly harder to tell in a species without any discernible pupils, at least when undisguised. "My hopes are with you today, and with my hive and my Queen."
"We'll lick them," James replied, taking another bite of apple and swallowing it before further responding. "Twenty thousand to two hundred doesn't work for the outnumbered side."
"I hope for all our sakes you're right. I suppose my fears are leftovers from the days of their oppression. But still..."
"We'll be giving you all the support you'll need." Already, he had some ideas coming up, not all of them that bad. "As long as you're ready for freedom, we're ready to rumble."
"I'll bring that back to the Queen. She'll be glad to know of the strength of your intent." Cica nodded and walked out.
We'll win. There's really no other honorable choice I can see, and I don't care about those choices that aren't. If anyone wants to call me an old fashioned medieval fool, he can do it... after we've won.
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"Good, you're assembled," Metamorphosis said, nodding.
"Wish we had more time to sleep," a soldier in the back groaned.
"You always want more sleep, Lion Tamer," Silver Crest snorted. "This is the time to live up to your name, not to catch a few more winks."
"A stallion can dream, though," Lion muttered.
"The main problem is getting you to the ambush positions without being spotted or otherwise detected," the Queen went on. "Which is where our former plan kicks in. We're setting up a minor distraction some distance up the street from the palace. A few of our hivemates will pretend to have an accident transporting the materials for the podium the councilors want us to set up, whereupon you'll dash to the buildings Fix and Meta guide you to. After that, all any of us can do is wait until I give the signal."
"Again, you'll be in the center of it all," James said, "and likely to suffer some form of injury."
"I've accepted the risk. My subjects know the plan, and they'll be quick the engage the enemy once I've give the signal. The danger shouldn't be all that high."
"How will we recognize your people from the enemy, though?" Bright asked.
"Good question. And that has an answer; all our people will be wearing green bands around their right forelegs. I told the councilors that that was intended as a sign of solidarity. And that's true, from a certain point of view."
"What will be the signal?" Shield inquired.
"You'll know it when you see it. It's not just going to be a nod or shake of the head from me; it'll be big, trust me. If there are not further questions, wait here by the palace doors while I check on the preparations." The Queen's wings buzzed as she took to flight and out the aforementioned door.
"Forgot she could do that," Silver Crest said. "She's been walking most of the time."
"Considering how thin those wings of her's are, I can imagine why," a pegasus in the group snorted.
James had them split into two groups, one on either side of the doorway. They waited for several minutes. James kept his ears open for any sound of something dropped or smashed, but there was nothing out of the usual coming from the sounds he heard.
Then, suddenly, there was a loud clatter of board dropped, followed by the sound of something metal - something big, by the sound of it - going clang! against the ground. A number of loud hissing and buzzing noises came from the outside.
"That's our cue," Fix said. James started; the Changeling had come almost out of nowhere. "Follow me."
They did so, and James got a glimpse of what had caused the chaos. A cart loaded with wood and a set of pipes had lost one of it's wheels, and lay in the street. An unfortunate Changeling was covered with planks, and was shouting - if the noise that emitted from him could be called shouting - at the top of his lungs. Another Changeling was fiercely arguing with the two who had been pulling the cart.
"Come on!" Fix hissed. "Keep going. You'll have plenty to see later."
James tightened his grip on his revolver, which was still in it's holster. However, there were no yells - that he could discern, anyway - calling them out, and minutes later, his group had reached their destination.
It was, as with most Changeling buildings, black, and made out of more black material. James almost moved his hand away from the wall when he remembered that spit was one of the ingredients for the material, but refrained.
"Quickly! Duck behind these windows, and for hive's sake, keep low and keep quiet!" Fix instructed.
"I don't take orders from a Changeling," one of the soldiers, one of the reinforcements who had come in since this morning.
"You'll take them from me," James snapped. "Do what says. Now!"
He heard the soldier grumble, but the pony did as he was told.
"I can see the others," Fix said. "They're in position; I can see Meta waving from here."
"Are you going?"
"No. The Queen figured you'd need a translator, and someone to tell you what they're saying out there during the ceremony, or whatever they're calling it."
"Right. Then it might be a good idea for your to stay down as well. They might get suspicious if they see the same Changeling at the door."
"Didn't think of that." Fix ducked down too. "I hope this works."
"Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long," James muttered as sounds of hammering and sawing came to his ears. "This floor is hardly the best place to lie on for four hours."
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The councilor frowned. "Your workers are incompetent idiots!" he yelled at her. "They can't even transport goods properly without messing up!"
"A wheel coming loose happens every now and again," the Queen reasoned.
"Silence! They will be punished. Send them to our quarters. They will have justice done to them there once the purpose for the rally has been fulfilled."
"Fine. I'll see to it," she answered, silently promising to do no such thing.
"The podium better be complete by the time we've set, or you'll catch it with them."
"It will be done." You biased... It took her a couple seconds to remember that the "accident" was intentional. Well, biased anyway. I'm sick of seeing what you've done to my people, and that ends today.
It took about an hour for the platform to be completed - well within the timeframe the councilors had wanted. Still, she heard one growl to the others, "Took these slaves long enough."
"A lot of them won't be this sloppy much longer; our warriors will teach them some discipline," another said, and laughed.
She had to fight hard to keep from blasting him and his companion to oblivion right then and there. Another little while. A little while, and you'll never make those kinds of statements again. I swear it.
At last, the time came. Thousands of her subjects crammed the square on all sides. Soldiers from Chrysalis' hive were stationed on the platform as well as around the edges of the square. They held spears - unheard of elsewhere, even on the Equestrian battlefields. They probably thought that the sight of such weapons - as well as the use of them in "punishing" her people - would keep her subjects in line. They were probably - no, had been - right.
One of the councilors stepped forward. "Servants and slaves for the hive of Chrysalis!" he boomed. "Today, you are required to give more to the war effort. This is not a request. It is not a suggestion. You will follow through with it, or else you will suffer and then be made to do it regardless. The conflict has been fierce, and though our conquering forces have won many victories, Her Majesty, Queen of all Changelings, has demanded more from all involved in the war effort. That includes this excuse for a hive you've set up. Until now, you've given half-heartedly, and only been required to give a small amount of your energy and levies."
Small!?!
"Now, what must be done is simple. Half of you will be taken from here and brought into Her Majesty's Royal Forces. You will not complain, he went on, as several angry shouts had arisen. "Those who do will be shown the wrath that befalls on all who disrespect Her Majesty. Our demands will be met. And you will provide for us with all your hearts in this endeavor. All individuality and materialism will be stamped out of you. All your loyalty shall be to the One Hive, for the glory of Her Majesty the One Queen."
"You have no right to do this, damn you!" came a shout from one of the crowd.
"Silence! All who speak against us will perish!"
"You've taken everything from us, and now you want us to serve the butchers who infect our hive?" came another catcall.
The councilor gave a fierce frown. "You will adapt to serve us, or you will be crushed underhoof," he said, in a cold, quiet voice.
"Curse you!"
"How dare you demand even more from us?"
"You wanted our energy, now you want our lives? Never!"
"SILENCE!" the councilor roared. "For this indignity, I am ordering our soldiers to take ten random slaves from the crowd and execute them in the sight of all. Let this entire pathetic excuse for a hive see what it means to cross us!"
"I will not condone such an action!" the Queen interrupted.
Even she was unprepared for the ferocity of the backslap the councilor gave her. She fell to the floor, face stinging. "You have no choice in the matter! How dare you!? You lost any right to give orders when we rightfully annexed your people. Now you will remain silent, or we'll add you to those to be slain!" the councilor shouted in her face.
The Queen bore an infuriated look as she rose from the floor. Her wings buzzed as she lifted from the podium and into the air. Now was the time...
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"I hope she gives us the signal before this gets out of hand," James muttered, listening to Fix's interpretation, as well as to the catcalls shouted by the crowd. Not that he could understand them, but it was obviously the shouts of a crowd that did not like what was being dictated to it.
The councilor shrieked something at the crowd. "He said... uh oh," Fix said, ears fixed upwards in shock. "They're going to kill ten of our people! At random!"
James watched as the Queen was knocked down. "Come on, dammit," he whispered. "If you're gonna do this, now's the time..."
The Queen got up; he could almost feel her fury. However, instead of yelling defiance, she arose, wings flapping too fast for the eye to see. Her horn lit up with green light. Instead of the usual glow that came from a Changeling or unicorn's horn, it flared; the light grew bright, almost too bright to look at.
Suddenly, the burst of magic was released. The pillar of green energy raced upward and impacted on the ceiling of the cavern; rock and earth burst from the explosion.
"That's the signal!" James got up and scanned the street quickly as the soldier Changelings began to move toward the crowd. He aimed quickly and pulled the trigger. The Changeling he shot at went down, but he couldn't be certain that his was the one that brought it down; other soldiers had begun shooting as well.
Green bolts began flying from the crowd seconds later. Caught by surprise from the unexpected gunfire, several soldiers were struck before they could respond to either threat. The attack had caught them entire off guard, as had the unexpected revolt. For a few moments, James began to feel hope rising deep within his chest. Would the victory come this quickly and cheaply?
He found out better a couple seconds later. A bolt of energy from one of Chrysalis' Changelings roasted part of the window from which he was shooting. Cries of pain from both sides came from throughout the square.
Equestrian soldiers poured from the palace; they had likely been drawn by the noise, not by any actual order. However, they moved quickly to exploit the chaos and reinforce the rebels.
The appearance of more soldiers gave an immediate boost to the rebels' morale. Loud cheers in their our language echoed everywhere. It did nothing, however, to dampen the morale of the forces on the other side. The foreign Changelings fought as hard as ever.
"Sir, a group of them are moving on our building!" Shield reported.
"Don't let them get close! Blast them, now!" He switched to a different window to get a better shot at the new interlopers. Over a dozen enemy Changelings moved forward, some with menacing spears, others firing upon the building with their horns.
One of those bolts struck home. A pony cried out in pain and dropped his rifle. A medic among the group moved to help him.
James picked up the rifle. It was a good weapon, even if it's original user was down (he forced himself to think that way, instead of as dead or wounded). He picked out a target and fired. The Changeling went down. He switched to a different target and fired. That enemy too went down.
He had to duck quickly to avoid getting blasted. About six or seven bolts flew through where his head had been seconds before.
I hope this stuff they make everything out of isn't flammable. All they'd have to do was set fire to the place. He raised the gun over himself and fired a quick shot. He felt the gun jerk afterward, and when he brought it back, he found the end partly melted, and the wood starting to burn. He threw the rifle outside and hoped it knocked some of the enemy down as it went. He got up, snapped off a shot with his revolver, then ducked back down. As he looked, he saw the other soldiers doing likewise.
"Get some of our guys up to the second floor," he said to Shield. "Quickly!"
Shield just nodded and called to three other ponies to follow him upstairs. They followed without any fuss.
More bolts struck the outside, and a few flew inside and sizzled against the walls they hit.
I hope we can hold on until the other units and the rebels can put down the enemy, or else we might end up burnt meant before the victory is won.
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Metamorphosis let herself fall to the floor as chaos broke out. Gunfire rattled from either side of the square, and her own subjects began attacking the oppressors. Jets of green light flew everywhere.
"TRAITOR! the councilor shouted in her face. "So, you thought you could get out from under Her Majesty's hoof with this pathetic attempt at rebellion!"
"It's not an attempt; we will win or die rather than suffer one more day of oppression!"
"SILENCE!" He struck her with numerous blows, more forceful than the slapping had been. When he was done, he nodded to a soldier who was standing guard. "Execute her, and when you're done, kill her daughter and see to it that to entire nursery is cleansed."
The soldier stepped forward. The Queen tried to rise, but she was out of breath from her demonstration a moment ago, and couldn't defend herself.
May liberty be ours, even though I die here, she thought as he lowered his horn and charged energy.
Bang! Bang! Gunshots rang out from the direction of the palace. The solder toppled, hit in the neck. The second shot she'd heard had struck the councilor who had taken so much joy in hitting her. He screamed in pain and fury. More shots rang out, sending him sprawling.
She turned her head to look. Equestrian soldiers were pouring from her palace. In spite of the danger to her person, she smiled.
Nor were the ponies the only ones to help her. Several of her subjects attacked the councilors and their remaining guard, swarming them and giving them no chance to prepare themselves.
The Queen groaned as she got up, only for one of her subjects to jump on her from the side. "Stay down, My Lady! she heard him say. "If you try to rise, you'll be hit!"
He has a point, she thought as numerous jets of green light flew over the platform. "Get off of me," she ordered. "We'll crawl toward the palace and seek cover there."
Her subject nodded, and obeyed her command. She slowly turned herself around and began to crawl, hoofstep by hoofstep, toward the palace.
She was making good progress, when suddenly, the Changeling who had prevented her from getting up let out a cry. She stopped and turned; he had been hit. Part of his foreleg was burned, and he was screaming loudly with pain.
"Hold on! I won't leave you behind!" she gasped out.
"Protect the Queen!" came a shout from the square. A loud buzzing of wings reached her ears as numerous Changelings lifted off and began to form a circle around her and the injured subject, shielding them from the further attack with their bodies.
"No! Get down, or you'll be hit too!"
Before they could move to obey her, she heard hoofbeats on wood and the Equestrian soldiers arrived. One waved a hoof at the the makeshift guard.
"Let him pass," she ordered.
They did so. The pony, a tan-coated stallion, looked upon her. "Queen Metamorphosis?"
"Yes?" she answered in the same language.
"Please come with us to the palace. You'll be safe there. We'll take over the fighting here."
"Thank you."
"She's our Queen, we'll protect her!' One of her subjects said.
"Enough!" she said. "To the palace, everyone!"
They'd barely started walking when she heard someone cry, "Look out!" a another Changeling flew above her. It wasn't one of hers'. It quickly let off three quick bolts of green light.
Equestrian rifles rang out; the enemy soldier fell out of the air, crashing to the floor. However, it was too late to stop the bolts of energy. One slammed into the back of one of her people who was trying to protect her. Another just hit wood.
The third... the third struck her right hind leg. The pain came almost instantly; she collapsed and cried out, unable to keep herself from doing so. She found she was unable to stop screaming once she'd started.
"Quick, carry her to safety!"
"We'll do that," one of her subjects snapped. "She's our Queen!" She was in too much pain to stop screaming to try to correct him. She felt herself being picked up; she cried out even louder as her leg was bumped in the process, intensifying the pain for a brief but all too long moment.
She kept screaming all the way to the palace, all the way to her room, in fact. By then, she was able to get some form of control over her cries, and she managed to reduce it to a loud cry every couple of seconds instead of one loud screech.
An Equestrian medic, a gray unicorn, as well as one of her own doctors, were standing by. "Third degree burns," the medic said, looking closely at the leg. Part of her leg is badly mangled. We need water, and quickly."
"Your Majesty, please remain still," the Changeling doctor said to Metamorphosis as she jerked her leg in a burst of pain. "You," he said, speaking to one of the palace servants standing by, "fill a pail of water and bring it here."
"Elevate her leg," the medic said to another servant. "Get one of her pillows and raise the leg upon it; get it above heart level." The Queen braced herself as the servant did so, groaning as yet more pain came as the leg was elevated. "We have to keep her from falling into shock," the medic went on. "We need gauze as well, and some cloth in order to put water on the wound."
"I have some in the palace clinic," the Changeling doctor said. "I'll have the first servant get some when he gets back with the water."
"Good."
The Queen raised her eyes to look at the wound. She quickly wished she hadn't; it looked like something had taken a bite out of her leg. She moaned again; just looking at it seemed to make it hurt.
"Try to relax, Your Highness," the Changeling doctor said. "Your excitement might cause shock to come all the more quickly, and you can't afford that. We, the hive, I mean, can't afford that."
The Equestrian medic looked puzzled at the use of a different language from his own. Nonetheless, he didn't argue, especially when Metamorphosis made a deliberate effort to relax, which wasn't easy.
The first servant came back with a bucket of water. Her doctor took it. "Go down to my clinic and get us some gauze and cloth, immediately!" The servant didn't waste any time before going.
"Based on my years of experience," the doctor said, "I believe you'll live, Your Majesty. However, I cannot promise with any certainty whether you'll keep the leg."
"Between you and me, she replied, right now, I'd welcome the separation."
"I promise I'll do everything in my power to save the leg, unless you order otherwise."
"...No. I'll try to keep it, even though it's killing me." She took several, deliberate breaths. "What about the battle? What's going on?"
"I don't know. Right now, my concern is keeping you alive and making you healthy again. The medic was willing to help, if you're wondering why he's here. He heard you were injured and came without any persuasion being necessary to compel him so."
"That's good." It was better than good, actually, she thought after a few moments. If ponies were willing to help Changelings, maybe the future wasn't as dark as she'd feared. James told the truth; I can't doubt it now. Concern came through the pain, for her subjects as well as for the current commander of the Equestrian forces. I hope he makes it. It would be a shame if he went through all this trouble and died for it.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" A Changeling ran into the room, panting and, once she looked closely, scarred and bleeding, but triumphant. "We've taken the nursery!"
"were any of our young harmed in any way?"
"No, we caught the guards by surprise; we overwhelmed them. The only thing even slightly problematic is that we woke up the newborns, and they're crying for food."
That news did more to ease her pain than the treatment of the medic and doctor. If she had been a cat, she would have broken out in joyous purring. "That's great news," she said, with considerable understatement. "But we aren't done. Tell anyone who will listen to you to keep fighting until every enemy is neutralized. Oh, and do get food to the nursery."
The Changeling nodded, then raced back out.
"I'm afraid I wasn't able to understand any of that," the medic said, looking a little miffed. "If I could be so bold, what was that about?"
"That was... Ahem, that was good news." She tried to get more comfortable without further straining her leg. "Very good news indeed."
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"Fire!"
The ponies Silver Shield had led to the second floor began shooting. Their fire had an immediate effect on the enemy below, who now had to refocus some of their forces to deal with the problem.
They didn't like it. They started lifting off from the ground, wings buzzing.
Shield fired, once, twice. Each shot hit an enemy. One fell to the ground at once, the other tried desperately to stay in the air. Another shot sent him to join his comrade.
A black hoof knocked the rifle to the side; another enemy had come up from directly below the window he was firing from. Shield turned the gun around and clubbed the Changeling before the enemy could attempt to blast or stab him.
Gunfire broke out from the direction of the square. That could only mean that friendly troops were coming to help. Thus encouraged, Shield shot another enemy out of the air. He took another clip from a bag on his side and put it in place.
Other Changelings began to pour from the buildings. For a moment, he lost some of the confidence he'd had seconds before. They were hiding more troops in the city!
He was proved wrong very quickly. The newcomers began attacking the enemy.
Never thought I'd be glad to have Changelings for allies. Glad it happened, though. Now the pressure's off. He kept shooting, though with much more care than before.
The remaining enemies had no real chance of success. Outnumbered, and encumbered on three sides, they went down one after another. Some were struck down by bullets, the rest were hit by jets of green light by Metamorphosis' Changelings or were stabbed by them. The fight lasted only a few more minutes before all opposition was crushed.
Shield sighed in relief. "We won," he heard a member of the squad say.
"Here," Shield said. "There's still fighting elsewhere." Looking around at places the fighting was still ongoing, he added, "You weren't far off, though. Come on, let's go see the General."
They went down the stairs. "Sir, we've..." His victorious feelings fell like a mask from one's face as he saw James' leg bleeding profusely. "Sir!"
"Ugh..." James turned his head with uncharacteristic slowness. "Oh, it's you, Shield," he said, a little more quietly than he was generally in the habit of doing, which raised the feelings of alarm in Shield. "Wouldn't you believe it, at the very end, some son of a... AHHH!" he yelled as a medic swabbed the leg with cold water. "...Got lucky enough to scratch my leg. Who'd have thought it?"
"Hold still!" the medic snapped.
Concerned for the fate of his commander and friend, Shield walked over to him. "You sure he'll be alright?" he asked the medic.
"He should be alright... provided he sits still long enough for me to bandage the damned thing."
"I've been worse," James said. "Remember when the Queen - the other, evil Queen, that is - shot out part of my shoulder?"
"Yeah. That was too close. So is any serious injury. I'd advise you not to take this one so lightly."
"Trust me, I... ugnh." James leaned up against the wall. "I think we got 'em all."
"You're damn lucky," the medic said, as he began bandaging the wound. "You lost some blood, but the scar isn't deep, so it should heal quickly. You can probably walk soon, matter of fact... when I say you can."
"Sounds fair, I guess," James said, with more strength in his voice than he'd held a few moments before. "I think we've all but won."
"There's still fighting over by the building where Silver Crest took up position."
"They should have faired as well as we did," James said, concern in his voice. "Get everyone here over there, immediately!"
"The reinforcements are already heading in that direction," Shield noted.
"I'd still like to know what's going on over there. The fighting should be over, with an overrun situation like this."
A pony from outside ran in. "General, sir, I... Oh," he said, as he realized James' condition. A Changeling - friendly one - ran up beside him.
"I'm fine. What is going on?"
"Sir, I must report that the building the Major is holding is still under attack. There's fighting inside the building."
"How did they... Ugh... they didn't have the reinforcements we did. The Changelings that helped us came from the nursery. The guys on the other side didn't have that kind of help, and there weren't all that many in these ambush squads." He raised a hand and pointed at the door the two had just come from. "Get help to them, now!"
The pony ran out. The Changeling didn't. "We've taken the nursery," he announced. "And the square's ours. The oppressors are all but defeated. Most of those left have fled to a building toward the center of the hive."
"Please get help to our guys over on the other side of the square, at once!"
"We will. Are, in fact," the Changeling added, looking outside for a moment. "They shouldn't take long." He raced outside.
"I'll be glad never to do that ever again," Fix said, from a position by the door. "Glad we won. How long di that last?"
"Maybe fifteen minutes," Bright said, sitting down by the window.
"That can't be right. That felt like an hour."
"I'm telling you, fifteen minutes. The big clock says so."
"Fine. But-"
Suddenly, the gunfire stopped. The abrupt silence was almost as loud as the noise had been. "Is that it?" Shield asked.
"I don't know," James said. "It could be, but we still have to deal with the enemy who have barricaded themselves in the center of town."
"Should we bring up artillery?" one of the soldiers asked.
Fix gasped, shocked. "You can't do that! You might destroy other buildings by mistake!"
"If we try to just storm the building, we'll suffer more casualties, and lives can't be retaken once lost, unlike battlefield positions," Shield said.
"I'm not sure the Queen-"
"General?" came a voice from outside. "General!"
"In here!" James called out.
A pegasus, one with a blue coat and deep blue mane, one that James recognized flew in. "Sir," he said. "it is with great regret that I report the death of Major Silver crest."
Now it was the soldiers' turn to gasp. You can't be serious! Shield thought. Silver Crest was a veteran! He was on the front against the Changelings from the start! I knew him from the academy! He can't be dead now!
"...What happened?" James asked after several seconds of silence.
"Sir, we initially caught the enemy by surprise, but they regrouped quickly, and they rushed our building. Some of them made it before our allies were able to assist us. Silver Crest had just run out of ammo, and he was trying to reload when one of the enemy stabbed him in the neck with his horn. He died before we had any chance to give him medical aid."
"...Curse it," Shield said, echoed exactly seconds later by James.
"What do we do now?" Bright asked.
"Besiege the building the enemy are stuck in. Neutralize them however we have to. But I want it done as soon as possible and with as few losses as possible. With your permission?" he added to the medic."
"Yes," the medic sighed. "I suppose you can get up now, but I still advise caution, sir."
James stood up. "We must save the mourning for the Major and other casualties for after the battle. The fight is not yet over. Does anyone have information on the Queen?"
"She in the palace," said a Changeling who was walking into the building; Shield identified her as Meta. "She got hit early on, and she's recuperating in her room."
"Please take us to her," James said.
"This way." Meta turned and walked out the door, closely followed by James and Shield.
-------------------------------------------------
James was still feeling the pain in the scratch on his leg when he reached the throne room. The Queen was lying on her bed, one leg in the process of being bandaged by an Equestrian medic and a Changeling. Her head was facing James and his band as she raised it as well. "Ah," she said, trying feebly to smile. "I was worried whether or not you'd lived through it."
"More than a few haven't." He nodded toward her leg. "I see we have the same problem."
"I doubt it," she answered. "Not when what feels like half my leg has been burned away."
"Yeouch. Yeah, I only got a scratch in comparison. But back to back to business. What's left of the enemy force has holed up in a building near the center of town."
"In our administrative district, I've been told," she replied. "And what of it?"
"We'll take heavy losses storming the place," Shield said. "I'm requesting your permission to bring in artillery to knock it down."
The Queen scowled. "That has a big risk of wrecking more than just the one stronghold. You'd have to get those cannons close to the building, because it would be difficult to get an angle on it, considering where it's positioned. That would leave the crews vulnerable to being shot down before they could do any harm to the enemy."
James found himself both surprised and impressed by the Queen's knowledge of military tactics. "That might be true, but we have to try something."
"And we might have a solution. From the reports I've received, the material we build most of our structures out of, known as Kracaacckkkklll, is highly resistant to burn damage. I'm having some of my subjects attach a block of it to an axle and a pair of wheels. We can use it to approach the building without being fried. After that, you can set a bundle of cannon shells by it and use a gun to set them off, collapsing the building. You can also bring up other soldiers who can take refuge in other buildings across the street and stop the enemy from messing with our makeshift bomb before we're ready."
"I suppose we need to wait, then, while the assemble the thing. But, if the building is already surrounded, will we need such a vehicle?"
"You will when they realize what you're doing. It's designed so you can bring it right up against the building and lay down the bomb. Then whatever team has been assigned to the action can turn it so that it faces the enemy again and back off. Our people and the soldiers who have already taken up position in the other buildings nearby can lay down fire on the enemy, which will keep them from interfering with the bomb. After it goes off and the place comes down, we can charge whatever enemies survive the explosion and capture them. Needless to say, that should end the battle and free us. We'll then be free to help you finish off Chrysalis."
"Good."
"Sir, I'd advise that you don't go along with the team that sets up the bomb," came the voice of the medic who had patched James up. "You've done your part in this battle, now let others do theirs."
"...Alright. But I'm still going to watch the structure go boom."
"I wouldn't dream of stopping you, so long as you stay safely out of the blast radius."
"Right then. We have a plan to go through with. Let's get on it."
---------------------------------------------------------------
Carapace looked outside briefly before yet another green jet of energy from outside forced her to duck back behind the window. "Curse them," she said in frustration, "Do these characters ever give up?"
"They have their Queen, just like we have ours," one of her companions said. "They can't disobey her, anymore than we would want to disobey ours."
"I know, but they've lost here. If they want to go on serving..."
"I don't think there's any way to get them out of there, short of rushing in and crushing them."
Carapace risked another look outside. She wasn't the only one being shot at, and plenty of her hivemates were shooting back. The problem was, it would take hours, perhaps days, to clear the enemy out by that method. And charging them... that would be expensive. "There has to be some other way," she hissed. We'll suffer a lot more dead and mutilated than we already have doing that!"
"Hold on!" her hivemate, Pollen, said. "There's something coming down the street!"
"Ours, or the enemy?"
"I don't know, but the enemy don't seem to like it much, so it could be ours. It's a block of Kracaacckkkklll with wheels."
Carapace got up her courage again and looked outside. Nothing came her way, at least, not yet - most of the enemy's fire was directed toward the object Pollen had described. It was having no effect whatsoever; all it was doing was making the block even blacker than it usually was, if that was even possible. The block advanced, slowly but steadily.
"They must have hollowed it out to let them approach the building," Pollen said. "But if all they want to do is get close, why didn't they build more?"
"I don't know," Carapace answered. As she continued watching, she added, "Maybe they didn't need to."
"Huh?" Pollen looked outside too. "Looks like they're trying to get close to it. But it makes no sense; that block isn't big enough to hold more than a few Changelings or ponies at one time."
Carapace contemplated that. The block continued moving, propelled by the hooves of ponies and Changelings. When it got close to the enemy stronghold, it turned and backed into the building. "Are they trying to cut their way in?"
"They can't be. Look, they've backed off already. Wait, what's that?" Pollen pointed at the object - no, objects, tied together and set up against the side of the building. "What did they drop off?"
Carapace got a good, long look. "Those are artillery shells. It's a bomb!"
"A bomb? Are you sure?" Pollen looked outside again. "If it is, it could blow away the building next to it, the way it's placed."
"Just sit tight. If the enemy realizes what the crew inside that block have done, they'll try to get rid of it. No doubt we'll have instructions coming soon regarding this."
She was right about that. Other Changelings quickly came up, telling them the whole plan. "Keep shooting at the windows," one of them said. "Keep them good and occupied. When we're ready to set it off, we'll yell as loud as we can; when that happens, take cover, and fast!"
Carapace quickly got up and shot a couple of bolts of energy from her horn before coming back down. Everywhere, from all directions, other Changelings of her hive, hundreds of them, kept up the fire.
The enemy gamely returned it. A hivemate screamed as a bolt caught him in the neck, but not for long. She shivered. That could have happened to her. The only consolation was that the other Changeling had died very quickly, without a long time to suffer.
She shot a couple more times herself, then ducked beneath the window once more.
"Take cover!" came a cry in Changeling.
She knew what that meant. "Get down!" she hissed to Pollen, who was still up and shooting. He promptly obeyed.
Seconds later, the loudest roar she'd ever heard blasted her ears, and the whole building she was in shook like crazy. A shard of something flew through the window, impacting on something inside. She cried out in fright; it felt like the explosion would take this place down along with the building it was designed to destroy.
It didn't. The roar died away, replaced by the sounds of structural collapse. Carapace looked out the window.
The explosion had ripped out the corner of the building, and had severely damaged the one beside it. The building that was the target of the bomb trembled as pieces of it fell off. Suddenly, with an almighty crash, the whole thing came down. Frightened and dying screams and hisses of the enemy came with it, but these were mostly cut off as the structure gave way. In moments, nothing was left but wreckage.
Carapace cheered, and she wasn't the only one; hundreds, thousands, yelled their gratitude for victory to the heavens.
"Charge!" came the order in Changeling. "Attack!" an Equestrian soldier yelled at roughly the same time.
Still uttering loud war cries, the Changelings of Metamorphosis' hive rushed forward, with Equestrian soldiers running along with them. Carapace flew out the window and landed gently on the ground before following.
There was no noticeable resistance; everyone, pony and Changeling alike, was able to reach the building without any casualties. "Search the wreckage for survivors!" an Equestrian soldier said to his squad.
Changelings were doing the same. Carapace was careful as she began to pick through the wreckage. She found a couple enemy bodies, both dead. She found another one, badly injured, too far gone already to realize who she was. She wasn't even sure if he knew she was there.
"Hey! Look who we found!"
Carapace ran over to where she'd heard the voice, as did others. When she arrived, she hissed in mingled triumph and fury. Her comrades had found two of Chrysalis' councilors, both alive and relatively well, though one had suffered a broken leg, along with a regular drone, who hissed furiously, though he was unable to do anything else, considering that he was buried under a pile of rubble.
"Traitors!" the uninjured of the councilors said. Carapace was enraged that he had the gall to be angry. "You've made a big mistake. Your hive will be annihilated, wiped from existence as though it had never been, your very history erased. Succeeding generations shall have no idea you ever lived"
"Shut your worthless mouth, you damned pile of scum-lined trash!" Carapace yelled. "You have a lot of guts to say bullshit like that when you've lost!"
"Silen-" The councilor was struck in the mouth by another Changeling. The hoof of her hivemate knocked out one of the councilor's fangs. The servant of Chrysalis coughed as his head struck the ground; after a couple seconds, he spat green blood.
"Our hive will never have to obey your orders again," said the Changeling who had done the hitting. "You have lost, and your tyrant of a Queen is doomed!"
"I say kill them, right now!" another Changeling shouted. "Make them know just what we've felt the past seven years under their hooves!"
"Yes! How many of us have been put to death on their orders? Let's deal with them the same way!"
"Make them suffer before they die, the way they did with us!"
"What's going on here?" a pony asked, walking up to the scene.
The crowd ignored him. "Kill them!" they cried.
"Kill them!"
"Death!"
A Changeling grabbed the councilor, who looked frightened for the first time. The Changeling charged his horn, which blazed with green light as he prepared to deal a furious and hate-filled blow.
"STOP!"
That voice caught the attention of all Changelings, and most of the ponies, present. The shouting ceased. The Changeling holding the councilor cut off his intended spell and turned.
Drone 4501, known around the hive as Fix, was running up, hooves clopping loudly against the ground.
"Fix, what are you doing here?" The would-be executioner asked.
"Hey! What's going on?" the same pony from before shouted.
Ignoring him, Fix raised his voice, so that everyone present could hear him; "Her Majesty has given the order that none of those taken prisoner are to be harmed or killed."
"WHAT!?" Several angry shouted echoed through the area.
"It's what Her Majesty has commanded," Fix shouted back. "If any of you disagree, take it up with Queen Metamorphosis. The order came from her personally. I heard it from her lips. Will any of you try to disobey?"
"Liar!" somebody yelled.
"Are you able to go through with your intentions, after hearing the word of your Queen?"
Silence followed. For a few moments, there was nothing to be heard.
"...Tie them up, and take them to Her Majesty," Fix ordered.
Quietly and sullenly, the crowd obeyed. Someone found some rope, which they used to tie the legs of the councilors and their would-be defender.
"Traitors! Failures! This will not sta-" A Changeling in the crowd put a circle of rope around the councilor's muzzle and tied it, tightly, before tying on a kerchief as an added gag.
Fix nodded. "No matter what they say, they've lost. You can hardly bring upon them anything worse than that."
As the councilors were led away, the exact same pony asked, somewhat frustrated, "Seriously, what just happened?"
-----------------------------------------------------------
James looked on, a smile coming slowly to his face. "We've won," he said, watching a number of prisoners being led away from the wreckage.
"I guess we did," Shield answered, with a tone of wonder. "Looks like they were going to string up a couple of them right then and there."
"Yeah." James felt his smile fade slightly as he realized that he'd narrowly avoided watching a group of prisoners being tortured and killed. He was all for fighting and, if necessary, killing enemies in battle. That was war. Killing prisoners, on the other hand... "I think I would have been sick if they'd done that," he said.
"To be honest, I would have been, too." Shield turned his head to look at James. "What do you think happens now?"
"We continue fighting the war, Major. Surely their commitment to victory and the alliance has dampened your suspicions?"
"Well, somewhat, but..." Shield stopped. "Sir, you know I'm just a Captain."
"Not anymore. We need whatever competent soldiers we have in positions of command. Seeing as poor Silver Crest... well... we need someone to replace that position, as regrettable as the necessity is. You fit the bill. Are you going to reject the responsibility, and the higher rank?"
"Well... no," Shield said at last. "But I feel guilty that he had to die for me to take his rank."
"Blame me for that. I was his commander. The responsibility for the losses we suffered today ultimately fall on me."
"You're still haunted by that, aren't you?"
"I don't think I'll ever be free of it. Not anytime soon. I suppose there are worse demons to be tormented by."
"Where to now, sir?" Shield asked, no doubt trying to change the subject.
"To the palace; I think the prisoners are headed there, as is the crowd."
-----------------------------------------------------------
Queen Metamorphosis nodded in approval as the councilors were brought into her room, along with several dozen of her subjects. James and a few Equestrian soldiers followed them.
"My subjects, we have won!" She felt as though the roof was going to come off with the force of the cry that shook the palace.
"You scum!" one of the councilors hissed, spitting at her. "You've betrayed-"
"I betrayed no one." If the Queen could have risen from her bed, she would have. "We suffered under your control. Every single day since your-"
"We will not listen to your pathetic-"
"Oh no. You are going to listen, if I have to have my subjects string you between two posts by your ears as well as your legs." She motioned to a Changeling next to him, who tightened the rope around the councilor's muzzle. "We suffered every single day since you took control. My subjects were arrested, beaten, and, all too often, murdered while were under your rule. We lost energy and material. You sought to bring every last bit of misery that you could to us, and tried to kill off all source of joy in our lives. You slapped me around every last chance you got. And you have the gall not only to be outraged, but surprised, that we've thrown off your rule?"
"All we did was carry out the orders that our Queen gave us. And she will be enraged, furious, vengeful, when word of this comes to her ears!"
Metamorphosis would have sighed if she'd been more surprised. More disturbing were the angry shouts of her own people. One of her subjects tightened the rope a little too tightly.
"We should hang them in the middle of the hive, the way they did with those who stood up to them!" one of her subjects yelled in the Equestrian language.
"Yes! Kill them!" Shouted another.
"ENOUGH!" the Queen yelled in her loudest voice. "I gave the orders that our prisoners would not be harmed, and that is final on my part!"
"But.. what about our suffering?"
"I promise, we are going to defeat Chrysalis once and for all. But aren't we better than that? Better than our former oppressors? If we take the same path they have, we become monsters, no different from them. I'm proud of what we've accomplished since I took the throne, and this latest victory has made me proud of you all. To do as your anger and hate demand would diminish our accomplishment, and that of our newfound allies. So, no, we will not take revenge upon our captured enemies. We will simply fight Chrysalis' hive until we succeed in overthrowing her, but we will not resort to evil methods and vengeance in our fight to free our species from a tyrant, for in using such methods, we would become tyrants ourselves. I did not become Queen to let us corrupt our ideals and betray our ancestors. Yes, we have suffered for over seven years, but we have gained new strength from our triumph as well as our freedom. Although we have a lot of work to do, I know we can accomplish any feat we set our minds to. I, for one, would not have our legacy be one of hate and murder. Think of our future children, and what we would tell them about this day. Will they hear tales of slaughter after the victory? I think you all know the answer to that in your hearts."
The group had become quiet. Most did look as though they were ashamed, or at least regretful for their outbursts. A few still looked angry, but even those faces softened somewhat.
"I thought so. I am proud of you all. Please don't diminish my pride in you by insisting on doing this wickedness. For now, let us look to the future of our hive, and to the war that we have now entered, on the side of Equestria. My first act will be to contact Princesses Celestia and Luna to establish friendly, or at least amiable, relations."
"Your Highness," Fix said nervously, "I have my doubts that's wise."
"I understand your concern," she replied. "I know what you're going to say; it's dangerous for us, and it could have consequences, but we can no longer rely on our secrecy for safety. At the end of this war, there will be a new world, one that either sees our survival and that of Equestria or that will see our subjugation. The Equestrians now have knowledge of our location anyway. We can't simply ignore that fact."
"They could launch a military strike against us when the war is over, out of fear of what we might do," Fix warned.
"That's occurred to me," the Queen replied. "But we cannot continue the exact same way of life we lived before the battle. We still need emotional energy, but it would be better if our harvesters weren't targets of the Equestrian government."
"I guess we have no choice, if you're so determined," Fix sighed.
"Take courage, my child. The future that awaits us will require some measure of change. Hopefully, it will not require all that many. But no matter what happens, we will survive." She then looked up. "May we all go forward together in victory," she said with a nod toward the Equestrians.
The ponies clearly didn't know just how to respond to that. Some of them looked suspicious, and not without reason, she realized; her conversation with Fix had been entirely in Changeling. However, most did look hopeful rather than upset.
"But first," she went on, "we pay our respect to those who died, Changeling and pony alike, who died to bring us our liberty."
She saw James take off his hat, and a Royal Guard next to him remove his helmet. The ponies who had come with them followed suit, and her subjects bowed their heads.
May their sacrifice not be in vain.
-----------------------------------------------
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wow...
Heh. Now that's some practical fighting spirit.
Its....not it's...common mistake of writers.
To be honest, I'm disappointed the Councilers won't get what they deserve. That tired speech of hers made me wanna roll my eyes. I was REALLY wanting to see karma makes it debut here. Should've known better. . .
Oh well, at least the Changlings have a Paragon Queen to follow now.
That was awesome.
5601410 Yeah. I guess that's a habit of mine. Sorry.
5601265 Thanks for sticking up for me. I know I've made mistakes, and a lot of them. I didn't intend for the whole segregated army thing to be offensive, although people are taking it that way regardless.
5601605 :)
5602122 Thanks!
Question: When did the ponies get repeaters? In other news: That was fun. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
5602992 I'm sure I mentioned the new rifles they got a couple chapters ago, in the Gamble chapter. Sorry for the confusion.
5603194 No problem, just have to go re-read that part.
5603198 Sorry for the trouble
5603217 No problem, and I found it with no trouble.
5603220
5602270
Yeah, that whole segregated army thing kind of annoyed me as well, though for a different reason. See, the Equestrian society has been shown to be at least leaning towards a matriarchy, with just about all the important roles being filled by mares. (Much like while modern-day US is theoretically equal, it leans towards a patriarchy, if only due to traditions and customs.) More importantly, however, is if we look back at the ancient Pegasi tribe, it was shown to be a militaristic stratocracy, being led by two mares. With this in mind, I was led to believe that mares preforming military service was not only accepted in Pegasi culture, but almost expected. So when James proposed limiting the service of mares, I expected Princess Celestia to flat-out veto it instead of accepting the idea, saying, and I quote, "I suppose you have a point there."
This wasn't enough to stop me from reading, obviously. And I wasn't offended, per se. Just...I feel as if that was somewhat half-assed. I certainly don't think that the scathing remarks that CosmonautPony sent you were at all justified, though.
Anyways, nice update! Looking forward to more!
5604213 Yeah, sorry. It was my first story, started in late 2012, and I goofed up a number of times.
5604221
It's fine, not a major problem. Don't be a Fluttershy! Your writing and style have improved dramatically, and while it's not perfect, who expected it to be?
Plus, in Chapter 43, you had Celestia decide to overrule the decision, rendering this whole debate somewhat pointless.
5604322 I have never played that (distrust of mods in general) so I wouldn't know. Of course, when has the AI ever played intelligently compared to a human competent at playing the game?
5608682 Thanks!
5609155 Peaceful society, but their military is shown to rely on spears in the episodes we actually see them armed. So naturally, their technology would be geared toward things like radio and trains, but be less well developed militarily.
5609389 Wow, thanks!
5611403
5611649 I enjoyed writing that part
5611846 I since found a version that was longer (By the 97th, Regimental String Band) that has had even greater impact on me.
5612402 Yep. Although honestly, the part about the superpower now sounds like foolish bragging, more destructive than constructive. Of course, I rarely go back to read what I wrote years ago, so I might be forgetting something.
Thanks for showing your support so far, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
5615186 Thanks. I sometimes get criticism on the religious subject. Glad to have people supporting it!
5615443 glad you were pleased. Waste of apple trees, though. Not that that could be wholly blamed on the defending army; if the Changelings hadn't invaded, the orchards wouldn't have been at risk.
5615975 Yep on the first. Not necessarily on the second; when you lose a battle, it's only natural to retreat. "The army that remains inflexible will become prey for the enemy," Sun Tzu writes.
5616527 Yep. Technology and all that.
5616657 It was. I enjoyed writing it.
5620357 Yep. About the only comfort, perhaps, but still.
5622453 Yeah, I've had complaints about that. It's nice to know that there are those out there that appreciate it.
5623685 Yep. But like you said, we'll enjoy it while it lasts... and then we can read it over again.
Well, that battle was satisfying. For a moment there, I thought the friendly changlings were going to pull the Russian vengeance card that was pulled during World War 2, (And it wasn't even pretty then). I wouldn't have mind either way.
Silver Crest, just when I was liking him, he perishes.
What a bummer.
5666669 A. The alicorns are not invincible, and I seriously doubt either of them, being benign, would use their powers in such a way, assuming they were able to. B. Equestrian civil technology is great, but the Royal Guard have been seen carrying spears, not rifles or anything more powerful.
5671700 Unfortunately, many in history who did not deserve the rank of commanding officer achieved it through political maneuvering, bribery (almost but not quite the case here), blackmail, or else took the position by force. One of the main reasons the Soviet army failed to stop the Germans was because Stalin murdered tens of thousands of officers in a Great Purge in the latter part of the 1930s, and most of those left were incompetent or better at toadying for Stalin than fighting a war.
5680279 Of course. Hitler and Stalin used supposed acts of aggression (false) that then gave them a jumping off point to attack Poland and Finland respectively.
5708395 ?
5721867 nope. You can google it.
Oh yeah, I just realised something, the regulars, they don't have standard issue helmets aren't they?
Here are some suggestion:
estore.hessenantik.de/WebRoot/StoreDE/Shops/hess16/4E71/0D63/8D32/1DB3/3130/0AC6/4F81/3C8C/HEIH001-3.jpg
The Pickelhaube, it's the icon of the German Empire. Although it is not very effective to stop shrapnels because it's made of hardened leather.
p2.la-img.com/1022/19979/6836487_1_l.jpg
The Adrian helmet, the first steel helmet issued in WWI. Used by the French army. It's the lightest compared to the other steel helmets during WWI
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/M1917helmet.jpg
The Brodie helmet, the first standard issue steel helmet of the British Army. It's much more simpler than the Adrian helmet and heavier. Used until 1944 by the British Army
warrelics.eu/forum/attachments/relic-german-helmet-forum/146020d1286227508-my-first-stahlhelm-relic-m42-efdouble-001.jpg
The Stahlhelm, issued in 1916 it became the standard issue steel helmet for Germany for the rest of WWI and WWII. Like the Pickelhaube, it's used by allied propaganda
5604213
Actually I think the two pegasi (Hurricane and Pansy) were actually stallions, but were played by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy because they fit their personalities.
Anyways, great chapters so far. I can't wait to see how Pony-Changeling relations will develop for the better.
SILVER CREST NOOOOOOOO!!!!!
you made me cry. I'm still slightly tearing up
