Echoing Shadows

by LordSiravant

Total War

Chapter Thirteen: Total War

The calm of the sunny morning was unceremoniously broken by a distant roar that echoed from the heavens. The Day Guards collectively glanced skyward as their worst fears were confirmed.

Another dragon was bearing down on the city. And it was even bigger than Karzakathûl had been.

The dragon's golden scales reflected the morning light in such a way that the dragon itself seemed to take the appearance of a second sun. Its wingspan was enormous, large enough to blot out the sun as it passed overhead. The Guards scattered about in panic, some shouting at the top of their lungs that a dragon had come, others shakily stood their ground as the golden dragon flew towards the palace garden, and others still rushed towards the dragon's intended landing spot, spears brandished.

The dragon was of such titanic size that its landing shook the earth for miles around and sent a gust of wind in all directions strong enough to bowl many of the approaching guards over. Those that remained standing fearfully stared up at the awesome creature as it folded its wings, glaring impassively at them. The pony soldiers, despite their obvious fear, prepared to charge.

"STAY THY HOOVES!"

The guards all turned to see Princess Luna enter the garden, staring sternly at the dragon.

"Your Majesty, I strongly urge..." one of the soldiers began.

"I know this dragon, soldier," Luna interrupted. "Stand down."

The guards hesitantly raised their spears as Luna confidently approached the beast and bowed her head in greeting. "Hail, Vladezradi Goldenwing," she spoke. "How may we be of service to the King of Dragons?"

A collective murmuring rippled through the crowd of onlooking soldiers as the princess and dragon conversed.

"Hail, Luna of the Moonlit Nights," Vladezradi returned the greeting in a regal, booming voice. "Forgive me for the unannounced visit, but there is much we must discuss. Where is your sister?"

Luna frowned. "My sister is still recovering from Karzakathûl s attack."

Vladezradi shook his ponderous head. "Ah, so you did not emerge unscathed after all."

Luna sighed. "No. Is that why you are here?"

Smoke escaped the Elder Wyrm's nostrils. "Part of the reason." The Dragon King strode past the princess, his thunderous footsteps shaking the ground. And then the golden beast lay down, folding his large paws over one another as he looked towards the castle. "What I am about to tell you is for your ears alone, Luna."

Despite knowing that half of Equestria would be able to hear him anyways, Luna turned towards the gathered soldiers and barked, "Guards, leave us."

They clearly did not like the idea of leaving their princess alone with this terrifying beast, but her stern glare brooked no argument. The throng of golden-armored ponies slowly dispersed until the two were alone in the garden. "What is the reason for your visit, Vladezradi?" Luna began.

Vladezradi bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Karzakathûl's involvement with King Sombra, and his subsequent demise, has had an...unintended side-effect in the Dragon Kingdom."

Luna slowly trotted up to the great dragon's side. "What sort of side-effect?"

Vladezradi craned his neck and looked down at the diminutive moon goddess. "The kingdom is in turmoil. The council is split."

Luna's heart sank. "Why?"

"Karzakathûl had three sons; Gardranok the Destroyer, Morgarath the Flaming Death, and Pestilence the Vile. The three of them desire vengeance against Equestria for their father's death. They wanted to join King Sombra."

Luna's breath caught in her throat. "By our dear mother..."

"I expressly forbade them from doing so. They disobeyed me and even now are making for the Crystal Empire. And that is where the trouble deepens. My inability to stop them raised questions about my ability to rule the kingdom."

"Surely the Council does not harbor doubts about you?" Luna spoke, horrified.

Vladezradi sighed. "It has become more than mere doubts. When dragons sense weakness, they will not hesitate to strike. The same holds true for politics as well as the hunt and on the field of battle. Several members of the Council have declared me unfit to rule and seek to dethrone me, through armed conflict if necessary."

"Who still supports you?"

The great dragon hummed, a puff of smoke emerging from his nostrils. "Melvekar the Evening Shadow, Serzaket the Mountain Lord, and Arkazari the Hydra's Bane."

"So Vartul, Moragon, and Dalconir are rebelling against you, and the Council is evenly split."

Vladezradi nodded. "That is why the Council could not simply vote to remove me. Even in death, Karzakathûl menaces the stability of the kingdom."

Luna paled as the king's words sunk in. "So...the Dragon Kingdom is about to enter a civil war?"

Vladezradi nodded again. "And with the majority of the rebels now flocking to Sombra's banner due to the knowledge that I have your support, they have unfairly drawn Equestria into the conflict."

Luna collapsed on her rump, overwhelmed by the news. "What...what are you going to do?"

"The only thing I can do. If the rebellious dragons wish to join your enemies, then the time has at last come for me to make good on the deal we made all those centuries ago. I and my loyalists are at your command, Your Highness."

Luna bit her lip. "I'm truly, terribly sorry your kingdom has been pulled into this conflict."

"It will do us no good to argue about who is to blame for this," Vladezradi rumbled. "It is time and energy that can be better spent on formulating our strategies for the coming battles. And there will be a great many before this war is through. Sombra is cunning on his own; now he has the knowledge and skills of the three most ambitious members of the Council backing him up, and their corresponding dragonflights and Karzakathûl's sons bolstering his growing armies."

Luna looked shocked. "Growing armies? Have others rallied to his cause?"

"One of our spies reported that a large force of Diamond Dogs has been spotted within the Crystal Empire's boundaries. It is likely that they have formed an alliance with Sombra as well. Numerous Windigos have been sighted patrolling the outskirts of the city as well."

This was a lot for Luna to take in. The First Sombratic War had been bad enough, though it had been confined to Equestria and the Empire. But now other nations and peoples were being drawn into the conflict. "It seems all the world is plunging into war," she murmured.

"Indeed," Vladezradi boomed. "Complete, total war."

XXXXXX

As Princess Luna had suspected, Vladezradi's voice carried over the entirety of Canterlot and traveled all the way to the three barracks below the city.

And as per Equestrian tradition, everypony was panicking.

"Dragons!" one fresh recruit cried in the unicorn barracks. "King Sombra's got more dragons!"

"We're doomed!" another one wailed. "Doomed, I tell you!"

Twilight could not hide her own fear at this horrifying realization, but was sensible enough to remember that they were going to have dragons on their side too. Unfortunately, there was so much chaos and panic that even a voice amplification spell was not enough for her voice to cut through the cacophony. Rarity wasn't helping at all; she had joined in the hysterics. Only Vinyl remained outwardly calm, trying to shut out the roar of the screaming crowd.

Suddenly the strong voice of Commander Falling Skies boomed through the intercom, slicing through the chatter like a hot knife through butter. "Attention, all recruits! King Sombra has dragons on his side, but do not forget that we do too! Do not panic! Victory is not yet impossible! Stay strong for Princesses and country!"

That seemed to reassure the crowd somewhat, as the chattering and screaming did not start up again once the intercom cut out. Twilight and Vinyl both flatly glared at Rarity as they returned to their tables to finish their lunches. "Really, Rare?" Vinyl asked.

Rarity grinned weakly and let loose an embarrassed chuckle. "Aha, well, our last few encounters with those hellbeasts have been...well, frightful experiences, have they not?"

Twilight couldn't help but agree. "I won't argue that point, Rarity. But still, the Dragon King said he and his loyalists are going to fight alongside us. And dragons are weak against magic, so we aren't powerless against them to begin with."

"I feel bad for him though," Lyra said, the others looking at her for an explanation. "The Dragon King, I mean. His whole kingdom's fallen into civil war because of forces outside his control. This is our fight, but Sombra's forcing more and more people into it. First the Griffons, and now the dragons. It's awful!"

Twilight looked up and stared ahead into space. "Sombra will involve everyone on Equis if he thinks it'll help him win. The deaths of thousands will be of no concern to him."

Rarity paled. "Will?"

Twilight sighed and looked at her friend with tired and deeply-sad eyes. "You've heard what is happening out there. Everyone far and wide is choosing sides. There's no way it can be avoided now; this war is going to get bigger. Many thousands will get involved; and many thousands are going to die."

Vinyl looked down at the ground. "And we're gonna be the cause of some of that."

Everyone glanced at their half-eaten food. "I'm not hungry anymore," Lyra whispered, her voice breaking slightly.

They collectively pushed their plates away discreetly, their minds clouded by the same dark, distressing thoughts. The true horrors of war were yet to come, but they were coming nonetheless.

XXXXXX

Those very horrors hit the Changelings that evening.

Bjoräl and his two hundred packmates descended on the Changeling Hive as the sun began to set, their journey considerably shortened by a mass teleportation into the outskirts of the Badlands courtesy of King Sombra. The guardian drones, despite knowing that an attack was imminent, were taken completely by surprise. They had been expecting ponies, not Diamond Dogs.

Bjoräl, his teeth bared in a feral grin and a studded mace in his paw, led his vicious pack into the cave. "Any one of you pups that comes out without Changeling blood on your paws is a dead dog!" he roared at them.

The news rippled through the conglomeration of drones and soldiers until it reached the queen herself. "No...they found us," she whispered, standing from her throne.

Chrysalis looked at the grubs in their egg sacs lining the walls of her chamber, tears coming to her eyes. They needed to flee; they simply did not have the strength and numbers to repel an army of raging Diamond Dogs. But the fetuses could not come. "My babies..." she whimpered, glancing at each slumbering grub.

She could see every one of their dreams and their primitive thoughts, so innocent; unknowing of the terror that was soon to reach their once-safe cocoons. They would be torn from their dreams; torn from their protection; torn away from the lives they had yet to live. "My children," she sobbed, falling to her knees and lowering her head in despair.

One of the drones flew over to the side of its distraught queen. We cannot stop them, it spoke into her mind. Many are dying. What is your will, Mother?

Chrysalis looked up at all the unborn children of her hive, and silently let her tears fall. She knew what she had to do. No matter what, no matter who or what was sacrificed, her hive, her people, must survive.

All drones prepare to retreat, she ordered, directing the collective will of the swarm. We will die here if we stay. We cannot save the grubs.

And just like that, the Changelings made a mass break for it, dodging and weaving past the horde of hulking Diamond Dugs in a mad dash towards the mouth of the cave. The brutish ape-hounds tossed their spears at the buzzing swarm of bug-ponies, nailing a few. Chrysalis soon joined them, coordinating their movements with her monumental will as they attempted to make their escape.

So deep in concentration she was that she did not see Bjoräl catch sight of her and leap upwards, his mace raised. Suddenly she felt something hard slam into her chest, and she let out a cry of agony as she felt her chitinous carapace crack from the blow. She tumbled through the air and out of the cave in an ungraceful fashion. It was only through sheer force of will that she rallied herself and regained her bearings, joining the flight of her people. The baying of the murderous hounds soon died out as they put as much distance between their former hive and themselves as possible.

Breathing was agony. But Chrysalis held on as she spoke to the few hundred children she had left. We make for Equestria. Do not stop. Do not stop.

Then she felt it. They all did.

Every last Changeling grub, one after the other, were ripped from their abodes. Their peaceful dreams became mental screams of terror. And one after the other, they were abruptly silenced. Chrysalis sobbed; her remaining brethren screeched in horror and despair. But they did not turn around.

They would not stop.

Comments

[LordSiravant]

4123642
Mostly on moral grounds, as that magic is meant specifically to cause harm and defy nature. Using it also corrupts the caster, but Sombra was Evil with a capital E to begin with.

[Viper Redbird]

Yaaay! This calls for a party!

[LordSiravant]

]4127210
No time for that.

treasure.diylol.com/uploads/post/image/628122/resized_winter-is-coming-meme-generator-brace-yourselves-a-shitstorm-is-coming-1a23e4.jpg

[kniznik]

4125787 was he? Perhaps he was originaly cirupted by the dark magic. And as time went on his corruption inly grew. We shall sadly never kniw the true cannon reason.