Ponywatching

by ThunderTempest

Prompt #496: False Pretenses

There was nothing left, no fight left in any of the ponies that she could see, as she trotted through the still-forming city. Months of siege and fighting had taken their toll upon the ponies around her, draining them of all hope and life. She could see how the veterans looked at her, as if she was a new recruit, unsullied by the battlefield, still believing that the fight was winnable. She knew she looked too clean, but it was too late for that now. Fortunately, she had always believed that results spoke louder than appearances, and she strode past the guards and straight into the command tent.

“We have to surrender by tomorrow, Commander Pansy,” said a pegasus clad in armour, “Our supplies are depleted, the morale is gone from our troops. There is no chance of victory against these brutes.”

“Thank you, Private. Dismissed,” said Commander Pansy, turning to face a unicorn across the table. “Well, Princess Platinum? Do we give up?”

The unicorn scrunched her face up. “The diplomat in me says that it is better to surrender and live, but yet I cannot fathom the thought of willingly giving our new nation over to those who did not work for it.”

“What if,” said the mare, walking straight up to the table that separated the two other ponies, “I told you that I could solve that problem.”

As if a spell was suddenly broken, the guards at the entrance to the tent suddenly noticed that the mare who had walked past them didn’t belong, and moved to tackle. They were stopped by a simple command from Princess Platinum, who studied the intruding mare.

“I would ask who you are, first,” said Platinum.

“Names are unimportant. All that matters is that I have a force of five hundred, well fed and in fighting shape. We can defeat this army that threatens you.”

“Five hundred doesn’t sound like a lot. By our count, the enemy will outnumber you four to one,” said Pansy, looking over some documents.

“Trust me, it will be more than enough,” said the mare.

“Then I suppose you will want payment for your services,” sighed Platinum, “We can set aside some gold once our mining starts up again, or...”

“We are not interested in your gold,” said the mare.

“Then what do you want?”

The mare walked up to the map table, and taking a pen in her magical grasp, drew a line across the map.

“Everything south of that line. We want freedom to settle anywhere south of there.”

“That’s a little extreme,” said Pansy.

“No, I find that quite reasonable, Pansy,” said Platinum, “You do realise that most of that region is hot and dry. Quite unable to support any agriculture.”

“Not an issue for us,” said the mare, a wicked smile spreading across her face, “do we have a deal?”

Princess Platinum thought for a moment.

“We have a deal, miss. When can we expect results?”

The smile got wider, and for a moment, Princess Platinum could have sworn the pony’s mouth was filled with fangs.

“By tomorrow,” said the mare, striding out of the tent. The minute that she reached the tree line, and was obscured from the ponies’ sight, she let out a breath, and green fire consumed her. Black chitin replaced soft fur, her horn became twisted and warped. Holes emerged in her legs, and gossamer wings flickered and buzzed with energy. The changeling licked her lips. Even as exhausted as the ponies had been, they had still had much love. With a mental command to the other five hundred changelings, she instructed them to hunt and kill the things that were going to kill their newest food source.

A soft chittering filled the forest, no different than the usual insects at night. It was all the warning that the enemy ever had.

Author's Note:

Written for Prompt #496: "The Woman Who Changed The World" (Theme Week, Day Three)

The prompt: The unlikely 500 who saved Equestria, and the lady who lead them.