Things Fall Apart
Canterlot was burning. Changeling swarms filled the sky, and any brave pegasus who rose to fight them was quickly downed. The battle on the ground was just as bleak looking. The Royal Guard had fought with admirable tenacity but they were trained for ceremonies not war. The Equestrian Military fared little better as even with their advanced war magic and training they were quickly realizing that quantity had a quality of its own as they were set upon by swarms of changelings.
Even Celestia, the mighty goddess, had fallen. Queen Chrysalis’s new found power from Shining Armors love had been shocking to say the least. If she could capture Celestia herself, then what could possibly stop her?
Cadence sighed as she tried for the umpteenth time to separate herself from the gooey substance that bound her. The substance was unyielding and Cadence realized that at this point all she could do was wait and hope that Twilight and her friends recovered the elements in time. She was very worried, if Celestia couldn’t stop this monster then nothing much could. Perhaps Luna…
She was brought out of her musing as Chrysalis approached her. She was wearing an arrogant look on her face. She leered at Cadence. Spike who was standing right next to her let out a whimper. Cadence met the mad queen’s gaze and didn’t flinch.
Chrysalis began to speak in an amiable voice, “Want to know something interesting?”
Cadence didn’t bother replying and shifted focus to the ground in front of her.
Chrysalis smiled, “Still a sore loser eh?” She continued to talk casually, “Well I don’t care if you’re giving me the silent treatment. I’m going to tell you what I want you to know anyway!”
As Cadence glowered at her, Chrysalis continued to talk, “You see, the interesting thing about being a hive queen is the fact that I can communicate with all of my drones at once. I know everything they know and feel everything they feel.”
Chrysalis suddenly dropped her friendly tone and spoke to Cadence in a snarl, “That means I know exactly how many ponies my changelings have killed. Tell me Cadence do you want to hear how many died because of your incompetence to protect your would be husband from me?”
At this Cadence snapped, “You’ll never get away with this, Twilight and her friends will…”
She stopped talking when she saw Twilight and her friends come through the door. They had clearly been captured, as their expressions were ones of despair. Chrysalis smiled and said smugly, “You were saying?”
Chrysalis now began to taunt to Twilight. Cadence was fine with this; it left her time to think of a plan. She knew she could free Shining Armor from the queens spell, but in the end that wouldn’t really matter. The changelings had already seized Canterlot. His shield would be useless for the task of defending the city.
This time it was Twilight who brought her out of her musing. While Chrysalis had gone to the window to survey the city she had conquered, Twilight had managed to sneak by her and was now standing next to Cadence. She quickly blasted the goo off of Cadences hooves, freeing her.
Twilight looked at her sadly and said, “Go to him while you still have the chance!”
Cadence looked at her husband. Her heart broke when she saw the emptiness in his eyes. At that moment she hated Chrysalis more than anything in the world.
Yes, go to him, perhaps my love can give him the strength to repel the changelings. It was tempting, and for a moment Cadence began to walk towards him.
She shook her head; Equestria comes before my selfish desires to free him. Before I do anything, I need to order Twilight out of here. Her and her friends might be the only hope we have at defeating Chrysalis. She won’t want to leave but she’s used to following authority and she trusts me.
Cadence stopped her walk towards Shining Armor. She turned to Twilight and spoke, “I need you to teleport your friends and Spike to Ponyville.”
Twilight looked like she was about to protest. Cadence shot her a fierce glare, which galvanized Twilight into action. Nodding she began her spell and with a purple flash she and her friends disappeared from the room.
Cadence gulped, she had only counted six flashes that meant that one of Twilights friends had not been teleported to safety. She looked over to see Chrysalis levitating Spike while her horn gave off a sickening green glow.
Chrysalis looked furious, “Teleportation!” The word came out as a hiss, “It’s one of the most annoying magical abilities on the planet!” She smirked, “At least, my counterspell was successful in preventing her from taking this little one to safety!”
Cadence quickly wrapped Spike in her magic and levitated him to her side. She stood protectively in front of him as Chrysalis began to stride over.
“Perhaps I’ll kill both of you and send your heads to Twilight.”
Chrysalis looked like she was going to say more but she was suddenly cut off by two lightning bolts that hit her directly in the eyes. Whoever had attacked her was not finished yet, as a hail of lethally sharp ice shards flew through the air and proceeded to strike Chrysalis’s body in several places before exploding and causing more damage.
But Chrysalis was tough; she held more power than Celestia who was a literal goddess. Changelings could recover from wounds quickly and Shining Armors love had given all of her powers massive boosts. She quickly began to put her body back together while calling for several units of her swarm to come back to the castle immediately.
Cadence was startled as she saw Luna smash through the window all the while firing off more magic at Chrysalis. Luna was covered from head to toe with changeling ichor. The night princess cut a menacing figure. Cadence was for a moment more scared of her then she was of Chrysalis.
Behind Luna came several military pegasi. They had magic blasters on their shoulders. The weapons were advanced in design. Unicorns would charge them with magic. The pegasi would then be able to fire the weapons with their hooves while in flight. The weapons would fire lethal blasts of magic that would explode like grenades. The weapons would however run out of charge after too much use so it was important to conserve ammo.
The military pegasi began to lay down more fire on Chrysalis in an effort to keep her busy. Luna scooped up Spike and put him on her back. She turned to Cadence and said, “We need to get out of here right now!”
Cadence nodded and they flew off, Luna barked an order and the pegasi that had accompanied her began to form up in a protective formation around the two princesses. Two however were shot and disintegrated by green magic. Chrysalis had managed to recover from her wounds with a quickness that frightened Cadence. They were however safe at the moment and the pegasi surrounding them were quickly picking off any changeling foolish enough to get in the range of their weapons.
Cadence flew through the sky reveling in her freedom before her mind began to shift towards the tragedies that occurred earlier.
“We need to go back! Shining Armor is still in there!”
“So is my sister!” Luna snapped, “It would have taken too much time to free them, Chrysalis is far stronger than us! Thou are lucky to be free!”
Cadence was angry, “We can’t just leave them!”
Luna looked at her with a sharp glare. “We will send a rescue party when we have the resources. But right now there are far more pressing concerns. We are at war with an enemy far more ruthless then anything this generation has encountered. Blood will be spilled and it is our duty as royalty to put aside personal desires. Your husband’s life has no meaning when compared to the millions of ponies that could die if we fail!”
Cadence bowed her head in shame as the rational side of her mind took over. Luna was right. Now was not the time to carry out missions that would only serve her needs. She was a princess and as such she needed to think of her subjects needs before her husband’s.
She looked to Luna, “So what’s the plan?”
Luna was quick with a reply, “The Equestrian military still holds the west end of the city. Once we arrive there we will be able to discuss strategy. In the mean time we need to get there!”
The two alicorns along with their escort flew quickly. Any changeling attacks were quickly thwarted by the pegasi and Luna. Even Cadence managed to slay a few changelings with her magic.
They descended gracefully into the western side of the city. The west side had clearly been through war but for now it appeared peaceful. Several civilian refugees were being led into intact buildings by royal guards. Equestrian soldiers stood guard in a defensive line that ringed the perimeter of the west end. Unicorns and earthponies had been tactically positioned at all the natural chokepoints. Unicorns were also using their magic to recharge magic blasters. Grateful pegasi and earthponies took them.
Cadence nodded in approval, these defenses looked formidable. They would make it difficult for the changelings to take this part of the city. But Cadence was still nervous, if Chrysalis herself arrived on the battlefield the fight would be short lived. Even without Chrysalis the changelings could probably overwhelm the pony’s defenses. The soldiers garrisoned here would need reinforcements.
Spike in the meantime had leapt off Luna’s back and was now approaching Cadence.
“Do you think Twilight is safe?”
Cadence smiled reassuringly, “Yes she has arrived safely in Ponyville along with her friends. They’re probably worried about you. Why don’t you send them a letter, I’m sure a pony here will be able to lend you some paper.”
Spike quickly walked off eager to have something to do. Cadence was relieved that he was safe; it was a lucky thing that Luna had been there to protect them.
Cadence turned quickly when she heard a strange noise. The noise was loud and seemed to repeat itself. It was soon joined by several more similar sounding noises.
Cadence cocked her head confused, “What was that?” she asked Luna.
Luna looked over at her, “That was probably some unicorns repelling a changeling attack. The sounds their horns make are probably odd to your ears. They are using rifle spells, which allow them to fire bolts of deadly magic rapidly and accurately. Others might be using rocket spells, in which they fire off one massive bolt that explodes wherever it impacts. Earthponies might be firing off cannons in support.”
Cadence nodded, “It appears that the peace we have known for so long is at an end.”
Luna looked back at her sadly, “Yes soon the sound of war magic will cover the land and even the youngest fillies will hear the piercing sounds of it,” Luna’s voice suddenly changed and her tone and became much fiercer, “That future must never come to be, we need to keep the enemy bottled up in this city!”
Cadence looked nervous, “Can we do that?”
Luna sighed, “Not without reinforcements, the changelings can use war magic as well. They also show no fear and act like perfect soldiers. Equestrian soldiers are brave but few will kill themselves just to gain a tactical advantage. Still our magic and technology is greater, we have quality.”
Cadence looked to see an important looking unicorn approaching them. He appeared to be a general.
The unicorn gave a salute to the princesses, “General Lighting Blitz at your service!”
Luna nodded gratefully at the general, “Good work on securing this side of the city, I am glad to see you held on without me and the pegasi air division I took.”
The General nodded, “It was touch and go for a while but we managed to stabilize. The changelings have good rifle and rocket spells, but they don’t know how to use sniper spells. Our snipers were able to drop a good many of them from a distance.”
Luna nodded; only supremely talented unicorns got to be snipers. They concentrated a large amount of magic into their horns. They would then use a periscope to search for an enemy. Once they found one they would let off a shot from their horns. The magic bolt was far more powerful than the bolts let off by rifle spells. Sure a sniper would have to charge their horn more and couldn’t let off massive bursts of magic fire like unicorns using rifle spells, but it was a useful battlefield advantage to be able to hit an enemy with precision.
She began to think, Rarity is a unicorn used to being precise and she has shown great talent at manipulating several objects at once. Perhaps she could be trained to be a sniper. Twilight Sparkle is another ace. She’s probably powerful enough to master all of the conventional war spells. In fact she has enough power that she could probably fire off sniper bolts as rapidly as rife bolts. Or maybe she could be taught to use a rocket spell. With her magic prowess I wouldn’t be surprised if she was able to fire off rocket bolts as rapidly as most Unicorns can fire off rifle bolts.
Luna grinned when she thought of Twilight using her immense magic stores to decimate entire battalions of Changelings. Twilight was probably the most powerful unicorn in existence. She had no doubt that the studious mare could fire off hundreds of rocket spells within minutes. Most ponies would have to recover and regain their magic after using a rocket spell. Twilight in the mean time would be able to keep firing.
Yes they will need to be trained. It is good that the Equestrian military that is not in Canterlot is gathering up in Ponyville. They will be able to train Twilight and her friends and when they counter attack they should be able to defeat the changelings. In the meantime the forces I have here need to hold off the changelings for as long as possible. If Chrysalis manages to break out of Canterlot the whole nation could be overwhelmed. She can quickly convert ponies into drones, if she has access to the entire population she would be able to build up an army that could overtake us. At least she can’t do that to Celestia, she may have captured my sister but Celestias magic is innate and will resist any attempts of conversion.
Cadence looked at Luna who was clearly deep in thought. Cadence looked at her and said, “So what is the plan now?”
Luna’s reply was full of confidence, “For starters we need to get you out of the city safely.”
Cadence was offended, “I may not know war magic or tactics but I can learn quickly, I want to fight. That monster has my husband!”
Luna shook her head, “You will not fight for a long time. Your job is to get out of this city and rally Equestria’s citizens and soldiers. We have lost our capital and right now rumors are running wild. They trust you more than me and it is imperative that you get things under control. There are several generals who I have contacted. They will be the ones to carry out my plans. You however are needed to rally the nation. The country is going to war and without Celestia to guide them, they will need somepony to inspire them and give them hope. That pony is you. Do you understand the importance of this role and why I need you doing this more then I need another soldier?”
Cadence nodded, “Yes, I understand. I do however want to lead the counter attack when the time comes.”
Luna looked at Cadence her eyes were now brimming with determination, “The counterattack will be massive. Every unit in the Equestrian military will be there to carry it out. You will be needed to lead it alongside the generals. The counterattack will not occur for at least a month and in that time you along with Twilight and her friends will be undergoing intense military training. I promise when you return here, you will be much stronger in combat. Together we will free your husband and my sister; indeed we will free all ponies from the scourge that threatens our land!”
Cadence nodded eagerly and then asked, “Will you come with me to Ponyville?”
Luna looked at her, “The military trusts me but many of the civilians that make up our country do not. That is why I am sending you out of here. It is vital for you to reassure the civilians. It will be a shock to them to find that many of them must serve their country and be trained to do battle. I would not be a good figure to inspire them. Many would believe I am using them for my own ends.”
Cadence took that in suddenly overwhelmed with the responsibility being vested in her.
She glanced at Luna who still looked every inch the warrior. “What will you do?” asked Cadence.
Luna looked at her intensely. “I will remain here and fight with what’s left of the Equestrian military in Canterlot. We must hold the west side of the city at all costs! Without a safe landing zone for our airships, the counterattack will fail horribly. The soldiers here can hold on for a while, but if Chrysalis arrives on the scene they will be destroyed quickly and any attempt at retaking the city would fail.”
Cadence was now intrigued, “What will you do if Chrysalis joins in on an attack?”
Luna gave her a savage grin, “I’ll fight her of course, she may be stronger then I, but she has no finesse. She is young for an immortal. Celestia underestimated her power and attacked her head on. I however will fight her using maneuver and speed. She can striker harder so I will strike truer. She can move faster so I must move smarter. I’ve been fighting battles for thousands of years. I will be able to hold my own against her. Unfortunately she is strong enough that I won’t be able to kill her without help. I must be content with warding her off. I will distract her, and it will be up to the soldiers here to hold off her minions.”
General Blitz broke in, “If you keep the queen off our backs my soldiers will not break. They will hold and if they die they will die standing. I promise we won’t let this part of the city fall!”
Luna nodded, “I hope so general, in the mean time I wish for you to inspect the defenses. Make sure they’re well manned and that there are no gaps!”
The General nodded and barked out orders. Two adjutants rushed to his side. Once properly attended the General began to make his way to the fortifications that had been assembled to stave off any attacks.
Luna nodded approvingly, “He is capable and hard charging, the only other general left alive in this city is General Venture. I fear for him, he is located on the northern side of the city. That part of the city hasn’t completely fallen like the south and east but it’s a precarious situation. His soldiers are surrounded and he must make as good as a fight as he can.”
Luna now looked at Cadence, “I need you to return to Ponyville. I will be giving you an escort, you will not be taking Spike. Spike is needed here. His ability to send messages to soldiers will make him an invaluable asset. I will not have him fight, he is but a child, but he is still very useful here.”
Cadence smiled, “He will be overjoyed to provide assistance, just make sure he knows Twilight and her friends are safe and that the city will be saved soon.”
“He will be notified, but for now you must go. The ponies of Equestria need a leader and the longer you stay here the more likely it is that chaos will set in!”
Cadence walked off and prepared to take flight. She first made sure that her escort was with her and then she flew off. She decided to make conversation with the gruff looking pegasus.
“I appreciate you protecting me. I hope we don’t come across any more threats.”
The pegasus chuckled darkly, “I’ve been fighting for hours, I hope I don’t have to do so again.”
“So are there any changelings that fly out of the city?”
The pegasus looked back at her, “For now no. We have several unicorns performing the shield spell. Your husband was able to do this on his own but for now we have had to improvise. The only difference is we’re trying to keep them inside the city instead of keeping them out. If the changelings break through our lines they would probably kill the unicorns doing the spell. We would be screwed then as the changelings could fly out of the city with ease and we would have a lot more to worry about then not having a proper beachhead for our counterattack!”
Cadence was impressed, “My husband must have been very good at his job if it takes several powerful unicorns to do what he could do on his own.”
The pegasus nodded, “The royal guard may be ceremonial but, Shining Armor held an important job in keeping Equestria safe. He’s originally from the military; we actually transferred him to the guard as we thought it necessary that we had someone to rally the guard in a case of an attack.”
He stopped talking and when he resumed his tone was one of weariness.
“It looks like we have a patrol of eighteen changelings coming our way. I fear they got through our air defenses.”
Cadence gulped, “What should we do? I’m not trained to fight but my magic is still fairly strong. I may not know any war spells but I’m able to fire off bolts of magic rapidly, I can help you!”
The pegasus shook his head, “They’ll be on us soon and they’ll overwhelm us. I need you to start flying as fast as you can. You can make it to Ponyville easily if I hold them off.”
“But you’ll die!”
The pegasus smiled bleakly, “I’m a soldier, dying is part of my job. Now get the hell out of here before they catch up!”
Cadence nodded sadly and flew off. She heard the pegasus fire off several shots from his shoulder mounted blaster. She also heard bolts that sounded like magic rifle fire; it appeared that the changelings could utilize war magic as effectively as most unicorns.
She heard a scream of agony. She forced herself to fly faster, and to ignore that sound. It was hard, but she knew that Luna had given her a job to do. Sacrificing herself needlessly would be a great disservice to her country.
She remembered her earlier conversation with Luna. The princess had said that most Equestrian soldiers would not willingly volunteer to do something that they wouldn’t be able to survive. Luna must of have known that the pegasus she had chosen to guard her was loyal enough to carry out any order no matter the consequences. It appeared Luna had chosen such a soldier in case they were attacked by a stray enemy patrol.
The rest of her flight was peaceful and she soon found herself arriving on the outskirts of Ponyville. She touched down in an isolated spot, as she did not wish to reveal herself just yet.
She noticed that Ponyville was now drastically different from the quite town she had once visited while on her way to Canterlot. For one several military blimps and airships hung ominously over the town. The once quite suburb was also filled with military ponies that were milling about in an orderly fashion.
The hills around the village were filled with military tents and the campfires made it appear as if the hills were made of stars. Cadence felt strangely reassured in looking out at the massive collection of tents. It made her feel safe seeing the vast numbers of troops Equestria could field.
She nodded, yes this is the true might of Equestria and it is up to me to rally these ponies. I swear I won’t let you down Shining Armor. The nation is going to war and I promise I’m not going to give up until me and these soldiers have wiped out Queen Chrysalis and her cancerous hordes!