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by tom117z

Chapter 60: 60 - The Drums Of War

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Equestrian Countryside, one day before the battle



An orange tint had begun to take over the sky as the Friendship Express made its way towards the town of Ponyville. The rumbling of the train on its tracks echoed along the vast countryside landscape surrounding it, and everypony on the trains was undergoing the usual experience of traveling by train. Most were ponies coming home from Canterlot, though some were from other locales coming to visit the town.

Overall, however, everything was proceeding as it usually did. The waning hours meant several foals fell asleep in their mothers’ laps, and things were quiet and generally peaceful throughout the carriages from stem to stern.

Then, it all began at the gasp of surprise and awe from a single passenger, and throughout the train many more soon joined in as they peered out to see the cause of the commotion.

Until a black cloud forming in the distance is what had caught the passengers’ attention. It was incoming fast, and the passengers gathered at the windows to view the incoming phenomenon. However, as it got closer and they were able to make out more details, it quickly became apparent that it was no cloud. Many, many black dots were swarming forwards, high in the sky.

Changelings.

No discretion, no subterfuge, this was an invasion. And a show of force.

Panic spread amongst the passengers when the swarm closed in, and a large amount of them split off and descended quickly towards the helpless train. The drones closed the gap quick, descending in uniform formation as they closed in towards their target, fangs glaring and horns charging.

The drones swarmed around the train, which began to pick up speed in a panicked attempt to flee, but it couldn’t escape. Their horns charged a putrid green, and bolts of magic began to be launched. Volley after volley was fired at the tracks beneath the train’s wheels. The ponies aboard screamed in terror as the whole thing shook, the tracks beneath disintegrating and the train itself coming free of them. Without any guidance, the train careened out of control, the front carriages being the first to flip over with the rest slamming into one another, many being crushed outright by the force of the impact like a tin can against a forehead. Dirt and dust were thrown into the air as the chaos unfolded, the odd tree in the train’s path was uprooted and tossed aside like an unwanted ragdoll. By the time the train came to a halt, a path of devastation had been carved into the landscape from the tracks to the final resting place of the many carriages the train had been pulling along.

All that was left at the end was a pile of twisted wreckage, the engine catching alight as fire begun to consume what was left, the survivors scrambling to escape and free trapped loved ones as foals screamed and cried for their mothers and fathers, many of whom would never be able to answer.

The changelings responsible probably would have stayed to finish off the stragglers, but the swarm was already moving on, and their true target was now close at hoof.

Ponyville, was not their true target. In the end the town and its ponies were a means to an end, and completely expendable. No, their true target would, in typical fashion, rush to save the ponies whom she called her friends, but that would be her undoing…

Soon, Queen Twilight Sparkle would be dead.


Ponyville



Applejack walked on through the streets of the quiet town she called home, a cart of apples being pulled along behind her. Many had locked themselves away in their homes after the previous day’s incident, but Applejack had a job to do, and would do it come rain or shine.

She was stubborn like that, a trait that runs in the family for the Apples.

Applejack stopped off at a few locations, delivering ponies’ shipments of apples they had ordered from Sweet Apple Acres. Most were small groups delivered to individual homes, but a few big batches were delivered to establishments dealing in food, like Sugarcube Corner.

Pinkie Pie had been there ready to receive the shipment, almost as if her previous injury had never happened. It was difficult to keep the Party Pony down, something that Applejack had a deep respect for.

After delivering a bushel to Lyra and Bon Bon, Applejack began to head towards one of her lasts stops for the day. It was a house towards the edge of town atop a small hill, the design of the house was literally split right down the middle to represent the owners of said house. The owners were roommates, best friends and partners in all things musical, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia.

There was always idle gossip, especially from the florists, that the two were a couple like Lyra and Bon Bon, but Applejack had known them long enough to know that was not the case, but they were as close as friends could get without crossing that particular boundary.

Applejack lifted the cart from her back, and walked up to the door, knocking on it a moment later.

After a few moments, a grey mare with a black mane opened the door, a white mare with a blue mane and purple glasses was just behind her.

“Applejack, dear, so good to see you,” Octavia greeted. “I take it you have our shipment?”

“Ah do,” Applejack confirmed. “Though, your shipment seems larger than usual, any reason for that?”

“Oh, it’s nothing really,” Octavia started. “Somepony just seems to be craving them more than usual, and eating through them so quickly it’s untrue!”

Vinyl gave Octavia a deadpan look, and then, being a mute, made some gestures stating something along the lines of: “Why are you looking at me? You’re the one that’s doing that!”

“Oh, details,” Octavia dismissed.

Applejack smirked as she unloaded their order from the now nearly empty cart. As she did so however, she spotted something in the distance. Something that, if it was one of the ponies who survived the train wreck not far from the town, would seem far too familiar.

“What is that?” Applejack wondered out loud, Octavia and Vinyl also looking towards where Applejack was pointing towards.

Vinyl made some gestures. “Dude, looks like a storm cloud to me.”

“One, we’re not ‘dudes’,” Octavia stated. “Two, there are no storms scheduled for this week!”

Vinyl conceded the point, and gave the black mass in the distance a pointed frown as she studied it, trying to figure out what exactly it was; she lowered her glasses to the edge of her muzzle as peered over with her red eyes to try and get a better look with no obstructions.

“Is that… buzzing?” Octavia strained her ears, trying to pick up the distant sound.

“Wait a moment…” Applejack’s eyes widened, also hearing the buzzing, and spotting some small black dots around the edges of the cloud. She squinted as she examined more closely the black dots seemed to make up the cloud.

It clicked in her mind as she put two and two together, and alarms blared within her being as she realised what exactly that cloud was.

“Changelings!” Applejack shouted.

“W-what!” Octavia did a double take. “Are you certain?”

“Positive,” she responded. “And that there swarm is thicker than fruit bats attacking an apple tree.”

“What do we do?”

“Listen you two,” Applejack said seriously. “Y’all need to need to gather as many ponies as possible and tell them to head to the edges of the forest, hide in the shrubbery. Ah’ll get the other bearers and inform the mayor, we’ve got to evacuate the town!”

“You can’t be serious,” Octavia’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“We don’t stand a chance against a swarm that size!” Applejack pointed out. “We need to go!”

Vinyl grabbed onto her frozen friend, and dragged her away to do as Applejack had asked.

Applejack looked back at the swarm, which was getting far too close for comfort. Then she spun and sprinted down the hill and into town, leaving her cart behind.

She had to get her friends and family out before those changeling arrived. She feared for any pony that didn’t make it out, and prayed that Princess Celestia and Twilight would send help soon.


Refugee Camp



All of the most important changelings and ponies in the camp were spread out around the war map in the command tent. Queen Twilight sat in her throne, Princess Celestia standing to her left and Queen Draco to her right. Down the left side all the rest of the ponies, Shining Armor, Luna, Cadance, Vladimir and Broad Sword sat opposite to the changelings on the right, including Carduus, as they were briefed by Celestia.

“The swarm is being led by Queen Crudelis herself, and is heading directly towards Ponyville,” she informed them. “Their forces are considerable, Ponyville will not stand a chance against it.”

“This is a trap,” Draco stated. “Crudelis is trying to draw Twilight out to finish her off, the rest of us too if she can.”

“Are you suggesting we let them die?” Shining Armor growled. “Hundreds of innocent ponies and some other races living there are in the firing line!”

“Including the other element bearers,” Luna added. “We must assume they are being targeted too, eliminating one of Equestria’s greatest weapons.”

“We could scramble to combat them at the town,” Carduus began. “But the forces we could scramble will still be vastly outnumbered with what Crudelis has brought. It would take several days to get together a force of changelings and EUP to meet them on equal terms and numbers.”

“Are you forgetting,” Luna started with a shake of her head. “That our force includes us, three alicorns and two changeling queens makes up for a lot of that disadvantage.”

“Not to mention that in a few days’ time, there won’t be anything left of Ponyville or its inhabitants,” Broad Sword stated.

“We’re all aware, thank you very much,” Carduus deadpanned.

“We could route more EUP to act as reinforcement’s mid-battle,” Vladimir suggested. “Though they wouldn’t arrive for a while after it would have already started.

“We need to do something!” Cadance urged. “We can’t leave them to fend for themselves!”

“I think,” Celestia said loudly, getting all of their attention. “That this is Queen Twilight’s decision. This is a trap for her, and her hives future depends on the events of the foreseeable future.”

All eyes turned expectantly towards the changeling queen, who had yet to say a word. She was sitting in her throne, her eyes trained directly onto the map where a small figurine of Crudelis as displayed near Ponyville.

Her cold gaze silently remained on the figurine for another minute, adding more apprehension to an already tense atmosphere.

Finally, she picked up the figurine with her magic and brought it towards her.

“She wants my attention so badly…” Twilight said in a monotone, the figurine being reduced to ash. “Then she’s got it.”

Twilight sat up regally in her seat, and for a moment she could almost be mistaken for Chrysalis.

“She killed my mother, destroyed my home and has tried to kill me. Now she attacks my friends, and a place that I still think of as a home. It ends now.”

“So we’re going in?” Carduus asked.

“There are no hostile changeling forces near the camp, so we can leave a token force to keep the peace here,” she stated. “The rest of us head to meet Crudelis in battle, and as Vladimir suggested we route other forces to join us as it progresses.”

“Twily, are you certain of this?” Shining asked.

“I thought you’d be in favour of this,” Carduus noted.

“I am,” he responded. “I’m just worrying for my little sister.”

“I’m certain,” Twilight stated. “No more running or hiding. The line must be drawn here, no further! And they will regret ever setting hoof into the Badlands Hive or Equestria!”

“Then it is decided,” Celesita stated as nods were shared between those gathered. “We shall accompany you personally, my former student. This is an attack on Equestrian soil, and Crudelis has declared war on Equestria. It feels too soon to wear my old armour again, but I shall do so to protect my ponies, and you.”

“I appreciate it,” Twilight stated. “You have your directions, let’s get to it.”

Twilight stayed seated in her throne, wanting to talk to Carduus and her changeling commanders as the others all exited the tent.

Broad Sword was the last to exit, and was met with his wife and Spike waiting outside.

“Honey,” Broad Sword embraced his pregnant wife.

“So, it’s war then?” she muttered, holding him tight.

“Afraid so,” he responded, slowly letting her go. “And you’re staying here, with a certain somepony you are carrying.”

Scarlet nodded. “I understand. I’ll keep things coordinated with the EUP and changelings that stay behind.”

“I’ll be staying too,” Spike spoke up. “And somehow I doubt Soronis will be coming along,” he joked.

“She’ll be too busy foalsitting her sister and little Iuvenes,” Scarlet chuckled. “Oh well, I’m sure Panacea will lend her a hoof with that.”

A commotion began around camp as the EUP and changeling forces were roused and organised. They would soon be leaving for Ponyville. The drums of war had been sounded, ponies and changelings alike preparing for the worst.

The end would be coming soon.

Author's Notes:

NEXT TIME:

“You claim I am the problem for our race’s decline, but you don’t see that it is not changelings like me, but like you that is the problem. You didn’t earn the power you use, the love you have absorbed,” Twilight's furious expression fell away, replaced with a small, peaceful smile. “Mine however, comes from those I hold most dear. My friends, and my family. From my Ponyville friends to all my subjects, my power comes from their love, their friendship. And that magic is more powerful than any you could hope to wield, Queen Crudelis.”

Crudelis simply snorted. “A nice sentiment, but enough talk.”

Crudelis’ horn glowed bright as she unleashed several bolts of lethal magic in Twilight’s direction, only for a lavender shield to intercept each one.

Crudelis released another, and then another. Twilight intercepted and blocked each and every one, stepping closer and closer each time towards her adversary as the battle continued to rage violently around them.

As Twilight reached Crudelis the latter gave a shout as she charged Twilight with her blade-like horn, only for Twilight to meet her with her own, the two locking together in combat.

To be concluded...

Next Chapter: 61 - Change: Part 1 Estimated time remaining: 46 Minutes
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