Ponyville,
The Prophet Visionary
It was the middle of the afternoon, on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration; ponies throughout Ponyville were still busy with frivolities and merrymaking. Outside the town, Visionary and his rebel army prepared to march on Ponyville and liberate it from the tyrannical grasp of Twilight Sparkle and her lackeys. Hundreds of ponies and buffalo assumed positions, ready to fight back against the corrupt and decadent government which had allowed the changeling menace to spread death and destruction throughout all of Equestria. After nine months of the Princesses giving increasingly large political and economic protections to the monsters, opening the gates to allow endless quantities of them into Equestrian settlements, and the corresponding massacres throughout every city and town perpetrated by the changeling demons who the Princesses had invited in, the ponies and buffalo of Equestria's frontier had had enough. The sacking of Cloudsdale, and the government's attempts to punish Visionary's followers in Ponyville for fighting back against the abominations, was the final straw; the government had demonstrated itself to be supportive towards the enemy, giving them endless concessions and allowing them to commit increasingly devastating atrocities throughout Equestria. For a great many ponies, it was abundantly clear; it was time to force Celestia and the other traitor Princesses off the throne, once and for all, and make them face justice for their support of the enemy.
Under the leadership of Iron Rose, the Commander-in-Chief of Visionary's forces, the rebels split their army in two, getting into position to launch a pincer attack on Ponyville. As the rebels moved into position and set up artillery to bombard the enemy, one of the pegasus rebels hastily went into the town, informing the Temple of Vision's followers in the town about the impending attack. The ToV's militia ponies in Ponyville quickly set about gathering their weapons to join the Prophet in waging war against Twilight Sparkle and her soldiers; with the Summer Sun Celebration festivities going on, ponies didn't really think anything odd about them rushing about town. Many of Visionary's followers, most of whom had taken part in the recent massacre of abominations, took up whatever arms they could and prepared to fight the town guard.
After a brief period of preparing, the rebel forces were ready for the assault on Ponyville. Without hesitation, Iron Rose gave the order for artillery to be fired on the guard stations throughout the town; thus began the Battle of Ponyville, the first shots of the war being fired. Panic quickly spread throughout the town, with its residents fleeing in every direction as explosions rained down throughout the streets of Ponyville. After barraging the town's guard posts with mortars and artillery batteries, the rebel forces advanced upon Ponyville in a pincer movement, charging from east and west simultaneously, firing without hesitation on the guards, while Visionary's partisans within the town itself ambushed the guards throughout the town as they scrambled to defend Ponyville from the attackers. The guard force had been on higher alert than normal, both on account of the Summer Sun Celebration and the ToV's recent riot, but they simply didn't have the numbers nor the supplies to be prepared for a full-scale rebellion; nopony was expecting Visionary to march on Ponyville with an entire army behind him.
Havoc ensued throughout the streets of the growing town, with battles taking place around every corner. Ponyville's guard force was under attack from every direction, both from Visionary's main forces and the Temple of Vision's partisans within the town itself; surprised, out-maneuvered, and under increasing pressure from all sides, it didn't take long for their lines to break, the guards being routed throughout Ponyville. The rebels showed no mercy to them, firing on the enemy as they fled throughout Ponyville, taking no prisoners; to them, anyone fighting to defend the rule of the tyrant Princesses who allowed so much devastation to sweep across the country was part of the enemy, and they showed no quarter to their enemies. By the time two hours had passed, the last vestiges of battle had concluded, Twilight Sparkle's forces being decisively eliminated by the rebels, very few guards surviving the ordeal. Ponyville itself suffered great damage during the battle; damaged or completely destroyed buildings could be seen on almost every street, from the barrages of artillery, and the gunfire of the battle left broken windows everywhere. The streets were full of casualties; wounded or dead guards, civilians, and rebels on every street.
Commander Iron Rose wasn't satisfied with simply defeating the enemy; today was a day for sending a loud, clear message to all of Equestria that changelings and changeling sympathizers will no longer be tolerated. With the guards out of the way, the rebel soldiers repeated Visionary's riot all over again, beginning yet another massacre of abominations throughout the town; this time, however, there was no Twilight Sparkle in town to stop them. Changelings were hunted down and killed all throughout Ponyville, the ToV's magicians helping to shed their disguises. Most of them lived in a traditional changeling mound, a disgraceful sight, an affront to any true Equestria, near the traitor Twilight Sparkle's castle, more proof that the mare is nothing more than a puppet of their kind; it was bombarded with one mortar strike after another, explosions pounding down on their den of inequity. It didn't take long for the rebels to bust their way in, at which point the massacre reached its peak. Equipped with military-grade equipment from Appaloosa, and being more numerous than ever, Visionary's followers were able to exterminate hundreds of the foul demons, striking relentlessly with righteous fury; the town's changeling population was devastated, the survivors either fleeing Ponyville or hiding with some changeling sympathizer or another. Visionary himself killed many changelings with Dawnbreaker, the Prophet's magical artifact making him more than a match for the abominations. The wounded guards throughout town who had survived the initial battle were rounded up and given mock trials in the town square, where they were then hanged to death on charges of crimes against ponykind in full view of all the town's residents; it all succeeded in sending a clear message, one that was no doubt going to resonate with everyone in Equestria, for better or for worse.
As the enemy survivors were being tried and hanged for their transgressions against the ponies of Equestria, and as the flags of the traitorous Celestial government were being burned and replaced with the rebel flag, Iron Rose announced the details of Ponyville's rebel occupation in the town square, everypony in town being gathered to listen to her speak.
"Listen up, and listen up good, everypony; today, the negligent and criminal reign of the changeling-puppet Twilight Sparkle in Ponyville is over. She has aligned herself with the enemy for long enough; she has labeled herself an enemy of Equestria, and so we are treating her and her followers as such. She thought she could force us to stand idly by and watch as her disgusting changeling friends massacred every civilized creature in our country; as you can all clearly see today, she was gravely mistaken. We, the ponies of the Equestrian frontier, the disciples of the Temple of Vision, and the buffalo of the Buffalo Nation throw our gauntlet at the hooves of tyranny, and we say it's time for an end to the rule of the traitor Princesses and an end to their despicable
integration policy! We are the true sons and daughters of Equestria, and we're here to drive the changeling menace out of our nation once and for all; Celestia and the other traitors in our government might be too afraid to stand up to them, but we aren't, damn it! Ponyville will remain under our occupation until the changeling-puppets have been purged from our government, and Equestria is reunified under the rule of a true Equestrian." Iron Rose began, being met by cheers of approval from the rebels and the members of the Temple of Vision, while the changeling-sympathizers mostly just listened in stunned silence.
"For months now, the Princesses, or rather, the Princesses' changeling puppeteers, have enacted tyrannical policy after tyrannical policy aimed at providing favoritism towards changelings and giving them the privileges to go wherever they want and get complete protection from the government. That ends immediately in our territory; changelings are hereby forbidden from entering Appaloosa, Dodge, Ponyville, or the territories of the Buffalo Nation, and any future lands we liberate, under penalty of death. Anyone caught harboring a changeling will be put on trial for high-treason, and will be hanged to death. The good pegasi up in Cloudsdale made the mistake of letting the abominations live in their city; it didn't turn out well for them, believe it or not. We won't make the same mistakes our traitor government did; we can see the obvious fact that the changeling race is fundamentally evil, and, as such, we will kill them all before they can do any more damage to our society. All of our territories will be governed by the Prophet Visionary, our great leader; he shall be at the forefront of a provisional military government until the Celestial snakes have been purged, at which point an election will be held to pick a new monarch to oversee Equestria." Iron Rose continued, getting the same mix of approval and stunned silence from the crowds.
"Like any wartime government, we need funds; as such, we shall be levying a monthly income tax across our territories. Members of our army will be tax-exempt, as reward for their efforts in the fight to save Equestria. Regular citizens will pay a tax of twenty percent of their income. Members of the Temple of Vision will only pay ten percent, as the Temple is already contributing and has already contributed a great deal towards protecting our country from the changeling menace. Members of any organization of changeling-sympathizers will pay a tax of forty five percent; after all, they're the ones who allowed the changelings to perpetrate many massacres during the ridiculous period of so-called
integration, it's only fair for them to pay substantially more than everypony else to help fix the problems they caused. This will include all members of that pathetic little cult of hippies in this town;
Peacekeepers, is what they call themselves. Those vermin have made no secret that they all harbor sympathies to the enemy; they've allowed themselves to become puppets of the enemy, and now they will pay for it with gold, or blood if they refuse to pay their dues to society." Iron Rose continued.
"On a related note, all advocation of support for the enemy shall be considered an act of high-treason, punishable by public execution. This includes the heresy preached by the apostate
Peacekeeper and his followers; frankly, I'd like to have every last one of them hanged right here and now, but, at the request of Visionary, we are extending a one-time pardon to Peacekeeper and his fellow heretics. They may avoid execution only on the condition that they cease all attempts to spread sympathies for the enemy, and pay taxes to our government; this offer will not be extended a second time. Also, on a note related to taxes, financing the enemy shall also be considered an act of high-treason, punishable by death. Finally, if you are interested in joining our righteous cause and taking up arms to free Equestria from the changeling menace, come speak to Visionary or I at the Great Temple in the town square. The era of changeling appeasement is over, everypony; the era of retaliation has begun." Iron Rose concluded, half the town happy to see an end to Twilight Sparkle's regime and the other half furious about it.
With Ponyville under their control, the rebels were quick to set about repairing some of the damage from the battle, especially the damaged guard stations, and set about fortifying the town to make it a long-term bastion of the rebellion. The rebels began digging trenches around the town, barricading and reinforcing buildings of strategic and tactical value, and other such actions. Twilight Sparkle's castle in the middle of town was plundered and ransacked, everything of value being looted to fuel the rebel cause, the building itself being militarized and turned into the local rebel HQ; with Twilight herself and her friends off in Canterlot with Celestia, nopony was there to stop them. Some of the rebels wanted to simply destroy it to send an even clearer message to the traitorous changeling-sympathizers, but Visionary and Iron Rose both agreed that it would be far more useful for them to convert it into a rebel fortress; besides, blowing it up would cost a lot of resources that they couldn't afford to waste. With the occupation speech out of the way, Visionary, the apostles, and Chief Thunderhooves met in the castle to discuss plans for the future.
"I still can't believe you're allowing that worthless apostate to get away with spreading his traitorous filth in our town. They're criminals, vermin; their kind are the ones responsible for allowing the changeling swine into our country in the first place. We ought to butcher every last one of them for their crimes against ponykind; they're a security threat, we ought to take them out now before they stab us in the back just like their changeling friends will." Iron Rose said to Visionary, clearly unhappy about the Peacekeepers getting off with such a lenient punishment.
"I know you never knew him, but Peacekeeper used to be a good pony. Then, one day, he just...changed. He was corrupted by the changeling demons, just like the Princesses were. He did good deeds once upon a time; I believe they're worth allowing him one chance to renounce his heresy and begin acting like a civilized pony again. If he refuses, and continues spreading evil throughout our land, then you're welcome to make him face justice for his actions." Visionary responded.
"Changelings don't change; neither do changeling sympathizers. Their kind are nothing but demons, beyond redemption; they'll stop at nothing to destroy Equestria, and you know it. We already know they're all in cahoots with the enemy; we ought to kill them now before they bring in an army of abominations to destroy our town. It's filthy demon-lovers like them that have allowed mass-murder to take place all throughout our country; we need to make them suffer for it, damn it." Healing Hooves declared. The mare was, without a doubt, the most fanatically anti-changeling member of the Temple of Vision; she barely survived the changeling attack on Ponyville, the scars all over her body testifying to that fact, and she had grown an even deeper hatred of them with every passing day.
"We can't just kill half the ponies in town! Yes, I know they're immoral, yes, I know they supported Twilight Sparkle's despicable plot to destroy Equestria and repopulate it with changelings; regardless, we can't just kill every last one of them! We need taxes to support our army, we need workers for our economy; if we just go ahead and kill a few thousand ponies, it'll deprive us of vast quantities of labor, resources, and tax revenues. We'll continue to exterminate the changelings wherever we find them; the other Peacekeepers, however, we ought to give a second chance. Maybe they'll realize the error of their ways and discover the truth about the changeling race. If they continue preaching their treacherous and heretical sentiments, then we'll execute Peacekeeper and the other ringleaders of their little cult; for now, we'll give them one and only one chance to stop what they're doing and become productive members of society." Visionary responded.
"The Prophet is right; it would be illogical to kill thousands of perfectly good taxpayers. It would deprive us of much needed funds, and also hurt our image throughout Equestria; we're here to exterminate the monsters invading our country, not blindly massacre our subjects. We do, however, need to implement strict and effective means of rooting out changeling sympathies in our territory. I can already predict that many enemy sympathizers will continue preaching their lunacy in spite of our prohibition against it; we need ways to find out who those ponies are, and have them arrested. With your permission, my Prophet, I will gather some of the other unicorns members of the Temple, and I will start an Inquisition force to hunt down and execute anypony who harbors changelings or attempts to spread support for the enemy. I know a lot of spells, including scrying spells; I can get a few other magic users, and spy on the Peacekeepers and any other group we suspect might be supporting the enemy. We'll be able to find anypony violating our laws, and we'll punish them for it, I assure you." Deep Insight spoke up.
"You have my approval, Deep Insight; I trust you will be an effective instrument for purging our society of those who attempt to spread evil sentiments. Go with my blessing; more importantly, go with the blessing of the All-Maker." Visionary responded. With a nod, Deep Insight left the room to gather some of the other magicians in the ToV and start an Inquisition to find and eliminate changeling-sympathizing preachers.
"Speaking of rooting out the enemy, there's something I wish to do, my Prophet. It's important to have as many ponies as possible on the battlefield, fighting the armies of the changeling puppets, but we also need to dedicate resources to finding and destroying changeling hives which might be hidden in our territory. With your blessing, I will found an order of changeling hunters, and set about tracking down and exterminating changelings in our land while Deep Insight goes after their pony puppets. I'm happy to be on the front lines, fighting the tyrant Celestia and her army, but it's the abominations who murdered my family; my honor demands I avenge them, and kill as many of the abominations as possible. I've already heard rumors from some of the buffalo about hives of changelings hiding out southwest of Appaloosa; maybe they're true, maybe they aren't. If they're right, and we do have entire hives of the abominations hiding out near the frontier, we need a dedicated order of changeling hunters to hunt them down and wipe them out. It would be my utmost honor to be the one to oversee such an order." Broken Promise said. He had a special hatred towards the abominations, after having his wife and children all be murdered by them, matched only by Healing Hooves, his good friend; he'd wanted vengeance against their kind ever since. Before Visionary could respond, Healing Hooves spoke up, expressing her approval.
"He brings up an important point, you know; killing the demons' puppets is important, but it's even more important to exterminate the demons themselves. If we focus all of our resources on fighting the Celestial traitors and their armies, the demons will attack us from behind, in their typical demonic ways, and ruin everything. We need to strike relentlessly at them, rooting them out and exterminating them wherever we find them, to ensure the security of our settlements. It's the abominable changeling demons who are our real enemies; they must die first and foremost. With your blessing, I will join Broken Promise in embarking on such a valiant quest; I'd be beyond honored to use my skills to help destroy their evil race once and for all." Healing Hooves said. Again, before Visionary could say anything, Iron Rose said something.
"We need all the resources and all the soldiers we can get on the front lines, fighting the traitor Princesses and their supporters; I am remiss to part with even one soldier. However, securing our flanks from the changelings is too important to ignore, my Prophet; Broken Promise and Healing Hooves are right. I recommend devoting a portion of our soldiers, supplies, and weapons to specifically fighting the changelings; I'll make do with what's left. I'm certain we'll be getting hundreds, if not thousands, of volunteers from the big cities flocking to our banner soon enough; many good ponies, who realize the corruption of the Celestial government and the evils of the changelings, will join us. We're going to be able to spare some of our resources to hunting down the changelings, I'm sure of it." Iron Rose commented.
"Very well, so it shall be. Broken Promise, Healing Hooves, I, with the power vested in me by the All-Maker, ordain you two the first Knights of Foresight; go with the All-Maker's blessing, and embark on your quest to find and eliminate the abominations wherever they may be hiding. Recruit whoever you need to help make it possible, and take whatever supplies you need. I suggest talking to Deep Insight, and getting some of his magician friends to come with you; their magic is extraordinarily useful for finding the abominations. Go, investigate these rumors of abominations near Appaloosa; if they're true, find them and kill every last one of them, as is commanded by the All-Maker." Visionary said. Broken Promise and Healing Hooves bowed, and departed to begin gathering ponies and buffalo to join their order and assist in their righteous quest to purge Equestria of changelings.
"As for the rest of you, we need to get a government set up to administrate our territories. Lost Fortune, you've got more experience with money than anypony else here; I'm appointing you to serve as treasurer for our government. I task you with collecting taxes, managing the budget, finding any treasures or artifacts which might prove useful for our cause, and the like." Visionary continued.
"Really? Well, it's not the most exciting job in the world, but I guess it needs to be done. Alright, fine, I'll get on it right away." The pegasus mare responded, going off to recruit some bureaucrats and set up an economic administration for the rebellion's territories.
"Helping Hoof, I want you to set up a new aid camp to provide medical attention and shelter to our wounded soldiers, and to any civilians, changeling-sympathizers excluded. A lot of damage was done today; we need somepony helping deal with the aftermath." Visionary continued.
"I'll get on it right away, my Prophet. I'm always happy to help out." Helping Hooves said, leaving to get to work setting up an aid center to provide both medical care for the wounded and shelter for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed during the battle.
"Thunderhooves, my Chief, I ask that you and the warriors of our tribe serve as a temporary guard force in the streets of Ponyville; there's going to be unrest here, I can already predict it. If the changeling-sympathizers start agitating here, the tribe's help will be invaluable for keeping order." Visionary continued.
"We will, of course, be glad to assist, High-Priest. Our forces stand ready to fight any uprising by enemy sympathizers." Chief Thunderhooves agreed, heading off to lead his tribesmen in their effort to keep order in the town.
"As for the rest of you, Braeburn, Green-Hoof, Golden Quill, and Orange Peel, I want you all to assist me in expanding our evangelical mission here in Ponyville. We need to get more people to see and embrace the All-Maker's truth; it's the best way to start undoing Twilight Sparkle's efforts to corrupt the minds of the townsfolk, and get the changeling-sympathizers to start realizing the inherent falsehoods of their vile ideology. With the holy artifacts provided to us by the All-Maker, we should have a much easier time than before convincing more creatures to see the theological truths we have to provide." Visionary finished, the rest of his apostles joining him in setting up a propaganda ministry of sorts, beginning large-scale missionary work in Ponyville. It was essential, after all, to sway as many ponies as possible to their way of thinking, in order to safeguard the progress they had made.
Fillydelphia,
Lord Philip Blackwing
Everything was prepared, everyone was in position. Lord Philip's army stood in the outskirts of Fillydelphia, reinforced with both more munitions and more expendable front-line soldiers, the changeling navy swiftly approaching the city to help out during the battle. It will well after dark, the night of the Summer Sun Celebration, when Philip and his troops arrived in Fillydelphia's outskirts. Their artillery was readied, and their troops were in position; everything was ready for a grand assault on the pony metropolis. The sledge was wrought that would smash to naught all who would dare stand between the King of the Griffins and his prize, the city of Fillydelphia. It didn't matter who he was commanding, it didn't matter who he was fighting; he stood prepared to win glory in the name of House Blackwing, and the Griffin Kingdom. He stood prepared to win splendor and vast riches for himself and his family. He stood prepared to follow in the footsteps of his many ancestors, leaving a military legacy that would last until the end of time; that was what mattered, more than anything.
"It is time. Let the massacre begin." Lord Philip, donning the traditional black griffin armor and wearing his crown upon his head, looking the part of a glorious and mighty griffin king, ordered his changeling subordinates, who, without delay, initiated the battle. Artillery rained from the sky down upon Fillydelphia, indiscriminately targeting both military installations and major civilian centers, as changeling troops advanced upon the city from all sides, both from the ground and sky, butchering everyone in their sight. The Equestrian forces in Fillydelphia were quick to organize a response, with pony soldiers rushing to defensive positions to fight the enemy; it was of little hindrance to Philip's forces, who were more than prepared to deal with whatever resistance the ponies might have to offer. The ponies were far more prepared than they were back in Cloudsdale, but better by comparison doesn't mean good; it was nighttime, and most ponies were sleeping, and the Equestrians were most likely anticipating an attack on Canterlot, where the pony Princesses were hanging out, rather than Fillydelphia. The Equestrian military forces in Fillydelphia did everything they could to fight back the dreaded enemy, but, as was typical for ponykind, they simply didn't have the martial prowess to stop them.
Ships from Manehattan quickly began to arrive in the waters surrounding Fillydelphia, bombarding the city with cannons and artillery, wreaking more havoc upon the ponies and their woefully sub-par military. Many ponies began getting on boats and attempting to flee the city through the sea; the changeling naval forces blew their refugee boats out of the water without mercy, spraying the wrecks with machine gun fire to guarantee a complete lack of survivors. The thousands of changeling soldiers surrounding Fillydelphia provided the same treatment to any ponies who tried to run or fly away from the city, gunning down anypony they saw attempting to flee. Under strict orders from Lord Philip, the changelings killed everypony on sight, the streets of the metropolis city being piled with body after body as the merciless and ruthless griffin advanced alongside his forces.
Philip himself, alongside his family, fought alongside their changeling subordinates on the front lines. Lord Philip was a firm believer in leading by example, after all; he was among the mightiest warriors the Griffin Kingdom had to offer, and his courage on the battlefield served as an inspiration for those he commanded. Many ponies died by his blade, soldiers and bystanders alike. He fought with a fierceness, a fearlessness, and a boldness which few mortal creatures could match, as any true griffin should. Groups of ponies panicked and fled throughout the wide streets of the vast city as the changelings and their Blackwing commanders continued their advance, fires breaking out all throughout Fillydelphia as artillery continued raining from the sky. The pony soldiers put up a pathetic resistance the whole way, being quickly overwhelmed everywhere they tried to fight the great changeling army.
Chaos swept throughout Fillydelphia for hours, every corner of the metropolitan city being filled with bloodshed and havoc. After a sustained period of major pressure from every flank, the pony garrison in the city started routing, their formations shattering as soldiers, overwhelmed with fear from Lord Philip's brutal tactics, fled for their lives, being met only with further mercilessness from the enemy. Before long, the ponies had nowhere left to run, the changelings encroaching from every side; squads of soldiers made final stands throughout the streets of the great city, only to be swiftly butchered by the changelings and the Blackwings. The city itself crumbled as its defenders were gradually eliminated, massive skyscrapers and great pony monuments burning down to nothing or being blown to rubble by enemy artillery. It was a sight that nopony was likely to forget any time soon.
"Long is the arm of Blackwing, and swift is the blade!" Lord Philip declared as yet another pony soldier met their end to his rapier. He and his kinsmen were in an alley, the massive battles slowly subsiding around them as the Equestrian forces were gradually wiped out. Philip had just finished chasing down several pony troops as they attempted to flee, each meeting a swift end as Philip's blade met their flesh. Philip's armor was covered with dents, his rapier stained with the blood of the fallen, a testament to his valor in the battle. It was a shame, really, that ponies made for such easy prey; his triumph would be even more glorious if he actually had a worth enemy to face against. Unbeknown to Philip, such a foe would be appearing momentarily.
Turrak Storm-Hammer
The great black minotaur had just arrived in Fillydelphia earlier that day, his wooden caravel docking at a pier on the outskirts of town; already, he found himself fascinated by everything about it. There were buildings reaching into the clouds, and every street was flooded with ponies; there were probably hundreds of thousands of inhabitants in the city's streets. Not only that, but the weather was perfect, the temperature mild, a vast contrast to the minotaur homeland. It was a city the likes of which Turrak could never have imagined; just the sheer scale of it alone was unfathomable. Most minotaur settlements didn't have any more than a few dozen inhabitants, let alone a few hundred thousand; to make things even more unbelievable, some of the local ponies told the minotaur that there were several more cities, just like Fillydelphia, in their country! It was vastly different from the countries Turrak had visited before; not even the zebras had cities built to such a scale.
Still, as impressive as their building abilities were, the ponies themselves...well, they lived a lifestyle which greatly clashed with the warrior-culture of the minotaur race. Minotaurs were hard-living warriors, surviving even in the harshest of harsh environments; the ponies, however, seemed to live a soft, frivolous lifestyle, with warriors being few and far between. They had an army of sorts, which they called their Royal Guard, but their society could hardly be considered one which was prepared for battle. The ponies typically made a living with some of the easiest tasks imaginable; ponies were paid to take packages and deliver them from place to place, ponies were paid to simply grow flowers for other ponies, ponies were paid to carry around plates of food at dining institutions, there were ponies with their entire lives dedicated to some of the most simple tasks possible. It was ridiculous; in minotaur society, people did things for themselves, instead of paying others to do it for them. That was to say nothing of how the ponies governed themselves; every settlement would pick several ponies, based on nothing but popular demand rather than merit, and these ponies would get paid vast sums of cash to congregate in a place called Parliament and vote on how to resolve issues.
The pony government was nonsensical, as far as Turrak was concerned; the Code of Zamtagar was a much simpler, much more effective way to run a society. The strongest minotaur ruled with absolute authority, and had the final say on everything, with no room for policy disputes; it ensured the strength and stability of the minotaur strongholds. The ponies, however, had such a divisive, ineffective way to govern their country; a large group of ponies put into power solely because of charisma, rather than merit, all having a say in what laws to implement, with decisions being made entirely based on number of votes, if a decision could even be reached at all. It was utterly ridiculous; why the local ponies implemented such a truly absurd government was beyond him, especially considering the fact that their country was at war. War calls for swift, decisive action by a strong leader, not months of debates and consideration by a group of pansies, though the ponies didn't really seem to grasp that fact. Turrak imagined that the vast numbers of the ponies was the only reason they hadn't been wiped out yet by their enemies.
Speaking of their enemies, Turrak learned about a race of insects, shape-shifters, known as
changelings, which lived in and around Equestria; supposedly, there was an entire empire of them which was invading the pony nation, and occupied a massive city, even larger than Fillydelphia, to the north. Apparently, they'd recently pillaged a floating city made of clouds; from what he had learned about the ponies thus far, he imagined it probably wasn't a particularly difficult task. Their race was divided into many societies, known as hives; it reminded Turrak a lot of how the minotaur realm was divided into numerous small strongholds. First and foremost among the changeling leaders was a queen known as Chrysalis, an iron-fisted conqueror, ruler of the insect empire; she sounded much more impressive to Turrak than the pony leaders did. Turrak contemplated ways he could profit off of the war between the shape-shifters and the ponies; becoming a smith for their armies didn't really sound feasible, since traditional arms and armor seemed unpopular in Equestria, but he could still sign up as a mercenary for one side or another. Minotaurs were very strong, and very hard to come by, after all; he'd no doubt be able to make a lot of money as a soldier of fortune.
The minotaur retired for the night in a pony tavern, selling drinks, a bar as they called it; the alcohol they served was pretty terrible, far weaker than the drinks the yaks made up in YakYakistan. Turrak was interrupted, however, when loud explosions and gunfire started echoing through the vast city; he left the building and saw what he could only imagine were the changelings he'd heard so much about, attacking the city from every direction. The pony army got together and tried to fight back, but, well, they didn't do a very good job at defending; it's to be expected from a soft-living, decadent society, where the art of war is neglected in favor of luxuries and frivolities. Turrak, always ready for a good fight, decided to get in on the action; already in his armor, he took out his war-hammer and started fighting the insect invaders. They were somewhat surprisingly weak and fragile; he smashed bug after bug, the minotaur being stronger, faster, and more durable than anything the changelings could throw at him. Turrak had lived by the sword his entire life; as was to be expected from a true warrior, he was more than a match for a few pitiful little insects.
Eventually, he fought his way into a dark alleyway, crushing several more of the insects as he did. Suddenly, he heard a voice at the other end of the alley, and he looked to see several members of a race which he had not seen before; a mix of a lion and a bird, by the looks of it. He'd heard a few rumors about their race from the ponies; griffins, they were called, if he remembered correctly. A rather fancy looking griffin warrior wearing a crown and a suit of battle-worn armor boasted about his skills with a blade as he cut down several pony soldiers. He seemed like he could potentially be a worthwhile adversary, something which seemed to be in short supply at that moment; Turrak was quick to challenge him.
"You call yourself a warrior?! Ha! You're pathetic! Even my great-grandmother could've killed a few pansy little ponies!" Turrak's voice rang out.
"And who are you, pray tell, to dare challenge the King of the Griffins like this?!" The black griffin replied, stamping his talons against the ground. The minotaur warrior then revealed himself, stepping out of the shadows and into the sights of the enemy, his giant war-hammer dripping with insect blood.
"They call me Storm-Hammer, because my hammer strikes down with the force of a thunderstorm! I've been lookin' for a worthy opponent all night, so come on, you little four-legged bird; come and face a warrior of true mettle!" The minotaur shouted, charging up to the griffin and swinging his hammer down at him. He flew to the side, narrowly avoiding Turrak's strike, the concrete ground cracking as the hammer struck it. The minotaur swung his hammer again, the griffin ducking out of the way, the impact knocking a hole in the brick wall of the alley. The griffin took an opportunity while Turrak was pulling his hammer out of the wall, and lunged at the large minotaur, jamming his rapier in its shoulder. The griffin's kinsmen, meanwhile, just watched the spectacle in front of them; after all, Turrak had challenged their leader to a duel, and it would be an act of dishonor in griffin culture to intervene.
The minotaur let out a pained shout, dropping his hammer; he grabbed the griffin and hurled him across the alley into a brick wall, the creature feeling pain course throughout his body as his back landed on solid brick. It wasn't enough to stop him, though; the griffin proceeded to lunge once more at Turrak, sinking his talons into his poorly protected neck, the minotaur providing a shriek as it slammed its fists into the griffin's armored chest. The griffin was knocked to the ground, where he grabbed his fallen blade and used his wings to swiftly get back up as Turrak retrieved his hammer. The griffin, using his natural mobility as a winged creature, flew around Turrak, hacking at it with his rapier, the minotaur trying and failing to hit the swift griffin. After several attempts, Turrak was able to successfully hit the griffin with his hammer, sending it flying into the ground, his black armor cracking. The griffin was completely winded, almost crippling pain filling him; with the last of his energy, he hurled his sword up at the minotaur, cutting the side of its face and hitting one of its horns. The minotaur proceeded to sling his hammer into a holster on his back with a pained groan, then spoke to the injured griffin.
"Ha, that was one of the best fights I've had in years! You fight pretty well, for one of your kind, anyway. Most opponents I go up against are too crippled with fear to actually put up a real fight, or they're so weak and pathetic they die within a few seconds!" Turrak said as he helped the griffin up.
"I tell ya what; you're one of the best warriors I've seen so far, in this country of pansies. Not many creatures can stand up to a minotaur like myself, especially up close and personal. How about I join your little crew here?" The minotaur asked.
"Really?...After challenging me, and fighting me...now you want to join my side?" The griffin replied, very confused by the minotaur's statement, pausing a bit in between statements as his injuries made it a bit difficult to talk.
"Yeah, sure! I mean, why not, right? We minotaurs respect strength, and we love bloodshed and pillaging; you seem like you've got all three going on right now. So, I'll fight on your side, get in on the action, and I'll take a cut of the loot; sounds like a fair deal to me." Turrak answered.
"Very well, I suppose...I am Lord Philip Blackwing, King of the Griffins...It's a...pleasure to make your acquaintance." The winded and still confused griffin responded, retrieving his blade and sheathing it.
"I'm Turrak Storm-Hammer, a warrior from the minotaur lands. You're the King of the Griffins, eh? Sounds like an impressive title. What're you doing here in this pony city?" Turrak asked.
"I'm serving as the commander of the changeling army, for the time being...My kingdom is currently under the control of a cursed, illegitimate king, presuming to sit upon my rightful throne...I'm helping these changelings ransack and pillage the pony country, and I'm taking a rather substantial cut of the loot for myself, to finance an army to retake my land with." Philip answered, gradually regaining his energy.
"You had your land taken from you, too? Sounds like myself; I used to be the chief of a great minotaur stronghold, in our homeland, until everything was taken away by a bunch of filthy bandits who killed my family and pillaged my home." Turrak replied, relating a bit to Philip's cause.
"Well, we're glad to have you on our side now, mister Storm-Hammer." Philip responded. Before they could say anything more, a changeling came up and interrupted the two of them.
"Eh, Lord Philip, we've captured the city; the last of the enemy troops have fallen. Do you two...need a doctor, over here?" The changeling said, noticing the pair's injuries.
"Yes, summon a pair of medics as quickly as can be arranged...in the meantime, start putting the ponies to work as slaves, cleaning up this mess, and begin looting anything of value." Philip said, a couple of changeling field-medics quickly showing up and providing treatment to Philip and Turrak's wounds. They would get to work ransacking the remains of the ruined city soon enough; for now, though, they had injuries to deal with.