That Which Crawls Below

Sirens blared in the middle of the night. Ponies were running everywhere, many of them crying out in confusion. The Equestrian Royal Guard were doing their best to contain the madness, but there were simply too few of them assigned to the evacuation. They worried that they may not be able to get everyone prepared in time. They were running out of time.

Twilight awoke shortly after the first siren sounded. She wearily clambered out of bed wondering if it was a drill or if somepony had disturbed one of the large and dangerous creatures living in the Everfree Forest, something which seemed to happen far more often than it logically should. It took her a moment to register what was different about this time: there were ponies shouting orders. Twilight snapped awake, suddenly aware that something was wrong. By this point, Spike had made his way up the stairs to her room.

“Spike, grab the emergency kit and meet me at the town hall; I’m going on ahead to see what I can do to help!”

Before Spike could inform her that he had already grabbed the emergency kit, she disappeared with a snap and the distinctive flash of magic. Sighing, Spike trudged towards the door.

Twilight reappeared outside the town hall and looked around for someone who appeared to be in charge. It took her only a moment to see who was handing out orders, but it took her several minutes to make her way through the crowd of confused ponies who had gathered, many of them looking scared. She noticed that the guard forces seemed grossly insufficient to deal with the number of inhabitants in Ponyville. Eventually, she pushed through the throng made it up to the officer in charge.

“Um, excuse me, sir, I’m Twilight Sparkle. Is there anything I can do to help?”

She thought he was about to shout at the guards to have her taken away, but then he seemed to remember something. “Ah, miss Sarkle, a pleasure, I’m sure. Several of your friends are waiting in the Town Hall. Officer Jowels will see you inside. I’m General Ploddington, by the way.” At the mention of Officer Jowles a pony, who Twilight took to be the stallion in question, appeared and made a respectful nod towards her. Taking this as her cue, she followed him into the town hall.

Inside, she found most of her friends gathered around a large, wooden table. She saw Pinky Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy. She assumed that Applejack had not yet arrived since Sweet Apple Acres was a good bit further than anypony else’s house. Most of them looked tired; Twilight even thought she could see a hair out of place in Rarity’s mane. Pinky Pie, of course, was as enthusiastic as always.

“Oh hey Twilight! I’m so glad you could come to this midnight-madness pony pajama party!”

“Hi girls, um, do any of you actually know why we’re in here? Have they told you anything?” she asked, stifling a yawn.

It was Rainbow Dash who volunteered an answer, “Nope, they haven’t told us a single thing. They just told us to wait in here while they get the rest of us. Just sitting here is driving me CRAZY!”

Just then they heard the door opening again. A clearly out of breath Applejack trotted inside along with General Ploddington.

“Sorry ahm late, everypony. Things are a little hectic down at the farm.”

The general cleared his throat, “If you’d please take a seat, I can tell you all why you’re here and why Ponyville is in an uproar.” He waited a moment for Applejack to make her way around the table. “Equestria itself is under attack by a foe we believed to be extinct. Canterlot was hit the hardest; the princesses are still fighting there to continue to buy time for the surviving civilians. They are on the move throughout Equestria and the Royal Guard is stretched thin dealing with them.”

“Who would want to attack Equestria?” Twilight asked.

“From the reports we’ve gathered, it would appear to be Devourers. They were last seen in Equestria roughly 500 years ago. After the War of the Mountain, we believed they had been wiped out.”

There was a noticeable silence in the room. They all knew about the wars of the past, even if such things seemed quite foreign to their peaceful existence. Indeed, the War of the Mountain was the last major conflict that Equestria had been involved in. It was Rainbow Dash who seemed to recover from the shocking news first.

“Well, what are we waiting here for?! We have to go and help the princesses!”

“I have gathered you all here because Princess Celestia wrote this letter for you all before she went to hold them off. I do not know its contents, only that she entrusted me to bring it to all of you. Allow me to read it.”
“Dear Elements of Harmony,

I hope this letter reaches you quickly as the situation is dire. As I write this Canterlot is under siege by an old enemy. They are much stronger than the ones we fought in the past, and they may be more numerous as well. I would like each of you to lend your talents to aid in our struggle. Luna and I will be along as quick as we can, but there is a task that we must complete before we can help everypony finish this brutal conflict.

Fluttershy, I know you are too gentle a soul to take a life, but that does not mean you cannot help your friends. That is why I want you to help the in the field hospital. Many creatures other than ponies will be involved in this conflict, and we simply do not have enough ponies trained to help them. Help those that you can, and ease the passing of those you cannot.

Rainbow Dash, you are one of the fastest fliers in all of Equestria. I would like you to help scout areas from the air and report enemy locations to our troops. I know you will never abandon your fellow ponies, so I ask you to help them avoid the traps and snares our enemies lay before us.

Pinky Pie, I would like you to lend your baking skills to the Royal Canteen and your cheer to the soldiers themselves. Soldiers need food just as regular ponies, but they also need somepony who can cheer them up after seeing the horrors of war. As the Element of Laughter, you are uniquely suited to helping them keep their hopes alive.

Rarity, you are one of the most productive and creative dressmakers in the land. While we have little need for dresses on the battlefield, we DO have plenty of need for camouflage and warm clothes for fighting in colder areas. You have shown yourself quite capable of making large quantities of clothing. There will be plenty of ponies who need their armor lined with fur. There will also be plenty of broken straps. It’s not the most glamorous of jobs, but it must be done, and I believe that you will help save somepony’s life.

Applejack, I would like you to help guard the supply trains. They are invaluable to our armies. In addition, I trust that you would never attempt to manipulate or unjustly profit from such a critical task. I hope that you will live up to all my expectations.

And to my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, it is from you I require the greatest sacrifice. I am asking you to actually lead ponies into battle against what is truly one of Equestria’s most fearsome foes. I will not lie to you; you will be horrified by what you will see. It may be that you will never forgive yourself for what will come to pass in these next few days. I understand the position I am placing you into, and I am sorry. I would gladly hide you from all the horrors of the world so that you might never know the guilt that comes with making impossible decisions or experience the night terrors that accompany failure. It is with a heavy heart that I promote you to the rank of High-General. Accompanying this rank is the title of Duchess. You answer only to Luna and myself, nopony else will question your choices. I trust you will use your newfound influence to end this war as well as can be done.

Above all else, I want you all to remember to never give up hope. Even when things are at their worst, look towards the future; so long as you draw breath, so does hope.

-Her Royal Majesty,

Celestia