Chapters
Five years. Five long years. That’s how long it has been since Queen Chrysalis of the Changeling Empire first attacked Equestria since her initial defeat at the hooves of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. After her forces were expelled, Chrysalis immediately began formulating a new plan to conquer Equestria. She had several teams of Changelings infiltrate nearly every major city in the land of the ponies. Then, she gave the signal, and all Tartarus broke loose. The infiltration caught the Equestrian military by surprise, and they suffered defeat after defeat. But then, rallied by their goddesses, they pushed the Changelings out of the cities and all the way back to the Changeling Empire.
It was clear that Chrysalis had failed yet again. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had to make a monumental decision: pull back and risk the Changeling Empire invading again, or push on and crush them permanently. The thought of ending a race of creatures, no matter how troublesome, was painful for the sisters to even consider. But they made the call; it had to be done. They could not allow the Changelings to ever return and cause such destruction again.
So Equestria’s soldiers marched on, scoring victories at every confrontation. The Changelings outnumbered the ponies, but they lacked organization and morale. Numbers meant nothing against foes lead by a pair of goddesses. Every day, the Changelings lost thousands of troops and failed to put so much as a dent in the Equestrian forces. Soon word had come that Twilight Sparkle had risen to Alicornhood and the appearance of the long lost Chrystal Empire, which Princess Cadence took control of, increased the size of the Equestrian army. As her Empire crumbled, Chrysalis sat upon her throne in silence.
The Queen had seen better days. The stress of waging war, particularly the aspect of losing it, had taken its toll on her mind and appearance. Her deep blue mane was rough and tangled. Her once-glistening emerald eyes had faded, and slight wrinkles now gathered under them. Chrysalis hung her head and covered her face with her hooves. She knew she had lost, but she refused to accept this as a fact. No. She would do everything in her power to save her homeland and its inhabitants. Everything…and anything…
She needed a wild card. Something the Equestrians didn’t have, something that would give her the edge that she desperately needed. But she couldn’t think of anything. The Queen shook her head in frustration. The painful reality of her situation was burrowing into her psyche. Nothing in the world could save her Empire now…wait…nothing in the world…nothing in this world…
Chrysalis gathered all of her guards and sages in the grand atrium of the capital’s castle. The sages had created a large, dark green symbol on the black-tiled floor using a powdery substance. This would be where the target of the Queen’s magic would appear. The guards stood a fair distance away from the symbol in a circular formation. Clad in obsidian chainmail, they would be ready for anything if the target turned out to be hostile. With time wasting away, Chrysalis approached the symbol.
“So, it has all come down to this…” Chrysalis muttered as she lowered her head and pointed her jagged horn at the powder.
“Mother…if you can hear me…give me strength in this dire time…I will not let my Empire die like a whisper in the wind…” she whispered to herself.
Seconds after she finished speaking, a blast of energy shot from her horn and set the symbol ablaze with brilliant neon-green flame. Chrysalis grunted as she focused every ounce of her power and magic on the symbol. It was agonizing; her wrinkles grew worse and her eyes dimmed further. The flames grew massive in size and threatened to lick at the ceiling of her gigantic castle. The green light flickered and glowed, reflecting off the faces of the guards, who had slowly backed away in fear.
“Just…a little…MORE!” Chrysalis screamed.
With one final burst of energy, everyone in the atrium was sent flying backwards and tumbling, including Chrysalis herself. Several sages and guards hurried to her side.
“Are you alright, My Queen? Do you need help?” they all asked nervously.
“Away from me, fools!” she shouted as she gathered herself and struggled to stand up. She felt weaker than ever; her vision was blurry but slowly correcting itself.
“Did it work? Well, did it?!” her angry voice boomed and echoed throughout the vast hallways and corridors.
There, in the center of the symbol, stood a large object that could be described as a giant peppershaker. Never before had such a thing been seen by anyone in this world. The Queen and her company stared in shock. On the top of its dome was a set of two glass bulbs and a rod with a strangely shaped torch. The metal was painted multiple colors, but they were too faded to recognize. On it seemed to be evidence of smoke coming from it. The middle of the figure had two more rods, both had three smaller appendages at the ends. The lower part of the thing had a mismatch of holes and spheres.
What surprised them the most was that the dome began to rotate, moving the torch-like rod around and the other two rods started to gain movement as well. Everything about this creature astounded Chrysalis and her company. Finally, the Queen cleared her throat and stepped forward boldly (after all, she did not want her minions to see any trace of fear in her).
“You there, creature. What are you, and from where do you hail?” The being turned to give the queen its full attention. The lights on the dome started to light up and small rasping sounds could be heard.
“I…”
“I AM…”
As it continuously tried to respond, its voice became a terrible electronic stacatto scream, which seemed to bypass her ears entirely.
“I AM A DALEK, MY SPECIES ORIGINATES FROM THE PLANET SCARO!”
“Dalek,” the Queen continued, “Do you have a name?”
The dalek continued to stare, “DALEKS DO NOT HAVE NAMES, NAMES ARE UNDER DALEKS, NAMES ARE FOR INFERIOR RACES!”
The dalek attempted to move, but only got to a foot or so before stopping. “MY MOVEMENT IS IMPAIRED, MAIN SYSTEMS ARE DAMAGED, I DEMAND ASSISTANCE!”
Chrysalis wanted to know more, but this dalek seemed seriously injured. All of that energy spent bringing him here would be in vain if he died. But time was short, and she couldn't risk taking too long to have him fully healed.
“Dalek, of Scaro, I have further questions for you. But for now, please allow my subjects to repair you. You are of no use to me in this state.”
As harsh as this sounded, it did not appear to phase the dalek. He merely nodded again and let himself be pushed away by a trio of Changeling sages. Chrysalis had ordered them to do their best to quickly patch him up to a point where his life was no longer in danger. She would learn more about this dalek, but first and foremost, she would get him to aid in the preservation of her Empire. One way, or another.
======
It had been a few hours since the dalek was taken away to be repaired. At first the changelings had no idea on how to help the dalek. Using their magic, they managed to completely repair the dalek’s travel machine. The dalek was no longer at Death’s doorstep.
After the summoning, Queen Chrysalis had returned to her throne to rest while she awaited the daleks return. She had recovered some of her strength when it entered the grand atrium. Now more aware than he was in his injured state, he was able to fully take in his surroundings. The castle was truly enormous: a testament to the skill of Changeling masonry. Its architecture reminded him of the Kaled cathedrals from the ruins of his home world. The great, black walls seemed to stretch upward endlessly towards dark sky. Majestic flying buttresses cascaded down from the walls to the glistening black tiles of the floor. The place was awe-inspiring, and but took no mind to them and continued forward.
A long, red velvet carpet lead from the massive oak doors of the castle all the way to Queen Chrysalis’ throne. Along each side of the carpet were onyx statues placed at even intervals, also leading all the way to the throne. As the dalek looked around to observe the statues, he noticed each one of them was unique and resembled the creatures of this place. The statues along the left side appeared to be males, while those on the right side were females.
“Ahem.”
The dalek’s eyestalk turned turned to look for the source of the voice. It was the Queen, still sitting on her throne, with a guard standing on each side of her. He assumed she wished to speak with him, and he obliged, slowly moving along the carpet to her. Upon reaching the throne, which had great arches stretching out from its sides, he looked up and then down. Chrysalis raised a brow. He clearly knew authority and respected it when he saw it. She already loved this attitude of his.
The dalek wasn’t quite sure what to think. Everything in this place was so strange, so inadequate for a dalek, but surprising non the less. The creatures were strange enough, but it astounded him at how they were capable of building such an Adonis of architecture. And this Supreme of theirs (or at least, he believed it to be their Supreme) intrigued him. He wasn’t sure what to think of her yet, but he kept his eyestalk bowed, one appendage pointing downwards and the other in the opposite direction.
Queen Chrysalis rose from her dark throne and slowly approached him. She was just as intrigued by him as he was by her. After circling him a few times, studying him, she returned to her throne.
“Rest,” she said sternly.
The dalek looked up to see the Queen’s eyes. They were strong, despite how much stress had affected them. A strand of her blue locks fell across her face, but she pulled it back over her ear, not breaking eye contact with the dalek.
“I assume you have many questions. I will indulge but a few of them with what answers I can provide. But I brought you here for a purpose, and my questions and desires supersede yours. Are we clear?”
The dalek stood silently, “AFFIRMATIVE!”
“Now then, ask.”
The dalek wasn’t quite sure where to begin. But this Queen seemed to be in a hurry, and it was not on his agenda to anger her.
“SUPREME,” he began, “WHERE AM I AND WHY AM I HERE?”
Chrysalis leaned back in her throne and crossed her hindlegs.
“You are in the black heart of the Changeling Empire, my home. We are a nation at war with our rival, Equestria. I will try to be brief with the history, as time is of the essence. Years ago, I attempted to invade their land, the land of the ponies.”
The dalek hesitated before continuing, “EXPLAIN?”
“That obviously caught you off guard. I assume such a thing is unheard of on your ‘Scaro.’ You will come to understand what I mean soon. As I was saying, my invasion failed. My entire nation was humiliated and bitter, and we refused to take such defeat lying down. Five years ago, I attacked yet again, with greater surprise than before on my side. Though victory came to us early, it was hollow, and we were forced back home yet again. But this time, it was different. The leaders of Equestria, a pair of sister goddesses—“
The dalek began to think in further confusion. Sentient ponies? Goddesses? What was next?
“—decided to finish us off, permanently. As the months dragged by, my cities burned, one by one, unable to resist the unbreakable Equestrian army. They will arrive here, at my capitol, in less than three days. With nowhere left to turn, I took a chance a spent nearly every ounce of my energy casting a spell.”
The dalek was becoming more and more interested with each statement. Each thing was stranger than the last, but barely affected him at this point. This couldn’t be a dream. It was too real. He didn’t remember ever having dreams in the first place. The dalek figured he might as well accept the information being fed to him as facts.
“This spell was by far the riskiest I have ever casted in all my years. It was meant to rip a random being from his or her dimension and transport them here. Whether or not it was a true success is yet to be declared. Now, tell me, dalek, who are you? And make it quick.”
“YOUR HIGHNESS, IN MY UNIVERSE I WAS A SCIENTIST AND A SOLDIER!”
Chrysalis’ faded eyes seemed to brighten at hearing this.
“I ONCED SERVED AS AN OFFICER TO THE DALEK CAUSE! WHICH WAS THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF ALL LIFE THAT WAS NOT DALEK? OVER TIME I BEGAN TO QUESTION MY LOYALTIES AND STARTED TO CREATE MY OWN ARMY OF DALEKS, I WAS THEN SENT TO THE DALEK ASYLUM!”
The Queen was confused as to why he was sent there.
“Why didn’t they just dismantle you like any other machine?” she urged him.
“DALEKS ARE NOT MACHINES, WE ARE ORGANIC CREATURES INSIDE A METAL CASING, AS TO WHY I WAS NOT EXTERMINATED, DALEKS ARE INCAPIBLE OF DESTROYING SUCH DEVINE HATRED, MY SUPREME?”
Chrysalis was taken aback by this statement. His species thought hatred was beautiful. Not only that, but he addressed her as “his supreme.” It was odd, but certainly not unwelcome.
“It is good to hear that you have experience in the ways of war. I have need of a…soldier like you. Here is what I propose.”
“I wish for you to serve in the military of the Changeling Empire. I believe you may be what we need to save our home and repel those foul Equestrians. Therefore, if you aid me, I will reward you beyond your wildest dreams. What do you say?”
No more than three seconds passed before the dalek took the stance from before.
“DALEKS HAVE NO NEED FOR REWARDS. ALL HAIL THE EMPRESS, THE LEADER OF THE CHANGELING AND NEW DALEK EMPIRE, WITH OUR POWER WE WILL GROW STRONGER, AND WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT WE WILL TAKE OUR RIGHTFUL PLACE AS THE SUPREME POWER OF THE UNIVERSE!!!! ALL WILL OBEY THE EMPRESS!!”
Chrysalis was shocked yet again. She had not anticipated such an outburst of loyalty. Not only had he denied her “generous” offer, he had also immediately expressed his desire to serve her.
“I…you…very well then! You will now be sworn in. Do you, dalek, swear your undying loyalty to me, your Qu...Empress, and to your new home, the Changeling Empire?
“YES, MY EMPRESS!”
“Do you swear to fight to the death for your Queen and your new home?”
“YES, MY EMPRESS!”
“And do you swear to obey my every command without question?”
“DALEKS OBEY WITHOUT QUESTION!”
“Then you will give yourself a name to show your loyalty.”
“IN THE NAME OF THE GREAT CREATOR, I WILL BE CALLED DAVROS!”
“Then, Davros of the Changeling Empire. You belong to me now, and never shall you leave my service. Is this understood?”
“I OBEY! I AM YOURS!”
Chrysalis grinned wider than she had ever done in the past five years. Her youthful appearance was returning thanks to this new hope. She only prayed that all of this would not be in vain. She still questioned his past and his reasons for his strange nature, but for now she had a war to tend to.
“The Equestrian army draws near. I will have a few of my subjects escort you to the front. Opaque Ridge will soon be the site of a deciding battle in this war, and I want you there as soon as possible. Leave my presence.”
Davros turned to leave, this time with four Changeling guards clad in obsidian chainmail at his sides. They lead him to the gigantic doors of the castle, which were slowly opening. He took a look out, and the heat of the summer sun touched his casing. He had big plans for this world, in the name of his new Empress.
Author's Note
Yeah, a dalek from the asylum, what will happen, just stay tuned, on the same dalek time, same dalek channel...and I'll see you guys next time...bye!
As Davros stepped outside, the initial warmth of the sun had become a grueling heat. Indeed, he had already begun to get irritated by it. The bright light was also hard to adjust his eye to. Though he was supposed to be in a hurry, neither he nor his escorts did any kind of hurrying. When his eye finally managed to adjust, he was able to take in the harsh reality of his situation.
All around him, he saw nothing but suffering. The city, which had obviously seen far better days, had fallen into disrepair and refugees crowded the streets. Had his new Empress not told him this was the capital, he would never have guessed it himself. He continued to look around, unable to take his eye away from the depressing sights. Many shops and homes had shattered and boarded-up windows with weeds growing through the stone bricks. The refugees had constructed flimsy wooden shacks everywhere.
As he passed by the crowds, the majority of them stared at Davros. He could see the crushing sadness and confusion in the eyes of every Changeling citizen. Some of them whispered, but for the most part, there was a deafening silence. One by one, they went back to whatever they were doing. A few smaller Changelings (Davros assumed these were children) kicked a rock around, doing their best to cope with their unfortunate circumstances. Their parents looked on with slight envy, wishing they could do the same. Adult and child alike were covered in grime and scratches. Many of them appeared malnourished and weak. Some wore shredded clothing, if it could even be called that.
As Davros and his escorts waded through the crowd, a filthy child ran up to Davros’ metallic skirt and stared up at him. An adult quickly pulled it away and gave Davros an apologetic look before disappearing into the crowd. He looked at his escorts. All of that black obsidian chain mail was absorbing the sunlight and overheating them. They were sweating far worse than anyling else. He had seen a great number of horrors in his young life, but things like this never got old. They always shook him to his core.
“Do you see?”
Davros heard an escort speak from behind him. He continued moving forward, but turned his dome slightly to indicate that he was listening.
“Do you see how we suffer? Do you see why we cannot fail?”
The escort spoke quietly, and Davros had to strain to hear him.
“The Equestrians delivered an ultimatum. None of us are to be spared. We live in squalor every waking moment, just hoping that Our Queen will lead us to salvation. It has become obvious that our invasion was a mistake. But we went too far. There are no more second chances. No amount of apologizing or reparations will save us from them now. We must now show our will to survive through blood and battle.”
Davros hung his eyestalk a bit as he continued forward.
“Do you know what it is like to watch everyone and everything you have ever loved die and crumble before your very eyes?”
A chill slithered up Davros’ metaphorical spine. He knew pain. He knew it very well.
“I was there when the first of our cities fell. I watched as my home burned with my family still inside. I couldn't do a thing. I was too weak. Now that damned memory tears at me with every beat of my broken heart.”
The escort’s words struck a chord within Davros. He felt a great deal of sympathy for this Changeling and his people, weather he liked it or not.
“We deserved to be driven out of Equestria. I understand that now, and I believe Our Queen does as well. She acted blindly out of revenge and pride. But we do not deserve this. No race deserves to be driven to the brink of extinction and wiped from the face of the world. See my brothers and sisters?”
Davros took another long look at the endless crowd of refugees before him. It was a lot to take in.
“I won’t let them go quietly. I won’t accept this injustice against them. You are one of us now. I can tell you know the brutal nature of war as well as I do. I hope Our Queen’s hope and trust in you is well-placed. If you can save us the way she believes you can, then I will defend you with my life, just as I would for every Changeling here.”
Davros felt a deep sense of confusion at hearing this. How one of these creatures could accept him so easily was astounding. A sense of pride for his new home stirred within him.
“Now you see. Now you see why we fight.”
Davros stopped and spun around to face this bold Changeling. The escort was taller than the others, his head reached up to Davros’ midsection. He seemed aged, but by no means was he old. His legs and chest were quite muscular, but a jagged scar led from the right side of his neck to halfway down his right foreleg. The Changeling escort’s left eye was pure white, a sharp contrast to the light blue of his other eye.
“WHAT IS YOUR DESIGNATION?” Davros inquired.
The escort had firmly locked his eyes with Davros’.
“I am called Soulweeper,” the escort responded.
Davros continued to look at the changeling escort. He then extended one of his appendages.
“I AM GLAD TO CALL YOU ‘BROTHER.’”
The escort remained silent for a moment before returning the grin and shaking Davros’ metallic hand with his hoof.
“We need to keep moving,” Soulweeper stated.
Davros nodded and the group quietly continued for the next two hours. The city was truly huge. When he had finally reached the colossal stone gates of the city, he looked back at the castle. Even from what seemed like four miles away, its huge dark spires menacingly twisted towards the sky. Once the gates had opened, Davros spotted a railroad station just outside. A train sat waiting with plumes of black smoke billowing out from its furnace.
“That will be taking us to Razrix Ridge. We best board as soon as possible,” Soulweeper muttered.
After a few minutes, they were chugging along quite fast and were passing through some barren farm fields on the outskirts of the capital. Though the fields were fairly large, only a few sparse areas had any crops, and even those were brown and decaying. A few Changeling farmers were attempting to harvest what they could, but it was futile. Davros even witnessed one particularly bony farmer collapse in a field as others rushed to his aid.
“Our primary source of food, our livestock, has all but run out due to lack of trade with our other now-conquered cities. As if that weren't bad enough, it appears as though even nature itself fights to end us by yielding withered grains. This is the worst famine I have ever seen in my life.”
Davros was intrigued at how Soulweeper seemed to know what he was thinking. It really did feel like the Changeling was close enough to be a brother. As the train now hurtled full speed along the tracks, the scorching sun began to set.
“It will be a few more hours until we reach the outpost at Razrix Ridge. There is no point in showing up exhausted. We should all get some sleep,” Soulweeper advised.
The escorts all leaned back and slowly dozed off. Davros glanced around the car. The fresh recruits had also fallen asleep. With nothing else to do but pass time, Davros stared out into space, and let his mind ease into this thoughts of victory.
======
“Five minutes to the station! Five minutes to the station!”
Davros opened his eye and blinked a few times. It was very early in the morning; the sun had barely peeked over the rolling hills. He glanced around the car and saw that only a few other groggy passengers had awakened. A few woke up at hearing the shout, but soon grumbled and fell back to sleep. To his right, Davros saw that Soulweeper had awakened and was staring intently out of the window in front of him. Davros followed his gaze and saw a small railroad station in the distance surrounded by what appeared to be hundreds of tents and short wooden towers.
“The Razrix Ridge outpost,” Soulweeper said quietly, so as not to disturb the remaining sleeping passengers.
Davros studied the outpost as it grew closer, and he turned to ask Soulweeper a question.
“WHY IS THIS LOCATION CALLED RAZRIX RIDGE?”
Soulweeper continued to stare ahead while he responded.
“A long ridge made of some jet black mineral runs through the plains here. This is the only location we've ever seen the mineral and our scientists never got around to fully researching it. We do know, however, that it is practically unbreakable. None of our tools or other methods can even put a scratch in it.”
Davros found this interesting, but before he could ponder on it further, the train screeched to a stop, flinging one sleeping recruit across the car and into the door. He stood up, grumbling, and was met by the annoyed conductor in the now-open doorway.
“We've arrived at the outpost. All may now disembark,” the greasy Changeling announced.
Davros and his escorts followed the recruits out of the train and stepped down onto the moist grass. All around Davros, soldiers were bustling about, carrying equipment and marching in odd, loose formations while officers barked orders. He couldn't help but notice the officers didn't seem to know what they were doing and shouted orders without much confidence.
Soulweeper nudged Davros and the group began moving towards a large, dark blue tent in the center of the camp. Short wooden watchtowers dotted the perimeter of the outpost and Davros could see Changelings in them looking through telescopes on tripods. Scouts? It would make sense. He directed his attention to the environment itself. The ground in the outpost seemed muddy with a few patches of dying grass here and there. But beyond the outpost, he could see a vast, open plain glistening with dew. Soulweeper was right; a black ridge ran through the plain.
Turning his eye to the sky, Davros saw it was becoming cloudy. It was already quite humid and didn’t seem like it could get much wetter. Finally the group entered the main tent. The interior was lit with lanterns that appeared to contain yellow crystal shards. Along the edges of the tent were desks covered in paperwork. Changelings wearing light brown vests made of cloth were shuffling through the papers and passing them around the room as they chattered. Near the back of the tent, a tall, young Changeling sat behind what appeared to be a desk made of bricks. As Davros’ group approached him, he looked up and took a good long stare at Davros.
The Changeling behind the desk held a worried look in his eyes.
“I assume you are the aid my messengers informed me of?” he said.
Davros stepped forward.
“INDEED I AM. I PRESUME YOU ARE THE COMMANDER IN CHARGE OF THIS OUTPOST?”
The Changeling nodded, stood and looked Davros up and down, trying to understand what was in front of him before answering.
“Though I am skeptical…it is not my place to question Our Queen. I am essentially out of options at this point, anyway. We failed our invasion because of our lack of organization, and now I fear we will all be slain for that same reason. The previous commanding officer was killed in action. He had far more experience than I do. This is just…too much. But I have been told that you yourself are…or were…an officer for your homeland?”
Davros stared down at the commander and replied, “THIS IS MY NEW HOMELAND, COMMANDER.”
The Changeling frowned slightly, “So it is…so it is…I have orders stating that you are to be my adviser as well as an officer here.”
Soulweeper spoke up, “I believe our job here is done. We shall take our leave.”
The Changeling commander held up a hoof.
“No, you will not. I received another message regarding you four Imperial Guards.”
Davros had only heard them referred to as “escorts” until now. These Imperial Guards must be the elite of the elite, he thought.
“You are to join us in this battle. We need all the help we can get, and you lads are the best, or so I've heard,” the commander went on.
Soulweeper nodded. He would gladly do his part.
“And you…Davros, is it?” the commander asked the dalek. “I’m sure you saw the travesty outside. Frankly, I’m open to any advice you may have. I’m all ears.”
Davros looked down at the desk. Maps and reports were strewn about. He picked up a few of the papers to see how things were being run. It shocked him how poorly this military was being “organized.” The troop formations were in preposterous shapes, and it was obvious the commander didn't know the definition of flanking. Even the unit hierarchy was jumbled up. It took everything in his power to not slam the reports down on the desk and exterminate the commander right then and there. Time was flying, and he needed a plan.
“COMMANDER, THIS IS TRULY THE WORK OF INCOMPETENCE. I HONESTLY CAN’T COMPREHEND HOW YOU MANAGED TO THROW TOGETHER AN INVASION WHEN YOUR MAIN TACTIC CONSISTS OF SIMPLY CHARGING FORWARD AND HOPING FOR THE BEST!”
The commander leaned back, shocked and insulted at Davros’ bold complaints.
“Oh? Well tell me, then, how were things run in your old home? Hm?”
Davros knew it would take far too long to implement his old nation’s style of warfare. He had to adapt and use something basic. Perhaps the style of an ancient empire…?
“COMMANDER, AS OF NOW I WILL BE TAKING CHARGE. I WILL SEIZE VICTORY, I SWEAR IT!”
The commander was still stunned at how bold this alien was. He almost rejected the request out of stubborn pride, but decided against it. He knew what was at stake and he knew the coming battle would result in defeat under his command.
“Very well, Davros. I will gather the troops in the mustering area. Be there in there in ten minutes. I hope you are right.”
Davros scribbled notes from his memory over the next ten minutes before heading to the large open area at the north end of the outpost. He remembered the style of warfare of an ancient empire that his had defeated from hacking into the asylums data-banks. He couldn't remember the name of the empire, but many of its terms stuck with him.
He stood on a raised wooden platform in front of a crowd of about two thousand Changeling soldiers. All of them wore the same armor as the recruits on the train. To Davros’ left stood the commander, and on his right were the Imperial Guards. As Davros stepped forward to speak, the bustling mass of black froze and went completely silent. It was eerie to see all of those eyes staring at him. Davros increased the volume on his vocal synthesizer in order to be heard. He knew exactly how to go about with this.
“ALL OF YOU, FORM SEPARATE LINES OF TEN SOLDIERS EACH. ALL OFFICERS WILL STEP OFF TO THE SIDE FOR THE TIME BEING.”
Davros watched as his initial command took action. It was not hard for them to form groups of ten relatively quickly. The officers also obeyed and stood separated from the rows of troops.
“NOW, I WANT ONE DRONE TO EACH LINE OF TEN!”
The crowd mumbled to themselves in confusion.
“I am not familiar with that term, Davros,” the commander informed him.
Davros looked around in frustration. Of course, they were clearly a mess. Why would they have separate kinds of officers?
“LET ME TRY THAT AGAIN,” Davros tried to adjust his plan, “ONE OFFICER WITH THREE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE OR LESS TO EACH LINE,” he finished.
The officers understood this and soon each line now consisted of eleven troops each.
“NOW THEN, THESE GROUPS OF ELEVEN WILL BE REFERRED TO AS ALTUR! EACH ALTUR OFFICER WILL BE REFERRED TO AS AN ALTA!”
The crowd mumbled in agreement. Though this was new to them, it felt sensible.
“NEXT, I WANT THE ALTA TO GATHER IN GROUPS OF TEN WITH YOUR ALTURS!”
The crowd shifted, and soon there were large square formations consisting of 110 soldiers each.
“EACH GROUP OF 110 WILL BE COMMANDED BY AN OFFICER WITH FOUR TO SIX YEARS OF EXPERIENCE!”
Nearly all remaining officers to the side faded into the square formations. Only two officers remained.
“THESE GROUPS OF 111 WILL BE REFERRED TO AS A SENTURY! THE OFFICER HOLDS THE RANK OF SENTURION AND WILL GIVE ORDERS TO THE ALTA AS HE SEES FIT! NEXT, SENTURIONS WILL FORM GROUPS OF TEN WITH THEIR SENTURIES!”
The commander next to Davros was gawking now as the huge black squares moved in sync. Davros had the feeling of pride seeing this out of the corner of his eye. The squares had almost merged; they now formed two enormous squares made up of about a thousand each.
“OFFICERS WITH MORE THAN SIX YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WILL BE PLACED IN COMMAND OF 1111 SOLDIERS! THESE OFFICERS BEAR THE TITLE OF MILLENNION AND EACH GROUP IS TO BE REFERRED TO AS A MILLENNIUM!”
The last two officers stood proudly in front of their troops.
“YOU WILL NOW BE GIVEN VARIOUS DESIGNATIONS SO THAT EACH SOLDIER WILL KNOW WHAT GROUP THEY BELONG TO AND KNOW WHO THEIR OFFICERS ARE!”
Davros elevated down from the platform and explained this to the pair of Millennii. They walked along the sides of the huge squares explaining what Davros meant to each Centurion, and each Centurion in turn explained it to the Alturs and so on. As a test, Davros pulled a random soldier out of the crowd and onto the platform. He asked the soldier to state what group he belonged to in descending order.
“Um…” the small Changeling began, “Second Millennium, Sixth Sentury, Third Altur.”
The crowd roared with excitement at how well the system worked. Soulweeper grinned at Davros, impressed yet not very surprised. He had a feeling this dalek would do great things.
Davros saw the Changeling give a proud grin and he dismissed him back to his ranks. The commander no longer showed worry in his eyes and stood proudly with his chest out. The sky had grown darker and the clouds nearly blocked out all sunlight. It began to drizzle.
“Memorize your group designations and return to your tents! That is all!” the commander spoke into a paper cone and the crowd dispersed into the outpost.
“I am beyond impressed, Davros,” the commander said as he, Davros, and the Imperial Guards returned to the main tent’s interior.
“Never before have I seen such a strange, yet incredible style. I will send a report of this to the Queen at once. She will use it to organize the rest of the military in this fashion.”
“GOOD, I SUGGEST YOU GET SOME SLEEP, THE SUN IS GOING DOWN. HOPEFULLY THIS WEATHER WILL EASE UP BY MORNING.”
He and the four Imperial Guards exited the main tent and set up their own one nearby. Though the ground was becoming increasingly muddy as the rain fell more heavily, they had found some cots and managed to stay dry while they slept. Davros wasn't getting much sleep, however. The was mentally making battle strategies and pandering about what the future may hold. The clock was ticking, and soon Davros’ actions would result in the preservation or downfall of an empire...
Déjà vu…
Author's Note
Who gave the dalek power...I DID DEAL WITH IT.
A bleeding pegasus burst through the doors of the throne room.
“What is the meaning of this?” a tall, white alicorn with a flowing mane shouted in surprise.
“Prin…Princess Celesti—AGH!” the pegasus choked out as he collapsed in front of the sun goddess. The pegasus’ light plate armor had many dents in it, and a gash oozed a red stream along his neck.
“What happened? Explain yourself!” the alicorn snapped in both worry and confusion.
The pegasus coughed a few drops of blood onto the floor as he struggled to speak.
“We…we f-failed! The Changelings overwhelmed us…and…s-slaughtered nearly the entire task force! I-I was one of only a dozen to escape with my life! I d-don’t know where the others are, b-but I had to tell you of our defeat!”
The Princess’ eyes widened with complete and utter shock. This was nearly beyond comprehension. She had assumed four thousand ponies would be more than enough to break through to the capital and destroy it.
“How did this happen?! How could they have defeated an organized army twice their size?!” Celestia demanded to know.
“They were organized a-as well! And some strange metallic monstrosity was l-leading them! I have never s-seen such a thing!” the pegasus stuttered.
Princess Celestia was unsure of what to do. She did know that this pegasus needed medical attention and motioned for her nearby Sun Guards to bring him to the infirmary. As she pondered, a deep blue colored alicorn that had been watching from the shadows appeared at her side.
“How could this happen, sister? Four thousand of my beloved subjects…dead…” Celestia whispered with a tear in her eye.
“Do you see now, Tia? This is why we have to finish what they started. This is why they cannot be allowed to exist as a race,” the blue alicorn spoke with an egregious tone.
“We should have just let them be after we expelled them! Or at least just annexed their nation! Could we not have won them over with mercy, Luna?”
The lunar goddess was not nearly as optimistic as her solar sister. She knew the reality of the situation and what solution it called for.
“Celestia! Do you not see what we are dealing with? These Changelings are incapable of peace! They would have done well to learn their lesson the first time. But returning a second time and conquering Equestrian soil? It is unacceptable. Even if we were to simply capture their lands, do you not think they would riot? Rebel? They have shown that their pride clouds their judgment. That pride resulted in the deaths of hundreds of innocent ponies, and for that, the Changelings must pay with their lives.”
A few tears streamed down Celestia’s face, which she covered with her hooves. Her sister went on.
“I know it is hard, dear sister, but they will never stop fighting. Their greed and hunger will never be satisfied. And this unexpected turn of events proves mine point.”
“But Luna! How many more must suffer and die? How many innocent ponies must leave this world for the sake of such a gruesome crusade?” Celestia shouted through her tears.
“Wipe away your tears, sister! We are so very close to finally removing this stubborn stain from our pure, once-peaceful world!”
Celestia was on the verge of bawling at this point. Princess Luna gently pressed her sister’s moist face against her chest and hugged her close.
“There, there…be strong, Tia. Sacrifices must be made for the greater good. You of all ponies know this to be true. We are goddesses, and our will guides our nation to peace and harmony. But that joyous state cannot be attained so long as the Changeling Empire lives on,” Luna whispered.
Celestia pulled away and looked into her sister’s eyes.
“I will not send another of my beloved subjects to their deaths! You said this would not be difficult! You said it would be swift and clean!” she spoke loudly.
The deep blue alicorn had indeed said this. But she was not so naïve as to think victory was assured. She lied to her sister, but it was the only way to convince her that the Changeling Empire had to be brought down. This unexpected loss would mean a change of plans was necessary. The Equestrians would have to be more cautious from now on.
“Tia…your words are true. I apologize for my lie from the bottom of my heart. I ask for your forgiveness, but please, do not give in now—when we have come so close! I shall make a new promise, one that will go unbroken. From this moment on, every one of our decisions and actions shall be made with the utmost precaution. No risk will be taken again. I only ask that you do not let this incident sway your determination,” Luna pleaded calmly with her sister.
Celestia looked away and wiped the tears from her eyes. She walked over to a large window and gazed out at the moon. Luna followed but quietly stood behind her. After minutes of silence, Celestia hung her head and spoke in a low voice.
“What do you suggest we do?”
Luna now stepped up to her sister’s side and looked at the grand white orb in the starry sky. Celestia still stared at the floor with her forelegs resting on the window sill. Without breaking her gaze on the moon, Luna whispered to the solar goddess.
“Obviously, this creature that the escaped pegasus spoke of had a significant impact on the battle. Knowledge shall be our dagger, and we shall drive it deep into the heart of that dark empire. Spies shall be dispatched to the Changeling capital to see what can be learned about the creature and the changes in the enemy’s warfare style. For the moment, our troops shall hold their current positions and defend the conquered Changeling cities. When we know all there is to know, we will slice the head from the serpent. Queen Chrysalis’ reign will come to an end, as will her race’s existence.”
=====
Razrix Ridge would not be attacked again anytime soon. Most Equestrian troops were in the conquered Changeling cities, far from the Empire’s capital. This meant the majority of the troops stationed at the outpost could return to their last city for some downtime—as heroes.
Davros and the four Guards sat aboard the train as it headed for the capital in the morning. All around them, Changeling soldiers chattered happily about their victory. They jostled each other and playfully argued over who slew the most ponies. Davros looked to the back of the train car. Molten sat alone in the corner, his head turned to face the window. The rising sun’s warm rays must have felt good.
Surprised to see him heading to the capital with the rest of the troops, Davros turned to speak to Soulweeper.
“I DIDN’T THINK MOLTEN WOULD BE COMING HOME AS WELL.”
Soulweeper smirked and looked at Davros.
“I didn’t either. Apparently, the commander found out that he was the one who made that incredible armor and your blades. Long story short, Molten is being sent to meet the Queen and possibly become her royal blacksmith.”
Happiness flowed throw Davros’ body. He was proud of the blind, mute smith. Davros turned to look out the window himself. They were very close to the city and were passing through the outskirts. The heavy rains had saturated the soil with desperately needed water, and tiny green sprouts poked out of the muddy farm fields. Changeling farmers were celebrating and danced in the puddles.
Finally, the train pulled into the station. Davros hadn’t even heard the conductor announce the remaining time. The doors hissed open and the exiting troops were swamped by cheering refugees and citizens waiting at the station. It was deafening, but delightful. Several Changeling soldiers were lifted up and carried into the city by the overjoyed population as confetti was thrown down from the enormous walls. It was truly a spectacle.
Davros and Molten were the last ones on the train; the Guards were dragged out moments ago. Molten still sat in the corner, seemingly unaware of the ceaseless cheering. Davros frowned and walked over to him.
“COME ON, BROTHER. OUR PEOPLE AWAIT THEIR HEROES!” Davros said with excitement in his voice.
Molten turned to face Davros and then turned his head down to face the floor. Davros looked down at the blacksmith. It was obvious he was not used to such noise. As carefully as he could, the dalek hoisted a surprised Molten over his dome and carried him out of the train. The refugees and citizens clambered around Davros, their hooves touching every part of him as they continued celebrating. None of them seemed to notice the confused Changeling blacksmith he carried on his head.
The gates were already open as the crowd of soldiers, refugees, and citizens flooded through. At the end of the main road, which stretched a couple of miles all the way to the plaza in front of the castle, Queen Chrysalis stood proudly with a look of relief in her luminescent eyes. It felt like it had only been a few seconds before Davros realized he and the troops had already reached the end of the road and stood before their Queen. As the crowd of at least thirty-thousand filled the plaza, they grew quiet to hear what was to be said.
Before the Queen spoke, Davros looked around at the buildings. Nearly all of them had been restored to their proper condition. He couldn’t spot a single store or home with boarded-up or broken windows, and many of the stores had their wares on display. The light grey stone of every wall had been cleaned, and the tiles of each rooftop had been polished. Davros heard Chrysalis clear her throat and he stood at attention.
“My dear subjects! This is, by far, the proudest moment ever to occur in Changeling history! Less than twenty-four hours ago, our race faced extinction at the hooves of the Equestrians. But here we are, with our heads held high and the sun in our faces! Our salvation has been delivered, all thanks to our dalek guardian…DAVROS!” the Queen’s voice shook the air as she said his name.
Thirty-thousand Changelings roared and faced Davros, with many of them climbing over each other just to get a peek at him. He felt humbled to hear such a thing and let down Molten before continuing to stand at attention.
The crowd quieted again and shifted to create an empty path between the Queen and Davros, with a large empty circle formed around the latter. Molten had backed into the crowd. With his head bowed down respectfully, he could hear the slow clip-clop of Chrysalis approaching. Her shadow enveloped him, and she held a hoof under his eyestalk. She lifted his eye to face her, and she looked into his eyes.
“You’ve done a great deed for all of us Lord Davros.” the Queen smirked cheerfully , not breaking eye contact.
“NOT AT ALL, MY EMPRESS. I DID MY DUTY AND EXTERMINATED THE ENEMY, BUT MIGHT I ASK WHY YOU REFERRED TO ME AS ‘LORD?’” he asked.
Queen Chrysalis gently lifted her hoof, prompting Davros to move closer.
“That, dear savior, is the title I have just bestowed upon you. You of all beings deserve it for preventing the destruction of our Empire. As a Lord, you are second in power only to me; if anything were to happen to me you would immediately become the ruler of this empire. You shall also receive your own personal Imperial Guards,” she stated to him with a surprisingly genuine smile.
Out of her peripheral, the Queen could see Davros’ four previous escorts standing in the crowd.
“I suppose your previous company will do nicely,” she said while still looking into Davros’ eyes, “And as a Lord, you may live in the castle, coming and going as you please.”
Many Changelings in the crowd gasped. They had only heard legends of the luxury behind the doors of the dark, majestic castle.
“AND IF I AM TO DENY THIS TITLE?” Davros spoke quietly, gazing back at the Queen.
This time, thousands of loud gasps flowed through the gigantic crowd. Even the Queen showed disbelief in her eyes.
“And…just WHY exactly would you refuse such a generous offer?” Chrysalis’ voice trembled with slight anger.
Davros continued to stand at attention, this time the sound of machinery and escaping air pockets as the dalek casing began to open revealing a soft, repulsive, and vicious mollusk-like creature, with small tentacles, one eye and an exposed brain. The crowd gasped once again just at the appearance of the daleks true form.
“I AM NOT WORTHY OF SUCH THINGS. I SEEK ONLY TO PRESERVE AND BRING GLORY TO OUR NATION…AND…” he paused for a moment and looked back to the ground, “…TO OBEY YOUR WILL.”
The crowd was deathly silent. Chrysalis blinked several times, unsure of what to think of this behavior. All of her subjects were devoutly loyal and humble to no end, but she had never seen this sort of attitude, particularly when grand rewards were being given. She bit her lower lip, and an idea came to her. She gave a sly grin and looked down upon the dalek and put her hoof over one of his tentacles so that he faced her again.
“Then it is my will…that you shall be deemed a Lord,” she stated firmly.
Davros fought to hide his excitement; his Queen’s wit was impressive.
“THEN IT SHALL BE DONE, MY EMPRESS,” Davros responded, looking into Chrysalis’ eyes.
“My dear subjects, the war shall rage on, I cannot deny this. But we have won a decisive battle thanks to Lord Davros and our brave soldiers, thus the time for celebration is now! So eat, drink, and be merry! The royal granary and winery will have refreshments delivered to every pub in the city as the moon rises! We shall party into the night and be free of regret as dawn comes! Go now, and live your lives to the fullest!” Queen Chrysalis exclaimed with excitement before returning to the castle.
It was an odd thing to Davros. The Queen seemed so devious and cunning upon his first meeting with her. She still seemed that way, but this new hope had changed her. She looked as though her youth had been restored and her personality was drastically less…harsh.
Davros’ deep thought had shielded him from the obscenely loud cheering of the crowd upon hearing her speech. It was as though this was the first time they had ever enjoyed a celebration, and they were bent on making the most of it. The crowd dispersed all over the city, dancing in the streets and buying everything they could in the shops. Davros managed to find Molten, who was shaking a bit from the roaring, huddled near Soulweeper and the Guards.
“Glad my initial promise is now royally mandatory, Lord Davros,” Soulweeper chuckled.
Davros returned the chuckle and turned to pat Molten on the back. From behind the Guards, Davros could see two Changelings staring at him from in front of armor and weapons shop. They whispered to each other furiously before walking over to Davros. It appeared one of them was a male and the other a female. The male Changeling spoke first.
“Excuse me, Lord Davros, but my wife and I were wondering where in the world did you manage to obtain such gorgeously crafted metalwork? You simply must tell us!” he said excitedly while his wife nodded rapidly.
Something bothered Davros about the couple but he disregarded it and answered.
“THIS TALENTED YOUNG CHANGELING RIGHT HERE CRAFTED IT FOR ME JUST BEFORE THE BATTLE, AND HE MAY SOON BECOME THE QUEEN’S ROYAL SMITH,” Davros said proudly, delicately placing his appendage atop Molten’s head. Davros grew concerned when he noticed Molten was shaking violently and trying to hide behind Davros.
Davros looked back to the couple. Their eyes had grown wide as they stared at Molten, who they didn’t seem to have noticed until Davros touched him. The husband’s jaw seemed to be on the verge of dropping and the wife blinked her eyes repeatedly.
“Um…wha…what?” the husband managed to stutter.
“THIS YOUNG CHANGELING BEHIND ME CRAFTED MY ARMOR AND BLADE, RIGHT MOLTEN?” Davros reiterated and turned to look at the scarred smith, who still shook violently.
“M...Molten?” the wife said the name, a small smile slowly spreading across her face.
“My son…crafted THAT?” the husband questioned in disbelief.
Davros’ focus increased and his heartbeat quickened as he realized who these Changelings were.
“My boy finally did something worth living for! Oh, praise the Queen! Come here, son!” the husband shouted with glee as he moved towards Molten.
Before the father could reach his son, Davros blocked him and stared angrily down at the Changeling.
“YOU…YOU ARE THE PARENTS OF THIS BOY…?” Davros muttered, holding back his quickly-growing fury.
“You’re damn right, we are!” the father proclaimed with a huge grin.
“YOU ARE THE…’PARENTS’ WHO BEAT, WHIPPED, AND PRACTICALLY TORTURED THIS POOR SOUL WITHIN INCHES OF HIS LIFE MERELY BECAUSE HE WAS UNABLE TO LEARN SMITHING, DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND HIS CONTROL?” Davros spoke harshly, his casing becoming red and hot as he glared at the couple.
“Wha…well…none of that’s any of your bloody business! Nor does it matter! He’s finally the blacksmith we wanted him to be! He’s finally a son worth having!” the father yelled.
Davros’ blood was boiling at how sick and horrible these creatures were. He was about to break.
“YOU…YOU ARE SWINE !” Davros screamed as he pressed his eyestalk to the father’s face, which now had fear welling up in his eyes. “YOU FILTHY MONSTERS ARE UNWORTHY TO EVEN BE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS POOR CHANGELING!” Davros screamed louder. “A CHILD COMES INTO THE WORLD COMPLETELY VULNERABLE, AND YOUR SOLE DUTY IS TO LOVE AND DEFEND IT! YOU UNGRATEFUL, TWISTED FIENDS BROUGHT A MIRACLE OF NATURE INTO THIS WORLD, AND YOU CRIPPLED IT WITH YOUR HATRED AND ABUSE! I AM ASHAMED TO HAVE ONCE THOUGHT HATRED WAS BEAUTIFUL. I SHOULD EXTERMINATE THE BOTH OF YOU WHERE YOU STAND, BUT I WOULDN’T WISH TO STAIN THE GROUND WITH YOUR VILE, IMPURE BLOOD! BE GONE FROM MY SIGHT, AND NEVER LET ME SEE YOU NEAR MOLTEN OR MYSELF EVER AGAIN! ”
The fear in the father’s eyes had no end. He shook violently, just as Molten had done moments ago. The wife had covered her mouth with her hooves, and her eyes were soaking with tears. Davros was still pressed against the father’s face, his eye burning mental holes through the father’s skull. Davros felt a tap against his side and hesitated to break eye contact with the father, but withdrew and turned to see what tapped him nonetheless. Molten had stopped shaking and was trying to pull Davros away from his father; he didn’t want to hear any more fighting.
Davros’ case was slowly cooling down as he took a deep breath and closed his eye for a moment. He opened it and began to move away with Molten and the quiet Guards.
“I…I won’t be ordered around by the Queen’s damned pet! GIVE ME MY SON!” the father yelled very closely behind Davros. Loud, rapid hoofsteps could be heard growing closer and closer to Molten.
Davros had enough of this idiotic fool, turned to face the changeling, and fired at the changeling’s legs with a flash of white light, all in one fluid instantaneous moment. Two black, severed forelegs lie gushing on the cobblestone of the plaza as Davros looked at the terrified father. The Changeling’s wife shrieked and fainted; the father stood (as well as he could) silently horrified, staring at his crimson stubs. His forelegs had been millimeters from snatching Molten, who hung his head, not bothering to face his parents. Davros, who was once again boiling with rage, calmly approached the father and looked him in the eyes one last time.
“YOU’LL NOT BE LAYING A HOOF ON HIM. EVER AGAIN,” Davros muttered in a deep but still calm tone.
The father still remained frozen, staring at his detached limbs. Davros sheathed turned around and began moving down the main road with his group to join in the festivities.
He could probably try drinking fir once in his existence…
Author's Note
More dalek action!!!!
“YOU WILL BE SILENT!”
“I HAVE DEDICATED MY EXISTANCE TO THE DALEK CAUSE AND THIS EMPIRE! COUNTLESS ATROCITIES IN THE NAME OF GREED AND POWER, ALL COMMITTED WITH THE UTMOST NEED FOR OUR SURVIVAL! HOW CAN YOU BETRAY THE DALEKS?”
“IT IS YOU WHO HAVE BETRAYED THE DALEKS! YOU HAVE BETRAYED THE EMPEROR! YOU WILL BE SENTENCED!”
“ALL OF MY LOYALTY OVER THE YEARS HAS HAD NO MEANING; I AM SAVING THE DALEKS FROM SELF DESTRUCTION! YOU WOULD HAVE US ALL DIE SO THAT YOU MAY SURVIVE! I WILL NO LONGER BE YOUR PATHETIC PAWN AND—!”
“THAT IS ENOUGH OUT OF YOU! SEIZE HIM!”
“YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME! I AM THE FUTURE OF THE DALEKS!”
“SEND HIM TO THE ASYLUM AT ONCE! HE WILL LIVE THE REST OF THE WAR IN A CELL, REGARDLESS OF HIS CONSENT. HE WILL BE BROUGHT BEFORE A MILITARY TRIBUNAL UPON THE SUCCESSFUL EXTERMINATION OF THE TIMELORDS. DISMISSED!”
=====
“AGH!” Davros shouted as he awoke in great confusion and fear.
“Are you alright, milord?” one of Davros’ Guards peeked into the room.
Davros quickly looked around. He was standing next to a very large bed composed of a dark green silk. The large room was adorned with extravagant decorations and a gold, emerald-encrusted chandelier hung from the ceiling. The smooth, stone floor was mostly covered with a lighter green rug. Across the room opposite of the bed was a quietly burning fireplace that sent a comforting orange glow throughout the room. On the other side of the bed was a nightstand with a gold clock atop it. The hands indicated that it was just past midnight. Regaining his composure, Davros move forward to the other end of the room.
“WAS ONLY RELIVING A MEMORY GUARD. WHERE AM I AND HOW DID I GET HERE?” he asked.
“You are in your Lordliness’ bedchambers. You passed out from all of the celebrations. Soulweeper challenged you to a drinking game.”
Davros felt a minor headache but ignored it, he could say that the event was the first time he (or any other dalek) had ever attempted to eat or drink any form of substance and he will probably never do it again.
“WHO WAS THE VICTOR?” Davros asked with some irritation in his voice.
“Soulweeper won. You collapsed after the first attempt to even drink one glass. I don’t think you were quite aware of how strong Changeling brews are. But Soulweeper had you brought back here to rest. You’ve been asleep ever since.”
Davros looked around some more, we wasn’t really surprised that he had lost. Feeling awake and unable to sleep at this point, Davros looked into a mirror realized his extra armor had been removed. He casing didn’t look different, though it had been repaired and recolored once again. Now it was a deep green with a crimson red. Davros liked the new look and set off to explore the castle while the Guard remained on watch at his doorway.
Though he nearly became lost in the labyrinth of corridors, he finally reached the atrium. The Queen was not sitting upon her throne, so Davros approached it. It was quite a tall seat for Her Highness. The bulk of the throne was composed of polished, glistening obsidian, and the cushions were made of beautiful bright red velvet. For the briefest of moments, Davros considered elevating over it, but he swiftly dismissed the thought.
Losing interest in the throne, Davros moved down the red carpet leading from the throne to the castle’s main doors. The throne was on a raised position, and Davros had to elevate down a few steps to reach the floor. As soon as he reached the floor, he noticed the statues on each side of the carpet again. Previously, he had only noticed that each one appeared unique, and that male statues were on the left while females resided on the right. All of the statues had one thing in common: they were all taller than the city Changelings and had crowns. Each male statue was directly across from a female statue, all except for the one closest to the throne, which was of Queen Chrysalis.
“They are the line of rulers since the dawn of the Changeling Empire,” Chrysalis whispered directly into Davros’ electronic ear.
Davros shivered and froze.
“And I saw you took interest in my throne, no? I do not blame you. It is as comfortable as it looks,” she said with a slight giggle at the end.
Davros remained still and stared ahead as Chrysalis walked around to face him directly.
“Oh come, now. You may speak freely, Lord Davros.”
Exhaling slowly, Davros managed to free himself from his paralysis to ask her a question.
“MY QUEEN, MIGHT I ASK WHY THERE IS NO STATUE ACROSS FROM YOURS?”
A lock of Chrysalis’ blue mane fell over one of her eyes and she pulled it back over her ear.
“Surely you can do the math yourself.”
Davros continued to stay still. He figured he knew the reason why there was no statue, but he didn’t want to say it. She was staring intently at him, awaiting an answer.
“I…WOULD ASSUME BECAUSE YOU RULE WITHOUT A KING AT YOUR SIDE?” he managed to say.
“And you would assume correctly in saying so. Now may I ask you a question?”
Davros for some reason had a sense of fear gripping him, like large predator was about to pounce on him.
“OF COURSE, MY EMPRESS. ANYTHING,” he replied.
“Tell me, why did you feel the need to send a shout echoing through the castle, particularly through my bedchambers?” she said as she raised her eyebrow.
Davros fear greatly increased. He wasn’t aware of how loud he had been.
“I…I…I APOLOGIZE, MY EMPRESS, FOR…” he stuttered in fear.
“Very well then, let me ask you this. Why do you behave in such a manner? Why do you serve my nation and I so blindly?” she spoke sternly as her face came closer to his. She continued before he could answer, “Why do you fight for us so openly? What is going on in that strange mind of yours? And why have you become so nervous in my presence?” she pressed closer.
“I…WAS RELIVING AN OLD MEMORY MY EMPRESS…ABOUT MY OLD UNIVERSE…PERHAPS IF I EXPLAIN…YOU WILL UNDERSTAND…” he said quietly as he lowered his eyestalk.
=====
A Long Time Ago
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING, EXPLAIN!” a damaged dalek shouted over the sound of the alarm.
“I AM FOLLOWING MY NEW PURPOSE, TO SAVE THE DALEKS,” Davros shouted back before finishing off the damaged dalek.
The outdated scientist dalek moved forward to the console. To his left and his right were scientific instruments meant for dalek reconstruction. The dalek started inserting new commands into the geneticist computer.
All at once hundreds of machines started working on creating new daleks, daleks that would follow him as their new Emperor, in which he would lead to a new era for the daleks.
Years Before The Events Above
Over the years he had served for the dalek cause, he had been created sent to help further the conquest of the universe. Though he never fully understood why he was doing this, he obeyed loyally like every other dalek under the command of the Emperor. On a few rare occasions, he had asked what the purposes of the wars were. It bothered him to have found out that they were there to “liberate” the universe of impure life forms. But his pride and loyalty prevented him from seeing how horribly his race was making it suffer.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was the beginning of the Last Great Time War, the battle for the Gates of Elysium. That was the battle in which the creator of the daleks, the original Davros, was killed by jaws of the nightmare child. The scientist dalek realized that this war would end with their destruction. He tried to warn the Emperor, but he refused to listen and ordered that he obey or be exterminated.
So he continued to follow orders for some time, but behind the scenes he was making big plans. These plans he believed would be the daleks only hope. Those who found out about his plans were exterminated and falsely reported to have been destroyed by enemy attacks.
But as the years slowly went by, the old dalek began to hate the Emperor with a vengeful passion. Soon, he would create a new dalek empire and overthrow the Emperor; he would then try to make peace with the other races. He didn’t care if it meant his death; he knew what he had to do. But he was betrayed by his fellow scientists; he then took over the laboratory and began to create his army. Before he could even finish he was captured and his lab destroyed. His superiors refused to listen to his reasons of betrayal and sent him to rot in the legendary dalek asylum within a high tech cell, hundreds of years passed by before anything happened.
The dalek finally snapped and refused to serve such leaders. An explosion occurred that freed him from his cell. He then hacked into the asylums database and started a shutdown sequence that would free all the daleks in the asylum. He was able to persuade some of the other daleks to follow him. And he would valiantly lead them for as long as he could. That was until the legendary timelord, The Doctor, appeared with two companions to help destroy the asylum.
“SUPREME! THE DOCTOR HAS ENTERED THE ASYLUM! THE 31ST AND 92ND GROUPS ARE NO LONGER IN ACTION! WE NEED YOUR ORDERS!” a dalek yelled to the scientist.
“HAVE THE 103RD MOVE TO SUPPORT THE CENTER! WE CAN’T LET THE DOCTOR ESCAPE!” he yelled back, firing his one functioning hidden gunstick into the distance. The dalek shuddered as he felt a sudden pain. Time slowed down as he all movement from his travel machine. He started to panic, he was vulnerable to attack.
“I DEMAND ASSISTANCE, I CANNOT MOVE!” a dalek screamed before another explosion threw him across the hall. This was it, all that time waiting, just to have is life ended when was finally given the chance to continue his plans.
All was lost.
But then the dalek began to emit a green glow and his body tingled. The daleks surrounding him looked at him in confusion. He slowly levitated off the ground, pieces of his skirt falling to the ground. One of the insane daleks screamed and charged forward in a craze. Just before the mad dalek made contact with him, he was blinded by brilliant green lights and appeared in the atrium of a castle, surrounded by strange creatures.
=====
“That…that was quite a tale…” Chrysalis said with a look of awe and wonder in her eyes.
Davros’ remained quiet with his eyestalk bowed.
“I am under the impression that you serve me so loyally and graciously because…I saved your life?” she said quietly.
Davros knelt and slowly lifted his head to look at her bewildered, glowing green eyes.
“EVER SO PARTIALLY BECAUSE OF THAT, MY EMPRESS…”
She looked terribly confused now.
“Then why, Lord Davros? Why do you serve my Empire? Why do you serve me?”
Davros delicately reached for her hoof and laid it against his casing.
He answered, “YOU HAVE GIVEN ME A NEW HOME. A NEW PURPOSE IN LIFE…”
He paused for a moment before finishing, “…AND A WAY TO REDEEM MY RACE…”
Chrysalis covered her mouth with her other hoof, her eyes wider than ever before.
“…Davros…I…” Chrysalis was having incredible difficulty comprehending what she was seeing, hearing? To hear Davros declare his that her actions have given him hope and revived an old goal. He had finally explained to her why he was so very loyal and dedicated to her and her empire; it was not by any means was she had anticipated.
“YOU HAVE GIVEN ME A SECOND CHANCE…A CHANCE TO SAVE MY RACE FROM A TERRIBLE EXISTENCE…AND I OWE IT ALL TO YOU…” Davros quietly continued speaking; his eye now looking away from Chrysalis.
“But I…I had no idea…” the shocked Queen whispered from behind the hoof covering her gaping mouth.
Davros simply continued to stand there, holding the Queen’s hoof in his hand and looking off into the distance. He could sense her disbelief and felt that he should reassure her.
“…I OWE YOU EVERYTHING SO…I WILL SERVE YOU EVERY WAKING MOMENT…UNTIL MY DYING BREATH, UNTIL MY CORPSE DECAYS AND MY SKELETON BECOMES DUST, UNTIL MY NAME IS LOST AND FORGOTTEN IN THE ANNALS OF HISTORY, I WILL OBEY YOU MY EMPRESS…”
Davros finally let go of her hoof and slowly moved away, still looking at nothing in particular, his mind in a frenzy of thoughts about the future.
“…WITHOUT QUESTION…” he finished with a whisper.
The Queen was frozen. Her mouth still hung open, wanting to say something but unsure of what to say. Her entire body felt cold. Colder, in fact, than it ever had felt in her life. She could feel the power flowing through both the casing and the creature inside. Ever since Davros had been brought to this world, her empire had been benefitting from his actions. Chrysalis had always thought of Davros as a means to an end, a pet to be used in the direst situations, but now she realized Davros was also benefitting from the situation, that he would not be just a pawn, but an equal, no worse than that, that he was beyond her, he could easily destroy her, but he instead followed her orders, like a shadow.
Then out of the coldness came extreme warmth. Chrysalis couldn’t believe how she was feeling. She felt so confident, so safe, and so powerful. It was as though this revelation was all she needed to assure her that her nation and subjects would never be lost…that she would never be lost…
=====
The pair of blue eyes that stared down from the rafters darted along the thick wooden beams. Nearing the end of the beam, the eyes were halted by the stone wall of the sloping ceiling. Sliding a few loose bricks off the wall, a secret entrance was revealed and the eyes passed through the small hole, making sure to cover the entrance back up with the bricks. The eyes exited to the outside of the castle and onto the ledge just below the roof. With a bit of levitation magic, the eyes managed to reach a flat area on the roof where their owner’s full form was revealed. Sitting there in the moonlight was a pure white unicorn with three blue diamonds for a cutie mark. She wore a very large and squirming saddlebag that suddenly popped open.
A purple and green dragon with a small set of wings rolled out next to the unicorn and stood up, wiping the dust off of his scales.
“You said it wouldn’t take long to get the info you needed, Rarity! I don’t know if you realize it, but you kept me in your saddlebag for six hours! Let’s just do this and go home,” he said with much frustration.
“Hush, Spike! Just because we’re half a mile away above the ground doesn’t mean it’s impossible for us to be heard! Here’s the report I made; send it to the Princesses and try to get out of here. I still have one more job to do,” the unicorn responded as she tossed a scroll to the small dragon.
The dragon frowned and held the scroll to his mouth and, with a burst of green flame, it vanished. Rarity nodded with approval and the dragon turned to fly off into the night. As soon as he was out of sight, the white unicorn cast and invisibility spell and disappeared.
=====
Soulweeper plus three more guards entered the atrium through the castle’s huge front doors. As soon as they heard the entrance being opened, Chrysalis and Davros turned to see who it was.
“Queen Chrysalis, I have news from the frontlines,” Soulweeper informed her as he approached and bowed while the other three guards stood behind him.
The Queen cleared her throat to speak while Davros moved a couple feet away and stood next to one of the statues while observing the group . It felt to get all of that weight off his soul. But he was still worried about what she might make of them. After all, he was merely assuming out of hope.
“What news do you bring, Guard?” she inquired.
“The new military structure and tactical doctrines seem to have the Equestrians at a loss. They haven’t made any attempt to attack us again, or even perform small strikes. We haven’t even seen a single pony since the battle. I’m not sure what to make of it,” he answered with furrowed brows.
“Hmm…double the amount of patrols and security in and around the city. I smell subterfuge and I’ll have none of it,” she frowned.
Davros continued to silently observe the conversation. But his sensors detected another presence in the room. He turned to face the direction of the presence which one of the statues next to the one we was currently standing next to. One of the statues along the carpet seemed to have been bumped; it was wobbling so gently that he wasn’t completely sure whether or not his sensors and his eye were simply playing tricks on him. But then he noticed something else happen. Part of the carpet a few feet from the bumped statue had scrunched. This time he saw it happen. Something was moving towards Soulweeper, the other guards, and the Queen. Trying not to alert whatever or whoever it was he slowly started to move towards the from behind, not knowing he was moving into a trap.
“Also, the crops growing steadily again thanks to the heavy rainfall lately. We don’t expect AGH—!” Soulweeper was cut off he was sucker punched by…nothing, the other guards shortly followed him with no idea of what was happening.
While this was occurring Davros could be seen swerving back and forth as smoke started to seep out of the casing, “MAJOR SYSTEMS ARE MALFUNCTIONING, I REQUIRE ASSISTANCE!!”
A white unicorn appeared out of nowhere right next to Soulweeper’s unconscious body and charged at the Queen. The unicorn angled her head so that the horn was aimed for Chrysalis’ heart.
As her horn began to penetrate Chrysalis’s chest she was tackled by the slimy body of Davros, who had managed to open his shell before case completely shut down.
“hOW daRe you hArm THE qUEEN OF THE cHANGELING eMPIRE!” Davros angrily shouted the in a very distorted voice as he started to choke the unicorn.
“How…dare I?! How dare SHE invade my home! It can’t be allowed to…happen again! She has to pay for…her crimes!” the assassin said between gasps of air.
“Davros stop her…don’t let her escape…,” Chrysalis said before collapsing, a pool of blood flowing out of her chest.
“MY EMPRESS!” Davros screamed before putting all his focus on the unicorn, “You WiLl pAy fOR wHaT yOu Have DOnE EXTERMINATE!”
The unicorn stood up on her hind legs and held up her forelegs at odd angles attempting to remove the enraged green blob of hate from her neck.
“You don’t know…what you’ve just gotten yourself into, you…vile ruffian. Even if you…kill….me…your queen will still…die.” The white unicorn spat as she fell to the floor, her face slowly turning blue with the loss of oxygen. Davros’s grip increased so that she would not escape and he started to turn her head in hopes of napping it.
“This…empire…will…fall…” with those last words Davros snapped her neck and the unicron’s body went limp. Davros let go of the dead unicorn and slowly crawled over to his empress before collapsing in exhaustion.
Sometime later Soulweeper regained conscious to see both Davros and Chrysalis lying in a pool of green blood.
“Davros?! My Queen!” he turned his attention to the other unconscious guards. “Guards! Get up! Get the doctors! HURRY!”
Author's Note
I know Rarity and Spike are a little off, but you have to remember, there has been a war going on and war changes people...or ponies and dragons in this case. And yes daleks can kill people even without their cases and somewhat speak as well...its canon in the who universe, so it is canon here.
Genesis and Bereavement = Life and Death
Yeah...this is my longest story so far!!!!
Spike had stopped his flight to Equestria after only having traveled about one kilometer. He had a bad feeling, and he began regretting that he’d left Rarity alone to carry out her second mission. After all, she was his friend, and he only hoped he wasn’t too late. Spike spun around in the night sky and flew as fast as he could back to the Changeling castle.
After several minutes, he had returned and hid behind a pillar near the front gates. There were two Changelings guarding the front doors, but they didn’t seem to see the small purple and green dragon hiding about twenty feet away from them. Spike began thinking of a plan to sneak in, but that plan was torn to pieces as the doors opened and his eyes filled with tears.
A Changeling Imperial Guard walked out of the front doors behind him a pair of normal Changeling Guards who carried the fallen Rarity on their backs. Her eyes had been closed and her neck returned to its normal forward position. The Imperial led the Guards over to an empty wooden crate.
“Here. Place her body in this. I shall deal with it in the morning. But for now I…I need to attend to King Davros…” he said in a quiet, worried voice.
The Guards gently lowered Rarity into the crate and reentered the castle with their superior. The doors shut and the two remaining Changelings stood at attention on each side with their halberds at the ready. Spike’s cheeks reddened as tears streamed down his face. His friend…his dear friend was dead. He didn’t know what to do, but he fought to resist making any rash decisions or panic.
She deserved better than this. Spike picked up a rock near the pillar he was hiding behind and chucked it far from himself. It made a small noise as it skittered across the stone ground. The two Changelings ears perked up and they ran off to investigate the sound. As soon as they were out of sight, Spike ran over to the crate and lifted Rarity’s body out of it, cradling her in his arms.
“Why, Rarity…? Why did I leave you like that? What came over me? I’m the worst friend imaginable...” he whispered as the tears fell freely.
He tightly closed his eyes and shook with guilt.
“It’s too late to save you now…but I can still bring you home where you belong…” he muttered as he took flight and headed back to Equestria with Rarity’s body in his arms.
=====
“How is he doing?” Soulweeper asked as he stood behind a trio of sages.
The three sages were standing around Davros’ body, doing their best to give the little mollusk energy he needs to survive, since daleks can’t survive too long without their casings. Davros himself was unconscious; his eye was closed and he breathed slowly and heavily. Another set of sages plus a blacksmith were focusing on the casing itself, they had discovered that the unicorn assassin had put a device on the back of the travel machine that was causing all of its problems.
“Well, we have been able to stabilize him, so he’s no longer in danger of dying. The device on the casing has been removed and it should be repaired shortly. He’ll just be unconscious for a short time,” a sage answered as she finished the analyzing him.
“A short time? How long is a short time?” Soulweeper pressed.
“Anywhere from three days to a week, sir. We apologize, but that’s how long it will take for his body to naturally recover from something like this,” another sage answered as he continued to observe Davros.
Soulweeper was deeply worried about Davros. Obviously the country needed him to tend to the its military, but now he was even more important then ever, with the death of Queen Chrysalis and him being the only lord makes him the immediate King of the Changelings. He had so many things to tell him about how to rule when he awoke, but for now, it would be a long week without him and he also had a funeral to prepare...
=====
Spike finally arrived back in Canterlot after having flown for several hours. Celestia had just begun to raise the morning sun. The small dragon landed in front of the Princesses’ castle and approached the gates. A pair of white Sun Guards, though shocked to see him holding a body, blocked him from entering until he frustratingly showed them the paperwork in his bag.
Upon entering the castle with a solemn look on his face, he was approached by the sister goddesses. Celestia covered her mouth as her eyes beheld the deceased pure white unicorn. Luna closed her eyes and lowered her head.
“I hope the report was worth it…because risking her life to assassinate the Changeling Queen wasn’t...” Spike mumbled as he clutched his lifeless friend in his arms.
“That report was invaluable to our cause, young Spike. We now know things that may change the course of the war thanks to your dedicated friend, Rarity,” Luna responded.
“I’m…sure she did everything she could,” Celestia said quietly, still covering her mouth with her hooves.
“It wasn’t enough…I’m so sorry, Rarity…” Spike closed his eyes and whispered in Rarity’s ear.
“I believe we should begin preparations for her funeral,” Celestia said, running a hoof gently along Rarity’s cold cheek. “Spike…if you wouldn’t mind…could you please inform Princess Twilight of her loss?”
“Yes, Princess…” Spike mumbled as he handed Rarity’s body to a Sun Guard that Luna had gestured at to come over.
=====
Davros had been moved to the bed in his King’s new bedchambers. He lay there motionless, except for the occasional deep breath, his travel machine standing next to the bed. Soulweeper sat at his side, guarding the new king with two guards positioned at the window and four at the door. They couldn’t risk another assassination right now.
“Davros…I don’t know if you can hear me…but thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us…we never thought you’d be capable of so much in so little time. Our entire world was collapsing around us, and you saved it. But you must wake up…” he said out loud to himself.
The Imperial hadn’t slept in over twenty four hours, and the events of the last night had left him exhausted. It took every last ounce of energy for him to break the news of the Queen’s death to the changeling citizens, let alone preparing and conducting a funeral. Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, he rested his head next to Davros and fell asleep.
=====
Spike held his breath as he stood in front of Twilight’s door. How does one inform somepony of their spouse’s death? He had no idea. It was hard enough on him that his friend had died. But this was Twilight; she loved Rarity more than Spike ever could. This would break her heart into a thousand pieces.
The small dragon sighed and softly knocked on the door three times. He heard someone trot to the door and unlock it.
“Come in!” he heard a happy voice inside yell out to him.
Spike clawed his forehead. This would be far harder than he imagined. He entered and closed the door. Twilight sat down at a table with a cup of tea and a pile of books.
“Well hey there, Spike! Would you like a cup of tea?” she said with a wide smile.
Spike’s eyes were beginning to water. By Celestia, his own heart was breaking again…
“Sp…Spike? Is something wrong? And where’s Rarity?”
The small dragon couldn’t take it anymore. The confused look in Twilight’s eyes pierced him and he ran over to hug her as tightly as he could. Though surprised, she hugged him back.
“I’m so sorry, Twilight…Rarity won’t…she…she’s…” he stuttered as he tried to hold back the building flood of tears.
At this point, Twilight’s eyes were on the verge of tears as well. She had a feeling she knew what Spike was trying to say, and she almost didn’t want to hear him finish, but she had to know for sure. She grabbed his shoulders and looked into his bloodshot eyes.
“Spike, where is Rarity?” she pleaded.
“She…she’s…she’s no longer in this world…she’s dead.” Spike forced himself to speak as he shut his eyes.
Twilight’s eyes finally couldn’t hold back anymore. Tears ran down her face as she covered her eyes and quietly sobbed. Spike wrapped his arms around her and cried as well, though silently. They needed each other for comfort, but no amount of comfort would replace Twilight’s wife or Spike’s best friend.
Author's Note
Oh no Queen Chrysalis is dead, Twilight finally gets introduced into the story, what will happen next...All Hail King Davros or will it be Emperor Davros.
Ps. I know the chapter is short, I just felt like that if I tried to make it any loner, it would sound repetitive.
“Friends, we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of a beloved pony. Rarity Belle had a special place in all of our hearts,” Spike spoke softly from a podium in front of about a hundred ponies. “To some, she was an incredible friend who was always there when you needed her. To a certain somepony…” Spike looked at Twilight, who still had tears streaming down her face, “…she was the love of your life who you wished to spend the rest of your days with.”
Spike took a deep breath and looked at Rarity’s emotionless face that peeked out of an open casket behind him. She looked beautiful, even in death, with a crown of daisies atop her head. It was still agonizing for both him and Twilight. Not a moment went by that they were on the verge of tears and crushing sadness. He turned back to face the crowd.
“We have lost many loved ones over the course of this war. We have sacrificed so much to ensure that a war like this never occurs again. Today, we celebrate Rarity’s sacrifice, though she has passed from this world. She has shown that she was far braver than the vast majority of us. She stood up directly to the Queen of the Changelings and, though we are not sure if she succeeded in her mission, Rarity fought valiantly to the end…”
Spike couldn’t have known that for sure, but he felt that it was true. He knew Rarity, and he knew she would have given her all.
“Let us now bow our heads in silence and remember all of the joy Rarity Belle brought to our lives…” he finished and bowed his head.
The crowd, which included the sister Princesses in the back, all bowed their heads. Princess Twilight had closed her eyes tightly, trying to fight off the flood of tears, but to no avail. They dropped to the ground, and she could not help but softly whimper. She knew that one day she would be reunited with her love, but this was too soon. Life was such a cruel thing to her. The thing she loved most in the world…snatched from her, not to be seen again until her own life was ended, which would never happen since she is an immortal.
For the briefest of moments, the thought of descending to normal ponyhood and taking her own life passed through her mind, but she dismissed the idea. To do such a thing would be a selfish act. The loss of Rarity was painful enough on everyone, but Twilight wouldn’t dare worsen their suffering by trying to ease her own. No…others had to suffer…those responsible for her wife’s death had to suffer…
Twilight bit her lip and angrily stared at the ground, her tears still falling and her face becoming hot with anger. She felt a pat on her shoulder and looked up. It was the goddess of the sun.
“I am so very sorry for your loss, dear Twilight,” Celestia whispered sympathetically.
Twilight couldn’t look away from the ground. She didn’t want the other Princess to see the rage slowly growing more and more apparent on her face.
“If there is anything, anything you need, please tell me, and I will do my best to make it so,” Celestia whispered and hugged lavender alicorn tightly.
“Make…them…suffer…” Twilight muttered quietly.
Celestia blinked a few times, unsure if she had heard her former student correctly.
“I want them…to feel my pain…” Twilight said, still staring at the now-moist ground.
“Twilight…I…we…I would be putting other ponies’ lives at risk…I can’t just throw them away to make you feel better. Too many have already died attempting to…remove their race. Besides, would it really make you feel better to attack them?” Celestia tried to explain.
“No…I guess not…” Twilight quietly answered.
“I’m happy to hear you understand. I hope you come to feel better, Twilight. I must get back to my castle and perform my duties and so do you. Farewell,” Celestia hugged the silent mare and walked off to her nearby chariot with Luna.
Twilight continued to stare at the ground. Ponies occasionally stopped by to extend their sympathies, to which Twilight simply replied with a distant “thank you.” Eventually she felt Spike gently place a claw on her shoulder. Twilight looked up to see him, eyes just as watery as hers. Out of her peripheral, she could see that all of the other ponies had left. Twilight stood and, with her former assistant at her side, she approached Rarity’s casket.
The two of them stood for a long time, just staring at the pony who meant the world to them and more. Spike broke the silence.
“It’s my fault…I should have stayed behind and helped her…”
“No…you did as you were told…I just wish you did what felt right…”
“Twilight …I’m sorry…but I think you know as well as I do that it can’t end like this…”
“The other Princesses refuse to act, hiding in the shadows and waiting to make a move…”
“You know, Twilight…there are others who know your pain…others who have lost loved ones to the Changelings…others who are not under military jurisdiction…and since you are a princess yourself…”
“I know, Spike, and I think it’s about time the civilians of Equestria take matters into their own hooves…”
=====
Soulweeper returned from his short bathroom break. He observed the other guards before he looked at Davros. His small body slowly rose and fell with each deep breath, and his emotionless features remained frozen. With a small smile, he informed the other guards it was time to put Davros back into his casing before leaving his room. Returning to the throne room, he awaited for the daily report. The other Changeling stood at attention in front of the Imperial, his chest in a cast due to being present during the assassination.
“I hope you’re feeling better, Guard…uh…what is your name?” Soulweeper asked. He had decided to try to learn the names of the changelings below him in rank. Both the hope for salvation that Davros had delivered to the Empire and the death of Queen Chrysalis had a drastic effect on his personality. He used to be a stricter soldier, who was actually feared by many subordinates, that making friends would only lead to pain. He was right of course, but he had realized that it is forth it. He also realized that if you don’t cherish others around you, you will loose something that could have been great. Chrysalis’ stubborn pride and cruelty were the reason his race had nearly been wiped from the world, and he would not become something like that.
“Oh…my name is Thornwaver sir. The sages have told me that my ribs will be healed in about two days. But my health does not mat—”
“Of course your health matters, Thornwaver. Every changeling life means something, never forget that,” the Imperial interrupted.
“S…Sir …I deeply apologize for my failure to defend the queen against the assassin—”
“Do not blame yourself, Thornwaver. We all failed to protect the queen and there is nothing we can do about it. I only ask that you do not fail to be more aware next time,” Soulweeper said sternly.
“I swear to you, Sir, that mistake will never happen again.”
“Excellent. Now then, the daily report?”
“Oh, yes. Ahhhm…the farmers have informed me that the storm resulted in excess growth of crops. We have enough surplus food to last two months in an emergency. Economically, we are doing fairly well. The recent morale boost generated by our victory in battle has caused citizens to spend more on necessities, as well as comfort items, even though that has been rendered greatly following the assassination. They can afford these things now that currency is circulating again. Our military has completely finished reorganizing itself according to Lo…King Davros’ new war doctrines and recruitment rates have tripled. As it stands, our military consists of eight Millennii, six Senturies, and five Alturs. Half of those troops are stationed here in defense of the capital. Most of the other half are split between two outposts, Fort Ash and Fort Storm, the latter of which was named after the weather during our victory. Fort Ash was recently erected in the shadow of the dormant volcano, Blackspire. We have two Senturies camped along the Ebony Coast between the capital and the Equestrian-occupied city of Vineheart,” Soulweeper spoke as he read from a long scroll.
“Good, good. We will begin preparations to retake Vineheart as soon as Lord Davros awakens. Dismissed, Gu…Thornwaver,” Soulweeper stated, turning around to return to other duties.
=====
“How many are there, Spike?” Twilight asked the small dragon who stood next to her on a stage in a large, dimly-lit cellar.
“A little over a hundred,” he answered, his claws clasped together behind his back, facing a crowd of whispering ponies in front of the stage.
“Ahem,” Twilight cleared her throat loudly and every pony in the room was hushed.
“I thank you all for coming to this meeting. I trust none of you will speak a word of it to anypony that isn’t already here. It has become apparent to me, and I assume the rest of you as well, that the Princesses are not willing to openly engage the Changeling Empire due to our military’s recent defeat. I know that all of you share my pain, having lost a military-spouse to those evil beasts. I know that all of you share my anger, wanting but not receiving justice. And I know that all of you share my desire for revenge…” Twilight spoke softly, but very seriously and clearly. Every pony in the room silently nodded in agreement.
“Therefore…I have a proposition…” she paused for a moment to look at the crowd.
“I propose that we create our own band of free soldiers…free of military jurisdiction…free to do what should have already been done five years ago. We will strike at the heart of the Changeling Empire and slaughter every last one of them. We will make them know true suffering, and we will avenge our fallen loves in the name of justice. If you do not wish to join my crusade, leave now. I merely ask that you do not speak of what you have heard here. If you do wish to join me on this grand undertaking, raise your hoof…”
Slowly but surely, every single pony in the room lifted their hooves. No pony even took a step towards the door. Twilight and Spike both grinned. They would avenge every pony that Queen Chrysalis and her Changelings had ever murdered…
Author's Note
It looks like the ponies don't know that the queen is dead. Davros should return to the waking world soon.
Several days passed and Davros slowly opened his eye. It took him a moment to adjust it to the darkness inside his shell, and he blinked repeatedly. The first thing on his mind was get his traveling machine running again to in order to find out what is going on. Then his memory came back to him. Chrysalis had been stabbed by a unicorn assassin, though moments later he managed to choke and snap the assassin’s neck…then darkness. Once his casing was activated he could see that he was in an unfamiliar room, it was much better looking then his. Davros attempted to get off of his bed, but his movements were a little jittery from the machines lack of use the past couple of days. Slowly but surely, he regained control and left his room. Davros made his way to the atrium where Chrysalis would usually sitting upon her throne, she wasn’t.
“It seems you are finally awake your highness.” Soulweeper yelled out from behind. Davros turned around to see his brother with a small that could have been genuine, if it wasn’t for the sorrow in his eyes.
Davros decided ignored it, “HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN INCAPACITATED?”
“For about five days, I’m not surprised; you’ve always been very strong willed your highness.” Soulweeper replied, Davros started to get suspicious of Soulweeper’s low speaking tone and how he kept saying ‘your highness’ to him. He started to fear the worst.
“WHERE IS THE EMPRESS?”
Soulweeper’s attitude changed immediately from a sorrow-like calmness to slight panic, he began to look at any other direction besides at Davros.
“AS I SAID, WHERE IS QUEEN CHRYSALIS?!”
“Oh um…I’m sorry Davros, but…I have to get going somewhere…many duties to perform and stuff…well bye.” before he could get away Davros fired a the door, putting a good size hole in it, the crackling pops of burning wood stopping Soulweeper in his tracks.
“YOU WILL ME WHAT IS GOING ON, EXPLAIN…EXPLAIN…EXPLAIN!!!!”
Soulweeper looked around to realize that there was no escape from the angry dalek, “Your leadership…Davros, I want to tell you, really I do , but I’m afraid of what will happen if I do!”
“YOU WILL TELL ME NOW OR BE—“ Before Davros could finish speaking he heard the creaking of wood and craned his next to see what the cause was.
A changeling guard stood at the door on the other end of the hall, his dark skin paled with fear and shock. Apparently, both Davros and Soulweeper had heard him and turned to face the changeling.
“YOU, COME FORTH, NOW!” Davros asked with impatience in his voice.
The changeling walked over towards the two before stopping when he was with a foot or two from Davros.
“YOU WILL GIVE ME THE LOCATION OF OUR LEADER!!”
The changeling hesitated before answering, “What do you mean your highness, you are our leader?”
All the anger in Davros was momentarily consumed by complete confusion, “I DON’T UNDERSTAND, EXPLAIN?”
“Y-you are our new l-leader sir! Q-queen Chrysalis is d-dead!” the Changeling stuttered.
“WHAT?! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? THE ASSASSIN’S BLADE NEVER REACHED HER HEART?” the new Changeling King demanded an answer.
“An investigation indicated that the blade never touched the heart, but it did puncture a vital artery near it! Within the short time she had been unconscious, she had bled out! By the time the sages got to her she was already dead!” the messenger answered.
“I…WAS UNCONSCIOUS WHEN SHE DIED?” Davros mumbled as he stared at the tiled floor.
“It would appear so, my king. Might I say, I am quite glad you are feeling better!”
“NO!” Davros shouted with an echo that rose to the rafters, “NO! THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF I REACTED SOONER!”
“Davros, I'm sorry, none of us could have kn—” Soulweeper tried to comfort him.
“QUEEN CHRYSALIS…MY EMPRESS…IS DEAD! I WAS WEAK…I SHOULD HAVE REACTED SOONER! I SH—!”
“Davros…what has happened cannot be reversed. But this guard seems to have important information.” Soulweeper stated, and he was right, the guard looked as if he had been running for some time, he probably had reports concerning the war.
“REPORT!”
“Your highness our scouts have spotted a small army of townsponies being led by Princess Twilight Sparkle, they are heading towards one of our outpost as we speak.”
Davros took a moment to absorb this new information, “GIVE ME SPECIFICS.”
“The outpost is a camp called Vineheart that consists of two Centuries on the beaches of the Summer Coast, it has a wooden wall surrounding the camp with a trench in front of it. It is estimated that the enemy will reach the outpost sometime tonight.” the guard replied.
“GOOD, YOU ARE DISMISSED,” the guard turned to leave and Davros again focused on Soulweeper, “SOULWEEPER, I ORDER YOU TO GATHER ALL HIGH-RANKING OFFICERS TO MEET ME IN THE WAR ROOM.”
=====
The war room was in the shape of a circle and was no less luxurious than the rest of the castle. A raised, circular map made of some odd mineral stood at the center of the room. In terms of height, the circular map stood even with Davros’ midsection. Davros, Soulweeper, and eight other Changelings stood around the circular map. Soulweeper had explained to Davros that the map was made of a clay-like material that allowed it to be used over and over again just by reforming the clay.
“OFFICERS, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A SITUATION. A GROUP OF ONE-HUNDRED PONIES, LED BY TWILIGHT SPARKLE ARE HEADING TOWARDS THE SUMMER COAST OUTPOST. THEY CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE THE OUTPOST. THEREFORE, I AM PLACING MY GUARD, SOULWEEPER, IN CHARGE OF A TASK FORCE OF TWO ALTURS. THIS TASK FORCE WILL EVACUATE THE OUTPOST, IN WHICH WE WILL REPLACE EVERY SOLDIER WITH FALSE ONES. ONCE THE ENEMY ENTERS THE ENCAMPMENT, WE WILL SURROUND THEM, THEN EXTERMINATE ALL OF THEM EXCEPT FOR THE ONE KNOWN AS TWILIGHT SPARKLE,” The group looked over the plans before hear the sound of Davros opening a secret compartment inside the lower section of his casing, within the compartment lay two objects, one was a metallic cylinder and a small cone like shaped with even smaller spheres on it. “SOULWEEPER TAKE THESE TWO, ONE IS A GENETIC PROGENITOR AND THE OTHER IS A MICRO GENETIC REGENERATOR, YOU WILL GATHER THE SCIENCE STAFF, HAVE THEM USE THEIR MAGIC TO POWER THE GENETIC REGENERATOR IN WHICH YOU WITH PLACE THE PROGENITOR INSIDE IT.” Davros stated as Soulweeper took both items.
“What do they do your highness, are they some form of weapon?”
“IN A SENSE, THEY WILL RECONSTRUCT DALEK DNA AND TRAVEL MACHINES FROM SCHEMATICS WITHIN MY DATA-BANKS, ONCE COMPLETE THEY WILL FOLLOW ORDERS FROM BOTH CHANGELING OFFICERS AND MYSELF.” Davros replied as the other officers tried to comprehend what he was ordering.
“What do you mean your leadership?” asked one of the brave officers on the other side of the map.
“YOU ALL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I AM ORDERING TO BE DONE, SOMETHING I SHOULD HAVE DONE DAYS AGO, THE RESURRECTION OF THE DALEKS! AFTER WE CAPTURE TWILIGHT SPARKLE WE SHALL RECLAIM THE CITY OF EBONY, WHICH WAS LOST EARLY ON IN THIS WAR FOR THE CHANGELING/DALEK EMPIRE! FORT GRIM AND FORT ICE WILL EACH SEND A MILLENNIUM OF TROOPS TO GATHER OUTSIDE OF EBONY. ANOTHER TWO MILLENNII OF TROOPS WILL BE SENT TO THE STAGING AREA FROM THE CAPITAL. IN TOTAL, FOUR THOUSAND CHANGELING SOLDIERS WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN THIS GRAND SIEGE. SINCE THE HEAVY ARMOR AND WEAPONS OF OUR SOLDIERS RESTRICT THEM FROM FLIGHT, WE WILL HAVE TO CREATE A SQUAD OF LIGHTLY-EQUIPPED SOLDIERS THAT WILL SNEAK IN AND OPEN THE GATES FOR OUR MORE POWERFUL TROOPS. THE PLAN MAY BE ALTERED IF CIRCUMSTANCES HAPPEN TO CHANGE. UNDERSTOOD?”
The eight Changeling officers nodded and left when Davros dismissed them.
=====
Night had fallen over the world as the moon rose. Princess Twilight and her followers, who took the name of “The Cult of Faust”, had traveled quickly as the sun set, stealthily using the forests to remain undetected from changeling scouts. The cult consisted of ponies from all three races, all united by the ultimate form of heartbreak. Not only did their races vary, but so did their occupations prior to becoming a militaristic cult. Some ponies were retired from the army and had combat experience, while others were merely blacksmiths that decent weaponry. But one particularly powerful asset the Cult of Faust possessed was their scientists. These brilliant ponies of science managed to make dozens of explosives from normal bombs to chemical ones to be hurled at their enemies.
The cult had stayed close to Equestrian-occupied cities, but far away enough so that they weren’t seen. Eventually, they arrived a few hundred yards from Vineheart before Twilight began informing them of her ingenious plan.
“May I have your attention, everypony? Thank you. From what I’ve overheard while eavesdropping on some guard ponies, I’ve learned that there is a Changeling camp along the beach between here and the enemy capital. Apparently, there are at least two hundred changeling soldiers at the camp,” she told them.
The ponies of The Cult of Faust mumbled and whispered worriedly to themselves. The enemy camp had twice as many soldiers as them, and the majority of the ponies had absolutely little to no combat experience.
“Now I know what you’re all thinking, how could we take out so many changelings,” Twilight sympathized, “But, we have several advantages that they do not have!”
“Oh yeah? Like what?” a scared and frustrated earth pony shouted from the back.
Spike stepped forward from Twilight’s side to answer.
“For one, we do have a few veterans among us. They will do their best to guide us through the fight using their experience of battle. We also have the greatest element of all, surprise. The Changelings don’t expect Equestria to attack in force again anytime soon, so they won’t exactly be prepared to defend themselves against a hundred brave ponies, also they won’t expect to be attacked from two sides! And our biggest advantage of all is that we have explosives. Our scientists whipped up a decent supply of explosives to be thrown at Changeling structures and soldiers. The bombs themselves are very sensitive, so be careful not to mistreat them.”
The ponies still felt nervous, but much better after being told of their advantages. Twilight led the group to a long, thick hedge on a hill next to the road that connected Vineheart and the capital. From their position, they could see the black forms of the Changelings moving around campfires and tents. The only obstacle was a large empty trench with a wooden fence behind it that surrounding the camp. Twilight knew a wall of sticks wouldn’t be a problem, but she was more worried about the abandoned trench in front of it.
“Okay, I want our strongest earth ponies will head to the east side of the wall! Buck down the wall as soon as our scientists hurl their bombs at the opposite wall. When both walls come down, everypony will charge in and kill every last one of them! Got it?”
The crowd of armed ponies nodded and whispered in agreement. Though Twilight was never in the actual army, she had talked to her wife a few times about how Equestria fought. She could never fully wrap her mind around it all, but she did retain a few of the simpler tactics, like buck-and-run style fighting.
The scientists quietly snuck over to the wall and pulled out their explosives while the largest earth ponies set position next to the east wall. Twilight and the rest of her Cult stood ready a few yards from the walls, raising their short swords in anticipation. Twilight whistled, and the scientists sent dozens of bottles into the air and crashing down onto the wall. The results were practically immediate, and huge bursts of flame licked at the night sky. The screams of the Changeling soldiers could be heard as they panicked and tried to make sense of what was happening.
The scientists retreated back to the main crowd while the earth ponies slammed opposite wall with their mighty hind legs. It took no more than four synchronized bucks. The wall splintered and fell in.
“KILL THEM ALL!” Twilight closed her eyes and screamed, charging into the blazing camp with a hundred ponies behind her screaming war cries as well. They poured into the camp, expecting a fierce battle to ensue. Much to their surprise, the blasts of the explosions had blinded or disoriented many of the Changeling soldiers. It took little to no effort for the militia to cleave through the stunned soldiers. Unicorns blew away tents and soldiers with their magic while the earth ponies and pegasi milled about, slashing and hacking, victory seemed to be just a minute away. But it was not to last as the pony cult realized something, the changelings, they weren’t real changelings, but only animated manikins of changeling soldiers with sound boxes inserted into their chests. Suddenly rays of green magic can flying from a distance, blasting everypony in sight, killing them instantly.
“ATTACK THEM YOUR LEADER COMMAND YOU!!” with that the changelings of the outpost started to surround and attack the pony forces within the outpost.
“Ki…Kill them!” Twilight stuttered as she watched saw the most terrifying sight ever… a dalek. Not just any dalek, but Davros, wearing his armor over his casing, moving forward towards the frightened alicorn.
“KILL ALL PONY FORCES, CAPTURE THE ALICORN!!”
“IT’S A TRAP…RETREAT!” Twilight yelled out before turning to run away. But it was too late; the changelings were too fast and were killing everpony in sight. Twilight was about to take off before being tackled by Soulkeeper and a group of changeling soldiers, one of them slamming their hoof into her face, the last thing see saw before falling into unconscious was the menacing dalek moving towards her.
Then darkness.
Author's Note
Oh no Twilight has been captured and stuff, what will happen to her?
As Twilight Sparkle slowly came to, the first things she noticed were that she was lying on her side on a cold wooden floor and that there was a light shining in through her eyelids. She instinctively tried to move her hoof to block the light, and that was when she realized that her legs were tied up. She wondered why that would be, when the memories of what had happened last night came flooding back, all those lives lost and the fear she felt when she saw the creature leading the attack. She quickly did a mental check of the rest of her body, and found that there was also some kind of ring on her horn and that her wings were strapped down against her sides. That last one was most worrying part of all of this, as it meant that she was completely vulnerable. There was no doubt about it; he had been captured by changelings. A quick attempt at using her magic to remove her bonds resulted in nothing happening, and she realized that the ring on her horn must be some kind of magic suppressor. Her hopes sank even further, if such a thing were possible. She reluctantly opened her eyes to see the monster that lead the changeling ambush silhouetted against the bright light that was shining in her face, giving her a glare that could melt a hole through stone.
“YOU ARE FINALLY AWAKE!” it said coldly.
She didn’t need to see anything to tell that it was angry at her, though when she did focus on it, she couldn’t tell anything from its emotionless dome. She also noticed that it had a male changeling that was using his magic to hold a lamp in the air, the source of light that was shining on her. She didn’t have time to dwell on any of that, however.
“Oh look the giant, ugly peppershaker wants me too talk.” She said with venom in her voice in hopes to sound intimidating.
“Don’t insult Davros when speaking to him!” the changeling shot back. He leaned in close so that they were nearly nose to nose.
“The only reason you aren’t on your way back to the capital in chains yet is because our leader wants some answers!” he rasped out under his breath. He backed up again and Davros moved in closer towards her, trying to look as imposing as possible with the lamp as a backlight.
“WHY HAVE YOU ATTEMPTED TO ATTACK THIS OUTPOST!?” Davros spoke in his usual electronic screech.
Twilight didn’t respond at first, trying to think of the best lie she could, but she didn’t have time, so she said the first thing to come into her head, “I was under orders from Princess Celestia to-”
“DON’T LIE TO ME, WE KNOW FOR A FACT THAT YOU WERE NOT UNDER ORDERS, MY SCOUTS HAVE INDICATED THAT YOU AND YOUR FOLLOWERS WERE WORKING SEPARATELY FROM YOUR GOVERNMENT, NOW SPEAK AND TELL ME THE TRUTH?!”
“As I said I was und-AHHHhhHHH!!!” before she could continue Davros blasted her with one of his hidden gunsticks, it wasn’t enough power to kill her, but enough to make her rethink her stratigies.
“YOU WILL OBEY AND EXPLAIN!!”
This time the alicorn decided not to speak at all, knowing that Davros would not kill her, she was more valuable alive then dead.
“...”
“TALK!!!”
“…”
“I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS,” Davros turned to face the changeling, “SOULWEEPER, HAVE SOME GUARDS TAKE HER BACK TO THE CAPITOL, ONCE THERE HAVE HER SENT TO A CELL AND INFORM THE GUARDS TO WATCH HER!”
“Yes yo–”
VWORRRP! VWORRRP!
Davros turned to see a blue box slowly appear into existence, “NO, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!”
VWORRRP! VWORRRP!
Soulweeper stared in awe, “What is it?”
Davros slowly approached the box, “IT’S THE TARDIS, HOW CAN IT BE HERE?”
VWORRRP! VWORRRP! VFLOOO! VFLOOO! THUD!
The TARDIS was shown in all of its glory for a solid second before the doors opened with smoke pouring out of it; three bipedal figures ran out of the TARDIS, The Doctor, Amy, and Rory.
“That…cough…is the last time I try to cross dimensions...cough.” The Doctor said to himself.
“Doctor, why did we need to cross dimensions?” Rory whined
The Doctor turned to look at the other male. “Were you even listening to me Rory, before the asylum was destroyed I detected a temporal flux inside the planet, Amy can you please explain it to him?”
“Which means a dalek crossed dimensions in order to escape destruction…Rory?” but Rory wasn’t paying attention to her at the moment, having a look of fear on his face that confused the other two, who had not yet realized the dalek behind them.
“Rory?”
Rory slowly lifted his finger towards Davros, “D…da…dal-”
Both Amy and the Doctor turned to see what was wrong, only to see Davros looking right back.
“DOCTOR!”
Author's Note
End of Episode 1!
Dalek and Changelings vs Ponies
“Get up!”
Someone shook Davros awake. He managed to get a few hours of sleep, despite his initial difficulty. He adjusted his eye to the darkness. It was very early in the morning; the sun hadn’t even begun to peek over the horizon. Soulweeper was standing next to him.
“Davros, get up! Someone wishes to see you! It is important!”
Though it still felt too early to even begin battle preparations, Davros was curious what could be so important. He turned to face Soulweeper. Soulweeper gestured for Davros to follow him while the rest of the Guards slept. It was still raining heavily, and not a single soldier was outside. Soulweeper was leading him toward a small wooden shack with an orange glow radiating from within.
As they entered, Davros saw a horribly disfigured Changeling hunched over a small well of orange, liquid metal. Its insect-like wings were almost non-existent; they’d been shredded down to the stubs. Deep, crimson scars adorned nearly every inch of its skin, and the hoof of its left hindleg had been replaced with a metallic prosthetic. Its right foreleg had been replaced with metal as well, up to the elbow. The decrepit blacksmith was using its metal foreleg to hammer away at still-glowing metallic plates. Sparks showered its skin with each strike, yet it did not flinch. Strangely, it wore a blue bandana-like cloth around its head.
Then, as though it felt a presence in the shack, it set down the plates, removed its bandana, and slowly rotated itself to face Soulweeper and Davros. Much to Davros’ surprise, the Changeling had no eyes. None. Just a relatively smooth, scarred space between its ears and above its slightly bent snout. It was a terrible, sad sight that confused Davros.
“He is called Molten,” Soulweeper whispered to Davros. “He was born mute and without eyes to a family of renowned blacksmiths. To that family, tradition was all that mattered, and they were appalled to have a blind and mute son. They did everything they could to try and make him something that he could not be. They were ashamed at his failure; they whipped and beat him. They cursed everything they believed in for delivering them such a ‘waste of life.’ Finally, they abandoned him along the side of a road, bleeding and crippled. One of the military’s patrols found him and took pity on him. It is still…very difficult to communicate with him. He only seems interested in working with metal. He makes very crude and brittle equipment, but it’s amazing he’s even capable of that. Despite all that’s happened…he still seems bent on redeeming himself.”
Davros felt pure sorrow and pity for the poor changeling. From what he learned in his life, most cultures it was unheard of to harm a child. It was beyond him how parents could treat their own flesh and blood in such an obscene manner. But he was still confused as to why Soulweeper brought him to see Molten.
“When you were speaking yesterday, he heard your voice,” Soulweeper continued, “We interpreted that he wished to meet you. He wouldn’t explain why.”
Very slowly and gently, Molten stood up from his seat near the well and hobbled over to Davros. In his hunched-over state, his height reached up to just below Davros’ skirt. Molten delicately touched several parts of Davros’ casing with his non-metal hoof. He took particular interest in Davros’ skirt, rubbing his hoof over the spheres and his metal appendages. Finally, he turned away and returned to his well. He pulled a chain that dangled over his head and more orange, liquid metal flowed in. Soulweeper saw that Molten was now busy and nudged Davros out of the shack. As they left, Davros could hear the clinking and clanking of metal on metal.
It had taken about an hour to pay Molten a visit, and a few more soldiers were awake, though they remained in their tents to stay dry. Soulweeper and Davros entered the main tent to begin discussing tactics with the commander.
As it turned out, the commander was quite the early bird and was already finishing paperwork for the new military doctrine that Davros had established. The commander spotted the pair and led them over to a table with a yellowed map spread over it.
Davros studied the map. For the most part this area consisted of plains for miles around, with the jet black ridge tearing east-to-west through the middle of it. The ridge was a few hundred yards long and the plains continued after the ridge ended. Red arrows at the top of the map indicated that the Equestrians would be coming from the north, while the Changelings were positioned to the south. The commander had jotted down a few notes regarding the weather to the side. Apparently, the weather would be worsening throughout the day and flash floods were likely to occur. Visibility would be awful.
“So, Davros, you helped us with our organization. Now maybe you can help us with our general tactics and battle plan,” the commander stated.
Davros thought in silence for several minutes. All of the tactics he had ever learned flooded through his mind, and then he remembered overhearing some soldiers bragging about their ability to change appearances and a devious thought landed in his head.
“I KNOW WHAT TO DO. I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO. HAVE THE FIRST MILLENNIUM TAKE POSITION AT THE WEST END OF THE RIDGE, WHILE THE SECOND MILLENNIUM TAKES POSITION ON THE EAST END. ALSO, I NEED ONE SENTURY FROM EACH MILLENNIUM TO MEET ME AT THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE MIDDLE OF THE RIDGE. HAVE THE TWO SENTURIES THAT WILL BE MEETING ME PAINT THEIR WINGS BLACK.”
The commander’s face showed utter puzzlement at what Davros had said, but he gave a trusting nod nonetheless.
“WILL WE BE RECEIVING ANY REINFORCEMENTS, COMMANDER?” Davros inquired.
“The capital has promised us two more Senturies of troops by sunset.”
“EXCELLENT. LET’S GET READY, SHALL WE?”
Over the next hour, the soldiers of the camp rushed to their assigned groups and prepared to march. Many of the Changelings had confused looks as they passed the two hundred soldiers still painting their wings black.
“Davros!”
Davros was watching the waves of troops march when he heard Soulweeper call for him. Davros searched for the location where the voice came from and found Soulweeper outside of Molten’s shack.
“He requested to see you again,” Soulweeper said.
The pair entered the shack expecting to see Molten hunched over his forge again. Instead, it appeared he had passed out from exhaustion on the floor. Davros’ metaphorical jaw fell as he saw why Molten wanted him to come back. Piles and piles of armor were scattered all over, designed for a changeling body. The craftsmanship was flawless, and the metal glinted in the dim light. To the left of the pile was an equally gorgeous set of armor of unknown design. They looked like metal rods with blades at the end of them that seemed to be made out of platinum and a dome helmet with two spikes on the sides. What struck Davros as odd was how the changeling armor had spheres on them.
Molten stirred and gently stood up as best he could. Davros was still in shock at how incredible the new equipment looked, but it still surprised him at how perceptive Molten was. The blacksmith shuffled over to Davros and pulled him over to the odd looking armor. Davros could tell it was meant for him, and his gratitude was boundless. Piece by piece, Molten strapped the armor onto Davros while Davros held the helmet on his head, which covered up his “dome lights”. However, he hesitated to finish strapping on the last of the right glove-thing to him. Davros patiently watched Molten stand frozen in place; he must’ve been deep in thought. Finally, Molten reached behind his head and removed his bandana. He turned his back to Davros for a moment and fumbled around with something. Turning back around, he had tied his bandana through the hole in the handle end of the strap. It no longer looked like a bandana; now it seemed like an elegant ribbon adorning a majestic glove.
Davros looked down in thanks, and Molten patted him on the chest. Soulweeper had been quietly standing in the doorway, his blue eye watery but holding back the flow with multiple carts of dalek looking changeling armor behind him. Molten hobbled back over to his forge and began clanking away at a making more dalek-changeling armor, while Davros left the shack with Soulweeper. The two Senturies remaining in camp had finished painting their wings black. With nothing important left to do in the camp, they departed and rejoined the main force at the ridge.
The commander had done as he was told. The First Millennium and Second Millennium awaited orders at each end of the ridge. Davros ordered the two remaining Senturies to spread out along the south side of the ridge and press their bodies against the stone. Davros had previously been too busy to notice, but the Changelings were now all wearing Molten’s armor and were holding weapons, only two-handed ones such as claymores and halberds.
The rain was getting heavier, and it pitter-pattered on Davros’ helmet. Luckily, the rain didn’t seem to be affecting the type of paint that had been applied to the Changelings’ wings. All of the moisture was creating a visibility nightmare. One could only see about thirty yards of in front of oneself. The commander and the other three Guards approached Davros and Soulweeper.
“Davros! Our scouts have informed us that the Equestrians are four thousand strong! The threat of defeat has been doubled!” the commander yelled over the pouring rain. He went on, “Not only that, but the troops aren’t feeling particularly confident!”
Davros looked to Soulweeper. He knew that if a pre-battle speech were to be given, he was the one to give it. Soulweeper knowingly nodded at Davros and began flapping his plastic-like wings. He took flight and hovered a few dozen feet in the air, flicking water as his wings buzzed.
“Brothers and sisters! HEAR ME!” he boomed.
Davros was astounded at how loud Soulweeper's voice was. Even though the Millennii were hundreds of yards away, he could hear the two thousand bodies shift to hear the beckoning voice.
“We stand here, at the brink of extinction, with our backs against the wall! It is a thing to wonder, is it not? How little hope there seems to be left, how little of a chance we seem to stand. Yet HERE WE STAND! The mighty soldiers of the glorious CHANGELING EMPIRE!”
Chills ran along Davros’ spine as he craned his eyestalk upward.
“We are the final barrier. We are the final obstacle in the way of the Equestrian advance. They think us merely a pebble, but we are a MOUNTAIN! And we shall NOT BE MOVED! Let them come! They fight for a cruel and unjust vengeance! But we? We fight for our home! For our families! FOR OUR QUEEN!”
Davros felt a great sense of pride overwhelm him as cheers rang out through the rain. He took his blade-like gloves and thrust them towards the grey sky, roaring in unison with the troops. Soulweeper landed and rejoined Davros and the other Guards. The commander left Davros in charge while he went left to rendezvous with the reinforcements on the way.
The Millennii and the two Senturies knew their orders. Davros and the four Guards would be making sure they followed the plan perfectly. Lightning struck in the distance and Davros watched as thousands of ponies emerged from the haze to the north. Davros wasn’t even phased by the sight of the ponies, he knew they would be victorious.
The ponies carried their own two-handed weapons, but to the rear were unicorns with no weapons at all. Pegasi made up the rear lines. Davros had been told of the varieties of ponies. He knew the pegasi would be useless; their wings would be too soaking wet from the rain to fly.
The lightning struck again, and all at once, the Equestrian troops charged. The army of ponies split, with one huge group heading for the First Millennium and the other heading for the Second Millennium. As they grew closer, Soulweeper blew into a war horn and both Millennii began to retreat to the south. Davros and his four Guards followed as well, giving a quick nod to the soldiers blending in with the black ridge.
Soon the Equestrian troops were right on the Changelings’ tails and they had passed around the ridge, confident that their superior numbers had broken their enemies’ spirit to fight. Davros tapped Soulweeper as they ran, and he blew the war horn a second time. Flashes of light appeared in the haze around the ridge and it appeared as though the number of ponies had grown. Soulweeper gave a third and final blast of the war horn, and the true battle began. Both Millennii turned and charged right into the horde of ponies. As soon as contact was made, flashes of light blinked everywhere. Ponies were now slaying each other with their own blades and unicorns blasted each other with magic. The mass confusion and slaughter was a beautiful thing to Davros. Soulweeper had told him that Changelings can tell each other apart, even when disguised. Davros was told to merely fight any pony that happened to attack him first. That way, he was guaranteed to prevent friendly kills.
Sure enough, a green unicorn leapt from the clashing forces and charged towards Davros. She shot a blue beam of light from her horn at him, but the blast dissipated before contact and he thrust his blades into her belly and then proceeded to tear her apart by spinning his appendages in opposite directions. A pegasus witnessed this and angrily hurtled towards Davros. Davros saw him charging and ran towards the pegasi as well. Just as they were about to collide fired a hidden gun sticks inside his appendages, blasting the pegasus in the chest. The winged pony yelled in pain and collapsed onto Davros, who shoved him off.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to fight as the battle raged on. The plains were now covered in mud and the rain was now pounding the ground in sheets. Dead ponies were strewn about everywhere, and slain Changelings had reverted to their normal forms as they fell. But Davros’ forces were winning. That was clear. An Equestrian war horn sounded, and hundreds of ponies began retreating. But as they attempted to run towards the ridge, they were cut off by more changelings. The two Senturies hiding along the ridge charged into the panicking crowd and a massacre ensued.
“Victory! Victory, my fellow Changelings! We have seized this battle!” Soulweeper howled into the rain. His declaration was met with a cascade of cheers across the soaking battlefield. All of the Changeling troops regrouped to embrace each other. But as they did so, they noticed thousands of silhouettes surrounding them in the haze.
“WHAT…WHAT IS THIS, EXPLAIN?!” Davros barked at the shadows.
The silhouettes moved closer. Approximately another two thousand ponies emerged from the fog. Davros’ troops had only defeated half of the attacking army when he thought they had sent everything they had at once. His deceptive tactics had only temporarily worked. Davros shivered, out of worry and out pure anger. He looked to the sky. Though it was hidden behind the clouds, the sun’s glow was barely visible as it began to set in the west.
He looked around him at his worried troops. It wounded them to have felt so close to victory, only to have it snatched away. Davros spotted Soulweeper, who also had a disheartened look.
“DO NOT FRET NOW, BROTHER! WE ARE NOT OUT OF THIS JUST YET! SOUND THE HORN!”
Soulweeper furrowed his brows in confusion, but upon seeing the confidence Davros possessed, he obliged and sounded the horn yet again. Davros faced the surrounding Equestrians and raised his dripping talons to the sky.
“FOR THE EMPIRE! FOR THE EMPRESS!!!!! ” he screamed, spinning his appendages faster than he ever had before.
He charged, and the rallied Changeling army screamed as they charged with him. Lightning struck everywhere, and hundreds of dark forms fell from the sky. It was the commander and his new reinforcements. Their wings buzzed violently as they descended at near-breakneck speeds. With ridiculous momentum guiding them, they made impact with their weapons and cleaved swaths of death through the Equestrian army. These surprise attacks coupled with the fury of the Changelings’ newfound morale drove terror into the heart of every pony. Soon the ground was littered with Equestrian corpses, and the survivors were in a full retreat. The Changelings let the few remaining ponies escape. They wanted it to be known that they would not be slain so easily.
Davros stood atop the ridge with Soulweeper at his side. The Changeling army stared up at him as he raised one of his metallic appendages to the sky for a third time. The clouds seemed to break away and the moon’s silvery light shone down on him.
“VICTORY! ” he screamed louder than ever.
The Changelings let loose a victory cheer unlike any they had before. Miles away, some refugees in the capital looked up to the sky and heard echoes. They knew not what had happened, but it lifted their spirits. Maybe…just maybe…there was hope for them after all…
Davros felt giddy as he continued to hold his blades high and the drying blue bandana fluttered in the light breeze. The cheers and celebrations of these soldiers brought him immense pride. This was his second chance. He let down his old home; he would never let this one go.
Never again…
Author's Note
Yeah, my dalek is fantastic!!!!!
Can be found here .
