Being a princess was the dream of many ponies. It was a glamorous position, indeed, where one would become an adored celebrity welcomed in all circles practically overnight. One would imagine that becoming a princess would grant one almost anything they desired.

However, no one ever talks about how stressful it is.

Princess Magic of the newly formed Holy Potato Empire was ruminating over this now as she oversaw the building of her country's capital city. All around her, the potato ponies worked hard, some pulling great loads with their incredible strength, some writing on large blue scrolls with white ink, and a few artisans making the little details for later, such as doorknobs and stained glass windows. A few of the ponies were prancing around in delight as they earned their cutie marks, mostly building and strength related ones so far. Magic smiled, sipping her coffee as she nestled into the blanket that had been provided for her by her royal sister.

The sun was just barely beginning to rise over the hills, and her fluffy wool was slightly damp with dewdrops that had formed from the cold morning that she had sat through. She'd already been out of her warm bed for two hours, and it was freezing cold out. She looked to the West, gazing at the coast of the beautiful Celestial sea, just visible past the volcanic terrain of the Draconic kingdom to the Northwest. She smiled, proud of herself for having already created an alliance with their militaristically powerful neighbors. Their king, a huge red dragon with glowing amber eyes and dull pink spines, had been slightly terrifying, but seemed almost too eager to do whatever the tiny fluffy princess wanted just to get her to leave. She wasn't certain, but she thought she had seen a hint of fear in his eyes while they engaged in diplomacy. Did she have a reputation as a powerful leader already? She smiled, wishing she could pat herself on the shoulder, but knew her fur made that all but impossible. Suddenly, a very large potato pony, probably made from a Norland Red, galloped up to the princess as fast as he could, panting slightly as he skidded to a halt in front of her, bowing quickly.

"Your highness! The changelings have arrived from the West! We are under attack!" He exclaimed, eliciting a horrified gasp from the crowd that had gathered. Princess Magic looked to the sky, seeing a massive black swarm coming in from the ocean at an alarming rate. She furrowed her brow, furious that Chrysalis had already advanced upon their borders without provocation.

"Send the fastest messenger we have to the palace of the dragon king. Tell him of our plight, and request that he send aide in the form of soldiers. Gather the strongest of the rest of us, and prepare them for battle." she said decisively, her eyes flashing with fury under the morning sun.

"Today, we go to war."

"I don't think I need to tell you all why we're here." Magic said, facing her new army of strong, hardy ponies.

"As you can see from the horizon, the Changeling empire has advanced upon our borders without any warning. Even now, they are flying straight for our incomplete capital city." she said, beginning to pace in front of the lines.

"They are not like our kind, or even the dragons to the North. They care not of our fear, or our dreams, or our desires. They simply take what they want, and plow down mighty, proud civilizations. Their leader is a cruel, horrid mistress to her people. They will not retreat. They will not show mercy. They will not stop until their last soldier has been slaughtered on the battlefield." she said, her eyes cold and fierce. Suddenly, she turned back to the crowd, seemingly about to burst with determination.

"But not today!" she cried, her army looking on to their leader with wide eyes.

"Today, we take a stand!"

"Today, we show those heartless bastards that we're strong ponies, and we will not fall victim to their cruel ways!" she shouted, the army cheering as they became excited for the battle ahead.

"Today, we FIGHT!" she screamed, raising her hoof to the sky as she flew into the air above her roaring soldiers. She turned to the advancing changelings, fury and pride in her every move.

"ATTACK!!" she cried, streaking towards the front lines with the speed of a comet, her new wings blazing with strength and courage.

And the armies collided.

The battlefield flooded with noise and confusion, the sounds of steel and chitin colliding as soldiers fell like flies onto the grass, painting it red and gold with the blood of both sides. The princess cannoned through the enemy lines, powerful beams of energy blasting through the changling battalion as huge swaths of changeling drones incinerated on the spot. She could see her soldiers below hammering down on the ground forces as she cut empty space into the airborne warriors. Ten minutes into the battle, her fur was matted with sickly yellow changling blood and inky black ashes, creating warrior paint on her tiny, fluffy body as she slaughtered wave after wave of changelings. As she looked around, however, it seemed to have done no good. Even though she had single-handedly killed at least a thousand changelings, ten thousand more seemed to have taken their place as her army toiled in the battlefield below. Her heart sank as she realized that their efforts were for naught. Her new kingdom, and all of its people, would become nothing more than a food source for the cruel, tyrannical changeling empire. A tear trickled down her face as she thought of all the ponies below who were counting on her, and how she had failed every single one of them. But suddenly, she heard a deafeningly loud roar and the flapping of massive wings as the ground below her rumbled.

The dragons had come.

The king was in the front lines, leading a massive army of his people. Countless gem-colored behemoths descended upon the changeling ranks, their fire blazing brightly through the clouds of soldiers. Everywhere, club-like tails and teeth sharper than obsidian blades tore through the changelings like knives through butter. Furious roars and terrified screams surrounded Magic as she witnessed the slaughter of millions of warriors around her. In less than a minute, the battle was won.

The entire changeling army was destroyed.

As Magic looked to the West, she saw the sole survivor of the changling army flying away at breakneck speed, three enormous dragons tailing her over the Celestial sea, before turning back to the battlefield to land. She was larger than the other changelings, with flashing green eyes and long, long legs.

It was none other than Queen Chrysalis herself.

Magic floated back down to the battlefield, her soldiers cheering below as they hugged each other, just happy to have survived. A few soldiers had fallen, and their friends were by their corpses, trying in vain to fix their fallen allies. The dragons flew back to their kingdom, their wings creating colored light on the field like a collection of stained glass shards. As Magic walked among her soldiers, she noticed the most amazing thing she had ever seen. Where they had been hurt, the ponies were healing themselves before her very eyes. Wounds closed and limbs regrew as the soldiers looked on, themselves bewildered at this incredible feat. Even a few who had been decapitated came back to life when their heads were put back on their necks. She suddenly realized that her soldiers, being made of plants, could regrow themselves in the sunlight, making any injuries, even the most horrific ones, easily fixable, Even death had become a temporary inconvenience for some of them. Her forces, if their necks were protected adequately, could be completely unstoppable. They were the ultimate soldiers. She smiled as she watched a fallen pony get back up and join her overjoyed friends again. Turning around, she led the battalions back home.

They had a city to build.

Author's Note

In case you were wondering, this is the dragon king.