Preparations for War

A bit more than two days and nights passed since the night of the ball. The time for King Sombra's and Queen Chrysalis' attack had finally come, and they were fully prepared, as they had scheduled.

In the middle of the forest stood a black tent lit with dim light on the inside, where King Sombra camped during those days and diligently planned out their attack... and where he currently paced anxiously.

His cape was hung at the side of the tent, his crown over his furniture, his armor being polished by two slaves that he had brought with him from the Empire.

He reviewed a map and his battle tactics for the fourth time in that hour. "Where ist she...? Dawn ist not far and our troops grow restless..." He sighed impatiently, then growled a bit as he turned around.

An eerie current of wind blew along with Chrysalis, who entered the tent while a few of her changelings escorts followed her. Her scolding look reminded them of their responsibility for her delay; they had taken far too long with their feeding and kept their queen waiting longer than planned.

"If We have to deal with thine irresponsibility again, We swear there wilt be big consequences for thee." She growled a bit and glared at the escorts again. "We hope We were understood!"

The young changelings nodded and scurried away after their fierce queen dismissed them.

She then looked back at Sombra, completely unfazed by his irritated look. "Art we really not going to do anything tonight? Not even a minor attack and retreat?"

"No."

"But We doubt they wilt do anything to counter us. They wilt barely stand a chance. If anything, our attack wilt only fuel their anger or curiosity, and ascertain their little trip to thy kingdom that would lead to their destruction. Wouldst that not be a best plan?"

She gave Sombra a look as he shook his head despite her detailed explanation and opinion. "Oh, thou males always believe thou hath the best plans. It ist irritating beyond relief."

Sombra's crystal pony slaves trembled and shivered as Chrysalis and her minions crept closer to them. They nearly dropped their king's armor as they tried to scoot away from the changelings.

The shadow king glared at the female pony, who whimpered and nearly screamed when one of the insect-like creatures got ready to pounce on her.

She would have screamed, had it not been for the crystal stallion that held her hoof, though he was equally frightened.

Sombra startled them by slamming his hoof on the floor. "Did We say thou were finished with our armor?!"

The crystal stallion fidgeted with his hooves nervously. Then he bowed his head and barely looked up at the king. "L-Lord Sombra, we-we have been working on it f-for hours. We-"

"We art sorry, King Sombra, Thy Highness, b-but we cannot work if... Th-those creatures stalk us and-" The female pony screamed as Sombra slammed her against the wall of the tent.

He glared at the stallion so he would remain frozen in his place. "Hear ye bunch of ingrate fools. If there ist a single scratch on it, We wilt have thee walk on three hooves back to the Empire!" He snarled at the ponies as watched them flinch before they quickly got back to their work.

Chrysalis smiled a little. "Such tyranny thou hast as a method to rule. Tsk, tsk, We change our mind. Our subjects would not do well feeding of thine, they would immediately grow sick from all the oppression and fear that plagues them." She moved away from the light yellow crystal mare and stared at her with disgust.

Sombra took a deep breath and looked at Chrysalis. "Let us return to the subject of importance..."

"Oh, yes, that subject. We believe we should weaken them by making an attack now that they are absolutely defenseless. Why wait when we can strike as many times as we wish?"

"We did not defeat the Crystal Empire through several attacks. We did it in one move that was carried out cleverly and swiftly. By the way, Queen... Thy troops have another task." His horn glowed black as he summoned his black, magic crystal soldiers.

They walked into the tent and roughly pushed hissing changelings out of the way as they were followed by living crystal pony soldiers.

The crystal pony soldiers dragged a couple of worn and heavily wounded stallions. "We found them as thou requested, Thy Highness. It wast not much trouble, since our black additions to the army accompanied us."

Sombra smirked as he stared at the gray and white stallion guards that breathed heavily and winced. "They did quite a number on these weaklings, I see..."

The white stallion glared up at the king, but did not have the strength to do much else.

Chrysalis walked forward and stared at the guards. "What dost thou want with these idiots?"

"They art for thee."

"For us?!"

"Yes. We need thee and all thy children to take the form of these ones. Thou wilt infiltrate the princesses' palace grounds, pose as soldiers and await till morning for our signal. Do not worry, it wilt not take long at all. An attack from both inside and outside wilt assure victory."

"Very well. It should not be difficult to do that. It ist what we specialize on, after all." She chuckled and patted the dark mane of the nearly unconscious gray guard. She glanced at Sombra again. "Only these two, though? Wilt there not be any suspicions? Perhaps we should capture more..."

She stepped away from the beaten ponies, her face a grimace of disgust again. She had never really liked ponies, especially after they banished her kind to desolate, cruel lands only because they were different, and needed different nourishment to survive. She only saw them as sources of food, that was it.

"Alarmingly to us, their troops art mostly these colors. Thine assignment gets easier, Queen Chrysalis. Thy troops wilt infiltrate and rest here." He threw a map to her feet. "That 'X' marks the spot for a tunnel."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. What else could it mark?"

"It ist a tunnel that our guards have worked on since a few days ago. It leads into ancient crystal caverns, which art crystal mines below the castle."

Chrysalis looked at the map again. She raised an eyebrow. "Crystal caverns. Thou dost not say..."

"Await there with thy troops. Scouts of ours wilt give the signal when time ist appropriate. Once thou hath been signaled, barge out in thy disguises to cause confusion among their troops."

She nodded and looked at her changeling soldiers to make sure they were understanding. "Yes."

"With this strategy and an efficient attack, we shalt take the whole kingdom in less than an hour. It wilt not be much, as it ist still underdeveloped, but it wilt be a great victory over those princesses nonetheless." Sombra grinned as he looked up at her.

Chrysalis nodded in agreement. "We art glad thou hast thought this through so well." She stepped back to head towards the exit. "We wilt be waiting within their grounds."

She walked outside of the tent and looked at the changelings that gathered around her. "Take on the form of those guards over there, our dears. We wilt move into their land."

The changelings nodded and surrounded the guards while buzzing amongst themselves.

Chrysalis smiled at them and continued to speak over their buzzing. "We wilt rest until orders are issued, so gather strength while thou hath chance. Take the rest of the night off, but do not move from thy spot."

She continued to issue orders as her subjects closed in on the two wounded pony guards. She looked down at the beaten royal guards with no consideration or pity in her eyes. She then chuckled when her changelings began to take the form of the ponies.

"This wilt be good. We cannot wait to get to those little bratty princesses down whence they belong, and see their faces once they fall. It wilt be rather delightful...!" Her green eyes glowed just slightly as she glared up at the peaceful palace that would soon be sieged by their attack.

Sombra approached his female slave. He growled at her as she cowered slightly. "Is our armor done yet?"

She gasped and backed away from him. "Y-Yes, Lord Sombra..." She spoke with in a whisper, keeping her eyes cast down on the ground as her stallion partner brought the gleaming, clean armor over to the king.

"Good. We were thinking one of thee could use missing a leg. But... It ist a good thing that thou minded thy duties. We do not have time to waste with filth like thee, after all." He stood still and let the two slaves put his armor on with trembling, but efficient hooves.

Chrysalis walked towards the kingdom once her subjects had finished taking their disguise. She smiled as she watched them advance quietly past the villages, into the tunnel that Sombra had mentioned.

"This war wilt be a glorious moment, our dears. It wilt be a day to remember and learn from. They wilt be at anguish this time, and suffer the way we suffered! Let us go. Let us be on our way to defeat them!"

She flew ahead of the changelings once most of them had taken a pony form. She glared back at the tent, and continued flying towards the awaiting kingdom. Do not think that thou wilt control us, Sombra... This is ourquest for revenge. Thou art only a way to our means.


As morning came a few hours later, it found Celestia sleeping soundly at the library, with a pile of books and notes around her. Even as she slept, her quill was gingerly lifted over the paper by her magic, though it did not write anything that was actually legible.

Wilder peeked into the room. He smiled a little when he saw Celestia slumped over her desk. There she is... Right, she said she was gonna stay here and study, right? And... research about me, too...

He looked at the papers and books that she had scattered across the table. "Hmm... Wow, she really went in deep, didn't she?" After skimming through some of the papers, he realized that none of the content held specific means to his being. There was no information that would help teach him about himself.

He sighed with disappointment and glanced down at Celestia. Well, you get points for trying... He couldn't help but smile a bit as he gently took the quill and broke her spell over it.

As soon as he did, Celestia moaned a bit in her sleep and shifted her head to the side.

"Shh, shh, Celestia, it's okay. Pulled an allnighter, didn't you? Go ahead and sleep." He snapped his fingers and turned the desk into a comfortable couch. He covered her with a blanket and nuzzled her slightly.

~~~

A couple of servant ponies stared at him as he teleported out of the library and stretched.

"I wonder what there's to do in the early mornings..."

The servants quickly looked away when Wilder turned to look at them.

"Hey, you two! You seem pretty bored, what should we do?"

"Um... Well, we art actually quite busy, sir..."

"Indeed, there ist still much to clean from the ball-"

"Seriously?! I would've thought you guys had fixed that already!"

"Not to mention that the Princesses' breakfast needs to be served... All of us art occupied at the-"

"You guys are all boring, I thought you'd lighten up after the party."

The unicorn maid blushed a bit as her young partner giggled slightly. She gave the younger earth pony a look. "Shush."

"Alright, whatever you guys want. There must still be something fun to do with somepony else. Or something nice, whatever. I don't like to sit in a place for long."

The light green earth pony maid raised an eyebrow as she smiled a little. "Perhaps thou couldst help us do our work, sir-"

The unicorn mare shook her head. "Of course not! He ist the Princesses' honored guest, we cannot ask him to do such a thing! Have some manners, Flower Dust!"

"Actually, I would help, if it wasn't so tedious. You know, cleaning and everything. This place is huge. Surely you guys do something to entertain yourselves."

"We enjoy the peaceful and quiet mornings, sir Wilder. Really-"

Wilder groaned. "Peace... Quiet... Urgh, that's really-wait, I got an idea!"

Flower Dust sighed and shook her head. "Must thou really make such a problem of what to do?"

Wilder smirked and patted her brown mane. "Oh, you know it." He floated in the air and flexed his wings. "It's been a couple of stressful days..."

"Really?"

He smiled at them as they started to walk while he floated. "Ahh, perhaps I'll take some leisure time to myself! Gotta see everything that's laying about the palace-it's just waiting to be explored! Maybe there's even hidden mazes or something, hidden passageways." He then wandered around the palace once again.

Flower Dust smiled a little as she watched Wilder leave. "Godspeed, sir."

The light blue unicorn maid sighed. "Well, at least he probably wilt not be much of a problem."

"To us, anyway."

"Yes. To us. I pity the forsaken fellow workers that wilt have to deal with his tremendously energetic behavior. Alas, it wilt be difficult for them."

"Oh, come now, he ist not that bad." Flower Dust gave her a smug look. "If I do recall, Flutter Sweep, thou were quite entertained at the ball. Were thou not?"

Flutter Sweep blushed a bit and nudged the younger filly along. "Come now, we must get to work. Let him keep to his fooling around, we art counted upon to keep this place clean and running."

"I wanted to go play with him..."

"Later, Flower Dust."

Wilder snickered as he watched the two mares leave. "Well, what do you know. Getting friendly with Celestia's workers, aren't I? About time, too." He snapped his fingers and vanished through the walls.

~~~

He appeared in the east wing of the palace. He let out a whistle as he saw how big the place was.

"Wow, I haven't even gotten very far, have I...? Cool, more mingling!" He lowered down to the floor as he watched more ponies while they tended to their business.

He waved at the many servants that he happened to come across. After getting comfortable in the unknown area of the palace, he even gave them a casual greeting and smiled while he invited them to strike a conversation. He ignored the nervous looks and excuses that they tried to give him.

"Hey. Care for a game of cards? C'mon, I don't bite. I might tickle you!" He laughed as one of the earth pony stallions gave him an odd look. "But, that's when getting down to the game. It'll be fun!"

The stallion rolled his eyes and left his companion behind while he carried a silver tray on his back. "Take care of the guest, Flicker Lull."

The young, light-cobalt pegasus gave the retreating servant an urgent look. "Wh-what?! But, Platinum Round, I do not think I-um, just-" He fluttered his wings nervously.

Wilder raised an eyebrow. "Flicker Lull? That's a pretty weird name for a colt, isn't it?"

Flicker Lull blushed a bit. "U-um..."

"Whatever, what do you say? We should have fun with something. You look like you can appreciate a good laugh. Not like your tray-carrying partner over there."

Platinum Round gave Wilder a look and turned away from him. "Hmph. Dissipation."

Wilder looked at Flicker Lull again while raising an eyebrow with an expectant expression.

"Oh, s-sir, I really should not, there art duties to take care of-" The young servant stallion said timidly before Wilder made him float as he thought of a game. "W-Wilder, sir!"

"Since you don't seem to be using those wings anytime soon, I gotta get you in the air somehow, right?!"

"N-no, sir!"

A few maid mares approached Wilder and gave him scolding looks. "Wilder, sir, thou must put him down!"

Wilder laughed as he made the mares float along with Flicker Lull. "Whoo! Flying servant ponies, how fun!" He put them down and chuckled as they gave him annoyed and cautious looks.

"Alright, let's go have breakfast. No, wait-I feel like taking a good, relaxing bath. I heard the princesses love that, especially with bubbles. Ooh, I want that!"

One of the maids nodded at him before she turned away. "We wilt have it ready, sir."

"And make it extra bubbly! With toys! And the bathtub will be like a boat-big as that! Oh, it'll be fun, like no bath that's ever been taken! I can already picture it-I'll fit all of you in there!"

A brown earth pony with a dark gray mane and an hourglass cutie mark backed away from Wilder with a nervous glance. He did not say a word and only jumped slightly when Wilder turned to look at him.

"Ooh. And who are you?" He appeared over the pony and looked at his cutie mark until the stallion grew nervous and moved his flank away. "That's a nice mark there! Relates to your name, like all the others. Right?" He looked at his own flank and shrugged. "Guess I'm too special for a single mark."

"U-um, my name Minute Passer, Wilder sir. I-I am the princesses' time and clock keeper-"

"Oh, nice, a time keeper! That's gotta be kind of interesting. Knowing all about time and stuff."

"Well-"

"You must mend a lot of watches on your spare time. Are some of them magical? Do you fix each and every clock you get, no matter what kind it is? Do you fix clocks that are bigger than you? Does that mean that you've got a perfect sense of time? Do you keep records of all time and all the clocks you repair?"

"W-well, yes, sir, I do. I mean, I repair just about any type of clock that needs it, keeping time ist important. That is my duty, what my family was assigned to do by the prin-"

Minute Passer sighed as the walls, floor, and ceiling around him turned into ticking clocks. "Oh, dear..."

"Mind telling me what time it is now, Minute?" Wilder started laughing again as Minute Passer looked at him wearily. He glanced at the smiling maids that tried to hold giggles in their hooves as the time keeping pony groaned with exasperation. "Go on, tell me each and every unit!"

"Sir, I do pray that thou-"

"Let's go, then! We'll have plenty of clocks in our time bathtub boat!" Wilder floated down the hall, followed by the mares, and now Minute Passer.

"B-But Wilder, sir... We have duties to tend to, the princesses will-"

"Celestia's fast asleep now that she's raised the sun. Luna will go to sleep in no time too-as soon as Celestia wakes up. I'll take over for a bit while they get in their precious order!"

The ponies remained quiet and a bit surprised as Wilder messed with the manes of the Royal Council as they walked past Wilder and his group of following servants. They said nothing as the council began to complain and grumble about Wilder's magic.

"C'mon! You all servant ponies need to lighten up. Follow after the civilians' example! You'll have a blast!"

The council gave him a look as he passed after blowing a raspberry at them.

A purple unicorn from the council glared at Wilder. "Such a disrespectful creature! I really cannot believe the Princess gave thee such an irresponsible answer yesterday, Dust Tail." He shook his head and looked at the gray counselor pony. "That creature must leave, it ist imperative for the kingdom's safety."

Dust Tail sighed. "Indeed... However, the poor foolish ones begin to fall for his ridiculous behavior..."

The unicorn nodded gravely. "I wilt say. Even my sister and her workmates hath begun to take to him. He has turned even the infirmary wing into a disaster. That ist what he does wherever he goes."

"That wilt be a problem. Of all areas, we cannot have the medical wing disturbed-"

The unicorn lifted his hoof and shook his head. "Not a problem, gentlecolts. Glitter Dawn may be charmed by the creature, but she is still my sister. She ist very responsible about her duties and knows best than to let the medical staff down. Not to mention the doctors art still firm about their occupations."

An older, dark gray stallion shook his head as the council continued to walk. "The creature wilt be no use to the kingdom. The princesses should have him gone themselves and save us the trouble of bothering with it."

The purple unicorn nodded, then rolled his eyes with annoyance. "But no, they had to act immature and fool around with him as well. It ist getting out of control. Who would have thought that the Princesses, of all, would disrespect and disobey the rules and cautions in such a manner!"

They grimaced as they heard Wilder's loud laugh-which he had made annoying just on purpose-followed by the sound of crashing plates and falling candle ornaments.

"Wow, this is fun! What better way to entertain ourselves on our way to the bathroom than battling these boring trays and plates, huh, friends?! Let's go 'be no use to the kingdom', as the old sour hooves say!"

Wilder led the now laughing mares and the panicking Minute Passer down to the big bathroom that awaited him after he snapped his fingers.


I am terrible at pony names. In case you haven't noticed. ...Okay, the chapter is supposed to feature the preparations of the villains for the oncoming war... But... Now that I think about it, I don't see much preparation here...

Most of it turned out to be an addition of Wilder fooling around with background servant ponies and ticking the Council by getting under their nerves. On purpose. He doesn't like those bitter bunch of ponies. I don't like them either, it's a good thing they become more flexible after a thousand years. But... Yeah. Fooling around with ponies apparently is better than bitter villains scheming.

Hey, more ancestor ponies! Yeah, Minute Passer's an ancestor, too (who's ancestor might he be...?). Logically, all of them ponies are. They gotta have foals and descendants like that at some point.

It was brief (relatively), the good part's coming up. Sombra and Chrysalis get their army moving through the city, while Wilder decides to take time to himself after giving Celestia a break from her allnighter research on him. And fool around with the servants. So considerate and fun of him. Since the army is acting rather silently, nopony, including him, has realized what the city is about to be put through.