//------------------------------// // Hostile Takeover. // Story: Twilight Gives Way to Dawn // by Lawpony //------------------------------// "Does this manticore not know how to die?!", an imperial soldier growled. "It appears to be augmented by some sort of elemental material. I do not believe our average weapons can do much against it," a seemingly intellectual soldier replied. "What?!" "He's saying our non-magic weapons can't harm it," the squad leader replied. "Oh...bummer." "Unicorn units! We require assistance! Initiate the massive charge maneuver...if you please," the unicorn of the squad sent out. "At once!" There came a massive charge of energy from the collection of unicorn troops behind them, that blew past them and collided with the manticore. It suddenly began to smolder and burst into flames. As soon as it began to bellow, it was gone and ashes fell in its place. "Much obliged." "Imminent manticore horde!" The front line teams looked on as a massive gate opened to reveal over a hundred manticores that looked very hungry. "Uh...the leader says you should probably take this. But give us some augmented help if you can." "Understood, your weapons are now augmented. Have fun, you've just joined the party!" They looked down, and their weapons were glowing red. They looked up to see the unicorns teleporting into battle. They were charging the pack of beasts. "Well that wasn't fair. Come on boys. Don't let them take all the fun!", the leader grinned. The earth pony troops charged with their magical weapons and began to overpower the beasts. The battle was long, many imperials were eaten alive. The lead was constantly turning between the imperials, and the changelings. Finally, the massive beasts stood victorious atop a massive pile of imperial corpses. The changelings were on the verge of charging the remaining lines of imperials when suddenly, the very essence of death stepped in. Queen Red Dawn had arrived. "What is she doing here?! She is a fool to blindly charge into her death!", a random changeling shouted from the mass of soldiers. "Oh really? Is this also foolish?", the queen countered. No sooner had she uttered these words, a nearby manticore turned and ate the changeling whole. "These are highly trained! How could this be?!", a changeling shouted. "Black magic! Sorcery!", another cried. And then the entirety of the manticore force began to charge their masters. "I need someone on top to send the ceiling of the delta excavation hole down on itself. Red Dawn's sorceress is in there and I don't think she can die easily!", the knight sent over the magical comm. "We're kinda busy at the moment. The manticores are obeying them for some reason!", the changeling that received the message replied. "But I need help! She's chasing me down a hall now! If she gets to me, I'm dead! I need someone to hurry up and fill this pit in, or send me help!", the sender retorted. The changeling that got his message was about to tell him the gist of what was going down, but took a magical spear to the face. At that moment, Red Dawn sent a magic missile into the ceiling that caused a massive chunk to fall on top of the collection of changelings. "She is to bury us in our own hive!", changelings cried in anger. "Forth division, protect our Queen! You mustn't let anything happen to her!", the lead changeling sent out on an open telepathic channel. "Thanks for your stupidity to use an open channel!", Red Dawn sent back out. "Is there no end to your-", the general began but slumped to the ground with over a dozen arrows fighting for space in his brain. "Hurry! Go! NEVER SURRENDE-", the general's replacement sent out, and was incinerated where she stood. The group of knights made their way down the hall leading to the Queen's chambers. When they began, there were ten of them. On their way, three were picked off by Red Dawn and her teleport combat. She teleported in front of the rear knight, and stabbed him in the face. She then teleported in front of the next and plunged a knife into her chest. She took out the third by teleporting behind him, and stabbing him down through the back with a magic battle axe. "This is not going to work! We need to end this here and not risk the life of our queen!" The seven remaining knights turned around and armed for battle. "I hate corridors!", one muttered. "You do? Well then allow me to show you why I love them!", Red Dawn smiled maniacally. She teleported between the two closest knights, and pulled one's weapon into the other, followed by flying upside-down to the next one, and driving her horn into the hole in his helmet. She executed a back flip, which landed her on her feet. She then turned and teleported into one of the remaining, killing him instantly, She used her magic to shoot the crossbow mounted on his foreleg, hitting all three that lived. She ran past the first dead one, picking up his battle axe in her magic, and hurled it towards one of the two left alive. The first ducked, and the one behind lost her head. She then then teleported to the flying battle axe, grabbed it, and teleported into the position of flinging the axe into his head. "And that is why corridors are so fun to use! Now, where is the queen?", Red Dawn continued down the hall. After about a minute of running, she finally saw a door that was guarded by two soldiers. Before she was seen, she teleported around the previous corner, and used an illusory spell to make herself into a changeling knight. "I love being the only one that can do this!", she piped happily. She worked up a pant and rounded the corner as dramatically as she could. "Guards! You must let me in at once! That imperial scum of a Queen is behind me! I have been ordered to give our Queen additional aid!" "At once ma'am! We shall stand guard and make sure she doesn't get past," one replied. Oh, but you just have... she thought to herself as she ran into Chrysalis' chambers. "My Queen, that imperial scum is behind me! We must get you away from here!" "There is a tunnel that leads outside the hive. I was going to use it only if we lost," Queen Chrysalis replied. "We have lost indeed my Queen," she mocked sorrow. And this voice disguise, LOVE IT! "Very well, lead me out, and we shall seek out the aid of the Resistance. They are the only hope we have that's within a day's journey." "At once! But we must hurry! Red Dawn was behind me before I got here! On your way my Queen!" Chrysalis walked over to a bookshelf, and pulled out a book. Nothing happened until she laid it on the desk, and opened it to a certain page. When she did this, the bed moved and a tunnel was revieled. "The desk is designed to measure the weight of each side of the book when I put a certain number of pages on either side," Chrysalis explained. As Chrysalis began to enter the tunnel, her vision went black. "Subjects! Enemies! Behold the horn of Queen Chrysalis!", Red Dawn held up a black crooked horn for all of the hive to see. Cries of horror and screams of joy were heard from every corner. "Now, you will either bow to me or I will kill you." "Those of you who wish to oppose her, try as you may, but you will die. Now those of you who will bow and claim her as Queen, drop your weapons and surrender," Diamond Death shouted across the echoing walls of the hive. The sound of weapons hitting the floor rang for what seemed like minutes. Finally, all was silent, and every head was bent in fear towards the floor. "Good. You see that Feather Weight? I want Rainbow Dash to know what has happened, you hear?!" An imperial soldier bowed and flew out of the hive.