Evening, Alternia’s taskforce, about when attack on Celestia’s fleet starts...
Alternia, Chrysalis and Retariusil were just about to start the main course of their dinner, a vegetable lasagna. It was one of Alternia’s favorite dishes—simple, but filling and delicious.
Before Alternia could dig her fork into it though, a voice echoed in her head and she froze.
Your highness, it’s Diamondshell. I have urgent news.
Alternia nodded and glanced at Chrysalis, who had the same far off look in her eyes. Clearly she was receiving a similar message from one of her changelings.
Is something wrong, Diamondshell? asked Alternia.
Yes, your highness. Flashes of naval gunfire have been sighted on the horizon. We think it’s Celestia’s fleet being attacked.
Gritting her teeth, Alternia stood up and ripped the napkin hanging from her chestpiece. She had been worried that this would be the case. Alternia had hoped that her and Celestia’s journeys would go without event, and initially that hope held true as her fleet had left the trade route and began the dash toward Venecia. Evidently, fate had other ideas.
Thank you, Diamondshell. Order the radioponies to raise the Llamrei on radio if possible.
Shifting her attention, Alternia then focused on the mental link she had with her captain. Not that it was particularly difficult. The link he had with her was quite strong.
Harlequin!
Yes, your highness? responded her captain.
Order the captains of the flotilla to set a course to the flashes of gunfire immediately, and order all hooves to battlestations. I’m shifting my flag to the Hornblower. Have the Mirror Guard prepare to transfer to the Hornblower by flight and by longboat.
Understood. I’ll relay that to the captains. I’ve already ordered all ponies and changelings to general quarters.
Good. See you on the Hornblower.
Alternia exited the mental link then and looked back up at Retariusil and Chrysalis, the younger queen being understandably confused.
“Celestia’s under attack, probably by your mother’s killer. We’re going to go and reinforce her,” said Alternia.
Retariusil’s eyes widened before she sneered. “How can I help?”
“Heh, your transfer plan to get all of the Mirror Guard to the RENS Hornblower quickly worked quite well, Captain” said Buzz to Harlequin as they trotted through the corridors of the battleship in full armor and battle gear.
Harlequin grinned, and checked his dual short swords at his side. “Thanks Buzz, but considering we had so few unicorn and earth pony members anyway, all we needed to do was have our changelings tow their boats to the Hornblower.” Pausing, Harlequin turned to an approaching changeling soldier. “Ah, Scarab, what’s the status of Queen Chrysalis’s changelings and of Queen Retariusil?”
“Queen Chrysalis and her changelings are still in the process of getting their equipment on the Neptune and will be joining us shortly. Queen Retariusil is also with them,” reported Scarab.
Buzz nodded. “Good. We’re heading to the Ops room. Report to Captain Diamondshell and inform her of that.”
“Also, have you seen her highness of late? We cannot seem to find her,” said Harlequin.
Scarab blinked in realization and swallowed. “Oh. Um. Her highness is with Captain Diamondshell and is in the…” The changeling coughed. “Seats of ease.”
Harlequin and Buzz blinked simultaneously, almost owlishly.
“Oh… Well that’s understandable. I suppose she wants to clear her head before the battle,” said Harlequin as if he was discussing the weather.
Buzz glanced at Harlequin with a devilish grin. “You mean clear her…”
“Don’t you dare say it, Buzz,” growled Harlequin softly, even though he was still smiling.
Shaking his head, Buzz turned back to Scarab. “All right, thank you for informing us Scarab. Off you go.”
“Yes sir—AARGH!”
There was a massive bang and crunch. The sound of steel simply being smashed and torn so quickly it didn’t have the time to scream. Meanwhile, Scarab, Buzz and Harlequin went flying as the entire deck jumped up from under them, sending the three changelings into the ceiling with a loud clunk. Luckily, instead of their mostly ceremonial silver armor, all three were wearing changeling armor, a highly rigid and durable design made from laminated layers of old changeling carapace molts. So it hurt when their helmeted heads slammed into the ceiling and more when they came crashing back down onto the floor, but they were more or less fine.
“What in the Queen’s Sordid Bedchamber was that?” groaned Scarab.
Buzz shook his head. “Her highness’s bedchamber is actually very well kept and clean. But seriously, what in her highnesses flaming tits and shiny carapace was that?”
“@!%$#! that. Get up already. We need to get to her highness immediately!” Harlequin snapped as he struggled to his hooves and checked if the silver captain’s badge attached to his armor still stuck.
Buzz and Scarab stared at Harlequin with wide eyes.
“Long infiltration mission in Equestria. Don’t ask.” Harlequin helped Buzz up and ran to the nearest intercom, pulled down the communication mouthpiece with his magic and used his hoof to phone the bridge. “This is Captain Harlequin from near the Mess Hall to the bridge. What’s the status of the ship Captain Hotspur?”
“Unsure captain. We got hit by something… Hold on, I’m getting reports.” There was a pause on the other side of the line and Harlequin staggered as the Hornblower lurched to the right and continued to roll. “We’re taking in water fast! We’re going to capsize. Get her highness out of here! All hooves abandon ship!”
“Affirmative!” Harlequin turned to his colleagues. “To her highness, now!”
Chrysalis had staggered mid-flight when the battleship her sister was on jumped several feet in the air and smashed down into the water again, sending a massive wash of spray into the air. Bobbing slightly up and down like a cork in a bathtub, the ship quickly had began to tilt as it took in water, exposing its side.
After a moment of thanking the Great Hive Mothers that Cyndra was still on the Neptune with Raven, Chrysalis’s years of battle experience kicked in at that instant. Instead of screaming for her sister at the top of her lungs, Chrysalis focused on the mental link to the two hundred changelings that hovered behind her.
Two squads of changelings assist with the evacuation of the Hornblower! All other squads, prepare for battle against kelpie forces.
As the changelings spread out to do precisely that, Chrysalis seized on the link she had with Alternia.
Alternia. Alternia! Are you alright? Where are you?
Silence filled the link. Taking a deep breath, Chrysalis probed the link. There was a sense of confusion on the other side, as well as pain.
Chrysalis… it hurts… my head…
Alternia! Wake up! You need to get out! The ship is capsizing! Something hit you. I think it might be kelpies but I can’t be sure!
Her sister’s response was weak, but coherent.
Okay. Will do.
Turning to her changelings, Chrysalis watched them pluck ponies out of the sea. It was very difficult to see how many survivors there were in the dark, despite the starshells fired by the Jack Sparrow’s guns. In the dim light and flashes though, Chrysalis could still spy Retariusil helping ponies into the hooves of other changelings.
More worrying, though, was the Hornblower itself. Its deck continued to slope and the hull kept rolling.
Inside the Hornblower, a few minutes ago…
Diamondshell and twenty other female changelings and ponies of the Mirror Guard had been in and around the washroom their princess was in when their ship had decided to do a jig. The result, the guards were all bowled over like ninepins, most of them sent into the ceiling.
Groggily, Diamondshell dragged herself up onto her hooves and blinked as she felt the floor tilt under them. Instantly, she had damned all privacy and threw the door to her highness’s cubicle open.
Thankfully, her queen had finished her business. However, she was not in good shape. She leant against the side of the cubicle, eyes closed, muscles limp, crown lopsided on her head. Diamondshell quickly realized that being taller, and not having put her armor on yet, her princess had been subject to the full impact of the steel ceiling against her horn and head.
Grabbing her highness with her magic, Diamondshell levitated her out of the cubicle and was assisted by another unicorn and two changelings in laying her against the floor. She instantly changed her mind as she noticed that she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her footing on the floor. At this rate, her highness would just slide into an obstacle.
So she turned to the pony guard and changelings. “Lieutenant Hydrangea, you, Noor and Szabo, are to keep her highness midair and safe from any objects at all cost until the ship levels out. Think you can do that?”
Hydrangea, the pony guard, tightened her steel helmet strapped, glanced at her changelings and nodded.
“We can do that, Captain.”
“Good.” Diamondshell ran out of the bathroom to check on the guards outside. They had just finished picking themselves up and were checking their equipment for damage.
“Some changeling or pony find me Captain Harlequin and get me a sitrep on what’s going on outside—”
“Attention, all hooves. This is the captain speaking. Abandon ship. We are capsizing. All hooves, abandon ship!”
Diamondshell hissed exasperatedly. “Well belay that order. At least I know now— woah!”
Ponies and guards slid down the floor as the ship lurched suddenly, the deck rolling from the already perilous forty-five degrees to near ninety. Even then the ship continued to roll.
The clatter and thump of loose objects falling from their perches, as well as the smashing of glass filled the air. Yelps and distant cries of surprise also filled the corridor as crewmembers were forcefully reorientated. The changelings managed to hop into the air, hovering away from the flipping deck, and grabbing onto their pony comrades as they did so with their magic.
Before they knew it, up had become down, down had become up. Diamondshell found herself standing on what used to be the ceiling, next to one of the ceiling lamps.
“By the Traitor’s Sordid Heart, this is going to be a problem,” muttered Diamondshell. The changelings they had on the ship were going to have some difficulty navigating the maze the corridors had now become.
Darting back into the washroom, Diamondshell noticed that her guards had placed Alternia safely in a corner and were none the worse for wear. Intriguingly, Hydrangea was gingerly walking upside down from the original bathroom floor to the wall, having performed some sort of sticking spell to keep her from falling flat.
Diamondshell had other concerns though and she quickly gripped her hooves around Alternia’s shoulders. “Your highness! Call us to you! We need to assemble and get out!”
Alternia opened her eyes. They were slightly glazed over, but there was a sense of urgency in them. “Trying. My head hurts…”
A concussion for sure. How serious, Diamondshell didn’t know, but it had to be addressed. Turning “Corporal Asclep, get a healing spell on her highness, quickly!”
“No time… boat was hit by something… possibly kelpies,” gasped Alternia.
Diamondshell grimaced. “In the Traitor’s black name... this is going to Tartarus…” She didn’t stop her changeling corporal from casting the spell, though. They needed to make sure her highness didn’t have a serious head injury.
She did inform the rest of her guards to get ready for battle.
Thankfully, more changelings and ponies following them arrived to their position in the next few minutes. On occasion they were followed by sailors who were still trapped in the ship and looking for any kind of group.
Finally, after a few minutes Buzz and Harlequin arrived, at the head of the rest of their changelings and ponies. They also had about ten other sailors with them.
“Buzz, Harlequin, did you see any kelpies on your way here? Chrysalis suspects they might be responsible for this,” said Diamondshell, trying not to show too much relief in her voice.
Harlequin shook his head. “We didn’t, but we weren’t too far away from the bathroom. We just had to make a quick scouting run to the outside of the ship to figure out which part was submerged.”
“And?”
Buzz shuddered. “Most of the superstructure is underwater and is beginning to flood, but one of the sailors with us reported that the hull doors in the side of the ship are still above water. We can make our way there.”
“Good, let’s get going. Her highness is hurt. We can’t let the kelpies get their hooves on her,” said Diamondshell.
And so quickly and quietly, the limp form of Princess Alternia levitated in the middle of the group, the ponies and changelings scampered down the corridors.
Outside, Chrysalis and her entourage were gingerly approaching the overturned hull of the Hornblower, whose red paint made it quite visible in the night.
The cause of the ship’s capsize was evident for all to see. A great hole that could swallow thirty ponies below the armored belt of the battleship. The nature of the hole was very odd though. It looked as if something had bucked the ship’s hull in. That was impressive. Chrysalis didn’t know too much about engineering, but Alternia had been telling her about how the Hornblower had a double-bottom hull. This meant the ship’s bottom had two watertight bottoms so that if one was penetrated, the other could hold water out.
Both bottoms were obviously holed, and the steel itself was bent inward into the gap. Some shattered pieces of the original hull steel had fallen into the cavity, which gave Chrysalis a clear view into one of the central boiler rooms and the coal bunker.
For a moment, Chrysalis irrationally worried that if she set hoof on the ship, it would wobble or tip, but as she landed, the riveted steel under her hoof felt as solid as land, though still heaving in the waves.
Turning to two squads of her changelings, Chrysalis sent a message. Go inside and locate my sister. Also, try to get as many survivors as you can out, but be ready to escape on short notice. I will inform you the moment the ship starts to sink.
The changelings sent back affirmative replies and hovered into the hole, spreading out as they advanced inward. With a sigh, Chrysalis turned away and waited.
It was then that a flash of gold, reflecting the light of one of the starshells they had fired for illumination, caught the corner of Chrysalis’s eye. Initially thinking it was a guard, Chrysalis turned and her eyes widened as she saw a kelpie just floating in the water near the ship. From the look of how his hooves and tentacles were simply splayed out over the water, he, or she, was unconscious.
Immediately, Chrysalis seized the kelpie with her telekinesis, while ordering her changelings to back her up. As she set the creature down onto the hull, changelings, backed by their comrades with weapons levelled at the kelpie, came forward with military-grade rope which were used to tie the kelpie’s hooves.
“What are you doing, Queen Chrysalis? Let’s just kill him!” spat Retariusil, lifting her borrowed poleaxe.
Chrysalis shot the younger queen a cautionary glare. “We need information, Retariusil. We can decide what to do with him later, but leave him alone for now.”
“Information? We’re at war Chrysalis! And I doubt we can get anything out of this monster! Let’s just kill him and be done with it! It’d be one less of these creatures in the world.”
Chrysalis quickly levitated the kelpie onto the hull, while her changelings surrounded him, weapons pointed at the tentacled creature. She then stood in front of Retariusil, blocking her sight from the kelpie.
“Retariusil! Calm down.”
Retariusil side-stepped Chrysalis, her horn shining a wicked green light into the night. There was a manic grin to her features, an anger that had been held back too long, unleashed.
“His kind killed my mother! They murdered her, likely eating her alive! Don’t you dare ask me to calm down!” spat Retariusil as she stepped forward.
But before Retariusil could unleash her spell, ten of Chrysalis’s changelings leveled their weapons at her, forcing her to halt and hold the spell.
What held Retaruisil’s attention though, were the narrowed eyes of Queen Chrysalis that gleamed in the dark like green flames.
“Retariusil, your anger has no place on the battlefield and especially not in an interrogation. Return to the ship, or I will drag you there myself.”
Chrysalis punctuated that order by flashing her fangs as she held Retariusil’s glare, a traditional changeling threat in response to the challenge invoked by the younger queen. Chrysalis expected Retariusil to back down quickly, but to her credit, or more likely, her foolishness, Retariusil held her ground for what seemed like an entire minute.
“As you wish, Queen Chrysalis, but do not think I have forgotten this insult,” said Retariusil heatedly as she stalked away.
“And I will not forget your near-idiocy,” whispered Chrysalis under her breath when Retariusil had lifted off and headed back toward the Neptune. Shaking her head, Chrysalis then examined the kelpie.
This kelpie seemed to be a male. There was something in the firmly set jaw and bulkier figure that indicated this. He was also heavily adorned with gold. Gold chain around his neck, gold bracelets around his hooves, gold rings around his tentacles and a small gold crown nestled on top of his head, attached by strands of his kelp mane.
Clearly this kelpie was important, how so was not clear to Chrysalis, but she wasn’t going to let this opportunity for information be passed by. So she ordered her changelings to tie their new guest up.
“Wake him up,” ordered Chrysalis.
One changeling, who earlier had been ordered back to the Neptune to find smelling salts, uncapped the small bottle and waved it under the kelpie’s nose. The kelpie breathed in, flinched and then groaned loudly.
“Ughh.. What in Aquestria hit my head?”
Blinking, the kelpie finally noticed his environment as the changelings pointed their weapons at him, and Chrysalis stepped forward.
“Greetings. I am Queen Chrysalis of the Evergreen Hive, sister to Princess Alternia of Equestria whom your kind have attacked and whose capsized ship you are standing upon.”
Much to Chrysalis’s pleasure, the kelpie swallowed as he took in the narrowed eyes of the armed changelings around him, and Chrysalis’s own fanged sneer.
“I have a few questions I would like answered.”
Navigating the corridors of the upside down Hornblower was odd to say the least. The stairs didn’t quite work properly anymore and some tricky levitation and hovering was required to get the still groggy Princess Alternia up. The narrowness of the corridors also didn’t help. The hallways would only fit two ponies or changelings abreast at most, and most of the smaller corridors forced the group to walk single file. Suffice to say, everybody was on edge as they trotted through the ship.
So when somepony started to scream and wail from somewhere in the ship, everypony and changeling froze.
“NOOO! MERCY—”
The cry was abruptly cut off and the group was left with nothing but the sound of their own gasping breaths.
“Was that...” whispered Scarab.
Harlequin hefted his blades. “That was exactly what you think it was. Move!” he hissed. He risked a quick glance to Alternia. She was walking now, supported by Lieutenant Hydrangea and two other changelings. Meanwhile, Corporal Asclep continued to cast his healing spell on Alternia.
A sense of urgency sped the hooves of the changelings and ponies in the group as they cantered toward the exit, weapons at the ready, eyes peeled. Every corner was negotiated with speed, a changeling, pony guard, or a sailor clearing it and watching the empty corridor as the rest passed.
Then, their luck ran out.
“Kelpies!” screamed one of the sailors at the back.
Harlequin didn’t hesitate, he charged forward. “Everybody move!”
The Mirror Guard galloped like they had never had before, the rest of the ship’s crew with them hot on their hooves. The screams of those behind them propelled them onward and they dared not look back at the kelpies who had gotten ahold of the survivors that had been with them.
Alternia being dragged through the air by her guards. She could feel the fear in her changelings through her link with them and she tried to do her best to stay calm. Yet, the pounding in her head refused to stop.
“RIGHT! Get to the mess!” yelled Harlequin suddenly. The group turned right instead of going straight ahead and Buzz saw why as he neared the corner. Five kelpies were running toward them, nearing the group as they tore down the hall.
Grimacing, Buzz hefted his broadsword. “Seven with me! The rest keep going!” he ordered and he charged, four changelings and three ponies following them.
Diamondshell froze as she saw her fellow captain charge. “Buzz, stop!” she cried.
But Buzz didn’t listen. “Go, Diamondshell!” he roared. He knew there was no way the group could escape this if they didn’t delay the kelpies in some way.
Both changeling and kelpie had slowed down, advancing upon each other at a trot. Buzz hefted his broadsword, the rings on it jingling in an eerie fashion as he swept it right and left. The kelpie didn’t seem intimidated, though. It merely raised its armored tentacles.
And struck.
Buzz stepped back, his broadsword slapping the first strike out of the way. The kelpie was very persistent though, and attacked again, multiple tentacles from multiple angles, trying to wrap themselves around the changeling captain.
Not wanting to get caught, Buzz jumped back again and pulled on his reserves of magic, while keeping his broadsword levitated. But the kelpie wouldn’t let him. It continued to press onward and Buzz was forced to parry.
All the while, Buzz considered his alternative options. Changelings were heavier than ponies due to their carapace and he assumed the kelpies were even heavier especially since they had no holes in their legs to save weight.
Buzz stepped back and countered another lunge at his head. Problem was that the best way to fight a changeling was to out-maneuver them and flank them. In a corridor, he couldn’t do that.
Perhaps he could buy himself some distance though. Concentrating Buzz deflected another tentacle strike and used his magic and stabbed forward, propelling his broadsword like a spear at the kelpies chest.
However, the broadsword only deflected off the kelpie’s hard carapace and didn’t knock him back. Buzz groaned and almost unable to pull his weapon back to block the kelpie’s counter. He shouldn’t have been surprised, his weapon was a slashing type. It wasn’t one of those that can pierce armor easily and judging by how unfazed the kelpie was, it was even heavier than he expected. There was no way he could have knocked it away with one stab.
It was at this time that Buzz realized he’d been horribly mismatched by bad luck. If he had another opportunity, he’d likely not choose this ground of engagement or the weapon he bore, but now…
Buzz grimaced and stepped back to dodge another tentacle. All he could do was sell his life dearly. Parrying another blow, he retaliated, and slashed another tentacle aside.
He overextended himself though. He slashed the first tentacle aside, but he hit too hard and left himself open.
In a flash, the kelpie seized the captain, wrapping its writhing limbs around him and pulling him up close. Buzz barely had time to groan and curse his own foolishness before the kelpie’s teeth broke through the carapace around his neck.
Horrified, Diamondshell staggered as her colleague’s throat was crushed and the other kelpies fell upon the rearguard. The changelings and ponies that composed it were faring no better. One pony managed to fend his opponent’s tentacles off with his spear for several seconds, but the kelpie then resorted to entangling the spear with its tentacles, yanking the pony into the kelpie’s bite. A changeling tried to resort to a magical solution and fired off one spell that forced the kelpies to duck, before another kelpie plundered the fallen pony spear and threw it into the changeling’s throat.
“Go, captain!” yelled a changeling. Diamondshell hesitated.
A wail of despair from where the main group had run convinced her and she galloped away, knowing she was leaving the remaining ponies and changelings to their deaths.
“So, who are you?” demanded Chrysalis.
The kelpie squirmed, glancing left and right, but only meeting the glowers of his changeling captors.
“Prince Typhon of the Sea Ponies at your service, your majesty,” said the kelpie.
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. This was a rather well-mannered kelpie, and apparently, royalty, but then…
“Okay, why were you just floating in the ocean?” demanded Chrysalis. If this was a trap, she needed to figure it out quickly.
Typhon pursed his lips and squirmed in his bonds.
“I uhh… I must have got knocked off of the leviathan when it rammed the ship.”
Chrysalis’s eyes widened. “An actual Leviathan?” She had heard of those mythical creatures on the sea, but always thought they were tall tales from crazy sailors.
“Um, yes?”
Tucking that way for future reference, Chrysalis glared at the kelpie. “Why have you attacked us?” she demanded.
At this question, Typhon frowned slightly. “The white one put her fleet on top of our capital. As per the treaty of Aquamaris signed more than a thousand years ago, the seas above and around the Aquestrian capital are off limits on the pain of death, until the last star has winked out of the sky.”
That earned a few blinks from Chrysalis and her changelings.
“Wait, you’re saying that you attacked because of a thousand year old treaty that nobody has heard of?” demanded Chrysalis. The queen frowned. “Are you saying the rest of the attacks on the ships in the Eastern Sea are because everypony has been violating this treaty?”
Typhon nodded nervously.. “Well, yes. We warned the Equestrians and Griffonians that we would no longer tolerate trespassing, but when our missives were ignored, my regent saw fit to enforce the treaty that Equestrians and the Griffons swore they would honor forever. We still are. No ships over the outlined trading routes across the sea have been attacked and we have not strayed into the waters near the capitals of Equestria or Griffonia.”
“Your missives were ignored? But from my knowledge, the Equestrians received no missives…” said Chrysalis, her voice trailing off as the implications of Typhon’s statement hit her like a hammer. If this was all true, and so far, Typhon hadn’t given off any tell-tale guilt, then that would mean they had a serious miscommunication problem. Somehow the message had gotten misplaced, but where?
“Besides, if you truly warned us beforehand, then what in Tartarus was with the tsunami that devastated Venecia?” demanded Chrysalis.
The kelpie averted his eyes. “I don’t know why the missives were ignored, but we sent them to the Equestrian and Griffonian capitals. As to the tsunami... that… was due to Empress Samudra’s death when she fought Tethys. When she died, all her power was released into the water, leading to the tsunami.”
Chrysalis nodded. She could sense the kelpies emotions. He wasn’t lying, but there was a great sadness in him when he mentioned Empress Samudra’s death.
“You said, Empress Tethys is your regent? She is not your mother?”
“No. Empress Samudra was my mother.”
Well that explained why Typhon was feeling sorrow. It also confused the heck out of Chrysalis.
“You’re a kelpie though. How could you be the son of Empress Samudra? She was not a kelpie. And how can you and the seaponies accept Queen Tethys as your regent?”
“I am Samudra’s son, Queen Chrysalis. And believe me, I have wished that I was not a kelpie, but I am, I can’t change that.” The prince heaved in a deep breath. “The seaponies support Tethys’s rule because she has been garnering support from the lower classes in our society for ages and has slowly and subtly been taking control of the empire for quite some time. Her battle against Samudra was the end to their struggle.” Typhon averted his gaze, his jaw clenched. “As to how can I accept Tethys as my regent… she did kill my mother… but she has ruled kelpie and seaponies fairly since my mother’s death.”
Chrysalis nodded. Typhon’s indignant and turbulent emotions were real, which suggested what he was speaking was the truth as he definitely felt conflicted about the whole situation. But that meant something rather strange about this whole situation. If Typhon was Samudra’s son… how did she give birth to a kelpie? Chrysalis wondered if Samudra had had relations with kelpies, but considering what she had been told about the Empress’s hate for them, that was highly unlikely.
“Um… do you mind if I ask you a question, your majesty?” asked Typhon hesitantly.
“It depends,” replied Chrysalis in an evasive fashion.
“Who is Princess Alternia and how can she be your sister? We know of the Dark One who moves the moon, the White One who raises the sun, but I have never heard of an alicorn who is the sister of a changeling queen.”
Chrysalis blinked and shortly afterward, sighed as she realized her earlier theory was right. It looked like that there was some serious miscommunication going on in the Eastern Sea.
“To put it shortly...”
Diamondshell expected to be running alone for a long time, but when she entered the now upside down mess hall, she found Harlequin and the rest of the guards in a firing line.
“Hold! Diamondshell! What happened? Where is Buzz?” demanded Harlequin.
“He’s dead. What the hell are you doing here, Harlequin! We should be moving!” roared Diamondshell.
Harlequin didn’t start running though. He only swore under his breath and marched through the firing line. Diamondshell was going to yell at Harlequin again, but something in his expression made her pause and she followed him until he reached the half-circle of pony and changeling guards next to the wall of the mess hall.
Alternia was sitting up in the middle of the circle, holding an ice pack to her head, back leaning against the wall and eyes closed. As she heard Diamondshell and Harlequin approach, she looked up. “Harlequin? Diamondshell! Where are Buzz, Boudicea, Diamuid and Arethusa?”
Diamondshell blinked and realized precisely whom she was talking about.
Eyes downcast, Diamondshell sighed. “They stayed behind along with privates Barrier, Stronghoof, and Maize to defend us, your highness. I’m afraid Captain Buzz was the first to fall in battle.” How did her highness know about those deaths though? And why was she missing one?
Alternia’s eyes widened. “No. That means… what I felt…” Alternia suddenly stiffened and she grabbed her head with both hooves. Her eyes tearing up, Alternia shut them as a weak cry escaped from her lips.
“Boadicea! No!”
“Harlequin? What the hell is going on?” asked Diamondshell in disbelief as their queen started to sob quietly.
Harlequin grabbed Diamondshell and yanked her away so that they weren’t facing their queen.
“Her highness only recently ascended. I frankly should have realized this, but her connection to us, the first changelings she has ever bonded with is far stronger than the ones our old queens ever had. Not to mention she has little experience sharing in the thoughts and minds of her changelings.”
It clicked for Diamondshell then. “So when Buzz died…”
“She heard some of his last thoughts… and started kicking and screaming. We had to take a momentary rest,” explained Harlequin.
Diamondshell sighed. “You did right, Harlequin, but we need to get a move on. As we now know… the last of the rearguard has fallen and we can’t afford to take any more losses, especially in light of what we know now.”
“But her highness—”
“I can move.” The two guard captains turned to Alternia, who was struggling to her hooves, at the side of Corporal Asclep and Lieutenant Hydrangea.
“Alright, first squad—”
“Kelpies coming up the corridor captain!” yelled a changeling. Harlequin and Diamondshell ran to the firing line and saw the kelpies, charging down the hallway.
“Volley fire!” ordered Harlequin. “Diamondshell, get her highness and the remaining survivors out of here. We can’t take the hull door now, but perhaps we can use the hole that sank this ship in the first place. Get to the boiler rooms.”
Diamondshell nodded and ran for the corridor entrance. “Hydrangea, your squad assist her highness. My squad, we’ll be the vanguard!”
As Diamondshell, her score of changelings and ponies, as well as the small group of survivors moved out with Alternia, Harlequin turned his attention to the engagement and the advancing kelpies.
That Buzz had been killed worried him substantially. He wasn’t sure of the details, but whatever the case, Harlequin decided to use his range and prioritize disengaging with the enemy.
The kelpies’ advance had been slowed substantially. The narrow confines of the corridor meant only two at most could be at the front and the hail of beams and crossbows fired had dogged their advance. The kelpies were still coming, though, a mark of how tough their carapaces were.
They had to disengage. Harlequin turned to his unicorns. “Light up the corridor with fire spells!” They nodded and two ignition spells went into the corridor, setting it alight. As flames caught on the wooden hall, kelpies snarled and eyes narrowed, shied away
Just to be doubly sure, Harlequin ordered his ponies to shove the wooden mess tables to block off the corridor. They also doubled as a fuel for the fire.
“Think that will hold them off captain?” asked Scarab, one of Harlequin’s sergeants.
Harlequin shook his head. “Not forever. They’ll just find a way around it.” Jaw set, Harlequin turned to the exit. “Let’s get off this forsaken ship and to our queen.”
“So, if I understand what you are saying, you claim that Princess Celestia for the last one thousand years has been actually a changeling queen, your sister, who you nearly killed in a family feud?” asked Typhon in a very unamused tone.
“I know it’s hard to believe —”
Typhon growled and rolled his eyes. “It’s preposterous! I mean if you are going to come up with a better excuse to explain why you’ve broken the agreement that we’ve upheld for a thousand years despite your constant violations—”
“Your highness! We’ve found your sister!” yelled a changeling.
Chrysalis ran to the hole in the ship where changelings were levitating out pony survivors and members of the Mirror Guard. Her sister was also one of those being levitated by a changeling she recognized as Diamondshell.
“Alternia! What happened?” Chrysalis asked.
“I hit my head very badly, Chrysalis. I’m better now thanks to Corporal Asclep.” As Alternia looked over Chrysalis’s shoulder though, her eyes narrowed and a snarl twisted her lips. Diamondshell and the ponies and changelings with her did likewise, their muscles stiffening and weapons rising as they saw the tied up kelpie.
“Why is there a kelpie here?” demanded Alternia.
Chrysalis blinked at the uncharacteristic anger in her sister’s voice. “We captured him. His name is Prince Typhon and he is Empress Samudra’s son and he’s had some very interesting things to tell us.” Chrysalis paused as she couldn’t help but notice the redness in her sister’s eyes. She had cried recently. Nor could she ignore the anger Alternia felt that seemed directed at Typhon. Moreover, the ponies and changelings Mirror Guard were glaring at Typhon and Chrysalis could tell they were furious.
“Sister, what happened in there?” asked Chrysalis slowly.
Alternia glared at Typhon briefly, causing him to cringe, before she turned back to Chrysalis, tears welling back up in her eyes again.
“There were kelpies in the Hornblower. They killed Buzz and seven others. I… I could hear their thoughts and…”
Chrysalis felt her heart cringe as she realized what her sister had just gone through. Lifting her hooves, Chrysalis wrapped Alternia in a tight hug as her sister sniffled, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself.
“What do you want to do, Alternia?” asked Chrysalis.
“We… we need to get to safety and interrogate the kelpie further. We need to figure out why they attacked.”
“He has given me some information on that. Apparently, there has been an agreement between Equestria and Aquestria,” explained Chrysalis.
“What?” gasped Alternia. Chrysalis summarized what Typhon had told her briefly, watching as Alternia’s narrowed eyes relax and her hoof touch her chin in thought.
Just as Chrysalis finished, Harlequin and the rest of the Mirror Guard arrived. As they did so, they started at Typhon and cantered toward him, weapons raised. Chrysalis was about to order them to stop, but Alternia beat her to it.
“Captain, stay your hoof, we need more information from this kelpie before we decide on a course of action,” said Alternia. Harlequin flinched, but waved his hoof, leading the guards to stand down.
“Sister, are you truly alright with this?” asked Chrysalis mentally.
Alternia swallowed and looked Chrysalis in the eye. “Let me speak to him. As much as my heart hurts… we need to think of the greater good.”
“Alright, but you’re in no condition to do so alone, sister,” said Chrysalis in a stern tone. “Let me help you.”
Alternia hesitated and glanced at Typhon, only for a knee-jerk reaction of fury to well-up like vomit in her throat. She forced it back down with the realization that they needed to find out about what had led up to this crisis, but it wasn’t easy.
“You’re right. Thank you, sister. I’ll introduce myself first.”
Straightening up, Alternia slowly walked up to Typhon, her features impassive.
“Greetings Prince Typhon, I am Princess Alternia of Equestria. I understand that Equestria has apparently violated an agreement my co-ruler Princess Celestia signed. I’d like to ask you for details as to that agreement and whether it is possible for me to meet your regent at a negotiating table so we may hear both of our stories out.”
Alternia could feel Typhon’s apprehensiveness and fear, but she also could sense his curiosity, hopefully that would win out, and hopefully that would be soon. Alternia did not want to stay on the sinking Hornblower longer than she had to, and she wasn’t sure if they could transport Typhon to the Neptune safely.
“Look, just because you wear regalia, Princess Alternia, doesn’t mean I believe that you rule Equestria,” said Typhon.
Alternia had to fight the temptation to groan, but Chrysalis merely nodded.
“Perhaps, Prince Typhon, but I am sure you have heard of the disguised changeling crew boats that the Equestrians used to counter the pirates. Maybe you’ve even noticed how ponies and changelings work together in this small group of ships.”
Relief filled Alternia’s heart as Typhon frowned in contemplation. “Yes… We have noticed your kind and the ponies working together rather closely… I take it that Princess Alternia is responsible for all of that?” asked Typhon.
“Very astute of you, Prince Typhon, and I tell you this, I had no knowledge of the agreement between Celestia and Samudra.” Alternia had a sneaking suspicion that this may have been one of Celestia’s memories with Samudra that had not been shared with her, but that didn’t explain why Celestia appeared to have no knowledge of the agreement.
Typhon frowned, shaking his head. “But how? You should have had a copy of the agreement and we sent you a missive before we began our attacks!”
Putting her thoughts about Celestia aside because of the fact they had no time, Alternia glanced at Chrysalis, who nodded and asked:
“Where did you send your missives to, Prince Typhon?”
“To your capital by magic!”
Alternia racked her mind. Typhon wasn’t lying. He was just as confused as she was and she could feel his insistence. She would have to have received a message somehow if the magic of the message was keyed to a location. So… if it never got to Canterlot.
Wait, Alternia blinked as she thought back to when precisely the treaty was signed. More than a thousand years ago, before Canterlot was…
“It’s possible… By the Great Hive Mothers… Oh no.”
“What?” demanded Typhon.
Alternia swallowed. She couldn’t believe what had happened, but the circumstances matched up too well.
“I think the capital you refer to was Equestria’s original capital a thousand years ago, called the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters! Celestia’s battle with her sister devastated that castle. As such, that castle was abandoned and the capital was moved to where it is now, Canterlot. That would mean that whatever missives you sent to us ended up in an empty ruin! Which would mean that it wasn’t that we ignored you, but that we never received the message!”
Typhon’s eyes widened. “What about the Griffons?”
That had been the next question on Alternia’s mind, and Chrysalis had an answer or that.
“They moved their capital as well five hundred years ago after their Idol of Boreas was nearly stolen! That must be why they did not receive the missive!” exclaimed Chrysalis, glancing at Alternia, who nodded in agreement.
Alternia’s brow was furrowed though. Something wasn’t lining up. Yes, the old lines of communication had been broken, leading to the kelpies being unable to contact the surface world. But then… why had there been no other contact?
She voiced that question mentally to Chrysalis who took a deep breath and turned back to Typhon.
“Prince Typhon, why have the seaponies or kelpies have made so little surface contact with us? Our world has basically forgotten the existence of your kind, relegating them to myth or legend. Why did you not remind the Equestrians or the Griffons of their agreements?” asked Chrysalis, calmly, keeping all hints of accusation out of her voice. They needed information, not a retaliatory response.
Besides, the water in the night was looking increasingly menacing the longer they stayed on this upturned battleship.
Luckily, Typhon, judging by the horror both Alternia and Chrysalis felt in his emotions, was similarly surprised by what he heard.
“Our kind has been preoccupied with internal matters for the last one thousand years. Only recently have the kelpies and seaponies been united,” Typhon said quickly. He glanced at Alternia. “As for why we didn’t send an envoy, you broke your word and ignored us. Why would we want to send an envoy then?”
The kelpie prince wasn’t telling them everything, that was for sure. “Internal matters” could mean a variety of things. However, Alternia and Chrysalis were beginning to have an idea of how Typhon thought and they had a more pressing question that they needed answered.
“That doesn’t justify your sudden blockade and violent reassertion of your claims,” Chrysalis pointed out, voicing Alternia’s thoughts.
Typhon groaned. “Your majesties, our oaths are our lives and the punishment for oathbreakers in our society is harsh. Until now I’ve thought you as oathbreakers, but now this situation is more complicated than I could have imagined.” Typhon shook his head, looking as if he wanted to rub it, but couldn’t because he was tied up. “To think that the surface world completely forgot our existence is crazy, but it seems you have.”
Glancing once again at the water lapping the hull of the capsized battleship they were on, Alternia grimaced. “Typhon, I need to talk to your regent. Can you arrange a meeting with her?” asked Alternia.
The kelpie prince grimaced. “Unfortunately, that’s all too easy. She is attacking the White One’s fleet now.”
Silence. Alternia and Chrysalis stared at the kelpie. They now had confirmation that Celestia and Tethys were fighting each other, likely directly at the head of their respective forces. But from what Alternia had seen from how easily her battleship had been holed and from how her changelings had been unable to fight the kelpies in melee, she had a sinking feeling about how the battle was going.
“Why did you not tell us earlier!” exclaimed Chrysalis.
“I didn’t know that this was a big misunderstanding! We thought you purposely ignored us and violated our territory,” protested Typhon.
“By the Great Hive Mothers… what do we do, Alternia?” asked Chrysalis.
Alternia bit her lip. “We need to get him to the Neptune.”
Chrysalis nodded. “Got it, guards!”
At her command, several of Chrysalis’s changelings moved forward to grab Typhon.
That was when a rain of ice shards shot out from the water.
Alternia was tackled to the hull by Diamondshell, while Harlequin and the rest of her guard formed a wall around her. Chrysalis shielded herself, but snapped an order for the rest of her changelings to keep their weapons trained on Typhon.
The ice shards however, shattered between Typhon and the ring of changelings that surrounded him though. None them actually hit any of the changelings.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” remarked Typhon in a matter-of-fact voice. “My own guards are still present after all.”
This statement was immediately followed by sudden wave of water that pushed out from between the Neptune and the escorting Black Pearl, and the capsized Hornblower that splashed several changelings too near the water’s edge. What was far more alarming though was the long form they saw in the sea. In the dark of the night, the monster, for they couldn’t really see the head which was underwater, seemed longer than a battleship, though narrower. It’s back, for that was all they could see was not too dissimilar to that of a crocodile’s back, but smoother and lacking a crocodile’s bumpy ridges.
Her guards watching the water, Chrysalis cursed. That must be the leviathan Typhon had mentioned.
“Damn, what do we do now, Alternia?”
A scowl on her features, Alternia turned away from Typhon, Chrysalis joining her.
“We need to release him,” whispered Alternia.
Chrysalis balked at the prospect of losing such a valuable source of intel. “Release him? Are you sure Alternia?” she asked.
Chrysalis couldn’t quite see Alternia’s night darkened features from where she stood, but she saw her sister’s shoulders sag with an invisible weight. “There are kelpies in this ship and judging by that thing over there, likely in the waters, Chrysalis. I don’t know if we could move him if we wanted to. Besides, Typhon is our only chance of trying to halt this madness before it continues, sister, at least if he agrees to do so. I will not kill the only member of the Aquestrian royalty who acknowledges that there has been a misunderstanding.” Heaving in a deep breath, Alternia whispered very softly. “As much as I am sorely tempted to do so.”
Typhon swallowed. “Um, I heard that.”
Alternia and the queens spun on Typhon, their eyes wide.
“How...” squeaked Alternia. She swore she had said that very quietly.
“We have very good hearing,” said Typhon his eyes nervously flick right and left over the queens.
Alternia swallowed and stored that fact into her mind as she looked the tied up kelpie in the eye, trying to see him as he was, and not as one of the creatures that had killed Buzz, and seven of her faithful guards. Taking a deep breath, she finally drew her impassive mask back over her features.
“Prince Typhon, I am going to attempt to persuade your regent to send an envoy or at least hear us out. However, in return for your release, I ask that should I fail for whatever reason, I ask that continue to implore her to at least consider it? You know about the situation in Equestria and now I know about the motivation behind your kind’s actions. If we act quickly, I believe that we can avoid further conflict between our species.”
The kelpie nodded. “I will try, Princess Alternia. I’m afraid I don’t have that much power, so it’s best you evacuate now as I can only delay them.” —his eyes narrowed— “I must warn you though, be very careful when trying to convince my regent. She is not as tolerant as I and believes the seaponies and kelpies have suffered from Equestria’s carelessness long enough.”
Alternia sighed. “Do your best. The fate of both of our species lies in our hooves.” Turning to her sister, Alternia asked, “Chrysalis?”
Chrysalis glared at Typhon, but sighed.
Turning back to Alternia as her changelings used their magic to untie Typhon from a safe distance, Chrysalis frowned. “What do you intend to do?”
Alterna lifted off her chestplate and kicked off her hoofshoes. The silver regalia was too damn heavy for her to fly with quickly.
“Help Celestia, and talk to the Empress. I’ll take anyone who can fly in my Mirror Guard with me. You need to protect the rest of this squadron and get them to Venecia.”
Chrysalis pursed her lips with worry, but sighed and turned to a changeling chevalier. “Captain Drizzt, take your platoon and protect my sister.” Alternia frowned as Chrysalis glanced back at her. “You’ll need all the help you can get, little sister.”
“Thank you, Chrysalis.” Facing Harlequin and Diamondshell, Alternia jumped into the sky. “Mirror Guard with me!”
Man, what a buzzkill.
Throne that was intense!
Well, that explains the missives.
Keplies need to update their maps, yo.
6916103 That or ponies could remember to forward their address next time.
Well, that does explain a few things, and next time, the results of land meeting sea.
6916111 Or the Kelipes could have called...or sent someone to drop by with a 'Welcome to your New Capitol' cake.
Nah, that's a Pinkie thing!
6916159 The kelpie empress only recently came into power and basically the sea ponies were like "Ok, now that you're in charge, you need to fix all the thing Samudra couldn't because she was dealing with you."
Hmmm ... this gets more and more complex ... hopefully this chance for a negotiated settlement will work, otherwise this is going to turn into an apocalyptic bloodbath. Tython certainly seems to be the best hope for ending this here and now ...
6915899 Too soon
Yep, outdated communication paths. This still means Aquestria didn't put much effort into contacting the surface and used unneccessary violence.
Curiouser and curiouser...
It seems that as always, the message is:
encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSZzMt9cp1eNMOYThJsS9fVtwrlcP_5Ko_CsJ_ryRg3qThvfGmx8g
Buzz!!!
6915899
Your joke was bad, and you should feel bad!
Still doesn't excuse the fact the Aquestria attacked first.
It sounds like a third-party record keeper would make a killing in this world.
6915899 To soon bro.
I would love to read over the explanation the kelpies sent Equestria for wiping out a town even if it was an accident. It feels quite strange that a society that follows oaths to such a degree didn't render aid. Unless... Is this a case of them be totally bound to the letter of the law so to speak instead of the intent? Since the tsunami was an accident instead of a purposeful attack does that mean that to them the treaty doesn't apply and it was an irrelevant event?
I am almost getting a fae vibe from them. I wonder if they are malicious at heart while being good to their word, if you can lock them down so they can't twist your meaning in knots.
Alternia, did you really just apologize to one of the highest ranking kelpies on the field, who lead a direct attack against your ship which killed several of your ponies and changelings? A particularly brutal attack based off of hilariously outdated intelligence? If I could, I would jump in the story right at that scene and shake her by the shoulders until she came back to her senses, because I don't think that blow to her head has fully healed yet. The only legitimate reason for letting prince tentacle head go, is that he was still being backed by his personal guard of Hulks. I mean, yeah, you don't have to summarily execute him on the spot, but either attempt to capture him despite the odds, or at least begrudgingly let him go. Mutter to Chrysalis via mind link about it at least. But apologize? Sweet salty Jebus don't apologize to this creature for being angry at his kind's apparent cocktail of hostility and stupidity.
6916799 Queen Mab/Empress Tethys otp. Hate to say, but now that I look at it, Tethys does have some Mab-like qualities (I'm thinking Dresden Mab, not Shakespeare Mab) Not quite as blackhearted as Mab, but pretty close. And yes theres a bit more going on than whats been presented.
6916888
Dresden Mab is the only Mab.
6916881 That may be something that was simply missed. there were some last minute revisions to the chapter that happened after the prereaders were done with it.
6916881 well what did you want her to do? Say screw you? I mean. He does have his guard in the sea lol
6916881 That being said, it was really strange of Alternia to apologize, so thanks for catching that. i've edited it.
6917009
Err, what was missed? I don't know what part of my post you're referring to.
6917017
Yeah I pretty much covered that with what I said.
6917084 Pretty much what you said about the apologizing. Still got some editing going on. As it was, you're right. It made NO sense for her to apologize there.
6917109
6917073
Oh, okay then. Yeah, it makes a bit more sense if she doesn't do that.
I hate to be this guy but, vren, you're doing it again. The previous chapter was revised (quite well, I might add!) but this chapter has a distinct pre-revision-chapter-12 feel to it.
The Equestrians fight a holding action but their strikes deal no damage. Buzz spends some time parrying tentacles with a slashing weapon but does no damage (even factoring in armor, he was parrying something like the kelpie's "arms"), and when he stabs with the point of his cutlass(?)... scimitar(?)... he still does no damage. The changelings and ponies use a hallway to limit the kelpie advance and focus physical and spell fire on just a few but seem to do no damage (the kelpies were forced back - no losses mentioned). When the Equestrians try and use their prisoner to their advantage his guards manifest and the Equestrians are stopped cold.
I understand that the intent was to place the Equestrians as fighting a slow losing battle (in both cases), but this chapter slips back into it seeming to be impossible for the Equestrians to even hurt the kelpies.
For instance:
Crossbows are pretty much designed to make armor laughable (even full-plate), and even in the hands of the relatively unskilled. And yet, they sounded wholly ineffective. Heck, even regular bows are nasty against armor at close range, much less when they hit a weak point (eyes, mouth, joints, directly under limbs, etc. - lucky shots do happen). And spellcasting seems to be even less effective.
Typhon...
Where were his guards when the Equestrians picked him up? Why were none of the Equestrians watching the water for when they showed up?
Plus, both sides in Typhons conversations (both Chrysalis and Alternia), while in the middle of an active warzone just don't feel very... anxious/time-constrained/tense. Chrysalis has time to explain the Equestrian situation and receive Typhon's full explanation back. While standing on a capsized sinking ship... with kelpies slaughtering the crew inside... and her sister in immediate mortal danger from the attacking forces.
Even if the parties in question are doing their best to remain calm, I feel there should be more struggle. Neither side should have the time for this. Answers should be slipped and barbed - they're enemies! Heck, Alternia seems to lack even the fire she displayed against Chrysalis at the wedding (Then I will [violently] defend my ponies myself!), and that was a much less lopsidedly-bloody affair.
The Equestrians have advanced ship weaponry. Did they not develop small arms? Even scatter cannons or blunderbusses?
Am I remembering incorrectly, or was Celestia intending to return to Equestria using the "safe route?" How did the fleet get from that to the off-limits capitol of the seaponies and kelpies?
I hope this doesn't come across too harshly. I know how tough such a reply can be (I receive them regularly for some of my characterization), so I hope you take this as I meant it: an attempt to improve the drama of your story, keeping the current themes, and providing more appreciable back and forth between the two sides.
I knew it, the kelpies are idiots. They're gonna be Equestria's bitch for ages with the reparations for that massive fuck up.
My gut reaction says that Typhon is still lying. I mean...that is like the most insane convenience that the tusnami hit when it did, after the kelpies were already using the pirates to harass the shipping on the eastern sea. Which I have to assume was being done because of this treaty violation, otherwise, why do it?
Speaking of the treaty violation, not following up on the magical missives when it's been a thousand years after the original agreement feels....insanely negligent. You're talking about starting open war if negotiations fall apart. Making sure that you're sending your missives to the correct place feels like the bare minimum of a first step.
I continue to have a really hard time having any sympathy for the kelpies (they still eat people) and Teyths in particular. With the information I have so far, I think she was looking to pick a fight and damn the consequences.
6917572 Your timeline is a bit off, mate. The pirate attacks were mostly after the tsunami hit and even then there's no real date for when Tethys bought them off and had them attack.
6917191 Well Schacza, the 12 rewrites only really tweaked the nuance of the chapter, the actual abilities of the kelpies remained the same. I'm not rewriting 13, at least not in the near future, for several reasons.
I have no time :P. Literally, its all I can do to maintain normal update schedule.
14 has more whammo that might be interesting in light of this.
The reason for the crossbows and spells having little effect comes down to the necessary strength of the kelpie carapace. They live underwater "implied deep water" by the darkness/depth of the shadowy scenes so they need to withstand pressure = we're looking at their carapace needing about several hundred atmospherers... plus, the ponies haven 't changed their arrow loadout to bodkin armor piercing arrows yet.
Even then, Longbows at the time and crossbows were less effective against plate armor, which can bounce crossbows off.
Typhon's questions are harder to answer. But put it this way, he was floating b/c he got knocked off and knocked out. The rest of his guard not knocked out, but there was some chaos.
I will grant you that the casual nature of the convo is something I was struggling with, because it couldn't be hostile or else they'd get absolutely nothing out of Typhon, but i let it slide a bit too much to casual perhaps...
As for Alternia mad? She's biting it down, plus her head still hurts.
Ahhh actually she tried to get TO a safe route, but in the process go over the off-limits capitol of the seaponies.
Basically, I'm thinking about what you said, and... some of it is valid (the casual conversation) and some of it, well I have to reveal later :P
6917596
Ahh, you're right. I was getting two different tsunamis in the story mixed up. The one that sunk the pirate haven came later and would have been intentional. My bad.
6917610
That sounds like a missed opportunity for a more well rounded race. Specifically the reason for the above average armor capabilities. What could be the downside to living in "the darkness/depth"? Perhaps they can't see well/at all in bright light. That of course would have no effect on them when they are attacking during the night, but if some unicorns fired up powerful light spells to see what is attacking it could be another story. It wouldn't change the ambushes at all, however in a pitched battle it might give the Equestrians an advantage or level the playing field.
6917616 Yup. Considering what Typhon just said about how oathbreakers are considered, you can kinda see why Tethys went so overboard like that.
6917637 Take what you just said (which is something we thought of a while back) and apply it to the description of kelpies. Kelp mane, exceedingly thick armor, tentacles, long shark like tails...and pitch black eyes. Now what does that mean from an anatomical standpoint?
Also mind the battle isn't over yet.
6917610
The hardness of their carapace is not really relevant to the depth they live at, unless their entire body is covered in unmoving/completely encasing plate armor similar to human-carrying deep-sea submersibles. Otherwise the fleshy bits (like their eyes) have to be able to survive the pressure just as well as the rest of them.
6917610
I was wondering why Typhon floated. Your kelpies are air-breathers then, not water-breathers? That's the reason deep-sea submersibles need reinforced hulls and internal structure (I'm assuming kelpies also have impressive internal structural enhancement so their shells don't simply collapse) - they need to contain pockets of air that would otherwise be crushed under the pressure.
Again, don't take this the wrong way, but that sounds a little silly to me. The creatures adapted to that kind of depth don't fight it, they work within it and equalize the pressure inside and out. It's just not feasible to do otherwise. (Short of some very specific other factors... like grown-in magical enhancement, or something. Would be entertaining if such a thing could be dispelled before taking a potshot.)
That seems... massively negligent on a large scale considering who they're likely to face on this trip.
Less effective than versus some other armors, yes, but the crossbow was still far too effective at punching through plate mail for everyone's peace of mind (or, at least that of the plate-wearing nobles who died much more frequently than they'd like). The medieval Church even tried banning it for being inhumane, or some such.
And then you get to more modern crossbows... The kind that a near-modern battleship-capable society can make.
I hope this keeps spurring you to new ideas and possibilities. I'm not trying to bring you down; I'm trying to help solidify the background reasoning. The Equestrians need a fighting chance because that makes it both more dramatic when their enemies triumph anyways, and also means that when they come back around and manage to succeed, that such a turn-around feels more realistic. (IE, there needs to be some "whammo" now for people to believe that the Equestrians are capable of enough "whammo" later when it comes to the final confrontation. If it's all curbstomp now, then it doesn't seem like the Equestrians should be able to do anything later when they finally face the big bad of the story.)
6917763
6917814 Kelpies are thoroughly water-breathers. They're amphibious and have attacked the land before in supplementary material. As for why he was floating, he mostly got pulled up in the leviathan's wake and kept there by the water upsurge. As it is there are plenty of hard-shelled creatures that live at that depth, the kelpies just move around more than them and could use the additional support as they move between benthal and abyssal depths.
Holy shit! Dude, I know it's been weeks, but you have to remember that this is the first time they've actually fought the kelpies. Until now, they've had only hearsay to work off of. The arrows they have would work on changelings and since that's the only race they know of with carapaces, that's what they brought. It's proving ineffective so you can expect that to change in the future. Until then, please stop expecting the story to pull a magical fix out of its ass so the good guys can somehow fight on even grounds. It's not happening without a refit and more planning.
Actually kind of the opposite. You're basically asking for a second complete chapter revision (in a row) for someone who is very time constrained. He's working on his thesis, and you're pretty much telling him to redo everything.
6917689
I only have one complete shot in the dark for what this might mean. The armor is a pressure suit to maintain the high pressure they are used to. If the armor gets breached there will be a bit of a mess to clean up. I don't like this guess though as I don't believe the infiltrator was armored.
Other than that I have no idea what it might mean. I only had the thought about the light because you specifically referenced the complete darkness at such a great depth in regards to armor.
6917891
Well why didn't you just say so?
6917919 No, you were right on it.
6917891
There's armored, and then there's invulnerable. Kelpies have shrugged off nearly every personal weapon so far (swords, daggers, pole-arms, point-blank ranged fire from powerful weaponry, improvised heavy blundgeons, magic of various kinds, etc.). Even creatures from the depths don't have that kind of universal protection. There must be something else going on here, and I'm making sure Vren's either aware of the problem or already has a solution in mind.
I believe the changeling queen meeting, the assault on that Venecian changeling queen, and the rescued gryphon crew all occurred before Alternia left. Plenty of eyewitnesses (and helpful legends) there that should have been taken into account.
I'm seriously not expecting "even grounds." But I do expect the Equestrians to be capable of something, (they don't seem to be at this point) and that the kelpies aren't simply invulnerable to everything (they seem to be at this point).
Trust me, my own readers know that pain. But if an author wants their work to be the best it can be, and they find out there is an actual problem within the story, then ignoring it because it would be a bunch of work is not the answer. If this is not the problem that I worry it might be, then he is feel free to disregard all of this.
Of course they hear better than ponies in air. They do EVERYTHING better than ponies in air. Why do they even bother living in the ocean? Does it make them more powerful than 'completely invulnerable and unstoppable'?
Some people have touched on this already, and I'm hesitant to join in a dogpile, but I feel the need to say something. Hopefully it's constructive.
Where the story is going so far, it seems to rely on the idea that the kelpies and seaponies are sympathetic. And they kind of are, there's a principle issue of Equestrian and griffon ocean activities intruding on and damaging their home. That's a legitimate grievance.
The problem is that the kelpies seem like they've had every opportunity to try things that wouldn't lead to open war, and they took none of them. They've clearly demonstrated the ability and willingness to send spys into Equestria, and they have at least one pony in their employ/as their prisoner. I would understand if it was some sort of classified information they couldn't get their hooves on, their efforts still seem to be in the early stages, but it's no secret that the Castle of the Two Sisters has been abandoned. Even if they weren't interested in that approach, why would they not send a diplomat or investigator to see if something's gone wrong, or to chew out whoever ignored the messages? And the initial attacks, admittedly it's been a while since I read those chapters, but for what I recall it sounds like whole crews were wiped out, and the survivors just left with panicked descriptions of an attack from the deep. Why did they not try a warning, appearing before the ship and stating that the territory is theirs? Or if that wasn't enough, they could have limited the damage to the ship, or merely roughed up survivors, so they wouldn't soon forget, but then make sure that when they go back they know to tell others to keep out.
I'm left with one of two conclusions: either the kelpies are so blindly bound to traditions that they'd have an aneurysm trying anything not decreed 1000 years ago, or they actually are using the notions of treaties, oaths and honor as an excuse to butcher those they came across.
Maybe this will be covered in later chapters, and that kelpies have no-mercy-no-negotiation mindset is a challenge to be overcome. But in the meantime the reasons given don't seem like satisfying explanations for the acts that occurred, and I'm hoping at the very least that the kelpies will be forced to acknowledge all the harms they are responsible for.
6918350 ... Well they can't fly for one, they seem to need to eat meat and there are some other major things that do make it a pain in the ass to be a kelpie.
6918485 I feel that what you wrote is fair. I will clarify the infiltration thing in that their ability to send spies is... really really meh. Remember Flow was about to escalate the entire war based on nearly a whim and she really needed Brinewing to understand the situation. There is some more info coming that will answer your questions.
Here's the thing though, the intention was never to make the kelpies perfectly sympathetic. The intention was to always make them appear a bit monstrous, but justified to an extent...
The justified to an extent part comes from the situation and culture of the kelpies themselves. Basically how could they have tried more, if they simply hadn't thought of it that way or weren't used to diplomatic overtures, or if their society does take oaths this seriously to the point where they will enforce them this way on a wider scale? They clearly aren't used to diplomacy as they haven't gone onto the surface. It doesnt make them likeable, oh no, you are supposed to be pissed at them. But the fact that they have some things that rationally explain their actions makes them an interesting antagonist/villain I've always wanted to tackle.
In hindsight though, this was perhaps a WAY too ambitious project to embark upon, but heck, in for a penny, in for a pound.
depth charges droped onto the sea floor. wonder if that will remember they arn't undefeatable....
6919337
*kelpies wince*
So the entire war started because the kelpies don't know some very basic information about Equestria, despite having a pony spy in their employ specifically to gather information on Equestria.
6920041
the great thing? they can be dropped from a airship..... goodbye kelpies