“Alright Spartans, your time to shine has come.” Began Six the Hyper-lethal Vector and now the leader of the first equestrian Spartan team, instantly grabbing the attention of her squad as they otherwise occupied themselves around their barracks Common room. Within a flash the four of them stood at attention before Six, waiting for what she had to say.
“Tomorrow is your final test. And it will be tomorrow where you show the princesses the soldiers you have now become. But before that, there are several obstacles you must first overcome. Obstacles that I have no doubt you will crush under your armored hooves.” Six used her back leg to kick against the door frame slightly, the wood still groaning in protest even with the small amount of strength she used.
At her signal, four ponies clad in equestrian military garb entered the room behind her before taking up positions to her left and right.
“These ponies Spartans will be your opponents.”
It took all the willpower Six had beaten into their brains for the equestrian Spartans' jaws not to drop when they saw who now stood before them. Like any soldier, they knew of the special forces divisions within their country. They knew that only the best of the best even got the chance to join these ponies of the Wonderbolts and the L.S.T.S. They didn’t quite know who the old stallion among the leaders was but they doubted they would remain in the dark much longer.
“So these are your ‘Spartans’ in the flesh huh?” Began Spitfire as she inspected the four ponies in front of her. She stopped before the two pegasi Pixy and Sparrow. Her eyes roamed their bodies and wings. Her eyes stopped on Pixie's single red wing, gaze narrowing.
“You dye that wing?”
“N-No, ma’am!”
“*Hmpf* Well… Let's see if you live up to the legacy then.” Spitfire returned to her spot looking thoroughly unimpressed. Six eyed the Pegasus but gave it no mind for right now, it didn’t matter as Midnight of the L.S.T.S spoke up.
“Are these all of them? Four seems a bit low don’t you think?” The bat pony questioned as she brought a hoof up to her chin.
“It's enough.”
“Hmm, it's your squad. What about armor and equipment? You got anything special in the works?” The Captain questioned whilst eying the Spartans Mjolnir armored form.
“If you're talking about my armor, no. Nothing you have could ever replicate this, nor would I allow you to attempt to. I have something more… practical in the works for these Spartans.” Answered Six with a grin. “But as for right now, they’ll be using their standard-issue armor.”
“Your armor is really that special?”
“These Spartans here have seen its strength first hand. Any more than that is Classified.”
“Is this true?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Her armor is unlike anything I have ever seen and beyond anything we could possibly replicate.” Answered Spear with a very slight glance towards Six.
“Hmmm alright… What is your operational specialty?”
“Everything. When you send a Spartan to get a job done, success is guaranteed.”
Commander Dawn of Horizon Squad grunted.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to see tomorrow.”
Finally, there was the old stallion who watched from the sidelines. Nopony of the Spartan Squad knew who he was but they certainly felt like they should due to the number of commendations that hung from his coat. Everything from the Celestia Medal of Valor to the Lunar Medal of Honour. Finally, there was the insignia that was sewn onto his shoulder. It looked like the rising Sun behind the Horizon. A crescent moon stood before the Sun, splitting its orange coloration with its light blue one.
“Interesting…” Spoke the old stallion before looking back towards Six. “Very interesting… Tomorrow will be a very interesting exercise indeed”
‘How are our preparations coming along?’
‘Almost ready Venator. Taris’s team is already in position.’ Responded the lead Praetorian through his aura, Mobius smiled.
Weeks of preparation and observation and soon it would all come to a head. Tomorrow they would strike and cut the head off of the Equestrian Elite. Killing the pony that led him to this very moment would be the icing on top of the love-flavored cake.
Mobius turned his attention to the courtyard below him once again, the spectral form of Redfang appearing in his peripherals as his vision tinted red once again.
From above he could see his targets enter the courtyard once again, this time that ‘Spartan’ Squad in tow behind them. Looking around Mobius managed to spot 3 other groups of various sizes lined up across from them. Their armor each has a distinct color and design.
One was a dark blue and black variation of the normal guard armor. The several Pegasi of the group were mixed in with what Mobius could see were Thestrals. The bat-like wings are a dead giveaway. But what stood out were the wings that jutted from the backs of all the ponies, wings or no. What purpose this served exactly Mobius did not know but he could guess it may be an intimidation tactic or perhaps gliders for the ponies not fortunate enough to be born with wings. Whatever it was Mobius knew the armor of the LSTS when he saw it, and that squad was most definitely wearing it.
The LSTS would be no problem he had, after all, prepared for these ponies extensively. One did not become the Kommandant he used to be through luck.
The next group needed no analysis to the Venator. The light blue suits and the celebrity faces among the ponies were all the information he needed to recognize the Wonderbolts.
Ponies that were more focused on their public image than fulfilling their roles as aerial combatants.
‘How far the ponies have fallen since a time long past.’ Spoke Redfang suddenly
‘What do you mean?’
‘Several of your forebears had fought the Wonderbolts of what the ponies would call the ‘Dark Ages'; they were far more…intimidating than these glorified Celebrities. They cared not for Public Opinion or branding back then. Now I would not be surprised if they spent more time in the dressing room than on the field.’
‘Still, we should not underestimate them, Redfang.’
Redfang simply hummed in response. The vibrations of her spectral voice sent shivers through the Panassari’s living Carapace.
‘It will be interesting to see just exactly how far they have fallen from those your ancestors fought.’
Pulling his gaze away from the glorified stunt team Mobius was met with armor he could not recognize. It appeared to be a combination of the two guard armors of the Princesses. One half of the armor was a shining gold whilst the other half was a cool midnight blue. The line separating the halves goes straight down the middle of the armors' backs, between two false wings. Well, false when one wasn't a Pegasus or Thestral. What was interesting though were the designs of the false wings. On the lighter side, they looked like any normal Pegasus wings. On the dark side, however, they resemble those of the Thesteral race.
The whispering in the back of his mind knew who this squad was. VOPS would have briefed him on their existence. But now it seemed like he would have to wing it as the Rumors were true.
‘Redfang, keep an eye on those ponies. See if you recognize their armors’
‘Why?’
‘Those ‘rumors’ you’ve no doubt heard me mention with Curxe seem to hold love after all.’
‘You think they are those ponies?’
‘I know every Equestrian military division insignia and armor like the holes in my hoof. This armor I do not recognize from any VOPS reports or my own knowledge. I’d bet my love that this is that Rumor.’
Redfang remained quiet at that answer. Her spectral crimson eyes now watching the ponies intently.
Moments later Six and her squad were lined up among the rest of the ponies whilst the four officers discussed amongst each other as the LSTS 2IC returned to their Squad. Mobius briefly wondered why specifically that 2IC was allowed to take part in senior officer discussions and events before banishing the thought. It made no difference to Venator as he carefully moved away from his vantage point.
A short walk later and the Venator had returned to where his forces had set up shop. Mount Canterhorn was not purely a spire of rock. It did, naturally, contain many systems of underground caverns and tunnels. But not all of these tunnels were natural. In preparation for the Queen's invasion of the Capital, changeling digger drones had spent months creating an intricate system of tunnels surrounding the city of Canterlot.
Most of these caverns were found by the ponies, most notably being the one the Queen used to hold princess Cadence in, and either sealed them up or marked them for exploration. But they did not find them all, and it was in this main cavern where Mobius had been allocating his resources.
Taking on the entirety of Equestria’s special forces was by no means going to be an easy endeavor. In fact, Mobius was quite sure that if anyling wasn’t going to make it out alive it would be him. He tried not to dwell on that fact as he moved throughout the makeshift hive outpost. Multiple lings of various types were in the midst of their equally various duties.
Digger drones were putting the finishing touches on their various new tunnels. Average worker drones were helping out wherever they could whilst the Soldier and Praetorians were waiting in what one could describe as a sort of ‘hibernation’. They did not have enough love being gathered and or delivered to feed them all were they awake. So in the meantime, the large majority of Mobius’s assigned changelings remained in this state to conserve their already meager love reserves.
Looking over the hibernating changelings Mobius watched Redfang appear once more, hovering just above the large form of a sleeping Praetorians.
‘I wonder what they're dreaming about… A job well done? A large meal of Love? The Empress herself?’
Redfang reached out one of her spectral hooves to stroke the ling. Only for her hoof to pass through the Praetorian as if they weren't there. Mobius decided to leave the red ghost be as he continued on through the cavern and towards where his subordinates were gathering. He would have to inform them of the newest wildcard that had just been introduced.
He could see the senior Praetorians gather just ahead of him, the map they had been using to plan laid out before them. Its surface was covered in multicolored markers and lines indicating a well-thought-out plan. A plan Mobius was the architect of. Walking up to the table Mobius had to look up to meet the gaze of the much larger changeling Praetorians.
What Mobius would have given for his Ribbons to be made of Praetorians instead of the normal warrior and soldier class lings. It would have basically annihilated his supply lines at the time but it would have made battles a cake-walk. No wonder the Queens kept them on a tight leash and by their sides. Their Strength and Power were superior to that of the normal drone but their dietary needs were much, much larger. Some texts say that the Empress had armies thousands-strong made of nothing but Praetorian class lings. That nation shook in fear at the buzzing of its wings.
But those were but stories of an age long past where there was no fight for survival…no rationing of love.
“Preparations are complete Venator. With this last delivery of Love, we can begin the awakening of the soldiers.”
“Good… begin the awakening process then once we are done here. First, a new element has entered the mix.”
“New element, Venator?”
“A previously thought to be unknown equestrian squad has arrived, presumably to do the same as the others and ‘test’ our primary target.”
“Do you have any intel regarding their tactics?”
“No, and that's the problem…How are our current preparations faring?”
“Taris’s team is already waiting in position to remove the Wonderbolts from the equation and Lexi’s squad is heading there now. We should hear from them via their aura soon. Once they are in position the LSTS won’t know what hit them. Your team is already in place and waiting for you to join them, Venator.”
“Good, that just leaves our newest problem…” Mobius looked over the map intently, Redfang peering over his shoulder. “I have an Idea, these tunnels here-“ Mobius gestured towards some lines marked in blue.”-What's their condition?”
“Sealed off. The ponies managed to follow some escaping lings from the invasion and closed the tunnels behind them.”
“How long would it take to reopen these tunnels and expand them?”
“If we reassign all of our current diggers as well as awaken some of our reserves we should get it done before Operation start.”
“Then make it so. This will give us the advantage we’ll need against these ponies.”