"Are We the Baddies?"
-That Mitchell
=/// Changelings Underground Colony \\\=
Commander Pharynx was having a terrible day. Against all odds, the Equestrians had discovered their small underground colony they made a few miles from the border. How they did it was unbeknownst to him, but it no longer mattered anymore. Adding insult to injury, they also brought a sizable force. The Equestrians had even managed to surround all underground exits within a few minutes before any changelings were able to evacuate.
In the distance, the sounds of a battle can be heard.
ZAPPP....ZAPPPPP....ZAPPPP...
SHREKKKKK, *SMACH*
"AAAARRHHHHHRR...*SPLAT*
Commander Pharynx focused his gaze back on the battle, and it wasn’t improving. They were outnumbered, outmatched, and possibly even outskilled by the enemy. The situation got even worse when he heard reports of an unknown Alicorn leading their attackers.
He tried to order some changelings to set up barricades in every passage of the Colony, but the Equestrian's were able to overwhelm the defense in just a few minutes.
He cursed Queen Chrysalis for all of this; many of her advisers in the Central Hive issued concerns about the establishment of an underground colony in UKE territory. Ever since her failed invasion of Canterlot a few years ago, she has been constantly talking about her plans for 'Revenge' against the equines. To her knowledge, the establishment of an underground colony near the border would be a good starting point for her plans to kidnap the Alicorn princesses and take over the United Kingdom of Equestria.
However, that never happened since a mysterious incident that the ponies call 'Whiteouts' had occurred. Within seconds of this ‘Whiteout’ event, they had lost contact with the Central Hive and now had to survive in the middle of enemy territory on their own. Looking at the situation now, it wouldn’t seem they would be able to hold out any longer.
*KA BOOM*
An explosion occurred as Equestrian soldiers penetrated the last lines of their already crippled defenses. Pharynx could see them being led by the mysterious Alicorn he had heard of. The mysterious Alicorn slaughtered any changelings in her path while the Equestrian soldiers behind her started advancing.
His soldiers tried fighting back with whatever they had their hooves on. Whether it’d be a proper weapon, or a tiny pebble, anything close by was used to fight. Unfortunately, even with everything they threw, slashed, and shot at the advancing Equestrians, they couldn’t counter the existence of the mysterious amber Alicorn.
Pharynx didn't want to die, he didn’t want to see his brothers and sisters die. He didn’t want to die like this, he still had plans to do with his life.
While Pharynx was still contemplating on what he should do, a female changeling named Vadamee came up to him, her face of desperation.
"Commander, the ponies have breached our last line of defense! We’re losing too many of us, what should we do?!" Vadamee said in a panic.
Pharynx turned towards Vadamee. "I.. I don't know, Vadamee. We can't just surrender, we don't even know what the ponies will do to us! Our queen refused to sign their the Geneighva Convention Charter and it appears it came back to slap us in the face..."
"Sir, I don't want to be that changeling, but we don’t have a choice but to take the risk. The ponies have cornered us, surrounded us with hundreds of their troops. Imagine if they managed to enter the hatchery room… Our species will become extinct!" Vadamee said fearfully.
The word ‘extinction’ sent shivers down Pharynx’s spine. Genocide and mass killings were not uncommon at Equis, but the complete extinction of an entire species is something that has never happened before.
A difficult choice lies in front of him. Either choose surrender in which he has no clue what the equines would do to them, or face extinction, but die fighting. With a heavy heart, he decided to choose the former. It’s a risk he must take, and he hopes it’s a risk that pays off.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but raise the white flag. We’re surrendering." Pharynx said nonchalantly.
Vadamee saluted. "Y-Yes, sir."
As Vadamee left Commander Pharynx to his own lonesome, Pharynx dropped his sword and took off his helmet. Sweat ran down his head as the helmet was placed onto the blood ridden floor. He could see the white flag rise above his soldier’s heads as the first changeling dropped their weapons.
“Let’s hope these ponies are benevolent as they claim…”
=///Meanwhile\\\=
Commander Sunset Shimmer had never been this happy in her life. Not only did her troops catch the enemy completely off guard, they had broken through the enemy's last line of defense. She could smell victory the moment she blew up the temporary changeling’s barricade with a good old 'BUCK YOU' blast spell.
She continuously fired multiple magical beams at the enemy positions, killing dozens of changelings in the process.
She believed it was only a matter of time before the changelings chose to finally surrender.
Sure enough, after a few minutes of breaking through their defenses, one of the female changelings ran up to their position carrying a white sheet tied to a large stick, meaning only one thing.
"EVERYPONY! PLEASE, STOP KILLING EACH OTHER!"
The Equestrian legionaries and Changeling soldiers stopped their fighting, focusing their attention on the female changeling.
"Please, w-we surrender. Commander Pharynx has given the order to surrender, please stop killing us for Queen’s sake!" Vadamee cried out.
The cave fell silent for a few seconds as everyone tried to digest the information they just heard, especially the changelings.
One of the changelings stepped forward. “What do you mean…?” he asked.
Vadamee stuck the surrendering flag onto the ground, and turned towards the changeling who spoke.
”I-It means we’re done fighting…” she stammered out. “J-Just… just stop the killing…”
A few seconds passed as the silence lingered on. The changelings looked at each other with hesitation. They had expected to fight to the last one, giving the UKE a message that they will not go down without a fight, but surrender? That was the last thing on their mind.
However, as the changelings looked at the destruction around them, their fallen brothers and sisters lying lifeless on the ground, only did they realize that surrendering was the better option.
Soon enough, a single changeling soldier dropped his weapon on the cave floor and turned himself in. And another, and then another. Like dominoes falling onto each other, the changelings surrendered themselves one by one.
Sunset exhaled a relieved breath as the battle was finally over. She ordered her troops to stand down and deployed medics to help and take care of the wounded. Unfortunately for her, her work was not over. She still had to take care of the paperwork regarding the management of POWs, and the implementation of the second phase of Protocol 66.
=///A few hours later\\\=
Sunset sat in her tent chair while letting out a weary sigh. Following the Changeling’s surrender in their underground colony, the Equestrians tended to the wounded and buried the dead. The 501st Legion lost at least around 450 ponies which was… not good. But, compared to the Changeling’s losses, it was the best outcome, as the changelings had lost around 1700 of their own.
Not only that, but she also heard the news that the operation to paralyze the Changeling agents scattered throughout Equestria and the Crystal Empire ended in a total success. It was a big day for the UKE and the Crystal Empire, and it needed some sort of celebration.
As she looked outside her tent, she spotted some of her legionaries doing a T-pose in front of the POWs. She doesn’t know why they do it, but it appeared to bring troop’s morale so she left it be.
As much as Sunset wanted to join in and celebrate their victory with her friends, she unfortunately still had things to take care of first. One of them is what she should do to take care of the POWs in her care.
They had managed to capture around twenty-thousand Changelings in total. That was beyond the capacity of military prison standards in the UKE. Most military prisons could only handle around a thousand POW at its max. Even the infamous prison facilities in the Russean province can only hold a capacity of 4000 at its best.
So, with no other choice, Sunset had to ask the help from one of the UKE’s most notorious legions.
The Germaneigh Legion.
As one of the few Thestral majority provinces in the United Kingdom of Equestria, Germaneigh. being a province that has the highest level of autonomy in the Europonean region, has a very bad track record in the ethics department due to lack of oversight from the central government.
During the time of the second Europonean war, Germaneigh succeeded in conquering the Prance province and built hundreds of POW detention facilities across the province. One of their detention facilities had the ability to hold more than thirty thousand prisoners. Although most of these facilities have been decommissioned and torn down, some are still active and operational to this day.
Sunset really doesn't want to have any relations with anyone from Germaneigh. Hell, the doctor who kidnapped and tortured her for his sick experiments was from Germaneigh. Sunset always had a sense of Déjà vu whenever she heard the word 'Germaneigh', or anyone related to it.
However, she had no other choice but to send them to Germaneigh for detention. At least until she finishes setting up proper facilities for them. She plans to build a special facility to reform and re-educate the Changelings on the topic of whatever makes the UKE, the UKE.
After the program is complete, they would be released and are permitted to re-establish their own capital and create their own country whenever they choose to.
It was a bit too ambitious, she admitted. Many of the RBI and NIS members opposed the plan, but she insisted that it would help them in the long run. Besides, she didn’t want to be the first princess to cause the extinction of an entire species.
Setting that aside, while Sunset was still thinking on how to deal with the mass of POWs, one of the pegasi scouts came in and informed her of the arrival of two airships from Germaneigh. Sunset thanked the scout and made her way out of her tent. As she looked around, she spotted from a distance the arrival of two giant airships accompanied by the famous Germaneigh Luftwaffle squadron.
The legionaries looked at the airships in amazement as it came into view, its huge propellers pushing its massive structure forwards. The flying behemoth was at least 600 meters long and 75 meters wide. Germaneigh had always been famous for their large airships compared to airships manufactured in other provinces.
Sunset was not impressed by their large designs. In fact, she really hates it. Germaneigh often overengineers their airship, usually ending with deadly accidents that claim many lives. One of the victims was Sunset's own parents, so she stared at the airship with a disapproving face.
The airships landed onto the ground alongside their escorts, shaking those near it. The propellers turned off and its massive doors opened, revealing Germaneigh Legion troops whos task was to secure the POWs. Most of the Germaneigh Legion troops consisted of Thestrals, all of them wearing the infamous dark gray armor that had always been part of the Germaneigh martial culture.
Despite their friendly looks, Sunset’s feeling of discomfort was still present. She had heard that, during the Second Europonean War, there was a plan to disband the Germaneigh Legion for betraying the UKE. However, that plan had to be put on hold due to opposition from Princess Luna. Despite being traitors and having bad ethics, the average Germaneigh Legion’s soldiers were proven to be really good shocktroopers. Hence, due to this, the Germaneigh Legion was kept.
Without wasting any time, Sunset approached the Germaneigh Legion’s commander, Lake Skydestroyer, and spoke to him.
”Greetings, Commander Lake Skydestroyer. I hope the trip here wasn’t all too bad?”
Commander Skydestroyer shook his head. ”Nein, mein legion went through worse, I assure you, Prinzessin Sunset Shimmer.”
Princess Sunset Shimmer nodded. ”Great to hear that, commander.”
”Ja, ja… but setting that aside, I presume you didn’t come here to greet me, am I correct?”
”You’re correct. Right now, I’ve called you and your legion to take most of our POWs and place them into your custody until we’ve found other alternatives.”
Commander Skydestroyer chuckles. ”Only that? Haha! Scheiße, and I thought we were here to take them out! Taking these oversized käfer in our custody will be as easy as pie.”
She frowned. ”Don’t underestimate them, commander. Despite them surrendering, there’s always the possibility of them breaking out. They’ve managed to infiltrate our society with ease, who’s to say they’ll use their abilities within?” warned Princess Sunset Shimmer.
”Don’t worry, meine prinzessin, we’ll handle these käfer like the professionals we are. No changelings, no matter how talented, will escape under our eyes.”
”Glad to hear that, Commander Lake Skydestroyer. You’re permitted to leave and follow your orders.”
Commander Skydestroyer saluted. ”Of course, mein prinzessin. Your orders will be followed to the letter.”
As Commander Skydestroyer made his way back to his troops, Sunset Shimmer called out to him one last time.
”Oh, and if I hear anything about the changelings being mistreated in any way, shape or form, I will personally take care of your legion myself. Don’t test me, commander. I’ve heard of your legion’s actions. Hopefully, it won’t go that way…”
Commander Skydestoyer grinned. ”Don’t worry! We’ll be kind to the käfer like our equals! We’re civilized ponies, after all.”
Princess Sunset Shimmer simply nodded as Commander Skydestroyer left. She hoped to Faust that the Germaneigh Legion would abide by the Geneighva Conventions, but knowing their reputation, she doubted it. She made note to hire some RBI agents to keep an eye on the POWs and make sure everything was within reason.
A few minutes after their talk, the Germaneigh Legion began escorting the changelings onto their airships. None of them spoke at all during the process, only having short conversations when really needed.
After more than two hours, most of the POWs were successfully brought onto the airship alongside the Germaneigh Legion. Preparations were made to head for their home province, in which they would have the wonderful time of managing their new captives.
As the two giant airships began to float, their escorts taking off alongside them, they all flew back towards the Germaneigh province. By then, it was almost dark, but Sunset felt relieved that her duties today had been fulfilled. All she wanted to do right now was to spend time relaxing with her friends since they were the only ponies that kept her sane.
”Ah buck, I forgot I had to dismiss my legion…”
Maybe all of her duties weren’t fulfilled after all…
=///New York City, St. Regis, 2200 hours\\\=
In one of the VIP hotels in New York City, the Solar Alicorn was sitting at one of the desks in her guest room. She was using a machine that humans call a 'laptop' to watch motion pictures of what humans call 'videos' on an oddly named website called 'YouTube'.
She was watching a video called 'MasterChef', where a bunch of talented human chefs cook their special food and give it to a jury for them to taste test.
She was really entertained by the cooking show, especially in parts where they show the chefs cooking. Celestia has a side talent in baking cakes and cooking various other dishes, but she was no prodigy in it. She can see a human chef cooking what she can recognize as 'Black Forest cake to perfection without a single mistake. The core idea of this cooking show was so simple and really entertaining, it got to the point where she was considering doing the same thing when she returned to Equestria.
Would she be one of the judges? Of course!
She even had the idea of inviting a human chef named Gordon Ramsay to work at Canterlot as her personal chef. She could see that he was a very talented chef just by looking at it. Granted, he did have an attitude, so perhaps asking Gordon Ramsay to train her own chefs could be an option.
As she was about to see the grand winner of MasterChef, a knock sounded on her door. She was alone in her room since each pony, even the scientists and her guards, got their own room.
She sighed and paused the video before making her way to the door. ”Who is it?” Celestia asked.
The person behind the knock replied. ”It’s me, Ambassador Alex. I need to tell you something.”
Celestia opened the door and greeted the ambassador with a warm smile.
”Ambassador! This is a surprise, but it’s a welcome one.” she motioned for him to get in. ”Come in, it’ll be strange if somepony saw you standing in front of my room.”
Ambassador Alex looked confused at first before realization came in. ”Oh yeah… that’ll be weird.” he chuckled, heading into the room and looking around.
Celestia closed the door, and turned her attention to the human. ”So, what’s so important that you decided to come to me at this hour?”
Ambassador Alex looked at Celestia. ”Well, it’s about my nation and other nations asking for compensation.”
Celestia was confused. ”Compensation? What for?”
”It’s for the huge loss of life when your country and the Crystal Empire teleported to our world. The area in which your country is in was once Hawaii and its surrounding region.”
Celestia’s expression turned regretful. ”Oh… I’ve heard of that…” she sighed deeply. ”Ambassador Alex, I just want to say I’m sorry for the losses. I-I’ve never intended for my country to be teleported here.”
Reassuringly, Ambassador Alex replied, ”Princess Celestia, you don’t have to apologize for something that was out of your control. What’s in the past is in the past, we can’t change that. All we can do is just remember those who are lost and continue with our lives.”
Celestia nodded in understanding. ”Right, right, of course…” she said, a tinge of sadness in her voice.
”I just wished I could bring your losses back…” she muttered to herself.
Ambassador Alex looked at Celestia with a sympathetic look. ”Maybe we should change the topic, shall we?”
”Oh? Oh, uh… yes, of course, that’ll be good.” Celestia stammered out.
She pulled out a chair with her magic. ”Here, so we don’t have to stand while we talk.”
Ambassador Alex jumped slightly as the chair moved on its own. ”Uh… thank you, Princess Celestia.” he said, sitting down on it.
Celestia chuckled softly. ”Still not used to magic, ambassador?”
Ambassador Alex nodded. ”Yeah, it’s something I didn’t expect to see in my life time…”
”You’ll get used to it, I assure you.” Celestia replied, sitting down on the bed across from him.
”So, ambassador, what’s this ‘compensation’ about?” she asked.
Ambassador Alex was surprised with her getting straight to the point, but replied, ”Well, since we lost some of our territory when the UKE and the Crystal Empire came here, the United States and other countries are asking for some… uh… territory of yours.”
Celestia raised a brow. ”They want… some territories of my country?”
”It’s a lot to ask, I know, but they really insist on it.
Celestia sighed. ”I’ll figure out something, but first, who are the other countries asking?”
”Well, there’s the United States, that’s my country. The others are China and Australia.” he answered.
Celestia was confused. ”Why are those two countries asking for some of my territory? I understand the United States’ reason, but what about China and Australia?”
Ambassador Alex shrugged. ”I have no clue, you’ll have to ask them personally.”
”Of course… I’ll see to it with my government if we can hoof some territory to your country. The others? I’m not sure ye-”
As she was about to finish her sentence, a sudden feeling of sorrow ran throughout her soul. She didn’t know what made her feel this way, but she knew something was definitely wrong.
She could feel hundreds. No… thousands of creatures in her country fade away, leaving the world as if they died.
Something has happened in her country, and it wasn’t good.
Ambassador Alex's expression was one of concern as he stood up, getting ready to move if something happened.
”Princess, are you alright?” he asked with uncertainty.
A few seconds passed, but no answer from the princess.
”Princess…?” he moved slightly closer.
Celestia snapped out of her state, and turned towards the ambassador with a worried look.
”Something happened in my country, ambassador. We need to get back to the UKE, now…”