It was one of those moments in history where a species showed their true fangs to the world. The griffons had always wanted to have something better than those 'peace-loving fools' that was not magic-related. That had developed into firearms, internal combustion engines, and so much more. They had thought they had everything. They even thought that in a few years, they would be able to conquer Equestria. So their military command had tried to claim the chaotic south of Equestria as their colony so that they could later move troops there and invade Equestria.
But that was when they would learn a simple yet blunt phrase said by the Changeling Myxine.
"Overly stoppable object, meet our overly immovable wall."
They had lost two entire combat fleets totaling in over twelve ships alongside over four thousand griffons lost in combat. It had been an utter disaster that had the public at the Griffon King's throat until they had released their new battlecruisers and battleships. The massive fearsome looking ships had somehow rekindled their hopes of ruling the world and put out that going against the self-proclaimed Emperor was unwise. While there was only a single battleship, the sheer firepower it carried outclassed everything in existence to their knowledge. But the sheer power behind the Changeling arsenal had them backed into an invisible corner. A corner that the top military generals were doing their best to get out of. But with them unable to study their weapons...
That was until one of their ‘Think Tanks’ developed the Warglaive and their larger Knight Titan frames. Wielding rapid-firing cannons that possessed auto-loaders and a massive arm that possessed a massive chainsaw for a blade, the Knight Titan could easily claim to be masters of ground combat. Of course, the Warglaives wielded smaller versions of Knight Titan weapons that made them excellent escorts to the slower ‘Knights’ as they were smaller and faster.
That had six months ago. Now they had established ‘Knightly Orders’ to pilot these war engines to fuel their war machine further. And with their development of their new armored tanks alongside new ‘fighter’ craft that certainly gave them an advantage over any flying foe with armor, speed, and weapons. Their tanks were fast, robust, and had enough weapons to overwhelm fortified positions while their infantry could literally either drop from the skies or move in from within the new Armored Personnel Carriers that were more relying on their speed that armor.
The only thing preventing them from attacking Equestria or even the Changelings were the need to train pilots, make ships capable of transporting these units, and come up with more resources than they had. Oh, it would take years to fully change their military to work with their new unit formations, but the Griffon Emperor had a feeling that it would be a glorious battle of superiority.
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Celestia looked at the report of one of her informants with a tired sigh. She was very well aware of the situation around her and it frankly made her frustrated. No matter what she told the Griffons and them denying the claims, she knew that the Griffons had been under heavy industrialization and had begun straying from the path she wanted them to go in. Instead, they had been rolling out their metal beasts and denied that it was theirs even as she saw one sitting in one of the Griffon forts when she had visited a month ago.
It was as if they did not care whether she raised the sun or not.
Then came the exodus of nearly every Changeling hive in Equestria to the untamable South. She cared not for the parasitic race that fed off of love, but they were an entirely and relatively free workforce she had always taken advantage of. Canterlot, Manehatten, Las Pegasus, and nearly every city in Equestria had been built by the Changelings due to the fact that it was easier to feed off of ponies thanking them. And now they were gone. All of her plans to use them as a decoy in the long run was out, and now especially after her Captain of the Royal Guard had failed to subdue them and be brought back to Equestria to live naturally as they should... And their technology. She couldn't see anything they had made with scrying. At all. It was as if even her own unique method of scrying could only see an extremely grainy image before it faded altogether due to the chaotic aspect of the South.
Everything frustrated her right now.
Then came her little sister. Her little sister was still trying her very best to protect Equestria. But the little filly didn't know how to run a country. No... Only she could rule Equestria into prosperity until the end of time. No pony had the experience she had and her sister was still far too immature right now. Trying to develop away from magic? Was the filly mad? No, only magic could reign supreme over the metal devices that were being spread around by every other government. Her little ponies could only be protected by magic and not by those vile machines and their creators. If her sister acted up from her assigned role again, it might be necessary for her to step in and take control of this situation.
Because, the eldest always knew what was best for the youngest...
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Ammunition for ballistics weaponry and LRM munitions were being produced in the hundreds to outfit the new Assault Triumph Assault DropShip. Dozens of Changelings were trained in the use of radar, weapons fire control, and then choosing the best to become the Captain of the ships. Due to the importance of the Queens, it was deemed safer for the queens to be in a fortified location while drones piloted the ships that would make up most of the Changeling military. Of course, Gemini and Patina had forced their ways to lead battlemech lances and had swore to adhere to the orders of the Captains as long as it was not an idiotic order that would result in mission failure.
Every fabrication module was in action as it produced Assault Triumph's (will call it Triumph for now) armor, internal systems, and weapons producing them at an accelerated rate with Patina, Myxine, Magica, and other Queens making sure that it was being produced as accurately to the blueprints. It would then be hauled to a large open area with a large frame set up for the assembly of the Assault DropShip. As the skeletal frame was set up, a fusion drive was installed, and the installation of the various electronics began. With hundreds of drones working on it at once without much rest needed, most of the internals were finished within days of production.
Testing of the boosters began while various other systems were being installed within and on the outside as well. Hundreds of feets of wire spanned throughout the ship as it connected from everything to the reactor and into very much more parts of the ship while being secured properly onto their respective harnesses. And after hundreds of hours of testing, the inside of the ship would be made airtight.
Within three months of testing, production, and then the Triumph was ready to take its maiden flight. Such was the efficiency of the Changeling industry. Such was the rate of production of dedicated Changeling Hives. And to go with the first DropShip of their own, they built the first series of omni-vehicles, omni-mechs, and omni-fighters.
First being the Bolla Stealth Tank. Weighing at a decent 60 yons, it was capable of a blazing 86 kilometers an hour while being capable of being hidden against all but visual observation. While it only possessed a front-facing machine gun that was fixed to its hull, the turret on top was capable of taking four different preset configurations depending on the situation presented.
Next to be developed would be the omni-fighter line that only had one of three types completed. The Shade Light Omni-fighter weighed in at 35 tons, was capable of incredible speed and armor thanks to its powerful magic-enhanced fusion engine (not XL to those people who follow lore) and ultimately gave it nearly 15.5 tons of omnipod capability.
Last were the two omni-mechs, a light and a medium battlemechs named the Malak Light followed by the Preta Medium. Both battlemechs featured smaller cockpits that fit the Changeling frame comfortably (It’s only small for humans) and both possessed five preset configurations that were designed to take on nearly anything above their weight class with ease. In fact, compared to the large, slow walkers that the Griffons fielded; the Malak was capable of a maximum running speed of 118 km/h and the Preta capable of 97 km/h.
So it was not an overestimation that the Changelings were confident of their ability to crush any action taken by either the Equestrian ponies and the Griffon Holy Imperium.