Polybia brooded within a personal Linkscape. It resembled a cave covered in pale yellow wax. The chamber was well lit yet lacked any noticeable light source. A ghostly table allowed her to walk through it as she paced in circles while she studied its surface.
The table bore a map of the entire Cresnox Jungle with colored zones and lines indicating Chrysalis and Kreesus’ areas of control and the last known location of their drones. Just shy of dead center was the Ebony Castle, both as a reference point and her ultimate goal.
Polybia’s enemies controlled a deceptively small area in the north eastern quadrant and small pockets here and there along various mountains and rocky terrain along the entire northern half of the continent. Polybia controlled or at least harassed almost everything else.
Summoning a long straight stick into existence, Polybia looked over to a handful of quasi minotaurs and griffins standing around the table. As with Pear Butter and Paint Brush before them, their real bodies were entombed within pods, while their minds were completely enslaved to Polybia’s will. During times of conflict, they served as different aspects of her mind, rather than separate individuals. “Commander Talon, as you expected, Kreesus’ stranglehold over the mountains is proving a nuisance in trying to dislodge her from the Kel’das river region.”
“She wishes to keep the mountains out of our hooves to serve as docks for Twilight Sparkle’s fleet,” Talon replied with little emotion. Due to his tight connection to the queen, he was unable to speak in griffin terms or language. “It is a common tactic among the Griffin Kingdoms. Should we allow Kreesus to stay, it will make Twilight Sparkle all the more dangerous.”
Polybia glanced at a minotaur for a possible solution. “Thoughts, Split Horn?”
“The Empire faced such tactics many times before. We would typically hire pegasi or unicorn mercenaries to create storms on the mountain to force them to leave, or take refuge in caves. Either way, they were in no position to stop our infantry from climbing the mountain and slaughtering them on the ground.”
Polybia hummed in contemplation as she stared at the target mountain. “… I don’t have access to such mercenaries, but with some modification, I could create a miasma of undeath that will rise rather than sink in the air, provided the wind cooperates. That could serve the same purpose.”
Polybia’s attention was interrupted when scouts along the far north reported sighting an airship. Passing that information onto the war map, Polybia purred in dark delight at the carrier approaching the ruins of Stripped Gear. “There you are, at long last Twil…” Polybia checked herself after remembering the last battle fought over that hive. “No. Twilight only offers support. It is you, Rainbow Dash, who I should be dueling from here on.”
Polybia scanned what forces she had in the immediate area. Phoenix Roost’s intervention had been expected right from the start, and Polybia had a contingent in reserve waiting for them. The only problem was knowing where the airships would approach from. “I should have expected them to fly over Stripped Gear. Probably some reminder or prop for a motivational speech.”
The Long Shot appeared to be alone and uncloaked. Interesting… Perhaps their cloaking crystal industry is more difficult to rebuild than I had thought. The question is: Does that mean Rainbow Dash will be smart, and more cautious, or still as reckless as ever?
Polybia finished assessing her local assets. Unfortunately, thanks to Chrysalis’ recent raids, Polybia didn’t have enough strength in the region to directly threaten the carrier. Not if it’s going to remain so high up. But…
The memory of the bi-planes’ weapons shredding her bodies to a red mist jumped to the forefront of her mind. “I think I should destroy those things first, and I just so happen to have enough local strength to make that happen.
“Alright, Queen Rainbow Dash,” Polybia challenged as she started directing her forces, “let’s see what you can do without your precious flagship.”
From her perch in the Long Shot’s short control tower, Rainbow Dash peered through her mounted binoculars near the bow-side windows. The caldera that held the ruins of Stripped Gear loomed in the distance. Rainbow could barely make out the broken spires that once served as the palace and shield tower. A few columns of black smoke rose from the ruins, undoubtedly from the hive itself being melted by the steadily rising lava.
I hope everypony is watching. We can’t let Stripped Gear be repeated. Her mind drifted to recent developments at the hive. If only Lyra had dug into that box two years ago when she first saw Aegis’ hands. We might have had some sort of new gun by now to take advantage of that crazy advanced bullet cartridge. Ultimately she heaved a heavy sigh. ’Course I don’t think Sis would have granted Lyra’s request so early either.
“My queen,” a voice called from behind. Rainbow turned to see it was captain Darya standing proudly in her crisp white and gold naval officer’s uniform. Unlike most of the others, she preferred to wear her soft cap as well, keeping it perfectly snug next to her horn. “I’ve been thinking. Some of the bi-planes are fitted with a two-drone cockpit. We might be able to use them as long-range scouts, in case Polybia has anything waiting for us.”
Rainbow did a few brief mental calculations on the amount of reserve fuel both on the carrier and in the cloaked tender vessel following behind them. “I don’t think we can spare the fuel to keep scouts up at all times. We can stick with the ‘Boom’ team taking that role for now.”
Darya’s face grew pensive. “But, my queen, we’re traveling at thirty knots. The boom team is designed for speed, not endurance. They would have trouble staying ahead of us for long, and have an ever harder time returning to us if they scout behind us.”
Any further argument was cut short when one of the crewmen on watch on the balcony surrounding the bridge waved frantically at her. <My queen, we’ve got a force of unknown drones coming right for us!>
Rainbow and Darya jumped at the news and ran to the spotter as he turned back to his mounted binoculars where two other drones were keeping an eye out. “How many and where?” Rainbow demanded hastily.
“I’d say just under two hundred at twenty kilometers,” the next spotter over announced as the first one reclaimed his glasses. “Coming directly from the ruins of SG!”
Not needing to man the binoculars in person, Rainbow simply borrowed the eyes of all three spotters. “We’re not expecting to see Sticky Spit or that traitor for another day, it’s gotta be Polybia.” As if to confirm her suspicions, the incoming drones changed to a loose formation. “They’ve spread out, probably expecting flak, definitely not friendly.” Rainbow bit back a curse as one of her children spoke out.
“The Long Shot’s guns can’t hit them until they get much closer, my queen,” he said as if expecting her next orders. “They’re short range defensive only.”
Darya was antsy not only to put her crew, but her own training and drills to the test. This could be the moment momma finally understands what Granny Cadista sees in this ship. With bubbling resolve, Darya tapped her mother on the flank. “May I, my queen?”
Pride notwithstanding, Rainbow Dash knew full well that her heart rested with slugging it out on the Deception with it’s big guns, not the ballet Darya wanted to practice. A good leader knows when to defer. “Alright, captain prove to me that this ship was worth it.”
With only the briefest of thankful nods, Darya turned back to the bridge. Since only changelings were onboard, Darya ignored the intercom and addressed the crew via the Link alone. <All hooves report to general quarters! Group One, Group Two, scramble immediately!>
The crew jumped into action as Twilight teleported to the shield room and began warming up to the task at hand. As for Rainbow Dash, she took her place on one of the two thrones located on the bridge and entered a hive meditation centered around the ship’s gunners and pilots, emboldening them to supernatural talent and fervor.
Several aircraft were stored on the flight deck’s surface, and always ready to fly, but the pilots that were on duty were currently practicing their skills at hurry-up-and-wait in the briefing room just under the control tower. Rusty Spring and his fellow pilots surged with anxiety and manic excitement when the order to scramble came in as they flipped over chairs in their rush to get outside. “You heard the captain, get your tails in gear!”
Greasy Piston hooped and hollered the whole way up. “Anypony get more kills than me gets a free round!”
As the pilots reached the flight deck, Darya addressed the bridge crew. “Change heading to east by northeast, and increase elevation by four degrees as soon as the squadron is in the air. Let’s keep our distance.”
Polybia watched the opening act of the battle unfold with keen interest. The so called ‘carrier’ was turning away from her encroaching swarm while twelve bi-planes had been sent out to intercept with less than ten kilometers between them. She fully expected a shield similar to the one the Deception had in the Battle of Stripped Gear to pop up, but it failed to appear. Not yet anyway. They must be saving their strength for when they need it.
Taking a moment to mentally step back, Polybia felt confusion wash over her. “…Strange. Rainbow Dash always came across as someone itching for a close fight. It isn’t like her to stay aloof.”
“Perhaps she has finally learned that most queens should stay out of direct combat,” Commander Talon offered plainly. “In any event, our scout force will likely be slaughtered even with intervention.”
“Then we better make the most out of it,” Polybia replied coldly.
Taking more direct control over the swarm, Polybia had the drones race down to the tree line, only to be taken aback by the speed of the aircraft. They were easily going triple the speed of the carrier and more than double what even the fastest of her drone strains were capable of.
Even with such speed, Polybia was able to drop her swarm below the jungle canopy only a few seconds before the first flight of aircraft dove down in a wedge formation and strafed the expected location of Polybia’s drones. She felt the loss of a few dozen, but scattered them enough so that the second group only injured a few and killed none. Good, they can’t see very well under the dense canopy.
Deciding to wait and watch, Polybia kept her drones hidden and unmoving in the trees to see how Rainbow Dash would react. Split Horn snorted while scratching a ghost of an itch on his arms. “Strange, the machines are acting more like pegasi formations rather than naval ships.”
Polybia split her focus on two things: casting offensive magic, and scrutinizing the movement patterns of the aircraft. To the first task, Polybia shied away from casting any directed mana attacks to avoid giving away her drones’ position. Yet something strange, though not entirely unexpected kept happening. Every incineration spell, rapid decay, freezing, confusion curse, or even simple telekinesis failed to grip not only the aircraft but the pilots as well.
Within the span of a minute, not one spell could touch the bi-planes. No matter what school of magic she used, every attempt seemed to ripple over the aircraft like water over glass. With one final test, Polybia directed the force of all of her remaining drones to incinerate the lead aircraft of the squadron angling back around to do a strafing run on the area where her drones retreated to the tree line.
This time, the fire fully manifested around a rippling barrier that showed no sign of weakening, but it did serve to cause the pilot to panic and fall out of formation temporarily. Polybia growled at the implication and cut off the spell to save her drones’ mana supply. Either that drone is undisciplined, a likely possibility, or this defense was unexpected by even their creators.
Filing that information away, Polybia was about to shift tactics to directed-fire spells when she noticed three other aircraft were flying in. While she originally passed it off as reinforcements, the oddity of their flying formation gave her pause.
Unlike the wedge formations of the first squadron, these three planes were flying in a vertical triangle. Polybia saw the first group of fighters backing off before taking a lazy turn back towards her swarm. What are you planning? Not taking chances, Polybia ordered half of her drones to slip away back towards the ruined hive while remaining under the tree cover.
With the Long Shot under no apparent risk of attack, Twilight Sparkle refocused her attention on puppeting her three children piloting the newcomers to the battle. Once the aircraft were close enough Twilight engaged the autopilot, which amounted to little more than locking the control stick in place, and focused on her spellwork. You really think the jungle will hide you? Here’s a gift from momma!
The three aircraft started glowing as Twilight fed her puppet’s magic into the built in runes along the fuselage and wings. A pale green bubble formed around the tight formation before exploding forward in a tidal wave rushing forward. The magic permeated the jungle and covered the hiding drones within.
Before Polybia could discern the purpose behind the enchantment, flak fire from the squadron tore into the canopy with far greater accuracy. Thanks to the spell, each hostile drone was illuminated to the eyes of the pilots.
While the trees still provided good cover, there was nowhere they could hide. The aircraft broke formation to hit the drones from all angles, with the flak making even direct line of fire unnecessary.
Ultimately though, Polybia was stalling to buy time. She woke another quasi, this time an elderly unicorn stallion, and summoned him to the Linkscape. “Magus Spell Twister, I need you to devise a counterspell to this illumination enchantment.” She fed him all the sensory input from her dwindling number of drones.
The magus huffed in bemusement. “An adaption of Feather Quill’s divination locator. This will take time, my queen. A day or so at most.”
“Very well,” Polybia replied idly. Sensing she had stalled long enough for her plan, Polybia ordered the survivors out of the nooks and crannies and charge the divination aircraft, firing bolts of fire. They were quickly cut down once they exposed themselves from the tree cover. “Now let’s see if they take the bait.”
Rainbow Dash awoke from her hive meditation after the last enemy drone was shot down. She found Darya was hovering near the window with binoculars and a wide grin on her face. The rest of the bridge crew looked in good spirits at the success of their first live action skirmish. Darya heard Rainbow’s throne rustling under the queen as she stood up and turned to face her mother. “We stopped them just shy of eight kilometers out, nowhere near close enough for any spell. Not bad eh?”
“You did well, Darya, but this attack was only to test our capabilities.”
Focusing predominantly on the ship and her crew, Rainbow Dash was able to keep a weaker version of the hive meditation active, if only to keep the pilots from suffering from withdrawal. “We need to stay alert.” <Boom Team, get out there and scout the ground below us, I don’t want to fly right into a trap.>
The scout team barely sent their acknowledgements when Rusty Spring reported to Rainbow. <My queen, the spell illuminated a second group of drones fleeing south into the lands surrounding Stripped Gear. Should we pursue?>
<Towards Stripped Gear?> Rainbow hummed in deep contemplation. That whole area is nothing but overgrown ranches and crop fields, easy pickings. <Yes, chase them down but stay away from Stripped Gear itself.>
<Copy that,> Rusty and the other flight leader replied before passing the order to the rest of the pilots, causing them to give chase.
Rainbow pushed more mental power into the hive meditation, but stayed awake to brood over the conflict. Is it possible Poly is trying to lead us towards the hive and an ambush? Sounds like the kind of prickish thing she’d do.
Polybia kept a neutral expression as the rest of her advance force was picked off one by one. Unlike the first position, the remainder of her drones were entering one of the overgrown livestock ranches and corn fields. Tall grass was no substitute for the iron bark trees against the fighters, and the last of her forces were annihilated in short order.
Ultimately the cost was worth it by far in terms of information gleaned. “So… each flying machine can only launch ten of those tiny explosives at a time before they pull away, five from each wing weapon.”
“Ten seems to be all they need,” Commander Talon remarked sternly. “The explosions are small, but more than enough to damage several drones at once.”
Through her puppeting, Polybia felt every wound inflicted on her drones, with no lasting pain upon her personally however. Pain was a useful tool for adaptation, and here was no different. “For now, perhaps. Kreesus used a similar type of attack a few hundred years ago. It won’t be perfect, but it’s possible to give my drones some resistance to that flak.”
Split Horn leaned heavily onto the war table as the miniature bi-planes fanned out and turned towards Stripped Gear. The caldera was smoking along the edges, revealing the once thriving city was now completely uninhabitable. Much of the lower sections of the hive was a mess of slag, and the old shield tower was leaning over, but was just barely still standing. The palace itself was a mountain of loose debris. “We might have a problem.”
Polybia and Talon joined him at the map with her calculating frown devolving into a scowl. “Damn. If those fighters move too far ahead, they might discover the ambush meant for the warship itself.” She looked to the giant orange crystal leaning precariously on the edge of the shield tower. She had a few drones hovering around it and ordered them to hide. She quickly repeated the command to the rest of her forces. It was a gamble to be sure. The caldera was excruciatingly hot, even for those breeds which were adapted for it. “It can still be salvageable, provided we are not detected.”
Rusty Spring enjoyed a new benefit to Rainbow’s hive meditation. Through the eyes of the other pilots in his squad, Rainbow fed him up to date information on the condition of the other aircraft. With the last of the hostile drones dead, and no current orders, he took a moment to do the math. Down to half ammo for me… and a quarter for that nut Greasy Piston. <Greasy, get back to the LS for resupply.>
He could almost hear her grumbling shock. <Are you kidding me? What if there are more of those bugs out there?!>
<That’s an order, airling!> he rebuked tersely.
Greasy was at least wise enough to keep from broadcasting her vulgar tirade and banked away from formation. However, Darya kept his attention away from the ornery pilot. <Remain on station, Wasp Squadron.>
<Aye, captain.>
Rainbow Dash peered through the eyes of the observation drones, with most of them keeping their gaze fixed on Stripped Gear. At present, it looked quiet and undisturbed, or at least as much as a slowly melting hive could look like. The drones keeping an eye elsewhere also reported zero contacts, and even the Boom Team gave the all clear along the port and starboard flanks of the ship.
With Aegis busy up north, Darya was Rainbow’s stand in for chief advisor. “Seems rather weak of Poly to welcome us with only a single platoon.”
“Well the jungle is a big place, my queen,” Darya replied while fidgeting with her wings. “It’s possible she didn’t think we’d come down this way.”
Rainbow Dash scoffed at the notion. “No way. This is our old haunt, and we know the terrain here best. If I were her, I’d have had a bigger army stationed here than that.”
“Perhaps Chrissy and the traitor have had more success than they’ve let on,” Darya suggested with a brief burst of excitement, “And Poly had to redeploy the rest of her welcoming committee.”
“I’d like to believe that, strangely enough,” Rainbow added with an eye roll at being allied with Chrysalis of all people. “But I can’t shake the feeling Poly’s got something bigger waiting for us somewhere nearby.”
“If we’re expecting a trap, the ruins of Stripped Gear would be an obvious place,” Dayra stated flatly with Rainbow nodding in agreement.
After thinking on it for a little bit, Rainbow Dash glanced down at the shipmaster. “Pretty sure the caldera’s turned the hive into a furnace… but then I wouldn’t doubt the other queens would love to use that to test new heat resistant strains.”
“None of us could survive there, but the planes might.” Darya felt an electric thrill in anticipation to Rainbow’s next words, causing her wings to buzz noisily. “You’ll finally get your wish to use the bi-planes as scouts.”
I’d still prefer dedicated scout craft, but I’ll take what I can get, Darya mused bittersweetly.
Rainbow Dash brought Darya into a Link conversation. <Hey, Twilight, we can fly over the thermals the volcano’s putting out right?>
Down in her shield amplifier, Twilight Sparkle was getting a little bored and had split part of her mind so she could read one of Rainbow’s trashy romance novels. She was briefly considering calling Ratchet up from the engine room for a little love when Rainbow’s request came in. With no enemies nearby, Twilight spoke without putting her book down. <Yes. Since the Octavia engines are able to compensate for sudden changes in turbulence, we can fly over safely. Provided the volcano doesn’t start erupting ash and soot.>
<Perfect, thanks.> Rainbow closed the conversation before addressing Darya again. “We’ll have the fighters scout ahead over the ruins while the Boom Team covers their flanks.”
Rusty stretched inside his cockpit to loosen up some stiff wing muscles when the order finally came down from Dayra. <Be advised strikegroup, your orders are to scout ahead to make sure the Stripped Gear ruins are clear for transit.>
Rusty Spring cringed at the orders, but said nothing more than his acknowledgements. Stripped Gear is too much like home. Seeing it in ruins like that gives me the willies.
He looked out at the other ten aircraft around him as the squadron banked towards the sleeping volcano. Greasy is probably landing on the carrier by now, but it’ll take her a while to rearm. Maybe next time she’ll make sure her shots count. Rummaging in his cockpit, he pulled out a small pair of binoculars and started sweeping the area.
All was quiet as the aircraft made their way towards the abandoned hive. The city itself was an appalling mess. It’s once great monuments to technology, it’s gleaming brass architecture, and magnificent castle was little more than a slagged and broken wreck. Rusty couldn’t help but to keep seeing parallels between the ruins and Phoenix Roost, and the sight of it threatened to break his heart were it not for Rainbow’s meditation keeping his emotions from sinking too low. <Alright Flight one, spread out and keep an watch for anything moving.>
Angling to the north along the old residential sector, Rusty couldn’t escape the nagging feeling of being watched. I really hope it’s just ghosts watching us, and not anything physical.
He made a long slow orbit to the far side of the hive, beginning to drop altitude and slow down a little to be able to peer down alleyways more clearly. He angled his craft to get a better look, but he couldn’t do it for long because the raw heat forced him to pull his head back into the cockpit, but something caught the corner of his eye, forcing him to look back out.
<Ambush!> Rusty acted instinctively to warn the other pilots and pulled up and away from the alleyways. Barely a second after he broke away, he saw the leader of Flight Two’s tail-section catch fire as the two left wings were torn from their mountings not even half a kilometer away from him. The fighters scattered in all directions with Rusty almost clipping his wingmate’s rudder.
He nearly missed Rainbow’s broadcast to retreat screaming in his head when he saw a thick line of small mana bolts arcing towards him from the right. Yanking as hard as he could on the stick, he forced the bi-plane up to slow down and let the lethal stream of spellfire pass right by him.
He tried to turn back to the northwest and the carrier, but a second barrage of fire forced him to dive south west instead. The turn was so sharp he inverted his aircraft with the first hailstorm of death turned like a large searchlight back towards him.
From his inverted position, Rusty looked down to see that a large drone, easily the size of a queen with a massive horn, was the source of the magical flechette looking to scythe him in two. In a snap decision, he deliberately went into a stall by halving the output of his octavia engine. The two streams of lethal mana boxing him in tried to react to the unexpected direction, but the beams moved slower than Rusty expected.
His bi-plane plummeted for several seconds making his heart hammer in his chest. An explosion and falling debris heralded the destruction of another wingmate. Gunning the throttle on both engines, Rusty arrested his fall and corrected his stall with his landing gear scraping along the shattered ruins of the hive. Now that he was so low, the maze of broken buildings gave him some cover, but he could already feel the heat from the lava below, and his instruments were quickly warning him of the engines heating up. That’s when he saw it in front of him. One of the large drones just tore the wings off of another bi-plane right as it flew over the walls of the caldera, sending it spinning out of control.
Keeping a telekinetic hold on his firing trigger, Rusty lined up a shot. Yet his first shot was spoiled when a line of teal mana-fire blazed from behind and went past his head ripping one of his wing supports to pieces. He banked around a half-melted brass wall, watching as the barrage of mana beat against the wall harmlessly.
Wish my plane was small enough to hide behind that. He juked back to the left while drawing a bead on the original target. The drone had a large glowing thorax that dimmed the longer it fired. In a brief second, he noticed the drone’s horn moved very slowly as it arced it’s latest attack, and only moved quickly when not firing. In that same instant, he realized that quick movement was so it could aim directly at him.
Already seeing his death, he unloaded the remainder of his shot at the same time the drone fired at him. Rusty’s shots connected first, pulping the drone in a mass of blood before it exploded in unstable magic. Rusty flew right through the cloud of loose mana, but the act allowed the original anti-air drone to score a glancing hit on his tail rudder, and blowing off the left landing gear. The hit knocked out his automatic flak cannon reloader causing a thick tail of smoke to trail behind him.
Nevertheless, his airplane refused to fail him, it crested the ridge of the caldera coughing up smoke all the while. He dove down to keep the wall of the caldera between him and any other hostile fire.
Once over the lip, he raced away as low to the ground as possible. Rusty was drenched in sweat and he only now realized he was heaving his breath. His bi-plane was rattling slightly from the damage, making his teeth chatter, at least he hoped that was why they were chattering.
He kept stealing glances behind him, praying that none of the hostile drones wanted to venture beyond the shattered walls of the hive. His second look saw a few other planes escape in much the same way. The last plane he saw was belching fire from it’s tail like a meteor.
The pilot of the doomed plane bailed out and tried to fly under her own power. However the aircraft’s speed was too fast and the ground too close for her. She flailed in the air before falling to the dirt and rolling down the outside of the caldera. Any hopes Rusty had that she survived were dashed when the plane exploded a few moments later, peppering the area in flaming shrapnel.
Rusty found the rest of the flight home was free of hostile fire, he made sure to thank the First Mother. Keep it together, Rusty, just get back to the carrier, debrief, and then curl up in your rack with a bottle of brandy.
Polybia huffed in mild chagrin at the sight of the fighters fleeing for their lives. “So I only destroyed a pittance of those small flying machines instead of the real prize. You disappoint me, Rainbow Dash, at the very least I wanted to see the direct combat potential of that ‘carrier’ of yours.” Her attention shifted to the shield tower in Stripped Gear. “I was going to leave things as they are… but I think I should punish you for such a poor show.”
With a brief command, Polybia had her drones by the shield tower dislodge the giant orange crystal and allow it to fall to the broken ground below. She watched eagerly as it shattered into a dozen useless pieces. She idly noted that a scant few of her drones were killed by return fire, but only those who were designed to attack the small nimble fighters. The larger, more powerful living cannons that were meant to attack the capital ship itself had remained quiet and out of sight. I really wanted to get a feel for that ship’s armor, if not kill it in a single battle. It looks like you’re going to force me to play the long game, Rainbow Dash.
After assessing the damage, Polybia found most of her losses were incurred from the intense heat, fortunately, that did not include any of the heavy fire drones. “A worthy sacrifice for the information at least. Now I should be free to refocus on the Kel’das Mountain range for the time being.”
The mood on the Long Shot’s bridge was somber, shaken, and reproachful. Both queens watched from the control tower’s small balcony as the last few aircraft limped back on board. Not one fighter of the scout flights had escaped undamaged, though for some of it was comparatively light. The Long Shot started steaming away from the ruins of Stripped Gear with the Boom Team keeping a close eye on the path ahead.
Darya fidgeted nervously at her mother’s side, trying to find the right words to say. This is bad, but if we hadn’t scouted to verify where Polybia was hiding, it could have been our ship that was caught in that trap. Unsure of how Rainbow was truly taking this miserable first engagement, Darya took off her captain's hat and held it close with a hoof. “M-my queen, I cannot express how sorry I -”
“What are you apologizing for?” Rainbow stated quietly as she kept her gazed fixated on the limping aircraft. Twilight watched her sister, but said nothing yet. “You were the one who originally suggested using the fighters as scouts.”
Darya floundered, not sure how to respond. “I -ah- I…”
“But I had the final say,” Rainbow whispered with deep strain in her tone, yet the anger was directed more at herself than Darya. “I should have listened when you asked for dedicated armored scout craft instead of settling for any ol’ plane.” Her tone grew bitter while biting her lower lip. “I should have listened to Twilight when she told me to stop focusing entirely on the Deception!”
This time, Twilight placed a hoof on her sister’s withers. “Rainbow, there’s no way we could have predicted the P.C.E’s attack. You’re working with the best we’ve got.”
Rainbow shrugged off the hoof and gave her a defeated glare. “We’re changelings remember? Adapting to anything is what we do, and I didn’t. I sat there thinking our flagship was the trump card to it all, and passed off what I thought of as a glorified freighter to her!” Rainbow fumed while waving a hoof in Darya’s direction.
“Even that adaptation takes time, an open mind, and trial and error, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight admonished lightly. She knew better than try to send calming thoughts over the Link, fully expecting it would backfire. “Carrier and fighter warfare is totally new to us. We’re too used to the heavy armor of the Deception to use the same strategies anymore. All the training and drills in the world can’t make up for real experience. You taught me that, sis.”
Rainbow averted her gaze away from Twilight before settling on the pilots below. She modified her aura to exude mournful pride in them. It was a small consolation to her that it seemed to help them. “We lost seven planes on a scouting mission, Twilight,” Rainbow whispered hoarsely at her sister. Dayra had never seen her mother so torn, and nuzzled her leg, eliciting little more than a slight waver to Rainbow’s sad frown. Twilight kept a strong front in the face of Rainbow’s dismal aura, morale was already hurting enough. “And nearly as many pilots. I failed all of us for not giving the ship more of a damn budget.” Rainbow growled bitterly while kicking the metal wall. The lance of pain was nothing compared to the scar on her pride.
Twilight joined Darya in embracing Rainbow. “The important thing, RD, is to learn from this.”
“My pride cost us the lives of our children, sis. My pride in the Deception, in thinking that the Long Shot was ‘good enough to at least be the Deception’s escort’. How many have to suffer the mistakes of my pride before I learn that, huh?”
“Sis,” Twilight started with her adopting a stoic grimace, “we may have to accept that losses are going to be a fact of life in carrier warfare, just like it is with the infantry.”
Rainbow Dash’s breath caught in her throat, and for several long moments she stood stock still looking down at the busy flightdeck. Slowly, the false bravado in her aura seemed a little less forced. “You may be right,” Rainbow whispered.
Before Twilight could get in another word, Rainbow Dash teleported to the flightdeck to keep herself busy and help the crew. Darya shakily put her hat back on, while the hat was light upon her head, it’s true weight rested on her heart.
Far from the scene of battle and largely ignorant of the recent defeat, Aegis and Blitz stood near the gifted statues from the sphinxes. However, the recall of a freighter off the Manehatten trade route and the sudden orders for strike craft production to double along with tripling the number of pilots in training was hard to miss.
Both proto-queens were leaning against each other, mirroring their mothers in the eyes of those around them. Blitz’s heart was aflutter at the meaning behind such a profound gesture. “This is proof that we’re going the right way, Aegis. It shouldn’t be long now before even the P.C.E. is nothing more than an unpopular fringe group.”
“Assuming it’s not simply replaced by anti-psyker fanatics,” Aegis replied with only mild bitterness. “But it’s good to see all our work is bearing fruit. You think we can get a statue of us next?” Blitz only answered by pulling her head back to give Aegis a sarcastic smirk. “You know, you can be holding Twisty the Wrench and I can be holding Burny.” Her face lit up with a massive evil grin. “Ooo, and it can have real pyrotechnics and shoot fire!”
“Maybe we should stick to just illusionary fire, love,” Blitz giggled before kissing Aegis’ cheek.
“A shame,” Aegis replied playfully before returning Blitz’s affection in earnest. The two embraced, fully losing themselves in the moment and in each other’s love. Both proto-queens were enraptured by the flavor of the other’s love. Aegis especially was stunned by the recent change in Blitz’s flavor as it seemed to resonate within her at a level she thought only Twilight’s love was capable of.
The two stretched the tender moment to a minute or two before eventually separating to find a room, only to see Lyra run up to them with a memory crystal held in her magic. “It’s done! I’m ready for the lingification!” I still think handification is a better word, but Bon Bon insisted.
Aegis separated from Blitz and gave the ecstatic bouncing teal mare a bemused look. “That was fast,” both proto-queens stated in perfect sync.
Aegis continued alone, “Huh, granted I had duties to tend to, but transcribing my memories to crystal took a month.”
Lyra deposited the crystal into her saddlebag. “Oh I’ve been putting all of my memories into crystal for about a year now. I figured even with total memory loss I should at least record them anyway for use later. All I’ve been doing since getting your approval was finding out which memories I wanted to make sure I remembered.”
“I see…” Blitz said idly. “Well Aunty Twilight already got the alchemical formula ready before she left. If you’re truly ready then follow us.”
Lyra looked behind her to see Bon Bon giving her silent encouragement. Lyra’s grin fell a little before she turned back towards the proto-queens. “Can I meet you at the entrance to the hatchery? I want to say one last thing to Bon Bon.”
Aegis nodded approvingly while Blitz spoke enthusiastically. “Alright I’ll see you by the Tree.” Aegis may be older, but I’ll get the first adult drone at least.
With that, Lyra cantered the short distance towards Bon Bon who was sitting on a streetside bench that was backed by decorative shrubs. Snickering at one of their favorite pastimes, Lyra nuzzled her friend before sitting next to her. “Thank you, Bon Bon, for seeing me through all this.”
“That’s what friends are for, Lyra,” Bon Bon replied wistfully while placing a hoof on Lyra’s rear leg. “You’ve been a bright star ever since you fell into my life, and standing by you is the very least I can do.”
“Don’t be so melodramatic, Bonny, your life was hardly a dark place before I came around.” Lyra ended up sighing and pulled out her gold colored lyre. “Even though I really want this… Teetering on the edge, I’m a little scared of how much I’ll forget of our time together. I saved all the times I think were most important, but there was still so much to lose. So many little memories.”
“Then we’ll make new ones together,” Bon Bon said with a reassuring hug. “I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”
With misting eyes, Lyra pressed her lyre into Bon Bon’s chest. “Watch over Stringy for me, will you?”
Holding back a tear of her own, Bon Bon wrapped a foreleg around the instrument and held it dearly. “Of course, you silly mare. He’ll be at my side waiting when you wake up.”
With one last kiss on the snout, Lyra ran off towards the hatchery. Bon Bon watched her go until she rounded a corner. She didn’t turn away for the longest time, letting the sun slowly dip towards the horizon before at last looking down at the lyre. I’ll be waiting for you, Lyra.
“Mind if I join you?” a voice called out from behind her, causing Bon Bon to jump into a defensive stance. She dropped it in an instant after realizing it was Aegis leaning against the bench’s backrest giving her something between a sympathetic smile and an approving smirk.
“Your highness, I’m so sorry,” Bon Bon rushed placatingly as she dropped into a low bow. “I thought you were-” she caught herself before breaking secrecy. “-somepony else.”
“Forget about it.” Aegis waved off before taking a seat in a posture nearly identical to Lyra. “My brothers and sisters noticed you’ve been sitting here for over an hour. I probably don’t need to guess why.”
Bon Bon recovered from her bow and hesitantly took her spot back on the bench after Aegis waved her hand at it. The cream colored earth mare was wary of opening up to anyone outside of Lyra. If Proto-queen Aegis is going to be Lyra’s new family, I guess I can at least talk about her.
Taking a long, slow, steady breath, Bon Bon tried to keep from burdening Aegis with her worries, but if she was outright asking her…
“I know Lyra will be different after she wakes up,” Bon Bon began slowly. “We first met soon after she got stuck in our world, so I remember all those silly little quirks she used to have: constantly trying to walk on two legs, not understanding basic hoof gripping magic, let alone unicorn magic at her age, and she always said words like someone, and everyone. She always said Canterlot like Camelot and messed up other city names all the time.”
Bon Bon let a short giggle escape at the fond memories. Aegis easily saw what was bothering Bon Bon most. “Well I can’t say she’ll be the same Lyra you’ve grown up with.” She let the statement lie for a moment, making sure it eroded any misconceptions. “While I can’t say to know what momma was like during her pony years, I’ve seen what the hive life has done to Aunty Rainbow.
“She’s a different person to be sure.” Saying otherwise would probably have AJ give me a ‘whoopin’ for lying right now. “But at the same time,” she added almost too quickly after seeing Bon Bon wilt, “RD is still as crazy cool, loyal, athletic,” As much as a queen can be, “and as much of a prankster she had ever been as a pony. Lyra will have some different goals and dreams when she hatches, but I have no doubt that she will glomp you at first sight.”
Bon Bon let a relieving shudder pass down her spine while Aegis mulled over her answer. “Well, you may need to wait for her to use the memory crystal first, then she’d jump your bones.”
Bon Bon’s face flushed furiously at such talk in public, but the message was heard. “T-thank you, your highness… I - I needed to hear that from somepony else.” I really hope what you gain is worth what you lose, Lyra, but this was your choice, no pony else’s.
Aegis was about to leave Bon Bon to her thoughts, but she caught herself right before climbing to her hooves. “There is one thing you might want to prepare for, just in case Lyra didn’t notice or mention it earlier.”
Bon Bon’s heart skipped a beat. With all the things she and Lyra had thought they had accounted for, adding to that long list was not a happy prospect. “What would that be?”
“All the lings of Momma’s bloodline, which includes Aunty Rainbow as well, are very polyamorous.” Bon Bon’s gulp was missed by Aegis since she started looking back at the statues in contemplation. “Momma likes to hide it, but everypony knows the consort sessions are a daily highlight for her, and Aunty is delightfully shameless about it. And I could go on all day about my personal record in one week. In fact, it all started with a bet against Intel-”
“Thank you, your highness,” Bon Bon interrupted hastily while making a stopping gesture with her hooves. “It is a lot to think about. Have a good evening, Proto-queen.”
“Same to you,” Aegis added with a shrug. She passively watched Bon Bon bid a hasty and embarrassed retreat. Shame, it’s a great story. I’ll have to share it with Lyra some time after she wakes up. Who knows, I might finally get to bed a former pony and mark another thing off my bucket list. I wonder if Lyra’s love flavor will change like Aunty’s did.
With the moment’s good humor passing slowly, Aegis’ eyes eventually drifted from the statues to the south. Both queens refused to mention the ambush over the past hour. Just as matters concerning the hive and P.C.E. were kept quiet as to not distract the queens from the campaign, the same protocol was in place for losses in battle. Well, if things were going terrible, momma would let us know no matter what. I really hope she rips Poly a few new holes.
Aegis’ gaze drifted up to the sky as she halted idle musings in lieu of giving orders to the anti-P.C.E. taskforce over in Canterlot. She didn’t get far before her thoughts were interrupted by a small hoof tugging on her left hoof. Breaking contact with Intel, Aegis jumped a little by looking down to see an older purple nymph, couldn’t be more than a week or so from entering a chrysalis, hiding behind the armrest of the bench.
“Umm, sister, could you play Vaults and Villains with us, pleeeeease?”
Aegis noticed nymphs and young sphinxes poking their heads out from the bushes with childlike anticipation written all over their faces and auras. She couldn’t help but to rustle her younger sister’s mane. “As fun as it sounds, kids, I don’t-”
“Before you say no!” the nymph interrupted with a waiting gesture, catching Aegis flat footed. The nymph was prepared for instant rejection and pulled out a rule book from her saddlebag and hastily flipped through the pages. “We found a way to get Burny into the game without breaking the rules.”
Aegis’ brain came to a screeching halt before taking the book into hand. The nymph hovered over to her side and pointed at the entry. “The new rule book introduced the engineer class in tribute to us. You can make any single device wearable on your person at character creation.”
That grin. It was slow, cruel, and maniacal all at once as it cleaved Aegis’ muzzle with a malevolence that could put Sombra into a traumatized coma. The gleam in her eye matched the grin in all of it’s terrifying power. One might think Nightmare Aegis was manifesting if she didn’t already possess fangs and slitted eyes. The children and nymphs were spared this soul sapping depthless horror thanks to the covers of the book concealing the pyromaniac’s visage.
The manifestation of wrong was gone in a flash when Aegis closed the book to think. Well, I need practice in splitting my focus on multiple places anyway, and I don’t need to be physically present anywhere today, so… She beamed a warm, totally not evil, smile at her little sister. “Alright, girls, I have some time.”
Jubilant cheering erupted from the children who either raced off to the nearest community center, or tried to pull Aegis towards the same location.