//------------------------------// // Chapter 22: Meeting With a Changeling Queen Part 2 // Story: The War Machine // by Urimas Ebonheart //------------------------------// The War Machine Chapter 22: Meeting With a Changeling Queen Part 2 I follow behind Chrysalis down the tunnels of her Hive, I can pick up the sounds of fighting ahead as we round the corner and see more changelings, half with green coloured chitin and half with red coloured chitin fighting each other shooting bolts of red and green magic or trying to stab the other with their horns. "Now, if you'd be so kind as to shred all those with red chitin that would make me very happy," Chrysalis tells me and fires a bolt of magic at one of the invaders. I spin up my weapon and target all living red changelings before sweeping left to right firing a single round into the head of each one without hitting any of Chrysalis's changelings. The loud gunfire deafens the changelings as they cover their ears. Once I scan the room and find no more targets I lower my weapon and turn to the Queen. "All targets eliminated, please direct me to the next location," I ask her ready to move on. She stares at all thirty-two corpses and then at me, "Remind me never to anger you," she says to me with wide eyes. "Noted, may we please move on? The longer we wait, the more of your changelings could be dying," I tell her. "Oh, right," she replies and runs out the room as the changelings recover from the gunfire, no doubt temporarily deaf for the time being. We continue running down the tunnels as I gun down the red changelings along the way, some try to shoot me back with red blasts of magic, but the bolts just dissipate on my plating. I target the hostile changelings and begin shooting each one in the head with a single bullet. We arrive at a large cavern with what appears to be eggs in the walls. "Oh thank my chitin the nursery is okay," Chrysalis says and breathes a sigh of relief. I scan the room to see ten thousand holes in the walls and only three-thousand two-hundred and sixty-one have an egg in them. "Then let us move on and find their point of entry," I suggest and turn around only to see a very large red changeling twice the size of Chrysalis staring at us with an ill intended grin. "It's a brute and he's calling reinforcements!" Chrysalis says in dismay. Seems these brutes are quite troublesome to deal with. But before anyone can make a move I spin up my weapon and unload a barrage of bullets into the brute puncturing through its chitin like paper, red blood splatters out and coats the back wall of the tunnel. After firing forty shots into the brute I take note that its chitin is harder than its smaller counterparts but not enough to stop my bullets, I can safely use up to five shots to effectively kill a brute. "Threat eliminated, please show me where they are entering and I shall remove any remaining hostiles," I ask Chrysalis. "I, you, but... he? How?" she mumbles and I lightly tap her wither. "May we please continue so you can have your breakdown after the threat is removed?" I ask her again at her wasting precious time. She blinks and then nodded. "Right, right. My warriors have informed me the breach is near the south of the hive. Follow me," she says as she runs off and I follow after her. I gun down a few more changelings along the way and as we near the breach, I regain a radio signal. 'Luna, I've contacted Chrysalis and have successfully negotiated an alliance, but her Hive is currently under attack from a rival Hive of red changelings, I am aiding her in the defence as a show of sincerity, over,' I contact Luna through her prosthetic leg's radio. 'Adam? Thank my moon you're alright, and congratulations on getting Chrysalis on our side, now we don't have to worry about her sending changelings into our... Equestria's towns. Oh, over,' she replies a with a slight stutter near the end. 'I'll contact you once this is all over, Luna. Please could you begin making more ammunition for the death machine? I seem to be going through quite a lot here, over,' I ask her. 'Very well, I'll see you when you return,' she replies and the radio cuts out. We reach the breach and I look up at what was mentioned before, a red changeling the size of a house but it looks like its IQ is very low as it has a changeling on its back yelling basic orders at it. I quickly aim my weapon at the behemoth and pull both triggers, the sound of the death machine echos throughout the forest lighting up the surrounding area in a dim light as the plating on the behemoth starts to crack but is holding strong, the behemoth then begins lumbering towards us. After firing a hundred rounds I switch to my micro missiles and launch four of them into the head of the hulking changeling. They explode on impact blowing off the behemoths face leaving the back of its skull remaining as it collapses onto the ground causing a mild quake. I then turn my attention on the smaller changelings who just stare at me with wide eyes. They suddenly take off to the north west which from the maps I've seen is the badlands. I gun as many of them down as I could but they scatter in every direction. Once I can detect no more, I turn back to Chrysalis. "It seems they have all fled. All that remains is searching your Hive for any remaining invaders," I tell her and check my ammo count; four-hundred and sixteen rounds left. "Yes, my drones are telling me there are a few left but they're being dealt with," she tells me. "Can you capture one alive? I'd like to get some information from them," I ask her. "But we've never managed to get one of them to talk. They sever their connection to their Hive before killing themselves with a magical discharge," she tells me. Processing... I will need to begin carrying inhibitor rings should I need to catch changelings. "Very well, I will try to track down this Scarlet Hive's location at a later date. Right now I need to return to my workshop and continue my work, would you be willing to arrange a meeting with Celestia at my workshop in three days? You will have both mine and Luna's protection in the event something hostile could happen," I offer her. She frowns and looks towards Canterlot for a few seconds. "Alright, I'll be willing to meet with her, I'd like to confirm the status of these crystals myself," she replies. "Very well, please wait while I contact Celestia," I tell her and contact the Canterlot radio tower. "Sound Wave, I need to speak with Princess Celestia, this is important," I ask the pony manning the controls. "Huh? Who's this?" he asks. I'm using my speakers so Chrysalis can hear as well. "This is Adam, I need to speak to Celestia about something important," I repeat to him. "Oh, right the robo dude, yeah sure, I think day court ended just a few minutes ago. Just wait a few minutes while I send a guard to get her," he replies and I then hear talking in the background. "Okay, I've sent the guard... so, how have you been since we last spoke?" he asks. "I have been well thank you," I reply. "Good, good... how's Luna been?" he then asks. "She is also doing well, she's teaching her daughter when she's not working on a project," I tell him and Chrysalis just looks at me wide eyed. "Luna has a foal!?" Sound Wave yells in surprise. "In a sense, we created a new A.I from my coding and she is teaching her about Equestria and the world," I reply unfazed from his outburst. "I see... does that make you the father? Wait... does that make you Luna's mate?" he then asks confused. "I suppose I could be considered her father as she is based off my code, though am not sure about being Luna's mate as I have no data on any kind of relationship customs," I reply. We continue to talk for a few minutes before Celestia speaks up. "Adam? What's the matter? Has something happened with the changelings?" she asks me. "You are correct in your assumption, I have contacted Chrysalis and she has agreed to be allies in exchange for the crystals you are developing," I reply to her enquiry. "That is wonderful news," she says with a sigh. "Will you be available in three days time for a meeting with Chrysalis at my workshop?" I ask her. "I suppose so, what time will this meeting begin," Celestia asks me, her tone getting more serious. I look to Chrysalis and she frowns. "I can meet with her at midday," Chrysalis tells me. "Chrysalis? Is that you?" Celestia asks in surprise. The changeling queen then goes wide eyed. "She can hear me?" she asks with confusion. I nodded and let Chrysalis and Celestia talk about the time and what they'll discuss. "Thank you for informing me about this, Adam. I shall see you both in three days time," Celestia says and the radio disconnects. Chrysalis is now smiling and looks up at me. "I need to check on my Hive, would you like a guide back to the entrance?" she asks me. "That will not be necessary, I can make my own way back from here. I'll be looking forward to your arrival in three days," I tell her and activate my jet skates before taking off back to my workshop. 'Luna, we've successfully repelled the invaders and Chrysalis has agreed to a meeting with Celestia in three days time at the workshop, over,' I inform Luna over the radio. 'That's great! But it seems we have a bit of an issue back here...' she replies. 'What has happened?' I ask her. What could have happened while I was away? 'Well... it would seem that my night guard have resigned and are now requesting to be... well, posted here under my name again,' she tells me. That could be problematic. They have nowhere to stay and by doing this they will no longer be Equestrian citizens. 'What have you told them?' I ask Luna. 'I have told them to set up camp outside until your return, while we both live here it is technically your workshop, so I'll leave the decision to let them stay or send them away up to you, but we have no way to pay them should you keep them,' she tells me. Processing... I can visit my diamond dog den and gather some gems and gold as payment for the night guards services, but I will need to find out why they want to stay first. It will also give me a chance to check in on the den's progress. 'I believe I have a solution as to possible payment, but first I must find out their intentions before we make a decision. I am also on my way back now, ETA ten minutes and forty seconds,' I reply and inform her as I pass the corpse of the hydra I killed. 'Alright, Eve and I will wait for your return,' she replies and cuts the signal. I increase my speed and hurry back to my workshop following the path I've already made before. Ten Minutes Later I arrive to see twenty black tents set up near the workshop, I slow down to a jog and make my way to the entrance where I see Luna waiting for me. "Welcome back, Adam," she says to me with a smile. "Thank you. So these are the guards who want to stay?" I ask her and see thestrals walking around their camp. "Yes, they said they joined the night guard to protect me, and when I left Canterlot for here, they lost their reason to stay and now wish to guard me here..." she replies and looks at the camp as well with a sad frown. "I see... and would you let them stay?" I ask her for her opinion. "Honestly? Yes, the thestrals are the only ones who didn't fear my return, but there are so few of them left since I was banished. Having them here as added security would be nice," she tells me and looks back at me. "Very well, I shall speak with their commanding officer," I reply and walk over to the camp as I carry my minigun at the ready. "Who is in charge here?" I call out over the camp. Some thestrals gather around and start talking to each other. "That would be me, Sir. Captain Night Hawk at your service," an aged stallion says walking up to me with a scar on his right foreleg. His fur is the typical dark bluish grey, with tufts of fur on the tips of his ears, his eyes are a golden yellow with slitted pupils and he has two sharp fangs in his upper jaw. His mane and tail are black with greying roots. "Luna has informed me you wish to continue being her guards, you do realise she is no longer an Equestrian Princess correct?" I question him. "We do, but back before her banishment, she's the only one who accepted us for our appearance. We've been called many things by the other pony races, werepony, vampony, corrupted pegasi and others as well. There's only two towns left of our kind and when we heard that the Princess of the Moon had returned, we mere twenty thestrals were happy to be her protectors once again... but ever since her resignation as Princess, we've lost our motivation to stay as night guards. We answer to Luna and Luna alone," he replies with conviction in his eyes as the others stand tall and proud. I take note that none of the twenty ponies here have any armour or weapons with them. "Where are your arms and armour?" I ask the Captain and he frowns while glaring at the dirt. "They were taken from us as they are property of the guard, but we'll make due, even if we have to make or buy our own gear," he tells me resolutely. "And I take it you won't go back to your towns?" I ask him. "We have travelled far to serve our Princess of the Night, we haven't flown all this way just to go home in disgrace. We shall serve our Princess, even if she is a Princess no more," he replies and looks at my optics. I stare at him for a few seconds before making a decision. "Very well, I will be supplying you with food and necessities for the time being, along with armour and weapons. Once you've proven yourselves sincere I will begin paying you for your services. Is this acceptable?" I ask him and the others. They all talk amongst themselves for a few minutes and nodded. "That is acceptable, Sir. What are your first orders?" he asks me as they all salute. I look at them all and process data on their builds, they all seem in shape and ready for a fight, but I'm going to have to retrain them using human training methods, I saw how the ponies fought against the gryphons and suffered heavy losses. I will train these thestrals into a special forces unit able to take on anything thrown at them. "I want you all to get some rest and prepare for training tomorrow night, I will be teaching you new combat tactics and engagement formations. You will learn how humans fight a war," I tell him. They look confused but still nodded. "Sir yes Sir," They all reply at the same time and head off to their tents while six of them start patrolling around the workshop from the air keeping an eye on the surroundings. I head back over to Luna and she has a raised brow. "They seemed happy," she comments with a smirk. "They won't be after the training I'll put them through," I reply and look back to the camp. Luna tilts her head to the left and looks confused. "Training? They have already received training, it's why they were guards in the first place," she tells me with a frown. I chuckle slightly and shake my head. "They received pony training and tactics. I will be teaching them in human tactics and combat. They will be superior than the royal guard," I reply before heading into the workshop. "Superior?" Luna asks as she follows me inside. "You will see when I am done with them, we can even have a mock battle with the royal guards once their training is complete, but for now I will prepare their training tomorrow night after I visit the diamond dog den first," I reply and walk over to my trailer to recharge. "Very well, I shall make some more ammunition for your minigun over night," Luna says and makes her way over to the ballistics table.