Chapter 14: Turning the Tides
Chapter 14: Turning the Tides
5 miles north of “Ground Zero,” Waldreich Mountain Range, Neue Gryphus/Belka
May 18th 2020, 1316 hrs
The explosions managed to send the entire team into disarray. Some of the recruits were already panicking, but their leaders and seniors calmed them down. Despite that, they were still panicking inside their minds.
“What the hell is that!?” Rod exclaimed.
“何！” Ronin cried in her native language.
“What the hell happened?” Gilda muttered before she contacted Marcus. “Oi, Altair! What’s going on down here?”
“I don’t know,” Marcus answered. “We determined that it was some kind of burst missile, but it’s too small to be a standard one.”
“No… “ Riddle said slowly before he switched to a widespread frequency.
“Aquila to all units, be advised, those are Stonehenge’s rounds: a special type of burst missile. They’ll explode upon reaching their target before unleashing a large amount of flammable gas, triggering a large secondary explosion. You’re dead if you get caught in either the explosions or the shockwaves they generate.”
“That means they’re going to hit us again!” Kestrel concluded.
“Altair Beta to all units, we’ve detected more rounds approaching from the south,” Marcus announced. “All units, lower your altitude to 2,000 feet if you want to survive!”
“What, 2,000 feet?” Gilda whined. “What do you expect us to do? Fly underground!?”
“Use the mountains as cover; it’s the only way. Everyone, make your flying patterns unpredictable, keep your speed up and stay low,” Riddle announced. “Just go back to the capital; I’ll catch up with you guys later! Blake, you’re taking lead.”
“Roger that. Good luck, sir,” Black Star said before he ended the transmission. The blue griffon then brought up his scanner and started tweaking with it. His eyes were full with determination.
“Hog, you bastard. I’m not losing to you just yet!”
“Northwind 1 to all units, follow Aquila 2’s lead,” Rod said through his comm. “Keep close and don’t stray out.”
“This is Aquila 2, everyone follow behind me, and I’ll mark out the route,” Black Star added from his end.
“Roger that, right behind you,” Kestrel responded.
“Aquila 3 here, I’ll follow your lead!” Kite exclaimed.
“Northwind squadron, wilco.”
“This is Southwind, we’re counting on you.”
Both Black Star and Kestrel held their talons together as they descended lower towards the ground. Kite followed their movements along with Northwind and Southwind squadrons tailing him from behind. Riddle stayed behind and landed in the dead forest while he continued to tweak his scanner. He was planning to hack into Stonehenge’s supercomputers to prevent the cannons from firing their rounds for a while, but he soon found out that the new security systems installed on the railguns’ supercomputers were too though for him to break in.
“All squadrons, I’m inputting the data regarding blast zone’s radius on your scanners,” Marcus explained. “The red zone indicates the radius of the blast. Get out of this zone before my countdown reach zero!”
All the squad leads and their members complied in unison as they maintained their focus on the ever changing terrain around them. Mountain peaks passed by left and right, and some of the dead trees managed to graze one of the Southwind members.
“Incoming fire from Stonehenge, estimated time of impact: 20 seconds.”
All of their scanners now showed a bright red ring on right and on the left side. Their scanners beeped furiously, indicating that they must get out of this zone or else the shockwave would knock them out from the sky.
“Come on, faster!” Black Star yelled to his comm. Everyone behind him did what they were told and picked up the pace. Soon, their scanners went silent as Marcus continued with the countdown.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three and… impact!”
Two new explosions formed from behind them, and soon, two much larger secondary explosions erupted in their place.
“Damn, I could feel the heat from here!” one Southwind squadron member stated.
“Whoa, look at that!” a Northwind member yelled as he pointed below the explosion. The fireball managed to light up some of the dead trees, and soon, a blaze began to form in the area.
“So they’re capable of doing ground strikes too?” Ronin mused in horror. “I never knew that a weapon designed to shoot down asteroids could…”
“Colonel Mizukami, for now let’s just focus on getting back to Gryphus,” Rod called. “We can worry about these things later. Right now, it’s either we escape or be engulfed by those explosions!”
“Two more… no three rounds incoming!” Marcus announced. “E.T.A. 30 seconds!”
Once again, the same drill repeated, and the griffons quickly made their way out from the blast radius. What caught them off guard was that the third round’s blast radius appeared in front of them.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven… “
“Crap! Turn! TURN!!” Black Star yelled as he made a quick turn to the right, with the rest following suit. The last of the griffons finally made it out from the third blast radius as Marcus’ countdown reached zero. For the third time, three orange fireballs formed in the sky before being followed by three secondary explosions. Two of the last griffons could feel the shock wave hitting their body, and they almost crashed if their comrades were not there to help them.
“AH! They shockwave’s crushing me!” one of them yelled.
“All units, maintain your speed and heading,” Marcus stated. “You’re almost out of the airspace.”
“This is Aquila 2, Altair Beta, what’s the status on Aquila 1?” Black Star asked in worry.
“I’m still picking up his signature inside the airspace, he’s still alive,” Marcus answered, providing a sense of relief to the Aquila members.
Meanwhile, Riddle finally managed to break into Stonehenge’s software. Before he could shut down the system, an explosion erupted right above him, sending the blue griffon packing. Riddle flapped as hard as he could to avoid the secondary blast, but he was soon caught in the shockwave the explosion generated: causing the griffon to crash into the ground.
Riddle groaned as he tried to get up. He checked his comm and scanner and found that the comm was damaged a little bit. What he did not know was that the tracking device installed inside the comm was damaged beyond repair, causing his signature to drop off from the radar.
“Aquila 1 just disappeared from radar!” Rod announced. “Altair Beta, did you see him on your scope?”
“No, he dropped off on mine too,” Marcus replied nervously.
“Tch, Marie, you’re leading. I’m going back for him,” Black Star said in worry, but before he could turn back, a familiar voice came in through their comms.
“Don’t worry lads and lasses, I’m still here.”
The team was relieved when they heard Riddle’s voice. Soon enough, the blue griffon approached them in his own pace. Things were quiet with only the sounds of the howling winds blowing through the cold mountain peaks.
“Wait a minute,” Kestrel began. “What happened to the rounds? The explosions?”
“I don’t know,” Black Star responded. “But I’m not sticking around to find out.”
“They must be testing the cannons’ firepower,” Riddle concluded. “and we’re unfortunate enough to be their test targets.”
“That maniac’s handiwork, I guess,” Kite jumped in before he sighed in relief. “Still, that was a close one.”
“Yeah, too close,” Rod nodded in agreement. “This isn’t over though.”
“You’re right. That maniac Esser is attacking our capital,” Ronin stated. “We need to get there before it’s too late!”
“No, you guys go ahead,” Riddle said before he he turned his attention towards the general direction of Pisa. “I think it’s the perfect time to use those devices.”
All the Aquila members immediately knew what the blue griffon was talking about.
“Sir… are you sure?” Kestrel began. “I mean, those things could drain our energy before the battle even starts.”
“Don’t worry, I got an idea.” Riddle smirked.
Gryphus Airspace, Gryphus, Griffin Kingdom
1450 hrs
Once again, chaos fells on the griffin capital. Every available griffon fighter stationed in the capital, along with the GRGs, were doing their best to fight off the changeling swarm. The battle already lasted for two hours, and the griffons were being pushed back, little by little by the overwhelming changeling forces with the additional help from Esser’s Beast Squadron and the mercs.
“Wonderbolts! Fall back to the third defensive lines!” Soarin’ ordered his wingmates. in which they complied after they and two other griffon squadrons failed to hold off a massive changeling army commanded by Blue of Blau squadron and a changeling commander.
“Come back you cowards!” Blue shouted at the Equestrian elite squadron to no avail. Blue internally cursed himself. After the deaths of Gray and Violet, it was just him and Hog now. Violet’s death shook him pretty bad, but he could never forget how Gray died in that maniac’s claws…
Sudentorian City Hall, Sudentor, Neue Belka
May 17th 2020, 0500 hrs
Blue just sat in the main briefing hall with Violet sleeping soundly with her wingmares at the other end. The yellow mare soon woke up when she saw Gray’s bandaged form emerged from the medical ward. Violet immediately wrapped herself around the wounded Gray and said,
“Don’t you ever make me that worried, ever again!”
“Chill, Vi. Everything’s okay now, we just have to wait for that feathered oaf’s return with our client,” Gray responded calmly, making Violet smile mischievously.
“Ooh, now that’s the Thundercracker I know!”
“Hey, hey. Save it on your weekly makeout sessions, you two,” Blue said in annoyance. “I’m tired as buck, and that oaf still hasn’t shown up!”
“Looking for me?” a familiar guttural voice said behind him, prompting Blue to yelp from his seat and took a defensive pose. Esser just chuckled at his reaction before he waved at the two pegasus beside him and smiled. “Yo, sorry I’m late.”
Both Gray and Violet darted their eyes around, Esser had come all by himself, and Kriegstreiber was nowhere in their sight. Blue noticed this as well and asked,
“Hey, griffon. Where’s the client?”
Esser just raised one of his eyebrows and opened up the saddlebag he brought with him, the three pegasus saw a familiar pair of glasses being held by Esser and for some reason, the whole room suddenly smelled like burned meat. Gray was the first one to realize the awful truth behind this smell.
“Esser… what did you do to our—”
“I ate him,” Esser answered nonchalantly, causing both Gray and Blue to cover their mouths in disgust while Violet just cringed. “What? His meat isn’t that bad, y’know?”
“You. Ate. Our client!?” Blue roared before he lunged at Esser and pinned him on the floor. “Why?”
“He’s no longer useful to us…” Esser answered with a smile, Blue suddenly noticed that there was a flash of blue in Esser’s red eyes. Before he even knew it, Esser grabbed him by the neck and threw him near the window. Violet’s other wingmares woke up and saw the ensuing brawl between Blue and Esser. Blue tried to get up and fight again, but Esser once again grabbed him by the neck and started to choke him. “And if you don’t stop hurting me, you’re next on my menu.”
Blue immediately got the message and threw both of his hooves up. Satisfied, Esser let go of him.
“As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted,” Esser began. “Ol’ Ghunter will not be a part of this conflict anymore, and I hereby elected myself as the new leader of this piece of crap team.”
“Why the hay should we listen to you?” Gray stated flatly. Esser only smirked at him before he lunged at the dark blue pegasus and pinned him to the ground. Violet tried to punch Esser away, but she soon found out that her punches were worth dirt to the griffon. Esser slapped her away, but her wingmares caught her before she could impact the hard floor. Gray tried his best to lessen Esser’s grip on his neck, but thanks to his injuries and Esser’s overwhelming power, he could only stare and watch as death approached him.
“Any last words, big boss?” Esser asked him. Gray tried to speak, but the lack of air prevented him so. “Eh? Said that again, I can’t hear you!”
Esser lessens his grip at Gray’s neck, allowing him to take some air to speak.
“Rot in hell… griffon…”
“Oh, but I already did,” Esser answered with that strange smile plastered on his beak. He then lifted Gray by his neck and continued, “I came back because I got bored with it!”
Before anyone else could stop him, Esser clenched his fist, crushing Gray’s neck. Violet could only gawk helplessly as she watched the body of her lover fall limp on the floor. Blue was speechless. How in Equis did Esser summon such destructive power? Before anyone else got the chance to say anything, Esser turned to them and ate the piece of Gray’s ripped throat.
“Anymore questions?” he asked nonchalantly. Both Blue and Violet, along with the latter’s wingmares glanced at each other before Blue chuckled nervously and said,
“Uh, what’s our next plan?”
Blue hated Esser with every single cell in his body, but he had to comply to his orders, or else he would be the next buffet on Esser’s plate. His teammates didn’t like it either, and neither did Violet’s surviving wingmares, who had just returned from their failed sortie in the Waldreich mountains which claimed their leader’s life. These bloodthirsty mares kept attacking everything in sight, angered by their leader’s death and vowing to pay with blood.
The changeling army continued to march on towards the capital, but the GRGs, the Wonderbolts and the additional griffon squadrons were not going to give up their capital that easily. Warhound squadron, which had lost five fliers during the sudden attack, fought valiantly until none of them were left alive. The same could be said with Drossel squadron, who were nearly wiped out at the start, leaving only Drossel 5 to fight the massive swarm on his own. The brave griffon fighter finally met his end when a changeling blasted him from behind, giving an opening for one of Violet’s wingmares to dive in and smash his body into the pavement.
Valdar personally surveyed everything on the command center along with Saetos. For now, everything looked bleak for the Griffin Forces. About half of their forces were already eliminated, and the rest were being hacked off little by little by the approaching swarm. They already tried to call out some reinforcements in Pisa, but high jamming, which suddenly appeared above the city, prevented them from doing so. Valdar growled and grabbed an earpiece and a scanner lying near a computer before he walked to the exit of the command center. Saetos turn around and asked,
“Hey! Where are you going?”
“Helping my brothers and sisters,” Valdar answered in determination. “I’m going out there.”
“Don’t be stupid, Valdar!” Saetos snapped. “You’ll be killed if you—“
“I have to go!” Valdar responded sternly, Saetos could feel the overwhelming authority from his tone. “It is my sworn duty to protect this kingdom. Just keep the skies clear, Saetos.”
After finishing those words, Valdar took his red cape off before taking to the skies. Saetos cursed inside his mind before he turned his attention back towards the radar screen.
“Where’s the source of this jamming!” he thought before he tried to pin-point the source of the jamming waves. Nearly all the radar was unable to detect the source, and Saetos can’t contact any griffon units that might have seen the jammer. With every passing second, the changelings and the mercs inched their way closer towards central Gryphus, causing the civilians who lived behind the walls to panic.
The griffons on the frontlines including the Wonderbolts were surprised when they saw Valdar diving into the battle. The orange griffon’s fighting skills were still sharp as he parried every single blow the changelings delivered at him, he even stated that the others must call him by his old call sign: Zeakros during battle. Soon after issuing his troops a temporary retreat, Valdar began to issue some orders to the remaining griffon troops and GRGs. Because of their disadvantage in numbers, Valdar decided that it would be best to engage the hostiles in a guerrilla warfare: picking them off one by one.
“Told the civilians to join too, we need every single bit of strength we have left!” Valdar declared to his troops. “This is not our darkest day, the Griffin Kingdom will prevail!”
The troops roared in determination before they flew to their places. The civilians also joined in the battle and tagged along with several of the griffon troops hiding behind the houses and dark alleyways of Gryphus, waiting for their prey to arrive. The Wonderbolts were tasked to maintain air superiority over the city along with two griffon squadrons and the remaining recruits at the academy.
While the tactic clearly worked well against the enemy, Valdar still hoped for some reinforcements to arrive. Then, as if his prayers had been answered, a GRG member informed him that he saw multiple fliers approaching from the Drakenridge mountains. When they got closer, the GRG member confirmed them to be griffon fliers.
Valdar smiled. Looks like help had finally arrived.
1510 hrs
Aquila, Northwind and Southwind squadrons saw the griffon capital on the horizon, and they could see multiple smoke pillars rising from the city. Despite Riddle’s orders, Northwind and Southwind squadrons decided to wait for his squadron so they could arrive at the capital together.
“So, it has begun,” Riddle said before he turned towards Kestrel. “Captain, can you see anything?”
“Crystal clear, sir,” the pastel griffoness answered. “There are a lot of changelings and mercs in there.”
AQUILA
Griffin Kingdom Air Force
2nd Air Division, 17th Special Task Force Squadron
“Looks like we have to go all out on the first blow,” Black Star said thoughtfully. “I hope that these Z.O.E. Mk.II’s will do the job, sir.”
“Don’t worry, sir… uh Blake,” Kite cut in. “Sir Wonderfalke already said that he’d reduced the power output, so they will last longer.”
“Well, that’s in theory,” Riddle shrugged. “But we’re going to find out soon enough. Aquila 1 to Northwind and Southwind squadrons, engage at will. Aquila squadron, activate the Z.O.E. Mk.II’s in 60 seconds.”
The rest of the members said, “Roger” in unison before they dispersed. Riddle and Kite flew towards sector 27, while Black Star and Kestrel headed towards the sector 37. Behind them, both Northwind and Southwind squadrons also separated into two groups. Rod and his group flew towards sector 17, the area where Valdar was situated while Archer led her group to sector 27. Ronin, Gilda and several Southwind members decided that they would assist Black Star and Kestrel in sector 37 while Butterclaw led the last group to the skies above, hoping that she and her group could wipe out some of the changeling fliers.
The changelings on sector 27 saw the approaching griffons and snarled. Their leader quickly ordered his swarm to attack the two griffons, but Riddle and Kite remained calm before they activated their Z.O.E.
“Aquila 1 engaging!”
“Aquila 4, engaging!”
The Z.O.E.s’ power surged through the griffons’ bodies following those words. Three changelings who were about to strike them were easily dispatched. Riddle and Kite’s sudden appearance boosted the morale of the remaining griffon troops and civilians fighting in that sector. Riddle and Kite worked in tandem to eliminate as many changelings as possible, hacking away any overhead threats to the ground troops.
“Come on people, we can do this! We can defeat them!” one of the civilians yelled as they took off from the ground along with the griffon soldiers and engaged the remaining changelings. The changeling leader was forced to retreat and requested more changeling units to be deployed to that sector.
“I don’t care how many, just send in a whole swarm!” the changeling leader yelled to his comm. “I don’t want to upset our queen!”
Sure enough, Riddle saw a new swarm of changelings approaching their location. Due to the jamming, he couldn’t determine how many units that were sent in.
“Everybody, maintain your ground,” he yelled to the remaining troops. “We’ve got another swarm, engage at will and don’t hold back!”
Nearly everyone present yelled in response, ready to face the changelings. A fierce aerial battle ensued when the forces finally collided with one another. While the other changelings engaged the griffons in an aerial battle, some of their comrades accompanied some unicorn and griffon mercenaries to infiltrate the city from below, but they too were halted when more civilians had come down from the palace walls to protect their city.
“Charge!!” one of the civilians yelled as the others attacked the enemy forces. Though the changelings and the mercs were much more experienced in combat, they were unable to cope with the sheer number of the civilians and were forced to retreat. One of the changelings managed to hide inside a bakery, but he soon found out that the griffon bakers weren’t too happy seeing him inside their shop.
The changeling quickly darted towards the exit, but the griffon bakers were already in pursuit. Together with the civilians, the griffon bakers managed to send some of the enemy forces out by throwing their baked goods and hot pastries at them.
“Get them while they’re hot!” one griffon baker with an accented voice yelled as he threw some éclairs at the enemy forces. The baked goods did a good job immobilizing the enemy for a short time before they were finished off by the wave of angry civilians. Despite that the enemy was being forced back, civilian casualties were inevitable. The remaining mercs of Murtair Militia doubled their aggressiveness, angered by the fact that two of their leaders were dead by the griffons’ talons. Both sides fought valiantly, and neither side had any intentions about giving up.
Sector 37
Black Star managed to fend off another merc while Kestrel was busy engaging two changelings at once. The griffoness managed to keep up with the changelings’ attacks thanks to the Z.O.E. powering her and Black Star’s bodies. Everything seems to go in slow motion for her as she parried blow after blow the changelings delivered at her. A split second window was more than enough for her to deliver a powerful swipe at the first changeling’s head which cracked his exoskeleton. The second changeling was caught off guard by this, and Kestrel used this chance to deliver another swipe using her other limb. The blow impacted the changeling’s face; sickening cracks were heard from it before both changelings crashed on the roof of a house.
Kestrel breathed a sigh of relief before another changeling hissed at her, challenging her into a fight. With a smirk, Kestrel rushed towards the changeling just as Black Star was throwing a mercenary pegasus at another changeling. Both grunted as they hit each other, but Black Star wasn’t finished yet. He quickly gathered enough speed and rammed both of them, sending them crashing into the streets below. The dark griffon’s victory was short lived as yet another changeling grabbed him from behind. Both struggled to gain the upper talon/hoof until the changeling screeched in pain as he felt several talons cutting through his exoskeleton with ease. Distracted by the pain, Black Star turned the tables by grabbing the changeling’s head and throwing him at his front. Before Black Star could strike again, Ronin flew past him from behind and rammed the changeling away.
The metallic blue griffoness gave him a thumb up before she flew away to engage more targets. Black Star could only smile as he set his eyes on a mercenary battling two civilians. As Black Star flew over to assist them, Gilda flew above him with two mercs hot in pursuit. The griffoness huffed and led the mercenaries away from the furball before stopping in midair, causing one of the mercs to overshot her. The second mercenary found himself unable to stop as Gilda brought up her right talon directly at the merc’s face. The blow worked, but Gilda quickly flew away before she stuck out her tongue at the remaining merc. Angered, the merc chased the griffoness, only to meet his end when a Southwind squadron member intercepted him from below.
“Got your fly for ya, Southwind 9.” the member stated. Gilda just huffed and replied,
“Thanks, Condor.”
After finishing their glances, both Gilda and Condor went back to the furball to engage more hostiles. Blue, who was within the sector at that time, noticed the sudden drop of changeling forces due to Black Star and Kestrel’s flawless execution of disarming and neutralizing the changeling and the merc forces. Blue immediately remembered his humiliating loss at Black Star’s talons at Schmierfett Canyon and decided that this was the perfect time to get even with him.
“Black Star the Ghost!” he yelled, causing Black Star to turn and see him hovering above. “I still remember well how you disgraced me and my squadron over that canyon!”
Black Star kept his beak shut as Blue descended before raising his right hoof at him.
“Time for some payback, Ghost, and this time, your loss is inevitable!”
“Just try it,” Black Star responded flatly before he and Blue rushed towards each other in high speed. It seemed Black Star was delivering the first blow, which Blue anticipated by raising both of his front hooves in front of him. However, Black Star slowed down and grabbed both of Blue’s hooves and threw him away, right in Ronin’s line of attack. Blue was not able to dodge the metallic blue griffoness’ armored claw swipe in time, and once again, the pegasus was slashed in his face.
“Argh!” Blue cried as multiple slash marks formed near his old wounds and nose. His anger nearly blew his head as Blue screamed and began his attack at Ronin.
“Primitive brute, how dare you slash me again!” he yelled furiously, but Ronin just chuckled in response.
“Technically, I didn’t slash you,” Ronin laughed. “You just got in my way.”
“Shut UP!!” Blue snapped as he tried to deliver some strikes at the griffoness. “You still intervened in my fight! Have you know no honor, you stinkin’ bitch!”
Ronin’s smiled quickly dropped when she heard that. All of her patience for this pony was gone in an instant as she quickly switched to the offensive, startling the pegasus.
“You are mistaken…” Ronin growled as she slashed Blue again. This time, three massive gashes appeared on Blue’s flank. “I come from a land where honor is more valuable than one’s own life.”
Blue was not able to respond as Ronin slashed him again. The pegasus was now at the mercy of the angry griffoness.
“W-wait! STOP!!” Blue squeaked, but Ronin paid no attention to him and kept on attacking. The pegasus couldn’t believe it. He was actually losing to this griffoness, and it was not just his body that was wounded: Ronin was slowly destroying Blue’s pride as well.
“You insulted my honor, you uneducated fool…” Ronin growled. “You don’t know the true meaning of honor, and that’s why…”
“PLEASE, NO!!” Blue pleaded as Ronin grabbed his neck and brought him down to the ground. Blue closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable blow that would end his life, but it never came. Instead, Ronin brought her index finger up and carved the first letter of her own name in kanji on Blue’s right cheek. When she was finally done, she released her grip and spoke to the terrified pegasus,
“… I’m letting you go. So you can live the rest of your life in shame, knowing fully well who had defeated you.”
Ronin then bowed and thanked Blue for the fight before she flew away. Blue only rubbed his freshly made scar on his cheek as tears of his own shame began to pour down. Realizing that he was practically wounded and his own pride had been crushed to smithereens, Blue got up and flew away, never to be seen again…
Blue’s absence caused a temporary panic amongst the mercenary’s ranks, but Heimer quickly took command and ordered them to engage the griffons in tandem with the changeling forces. Black Star saw Heimer flying above him, but the latter was preoccupied with directing tasks to his army.
“If he’s here, then that bastard Esser must be somewhere in this airspace!” Black Star thought. “They weren’t expecting me to be present. I must lure him out.”
“Marie, you’re taking command,” the dark-feathered griffon said to the pastel griffoness. “I’ll try to lure Esser out. Keep me posted if you can.”
“Are you sure, Blake?” Kestrel said in worry. “You saw what he did to that squadron member, he’s in a whole different league than us.”
“I’ve been through worse, Marie, and it’s worth a shot.” Black Star smiled. Though she was reluctant to let Black Star go alone, her newfound trust for him assured to her that the dark griffon was more than capable to take Esser down. Kestrel nodded and told him that she will watch his back. Black Star then ascended until he was out of the ever growing furball. Heimer saw the dark-feathered griffon approaching him and exclaimed,
“You!”
The griffon roared as he and Black Star’s attacks met in midair, Black Star’s blow was more powerful as it managed to knock Heimer several feet away. The dark blue griffon growled after recovering from the blow, but Black Star rushed at him again, and Heimer was forced to block his attack. Both Black Star and Heimer’s eyes flashed green and blue respectively as the Zaubenschaft gem pumped more energy into their muscles. Black Star’s punch managed to send the dark blue griffon away despite that he blocked the attack perfectly. The dark-feathered griffon swore he saw a small shockwave being produced around his fist when he delivered that attack. Heimer recovered from the attack and chuckled,
“So, you’re powered by the Zeal too, huh?”
Black Star remained silent, a habit he carried since his adolescence when dealing with talkative opponents. It was to close his mind off from distractions. Heimer seems to notice this and laughed again.
“Silent one, eh? No wonder they call you the Ghost,” he sneered.
“My actions speak louder than words,” Black Star stated bluntly before he charged at Heimer again. Suddenly, Heimer flew to the side as Black Star passed him. Swiftly, the dark blue griffon grabbed Black Star’s tail and swung the dark-feathered griffon as hard as he could, throwing Black Star several meters away from him. Heimer then went for the offensive, but Black Star saw him coming and used his current position to kick Heimer when he was close.
Another shockwave formed when both of Black Star’s legs impacted Heimer’s chest. The dark blue griffon was sent screaming into the ground before he totaled the roof of a house. Kestrel saw the whole thing, and she was amazed at the amount of power Black Star had when using the Z.O.E., but something didn’t add up. Riddle already told them that the Z.O.E.’s power output was reduced 50% so they could fight longer, so why did Black Star’s Z.O.E. was behaving like it was at full power? Something was not right about this.
Unknown to Black Star and Heimer, Wechselbalg was observing the fight in interest. No one knew that she was wearing a special kind of armor which allowed some trace of intelligence inside her mind, unlike Juggernaut. A bug-like growl escaped her mouth as she decreased the jamming noise she had been emitting for the last two hours and descended to confront the dark-feathered griffon directly. She made a couple of loud clicks and growls to call out several changelings to escort her.
Kestrel and the other griffons suddenly noticed that their radar and comms were back online, but what really caught their attention was that the changelings were cowering before going into a full retreat.
“What on Equis?” she asked before she decided to contact Riddle about this.
1534 hrs
Riddle and Hammerdown were the first ones in sector 27 to notice the changelings’ sudden retreat. Hammerdown’s team was ordered to guard Gryphus with the other GRGs, and they were doing a good job defending this sector from the enemy forces. They also noticed that the jamming had disappeared, and their comms and scanners are back online.
“Jamming’s gone,” Hammerdown said. “That should make these things easier.”
Suddenly, Riddle’s comm crackled to life as Kestrel’s voice came in.
“Aquila 3 to 1, come in. Can you hear me, sir?”
“Yeah, I’m here.” Riddle responded. “Captain, are you seeing this?”
“Yes sir. The changelings… why would they?” Kestrel said in confusion.
“I don’t know, captain, but whatever’s the reason, it can’t be good,” Riddle said grimly.
“Sir Wonderfalke, look up there!” Kite suddenly shouted while pointing to the sky. Riddle and Hammerdown turned and saw what the small griffon was pointing at. They saw a single changeling being escorted by six changeling fliers, and they were heading for Sector 37. What was worse, the changeling in the middle had the unmistakable Z.O.E. armor. Riddle quickly turned towards his comm.
“Captain, are you still there?”
“Yes sir. I’m still here,” Kestrel responded. “What is it?”
“You’ve got a whole changeling squadron heading towards your area,” Riddle explained. “Their leader is Wechselbalg, the changeling Z.O.E. from the Waldreich Mountains!”
Kestrel was concerned when she heard Riddle’s warning about the incoming squadron. She suddenly heard a loud bug-like roar as she saw the changeling squadron flying overhead. She immediately changed her frequency to warn Black Star.
“Blake, you’ve got a whole squadron coming for you!” she yelled. “Get out of there!”
Black Star heard her cries, but it was too late for him to escape. Without any warning, one of the changeling escorts fired an energy beam from his horn, causing Black Star to take evasive actions. The other changeling escorts soon fired their own beams at the dark griffon. Realizing that he was their only target, Black Star flapped his wings as fast as he could.
Wechselbalg roared, which sounded more like laugh of amusement, before she went after Black Star herself. The dark griffon’s comms and scanners went dead as the changeling Z.O.E. emitted a jamming noise that didn’t just affect the griffon’s equipments, but his senses as well. Soon, Black Star began to see Wechselbalg everywhere around him, laughing maniacally. The pain on his ears was doubled when he heard a high-pitch screech coming from all directions.
Black Star tried to engage the changelings, but his fists went through every single changeling h attacked. He knew that these were just illusions made by Wechselbalg to fool him, but he couldn’t tell which of them was the real one. It seems that the changeling was planning to defeat him by exhausting him first before moving in for the kill.
Kestrel saw Black Star’s predicament and decided to help him in any way she could. However, another loud clicking noise was heard, and soon, her way was blocked by the changeling escorts. Despite that she was doing a good job eliminating the escorts, more of them kept coming. Soon, she was overwhelmed by the sheer number of the changelings. They needed help and fast.
“Aquila 3 to… Ah! any available unit,” she began as she evaded a changeling’s beam. “Requesting assistance, Aquila 2’s in trouble, and I’m overwhelmed by these escorts! Ugh! Please, help!”
“This is Southwind 1, we’re still taking care of these mercenary brutes on the ground!” came Ronin’s reply. “We are unable to help at this time.”
“Northwind 1 here, unable to help,” Rod began. “We’re clearing up some enemy forces over here too!”
“This is Altair Alpha to all—*static*—units!” Saetos suddenly cut in. “I was able to track the origin—*static*—jamming, it’s coming from the changeling unit with the high magical reading!”
“That Z.O.E. changeling is the source!?” Rod exclaimed. “Sir Wonderfalke, I thought the armor could only power the user!”
“It does, but I still don’t know how that changeling is able to produce such high jamming waves!” Riddle responded. Then Valdar’s voice came in.
“This is Zeakros to all units free at this time: try to help Aquila 2 and 3 in Sector 37. Take down that changeling Z.O.E!”
“She’s mine!” Gilda exclaimed after Ronin gave her the slip to help Kestrel and Black Star.
“This is Northwind 1, I’m en-route!” Rod stated as he flew at high speed, fully ready to face the second Z.O.E. powered unit.
“This is Jet of Verde squadron,” a familiar voice came in. Everyone checked their scanners and saw Verde squadron entering the airspace from the windshear region with numerous other griffon units and other reinforcements behind them. “We hear your aid, moving in to support!”
Riddle and Valdar also noticed that the new signatures had EAF I.D.’s embedded in them, and one of them was emitting powerful magical readings that nearly caused their magic measurement gauge to malfunction.
“Hey, Hammerdown,” Riddle called out to the armored equine fighting beside him. “Take a look at these magical readings. They’re off the scale.”
Hammerdown inspected Riddle’s scanner with interest, his eyes soon widened when he recognized who could have emitted such powerful magical readings.
“No way…” he said in awe as his mouth curved upwards into a smile. “It’s one of the royal princesses!”
Riddle was shocked when he heard this. In all his life, he never saw either one of the royal princesses in person, but that was about to change today, because one of them was here, and she was heading for the changelings’ location.
Black Star and Kestrel continued to block the neverending assault from the changeling forces and their so-called queen: Wechselbalg. The dark-feathered griffon kept trying to deal one blow to the changeling Z.O.E., but her movements and her illusions made him miss every time. It’s a good thing that the Zaubenschaft gems kept the pain at bay, but the sheer number of the changelings and the illusions made it very difficult to concentrate on a single target.
Suddenly, Wechselbalg was struck by a magical beam that shot through her head, creating a large hole in her skull. The large Zaubenschaft gem quickly got to work repairing the damage while Wechselbalg hissed when she saw her attacker. Black Star who was caught off guard by the sudden attack slowly turned around to see attacker and for some reason, he felt a familiar presence: a presence that calmed his heart and mind during his nightmares.
Behind him, hovering just a few feet from him was Princess Luna herself, and she was dressed for battle from head to hooves. The dark griffon had to admit, her armors resembled what she wore when she was Nightmare Moon, but this armor had a lighter tint on some parts. The alicorn princess then flew to Black Star before she gave him a warm smile.
“Nice to see you in person, Blake,” she spoke. Black Star felt uneasy about speaking to a powerful deity in person. Luna saw this through and laughed.
“Do not worry, Blake. I’m here not as a political visitor, but as a warrior fighting for the same cause as you and your fellow countrymen,” she explained. “And I can see why you were having some much trouble with this enemy.”
Wechselbalg could only growl as she inspected her new opponent from head to hooves. She then let out a powerful screech that seems to order all the changelings in the area to focus their attacks on the lunar princess. Luna noticed this and cast a spell that disabled the entire changeling army’s magic.
“It’s just you, Black Star, and me,” Luna declared. “Don’t bring your minions into this bout of ours.”
Wechselbalg growled in frustration before she let out another screech. In an instant, the changelings turned and focused their attacks back on the fighting griffon soldiers and civilians. The other EAF reinforcements, which revealed themselves as Lancer, Sweeper, Hornet and Dragon squadrons quickly went to the attacked sectors to assist any griffon units they could find.
Lancer 1, an amber colored pegasus named Thunder Flicker, led his team to Sector 27 to Riddle and the Equestrian Royal Guards. Sweeper squadron, which was being led by a blue coated pegasus called Quick Chaser, descended into Sector 37 and helped Kestrel neutralizing the changeling units around her and on the ground. Hornet and Dragon squadrons led by Dragon 1 or Flare Star headed for Sector 17 to assist Valdar and Northwind squadron battling the mercs and the changelings.
“Come on, boys and girls!” Thunder Flicker’s voice sounded on every EAF units’ comms. “Let’s drive these bastards out from our allies’ front yard!”
“You read my mind, Thunder!” Quick Chaser responded before he and his squadron engaged the enemy squads along with Kestrel and the civilians.
“Hornet 1, complies!” Hornet 1 said in confidence.
“Dragon squadron here, ditto with us!” Flare Star exclaimed. “Let’s kick those bugs and mercs back where they came from!”
“Don’t forget about us!” Soarin’ said, he and the other Wonderbolts got a sudden boost of morale when they saw Princess Luna’s and the EAF’s appearance. “Wonderbolts, engage!”
“Verde squadron, engaging!”
“Silver squadron, engaging.”
“Northwind squadron, engaging!”
“Southwind squadron engaging!”
“Crimson squadron engaging!”
Soon, numerous other griffon and EAF units announced their presence through the comms, and the morale for the allied forces on both the griffons and the EAFs blasted through the roof. The brutal mercs and the cunning changelings soon found themselves overwhelmed by the allied forces, but their “queen” kept ordering them through their minds to engage without a break.
Believing in their false queen, the changelings morphed themselves into their enemies and began to battle against the allies to their very last breath. The mercenaries were forced to use dirty tactics when facing the civilians, but those tactics didn’t work so well when they faced the soldiers. Despite the sudden boost of power on the allies’ side, losses were inevitable. Some of the civilians fell during combat, but this only fueled the desire of their comrades to keep on fighting the enemy. Even the small cubs and younglings helped their elders by dealing swift distractions so the elders could defeat the enemies.
Wechselbalg ignored her troops and focused more on both Luna and Black Star in front of her. With a roar, the changeling charged an energy beam and shot it directly at the lunar princess, but Luna deflected the attack by casting a shield. This gave Black Star enough time to fly at the changeling and ram her; knocking her back several meters. Luna was impressed by Black Star’s power, but the changeling recovered from the attack and charged at the dark griffon. Black Star flew to the side, but the Wechselbalg grabbed his paw at the last minute. The griffon was thrown away, Luna quickly reacted by catching Black Star using her magic, but Wechselbalg used this opening to attack the lunar princess.
Luna quickly brought her right hoof up and blocked the attack; she could felt the overwhelming power Wechselbalg had poured into this punch. Luna kept her head calm as she watched Wechselbalg deliver another attack using her left limb. Luna merely tilted her head to the side and the punch flew passed beside her head harmlessly.
“Such power,” the lunar princess thought with interest. “Is this the power that these griffons had created through their science?”
Wechselbalg roared again before Luna used her magic to force the changeling back from her, she then released Black Star and flung him directly at the Z.O.E. unit.
“Blake, let’s begin this little bout!” Luna exclaimed. The dark feathered griffon merely responded with a single grunt as he prepared to deliver another attack at the changeling. Another shockwave formed as the punch collided Wechselbalg’s chest, throwing the changeling nearly 10 meters away.
Luna charged up another spell before she exclaimed “Huzzah!” when she shot it at the changeling Z.O.E.. Wechselbalg managed to block the shot by blocking it with her bare hooves. Luna was very impressed by this changeling’s display of power and wondered how much power she actually possessed. Black Star wasted no time and charged at the changeling again, but Wechselbalg evaded his attack and flew upwards before bringing her back legs together and let gravity charge up her attack.
Black Star saw this coming and rolled his body sideways to evade the attack. Luna charged a bigger and stronger attack and fired it again at the Z.O.E. unit. Once again, Wechselbalg blocked the attack. This time, Luna’s beam nearly burned her exoskeleton, though the Zaubenschaft quickly repaired the damage in an instant. Luna’s interest grew when she saw this little act while Black Star moved in to deliver another punch at her, hoping that he could at least break her tough exoskeleton. Wechselbalg roared before she too flew upwards to greet Black Star’s attack. The dark-feathered griffon saw what she was planning to do and moved sideways to avoid collision with her, but Wechselbalg already saw this through and brought her hooves up at the last second. Black Star felt enormous pain when the changeling’s hoof impacted his neck, but thanks to his enhanced body, nothing critical was damaged other than receiving a bruise on his neck.
Luna finally decided to battle the Z.O.E. in close range in order to test the power of this so-called “queen.” With a loud battle cry, Luna rushed in and clashed with the changeling while Black Star looked on.
“This isn’t working, even with Luna’s power. This battle will end up in a stalemate.” The dark griffon thought. “She’s tougher than Frostbite.”
“Aquila 2 to 1. Sir, we need some plan to deal with this,” Black Star said, calling for Riddle’s help.
“Aquila 1 here, negative, can’t help you,” Riddle admitted. “I never studied a changeling’s anatomy, yet alone a Z.O.E. with electromagnetic properties. But I can tell you this: she seems to communicate with the other changelings through her roars, clicks and hisses. Magic and manipulation should be noted as well, but we need more info from a changeling expert to know her weaknesses.”
“That’s why it’s a futile effort to fight her, folks!” a familiar voice came in to everyone’s comms. Princess Luna suddenly sensed a high magical reading coming from above and quickly broke off from the engagement. Wechselbalg also stopped her attacks and hovered while a familiar brown-feathered griffon descended beside her.
“Esser…” Black Star hissed after he saw the griffon that caused this whole madness. Quickly, he climbed up to confront the brown griffon along with Luna. The lunar princess felt uneasy when she saw Esser’s form. His presence just screamed bad news to her.
“Where have you been?” Black Star asked in disgust.
“Oh, I see you have returned from your brink of despair. That’s good, I can have more fun with you that way!” Esser laughed, but Black Star didn’t see anything funny about this. “Now where was I… oh yes! About her.”
Esser scratched Wechselbalg’s ears, causing her to purr at the brown griffon.
“See? She likes me, and she will obey anything that I tell her. And there’s nothing you morons can do to stop her.” Esser explained with a dark chuckle. “A funny story actually, when I first found her, she was an outcast from Queen Miasma’s hive from Manehattan. She said she wanted to be a queen herself, but ol’ Miasma kicked her out because of that, and so I thought: ‘Hey, why doesn’t she become a queen to the rogue changelings we have employed for these last couple of years.’”
“Placing a puppet queen to control your old puppets,” Luna growled. “Quite a clever plan coming from a lunatic such as yourself.”
“He’s not just a lunatic, princess,” Black Star began, gaining Luna’s attention. “He’s the true mastermind behind this conflict and the Equestrian war. Red Cyclone was just another pawn in his sick game.”
Luna was stunned. She and her sister thought that the war was over with Cyclone’s death, but she now knew that Red Cyclone was nothing more than another puppet controlled by a maniac. Luna’s expression changed instantly; she was now fuming with uncontrollable rage towards Esser, but the brown griffon didn’t care much about the angry alicorn hovering in front of him.
“You foul beast…” the lunar princess began before she used her Royal Canterlot Voice on him. “Thou will face justice for all the atrocities thou had done to our land! Prepare to face our divine wrath!”
“Just try it, namby pamby pony princess!” Esser smirked as he formed a battle stance. Wechselbalg quickly caught on with the situation and touched the glowing blue gem to pump more power to her body. Though Luna was more focused on defeating Esser, Black Star still harbored immense hatred for the brown griffon. He manipulated him, played him like dummy, killed hundreds, and he was not going to let him win this war.
With a loud yell, Luna unleashed a powerful beam that managed to shake Gryphus to its very foundation. Esser just looked on with a bored look before the beam hit him dead-on, blasting him into the ground. Chunks of stones and bricks were thrown as Luna’s beam continued to burn the brown-feathered griffon, while the changeling Z.O.E. decided to attack Black Star.
The dark griffon was more than ready for her as he parried her first blow with ease before he grabbed both of her hooves and used them to hit their owner’s face. Black Star then used this opening to deliver a powerful double kick to Wechselbalg’s chest, and once again, a powerful shockwave formed between both combatants as Wechselbalg was thrown away and crashed into a couple of houses below.
Luna’s beam diminished as the lunar princess growled at the grotesque display below her. Esser was still alive. He lay on a large crater, nearly burnt to a crisp, but what really made him stand out was the large purple-colored Zaubenschaft gem embedded on his chest.
“Impossible,” Luna thought with a frown. “How could he survive that attack?!”
Soon enough, the Zaubenschaft began pouring more energy to repair all the damage Esser had sustained during the blast. His charred skin was rejuvenated, and all of his feathers began to sprout from his skin in a matter of seconds. Luna could not believe it, but Esser somehow had access to a some kind of regeneration spell or whatnot. She also had detected a strange magical presence coming from Esser’s Zaubenschaft gem: a dark presence...
“That’s your turn, princess,” Esser chuckled before he flew up to face the alicorn princess, the same strange smile forming on his beak. “Now, it’s my turn.”
Before Luna could react, Esser dashed towards her at high speed before delivering a powerful punch directed to her chest. Luna felt enormous pain as the punch shattered her chest armor, and the shockwave it generated threw her back. When Esser was about to deliver a second attack, a roaring Black Star intercepted Esser and tangled with him briefly before Esser head-butted him away, throwing him back.
Esser then proceed to deliver another punch at him which caused the dark-feathered griffon to be thrown back several hundred meters before Esser flew over him and rammed him again, generating a powerful shockwave that nearly made him crash into the ground. Black Star quickly regained his senses and retaliated with a double kick when Esser was about to ram him again.The kick threw Esser into the sky and into Luna’s firing range.
The lunar princess charged up another spell, but she was interrupted when Wechselbalg tackled her from behind. Luna struggled against the Z.O.E. drone, but her strength nearly matched her own as she was able to keep both Luna and her own body from falling to the streets below. Luna soon grew tired and cast a fire spell that ignited Wechselbalg’s wings, giving the dark alicorn time to escape from her grasp. She then fired another blast that knocked Wechselbalg into the air and delivered an uppercut before the changeling could recover.
Luna had to admit: she really did learn something useful by watching those action movies in order to catch on with modern entertainment. Still, her new moves wouldn’t make any difference if Wechselbalg kept on regenerating from her wounds. She needed to destroy that gem, but she couldn’t get close due to the changeling’s lightning-fast reflexes.
Black Star, on the other hand, was still busy engaging with Esser. So far, the brown griffon had the upper hand on their battle. A shock wave formed with each blow they exchanged to one another due to their severely heightened strength, causing their battle to be heard from all over the city.
Kestrel could not watch any longer and flew up to assist Black Star in his duel. Esser was caught off guard with the griffoness’ appearance as she delivered a powerful blow to Esser’s face. Black Star initially protested against her interference, but Kestrel just responded,
“I’m helping you, Blake. You really need to remind yourself that you’re not alone on the battlefield.”
She then grabbed Black Star’s right palm and brought it up between their faces. She gave him a warm smile and said,
“We’re in this, together!”
Black Star quickly smiled in confidence after hearing those words.
“Just try to keep up, Marie,” he said simply. Earning a chuckle from Kestrel.
“I was able to keep up with you from our childhood,” she stated. “This is nothing compared to that.”
“Heh, a battle couple huh?” Esser smirked as he wiped a single drop of blood from the corner of his beak. “Now this is getting interesting!”
Both Black Star and Kestrel remained calm as Esser flew towards them, laughing with glee. Black Star parried with the first blow while Kestrel delivered a quick jab at Esser’s left rib. The griffoness winced; it felt like she just kicked a rock, but thanks to the Z.O.E. powering her muscles, she was able to deal a powerful blow to the brown griffon. At the same time, Black Star brought up his free limb and sent a crushing blow to the right side of Esser’s skull. The brown griffon’s spine nearly snapped from both attacks, but Esser wasn’t about to give up just yet. He then grabbed both of the griffon’s heads and spun his entire body, throwing off both Black Star and Kestrel.
Both griffons regained their balance and attacked the brown griffon again. Despite that Esser was not able to keep up with their attacks, he was able to overpower both of them and send them packing with a single blow. Black Star and Kestrel knew that they needed more help dealing with this overpowered flyer. Luna also had some difficulties keeping up with Wechselbalg. Regardless of her immense magical power, the lunar princess, who had little battle experience for over a thousand years, was not able to withstand Wechselbalg’s physical attacks.
Luna fired her magical blast again. This time, Wechselbalg did the same by firing her own beam at the alicorn princess. The two beams collided between the two combatants before the unstable energy building up from the two beams exploded, causing both Luna and Wechselbalg to be thrown back.
Before Luna could call for some help, a fast-moving blur managed to deal a powerful blow to Wechselbalg’s head. The changeling tried to recover from her spin, but another attack quickly sent her back several meters from her current position. Wechselbalg recovered from the blow and snarled at the two newcomers hovering beside the alicorn princess. Riddle and Kite felt their adrenaline, along with the power of the Z.O.E. flowing through their veins after their timely interference; Luna was slightly taken back by the appearance of these two griffons.
“Who are you two?” she asked. One of her questions was immediately answered when she recognized Riddle’s face. “You… You are Ratsel Wonderfalke, correct?”
“It’s an honor to meet you in person, Princess Luna,” Riddle spoke, trying his best to be formal even at the time like this. “Let us lend you a helping hoof… or talon.”
“But, are thou—” Luna tried to speak, but Kite cut her in mid-sentence.
“We know what we’re doing, princess. That’s why we brought some friends!”
Sure enough, nearly all of Kite’s friends from the academy flew up and joined their formation. Major White Tip, a white griffoness and leader of the GRG division “Distantthunder,” was leading the formation after she was called from Pisa. Breaker, Razorback, and Ricochet were there too, while Stalker, accompanied by his own mother Ronin, hovered on the back. Luna’s confidence grew when she saw the numerous griffons that came to help her. Her smile also grew when she other griffons of the GRG flying over to support Black Star and Kestrel in their fight.
Black Star and Kestrel could see Gilda, Rosepink, and Rave hovering in front of them while some members of Metal Sphere’s GRG team including Tallman and Red Tail hovered behind them. To Black Star, the most surprising guest on their team was Geier, the griffon he met within the dungeons of Gryphus. The Vulture griffon only gave him and Kestrel an assuring smile and a thumb up. Before the pastel griffoness could ask about their presence, Altair’s radio frequency suddenly came into their comms, but an unknown voice was talking through.
“Everyone’s in position? Good, now we can start the battle.”
Kestrel was the first one to ask the identity of this new voice. The owner of the gruff-sounding voice was more than happy to introduce himself.
“This is Edgar “Cygnus” Grint of the Griffin Kingdom Air Force. I’m taking command of all Z.O.E. engagement from Altair Alpha from here on out,” he spoke properly. “It’s good to be back in action, well… unofficially at least.”
Nearly all of the griffons were stunned. Edgar “Cygnus” Grint was the former General of the Griffin Kingdom Air Force until his retirement just two years before the Equestrian War. He was the leader and only survivor of an Urusean elite squadron who was shot down by a famous mercenary squadron. He was known for his flawless tactics that usually involved chess pieces.
Also, Cygnus was not a member of the raptor griffon species that dominates the current griffon population of the world. Instead, he was part of a rare kind of griffons who had other avian species as their front bodies. On Cygnus’ case, he was a swan-tiger griffon and his size made him tower above all griffons in the GCC.
Riddle then respectfully handed Luna an earpiece at Cygnus’ request. Carefully, the dark alicorn wore the earpiece before Cygnus’ voice was heard on her comm.
“Forgive me, princess, but in order for this operation to succeed, you must follow my every command. This decision is all up to you.”
The griffon didn’t have to wait as Luna smirked and responded,
“Lead us to victory, Cygnus.”
Wechselbalg let out one final roar of defiance as the griffon forces took their positions around the changeling. Esser, however only smirked in satisfaction when he saw the griffon forces closing onto him.
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Beautiful, man! Loved Ronin's "Cruel Mercy" moment with Blue, great way to get rid of him.
And loving the reveal that we have a false Queen leading the 'lings under Esser's orders, not an alliance. I have a suspicsion she'll be involved in his inevitable demise somehow...hoist by his own petard, if you will.
4783014 I didn't quite mean it like she'd BETRAY him, more like go feral and take him out in an irrational attack. But yeah, knowing Esser he's got contingencies aplenty.
Ah well, plenty of other ways karma can come back to haunt him, right?
4783148 Heh, you'll see.
4783247
When this story is finished, I'll ned to add it to my page on TV Tropes.
That was intense! Very impressive, detailed action. Good work, mate :)
Thanks for sparing blue I honestly felt bad for him he was pretty much team rocket getting beaten and beaten but still coming back and back also was blue was never seen again... a reference to edge?