17-- The Storm
“Gentlemen, prepare to defend yourselves!”
---Sergeant Major Basil Plumley
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20:20, 11/22/2015, XCOM COMPOUND, CANTERLOT
“Thanks for letting me stop by and visit everyone, Matt,” Twilight said as both she and the human entered the human-controlled area of the castle. The pair of human guards snapped crisp salutes, which Matt returned before he answered Twilight.
“It’s not a problem at all, Twilight. It makes sense for you to meet everyone in Mente Materia, and right now is probably the best time since no one is deployed,” Matt explained, before appending his statement. “Well, except for Zhang. He’s currently meeting with the griffons. Everyone else will be there except for him.” And Victor, but that’s a bridge to be burned at another time.
“How is Mister Zhang?” Twilight asked.
“As well as he always is,” Matt answered truthfully. The man is hard to read even on a good day, but he always lets me know if there’s a problem. “Come to think of it, I don’t recall ever telling you what his gifts ended up being.” When Twilight shook her head, he continued. “He calls it ‘spatial awareness,’ and he describes it as being instantly aware of everything around him without having to look.”
“That sounds useful, and a little tiresome,” Twilight observed after a moment.
“He doesn’t use it all the time. Zhang usually wears one of our Rule Breakers to keep it under control when he isn’t on deployment,” Matt explained. Any further conversation was put on hold when the pair entered a small conference room where several other humans could be found. Major Fujikawa leaned back in one of the chairs with a somewhat tired expression on her face, and beside her sat Annette Durand. Jack Finch sat at the table with one of his pocket poker machines in his hands. All perked up when the pair entered the room though.
“I’m glad we’re able to meet again, though I wish it were under more peaceful circumstances, Princess,” Fujikawa said with a small bow, and the others followed suit. “Our little circle of gifted individuals has grown a bit since you taught your lessons back on Earth.”
“That’s amazing!” Twilight said sincerely. “Where is Mister Romalov and Mister Rodriguez? I haven’t seen either one of them since… well, since I was on Earth.”
“Yuri’s holding down the fort back home, but he might be coming to visit sometime in the future,” Matt explained before he hesitated, “Mister Rodriguez is… no longer with us.” Before the mood of the meeting could turn sombre, he quickly changed subjects. “Where’s Lana? It’s not like her to be late for something like this.”
The majority of the room merely shrugged before Finch spoke up, “I saw her head into your office a couple of hours ago. Haven’t seen her since.”
“Twilight, why don’t you catch up with the major and the others while I go get Lana?” Matt suggested. Once she nodded, he stepped away from the little gathering and made his way towards his office. I’m rarely ever in the room anymore because of all the work going on, Matt thought, and a small kernel of dread entered his mind. Lana still hasn’t made good on her threat of revenge. I should probably preempt this before it gets any worse.
The door to his office silently swung open to reveal a darkened and apparently abandoned room, with nary an ambush to be seen. The lights, some form of faux-electrical bulb powered by magic, slowly illuminated the room as he entered. His desk was immaculate and well kept since he rarely used it, as was the shelf full of writing utensils and other office supplies. The only thing out of place was Lana as she slept fitfully on his couch.
For nearly a minute, Matt just stood and watched her as she slept while silently going over every detail in the room. She’s avoided me since our last meeting, so she has to be planning something… what is it? Where is it? She has to have something planned… “Lana?” Matt asked as he silently made his way to the couch. “Lana, Twilight’s come for a visit. Lana, are you--”
The woman shot up from the couch as though she had heard a gunshot, and her wild eyes caught sight of Matt before scanning the rest of the room. What little he could see of her eyes were bloodshot and red, and both her casual uniform and hair were messy and in disarray. “Matt? What time is it? Ah, shit, I overslept.”
“Are you alright, Lana? I haven’t seen much of you over the past week,” Matt asked, and he nearly took a step back when she shot him a positively acidic look.
“Why don’t you ask your little pal, the stalker,” Lana spat.
With that comment, one of the pieces fell into place. “Who, Firecracker? I haven’t seen much of her either. Does she really bother you that much?” Matt asked, and he held his hands up defensively. “Have you tried asking her to give you some space, maybe? Are you scared--” Oh dear, that wasn’t the right thing to ask, Matt…
Lana’s strained expression locked on to Matt and she asked sweetly, “Have you tried these little blue pills called Viagra, Matt? Then you could finally go fuuuoh hello, Twilight, I didn’t see you come in!” In the blink of an eye, the woman had switched from acidic profanity to a close approximation of her usual upbeat self. “I was just taking a nap and I lost track of time. Sorry about that.”
“Lana, is everything alright?” Twilight asked, and sincere concern was clearly apparent on her face. “I think you should maybe take a day and rest. You really don’t look like you’re doing very well at the moment. I know a really good apothecary who could make something to help you sleep, if you want…?”
Lana’s tense expression softened a bit but before she could respond, another human in an XCOM uniform entered the office. She was shorter than Matt by a fair amount, and his eyes were immediately drawn to the fiery red hair tied back into a ponytail, and her vivid green eyes. “Good evening, everypo--” the newcomer started to say before she unceremoniously tripped and fell flat on her face. “Two legs and no tail for balance. How do you people manage it?”
The voice was the final piece of the puzzle for Matt. “Firecracker?!” he blurted out. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I thought that the changelings would have been limited to equinoid bodies… urgh, this is something else that Security is going to worry about. A glance over his shoulder to Lana revealed nothing, as the sergeant had simply vanished.
“Testing out something new. I’ve been able to shift into the form of diamond dogs and the occasional minotaur in the past, so I thought I would try my hoof at a human,” Firecracker explained as she rose onto her hands and knees to steady herself. “Don’t worry, I got my visitor’s badge and everything--” Any further explanation was interrupted by the sound of a horn blaring in the distance. It was high-pitched and woody, and entirely unlike any instrument that Matt had ever heard. “That’s… that’s a griffon war horn! We may be under attack!” The new arrival burst into green flames and Firecracker’s more recognizable form emerged from the now discarded human uniform as she bolted from the room.
Matt almost followed immediately, but he stopped and turned to Twilight. He had intended to perhaps warn her, or to tell her to hide in his office, but the words had caught in Matt’s throat.
Twilight had changed. Where Matt had expected to see fear and indecision, none was found. “I know where I need to be,” she stated as she vanished in a flash of lavender light.
------
The sounds of the war horns flooded from the griffon compound, and they were quickly followed by their brassy equestrian counterparts and the minotaur warning sirens. Stallions and mares of the guard were literally swarming through the castle, but all of them made way for Alvar and the Myrmidon as they ferried the comatose Zhang to the medical wing.
The human’s breathing came in ragged gasps as he was deposited on a stretcher near the door, where a unicorn galloped forward to meet them. “What happened?” the doctor asked as she began to inspect Zhang.
“Poison from an infiltrator that was mimicking an Equestrian,” Alvar explained quickly. “It was no changeling. I suspect it was sent by the invaders.” The doctor paid the griffon no more attention as she began shouting orders to the other doctors and nurses that were converging on the scene.
While Alvar was serious in his determination to ensure that Zhang be adequately treated, he found himself distracted by several lavender flashes near the entrance. The equestrian Element Bearers were easily recognizable, but a dark blue unicorn stallion and a purple and white maned and white coated mare were unfamiliar to him. The three Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike were also in the middle of the group. Princess Twilight Sparkle stood at the front of the small herd.
“You all need to stay here until I get back. It’s not safe right now,” the alicorn explained quickly, and turned to leave the medical wing.
“You want us to just stay here and hide?” Rainbow Dash nearly shouted, her voice colored with both surprise and offense. “I can’t do that, Twilight. Not after Cloudsdale, Ponyville and Everfree!”
“We aren’t soldiers, RD!” Applejack protested.
Rarity put her hoof down and entered the argument. “We aren’t little glass figurines, either!”
All Fluttershy could do was cower with her hooves over her head. “They’re empty… they’re empty…” She began to whisper, and Pinkie Pie put a comforting hoof on her back.
The entire scene struck Alvar as surreal in its strangeness as Applejack started to argue with Rainbow Dash, and the rest of the Element Bearers began to take sides. Why would you order your allies not to engage in the defense of your people? the young griffon asked himself before he caught the look in Twilight’s eyes, and he froze. It was a look he had seen only twice before in his life. The first had been in his brother’s eyes when he had ordered the retreat from High Peak. The last had been from his mother as she had taken her place beside the Myrmidons in a desperate last stand as others had reluctantly fled.
What would keep a griffon in a place like this? Alvar asked himself as he moved to help Twilight. “Your princess needs you here,” he found himself saying as he approached the group, and suddenly all eyes were upon him. “The wounded and the young cannot defend themselves, and this enemy will not miss an opportunity to attack here if they can.” The words seemed sound to Alvar, and a brief glance to the princess showed two new emotions that he easily recognized: thanks and respect. I’ll have questions for her after the battle, perhaps she can help me understand what that look meant, and why she gave those orders to her friends.
Rainbow Dash’s bluster faltered as she spared a glance towards Scootaloo and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Yeah, okay,” she agreed, before taking to the air and conjuring an angry black cloud near the rafters. She perched herself upon it like a hunting hawk and turned to glare at the entrance to the medical wings.
As Twilight Sparkle disappeared in a flash of lavender light, Alvar turned towards the Myrmidon and the two griffon soldiers beside him. I know not why an Equestrian would keep a friend from a battle she desires, but I will not keep my kin from the fight. “You three will deploy to assist with the defense of the city. Go, now!” Alvar ordered with as much authority as he could muster, considering the three elders he was speaking to dwarfed him by a considerable amount.
None of the griffons moved. “Where will you be, Sire?” one asked with a degree of uncertainty.
“I will remain here. Lieutenant Zhang saved my life. I will ensure that he is not struck down while he cannot defend himself,” Alvar said after a moment’s hesitation. “Go, you have your orders.” Neither of the griffon soldiers responded other than to spare a glance towards the Myrmidon, who hadn’t torn his gaze away from the doorway once since their arrival.
Every muscle in Alvar’s small frame went taut as he realised what was going on. “Am I not your High Talon? Every soldier will be necessary in the defense and I do not require your protection. I command you to assist in the defense of the city, now. Hear my orders and obey!”
The Myrmidon’s helmeted head snapped towards Alvar, and the young griffon found himself affixed with the most fearsome glare he had ever experienced in his short life. Both of the griffon soldiers stepped aside as the Myrmidon marched towards the High Talon, and they looked away as a blade was drawn.
To Alvar’s credit, he did not falter under the weight of that glare as he stared up at the Myrmidon, nor was his gaze drawn to the blade in its talons. Have I signed my own death warrant? a tiny voice in the back of Alvar’s mind asked. The Myrmidons have only ever struck down a High Talon when their orders were so dishonorable that they endanger the empire. The griffon raised his head high and held his breath, but continued to hold the elder griffon’s stare.
Without a word, the Myrmidon turned the blade over and presented it hilt first to Alvar. That was enough to break the staring match between the two as the younger griffon glanced down at the offered weapon before reaching for it. The moment Alvar lifted the blade, the Myrmidon whirled around and sprinted out of the medical wing, his talons leaving gouges in the once pristine marble. The two remaining soldiers bowed hastily and moved to follow a moment later.
The gravity of the development finally struck Alvar as he inspected the weapon he had been entrusted with. The blade itself was single-edged and straight for the majority of the blade’s length, the only variance being a slight curve at the very tip of the weapon. The length of the blade was also covered in the most intricate etchings that Alvar had ever seen in metal, and whatever was set in those etchings caught the light in such a way that they seemed to glow.
I accept the trust you have given me, Alvar said to himself as he let the blade rest on his right shoulder and across his back before turning to stare at the entrance to the medical wings. I will prove myself worthy of it.
------
Matt nearly crashed into Finch as he barrelled into the ready room of the XCOM compound. The room itself was packed from end to end as every human capable of wielding a weapon was gearing up. “Alright, listen up!” he shouted to gather everyone’s attention. “Enemy ships are inbound on the capital, unknown numbers! Shining Armor and some of his hand-picked elites are heading to the central spire to project a shield over the city. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to divide the approaching fleet. Princess Luna and the pegasi teams will do their best to cut down the fleet numbers outside the shield. Asterion’s gun crews will do their best to hammer the ships that make it inside. We are going to be divided into four teams to assist in the defense.
“Able team will consist of Strike One and Two, plus myself, Spiegel and Finch. We will be ground security for the minotaur gun crews to the northeast,” Matt nodded to his old Strike team before continuing. “Bravo team will consist of Strike Three and Four, plus Jenkins and Durand. Bravo will be ground security for the southwest gun crews. Charlie team will be Strike Five, and you will take up defensive positions around the central spire and keep any enemies from getting to Shining Armor. All other personnel are to be kept in reserve in the castle itself, and you’ll form teams to assist the Equestrians as needed. Any questions?”
“Will Luna and the pegasi be okay outside the shield?” Victor asked, a note of concern in his voice.
“They’ll be delaying the enemies outside of the shield as much as trying to destroy them. Shining Armor’s shield will not be covering the entire city in an attempt to force the enemy ships to either land outside the city to disembark troops or to descend along the outer perimeter of the shield near ground level which will make them vulnerable to surface fire while minimizing their potential for bombardment.”
The next question came from Patrick Carlock. “Will we have MEC support?”
“The heavies should be able to join the fight soon,” Matt explained, and when no further questions presented themselves, he continued. “Most of the civilians are going to be staying inside their homes, but double check your targets. Minotaur Hoplites are assisting in the defense of the gun crews, and nearly every griffon that can wield a weapon is scrambling from their enclave. If there are no further questions, Able and Bravo are to deploy ASAP. Get to it!”
Immediately, the room snapped back into action, which allowed Matt to concentrate on equipping his own gear. His laser rifle and sidearm were already waiting for him, along with a half-dozen batteries and magazines, so he shifted his attention to his carapace armor. The main thing that caught his attention was the scorch marks that ran alongside the left side of the chestplate, and with a small amount of horror he realised it was the same armor he had worn over three weeks earlier when he had nearly…. nearly....
Focus, Matt! he told himself as he snapped the chestplate securely in place. The armored sections for his right arm were slightly more difficult to put on as the slightest of tremors began to run through his left arm. Focus! Matt again told himself as he glared down at his prosthetic arm, and the tremors that only increased in severity. You can’t get out of this deployment, Matt! You have to maintain control! Otherwise, you might…
“Kill them all?”
The question sent a chill down Matt’s spine as he whirled around to address the speaker, only to find the same ready room packed full of his comrades as they prepared their gear. The only difference now was that they were all frozen in place, as still as a Polaroid picture.
“It’s understandable to have some anxiety, I suppose,” the voice said, again from directly behind Matt. “You had a brush with dark forces far beyond what a mortal mind can cope with. Quite frankly, I’m impressed you aren’t a gibbering mess hiding in some padded room from the experience.”
That voice sounds so familiar… who is it? Matt slowly began to turn, but some primitive animal portion of his mind held him in place, and that instinct screamed that he didn’t want to know what was behind him.
“Who I am isn’t important at the moment. What is important is what I can do for you. You humans are quite clever in blocking those pesky voices, but I sense you need more than that. So, how about I block them from your mind, permanently? It’s not the first time I’ve done it, after all.
A moment of silence filled the frozen room before the voice continued. “Ah, it’s not the voice that really bothers you, is it? It’s fear. Fear that you’ll lose control and hurt someone, and that you’ll truly earn the title of Butcher.” Matt couldn’t resist the impulse to wince at the title. “Fine, then, you drive a hard bargain, sir! I’ll take your fear as well, but you must do something for me in return.”
A small amount of snark entered Matt’s mind. Let me guess, all you want is the low, low price of my soul?
“What is it with you humans and your souls! Gah! No, Captain Harris. All I will require of you is that you say the right words, at the right time. Oh, and snap your fingers for good measure.”
Matt felt something grab his shoulders to hold him in place as something moved to whisper quickly in his ear. The longer the whispers continued, the wider Matt’s eyes got, and his anxiety was steadily replaced with rage. The grip on his shoulders relented and he spun around. “You son of a bitch!” he hissed--
“Uh, captain?” Victor asked slowly as he weathered what he thought was a glare directed at him. “Is something wrong?”
Matt blinked at his subordinate before looking around the room. Was I saying something? Why do I feel like I need to strangle someone? he asked himself, and he couldn’t quite dismiss the nagging sensation that he was forgetting something extremely important. I’ll worry about that later. The defense of the capital comes first. “Nothing, corporal. Able team, let’s move out!” Matt shouted as he collected his weapons and headed for the exit.
The fear and anxiety that had plagued him was nowhere to be found.
------
When Princess Luna had initially outlined her hasty plan to defend the city, her loyal guards had initially protested. With the surviving Wonderbolts and their drafted weather teams acting as little more than a cordon ring to prevent the enemy from spreading too far from their intended defense areas, the vast bulk of the alien ships would be left for her to contend with.
It was a terrifying array of firepower and technology, a fact that her little ponies seemed to think she was not aware of. She had humored their objections to be polite before reminding them that she was a force unto herself. The only thing that the aliens could bring to bear at this moment that would cause concern for the lunar diarch would have been an Ethereal in the flesh, and her senses had not detected any of those horrible creatures in the ships that were descending from orbit.
A trio of fighter class ships were the first to descend into the city’s airspace followed by a pair of larger ships in the wake, and the trap was sprung. There was a flash of brilliant light over the city, which quickly resolved itself into a shield that began to spread over the city. The lead elements of the fleet were cut off from the main body, and the main body of ships had no line of sight on the city itself. The weather teams emerged from the outskirts of the capital and took their positions, while Luna went to work.
Through either ignorance or poor planning, the aliens had chosen to launch their attack hours after Celestia’s sun had descended below the horizon, and Shining Armor’s shield only added to the perceived darkness above the city. Through either ignorance or poor planning, the aliens had chosen to attack when Luna was at her most powerful.
Luna had hoped more would have been caught under the shield before it was activated, as the number of ships above the shield would be a challenge to handle even at the height of her power. Still, there was no time for regrets. The night was young, and she needed to teach the invaders of their errors in judgement.
------
“Command, Charlie Actual. Confirmed five ships are under the shield,” Shining Armor heard the human lieutenant, a graying man named Kalanin report through the radio. A note of urgency entered his voice as he continued, “They’re changing their heading for the central spire. Requesting immediate fire support.”
A brief moment passed before the response came through from Fujikawa. “Copy that, Charlie Actual. Gun crews report ready for fire missions in four minutes.”
The grimace was quite clear in Kalanin’s response despite his face being hidden. “Understood, Command. Fire mission, danger close, as fast as possible. If they land troops on the spire, we will need reinforcement. Charlie, out.” The human turned to face Shining Armor. “Captain Armor, enemies are--”
“I heard,” Shining interrupted Kalanin before guessing his line of questioning. “If I leave this spot, the shield over the city will fall. Use anything you can to entrench until your reinforcements arrive.” The human didn’t balk at the interruption or the orders, he turned and began barking orders at the handful of humans that had assembled.
The Spire Arcanum, the top of the central tower in Canterlot, had been used to enhance the spellcasting of unicorns for over a thousand years. It was furnished with all manner of creature comforts and magical devices that had accumulated over the past millenium. In less than thirty seconds, everything that wasn’t nailed down that might conceivably be used for cover was piled up into defensive positions around the chamber. I would find the speed of their work impressive if this wasn’t the last line of defense between the attackers and me, Shining Armor thought before grimacing. This does assume that they won’t just destroy the tower.
“Lieutenant! They’re--” one of the humans near the massive windows shouted, before he and the window vanished in a ball of green flame. The blast would have knocked Shining Armor off of his hooves were it not for the quick-thinking of the guard beside him. A bubble shield appeared over the two unicorns which shrugged off the worst of the blast, as well as the second and third that rocked the tower. The chamber was almost immediately filled with smoke and dust as the fire from the ships ceased. A series of blue flashes appeared within the gloom, which was quickly followed by torrents of plasma fire at the human positions.
“Command! Charlie is engaged with muton heavy! We need imme--” Kalanin shouted as he fired his laser rifle, but was cut short when a stream of plasma struck him in the chest and reduced the majority of it to ash. The shooter emerged from the smoke to fire a second burst, and Shining Armor recognized enough to finish the late lieutenant’s report.
“Command, Captain Armor. Muton Elites confirmed in Spire Arcanum, led by a field commander,” the unicorn reported with his own radio as he caught sight of a muton in white armor. “Will hold as long as possible.”
The Muton Field Commander strode through the smoke as though no hostiles were present as it walked towards Shining Armor and his guard. It’s helmeted gaze was locked squarely on its prey as it drew a plasma pistol in one meaty hand. The pistol came up and fired again and again into the shield that was protecting Shining Armor. The humans rose from cover and fired on the white armored alien, but their laser weapons couldn’t cut through its armor before the steadily-advancing elites began to return fire.
The moment his shield shattered, the unicorn beside Shining Armor charged. In a classic guard maneuver, the stallion pivoted on his front hooves to deliver a powerful buck with his rear legs without losing too much of his forward momentum. The field commander was faster as its empty hand shot out and caught one of the unicorn’s rear legs mid kick, and hurled him out of the window. With nopony between them, the muton field commander turned back towards Shining Armor as he reached for the knife at his side.
It was then that she appeared.
The blast of lavender light nearly blinded Shining Armor, and by the time his sight had recovered, a new shield was in place that had pushed the aliens to the far side of the room while the defenders recovered. The unicorn should have kept his eyes on the alien attackers, or even seen to his own colts, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the spectacle before him.
Who is this mare, and what did she do with my sister? Shining Armor thought over and over again. My sister is nervous, and adorable, and sweet. This mare… this mare has nothing but steel in her.
“You. Will. Not. Pass.” Twilight Sparkle stated to the aliens as they recovered from her unexpected appearance. Power washed off of her and into the shield in waves as she stood between her brother and the aliens. She didn’t spare a single glance at Shining Armor as she widened her stance and began to pour more power into the shield.
The mutons were pushed further and further back, but the shield’s expansion stopped when the mutons still had a dozen feet of floor left between themselves and the sheer drop from the tower. The field commander reached out and ran one gauntleted hand across the shield while turning his gaze to the princess. It holstered its weapons and caught a thrown plasma rifle, and all of the mutons began to open fire on the princess’s shield.
Why doesn’t Twilight just push them all off the tower? Is she still afraid to kill? Shining Armor thought before his gaze wandered past the mutons and into the night sky beyond. The alien ships won’t fire on the shield so long as their elites and field commander. That’s… quick thinking, even for Twilight.
Just then, the radio announced exactly what Shining Armor wanted to hear.
“Shining Armor, be advised. Brace for gunnery support, danger close…”
------
As with her first experience in Equestrian air travel, Lana held on to the side of the chariot with a death grip. Buildings passed beneath her with alarming speed as the two chariots descended rapidly as they approached the minotaurs’ gun positions.
The gun positions had three cannons that were perched on the squat buildings that were typical of the outer limits of Canterlot, and the cannons themselves reminded Lana of the ancient Flak 88 guns that she had only seen on the history channel. Minotaurs in black armor sprinted from what was likely an ammo dump inside the building to deliver munitions to the guns themselves, while the gun crews began to raise the cannons.
“Ascalon, this is Bravo,” Lieutenant Colson yelled into the radio as the wheels of the two chariots came into contact with the cobblestone streets, and Lana led the charge onto the safety of solid ground. “We are landing due east of your position and will be taking defensive positions near you in approximately thirty seconds.”
“EXCELLENT!” Came the too-loud response, either from a calibration error between the human and minotaur tech or the artillery commander’s lack of understanding of how radios worked.
Or, he could be mostly deaf, Lana realised as she could hear the shouted commands from the gunnery crew’s position even as they sprinted towards their objective.
“Pan right, forty degrees! Elevation, twenty degrees! Acquire airborne targets!” the crew commander roared, and even in the darkness Lana could see the barrels begin to turn towards the castle and the five ships that hovered nearby. “Supercharge, HE cap on, proximity fuse! All crews, FIRE!”
Lana felt more than heard the shots, as her helmet muted the exterior sounds in response to the deafening reports. Nearly every window on the block shattered, and more than a few of Bravo’s members stumbled as the ground shook. Despite the urgency of their orders, the humans couldn’t help but turn and watch as the shots arced over the city to detonate within the alien formation. One of the ships, Lana couldn’t be sure which class at this distance, rocked to the side before exploding brilliantly. The rest of the ships broke formation, and the humans poured on the speed once they realised that two of the ships were making towards their position.
“Acquire new target, fighter class!” Ascalon roared as the guns began to traverse to track the new targets as they approached. “HE cap on! Volley fire on my mark!” The minotaur called on the gun crews in sequence and three shots lanced towards their targets. The fighter had just begun to deploy floaters, but the flying aliens were almost completely wiped out from from the explosion of the first shell. The fighter dodged to the side to avoid the worst of the first and second shots as they detonated, but through either luck or skill the third shot connected dead center with the ship. The forward facing side of the ship crumpled and it dropped from the air like a stone.
Lana might have been motivated to cheer if she hadn’t caught sight of movement from the raider that was still approaching. “Eyes on four cyberdiscs, and it looks like they’re offloading all their troops,” she reported, as she caught sight of the four silvery shapes that were speeding towards their position as well as the blue flashes from the underside of the alien ship.
Blood-red laser beams cut through the night towards the approaching robotic enemies. They spun quickly and transformed into their combat forms before launching volleys of fire at the humans and the minotaur gun crews. Ascalon’s commands were lost in the fury of the fight, but the gun crews displayed their discipline under fire as three more shots rang out and tore the raider to pieces.
Despite the loss of their mothership, the cyberdiscs continued to press in. They jinked from side to side to avoid the majority of the incoming fire, but it gradually began to add up. The first of the robotic enemies went down when a lucky shot connected with the joint to one of the winglike protrusions, shearing the maneuvering surface off and making it easy prey for follow up shots. The second fell to a hail of metal shrapnel from the personal arms the gun crews wielded as they dismounted their weapons to assist in the defense. The last two continued their advance, and Lana felt a dawning sense of horror as she saw one of the discs use its tail to reach into its internal rack of grenades and hurled it. The grenade sailed into the first gun position and exploded, and whatever the minotaurs used for warheads cooked off spectacularly.
The second cyberdisc followed the first and tossed a grenade, but the results were far different. A blur launched up from between the buildings, snatched the explosive out of the air, and hurled it back to its source. The cyberdisc survived the blast, only to be skewered twice by what appeared to be glowing rods the length of Lana’s arm, which exploded a second later.
The first cyberdisc, which had been attempting to track the blur that had first emerged from the buildings, turned its attention back towards the ground. Dozens of griffons armed with massive crossbows and bandoleers of bundled steel rods instantly scattered from the attention, which gave the blur enough time to come about and attack. The only details that Lana could make out of the blur was the glowing spearhead that led its dive.
The cyberdisc seemed to become aware of the threat and began to turn, only to catch the spear in its side. The spearhead emerged from the other side of the robotic enemy, and the weight of the blur combined with the catastrophic damage of its attack brought it crashing down to the street where it exploded spectacularly. The blur, which Lana now recognized as Alvar’s Myrmidon, strode out of the fire as though it were no more an inconvenience than a summer breeze. The spear remained in the cyberdisc as a grim marker of the brief fight.
“Command, this is Bravo!” Colson said as he rose from his position in a shattered storefront to survey the damage. “Confirmed two alien ships are down near our position . Griffon reinforcements are flooding the area, and an unknown number of alien troops have landed nearby. We may need t--FUCK!” The status update was interrupted when a blast of plasma shot out from the darkness between the buildings and connected with the wall just above Colson’s head, which caused the officer to scramble back into cover. “Alien ground assets are moving to engage our position! Colson, out! Jenkins, Durand, swing around through the buildings and flush them out!”
“On it!” Lana replied as she tapped her most often used (and truth be told, abused) ability. She bolted out of cover and into the chaos. Laser beams zipped through the darkness at street level towards the source of the plasma shots, while the regrouping griffons took advantage of their wings to begin circling above the battlefield. A near-constant stream of glowing rods shot from their massive crossbows rained down on enemy positions and marked them as surely as tracers, and they were quick to scatter and regroup in another position when plasma fire reached out towards them.
The moment the shot had been fired at Colson, the Myrmidon turned and wrenched the spear free from its last kill and hurled it into the darkness. The still glowing spearhead vanished into a dark alley and was immediately followed by the Myrmidon; the sporadic plasma fire from that angle dwindled and ceased completely.
Lana entered the alleyway to find one muton nailed to the nearby building from the spear throw, who struggled vainly to pull the projectile from his chest. A single shot to the head ended his struggles, and Lana began to follow the trail of bodies that would no doubt lead Lana to the Myrmidon and any poor clods that couldn’t run away fast enough.
I wonder how the other guns are doing, Lana found herself asking as she vaulted over the headless corpse of a berzerker. Matt and Firecracker may be assholes but I hope they survive this…
Lana was too lost in thought and the battle high to notice that a few of the dead aliens she was passing over had wounds that did not match anything that the Myrmidon or any of the defenders carried.
------
The barrel of Matt’s laser rifle was cherry red as he fired on full auto into the mechtoid that led the charge against his entrenched position. The cybernetic enemy’s shields held against the waves of coherent light that struck it. What was more effective was the metal lamp post that a nearby unicorn uprooted and hurled with magic, and the impromptu projectile snagged its legs and forced it to stumble to the ground. The hail of weapons fire was supplemented with a rocket from Finch, which finally caused the shield to flicker and fail.
“Command, this is Able!” Matt shouted into his radio as he slipped a new power pack into his rifle and waited for it to cool down. He opened his mouth to speak but hesitated when the gun battery on the buildings behind him opened up with another volley against the distant alien ships that were finally making their way around the shield over the city. “Northeast gun position is getting hit hard by ground troops. We’ll hold as long as we can.”
Matt was forced to duck behind cover to avoid a burst of plasma from a green-armored muton, but he caught the tail end of a message from a voice he faintly recognized. “--dismount and engage!”
A chorus of boom-crackle of the minotaur personal arms could be heard from above, and Matt could feel a faint tremor in the ground as three Hoplites dropped from the rooftops and charged at the various alien positions. All three were completely encased in massive black plate armor that covered them from head to toe, and they were armed with a single-bladed axe in one hand and a massive circular shield in the other.
The aliens must have shared Matt’s initial disbelief at the effectiveness of such armament, as the muton that had nearly taken the human’s head off shot only a single plasma burst at the charging minotaur before turning back to fire on the other enemies. Because of this, the muton was wholly unprepared for the minotaur’s raised shield to simply absorb the plasma without so much as breaking stride. The alien tried to turn back and fire, but the plasma rifle was knocked aside by the smoking shield and the axe buried itself in its skull with a sound not unlike a ripe pumpkin being smashed with a baseball bat. The process repeated itself twice more before the Hoplite encountered a worthy opponent.
A berzerker charged forward from between the cover of the buildings to make a flying leap at the Hoplite with both of its fists raised high. The minotaur soldier leapt backwards before immediately stepping back into the attack with a shield slam. The alien caught the blow squarely in its helmeted head as it recovered from its jump attack, and its backward stumble kept it from mounting any defense against the axe as the Hoplite attempted to repeat its execution.
The axe blade was defeated by the berzerker’s helmet, and the Hoplite immediately retracted the weapon and raised his shield to weather the rain of blows from the alien. The second attack from the minotaur came from below as he brought the axe under the berzerker’s arm to hopefully strike at the weaker armor in its armpit. The alien was quicker as it clamped its arm down on the weapon and twisted it free from its owner’s grasp before catching an incoming shield slam and doing the same with the defensive implement.
What would normally be a bone-shattering left hook came into contact with the Hoplite’s helmet and bent it out of shape, which caused the minotaur to stumble backwards. The berzerker charged to take advantage of that weakness, only for the Hoplite to tear the helmet off and hurl it at his enemy. With the berzerker’s line of sight momentarily obscured, the minotaur performed a move that was vaguely reminiscent of a judo-style throw, which resulted in the berzerker on his back and with the minotaur’s gauntleted hands wrapped around his head. Matt could hear the crunch of the alien’s neck breaking even from across the street, but what truly astonished him was the identity of the Hoplite.
“Gunners, resume your posts and keep the fire up!” Asterion ordered loudly as he spat a mouthful of blood on his most recent kill, before he retrieved his shield and axe. Once they were secure on his arms, he followed the sounds of fighting further down the block. Matt and a mixed handful of various Equestrians moved to follow.
Just as the ad hoc squad began to close in on one of the enemy flanks, one of the Equestrians pointed skyward and yelled, “Celestia is here! Celestia has taken to the defense!” Virtually every set of eyes glanced in the indicated direction just as the solar diarch passed overhead.
“Fight on!” she commanded as she hovered over the battlefield. “Your homes and your families need you! Equestria needs you! Fight on!” The effect was immediate and dramatic as the Equestrians mounted a borderline suicidal charge against the alien positions with the Earth veterans in the lead. A few fell to plasma fire, but the rest completely overwhelmed any defense the aliens might have mounted.
Any further observation of the skirmish was derailed when Matt heard a sound cutting through the battle. He had nearly missed the sound, as his time in the United States Army had immunized him somewhat to the dull buzzing. On Equestria, however, the sound stuck out like a sore thumb, and it could only mean one thing.
“Command, this is Harris,” Matt said through a secure channel. “Be advised, possible EXALT infiltrators present in the theatre, with helicopter support…”
Had Matt continued to watch Celestia, he would have seen a pair of floaters rise to challenge her, only for her to bisect both cleanly with a beam of green energy.
------
Unknown to almost all the defenders, an MH-6 helicopter approached Canterlot at less than ten feet off the ground. It approached the mountainside and ascended to just above the roof levels of the outskirts before charging full tilt towards the castle. No running lights highlighted the MH-6, and in the heat of the battle only a scant few Equestrians heard the rotor noise of its passing.
It bounced up over the castle’s outer wall and ascended to one of the massive open-air balconies that littered the structure’s exterior. A half-dozen figures in black armor dropped from the helicopter’s running boards and sprinted into the safety of the castle, while the helicopter retraced its path and disappeared into the night.
------
Sweat had begun to stain Twilight’s coat as she struggled to maintain the shield that protected the survivors in the Spire Arcanum. The aliens had fired shot after shot into her spell for what had felt like hours, and had begun to use heavier weapons to try and batter their way through. Despite her absolute best efforts, the shield had slowly begun to retract until it was barely enough to shield the survivors.
You can do this, Twilight! Everypony that can fight is fighting. You have to protect your brother! she told herself as she poured more power into the shield. You couldn’t do anything to help when these monsters first came here! Fluttershy nearly died because you were too busy being afraid of your own shadow!
This would have been far less strenuous if you had just pushed the aliens out of the tower, then struck down their ships just like before… a dark little voice of doubt whispered to her, but it was quickly crushed by her resolve. Even in such a dire situation, she couldn’t bring herself to kill again.
Even if it saves your brother’s life? And your parent’s lives? It would be so easy...
“Twilight! Hold on just a little bit longer!” Shining Armor shouted over the crackle of plasma fire against her shield. “Help will be here soon!”
Twilight clenched her jaw and did her best to maintain the shield, but before her eyes the shield continued to recede. She had seconds at best before her spell would begin to fail. She wanted to say something, anything to her brother before the end, but the words failed her as one of the aliens brought a blaster launcher up to its shoulder and leveled it against her.
A roar unlike anything she had ever heard before blasted through the chamber, and the alien wielding the blaster launcher flew apart. A torrent of red and purple beams of light flew all around Twilight’s shield and into the mutons, who did their best to redirect their fire at whatever was attacking. They had scarcely gotten off more than two shots before something massive ran past the shocked alicorn. Golem!
It was red, black and white from its armored head all the way down to its blockish feet, and the first muton in line was swept off its feet by a running shoulder check. The second was knocked out of the nearby window by a lightning-quick backhand, and the golem took two running steps towards the white-armored alien that was leading the pack. Its left arm cocked backwards and, to Twilight’s surprise, a spell began to form around its bulky fist. She had just enough time to confirm that it was telekinetic in nature when the fist launched forward and connected with the chest of its target. The spell activated and the muton-shaped mess of broken armor, bones and pulverized meat went flying out into the night.
Twilight tore her gaze away from the golem to spot two more entering the Spire Arcanum. The second was colored green and gray, and carried a belt-fed weapon that led into a massive drum behind its right shoulder, just like the first golem. The last was blue and white, and it carried an odd rifle with a split over/under barrel. A small thrill of horror came over the alicorn as all three turned faceless metal heads toward her.
“Command, Beowulf,” the red one said in monotone English. “Spire chamber secured, Sparkle and Armor are present. Several casualties confirmed onsite, recommend medical detail report immediately to the scene.” A brief pause. “Copy that, Gespenst and I will proceed to the gun batteries to assist in the defense. Edelweiss will remain to secure the Spire.” Without another word, the green and red golems turned and hopped out of the hole that the aliens had torn in the side of the tower and vanished from sight, while the blue and white golem went to aim its weapon out of the gap.
Twilight let the shield collapse and let herself fall to the floor. A part of it was due to the exhaustion that she had felt, but the other part was from what she had seen. She had recognized the spell that the golem used to kill the muton leader. It was highly modified, but there was no doubt: It was the same one she had given to the humans over six months earlier.
------
Virtually everypony with combat experience was either manning the defenses within the castle or heading out to protect the city from the attackers, but four volunteers had chosen to stay behind and guard the entrance to the diarchs’ private chambers. Luna’s was empty save for all the arcane junk she had picked up over her long life, but the guards knew that they were the last reliable line of defense between what was attacking the city and the solar diarch. All four were Earth veterans clad in their black armor, and they reacted instantly when the attack came.
“GRENADE!” a unicorn shouted as two cylindrical objects came tumbling down the hallway from around the corner. The unicorn’s shield came up instantly over himself and the others, while the two earth ponies and pegasus hunkered down to weather the blasts they expected. The first grenade was a standard issue flashbang grenade that filled the hallway with painful light and sound. The second was far subtler, as all it did was click.
The unicorn’s shield died instantly, and all four ponies fell to the floor and screamed. The pain was so intense that none could mount a defense or even open their eyes as a quartet of black-armored humans sprinted over them and through the doors to the royal quarters.
“What was that noise? Hey, you’re not allowed in h--”
Crack! Crack!
The doctor that was outside of Celestia’s chambers couldn’t finish his protest before two laser beams cut him down. Chaos erupted as the medical staff tried to mount any kind of defense or hide from the attackers, but nothing prevented the black-armored humans from kicking in the door to Celestia’s chambers…
...only to find themselves in the waiting room of a four star restaurant.
“No, I’m sorry, sirs. We are booked solid and we just can’t accept walk-ins,” Discord said as he looked up at the newcomers. He ran his griffon talon across his immaculate waiter's uniform before he asked, “Perhaps you could come back next year?”
Crack!
The bored expression didn’t leave Discord’s face as his head split open down the middle to allow the laser beam to pass harmlessly by. “Did you really think that was going to work?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.
The attackers didn’t waste a moment as another pair of cylindrical grenades flew at Discord.
“NONE OF THAT!” the avatar of chaos roared as he snapped his fingers, and both grenades vanished. A second snap of his fingers and he flew backwards through the doors behind him.
The attackers sprinted through the doors in pursuit… only to reveal a second room identical to the first, complete with a closed doorway on the opposite side. A running kick threw those doors open to reveal the same scene. The process repeated itself twice more before they stopped and looked back the way they had come.
An endless hallway of doors was behind them, and as their vision panned around them, doors replaced the walls, ceiling and floor. The sound of fingers snapping filled the room, and all the doors opened. The attackers fell into darkness.
------
The aliens might think they’re clever, but these false ponies are barely passable fakes. The joints are all wrong, not to mention the coat and eyes, Firecracker thought as a few of the aliens in question darted beneath her hiding spot. Plus, they’re empty inside. No fear, no anger, no love. They have as much emotion as a potted plant.
Two more of the imposters ran beneath her, and as the last one approached, the changeling descended. Her spear was brought into position with the spear-tip leading, and she altered her mass to ensure a maximum amount of impact. When Firecracker’s attack landed, the alien was skewered clean through and pinned to the floor beneath it. The two that had just passed halted and turned to engage, but Firecracker lashed out with her chosen telekinetic weapon. Two gold coins, little more than flashes in the night, buried themselves in the skulls of the fake Equestrians, and they dropped without a sound. The changeling couldn’t bask in the stealthy takedowns as the sounds of fighting could be heard further down the corridor.
One of the imposters was already a broken corpse on the floor as a muton berzerker grabbed the second and beat its hapless victim against the stone walls and floor. The third faker opened its fanged mouth to spit poison at its attacker, only to be knocked over by the thrown corpse of the second. The berzerker didn’t waste a second as it charged forward like a gorilla and brought both of its fists down again and again to crush the last of its targets.
Oh, no, Firecracker thought as she realised exactly what was happening, and the muton berzerker whirled around to stare at Firecracker before leaping through a nearby window and into the night. She galloped towards the window, but the ‘alien’ was gone.
“Firecracker to any available units in the eastern wing. Converge on the royal quarters, enemy infiltrators may be imminent!” Firecracker reported into her headset radio as she turned and bolted for the staircase. Like the other Earth veterans, she had been gifted with a suit of black dragonscale armor supplemented with human ‘carapace’ plates and headgear to match. The only thing that had changed in equipment since her time on Earth was the cloud of gold coins she used in favor of the standard TK blades.
The changeling would have taken a moment to muse over the little trinkets, as they had been liberated from a particularly greedy pair of rail baronesses who had been very naughty, but the situation was too dire to pause. SHE is here. I have to warn Celestia’s guard!
As Firecracker bolted down the corridors, more and more soldiers began to fall in behind her. A zebra pathfinder was immediately to her right, and the too-perceptive tracker wouldn’t stop shooting suspicious glances at the disguised changeling. To her left were a pair of griffons with their massive arbalest crossbows. Following in the rear was Captain Song and a select few of the Equestrian equivalent to special forces, as well as a trio of XCOM soldiers for good measure.
No! We’re too late! Firecracker thought as she rounded the corner to the royal quarters. All four of the guards were alive but incapacitated, and the nurses that had been caring for the solar diarch were doing their best to help move the wounded inside. The question of why they were being moved was answered a moment later as the changeling immediately felt a pull on her magic as she approached the doorway. It became harder and harder to maintain her form as she caught sight of what appeared to be a grenade laying on the ground. The effect on her magic vanished when she brought a hoof down on the infernal device.
“Secure this corridor! No one enters or leaves without my approval!” Captain Song barked as he shot Firecracker a wary look. The changeling gave a quick nod, and the pair entered the royal chambers. Aside from the wounded guards, nervous medical ponies and the body covered by a sheet, nothing was out of place except for Discord on the far side of the room. Captain Song approached the nearest nurse and asked, “Is Celestia safe? What happened?”
The nurse appeared to be on the precipice of a breakdown as she stared at the pony covered in the sheet. It took a reassuring hoof on her back to finally snap her out of the daze she was stuck in. “They killed him, just for standing there,” she said dully. “I thought they were our friends!” The nurse couldn’t maintain her composure any longer as she broke down into sobs. Captain Song continued to pat her on the back while he gave a rather pointed look towards Firecracker, then at Discord.
The avatar of chaos sat in a recliner of his own conjuration, and all of his attention appeared to be consumed by the hand mirror he held. He didn’t react as Firecracker approached, and didn’t even acknowledge her presence until she spoke. “Discord, what happened here? Where are the attackers?”
“Oh, those uncouth ruffians? You could say they…” Discord said, before pausing just long enough to place a set of oversized sunglasses over his eyes. “...chose door number three. And four, and five, and six!” As he continued, more glasses perched themselves on his face, and screams could be heard from the hand mirror as he gave it a quick shake.
“We have no time for your word games, Discord!” Firecracker snapped. “Where are they?”
All signs of good cheer melted from the avatar of chaos’s expression as he turned to glare down at Firecracker. “Nothing good will come of you pressing this issue, my little changeling,” Discord whispered. When the changeling opened her mouth to again to issue the orders, Discord interrupted. “FINE! Be that way! Take all my things! See if I care! Just know that the consequences are on your head!” Without another word, he threw the mirror up in the air, and it came crashing down into the center of the room.
Where the mirror shattered, the broken bodies of four humans appeared.
“By the blue skies, what’s the meaning of this!?” one of the griffons exclaimed.
“Wh- oh shit,” one of the humans added.
“Silence! You are all sworn to secrecy and bound by law to never divulge what you’ve seen here, under penalty of treason during a time of war,” Captain Song ordered as he glared down at the bodies, then to the others that were in the room. “Get Major Fujikawa and Captain Armor on the line. These aren’t changelings.”
Just because these aren’t changelings, doesn’t mean there aren’t any here, Firecracker thought. If the attackers here don’t belong to HER, then where is SHE?
------
Matt was spent in nearly every sense of the term as he trudged back towards the castle gates. He was down to half a battery on his laser rifle, and just one magazine for his sidearm. The tungsten projectiles he used with his telekinetics were all shattered and embedded in the various aliens that his team had killed while in the defense of the guns. A dull headache also throbbed just behind his forehead from his unparalleled usage of magic that evening. Matt also wasn’t the only one showing strain, as everyone—from the minotaur gunnery crews to the bloodied Equestrians—shared the same blank and vacant look.
I bet Shining Armor’s feeling it at the moment, Matt thought as he resisted the temptation to chuckle. The shield over the city had been roughly the shape of an umbrella and had done it’s job: None of the assembled fleet had been able to land troops en masse or bombard the capital. Matt couldn’t be certain just how much ship tonnage was destroyed during the fight, but just before the battle had been concluded he had seen ship debris sliding off the side of the shield and crashing down onto the plains that rested at the foot of the mountain. I bet Shen and his engineering crews will just love picking through the garbage heaps around the city...
“Able, Command,” Fujikawa said through the private officer’s channel.
“This is Able, go ahead,” Matt replied as he slipped his helmet back on to afford the conversation some privacy.
“Able, muster all available and double time to the throne room,” the major ordered, and Matt was perceptive enough to catch the tenseness in her tone.
“Solid copy, Command. What’s the situation?”
“Unknown at this time. The Equestrians are pulling all their forces in the castle around the throne room but they haven’t said more.”
“EXALT?”
“You have your orders, Able. Command, out.”
The abrupt end to the conversation only added to Matt’s estimation of the seriousness of whatever was going on in the castle, and he turned back to the survivors of Able. “Finch, Spiegel, on me!”
The trio couldn’t manage a full sprint, but they made good time into the castle. The corridors leading to the throne room were clogged with all manner of troops that didn’t seem to know more than Matt did. With a little bit of elbowing, he rounded the corner and entered the throne room proper.
Celestia sat atop the throne with roughly a dozen unicorns in immaculate armor lining the walls.She smiled beatifically upon the trio of humans. “At last, I have a chance to speak with Twilight’s friends. I’m glad that you were able to attend.”
Before Matt could respond, Shining Armor and a handful of other soldiers burst into the room before shouting, “Get back, captain! That’s not Celestia!”
The alicorn on the throne continued to smile, but not a shred of warmth was in her eyes.
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Morning folks! To date this is my longest chapter and was extremely fun to finish! Work continues on a couple of my other side projects but I'll do my best to keep updating Mente Materia regularly. :D
Edit: I know there are some questions that are unresolved with this chapter. I'm aware of that, and the answers will be in the next one. :)
Looks like Crysy's playing this one smart. Siding with the invaders is downright stupid. Maintaining the masquerade that Celestia is well and able to fight again would help moral immensely, up until she does manage to get back on her feet. Having Changlings on their side would be of immense help as well.
I can't wait to see how she screws this one up...
ET's on the outside, exalt and hostile changelings on the inside? This can't be good...
OHSHITMOLESTIA!!! EVERYONE PROTECT YOUR ORIFICS!!!
Holding the biggest grin here on my lips! Awesome chapter, Arad!
great work, this chapter must have either been a joy to write or a never ending headache... which was it?
It’s helmeted gaze was locked squarely on
The alien ships won’t fire on the shield so long as their elites and field commander
shape of an umbrella and had done it’s job
1. Its.
2. Missing a few words here.
3. Its.
Is it wrong for me to wonder how many dragons would be able to survive constant plasma fire? Would they be practically immune? Or was it the process to make the dragon hide armour the reason for its survivability versus plasma fire?
Damn, but you write a good fight scene.
Top notch stuff as usual, good sir.
You did that on purpose didn't you?
Chryssy? Guessing she was the voice in his head? It makes sense; nobody wants to be alien-chow.
HELL YEAH!
Another wonderful chapter, eagerly awaiting the next.
Chryssy knows what side of the bread has the love-flavored butter on it. If the invaders win, she's going to starve.
Dun dun duuuuuun
I like the idea of imposter Celestia. Lol
Fucking beautiful mess you've got here, can't wait to see what the High Queen of Bugdom is up to...
I suppose now they have no choice but to tell them of Exalt, also are they going to give the other races an upgrade to their equipment like they did to the ponies, I keep thinking the minatours should have like a gravity hammer in their hands.
5523723 The only Question I have is if that is one of the Ethreals manipulating Celestia's unconscious body or is it Chrysalis?
There isn´t enough popcorn in the world to keep up with so much awesomenesswhatever of this chapter...
5523888 Actually the voice in Matt's head was a certain draconequus.... up to his "Deus-cord Ex Machina" antics again. The biggest giveaway to that was when Matt thought the price was his soul, the voice 'blanched'..... much like Discord did when Lana was resurrected in Stardust by him after she thought he was there for her soul.
5524028 It's Queen Chrysalis.... trying to preform a bloodless coup by sneaking in and pretending to be Celestia while she is out for the count.
That was fun. I especially liked the references, Discords antics, and the Changeling intrigue. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
...Please forgive me for the moment...
<squeaks in the corner like a little girl>
OMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGODOMMYGOD
This chapter in a nutshell :
Great tension, excellent action and still tons of intrigue to fuel the hype train!
And your Discord is f-
ing amazing. You've given him the perfect blend of wacky comedian, expert chessmaster and mind-breaking eldritch horror. I'm still trying to decide on an appropriate reaction to his shenanigans throughout the chapter. Right now its an even tie between side-splitting laughter and pants-wetting terror.
Still, it seems like even the mighty spirit of chaos can be intimidated. Those Rule Breaker grenades (or whatever they end up being called) seem capable of nullifying even his magic. That makes me wonder if his very existence is tied to the magic field. Would severing his connection to it be a death sentence? We'll see!
And the Bug Queen has arrived. Not sure if she's there to propose an alliance or hamper the war effort. Maybe she decided against siding with the Ethereals after tasting their psionic based love substitute?
i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab302/Church0/Chrysalis-DietLove_zps7fe785fc.jpg
Well...siding with soulless meatbags as would not help the changelings...but it doesn't mean she can't be a troll while helping out. And I do believe she has her own agenda.
I think... I think my dakka needs were satisfied. Wow. Where are the Seekers, though? Those ponies last chapter didn't asphyxiate themselves... hopefully.
Whoa whoa whoa, hold up! Did Chrysalis just throw her lot in with the Equestrians by imitating Celestia to boost morale? I'm always happy to see old bug butt on the good guys' side, but considering the tone of this story I can't help but be suspicious.
Very enjoyable chapter.
The presence of Chryssi brings up some interesting questions.
I suppose she could actually be working with them and this whole attack was meant as a distraction to assassinate the real Celestia and install Chryssi as her double to take over Equestria from the inside. But that doesn't explain why the Berserker was fighting with Changeling troops.
So I'd say it's pretty clear she is not on the side of aliens; as others have said, that would be a losing proposition for her. I imagine she probably still hates Equestria and wants to drain it of its sweet, sweet love, but she also knows if the aliens win she and her Changelings will starve.
So, did she start as their enemy, or did that happen later?
I can imagine EXALT approaching Chrysalis much like XCOM approached the diarchy and striking up an alliance. Then either EXALT betrayed Chryssi (possibly by giving the aliens access to Changeling test subjects?) or she learned the truth of the EXALT benefactors (that if the aliens won, there wouldn't be any love to feed on). Or some combination.
It'll be interesting to see the interaction between Shining Armor, Cadence, and the Changeling Queen. I wonder if there will be an implication that Chryssi took some... liberties... with Shing Armor when she had him under her thrall.
The epileptic trees part of me screams that it did and that Firecracker is the result of that union. Thus why she is such an independent spirit and seems to have such an intense dislike for Chryssi. It's gotta be disheartening to find out your mom raped your dad while under mind control.
Discord was pretty hilarious and frightening as usual. Discord as Unknowable Lovecraftian Horror works so well.
Though I do wonder what he asked Matt to say.
Also, I was quite surprised by how effective the Minotaur guns were against the alien spacecraft. Considering the latter's maneuverability and that the guns have to fire in a ballistic arc (and that Earth tracking missiles had a difficult time hitting the things at first), the Minotaur gun implacements performed spectacularly. To the point where it seems suspicious.
Again with the epileptic trees, did the aliens want the Minotaur weapondry to look more effective than it is? It could've been part of the distraction for EXALT commandos to get to Celestia, I suppose. Or maybe the aliens want the Minotaurs to underestimate their combat potential to lure them into a false sense of security.
Are the Minotaur Labyrinths next on the Etherial's hit list, then? After the Griffons, they might be the most formidable army left on Equestria. Especially as they have an emphasis on technological improvement, unlike everyone else.
A Super Robot Wars reference in a X-Com crossover with FIM?
Arad, how can you manage to press all my fandom buttons at once? HOW, I ASK YOU!
ps:
t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT0rB6-xL4gXFqnSPtXGNbqfRB7ukavW_5HEYVAEvE1BAsCR-eFE-0bsPg
5524532
:D
5523819
"hostile"
all indications show that they AREN'T hostile, really.
With the chaos of war, you would expect Discord to be having the time of his life. Perhaps that chaotic deity has a heart after all.
As for Chrysalis.. I suspect the lesser of two evils might be chosen.
I was actually worried that you were going to let Celestia be captured or killed for a second there. That would have cheesed me off to no end.
A lot of people hate on Celestia, but she's actually one of my favorite characters. I just can't wait to see her in action again.
Oh, and Discord is best bellhop.
its
agod damnchrysalidchrysalis!As suspicious as this is, Chrysalis was out in the thick of it carving up X's and bolstering troop morale. I get the feeling she struck a deal with Celestia to keep up a facade.
Looks like she's on the right side. At least nominally. We'll have to see if she has a last-minute backstab in mind, or God forbid, is in with EXALT. Hopefully she'll use her assistance as leverage to go public.
Also, Discord just conned Matt into doing something. Probably embarrassing but functional.
5523723 this has got to be one of the best crossovers on the site falling just short of the top (na this is much better then fallout Eq)
5524532 Let's just hope Beowulf remains a good guy in MM... cause that name in Super Robot Wars belongs to a bad guy.
5524351 Well, I doubt preventing Discord from using magic will kill him. After all, in the show Tirek stole his magic and he still lived. My guess is the RB-Grenades would do the same thing... make him helpless and as close to mortal as he can get in that plane of existence.
Scaled down X-Comish versions of SRW mecha ok pretty cool.
5524418 Think of it this way... upon seeing "Celestia" in the thick of battle, not only did moral go up, but a ton of love was being directed at the Changling Queen because of that... and how does Chrysalis get a magical supercharge, hmm? *knowing devilish grin*
5524461 My guess is that Chrysalis is doing this to try and take over in the confusion of the war by posing as the now well and uninjured Celestia for selfish reasons. After all, she's already got a boost of love power when she bolstered the spirits of everyone who saw her earlier flying overhead. As for the beserker attacking the "thin ponies"... I am fairly certain that was a large soldier changling drone in disguise (think pretorean or storm trooper) wrecking the aliens.
Oh.
Fuck.
5524818
In that case I hope we get to see a MEC Soulgain!
5524692
In regards to that Discord is more about the chaos of life that makes things interesting or silly, he likes his crazy wacky chaos not the chaos that results in a LOT of death. As shown he is not one that kills unless you really give him a reason to go Eldrich Abomination on your ass, which tends to happen only to those that really do deserve to be punished like that. I see him as...a Chaotic Good being...maybe Chaotic Neutral so war is not exactly his preferred playground.
"Hard to enjoy watching Buffalo dance hither and yon in a tutu when they keep getting shot up you know!"
Now as for the story. I enjoyed myself greatly with this chapter, it got some nice action and build up. Not sure what the heck the Changeling Queen is up to but hopefully not trouble...besides Discord is in the area and being a dick around him normally is bad for your health.
I really love how you portray Discord. He's charismatic and goofy, but at the same time you make it very easy to see the mind-breakingly terrifying side of him when he decides that he needs to be a bit more serious. Avatar of Chaos indeed!
Seeing Firecracker try to take on a human form early in the chapter paved the way perfectly for other changelings showing up to infiltrate the alien lines and attack them from within, though it makes me wonder if any changelings were killed by a member of the allied races while in disguise. The supposed muton berserker thrashing those three Equestrian Thin Man analogs was the clincher there, and then Celestia supposedly up and fighting again but with green energy. Well done.
I wonder how Chrysalis will spin this, since she appears to be aiding the Equestrians despite their own enmity. Regardless, she'd better speak quickly. When Luna arrives, she probably won't be happy to see Chrysalis...and since Chrysalis isn't hopped up on lots of love energy I sincerely doubt she can hold a candle to Princess Luna during the nighttime hours.
Also, looking forward to Twilight giving Fujikawa and Harris a talking to about the MECs. Maybe knowing that the MECs are guided by human soldiers too badly injured to fight again under their own power will help, though.
5525052
Implication is that she was hiding during the search before the appearance of CHRYSSABEARS.
5523871
Yes; Arad is great with fight-scenes. -- Thoroughly enjoyable.
5523723
Yay, a new chapter!
Congrats on getting featured, BTW.
5525032
Yes, I can agree with that. Good explanation.
oooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTT!
5525101
I actually cut my teeth on melee action fighting back when I first started writing, so it was fun for me to write Asterion's combat section.
Also, if it wasn't blatantly obvious, this was Equestria's time to shine. I've concentrated a LOT on the humans and their capabilities so far so I didn't want this to feel like 'XCOM does everything and Equestria helped occasionally!'
5525192
That's interesting; I hadn't guessed, though in hindsight I should have.
(I'll blame it on being sick.)
I kinda suck at fight-scenes, do you have any tips/resources to share?
Nah, I think you made the story flow right into it, showcasing them nicely w/o jarring the reader or story.
5523826
I believe the proper term is "Precious Bodily Fluids" --
Remember to drink plenty of fresh, pure water to replenish your precious bodily fluids --
5525043 She's hopped up on all the love energy she got from the Equestrians by doing a flyover in Celestia's form?
5525492 Perhaps....but I don't think that'd give her near enough strength to face the Princess of the Night during the night.
this has gotten great.
it has moved out of good territory.