The four allied Queens looked on at the various shocked and surprised looking Queens that had just recently made their way to the underground fortress tired and hungry, but also safe. They had certainly not expected over half of the hives to join them, but from how their drones looked starved... It was just pure luck that Patina had had revealed her progress at that moment. Other hives, having long found respect within Chrysalis, had hesitantly refused their offer and had decided to stand with Chrysalis. Some hives, including Miasma had decided to sit in the sidelines to do the thing they do best.
Whoever won, they would join them. A cheap tactic, but a valid and smart one.
"Eins! Have the others lead them to their new living quarters and explain the rules to them. And please specify how we will operate from now on. Also explain the three strike rule, understood?" Calliphora ordered one of Patina's drones, the 'cyborg' Senior Sergeant Major, and the drone smiled before saluting her and moving off to lead the newly arrived drones to their living area while the queens would be debriefed by Myxine at the Command center.
"Radar and cameras picked up large movement at the southern border of Equestria." Patina said in an offhand manner as she watched the new queens look awed at the massive underground installation from within a modified Savannah Master Hover Scout tank designed to be a ‘bus’ that went from facility to facility.
"Chrysalis?" Myxine inquired as she stifled a yawn from waking up thirty minutes ago and shook her head to stave off sleep.
"Surprisingly no. It's the ponies." Patina scoffed as she handed the other queens a manila folder. "Around ten detachments of fifty ponies each with three large troop transport airships."
"And you are not worried?" Calliphora looked at the brains behind this base.
"Let them come, I have naval grade weapons topside that can take apart the Griffon Bombard ships." Patina frowned at the memory. “Those airships are armored to the point where AC/2 (Autocannon) can only scratch them and require at least an AC/5 to damage them effectively.”
"So defensive weapons wise..." Calliphora looked at a smugly grinning Patina.
"Unless they somehow miraculously create battlemechs and armored cavalry in massive numbers, it would be like trying to steal gold from literally under an awake dragon's head." A modified hover ‘bus’ stopped in front of the command center and the driver saluted them as the drone held onto the wheel with his hooves. They all returned the salute as they left the transport. "But of course, all available troops will be out alongside our new tracked vehicles, or rather two Sekhmet Assault Vehicles and one Von Luckner Heavy Tank, so we are essentially prepared to drive off a force five times the current detected size."
"And these... 'tanks' are?" Myxine asked as she walked into the command center followed by the four arrivals while Patina followed behind them. "Aren't you coming inside, Ambrosia? Calliphora?" Patina asked as she poked her head through the open door.
"I have to go 'welcome' the newly arrived drones and lay down the laws of this place. Also, Patina? Don't forget that they also need to..." Patina merely nodded and saw a half-asleep Ambrosia.
"Ambrosia..." The three queens shook their heads at the half-asleep queen and was caught by three of her drones who had quite literally popped out of nowhere as she began to fall to her side. As their queen snored, clearly asleep, they smiled sheepishly before moving towards her bedroom. "She's Ambrosia, alright." Myxine shook her head with a smile before allowing the blast doors to close behind her.
"The Sekhmet Assault Vehicle is a 65 ton heavy tracked vehicle primarily focused on defense with nearly fourteen tons of armor and powered by a fusion engine you designed, Myxine." Patina informed her fellow queen as they sat in the control center of the overall command structure. “That engine powers the two large pulse lasers, two Short-Ranged Missiles (SRM)-6, and followed by a pair of armor piercing gauss rifles.”
"Sounds like overkill." Myxine hummed as she watched the frames of various tanks being built. "You know, ever since you finished that fabricator, most of our production capabilities are most likely beyond any nation on Equis combined."
"Of course! With the ability to fabricate anything mechanical in origin with nothing more than any solid material is genius if I do so say myself." Patina 'glowed' as she puffed out her chest. “Especially that Von Luckner Heavy Tank that I modified to run off the M-Fusion Engine. With an AC/20, two SRM/6, one SRM/4, one LRM/10 (Long-Ranged Missile), followed by a machine gun paired with a flamer? I would like to see the ‘Elements of Harmony’ to try and ‘purify’ that 75 ton beast!” Patina quickly deflated before looking sadly at her artificial limb.
"What do you think?" Patina glanced at the cameras showing topside sighing, not willing to acknowledge Myxine’s question.
"While I wish it wasn't so, one of the Changeling hives is..." Myxine nodded as she looked back at the living quarters of the base.
"But none of those that came are them. It's one of the other hives that arrived earlier." Myxine stated as she observed a satellite view of the approaching Equestrian airships while Patina observed the three tanks topside that had her armored drones on stand-by.
"We'll figure it out later after we deal with the ponies. Perhaps we should take prisoners?" At a silent nod, Patina began to form a plan of action in her head.
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"Should you really be here, Captain Armor?" An armored unicorn asked as he watched the 'chaotic' south outside from within the airships. "You just got married to Princess Cadenza."
"It'll be fine. We just have to force the Changelings to give up their holdings in the south." Shining Armor, newly made Prince and still Captain of the Royal Guard. "And if we get lucky and capture this machine of theirs, we could have the Changelings work for us instead."
"What? I thought that-" Shining Armor shook his head.
"No. The princess hasn't informed me of anything else, but she doesn't want anything to potentially threaten Equestria. I mean, they couldn't be that strong so it should be pretty routine." His subordinate nodded as he looked out of the ship and at the midday sun. "What's the worst that could happen?"
What followed next was thoroughly a surprise. The left-most airship’s magical shields lit up as a pulsating blue lasers slammed harshly against the shields and was followed by the sound of a ‘whirr-fwoosh’, which simply shattered the shields and going through the enchanted armor as if it had been made of paper. The stricken airship was assaulted by the pulses of blue lasers that burned its way straight through the armor and that was when they heard something in the distance.
"What happened to our shields?!" Shining Armor shouted as he felt his own airship turn around. "Why aren't our own cannons firing?!"
"We don’t know where they are to shoot, Prince Armor! Not to mention that blue light show seemed to melt their way through the shield!" The pilot of the massive airship hissed as she turned the ship around. "Something is clearly out-ranging us, so we must fall back for now! We don't have a choice and frankly you are a Prince!"
"No, Damn it! We have to assist the other ship! Turn us bac-" Shining Armor was thrown off the floor as their ship suddenly lurched to the right once before moving forward once again. "Damn it, who in Celestia's name is firing on us!" That was when he saw ten smoke-trailing objects slam into the left airship that simply detonated and seemingly splitting the airship into four pieces of scrap wood and armor. Another explosion threw the newly made Prince to the side, knocking him out as his head impacted a wall rather harshly.
The ‘command’ airship turned around rapidly as the other airship’s shield and armor melted away from a massive blue bolt of ionized particles. As massive arcs of what appeared to be lightning arced across the hull, the magical engines sputtered before dying entirely. The airship simply crashed into the ground burning as their reactive magical shells and weapons detonated within as they were rendered unstable by the ionized weapon.
As the last ponies' airship 'limped' away, dozens of armored Changelings rushed to save any ponies within the crashed airships. As the night became bright from the fires that licked at the crashed Equestrian airships, a duo of drones pulled out several surviving ponies before the entire ruined ship collapsed on itself as the fires raged throughout the ruined airship. At least there were some survivors.
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Patina looked at the half-dozen surviving ponies that were all rendered comatose from the N-PPC strike. All of their injuries were treated and had also been given a full medical to make sure they would not die anytime soon. They were not cruel like Chrysalis, but who would have thought that the PPC had the capability of rendering pony-based magic unstable?.
"I did not expect the Naval PPC to be so destructive." Myxine commented from within a Savannah Master watching drones salvage what they could from the Equestrian Airship.
"Maybe. But it did the trick, didn't it? We have a lot less prisoners to deal with." Patina sounded doubtful but paused before looking curiously at their sandwiches and diluted love in a glass. "You know... I know that this sustains us like food, but I wonder what would happen if a pony ate it? Not the water seeing as its bright glowing pink, but every other produce that is grown with love."
"I wonder..." Myxine mused as she took a bite out of her sandwich. "Perhaps one of the more magical of the Queens would know?"
"I'll go ask around. Would you..." Myxine waved her off as she observed the ruined magical aerial drive that allowed the Equestrian airship to fly. While Patina was more of an engineer, Myxine's quicker grasp in science gave her an advantage in developing new theories and tests to produce the final product. "Thanks. If you need something, just call me later as a favor~"
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Hours later, Patina sat with another minor queen; whom had been living in a unicorn-filled town, learning from them via deception at a park table with the other queen eating a generous bowl of salad.
"So Magica, the love we harvest is like a..." Patina was seriously confused now. How could love she made and the harvested version had one thing in common.
"An addictive aphrodisiac? Yes." Magica was a rather small queen, a few inches smaller than Patina. Her short mane and tail were colored bright red while her ruby red eyes looked around the park where other queens were eating, chatting with their drones, and/or simply enjoying the location. Her horn was shaped much like a unicorn's horn with three 'voids' that went from the base, mid, and near the top of her horn. Her back were colored a dull red color and the wraps around her barrel were various shades of red. "I've experimented before and the 'love' we produce directly influences the pony's brain. It quite literally sends a mare into artificial heat and a stallion to become crazed to rut something. The effects differs amongst individual ponies, but the average time of effect seemed to last around six hours."
"And the addictive part?" Magica smiled as she ate another mouthful of salad, enjoying the wonderful flavors.
"After the first dose of around most likely around half a cup, they would act normal and would seek resistance to consume the next dose. But after a couple of doses, the pony, be they a unicorn, earth, or pegasi; think they cannot love without it due to the slight void they described to me after a dozen doses. The strange part is that they do not develop a solid 'resistance' to it." Patina closed her eyes thinking on how to use this on the prisoners, and opened her eyes.
"I sense a but coming on..." Magica nodded as she sipped on a cup of diluted love mixed with tea leaves.
"Yes, there is actually one problem with this though. Whomever had been feeding them the love would become the object of their ‘love'. And no matter how much we disguised ourselves, the addicted pony would find the one that had been feeding without fail and literally try to became their 'beloved' by any means necessary..." Magica looked saddened at the last part.
"Happened to you?" Patina didn't miss the longing look in the Queen's face.
"I... I had tested it on a unicorn mare who had called me a monster when she was captured, but to have her call me 'Her love' a few weeks later felt wrong. Then..." Patina stopped her with a raised hoof and merely nodded. She could 'see' what had happened and merely smiled.
"Even if our extracted 'love' is an addictive drug to the ponies, the love she saw was not from the depraved mind of a lust-driven pony. Ponies are xenophobic at base and when we break that, they would love all." Patina said as she smiled wider at the startled queen. "You'll know why I said this tomorrow, Magica. I merely hope that you realize that our kind cannot be victorious against anything divided. Only when we are united, can we stand at the top and go beyond."
"Yes... I just hope magic has a place here." She looked ruefully at the various vehicles moving without the assistance of magic. "My hive has the highest known magic amongst Changelings and this..."
"Of course magic has a place here." Patina deadpanned as she looked around her. "We’ve managed to develop a magical version of the power generators I used before and I know Myxine could use a hoof in develop more magic-oriented gear." She looked at Magica and smiled brightly. "You know what, why don't we meet up tomorrow to test what kinds of spells could be repurposed to work alongside our technology?"
Magica nodded eagerly as she watched the glint in Patina's eyes. While Calliphora was the leader of this Umbra Commonwealth, she could tell that Patina was the true mind behind this operation. Looking at her salad as Patina walked away with an excited look in her eyes, she hoped that this peace would continue, no matter how small that hope was.
She could see it in the distance, and it was coming. War was inevitable and it would be fought on a scale never seen before.
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"Two entire airships!" Princess Luna shouted at the injured Shining Armor in sheer disbelief. Said Prince was being consoled by his wife, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or rather Cadence. "How could some backwater Changelings have such destructive magic?"
"I don't know Princess. I also received a report on what hit us so hard that our shields were rendered useless." He looked frustrated as he looked outside of the infirmary window.
"And?" Luna was already frustrated. She had sent along fifty of her best and now she had lost them far too quickly.
"Nothing. There was nothing wrong with any of the magic that made up both. Whatever was hitting us was beyond our scale of power and range." Cadence could only watch as the two premiere military commanders in the Equestrian military tried to think on why their vaunted magic had failed so easily.
"We've already confirmed that the hives had split into three factions... We have constant monitoring on the other two, but the hives that migrated to the south are utterly blank!" Luna's magic flared violently as she teleported out of the infirmary and into her own room.
"JUST WHAT THE BUCK IS GOING ON!"
5160118
Actually, scratch the last destroyer. I found a better looking one.
fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/356/0/5/warrior_class_destroyer_by_crimsonfalke-d6uuuke.png
Same basic concept, but this one is called the Shadow of October. (reference to the Red October)
The vessel gets closer to the planet before gliding across it's upper-atmosphere. Slowly but surly a dull orange begins to collect on it's belly. Soon it enters the planets atmosphere, soon beginning a lazy zig-zag to get rid of access speed. Once below 50,000 feet the thrusters kick in to slow down the vessel even more along with maneuvering. Any radar devices would only pick up the gaps in it's hull as it's skin has radar absorbing materials. It would only look like a flock of birds yet a good eye could distinguish between a flock and something else. Either way, it will be obvious of what it is when it gets to 10 to 5 thousand feet.
Meanwhile in Equestria most of Canterlots windows shattered thanks to the sonic wave produced by the vessel when it hit the atmosphere.
________
As for your earlier question, Keen Eyes can be both a scout and/or ace pilot. Maybe somewhere in the middle ground.
The ship can also supply up-to-date human tech. Like the railguns on it can reach up to 600 miles, it has 50 ICBMs loaded on it, they are nuclear. They also have cloaking devices on board, heck the entire ship was designed too. And finally, it could supply the means of getting Changelings TO SPACE!
Also, the Zero Point energy reactor is intact thus meaning they could use it as an energy source.
Great chapter either way, it has a rushed feeling to it though. When and if you do a rewrite you need to add some exposition to space out time.
Heh, I wonder if Patina ever going to construct a battleship (Something like Hyperion in starcraft I and II not USS Iowa)
5163115 agreed. I'm hesitant on the prisoner thing, so rewrite is entirely possible.
Anyway, if you do add the ship the easiest ways is to have a Changeling notice that the 'flock of birds' is moving a bit too fast. You should add another action scene where a combined group of Griffins and Ponies try to attack them. The crew of the vessel mistake the Changelings as an Earth Federation outpost and attack the airships.
Lets just say, the battle will be over in 10 seconds flat.
But seriously, it's going to be more like 5.
So, i think it is Shiny who gets out, without him the ponys would go at an all out war, killing or enslaving a Prince isn't good XD.
But i can't wait to read what will come from the love drugged ponys.
But what will happen from here on? are they not planing to unite the planet? Or do the Changelings really think they could alone defend the whole planet with their small numbers?
So it's all in all a great chapter with a lot of room to go in ether direction.
5164852
errr... His airship gets out fine. It's another airship that crashed...
5165492 k, then i messed up again XD damnit my 4 in english really stands for itself XD.
ok after a good night of sleep i read the chapter again XD
5165492
Here idea for a changeling queen and her hive: a changeling hive revolve around the concept of luck the hive relied on their luck to survive.
They're very good at hunting and they're not fast and strong like the others hives But thanks to their they mange to always catch just a enough to survive. The hive isn't very big or very small and despite them accomplishing lot with little resources they do not think very highly of themselves in fact the hive and their queen considers themselves worthless when compared to the other changeling hives and they see themselves as stepping stones to helping others hive to achieve their full extend.
The queen of hive first comes off as a polite and kind changeling queen, but she is really is borderline insane even some queen say she could be just crazy. After showing the fact that she is willing to sacrifice her and her hive without hesitation if it means it the changeling race to grow. The queen have black hair and two different-colored eyes, one eye is red the other is blue and her body looks like that is starving.
The changeling queen OC is inspired by this anime character Nagito Komaeda
5166831
I can simply imagine her hive stalling the ponies/ griffons/whatever else to give the other Changelings to blast off into space. Thanks!
5163671
Well, the final tech level the changelings are going to achieve is basically the Zanscare empire from Victory Gundam series. While the guy who made gundam said himself that the Victory Gundam series is bad and no one should watch it (literally he said that) I liked the enemy designs of bug eyed machines and beam shields. Also their ships are simply awesome.
But not their super weapon... Ugh.
5167671 Super weapon u said...mwuhahahahahah
5164280
Err... Attack the changelings? You do realize I added beam weapons into the Changelings' arsenal? And the new war heads? And seeing as the Changelings are not willing to fight in the open YET, that ship won't last ten seconds. Or maybe it will. Humans make the sturdiest of things...
Oh... I can have the ponies salvage that ship or something... Or maybe the changelings will...
5167673
O... K... That's too evil.
How bout this?
A big ass Attack satellite?
It's safer and more efficient than a nuke
5167696 If you want more precision blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=247814&d=1374362449
img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090408183424/starcraft/images/7/76/BattlecruiserYamato_SC2_Game1.jpg
And it can cut through heavily armored and armed battlecruiser like butter too
img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100809020207/starcraft/images/9/90/YamatoGun_SC1_CineInauguration2.jpg
5167722
But I'm sure it can't destroy a several thousand meter long space colony in a single shot.
Errr don't mean to brag, if I sound like that.
And percision wise, the Attack satellite I mentioned can hit a 50 meter long ship from the past the moon to earth's atmosphere
5167674
Hwat… No I said Attack the ponies! Not Changelings! Either way, beam weapons may not have that much effect. Why? We are talking about a vessel that is made of metals that are stronger than anything the Changelings can refine.
5167754
Perhaps... But hey... Getting pounded by several dozen cannons firing beam, REALLY explosive shells, and getting attacked by mobile suits fitted with beam rifles, beam sabers, and so on can't be TOO healthy...
But you said attack the changelings earlier.
5167731 Those battlecruisers are almost a kilometer long...depending on their classes really...
I don't know enough fiction to argue the super precision weapons...
5168055
oh well, let's just see what I can do exactly, no?
And who knows? When I plan a sequel or something, the changelings might fight other humans...
5168522 It will make less sense than some random human arrive and help them unless they are outlawed pirates or something...
5168525
Not really, if you see what I have in mind...
Oh wait, that's... In future chapters...
Watch for updates!
5167780
No I didn't.
Not humanity.
Also, I don't think that the original crew could teach her everything about their military do to security reasons. Either way the destroyer is an advanced warship that is in prototype.
5168629
Erm... Sorry! Says a lot about my reading skills, doesn't it?
Eh he he...and they only shared the basic of their tech. She's just going off what she had seen from them working on their tech.
5168897
Basically, so their tech can be boosted again with cloaking and better armor, along with better training due to the training pods inside the vessel.
5169115
Maybe cloaking, but armor? I don't see Changelings using heavy armor... Or are you talking about a light, but strong alloy? But even then... Hmmm... Must give it more thoght...
But I can just imagine 15 to 19 meter tall bipedal robots cloaked hiding in Canterlot...
Oh! That's a good one!
5169958
Yeah it is.
The armor, the US military is already trying to develop Exoskeletons that look like Master Chiefs armor so yeah...
5167657
And she and most of her hive would probably survive/escape and get on to the space shuttle before it blast off thanks to their incredible luck.
had decided to sit in the sidelines to do the thing they do best
while her ruby red eyes looked aroudn the park
Her back were colored a dull red color
Even if 'love' is a addictive drug to the ponies
1. On.
2. Around.
3. Her back was coloured a dull red.
4. An.
Welp, shit is hitting the fan quicker than expected...
I do not know entirely what is going to happen, theres still that wildcard from the beginning to deal with
Shit's going on Luna, that's what!