This story is a sequel to Blueblood: Hero of Equestria
Prince Blueblood has escaped the misery of the Changeling War when he is sent to Canterlot to recuperate. He knows this cannot last, for it won't be long before he is called upon once again to risk life and limb for Princess and Country. As Equestrian forces march into the Changeling heartlands, Blueblood must rely on his instincts of self-preservation, deception, and sheer blind luck to survive.
Proofread and edited by Setokaiva
Cover art by jamescorck
Chapters (27)
Hmm, based on my familiarity with common tropes, i'm guessing that it's time for an internal crisis.
Oh and i'm glad to see a continuation of my favorite Blueblood's story. Thanks!
KNOCK KNOCK THIS STORY'S BACK! tisgonabegud.gif
Absolutely brilliant! This is just a great way to start this story, and I already love it to bits. Keep up the exemplary work!
I love the Caiphas Cain series, so this'll be a blast.
Wait is there a chainsaw?
Seriously? Like is he holding chainsaw?
Welcome back! Always good to see another addition to this story.
Yay! Great to see this back. And now to the internal politicking of the realm.
Nopony ever thinks to invent magical RAID.
It's almost like I know how to win at everything with the power of tropes and memes.
Ahhhh, the political intrigue arc... now things are getting interesting, as I've wanted to see what went on with Twilight's vaunted reforms for a while, now. Judging by Celestia's header notes, though... it arrived too late for a lot of folks. I guess we'll find out soon.
I don't suppose you've ever read Sherlock Holmes? This chapter kinda reminds me of one the Holmes stories, particularly the bits where Holmes and Watson are hanging around at the gentleman's club having a good time, when somebody important walks in and then the drama happens
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I have actually, though that was quite a while ago and I wasn't directly inspired by those bits.
And now I imagine Chrysalis chained and trapped in a room, with Twilight giving her a daily eight hours lecture about the benefits of Friendship complete with charts and stadistics, unless she gives up and reforms.
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I’d say it’s just a sword with a serrated or spiked edge.
Place your bets, what will try to kill Prince Blueblood today.
A: Changeling
B: Angry Nobles and/or MP
C: Imperial incompetence
D: All of the above
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D
I fully hope and support any romance between Twilight and Blueblood.
Twilight was awesome this chapter. She may be chafing at tradition and protocol, but she is truly regal where it counts. It's good to see that her experiences in the war have galvanized her, rather than making her withdraw.
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D
I forgot to mention this in my review of the last story but I find really strange that Blueblood had such trouble getting back into fighting shape after two years of exercises at the front. I know he has a very bad view of himself, a harsh self-critique and that he may have indulged too much in alcohol but still it felt like that early aspect of him was dragged for a bit too long.
Next! I forgot to ask before too: are we going to see that changeling tactics introduced by Pharynx that consists of multiple changelings grouping together and using their shape-shifting magic to transform into a much bigger creature to fight? It would be quite the nasty trick for the army to discover when the attacks the Hive.
And talking about changeling hives, will you use the design like in season eight, where the hive was able to shape-shift it's interior? That would hell for the army to fight into.
And there is the matter of Chrysalis anti-magic throne. I am pretty sure the hive in this story is not the main one where Chrysalis reside but it will be quite the hard obstacle to overcome when they stumble upon that quite nasty anti magic effect.
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Since this story is an homage to the Warhammer 40K books series following the adventure of Ciaphas Cain, komissar of the Imperium of man, Blueblood is depicted holding a Chainsword, the iconic weapon of the komissar in 40K along with a las pistol (unicorn horn in this case) and the grimm uniform with cap. Of course in this universe, Blueblood use a trusty Patern 12 Saber or a rapier (a preferred the saber) and not this un-holy bastard child between a super-powered chainsaw and a sword.
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D of course. Though I am hoping the author throw us a curve ball and introduce something new to raise the stakes.
Maybe a natural alicorn charm.?
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Well, IMO Blueblood is malingering. He's more or less recovered, but is skimping on his rehab to prolong the time before he has to return to combat units.
I'm mildly curious about how Dash & Shining Armor are doing
For a moment, I thought that the 'Friends Regiments' was an exclusively Equestrian idea... until I found out about the Pals Battalion.
The more you know.
"The Butler Did It " takes a new full meaning in Equestria.
Who ever said that politics are boring. No wonder they make TV Drama out of this, it's as cutthroat and backstabbing as the criminal world. One of my favorite expression is the government are just another form of gangs.
About the switch to firearms for the main body of the troops, I am divided. I liked the style the story had with mainly CQC weapons, like Spears and Swords. I understand that with an ennemy like the changeling, who are very deadly for ponies when it come to fight with a living blender right up to your face, you really want to kill it at a distance. Against an ennemy whose favorite tactic is getting close to rip you to shred, the logic thing to put as much guns on the field as possible but... they are millions, they can fly, they can shoot magic too (crudely) and they can camouflage or infiltrate themselves into the ranks. They will get to fight up close no matter how much lead you pump into the air and I fear they were better off with weapons more adapted to fight up close. Perhaps the addition of combat shovels like the emEngineer Corp, army axes or pickaxe and other tools that can act as a weapon would be a good enough replacement as well as being practical but I feel that keeping some kinds of classical CQC weapons in the kit and training would be the difference between life or death against the Changelings.
The addition of firearms and grenades will however greatly help reduce the bug press greatly. Add flamer specialist unicorns and you get yourself a nice equivalent of the WH40K Imperial Guards. Just need something that can act as tanks and something to represent the Squats (Diamond Dogs?), Ogrin (Minotaur, Bison or Yaks?) and the Ratling (Donkeys?). And who could take the place of the Mechanicus? It would need to be people with expertise the rest don't have... perhaps a mix of Magus comming from Celestia school, some from Cloudsdale weather College and some other Engineering Schools? Maybe throw in some zebra for the potion knowledge... Huh... I described more some kind of Think-Tank than a faction within a faction dedicated to machines... well because of the level of technology on Equestria, there might be no equivalent.
And look like Treble Bass sadly survived the purge. I am certain he haven't finished making an ass out of himself.
9977883 The addition of firearms and grenades will however greatly help reduce the bug press greatly - Yeah, until the changelings start gettting hold of them in bulk. Which, considering the mass numbers required to be manufactured and the potential profits involved, will probably be about five minutes from... hmmm... hmmm.... wait for it... now.
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I dont see the need of Firearms for Changelings.Expecially muskets when they can fire these green bolts of magic. I dont quite renember if it was in this fic but its something they could do in the show and maybe that will be actuall changeling adaptation to Equestrian reforms.
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Stealing the ennemy weapon right out of the factory and using it against them is a time honored tactics. But without the training and industrialization needed for sustained use, it won't be a long use. And the drones are kind of dumbs when in big group and would need more coordination from the Purestrain for them to use effectively.
Destruction of the factories would be a better objective for them. Or may morph into something that can lunch projectiles.
But grenades would also give the opportunity to the changeling for suicide bombing, something they won't hesitate to do under the thrall of the Purestrain.
Ah. You seem to have perfected Sandy Mitchell's technique of the ominous end-of-chapter segue to a thing that by all rights should be innocuous.
Another excellent chapter, by the way.
Incredible. I can't wait for more!
9977990 9977998 It's important to remember why firearms became the go-to weapon of armies over archery in our universe: it takes a lot less training or intelligence to operate a firearm than to fire a bow.
I agree that changeling drones are pretty damn dim as a rule, especially in this setting. But that just makes my point. Yes, warriors can probably fire magic blasts- but how much training does it take to learn how to cast that spell? How many drones have the magic power to do it? And how much (if at all) does that spell eat into their love reserves? A gun, on the other hand, takes no more than a few days of training to learn how to operate and maintain. Practically anybody can use one. And so long as changelings can keep scrounging gunpowder and lead, their armies can fire as many shots as they like without spending any magic/love to speak of.
Guns make death EASY.
As for alternatives, bear in mind that changeling infiltration is described in this very chapter as a constant problem, with terror cells still getting around the best precautions the ponies can come up with. That does, indeed, open the door for suicide bombers (which is a bit outside the tone for the stories this is based on)... but it also opens the door for simply purchasing the weapons on a black market. There are all sorts of ways changelings could get the money- theft, blackmail, fencing artifacts from outside Equestria, smuggling, etc. And given that in this setting ponies are just as fallible as humans, there will be arms traders willing to deal with changelings- just as there were arms traders willing to sell to their own country's enemies in virtually every war right up to the Napoleonic Wars.
Blueblood's assumption that pony use of firearms will be a lasting monopoly will, I suspect, prove to be badly misguided.
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If they apply what you said, I could see the changeling changing tactics and using fire arms. It probably wouldn't be as much as the Equestrian Army, especially if they begin counter-spying and cracking down on the black market and smugglers to cut the supply but yes, the Changeling would be able to use guns too in the war.
I can see two other reason why they wouldn't. One is based on my interpretation of the changeling in this story and the other is kind of meta.
The first reason they wouldn't switch to the use of fire arms in a heavy way is because of Pride. Pride from the purestrains and Chrysalis in being a changeling, something better and above a mere pony. In this story, they believe in their upmost supperiority as a species, that pony are mere food that need to be captured. Their weapon is their hivemind and the swarm. They can reproduce faster than they loose troops and take less time to get to maturity and learn thing. The Hive is all they need to win. It's their mentality. They are absolutly not above using stuff created by other species, Chrysalis have shown no hesitation doing so, as long it can give her an advantage. But relying on someone else to build and supply weapons to equip her army? It doesn't feel like something Chrysalis would do. At least not on the scale you suggest.
I see them easily try other mean to fight the ponies rather than use that.
The second reason is this story is somewhat based on the Warhammer 40K universe. Equestria are the Imperial Guard faction and the Changeling are the Tyranids, a completly organic based faction, that change their bodies rather than use technology. That's why, I expect the Changeling to not use the firearms but to come up with something different using their unique biology and abilities.
Hmm the changelings now have a lot more explosives and such to sabotage. If they damage supply lines it’ll do a lot more damage to the frontline than before the changes. A soldier may fight on an empty stomach, but a gun won’t fire without bullets, gunpowder, and Proper cleaning supplies.
This’ll be interesting
Nice little cue to Kitchener's Army - Lord Kitchener was the British Secretary of State for War at the start of World War 1. The incentive for enlistment when Britain began expanding it's military to volunteers (such as the Pal's Batallion) and was the norm until Britain began the draft.
Also I think massed musket fire is a realistic way to take on large numbers of drones. The 'tradeoff' to it is the mass smoke and disruption this causes - particularly from large numbers of quickly trained troops. In the American Civil War battlefields became extremely chaotic over a few hours passage as large amounts of rifle fire would make the area virtually choked with smog and made it impossible at times to see more than dozens of feet away.
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That where Cloudsdale can make a contribution. Their weather control technology/magic can make wind to clear the smoke.
Also, Equestria is kind of advanced in chemistry. If you look at some of the items in the show, they need a fairly advanceasy level of chemistry to make. I am certain that once the problem is known, blackpowder that cause less smoke will follow soon.
Really interesting start...
Good to see this continueing. When the prequel story about Blueblood ended I wondered if anything would come of it
I’m surprised he didn’t take advantage of his return to civilisation to have some major enchanting work done on his uniform. He may not be allowed to wear armour, but surely a cantrip or two regarding temperature control to make wearing a massive coat in the boiling badlands bearable, dirt repulsion (Shining had one on his armour in the last story), and perhaps most importantly, some shielding charms? He’s mind numbingly wealthy, so cost is no objective.
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I also mentioned that most of his wealth is tied up in land ownership, like most aristocrats. The amount of cash he actually has easy access to is probably less than most people assume, and he wastes most of it on idle distractions anyway
Since, unlike you, I am not a writer, I cannot express how much I love this fic. I freaking love it. It rocks. Even the chapters about waiting in offices are awesome. I didn't think it was possible, but it is. Go you!
Lord, this is amazing.
Nice fight. It proves that the security is really not up to snuff and that Blueblood really wasn't supposed to do more that light works since his wounds reopened. Ouch.
It's one difference between Ciaphas Cain and Blue Blood. Ciaphas is a real quick shot (no pun intended) and can draw his last pistol in a flash and shoot with deadly accuracy. He was as good with the pistol as with a chainsword. Blueblood on the other hand isn't as proficient with shooting as his counter part. He didn't have his sword for the fight but didn't think of shooting the infiltrator until he tryed fleeing first... ok it does sound logical and when you are in a knife fight without a knife you don't necessarily has time to fo anything else but survive. Which mean the fight had a very good choreography and felt realistic.
And Rubber Stamp, really, killing you? Be real honey. Replacing you on the other hand... I guess the real Red Tape is somewhere in a cocoon being feed upon... I guess the next part will be about rooting out all the infiltrators of Canterlot. And the rest of Equestria. They really need better tests to beat that first type of transformation. Some kind of blood test perhaps?
Great chapter as always, the plot thickens! Keep up the good work!
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Yes but King Kenya do have a good point. Maybe his Butler could have suggested something? Foe someone who is so bent on his own survival it does seems a bit short-sighted.
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I don't remember if I asked you this before, but will Thorax make an appearance? Ironically I can see Blueblood of all ponies at least trying to be fair to him (even if he has to rationalize the whole thing as usual) .
Bravo, bravo! Amazing chapter!
So when do we hear about Luna doing this to Blueblood to raise more money for the Commiserate?
i.pinimg.com/originals/42/55/ce/4255ceef557bd51f3c7f7ed9b7e22cc2.jpg
I would buy one, especially if it came with a defeated changeling!
Ooh! A visit from his beloved aunts.
Dis gon be gud.
Keep up the good work! And poor Blueblood. Even when he's trying to cover himself, he ends up being covered with glory.
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Oh come on, Flashman always went shopping before a campaign. “Flashman at the charge“ for instance:
Besides, I’d think a truly dedicated coward would happily sell a fraction of his portfolio in exchange for the possibility of living slightly longer. Selling the right piece of art could pay for a few minor kit improvements. Besides, owning land pays if it’s the right land. I draw equal lines between him and the Duke of Westminster, who is enormously, mind numbingly, astoundingly rich, as he is the landlord for most of central London.
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A valets 1st duty when serving his employer is to make sure that he is never improperly dressed for an occasion, often against his less tastefully inclined masters will. Whether that takes the form of ‘accidentally’ burning a particularly beloved yet horrifyingly garish suit while ironing it, giving away out of season straw hats to the doorman, or arranging for his masters uniform to be enchanted so that he doesn’t end up sweaty, filthy, and impaled on a Changelings horn.
Thx for the chapter.
Can't wait for the next one.