It was meant to be an easy fight, to be an easy war, an easy victory against the Ponies. The planning was perfect, the logistics were perfect, the implanted spies were perfect. Everything would be just as the Queen planned, and the land of Equestria would be ripe for the Great Swarm of the Empress.
This was the mentality among all the warriors under Kommandant Mobius. This would be their great Masterwork. It would be Mobius‘s ticket to the Warmaster of the entire Changeling Military. A single infantry battalion was charged with the occupation and elimination of the entire pony garrison within the region of Las Pegasus.
It was supposed to be his Masterpiece… now it has become his greatest failure. Because of that thing, that… Demon of a Pony. And now there he stood, in front of his Queen's Throne room to answer for his failure.
He checked over his uniform, once, twice, thrice. It still did him no good when it came to calming his nerves. Even after a lifetime of war, nothing would ever compare to the fear he felt whenever he came before his Queen. He could hear the commotion inside, the sound of buzzing wings and hooves against walls as most probably every square meter of wall and ceiling was occupied by curious and no doubt furious drones.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was a trial in all but name to Mobius. This was the biggest loss of changeling life since the massacre of the Onris Hive during the waning hours of the Civil War three years ago.
‘At least those changelings died with honor in their Hives, protecting their Queen.‘ Thought Mobius grimly. He had met the Queen of the Onris Hives on several occasions before the war. She may have even considered him a friend at one point in time. He sighed.
‘If only I could have granted them the same honor’
The commotion inside the throne room began to die down signaling to the Kommandant he was about to be called upon. His two hearts began to race as his wings buzzed against his uniform. He needed to calm down so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
‘Rein und raus… Rein und raus…‘ he thought to himself in his native tongue as he slowed his breathing and brought his nerves under control. The door began to open and he opened his eyes once again. He steeled his gaze, put his officer’s cap upon his head, and entered the throne room.
The room was deathly silent as the Kommandant made his way before the Obsidian throne. Thousands of pairs of eyes tracked his movements as every possible surface of wall and ceiling was occupied by spectators. Then there was the throne itself. A void black marvel of changeling beauty and power. Dark green accents framed the obsidian throne as a banner of the Great Swarm hung above it. Its decal of an almost pulsing pink heart being enveloped by the Red Empress taking center stage as the two white and blue flags of the Chrysalis Hive flanked it upon the throne.
Following the dark green carpet laid out on the floor to its completion leaving Mobius to stand several meters before the obsidian Throne. Whispered chitters of drones talking among themselves soon fell silent as the presence of the Queen made itself known. Everyling could feel its presence, its pressure upon their minds as a nearby door was opened allowing her majesty to enter her throne room.
The green scars of a cracked exoskeleton illuminating her frame did nothing to settle the Kommandants nerves. Her face was curled up in a barely contained snarl as the jagged edge of a cracked fang. Then there were her eyes. One of them was covered by a black patch whilst the other was locked onto Mobius himself. It took every ounce of mental fortitude Mobius had to remain still as the pure unrepressed aura of the queen brushed up against his very soul.
The room bowed respectfully as the Queen took her throne as the banner of the Great Swarm was rolled back symbolizing that Queen Chrysalis now held the highest authority within this room. This was her court now.
‘Rise’ Commanded the Queen without making a sound.
And rise they did. Then she spoke and the Kommandant’s blood ran cold.
“Kommandant Mobius.”
He swallowed uncontrollably at the utterance of his name.
“Do you know why you are here?”
“To answer for my failure in upholding the Great Swarms Code during my attack on Las Pegasus.” Answered Mobius, straight and to the point.
“Enlighten us. What is the Great Swarms Code.”
“To Serve the Swarm, protect the Swarm and feed the Swarm.” Repeated Mobius like he had a hundred times before.
“Now tell me Kommandant… did you Serve the Swarm?”
“Yes, my Queen. Las Pegasus was captured”
“Good…Did you Feed the Swarm?”
“Yes, my Queen. The majority of the population was captured for extraction”
“Good, now…Did you Protect the Swarm?” And Mobius’s gaze fell to the floor.
“…No, my Queen.”
“That’s right. You didn’t!”
Mobius flinched back at her tone.
“There was only one Pony…“
“One!?” Yelled the Queen in rage, forcing Mobius to take a step back or be burned from the sheer power his Queens Aura now radiated.
“They call them ‘Six‘“
“Why were they not Captured with the rest of the garrison?!“ The power of her aura grew as it began to press against his own.
“They hid, as we finished driving the Ponies back. They came to us and I surrounded them with all the available warriors I had.“ Answered Mobius, trying to appease his Queen before her aura burned his mind anymore. It seemed to have worked as her aura began to recede giving him some room to breathe as he gulped deep breaths of air into his burning lungs. Queen Chrysalis did the same, albeit to a much smaller extent as she closed her eye for a moment.
“…Tell me, when you saw this Pony in their strange armor walk up to your troops were you Dumbstruck?“ Asked Queen Crysalis her voice and aura devoid of the previous anger.
“Dumbstruck?“ Questioned the panting Mobius.
“Paralyzed, shocked?“
“No, my Queen“ Answered Mobius as he got his breathing back under control.
“And yet they were able to avoid capture and kill hundreds of your Brothers, of my Children! You allowed Changeling blood to be desecrated upon Pony Ground!“ Exploded the Queen once again forcing the air from Mobius’s lungs once again as her aura magnified tenfold.
“My Queen, surely you must understand that this Pony…“ Answered Mobius frantically as his mind began to burn under her power. The court broke out in outrage at his answer. Their combined mental anger pushed against Mobius’s mind even more as he steeled his hooves to remain standing under the mental barrage.
“There will be order in this court!“ Shouted a Praetorian
“You were right to be worried about this pony this…’Six‘…but why were you not cautious when it came wandering up to your forces? Surely their emotions must have tipped you off to their intentions?!“ Questioned the Queen again.
“My Queen, by the time I realized the danger this Pony posed… There was nothing I could do...“ Responded Mobius, his eyes downturned and voice tainted with failure.
The Queen closed her eye and her aura began to weaken and take on a red hue. Its pressure against Mobius’s mind lessened once again as he got his breathing under control once again.
“You are one of my most treasured Kommandants, long have you lead your forces with honor and distinction. Without you, I doubt we would have survived the unification wars. But your inability to safeguard your warrior’s lives and uphold the Swarms core tenants is an unacceptable failure.“ Judged the Queen her demeanor much calmer now as her Aura took on a much more reddish hue.
An outroar erupts among the gathered changeling spectators.
“No! It was Treason!“ Came a shout from the walls, further increasing the anger of the gathered Changelings.
“…I will continue my efforts against the Ponies.“ Responded Mobius as his gaze moved to the two Praetorians now flanking him.
“No, you will not. Soon the Great Swarm will wake, and when it does, the weight of your treachery will bury you beneath it. But until that time arrives... you can still serve the Empress” She looked to a pair of her praetorian guard. “Take him to the hall of Vendratis. I will join you there shortly.”
Mobius’s hearts stopped at the decision of his fate. He didn’t resist as the praetorians pushed him back the way he came, the heckling of the spectating drones was but a buzz in his ears as he left the throne room. For everyling knew the fate that awaited those appointed as Venators among the Great Swarm.
Oh, damn! Mobius has been condemned to Service by Suicide! I guess A Venator is not unlike The Covenant's Arbiter post. Methinks Mobius has ever right to be worried. So now the questions I have are, is he going to be sent to track down and execute Thorax? Is Queen Chrysalis damaged from the repulse generated at the Canterlot Wedding? And where in the fuck is Pharynx?
Wait, so losing a fight is considered treason? You know this is how you get fanatics right? If a tactical withdrawal isn't an acceptable option you're just going to waste resources.
Not that I'm rooting for the Changelings, I just figured they'd be smarter than that.
11035316
The withdrawal is not the failure that has condemned him. It is the fact basically all of the lost changeling lives during the invasion were under his command. He was directly responsible as their commanding officer for all their deaths.
Huh... Neat... Halo 2. 👍
11035306
Thorax and Pharynx aren't in play atm. The wedding just finished and the events of the Crystal Empire being reclaimed haven't happened yet. They showed up after that. No reason to hunt Thorax right now.
Your Story is nice but please don't change too much of the World itself.
Halo is Halo and MLP is MLP, inserting a new Character is one thing, but recreating events of one Universe in another can ruin a Story in a few short Moments.
Taking one Instance out a Universe and copying it means that you simply have the same Conflict in another Universe, and simply put the Changelings aren't the Threat the Covenant is and no matter what you do Mobius can't fill the Role of Vadamee.
Just reread this Chapter and then watch Vadamees Trial on YouTube, it just can't compete.
I see what you're doing here...... nice
We have:
1. High council
2. Suicide squad in which high commander had been put
3. "Demon"
In next mission we will have permission to return covenant their bomb, and in next we will playing on the other side of the coin.........
........
wait
11035423
Yes the elments are similar but the story will be vastly different. I could never hope to match Halo 2 in terms of storytelling.
11035481
Okey,
Straight out of Halo 2's intro scene; I like this
11035306
A Venator being a Roman gladiator specialising in fighting wild animals i'm guessing there are going to maulwurfs, tatzelworms and other nasties in his immediate future...
As soon as I saw the Covenant script and that it was from Kommandant Mobius' perspective, I knew how the rest of the chapter would play out. I love it.
11035423
Agreed. I do not want a covenant hive
I can appreciate what you were trying to do here with drawing parallels, but doing things line-for-line was way too forced. I would recommend sticking to general themes of a religion-based Changeling society destroying ponies as their religion demands (or whatever it is you're going for) and write the story from there, rather than focusing on copy/pasting the Covenant so explicitly. Write your story well and trust the reader is smart enough to figure out the parallels on their own without it being shoved in their faces.
YEASSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!! THE HYPE IS REAL!!!!!!!!
Mobius will become the Equestrian version of the Arbiter from the Covenant. Later he'll realize that his people will be betrayed by their own Queen for her darker goals. Just like Theal Vadumm later becoming the Arbiter.
I hope Covenant appears on Eques and Six and Möbius joins Master Chief and Theal Vadumm aka the Arbiter in the battle of the Ark and destroy the Flood.
11035403
At present Thorax would be listed as either a missing person or a deserter but not very high on the priority list General Pharynx should be around though. Hell, maybe he's in charge of recovering missing lings.
11035754
I don't feel that he did. As seen in the trial, the changelings' ideology is vastly different from that of the covenant. The covenant worshiped forerunner tech and believed humanity to be an affront to their religion. The changelings have just recently been unified under one flag and value survival as a race above all else. To accomplish this goal they are trying to subjugate Equestria, the planet's biggest superpower and a known food source. The trial itself did feel somewhat hamfisted, but the Changeling Empire is not the Covenant.
Ah, so Crissy is still pissed at being ejected by that love bomb ... too bad she doesn't register that 'no plan survives (active) contact with the enemy' though she isn't trying to micromanage everything (now if she doesn't kill the various messengers coming in with failure reports) ...
I can't believe you did the Covenant scene of Halo 2 from the first mission and I love it
11036022
no it basically is. going that hard Covie with the hive. yeah no. like chryssy would even tolorant a council. Six is supposed to be the wild card making the hives Covenant like is a real turn off.
11036208
There was a council?
This man knows more about my changelings than even I do.
11036209
then who was callign him a traitor
11036229
Random changeling spectator number 3635635472
11036209
I know that you're not going to introduce any characters from Halo besides 6 (at least for a while) but can you at least introduce a few of the iconic weapons? Even if they are analogues such as a mana blade attached to an enchanted handle to mimic the energy sword. Gravity hammers are even possible here considering gravity spells exist in MLP cannon and Twilight is going to use one soon. Maybe some actual weapons such as the assault rifle and Halo 1 pistol got transferred at the same time as 6 as they were near her.
11036244
sttill do not like the leaning of Covenant. again just let Six be the wild card for all
11036246
If they did, they were lost in the desert several miles off the beaten path from any civilization. As far as used by others go, sure you can have similar effects but "can build" and "will use" don't really ever occur at the same time. A minotaur would absolutely use a gravity hammer but no minotaur could ever build one nor would they accept non-minotaur craftsmanship of a weapon. Then there's the energy sword, in concept, it makes a lot of sense for unicorns (and changelings) to wield them; however, the design wouldn't make sense. The design of the Sangheili sword is to protect the wrist of the wielder, allow for very close-range combat, and to trap other swords for disarmament.
A powerful unicorn telekinetic can swing a sword with such force that it would break upon contact with a harder material. The solution to this would be an energy sword, but protecting the wearer's wrist is a moot point because it is being wielded by magic. As far as technology goes any unicorn sufficiently skilled in shields can make one. Since a magic shield is a two-dimensional solid construct it theoretically could cut through anything and wouldn't need to be sharpened, and if it broke you can just reform it. The problem there is that not every unicorn in the (I'm going to say military for lack of a more specific term) can cast shields and fewer to the precision required. Solution: an enchanted hilt powered by the wielder's magic that facilitates the magic blade. Such a thing likely looks more akin to a Jedi lightsaber or Thundar's Sun Sword than that of the Sangheili.
11036260
Believe me I know a lot about the Covenant. The changelings won’t become a second hand covenant
11036280
O.N.I... Out of the shadows...
11036300
Thank goodness. I was worried that Six would end up too comfortable with her enemies. Nice to know you're making an effort to keep them different and therefore "New" to her.
11035664
Ah! Now that makes some actual sense to me. I was thinking that because of the parallels between the trial of Supreme Commander Thel Vadam(mee) and that of Mobius, the former commander of the Changeling Commander would be pushed onto a similar path.
Was wondering when the "Covie vibe" would really kick in.
11036280
It is shown that Six can pick up the silhouettes/signatures of UNSC weapons with her helmet which seems to not be damaged here so she could go back to where she woke up and find them.
Minotaurs actually would use a version of the gravity Hammer specifically versions of Tartarus' gravity Hammer since it is mostly just a modified Warhammer, but the people I'm thinking about who would actually make the gravity hammers using gravity spells would be the Centaurs such as Tirek or someone like that.
I was thinking something of a Hoof-mounted device as the hilt powered by the users internal magic reserves specifically. That way all races could use it as a last resort weapon, not unlike the energy blade gauntlet that we see during the cutscene in the beginning of Reach where the Zealot destroys the communication station. Those are known energy blades that Sangheili would use, remember all versions the energy sword throughout the games are Cannon the normal version are just a a more standardized version of the energy sword specifically made for infantry in the Elite military faction. There are variants that come from the wrist such as the one on the bionic right arm of the Spartan killer Elite in the new Halo infinite trailer and the energy blade in the gauntlet of that zealot. There are even twin energy blade staffs that Prelets would use. I could see zebra shamans such as Zecora having a version of that installed into her staff for protection in the everfree.
11036972
S-B312 would have to do it without being followed and at a time that wouldn't raise suspicion. Not very likely with the war going on. She would also have to remember precisely where she was which even for a spartan seems unlikely.
Tirek is the only centaur (that I know of) to exist in the Equinnias so even though you could be right I doubt we'd get to see such a weapon.
Lastly I think you're putting too much faith in pony creativity. The most interesting things I've observer them to make are all enchanted weapons. Even Celestia'S belief that the MJOLNIR MK-V is using enchantments demonstrates the general populace's obliviousness to other forms of weapons technology. The closest thing to what you were describing would have to be the Lunar Guard arc bladed hoof gauntlets. A pair of twin blades one hoof in length protruding from the gauntlet of thestral Lunar Guard armor that are permenatly enchanted with a lightning rune. Created to accomodate the more feral ferocious fighting style of the thestrals.
Designing a weapon that draws from a pony's inate magic is much more complicated than it sounds. You have to consider the locations of the leylines, how it interacts with the body, how it manifests out side the body, power conversion, power drain, and all the same compadability issues a prosthetic would face.
The alternative is to cheese it with blood magic circumventing the body entirely but the ramafications of its use are not completely known and you're playing with the soul so it would be extremely dangerous and highly illegal.
This chapter made me suddenly dread the thought of equipping the changlings with snipers
Have yo admit, the 'only a dream' thing kinda feels like a cheap retcon.
11037507
Well, it was executed better than most that I've seen and it justified its existence. All in all this way avoids a lot of complications and adds others that are just as difficult.
11037077
You have a point there I'm just saying it is possible considering some of the things that magical engineering has created already
Chrysalis basically tossed the "protect the Swarm" part of that out the window when she decided to abandon their greatest protection.
That protection being secrecy, because despite what she seems to believe her Hive can't fight the world, and that is what would have happen after a successful attack on Canterlot.
Equestria likely has allies that would not just stand by and let the attack stand, and even if they don't it's unlikely that none of the nearby nations wouldn't see the attack on Equestria by shapeshifting bug creatures as a threat and move to deal with them or find possible ways to deal with their abilities.
So yeah, I feel that Chrysalis abandoned the second part of the Code and I worry the reason for that is because she feels that the Swarm exists to server her.
CHANGELING ARBITER! CHANGELING ARBITER!
Arbiter changeling and six friendship fighting flood possibly in the future? If so pog
Queenie follows the script, as silly as it is. Let's hear it for the champion!
11060462
That would be fun, but I fear that this story then would start to feel like a copy and paste of previous Halo lore.
11060462
Wonder who the Flood will be. Can`t be the Changelings because.....they are the 'Covenant'.
Damn it, that's clever.
11038515
reminds me of a line in a different fic:
"the hive serves the queen. the queen serves the hive."