Fancy Pants looked quickly between his contact and the hood-covered face of the human standing before him in the alley.
“What is this?” he demanded.
“An offer,” replied the human. “Nothing more, nothing less.” His contact nodded at him.
“He contacted us a few days ago. Apparently he’s not too fond of their emperor and was willing to give us some help.” Fancy Pants could barely believe what he was hearing.
“And you just believed him?! What kind of operation are we running here?”
“Excuse me.” The two ponies froze at the interruption, both realizing that they had completely forgotten about the human in their midst during their argument. The cloaked human inclined his head toward Fancy Pants.
“I understand your concern for I have felt the same way in the past. However, while you have fought only against humanity in this battle, I have had to fight against my own people. An experience that while I am loathe to repeat find that I must.” The two ponies looked at each other and nodded, before turning back to the human.
“If what you’re saying is true,” Fancy ventured, “then I can at least hear you out. What exactly has brought you here?” While he couldn’t see his face beneath the robe’s cowl, Fancy could practically hear the man’s smile as he spoke.
“What has brought me here is nothing less than giving you the very thing you have all longed for since this occupation began: The chance to fight back.”
----
The diamond dogs walked through the dark tunnels, navigating them with a practiced ease that their new companions quite clearly lacked. The humans behind them were clearly unused to the underground world that the diamond dogs had quite literally carved out for themselves, sticking close to the walls and straining their eyes for any source of illumination they could find. However, while they may have lacked the diamond dogs’ experience with the tunnels, it was clear that they possessed a military discipline that the diamond dogs lacked in turn.
The grenadiers were a stoic, unyielding lot to a man. Their uniforms eschewed the formal colors of other army divisions and were a simple, rough grey that matched the stone walls around them almost perfectly. Each man wore at least two bandoliers lined with grenades and additional ammo for the sidearms they wore on their hips. Their main weapons however, they either held upright in their arms or carried strapped across their backs.
The weapons were long, thin tubes with rounded barrels at the end. While the dogs did not know exactly what these weapons would do, they were sure that they help spell the end for their enemies. The group moved silently for another few moments before the tunnels began to widen. The dogs held their arms out to stop the humans before beginning to speak in a low voice.
“Alright. Currently we are under one of the grand gathering halls of the Emerald tribe. If the information our scouts gathered is accurate there is to be a great mustering of their forces before launching another attack on our borders. If we are going to hit them hard, it has to be now. Your leaders said you would know what to do from here. What is the plan?”
One of the grenadiers stepped forward from the ranks. He offered a brief salute to the dogs’ leader before presenting the plan.
“Lieutenant Graesin, at your service. Before I tell you the plan I need to know how much time we have before they begin to leave the Hall.”
“Hmm. The length of time varies depending on what type of gathering they are holding and even war preparations are different from tribe to tribe. But from what we’ve gathered they have only just begun their gathering so we should have at least an hour before they have concluded.” Graesin nodded, before turning back to his men.
“Alright you heard the dog, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd squads get to moving those barrels into place. The rest of you follow the guides up to the overwatch points. I want everything in place within half-an-hour am I understood?” A chorus of affirmatives filled the tunnel before the men started setting to their tasks at an almost frenetic pace. The leader of the dogs with them looked on with a confused expression on his face.
“So what exactly are you going to do lieutenant?” Graesin smiled before moving over to one of the barrels his men were bringing in and laying his hand over the top of it.
“It’s actually quite simple my friend. We’re going to bring the very earth crashing down around them.”
----
Luna and Celestia sat at court in the renovated mayoral building of Manehatten. While they were at war, both knew how important appearances were to keeping up morale. And considering the setbacks they had been receiving as of late, morale had become an increasingly important resource.
The prototype was not yet ready for launch as there were still some issues with the design that if not fixed would reduce its effectiveness so much as to be useless in a fight. Thankfully, the engineers assured the sisters that they should be able to iron out these problems within a relatively short span of time.
As they went through the familiar, tedious routine, the two saw Captain Armor moving to their sides as quickly as possible without disrupting Court. When he finally reached them, Celestia bent her head down towards him while Luna continued to receive petitioners.
“Shining Armor, what is it?” Shining looked almost nervous to tell her for a moment, and that truly alerted Celestia to how urgent this news must be.
“Captain, please, whatever it is its obviously important. What is it?” Shining hesitated again for another second before holding out his hoof to her and turning over to her some sort of handout. The pamphlet contained a logo that she recognized from many years ago. It was the symbols of the three tribes of Equestria as they once were: The verdant fields bathed in the sun’s rays that represented the Earth Pony Republic, the Unicorn outline on a blue, star-spangled field that represented the old Unicorn Monarchy, and the Pegasus with wings outstretched of the Pegasi Junta.
The three symbols were connected by a triangle and were emblazoned on a crimson field. Beneath the symbol were the words: “The Future of Equestria.” Besides the cover image there was little else to be seen but some general statements about the current government of Equestria and reforms that should be made. Turning back to Shining Armor, she levitated the pamphlet into his outstretched hoof.
“Forgive me if I don’t see the urgency in this captain. There are always ponies who do not quite agree with how things are run or what issues are given precedence over others.” Shining Armor shot a quick glance over to the assembled crowds petitioning Luna, some of whom were now glancing over at him and the princess, before answering her.
“Princess . . . we are in the middle of a war unlike anything we have faced in recent memory. Our enemies are vast in number, skilled in warfare, and possessed of advanced technology. We have already lost our capital and are borders are shrinking. On top of this, we are now dealing with dissent from within. Right now we have to stay united and things like this,” he said indicating the pamphlet, “Just fray an already tenuous morale.”
Celestia gazed at him frowning. He certainly had some good points. The humans were a truly powerful threat and at this point any internal division could potentially cost the Equestrians dearly. And as she considered this she believed that she knew what he wanted from her.
“So,” she said slowly, looking directly into Shining’s eyes. “What exactly are you proposing captain?” Shining Armor gazed right back at her and he visibly steeled himself.
“Princess, this pamphlet has yet to spread too far. If we were to take action now, we could curtail its distribution and potentially find and detain its creators.” Celestia sighed heavily. She had suspected that he would recommend that. And the worst part was that where once she would have immediately dismissed the idea out of hoof . . . now she was seriously considering giving the order.
Equestria had always prided itself on doing everything in their power to make its citizens’ lives better and to give them the freedom to live their lives in happiness. But with this war it was clear that, at the very least for the duration of the conflict, some lesser evils would have to be tolerated. With a heavy sigh, she faced Shining Armor.
“Very well Captain. Curtail the distribution to the best of your abilities without jeopardizing our defenses. As of now this pamphlet, and any other like it, are considered sedition and those responsible for its publication are to be brought to me or Luna. But please, I wish nothing to be done to these ponies other than that they be brought before us. While necessary, I wish to make this as painless as possible.” Following a swift salute, Shining Armor took his leave already planning how many guards he could afford to put on this assignment.
----
Silent Storm strode through the streets of Fillydelphia, an arrogant swagger in his step as he now wore his full army uniform. Ponies parted in waves before him, with many looking at him with a glimmer of hope shining in their eyes. All this he looked on with contempt. If all it took was a pony in uniform to impress these fools than they were already as good as dead.
While they saw the uniform as meaning he was a valiant defender of Equestria, he had been through the training of the new recruits. And he knew that that was far from the truth. Even when the recruits had been pronounced ready to take up arms, they still lacked the discipline and ability of fully trained and experienced military soldiers, and Silent doubted that they would be able to learn the lessons they needed to before they died in battle.
Shaking his head clear of these thoughts, Storm turned his thoughts back to his objective for today. For weeks now, the Equestrians had been training troops and fortifying the city as best they could. And if the reports from his fellow infiltrators were anything to go by than the situation was the same in the other cities still under Equestrian control. But lately something had changed. There weren’t any major indicators, but to an agent trained to notice what another would overlook there were definite signs of . . . something big underway.
The first clue had been the shift schedule of the various work groups operating across the city. They had been working in fairly regular shifts for an estimated eight hours each day before being relieved by a fresh group. Following the end of their shift the workers would go home, eat and rest, or otherwise relax. However, the bars had been surprisingly clear of off-duty workers for some time and he found that he saw less and less of the workers in his section of the city returning home or working on some project.
While strange, he had first chalked it up to the majority of the work in this section being finished ahead of schedule. Naturally the workers would have been reassigned to areas in greater need of their talents. However it became clear that this was not the case about a week following this reduction in worker presence.
There were also less projects going on than was normal. Before, every bit of scaffolding was covered with workers and the streets were filled with the sounds of their work. Now? Scaffolding went up and no workers manned it, streets cracked from accidents or the strain of the various convoys that came through the city remained that way. It was clear to Storm that some project was draining both workers and resources. The only question now was what exactly it was. Thankfully, he thought he had finally narrowed down the general location of where this project was taking place.
In one of the older districts of the city, there was a small string of old, outdated warehouses. While originally scheduled to be torn down and replaced with more up to date versions the war had caused resources and attention to be focuses on other, more immediately important areas of the city. Now, however, interest in these areas seemed to have been renewed as workers and materials were being moved in and out in large numbers almost every hour of every day. The Equestrians may be blind to such things, but he wasn’t. If there were any location in the city that would likely house this strange project of theirs than it would be here.
He stuck to the shadows, knowing full well from previous observations that there were rooftop sentries and Pegasi air groups patrolling the skies. Creeping through the streets, he could see patrols of unicorns and earth ponies marching in lockstep throughout the area. Knowing what they would do next, he quickly ducked into a side alley and waited for them to pass as unicorns cast illumination spells into the darkened alleyways. When they had finally passed, Storm came out from the cramped side passage wincing slightly as he extricated himself from the tight space.
He repeated this process numerous times, dodging patrol after patrol until he reached the closest entrance to the heavily guarded warehouse. Standing at attention outside were two burly earth ponies with grim expressions seemingly set in stone. Grabbing at some rubble around him, Storm hurled a piece of a broken brick at the wall near where he was concealed. As the slight crack of stone hitting stone resounded through the air, the two ponies instantly tensed up, their eyes moving in every direction as they attempted to identify the source of the noise.
After a moment, the two guards looked at each other and one moved towards the source of the noise, eyes still scanning every outcropping and darkened entryway. As the guard passed near Storm, the disguised changeling lashed out with a fierce attack that caught the guard completely unawares. Storm gripped the earth pony with his magic and dragged him into the hiding spot that he had just been occupying.
----
Stone Heart stood frowning off towards where his fellow guard had wandered off to. His partner should have reported something to him by now. And even if he had found something after all, there should have been the sounds of a struggle or exertion on his part. After taking another few seconds to debate, he decided that should his friend not come back within another minute he would sound the alarm. Sure it may turn out to be nothing, but when at war it was best not to take chances. Just as he was turning to sound the alarm, the telltale sound of clanking armor alerted him to his friend’s return.
“Shield! Where the hell were you? I was about to sound the alarm.” Shield Bearer grinned sheepishly at him from beneath the helmet.
“Apologies, Stone. I ended up going a little farther down those alleys than I meant to. But you’re right, I should have alerted you to it first.” So placated, Stone Heart moved on to the next order of business.
“So did you find anything out there?” A weary sigh escaped Shield’s lips as he moved back into position beside the doors.
“Of course not. It was probably just some loose brick or something that fell.”
“Makes sense I suppose. We are in the older parts of the city. It stands to reason that the buildings around here wouldn’t be holding together too well.” As he gave voice to that, Stone Heart felt a hoof connect with his head, sending him sprawling onto the ground and throwing his world into darkness.
Silent Storm, still in disguise, quickly moved the fallen guard into the same alley as his comrade. His eyes narrowing in concentration, Storm took some of his magic and formed it into near-perfect replicas of the two unconscious guards.
“Right,” he said, moving towards the warehouse doors. “The illusions will only last so long and I intend to be in and out long before then.” Slipping through the doors, his ears were immediately assaulted by the noises of some great industry taking place further in. Quietly traversing the darkened hallways, Storm made his way towards the entrance to what had been the main storage area for the warehouse. A brief look through this entryway made his jaw drop open in astonishment.
A veritable horde of ponies were congregated in the area, each working away on some aspect of the great project before them. A colossal airship took up almost all of the storage space that the warehouse provided. The sides had crudely welded plates of sheet metal which protected the otherwise wooden hull. Three great sails dominated the deck, reminding Storm of the ships that traveled the seas. The one strange part of the ship was that it appeared to be one ship but expanded, as if the Equestrians had simply taken a pre-existing airship and built more around it. But it was what it was armed with that took Storm’s breath away.
All along the lower deck were cannons. While clearly outclassed by the Human artillery pieces, these old models still looked extremely dangerous. Complementing these were a small number of ballistae on the upper deck along with what appeared to be gemstones placed at intervals along the deck.
Storm quickly backed out of the makeshift factory and began moving back towards the entrance, traversing the maze of hallways with a practiced ease. If the Equestrians were beginning to build ships like these, then the war effort would be in serious trouble. He had to escape and warn his queen and their human allies.
Storm stepped outside only to have a bolt of indigo magic smash into the stone next to his head. Before him stood a full contingent of royal guards with the two earth ponies he had knocked out beside them. A score of pegasi hovered above them, preventing him from escaping through the air. The guard leading them was one he recognized well: Shining Armor.
“Imposter!” roared out Shining. “Reveal who you are and surrender yourself into our custody. Do this and I promise that you will not be harmed.”
Storm looked cautiously at each guard in turn while he considered his next course of action. Looking up at Shining Armor, Storm bared his newly revealed fangs.
“Never.” A scowl appeared on Shining’s face.
“Very well then. Then you leave me no . . .” He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence as Storm slammed into him with magically augmented speed. The rest of the guards’ eyes widened in shock as they saw their captain brought to the ground by the now revealed changeling.
Storm glanced down at Armor briefly before giving him one last blow to the face, knocking him unconscious. Rising to his hooves, Storm reviewed the makeshift plan forming in his head.
“Step one: Take down the leader, demoralize those left. Step two: Cripple those immediately around you to prevent them stopping your flight. Step three: Sunburst spell on the pegasi to prevent them stopping you from taking to the skies. Step four: Lose them in the alleys and take a new form.”
Satisfied, Storm went to work. The earth ponies on his right and left were recovering and so they were his first targets. There was a small opening between the chest armor and the helmet that left the neck of the guardsponies exposed. Aiming for that space, Storm used his wings to provide more lift as he impaled the earth pony through the neck with his jagged horn. Removing his horn Storm wheeled around and launched himself at the guard on his right. Tendrils of green magic, snaking their way around his muscles, gave him a brief burst of enhanced speed.
The other pony moved to defend himself, but Storm magically-enhanced speed sealed his fate. He met the same fate as his opposite as Storm’s horn took him in the neck. Arterial sprays of blood were now coming from both fallen ponies as Storm took to the skies, knowing that the rest of the guards would be too much for him.
Drawing once more on his magic he closed his eyes as a burst of green light exploded in the midst of the pegasi, blinding them as he buzzed past. With the first three steps of the plan complete, Storm was sure he could lose them in the city. And he needed to as well; he could feel the strain on his body from the speed boosts and knew he soon wouldn’t be able to move.
Angling down towards the twisting alleys, Storm raced away from the guards pursuing him. Just as he was about to reach the ground, he felt a sharp pain explode on his back. The sudden and unexpected pain threw off his balance and with the exhaustion already beginning to take hold of his body; he lost control and crashed hard into the streets.
Storm tried to rise to his hooves and failed, pain shooting through his whole body. His carapace was cracked in a multitude of places and green blood was pooling on the streets beneath him. He could just hear the flapping of wings and the trotting of hooves getting ever closer. It was clear that he was going to be captured. Storm had already exhausted much of his magic and in his condition he could barely move. Raising his head up towards the sky, he enacted his last resort.
Energy burst from his horn and eyes, as his vision became filled with an all-encompassing emerald light. The discoveries he had made, the connections he had forged, and everything he had ever seen and heard poured forth from him in one great explosion of magical power. Changeling infiltrators across the city received all this in fragments, the sounds and images flowing swiftly into their minds.
Without anything more they knew what had happened. Silent Storm had been captured and had made the ultimate sacrifice for their people. These changelings quickly began to move, brief messages being exchanged via their isolated hive mind of various escape routes and rendezvous points. The time had come to abandon the city.
----
Shining Armor arrived just behind the pegasi to find the broken body of changeling lying in the streets. They were warily checking its vitals, careful around it after the last time they had been less than prepared around it. After a moment, one of the pegasi rose up from the changeling’s side.
“Captain!” he called. “It’s weak, but there’s still a pulse. The changeling is still alive.” Shining nodded sharply.
“Get a medic over here. I want this changeling stabilized and in custody as soon as possible, understood?” The pegasus nodded sharply and shot off into the air to get a medic.
“As for the rest of you, I doubt this was the only changeling in the city. Get a messenger to the princesses that we found changelings in the city. The rest of you, start patrolling and alert the other guard contingents in the city. Be careful and stick together”
“Yes sir!”
----
Lieutenant Graesin surveyed the work of his men. They had been working feverishly for the past 45 minutes to insure that everything was in place. The diamond dogs with them had lent a paw when they were needed, proving to be especially helpful in pointing out weak points in the foundations around them and in the cavern above. Spread out underneath the Gathering Hall there were large clusters of oaken barrels. Long fuses connected each cluster to the central point currently occupied by the Lieutenant and their diamond dog guides.
“Time?” One of the dogs consulted a list of observations their scouts above had been making on the progress of the mustering.
“Not long now. I’d say we have no more than 10 minutes before they start to leave.”
“Right then. Let’s get this show on the road then shall we?” He nodded to a sergeant of the 1st squad who quickly signaled another trooper further down the tunnels. So it went, a line of quiet signaling that ended at a hidden point just above the floor of the Hall. Waiting squads of grenadiers readied their weapons with a practiced ease and took aim. With a muffled thump the ranks of grenadiers opened fire, grenades falling down into the assembled diamond dog ranks. Only seconds later, they detonated. The fire and shrapnel tore through the packed ranks of the diamond dogs dozens falling under the deadly force of the human weapons.
The others quickly began scanning the cavern, desperately trying to find the enemies who were striking out at them. It did not take them long to see the grenadiers situated above the floor of the Hall, and large groups of diamond dogs began making a dash towards the wall, where ladders were thrown up by some and others attempted to scale the sheer rock with their claws.
The grenadiers fired again into the packed ranks, but knew that they needed to fall back. As they fell back from their firing points, they yelled down to their compatriots below.
“Now! Do it now!” And that was all the signal they needed. Below the cavern, the assembled human and diamond dog forces ignited the long fuses simultaneously and afterwards quickly made to leave to the area. The squads from above soon joined them further up the tunnels and the reunited groups dashed as far away as they could.
Then they heard it. A few dozen barrels of gunpowder went off at nearly the same time, generating a truly massive explosion that ripped the cavern apart. The foundations beneath the Gathering Hall were obliterated, the floor falling out from the under the Emerald tribe’s warriors’ feet. Dozens, then hundreds of dogs fell to their doom as the floor gave out and the entire cavern rang with the force of the explosion. Great segments of stone were shaken loose from the walls, crushing further numbers of the Emerald Tribe.
Graesin smiled broadly, flush with the overwhelming success of the plan. Turning to the stunned diamond dogs beside him, he said “Well I believe that takes care of that problem. For now anyway.” The lead dog nodded.
“There are still more of them, and I doubt all of them were killed in your attack, but it will certainly turn the tide of the war back into our favor. And for that you have our thanks.”
“And you ours, for leading us through these accursed tunnels. At any rate, it’s time we returned to Canterlot I think. Governor Helmholtz will want to know of what occurred here today.”
“Agreed. And I will alert the Crimson Warlord of our success as well. Until we meet again Lieutenant.”
This is one of the best story's I read
Who is that hooded human?Revolutionary force who wants democracy? Or just hippie who wants to help ponies?
mooooore!
2874181
Or an upstart who wants to take advantage of the conflict for his own gains. What better than a war to dispose, literally of figuratively, of his political rivals.
Celly and Lulu are going to have a heart attack when they discover who are behind the pamphlets.
And in the meanwhile, Discord is still in his statue, laughing... and awaiting.
2874181 Before the humans invaded Equestria they had their own civil war. The hooded man is one of the sore losers of that civil war who sees this war as the perfect opportunity to dethrone the human emperor.
2874636 I'm surprised that with all the chaos of the war Discord hasn't broke free and started fucking with the humans.
MOAR!
hasta la victoria, siempre!
derpicdn.net/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTMvMDQvMDMvMTlfMTFfMTBfOTc4XzI4NzIzOF9fVU5PUFRfX3NhZmVfZGVycHlfaG9vdmVzX3Bvbmllc19pbl9yZWFsX2xpZmVfbW9ub2Nocm9tZV9hZHZlbnR1cmVfaW5fdGhlX2NvbW1lbnRzX2NoZV9ndWV2YXJhXzUxNWM3ZWNjYTRjNzJkNWU0MDAwMDc5Zl81MTVjN2VjY2E0YzcyZDVlNDAwMDA3YTAuanBnIl1d/287238__safe_derpy%2Bhooves_monochrome_ponies%2Bin%2Breal%2Blife_rose%2B%2528flower%2529_che%2Bguevara_che_ernesto%2Bche%2Bguevara.jpg
SO....AWESOME!
Liith: NOOOO!!!! Storm has fallen! He will be remembered for his sacrifice. As always a good update in the current event of Equestria.
Me: I like the part about the humans killing the rival dogs. Guns are awesome! And so is changeling "plot". *smacks Lilith's ass*
Lilith: Oooh! Naughty human....anyway here are my questions, but of course I'm sure you'll tell me what you will without spoiling the future.
1. Does the flying warship have any connection to the "Magic Atom Bomb" that my human insists the Princesses are making?
2. Can we expect more from the Changelings in the next update?
3. Will the humans obtain newer and deadlier firearms?
4. Does Cadence know about Celestia and Luna's past sins?
5. Why do you tell such a good news update so well? You torture us with your wait!
Me: That's all she's got for now, it loving time and then sandwiches afterwards.
Lilith: Yes, fun time! *uses spell on me, takes me to another room, and the door is shut.*
Great chapter as always, Wow and hey i was mentioned Im happy i could help, your a great Writer keep it up.
2878802
1. I'll just say it right now: no. Equestria doesn't have the research into magical/technological weaponry to make something like that. Nor do I feel they would use it even if they could. Not to spare humans, but because they couldn't bear the other effects such a weapon would have.
2. I believe so. There's at least some wrap up with the other changeling operatives fleeing the city and what happened with Storm to get through.
3. Maybe. In-universe, they are at the peak of their current technological advancement. Research and such is still being done but its unlikely that they will be getting any major game-changing tech from back home.
4. Yes . . . to a point. She knows about the war with humanity and the cause, but she doesn't know the full scale of the effect that the war had on the human race.
5.
2878838
Thank you again. And I'll keep it up as best I can.
2878956 *gets out of the room looking disheveled, with a sandwich in her hoof*
Lilith: Oh! *munch* a response already. Honey, you were wrong about the magic bomb!
Me: Good....I think? *eats sandwich*
Lilith: Yes, very good! *takes another bite* Well then, thank you for the reply, and I hope to see more soon. I really hope Cadence will understand the extent that her aunts have caused the humans' suffering. Should we loose this, ( and we better not ) my human and I will flee Equestria for good to prevent enslavement and or genocide. With his love , I can live a good Changeling life.
the humans better win, or something close like the ponie breaking off from the princesses banishing them or something like that. JUST DON'T MAKE THE HUMANS FREAKIN LOSE that would leave a sour taste in my mouth.
2874181
he's... a BRONY!
a changeling... a single changeling.... beat the shit out of a squad of royal guards. AS IN THE GUYS WITH SPEARS! BY RUNNING INTO THEM?!!! also shining didn't have a shield around him? why? if he can cast a shield around a city he has no fukkin reason to not have it up at all times during a friggin war. this is such bullshit.
2910232 true but seeing as how it was so long ago that the only people alive for it are the princesses, and they changed, I'd be willing to forgive them. The humans however, have gone from being douches in a frigid wasteland, to being douches in an archipelago.
By the by they should be unable to find enough iron to fuel any major war effort, they must be able to materialize it from the fuckin aether to make a railway cannon and set up foundries and factories to form the metals into their final shape.
also this has been bugging me. What has been transporting the humans supplies? We can assume they don't have cars and their hatred of horses can pretty much excuse horse-drawn carts. So what the penal legions been hauling everything by hand? I can sorta see that happening seeing as how the trebuchet was being hauled by humans right? but if that's so then that means that the humans man power is off the charts and that their food supplies should be unable to be sustained over long periods of time.
so many holes that are being ignored... so much RAGE!!!
2910406
Yeah . . . I apologize about that. There have been quite a few areas I've been ignoring so far that I shouldn't be. In the next update or so I'll try and get a better handle on that issue and try to explain it as best I can. As for the changelings and such: There were a few reasons they were able to do so well against the guards. Obviously i changed a lot in my fic and one thing was the general competence and ability of changelings in general. For instance, Storm only did so well as he was a highly trained, highly skilled operative as opposed to a mindless drone which make up the bulk of the swarm. The reason the guards were surprised and didn't do better was that they have yet to encounter these types of changelings in battle and were expecting a simple drone. While that's not the perfect explanation its what I had in mind when I wrote the update. As for the humans and allies doing so well . . . don't worry. I'm not saying everything will immediately turn disastrous for them, but they will be getting some major setbacks in the next few updates that will make this fight a bit more even.
2874824
>implying he would be fucking with the humans
I have a sneaking suspicion that Rainbow Dash might have something to do with those pamphlets. I wonder what those pamphlets said.
2910322
What, they're the douches for refusing to allow other people to settle lands they lived on for hundreds of years? And when they're almost completely made extinct, they're the douches for fighting against the entities that tried to wipe them out?
Oh, the humans have committed atrocities. But they're the ones in the right. Nobody really talks about the atrocities committed by the Allies in WWII do they? But we patriotically wave our flags and say we defended the world from Hitler. And that's really who Celestia is, or at least was. An ego maniacal power monger who went out to essentially ethnically cleanse areas she'd claimed as her own. You might as well call the human's ancestral lands 'Poland' slap a Hitler-stashe on Celestia, and you wouldn't even be able to tell the difference. How does she deserve forgiveness for attempted genocide? Just because it's been a really long time, and she felt guilty about it? (not that it stopped her from reaping the benefits at all, rite?)
As for Iron, it's not really all that inconceivable. Japan for instance is a very iron sparse country that managed to fuel its war machine for quite some time. Personally, Equestria doesn't sound very big, I imagine that most of their supplies come in by ship. How they are able to transport them further inland is an issue, but given that the majority of their conquests have been coastal areas, I would imagine that helps a lot.
3012855
no they are the douches for not seeing a creature for thousand of years and immedietly trying to kill it. "No need to assess the situation or analyse anything. no why do that when we can just wave our arms around like idiots and throw our own poo?" yeah they would rather feel the situation out than think it through. in which case i ask them to try that with a minefield.
secondly it's a war. Nobody is in the right. maybe in the mainland where everything is ass backwards; you may "wave your flag patriotically" but here it was payback for a douchey suckerpunch.
thirdly not many were coastal towns. what about stalliongrad? or canterlot? two major cities one of which is under siege and the other that was somehow taken over by a single train of soldiers after taking ponyville (suspending myself in disbelief there) also they were able to drag some cannons that shouldn't be able to fire nearly as far. My memory is blurry but it may have happened in one day.
Lastly the Japanese war machine consisted of a katana and laquered wood for armor. only about 6 lbs on them was iron. these guys are toting around 9 lb long rifles and fielding thousands of them at once. I find it hard to believe that they could make that many guns from their beaches. and thats not even mentioning that those were what the empire could spare.
lastly 1000 years ago fuckin everyone was a douche. we had people claiming to be descendants of gods, blood sacrifices, wars waged over a single woman (fuck troy), and a lot of other horrible shit. unlike the humans though, the ponies turned out for the better socially. while the humans wallowed in their own horrible shit and only advanced technologically.
3015863
People have gone to war over far less than "To retaliate against beings guilty of genocide." Celestia and Luna have crimes to pay for. That's of course, why Rainbow Dash is instigating treason, because she sees ponies as the innocent victims of Celestia's sins come back to reap what she sowed. And frankly, if you're trying to reclaim your ancestral lands from beings who literally melt your face off, you don't think you'd overreact and go for the sneak attack?
Secondly, don't pretend Americans are the only ones in love with WWII. They're still waxing poetic about the 'Great Patriotic War' in Russia (you know, the guys that got it the worst in WWII?). Hell, the only people who feel bad about WWII are the Germans and the Japanese...maybe the Italians.
It was my impression that Stalliongrad was coastal (even though they haven't actually taken the city so it doesn't count anyways). Canterlot is the only major inland city taken, and it's less than a week's worth march from the coast, which is pretty damned close.
The Japanese made battleships and tanks out of wood? News to me.
Frankly, the fact you're comparing society 1000 years ago to a society which is literally created in the modern era is laughable. So not only does 'Equestria' have a sociological 1000 year evolutionary advantage over 11th century Earth, it is the product of a kids show. That's literally like bitching about video games being "unrealistic."
3015991
rainbow is not only instigating treason but attempting to split the already waning forces of equestria. The casualties that would accrue would be far worse than if they were to stand together. Not only is rainbow acting way out of character but she's Taking her "bull headed arrogance" and turned it into "full on retard" in that one moment alone.
Japanese tanks were made out of metals imported from their allies dumbass. unless they had some poor bastard walk around the beach looking for the black bits in which case good luck with battleships. Therefore unless the human archipelago is getting iron from some other race yet to be mentioned that statement is just there to be snarky. also I was talking about the old way where they were making their own metal rather than importing them. You obviously knew that and are simply not willing to concede the point.
lastly i was comparing society 1000 years ago because the attempted genocide happened 1000 years prior to the present in the story.
3016353
Look through history to find any number of dissenters who felt that their leader's incompetence or arrogance were the cause of their country's misfortune. Hitler is, again, another example, where many high ranking officials of the German army tried to assassinate him, especially as the war turned to hopelessness and they realized surrender was a preferable option. I fail to see how Rainbow Dash is 'acting out of character' when it's Celestia who betrayed her.
Exactly my point, dumbass, the resources are easily acquirable. It's not impossible or even unlikely that humans could accrue that much metal.
By the way, your condescending attitude just weakens your own position.
3018714
*sigh*
yes there were many dissenters throughout history. However not many of them came around when they fought an enemy that wanted to exterminate them. For instance how many jewish people said "Hitlers got his shit right lets all go to those day camps." after they figured out he was a terrible person? None, because nobody is that stupid. and here we see rainbow saying "fuck Celestia, those humans can have her. After all they won't come after us immediately after right?"
"Japan for instance is a very iron sparse country that managed to fuel its war machine for quite some time."
japan got their resources from a place that had the resources. Not another place that also shouldn't have the resources. The humans have been stated to live in an archipelago and only in an archipelago. As opposed to Japan who imported it from the nanban. seeing as how the humans have been insanely xenophobic thus far it would be a stretch to say that they've managed to make friendly contact with another race, even if they were to benefit from it. so please tell me who or where did they get the resources from? the aether?
as for the condescending attitude. Its just payback for the one you gave me. see below.
"What, they're the douches for refusing to allow other people to settle lands they lived on for hundreds of years? " (yeah and celestia is a douche for trying to protect her people from guys who dock with a full broadside)
"Japanese made battleships and tanks out of wood? News to me." (no but then again they didnt melt the metal from raw materials did they?)
and then this whole thing
Frankly, the fact you're comparing society 1000 years ago to a society which is literally created in the modern era is laughable. So not only does 'Equestria' have a sociological 1000 year evolutionary advantage over 11th century Earth, it is the product of a kids show. That's literally like bitching about video games being "unrealistic."
we are arguing with each other on a fan fiction based off of a kids show about technicolor ponies. when did this come out of the area of unreal long enough for anyone to think that this was a real thing?
also at least I'm not thumbing down the comment of the guy i'm arguing with. wanna know why?
https://dviw3bl0enbyw.cloudfront.net/uploads/forum_attachment/file/79995/hook_bad_form.jpg
-3019366
How exactly do you figure the humans are trying to exterminate ponies? That's not happening in this story, or did you miss the part where they are taking prisoners? Granted they're bloodthristy, but it's actually a plot point that the Griffons are worried that the Humans aren't showing mercy to THEM like they are to the ponies. Also, your Hitler/Jew analogy sucks balls; there isn't any kind of parallel.
Humans are not stated to live on an archipelago, they're stated to be living on a continent, and entire continent. Frankly, I was simply pointing out that a resource scare country like Japan was able to acquire resources to supply their military. The fact you keep bringing up that Japan was somehow lacking resources is fucking irrelevant because not only does in not disprove my point, it doesn't even matter because NOTHING in the story indicates the Human's are resource scarce.
And dude, YOU'RE the one who brought up ancient human civilization and compared it to modern age cartoon pony civilization. Not me.
BTW, downvotes are anonymous moron, pointing fingers at me because you got downvoted (more than once btw) is even more pathetic than what you're even accusing me of.
3019463
The bishop in the beginning was talking about purging the land of demons. I don't think that has to do with taking prisoners, more likely (at least to me) that they are just going to kill them off when the war is done and there is no chance of resistance.
I brought up ancient human civilization as a parallel between then and now, just like i brought up a parallel between the then and now humans/ponies in the story.
Besides you first bringing it up, I keep bringing up japan because an island that small is geologically unlikely if not outright impossible to have large sources of iron just like the lands that the humans are living in which conflicts with the fact that the humans seem to have an unending supply of everything and the unexplained means to get it where it is needed every time.
when do they say that they live on a continent? Can't remember that happening at all.
as for the downvotes i simply assumed it was you because there was only one and no comments from others between our comments. and for that i suppose i receive a *sigh* bad form.
as I remember, humans had decided to forget about the matter but to discover twilight spying in a temple. assumed that the princesses were to attack again
3021222
While perhaps not mentioned very clearly , mankind has clarified that they are spread over a continent.
3022615
dam can't remember that at all. still fielding so much equipment in such a small amount of time would require godly logistics. have the soldiers just been hauling all their shit around? also an average slave ship could hold 1000 slaves (though could possibly be made to hold soldiers)and i'm pretty sure a ship of the line was 500-750. so how were they able to move all these soldiers at once? there were at least a thousand in the penal legion alone right? that means at least one full ship of mariners was lost in a single battle. humans aint sweating losing that many troops in a week?
also their ancestral lands were a frozen hell hole. Why do they want it back? are they letting all these people die for a land so cold you had to staple animal furs to the wall to keep warm? or is it really so ingrained as a "home" that they'd be willing to die for it? So far I'm thinking it as a frigid version of Jerusalem. any merit to that idea?
3024744
Believe me I understand the, honestly valid, complaints about logistics. I have been unable to get much work done on the next update but I plan to have at least some explanation about their logistics. While it may not be perfect or explain everything it will hopefully be able to answer some of these questions. As for their extreme desire for their ancestral lands: Your relating it to Jerusalem for them is not far off. It will be further explain in the Rise of Magnus, but human religion has numerous references to their homeland as being holy or sacred as it was also the birthplace of mankind, or at least of their civilization. Magnus himself made references to the importance of the homeland but never went back as he saw it more important to unify mankind than go back at that time. And while a harsh place to live it was liveable and mankind had eked out a fairly comfortable existence there and simply considered the harsh conditions common and normal. As for the penal legion, they were all criminals of varying degree and they were going to die anyway. Command simply decided to make their deaths worth something in tying up Equestrian resources. I hope that answers some of your questions.
3024887 Dam that's a good explanation. I havent read the rise of magnus. Might get to that later in the week.
3049982
*Sigh* Once again I get called out for a valid point I overlooked while writing at 3 in the morning. I have got to stop doing that. Thank you for pointing that out. For now I'm going to adopt that explanation and hopefully do more research on these things before I post. Thanks again.
Thought for the day "The Known is but a shadow of the Knowable."
3051153 Oi, I saw quite a few grammar mistakes no one bothered to point out. Missing quotations, run together sentences, and one or two unannounced POV changes.