Mechanical Revenge

Luna had just begun raising the moon in place of her sister's sun. She had long since re-adapted to raising her moon every night ever since her imprisonment has Nightmare Moon. Even though everypony around her had long since accepted her back despite what she tried to do, save for a select few groups, she still thinks back to when she lost control with insurmountable regret. Had the Elements of Harmony not been within her sister's reach, she could of very well ended her life out of pure jealousy.

Now that I think about it, could that metal beast have... as much as I hate to admit, perhaps whatever we did in the past had cause grief so insurmountable that even the elements couldn't have...

No, Discord was turned to stone because he was the elements' opposite. That they also turned that monster into stone proves he is nigh irredeemable, even by the more powerful elements wielded by Twilight and her friends.

"Y-your highness!" Luna whipped around to find a shell-shocked night guard with a scroll in his magic. "I hate to interrupt, but we received word via dragon-fire from the guards stationed near the Badlands"

She narrowed her eyes. "What caused them to panic to the point of sending messages through emergency dragon-fire?"

"W-well, they report having seen the metal beast in the outskirts of the Badlands, fighting multiple Tatzlwurms."

Luna pursed her lips. Why would he make game out of killing Tatzlwurms when he made it clear he was out for pony blood, specifically her's and Celestia's. "If the metal beast is fighting in the Badlands, then we should be grateful his eyes have been turned away. Tatzlwurms can be difficult to deal with, but I don't see how--"

"T-the thing is, they report seeing him, and I quote; "brutally slaughtering a larger Tatzlwurm in a way nopony should suffer through"." You could hear a pin drop from a distance from the deafening silence that followed. All Luna had on her face was a mixture of awestruck surprise and deep horror, even stopping her from raising the moon to it's intended height. "Your highness?"

"... Forward the message to Celestia at once, even if you have to wake her up! The speaks more ill than I originally thought." The guard saluted before heading back down the tower she was on. She looked back at the moon, immense worry overcoming her features. "The elder Tatzlwurm... my sister and I could barely hold one back at our peak. To think that... thing managed to kill one as easily as it did..."

I can only hope Tia's idea of getting Discord's help works. If that thing did manage to acquire more weaponry like Twilight said in her report, it's only a matter of time before his rampage begins anew.

Central Factory

I watched from afar with mild interest as I saw the Changelings mingling with each other. It was a much longer trip back to the Central Factory due to the need to escort their queen and most of their kind here. Dodging bug settlements was a bit more of a pain, but I made damn sure neither me nor the transports were seen.

From what I can tell thus far, the whole hive mind shtick was more for organizational and leadership purposes. Most of the drones seem to have their own personalities and the Changelings, as a whole, function like any other community or nation. It has got me wondering about other things, but none of them were imperative to what I need. I also had some of the currently activated Mechon units start cleaning the orange blood off my unit; it was becoming quite the eyesore.

"It's been a while since I've seen my entire hive in one location." I turn to see Chrysalis walking up beside me with a relieved smile. "Though not all of our problems are solved, it gives me peace that none of my subjects no long have to worry about dying today or tomorrow." She gives a sad frown as she closes her eyes. "Though we finally got here at the cost of many, many lives..."

There was one thing I did need to know. "Earlier, you said you were with what remained of the Changelings besides the ones with Kylisia. Does this mean that the entirety of the Changeling race is all here right now?"

She slowly nodded. "Perhaps I should start at the beginning, though I should first ask: how much do you know about us?"

"All I know is that you feed off emotion and you disguise yourselves as other species in order to do so. You also function off a hive mind, based on what I've seen thus far."

"That's about the basics of our feeding habits, but what many beings don't realized is that, despite sharing a hive mind connection with me, Changelings do have their own societies." She shakes her head. "We were once our own proud nation, far south past the Badlands, and there were far more hives than my own. We did have our quarrels with each other, like all sentient beings do, but we were still a respectable society.

"However, every single other society shunned ours, believing our kind to be nothing more than emotional, hive-mind-driven parasites when it wasn't the case. True, love is what we primarily fed on as it yields the most energy out of any emotion on top of being appetizing to all tastes, but we never damaged other races by feeding on their love or their other emotions. We were constantly telling them that we never harmed anyone in any ways during our harvesting, but none would listen."

I sigh as I shake my head in disdain. "Though my memory of them is faulty at best, I do know the species I previously belonged to would make the same mistake. Fear of the unknown, especially an unknown species, has a way of driving many to violence."

Chrysalis sighed before looking at me again. "You are on the mark. Despite our best efforts, we were constantly attacked by other nations under the pretense of "self-defense and ridding the lands of a dangerous species". It came to a point where we adapted our ability to disguise ourselves as other species JUST to not only have a chance at harvesting love, but to survive as a species."

I nod before something struck me as odd. "If your kind had to evolve your disguising traits in order to survive, then how did you become so endangered? I can't see how other species would be able to see through good disguises so easily, unless..."

"Some hives in their unjustified reasoning actually discarded using their disguises in favor of directly invading other nations. While love was somewhat difficult to get in said nations, anti-changeling measures had yet to be taken, meaning we could infiltrate and collect love with no-one being none the wiser. But some hives grew too greedy, which lead to said invasons and dragged every other hive into oblivion with them.

"Equestria was never a target because we were too far away for any hive to even remotely consider going there. Thing is; the other nations that the other hives tried to invade? All of them had a halfway decent military." She noticed my suddenly smug smile. "Why are you--"

"Ah, I apologize. I wasn't smiling about your kind being slaughtered. It's the sick burn you just inflicted on Equestria. Serves them right for relying on their crutches called the Elements of Harmony."

"So that's what you were smiling about. Regardless, us Changelings were never good in a straight up fight; in a one-on-one scenario, Changelings always lose. This resulted in all of the other hives being slaughtered, almost in full, within a span of a week. My hive was the last one left, the only one that was obstinate about not going to war. It... was originally my mother's."

This got my attention. "How long ago was all this?"

"Approximately thirty years ago... or something along those lines. You start caring less about minuscule things like that when you worry every single day of the week whether or not you will survive the next day."

I shake my head as I observe Changeling drones flying around and hitching a ride on an M108/Spade that started walking by. "Being stuck in stone for about a thousand years does that to you as well. I must ask, though... what happened to--"

"My mother? I'll get to that in a second, but she was the one who brought my hive here to Equestria, hearing rumors of a land filled with love and tolerance."

I scoffed so hard it actually hurt. "Love and tolerance, MY ASS!"

Chrysalis shook her head disdainfully. "That was something we quickly found out. The ponies were just as xenophobic as the other species we were running from. Despite that, my mother kept pleading to their ruler to let her hive live among the ponies, as we had nowhere else to go.

"The worst part? All of her requests for an audience were rejected!" She started gritting her teeth in rage. "My mom gave up all of her love so that I could live and become the new hive queen. She died from self-negligence because those filthy ponies never gave her, or us in general, the time of day."

I connected the dots pretty quickly. "Is that the reason why you led the invasion on Canterlot? Feeding off the groom's love for his bride while keeping the PRINCESS OF LOVE hostage so you could have love anytime you wanted sounds like a pretty good deal."

She shook her head again. "I didn't do it right away. Not only did I want to stock-pile as much energy from emotion feeding as possible, but my mom, before she died, begged me to try and do what she failed to accomplish: peacefully integrate Changelings into pony society. Guess how THAT turned out?"

"Poorly."

She hissed. "Understatement of the year."

I didn't even bother motioning for her to calm down. She had every right to be angry. "So you, essentially, hijacked the wedding and commenced the invasion when you were discovered in retaliation to constantly being denied?"

Chrysalis hissed for a little bit longer before finally sitting down with an air of defeat. "Yes. I had dreamed of ensuring my entire hive would be well fed ever since I was little. In my overwhelming glee over it coming true and my recklessness, I let them blow me and my hive away with the very thing we feed on." She started frowning, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why? Why must we suffer just to have a decent meal? All I ever wanted was the prosperity of my hive, the chance for all of us to live without worrying meal-to-meal. WHY?"

I watched as she fully broke down crying, rage once again welling up inside of me. I no longer had cause for concern over whether or not I could trust the Changelings; their queen effectively spilled her guts out for me.

It all lead back to THEM. The ones who would never leave me well enough alone, the ones who killed my sister and who forced the Changelings into waiting for their death: The maggot princesses, Sunbitch and Mooncunt!

I kneel down beside the sobbing queen, prompting her to look up at me. "I will say this now: Even if I am unable to save your kind, I will ensure one thing for your sake as well as mine. I have heard your cries. Equestria's princesses shall burn."

The surprise on her face showed through her tears. "But... why are you so willing to help us?"

"Because I am a victim of their machinations as well. They murdered the one person I truly cared about in this world and sealed me in stone for over a thousand years. I may be less of a victim than your kind, but our enemies are the same." Standing back up, I look over the Central Factory once more, fury burning in my eyes.

A thousand years have not dulled my lust for revenge against those two maggots. We do not forget. We do not forgive.

Wiping her tears away, Chrysalis stands up and gives me a knowing look. "For the first time in Changeling history, someone was willing to listen to and help us. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you."

"Save your thanks until after we ensure your kind won't die out prematurely. As much as I would like to once again start moving against the maggot sisters, we need to build accommodations for you here and find a way to ensure a food supply for you."

"Although we did indeed feed on love during our invasion, it's soon to run out. Physical accommodations can wait until we can ensure anything else." She looks around the factory until her eyes fell on a cylinder filled with magic exiting the teleporter from the tree. "Perhaps a bit of a tour around this place will give us an answer, but I must ask this now: what is that purple liquid?"

I follow her gaze and saw what she was talking about. "That would be pure, liquid magic."

This caused her to look at me in surprise. "You've managed to find a way to turn magic solid... or liquid, in this case? Even the most advanced nations south haven't figured it out yet!"

I merely give her a smug smile. "Clearly, none are anywhere near the Mechon's level of advanced technology. Are there any nations that have fully mechanical automatons that can act and fight properly?" She shook her head. "Thought not. Still, I am curious as to why you bright it up."

"At first I was just curious. But if that truly is magic, then perhaps... no, that wouldn't be possible, even with your level of tech."

"Try me."

She sighs as she gives me an apprehensive look. "A way to covert pure magic into edible love."

"Okay, so how hard do you figure it would be to turn said pure magic into something like metal compared to love?"

She puts a hoof up to her muzzle. "Probably slightly harder. It's hard to know what malleable love looks like, nor a way to actually measure it. Even us Changelings have a hard time imagining what love looks like."

I facepalm. "Right. Still, if we DID manage that, I do have a way to make magic into other things, namely the materials needed to make my Mechon army."

Chrysalis gaps at me before giving me a straight face. "I'm just going to assume from now on you can do practically anything with your level of tech."

"The keyword is "practically". If I COULD do anything, the maggot sisters would already be dead."

"Permission to interject?" Both of us look behind us to see Broodmother Kylisia approaching us. "I couldn't help but overhear what you were discussing. You say you might have a way to produce love out of pure magic?"

I look at Chrysalis before shrugging. "I have the means to do so. The problem is determining how love would look and act as a 'solid'."

"Perhaps I can help with that. I'm the one who researches love and my expertise could help with that problem. In fact, I might already have a solution for our problem."

I share a look with Chrysalis before shaking my head in disbelief. "Having the solution this quickly makes me uncertain, but I'll hear you out in case it actually is viable."

She nods excitably. "My solution is in the form of a type of love potion. They are widely taboo and incredibly rare, but when one of my harvesters chanced upon one and consumed it, she mentioned being filled with a lot of energy, like she had spent an entire day feeding off a couple's love with no interruption.

"When I heard of this, I ordered a love potion to be delivered to me for study. Long story short; they were the closest thing to solid love as we could get, as bland as it was. And I apologize, my queen, for withholding this information. Not only were they rarely produced, the ingredients were incredibly rare and hard to procure. I didn't want to fill you with the hope of an alternate love source, only to have it run out at a very bad time."

Chrysalis frowned and shook her head. "That information would of still been welcomed, but I understand your reasoning." She turns to me with a questioning look. "So do you think you can produce something like that?"

I nod. "If that alternative works, then it should be viable. However, we have two more major problems that arise from this."

She groans before looking at me disdainfully. "What is it now?"

"Problem one is how long it will take to actually find a love potion to serve as a template. As you mentioned, Kylisia, love potions are considered taboo and are rare as a result. Until a Changeling can procure one from somewhere, we're going to need an alternative source of love." I thought for a moment before an idea struck me. "Oh, I know! How about taking care of--"

"Little woodland creatures or newborn domesticated pets?" Chrysalis cut me off with an irritated sigh. "The amount of love they give off is negligible and the amount of animals we would need to bring in would be a bit too much."

I sigh. "Great, and here I thought I was being clever. Still, you need at least SOMETHING to tide your kind over until we get the potion."

"Fair point, I suppose. What's the second problem?"

I paused to gather my thoughts. "The second problem is my current magic harvest yield. The only source of magic I'm harvesting from is yielding lesser and lesser hauls, meaning I... I mean we need to secure a new source of magic to harvest from. Luckily, this is the far easier of the two problems."

Chrysalis gives me a questioning look. "Sounds as though you were already in the process of solving problem two."

"I was when I found Kylisia. My plan was to establish a harvester directly under the heart of the Crystal Empire and drain the magic there. Because of how much energy the empire gives off, I've decided to establish a pipe-line system leading from the harvester to the Central Factory's cylinderization system."

"Is this... Crystal Empire in the pony's possession?" I nod with a frown. "Then I have no qualms about that. I can send some drones to help--"

"No, my Mechon will be able to handle it. Your kind need to conserve energy until we can mass-produce love potions. Until that time, make sure they don't get into trouble."

"If you're certain. We'll, at the very least, construct make-shift homes for our use until then."

I take a quick glance at the new generator, finding it already operational. "No need for that either. I have enough energy for all of my units to focus on multiple things at once. I get a crew working on living structures for you, though you will need Changelings there to oversee the process."

She gives me a flat look. "Not even a full day together, and you've not only save us from certain death, but also show a willingness to produce food for us and make living area for us."

"This might sound a bit cruel, but what would be the point of forging a new alliance, only for my new allies to die out from something beyond their control?"

"Touché. I'll send a drone out to search for a love potion. After that, I'll have my hive stay put until our food supply is assured."

I simply nod before she flew off to join her hive while I head back to my unit. I ordered the digging Mechon to continue hollowing out a tunnel towards the harvester's intended location. The units on site reported a decreased estimation in how long it would take, about two or three days minimum, which filled me with a bit of glee.

I had a few more units activate and ordered them to take some of the unused, empty platforms and make them into living units. I authorized them to follow Changeling orders and to use whatever material they offer to the best of their ability. I had a tone of metal, both usable and scrap, sitting around the factory because of my earlier "stupor of incompetence", meaning there was enough for both living units and the construction of the harvester.

With my orders issued, I exit my unit again, only to be glomped by something small. "I'm so happy to see my hero!" I look and see the princess Changeling hugging my midsection.

She's adorable... wait, did she say hero?

I sigh as I pat her on the head before putting her back on the ground. "Settle down, little one. You'll be seeing me a lot, so no need to get excited."

She gave me a cute pout, but was interrupted by Chrysalis before she could say anything. "Elesia, dear, please don't be rude to our host." She gives me an embarrassed smile as she picks up her daughter. "I apologize. She desperately wanted to see her hero again after her near-death experience." She shuddered while saying that.

"Well, it's no problem... except..."

I got a confused reaction out of them. I thought back to when I went on my first berserker rampage and destroyed so much before I was stoned. I thought back to everything I did out of malice both before and after my stoning. None of the ponies died and I certainly don't regret it any of it, but...

"I'm no hero. Never was, never will be. When everything is said and done, all I am is a man consumed by revenge."

The three Changelings watch as Metal Face walked off, worry on their faces. Chrysalis was the first to speak up after he was out of earshot, "While I would find it hard to believe he's consumed by revenge, at the same time his words are honest..."

Kylisia shot the queen a look. "After everything he's done for us... you think he might use us as tools for his own, personal revenge in the end?"

"Perhaps... but it's a set-up that benefits us both; we get food and a chance to rebuild our race, while he gets information and, eventually, another standing army. Besides, whatever those two princesses did to his sister had gained his permanent ire."

This confused the broodmother. "How can you be so certain? For all we know, this could all be a front to--"

"I'm certain, because when he mentioned his sister, I felt a particularly powerful pulse of love, as well as an intense hatred against the pony sisters..." Chrysalis started trailing off, noticeably concerned about something.

Kylisia noticed and was about to comment, but Elesia spoke up first, "I felt the love too, mommy, but it... tasted off somehow."

"Ah, even my daughter noticed. The love he gave off was normal, but at the very core of it all, so faint that a lesser Changeling wouldn't be able to pick it up, was a hint of bitterness."

This shocked the broodmother. "But if he's doing all of this for her, then why--"

"I don't know. He hasn't told us anything about what happened to his sister and that is territory I would tread carefully on. His love of his sister is genuine, but whatever happened recently has begun eroding on it. For now, focus on getting a temporary source of love while a scout finds a love potion 'template'."

Kylisia nodded stoically before flying off. Elesia looked between the two adult Changelings, confused as to what they just discussed.