Chapters 2 Castle Wedding Crashers
"I will do this... and that..."
I hear a mental huff from Discord. "How many times are you going to count the ways to... mutilate the sisters?"
"As many times as it damn well takes before I break out."
"Can't you come up with different ways of listing them off? You're actually kind of depressing me over here."
If I could, I would of given him a half-insane smile. "The great spirit of chaos, Discord... depressed?"
"All you've ever been doing is brooding for revenge. There have been very few times when you were actually interesting, which is when you are NOT brooding for revenge. Is that all you're hooked onto?"
"Come on, everybody LOVES revenge, right? You may not admit it, but you also wanted revenge on the ponies for condemning you to a fate worse than death when you could be having fun!"
He let out a mental sigh. "At least I had something to look forward to AFTER the fact. You never say anything about what you're doing after you succeed."
The thoughts wouldn't come to me. I didn't care.
"At least I can rely on you to get a job done, should the both of us get free."
"The feeling's mutual, Discord old buddy."
We lapsed into silence, uncertain where to go with that line of thought.
"Perhaps you would like to spy on the Elements of Harmony?"
"Why not, I've got nothing better to do. Have I mentioned how much I hate being taken for granite?"
"Almost as much as me."
"Well isn't this something?"
"Hm?" I hear explosions and hissing around me, much to my confusion. Discord did a mental eye-roll at me before broadening my view of things.
That was one advantage of being buds with a spirit of chaos; if something interesting happens, he can help me see it as well.
I saw a whole swarm of bug-like ponies crawling through Canterlot. "How fitting. The bugs are getting crushed by other bugs. What are these things anyway?"
"Ah yes, I forgot you spent the majority of your time in the cold north. They are Changelings; creatures who feed off the emotions of others, though love is their most preferred food. They do this by disguising as other races."
"Essentially, succubi and incubi who can mimic other beings. The more I learn about this place, the more dangerous it actually seems. I'm so glad I got sent here in nigh, invulnerable armor."
I could feel him mentally smirking. "But said armor couldn't protect you from the Elements of Harmony?"
"This is coming from the guy who didn't see that the bearers were back to normal..."
"Shut it, weeaboo." I get the feeling he got that term from me at one point.
He expanded our vision and I saw a pink alicorn glued to the floor, a white stallion who looked mind-broken, and a much bigger changeling."Who the hell are they?"
"The pink one is Cadance the princess of love, the white one is Shining Armor, older brother to Twilight Sparkle, and I don't know the changeling, though I know that's a queen. End of story." He didn't like constantly explaining it seems.
"Looks like a wedding was going on. IRONY!" I notice the element bearers getting brought into the hall. "Double Irony!"
"Look up."
"TRIPLE IRONY! I love the rule of three."
"Looks like this queen was smart--" Suddenly said queen took her attention off the prisoners as Twilight freed Cadance. "Never mind."
I mentally facepalm. "Three guesses as to what's going to happen."
"The first two don't count."
Sure enough, the pink princess and the white stallion blew away all of the Changelings in a powerful pulse of... love. "Why does it always have to be love? Still, that pulse is the first thing I've felt since the Elements that could even remotely affect my armor--"
The pulse caused massive cracks in my stone prison.
"YES... YES!" For the first time in centuries, I started to fight against the stone prison before finally breaking free. "HAHAHAHAHA! FREE AT LONG LAST!"
"No offense, but this won't end well."
I blatantly ignored him. "They were trying to host a wedding? Let's see if they are willing to continue even after MY crash!"
"Uh, hey buddy old pal, could you try to free me like I tried for you... WITHOUT killing the bearers?"
I look at him. "No promises. I'm dying for revenge and I will have it BY. ALL. MEANS!" I was going to fly off when a thought crossed my mind. "I hate to do this to you, but I'm going to insult you in my opening line to the bugs. I apologize in advance; I respect you better than that."
"Eh, I'm used to it."
I turn into my "jet" form and fly off around the castle before latching onto the mountain-side, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Soon, one of the voices I came to hate with every part of my being started speaking. "Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza–"
"Princess Cadance is fine." The snort I forced down was really painful.
"Hm. The union of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. The strength of their commitment is clear. The power of their love, undeniable. May we have the rings please?"
Soon... very soon...
"I now pronounce you..."
This is it, the line I felt made the original Metal Face so memorable.
"Mare and--"
"Hope I'm not interrupting anything!" I burst through the columns and into the hall, where all of the bugs started screaming. It certainly didn't take long for the room to clear outside of my target, the 'couple', and the bearers, much to my amusement.
"Is my wedding doomed to constantly being interrupted!?" I stifle another snort when Cadance shouted it.
I see the eyes of Sunbitch turn into pinpricks. "It can't be... METAL FACE?!"
I land on the now abandoned alter, crushing it. "Pathetic! After all that talk, Discord was crushed by a worthless bunch of maggots, such as you!"
The white unicorn named Rarity went from pissing herself to very pissed off. "How DARE you talk about a lady like that!"
"Oh excuse me, I didn't realize Lady Vomit Worm was here as well!" I let out a cruel laugh when she blanched.
Sunbitch developed her own look of rage. "I thought you were permanently sealed!"
"You thought wrong. Maybe you should've taken a cue from Discord's release and checked on my shackles. Speaking of which..." I look at the to-be-married couple. "You two were actually the ones who released me. How does that make you feel?" The two of them developed horrified looks.
"Don't listen to him! Twilight, the Elements of--"
"Whoops, you can't do that!" I blast the doorway of the hall with my cannon and caved it in, making it impassable.
This only made her more angry. "Curse you, metal beast! If you even so much as harm ANYPONY here--"
I laugh again. "I'd like to see you try. Which reminds me... where were we before you used your crutch known as the Elements of Harmony? Oh right, I remember!" I quickly swing at her, only to barely miss her, which allowed her to teleport a fair distance away from me.
Huh... I seem to be out of practice...
"Keep your claws off our princess, you hunk of junk!" The one called Rainbow Dash flew forward out of her dress and hit me in the head with her hind hooves.
The impact didn't phase me one bit, much to her dismay. "I'm not some random creature. You'll have to try HARDER!"
I swing at her, only for her to start flying around me at fast speeds, constantly hitting my mechon body. "Why won't it even dent?"
"Okay this is getting embarrassing, the way you can't take a hint..." I spin on the spot, whipping up enough wind to disorient her before back-handing her with my claw. Her friends cried out when she landed near them.
"Normal attacks don't affect him. You need to get the Elements of Harmony, it's the only way to deal with him!"
I laugh maniacally. "Oh come on, Sunbitch, I enjoy seeing you squirm like this. Just look at you; worthless without your crutch!"
"Worthless THIS, cur!"
I see the younger sister shooting magic at me with her horn, which I blocked with a claw-barrier. "Is that all you've got, Mooncunt ?" I loved the look on her face when she heard my name for her.
"DON'T YOU DARE INSULT MY SISTER LIKE--" I strike at the other princess, missing her again and causing her to teleport.
Okay, I'm seriously out of practice. I used to be a crack-shot with my claws and they're just STANDING there.
"Twilight, Teleport your friends out and get the elements!" I hear Cadance shout. I was about to react when a purple flash emitted where the bearers were standing.
"Soon, the Elements of Harmony will come back and you will be back where you belong, monster!" I hear Sunbitch snarl at me for added effect.
"Back where I belong? I won't be back where I belong until I have both of your pelts resting on my WALL!"
Mooncunt landed next to her sister. "Perhaps your tongue and your want to cause pain will be fixed after you are exposed to a more powerful blast of harmony!"
The way she said that pissed me off. "My want to cause pain? You bitches wouldn't know pain even if it stabbed you in the gut!" I strike at them again, though this time they dodged before my claw was able to land. "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TRUE PAIN IS! THIS TIME, I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO HER!"
They kept dodging my strikes, though the confusion was clear on their faces "What are you even--"
This only pissed me off even more."Save it, I ain't interested in your empty words!" I start charging up my cannon to destroy the entire room. "I'm going to wipe you off the face of this planet, here and--"
My sensors went off, alerting me to the rapid approach of the Elements of Harmony. I stopped charging my weapon begrudgingly. "Looks like my time here is up. You live... but the next time we meet, you won't be so lucky!"
Before they could even say anything, I transform into my jet form and fly to the north, steaming mad.
They don't even remember what they did to her, my little sister. I'll make sure they remember what they did to her before cutting their heads off, even if I have to throw my own life away!"
Author's Note
I figured I would try something different in regards to how I made my character interact with the heroes and good guys. I wanted to go darker and more serious than what I usually write, hence this story.
I have to ask though, should I switch between Metal Face's perspective and the good perspective, or just keep it solely a first-person narrative?
Also, do you guys want longer chapters or shorter ones?
3 Darkened Deals and Facilities
I stopped in a forest on my way north to have a drink of pure water and to cool my head. Last time I was boiling mad, I got stoned because I couldn't think or see straight. As much as I hate the maggot princesses, I needed to keep a cooler head if I want my revenge. Rage is nice and all, but not so much if they got, as Discord put it, a "fix-all-the-things weapon".
I'm willing to bet that the poor saps who are the current Elements of Harmony don't realize that their "beloved" ruler is just using them as tools.
I shake my head before getting back into my mechon unit and continuing north. There was something I wanted to do, since I couldn't kill them on the first try...
Canterlot Castle
Everypony had agreed that both Shining Armor and Cadance were officially married, despite Celestia getting interrupted at the last second. Now, not only did they have to clean up after the changeling invasion, but also the attempt on Celestia's life by an otherwise unknown entity.
"Princess Celestia, what was that thing?" Twilight asked her teacher. She was still bristling with anger over that thing's interruption of her brother's wedding.
The solar princess sighed before looking at the bearers. "As you may already have heard from my initial shout of surprise, that thing is named Metal Face."
Rainbow huffed. "Yeah, but that's its problem?"
"Dare I say, that thing has the most vulgar tongue I've ever heard!" Rarity still looked incredibly insulted.
Pinkie also looked infuriated. "I don't like him! He's a meany-mean face who crashes parties! I hate party crashers and look what he did to poor Fluttershy and Rarity!" Applejack was off trying to once again comfort a traumatized Fluttershy while Rarity looked disheveled.
Celestia sighed again. "To answer your question, Rainbow Dash, I don't know why he has harbored such hatred for me and my sister."
"Did you encounter him at any point in the past?" Twilight had a curious look now.
"Yes... I 'met' him about a thousand years ago."
Rarity made the connection. "Did you use the Elements of Harmony on him? He was rather obstinate about not letting us get them."
"Allow me to explain. About a thousand years ago, back before Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon, we were always trying to defend ponies from any threats that may rise to harm them. At the time, we were young enough to think our power alone could save our ponies. However, two entities suddenly appeared in the frozen north; giant metal beasts with glowing eyes and lines all over their bodies."
Twilight nodded. "I'm guessing one of them was Metal Face."
"Indeed. Because of their intimidating appearance and dangerous... weaponry, Luna and I eventually tried to get rid of them in order to put pony's hearts at ease. It was then that we realized that we weren't unstoppable. Our attacks did nothing to them, and they simply shooed us away like we were flies." This got shocked looks from the element bearers.
"Is that why you told us that nothing would affect him?" Rainbow looked uncertain now.
"Precisely. Believe me when I say that we both tried multiple times to take them down, only for any and all but the most powerful, magic-draining spells to simply dissipate harmlessly."
Twilight gave Celestia a concerned look. "But... didn't you try to convince them to leave at one point?"
"My faithful student, do not let my mannerisms of today's age fool you. There was indeed a time when I was young and foolish, thinking everything could be solved with enough magic." This got a shocked look from Twilight. "I digress though. Every time we grew stronger, we went back to challenge them, only to be brushed aside."
Pinkie shot her hoof into the air. "Wait wait wait! Are you saying that Mr. Meany Face didn't try to kill you back then?"
"You are correct. On top of that, while they were able to brush us off easily enough, they always acted erratic, like they were not used to their bodies. On top of that, they always seemed to have a conscience, always trying to get rid of us while not harming us."
Celestia let out another sigh. "The turning point was a few days after we defeated Discord. Metal Face suddenly attacked us in a towering, blinded rage, screaming obscenities at us while actively trying to kill us. In our attempt to protect ourselves, we used the Elements of Harmony on him, turning him to stone as he cursed us and swearing his intent for revenge."
Fluttershy finally got up the nerve to speak. "W-what about the other one?"
Celestia shook her head. "It simply vanished. To this day, I haven't found the second metal beast. Perhaps it left him for different lands because of his sudden change, but I have yet to find out the reason being Metal Face's change"
Applejack huffed. "Well I say he should stay stuck in stone, considering the way he attacked you and insulted us."
Celestia nodded. "Like Discord, I have given him up as a lost cause. However, I must warn against trying to fight him without your elements and friends. He is an incredibly dangerous psychotic with nigh-invulnerable armor and dangerous weaponry. I will try to find a way to track him, so that we can end his spread of terror quickly."
The Frozen North
As I approached the place I wanted to be, I kept getting an odd, foreboding sense of dread. I constantly shook it off, but it kept looming over me.
I hope it's still up...
I eventually reach my sister's grave, but I noticed through the blizzard that something was amiss. Disembarking, I quickly hurry over...
Only to find that her grave was dug up and her corpse, stolen. I once again became filled with so much anger that I let out a scream of pure rage.
Whoever did this... whoever did this... I will find you... and I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER UNTIL YOU CAN SUFFER--
"Ah, so you're the source of all that delicious hatred." I look over to see a shadow my size with a pair of red and green eyes.
"Sombra..."
"Why, yes I am. I, on the other hoof, am very surprised to see that you had another body inside of that metal being."
"Skip the pleasantries, why did you approach me? Perhaps you know who grave-robbed my sister's corpse?"
He seemed to take my attitude in stride. "Sadly no, I wasn't even aware this was your sister's resting place."
I clench my fist. "I swear, I'll find them and make them pay. I'll brutally kill them the way I plan on killing those maggot princesses!"
"Why the change of heart? I always thought you would eventually fight with them."
"THEY MURDERED HER! WE SPENT OUR ENTIRE TIME IN THIS WORLD, TRYING TO NOT BE A THREAT AND THAT IS HOW THEY THANK US?!"
My echoing voice got drowned out by the blizzard. Sombra remained silent for a few moments before speaking again. "I was sealed long before any of that happened. All I need to know is that, considering you want them dead, you won't be my enemy as well."
"An enemy of my enemy is my comrade..."
"That is enough for me. Promise to stay out of my way in my bid to retake MY Crystal Empire and I will reward you."
"Do whatever you want. Besides, what can you possibly reward me with?"
He chuckled darkly. "From my understanding, your last attempt at their lives failed. I can show you something that could help you immensely."
"... I'm listening."
"I must request that you act as my contingency plan. See, I would rather fail at reclaiming my empire and have those two killed than to succeed, only to be usurped by them again."
I cross my arms in impatience. "You're willing to fail as long as they die?"
"I know I won't fail. I just need... someone to take care of the dirty business outside of the empire."
"Well, I was going to do that anyways."
"Then, we have an accord. Follow me." He flies away a distance before stopping and waiting for me to get back into my mechon.
We flew south-east for a time until a familiar shape made itself known to me. "F-Face Nemesis? This is where I found her... dying."
"Ah yes, but that one isn't the only thing of interest. Have a look around before we continue."
Sure enough, I found other shapes past Face Nemesis. They were all face units, including Jade Face, Yaldabaoth, and several mass-produced faces. I got out of my own unit and opened them all up, only for the smell of decay to hit my nostrils each time. All of them had a corpse of a mechon-human in them.
These poor saps never even got to try out their new toys...
"If you're quite done, your... tools for success are further ahead."
When he finally stopped again, I looked around. "There's nothing here you--"
"There is. Stand where I'm currently at."
I did so and a loud alarm sounded off before the ground started opening. Looking down, I see what looked like a launching shaft. "Is this..."
"I have shown you your... "reward", now I must take my leave."
"You're not staying?"
I've already explored the place and it is nothing I can operate. Besides, I still need to gather my strength before I can release the Crystal Empire for reclamation."
I nod. "If the keys to my success lie in here, then I'm forever in your debt."
"Consider it paid once you kill those two wretches."
I nod before descending down the shaft, the entrance closing behind me.
I managed to get the first power generator online and, according to the scans I did, this place is very similar to the Central Factory on Mechonis. It had everything from a face maintenance bay with adjustable sizing to accommodate any size a face unit may be, an area capable of mass-production, and even many storage areas. I eventually got all of the generators back online and beheld the place in it's full glory.
I CAN use this place. If I can get Mechon production up, I can create an army to take those maggots down.
However, I don't feel that an army is necessary unless otherwise proven. I DO, however, need to repair and upgrade my face unit before anything else can be done.
When I got my unit into the maintenance bay, I gave it a once over and discovered a few faults in the system. They weren't the reason behind my lack of accuracy but they would become problems if they persist.
For some reason, I knew how to operate everything in this place, like I had been doing it for years. I didn't question it, only accepted that it will make things much easier.
After fixing my unit up, I realized that while there was storage, there was nothing in them. No spare parts, no raw material, nothing.
"Looks like those face units outside are going to get scrapped for parts..."
I never knew how long that vertical shaft was leading into the Central Factory was until I had to haul a face unit down it.
The location of said shaft was also above where the transporter to Agniratha would be. I explored the Factory a bit more to get it mapped out for my unit's systems and I discovered that the place's layout was almost identical to the game's layout. This made things a lot more convenient for me, as it was my favorite location in Xenoblade.
Another thing I noticed is that the background where the elevator to Mechonis Field is supposed to be is similar, but instead of a bright orange glow, it was a duller glow and a metal wall. If I had to guess, this entire place was encased in a metal sphere of some kind, making it impossible to to dig into.
I found another shaft, but this one was horizontal and its entrance was in a cliff face, close to the maggot sister's castle. I thought of the invading potential, but I wished to refrain from building a Mechon army unless I'm unable to do the deed for whatever reason.
My priority right now is getting my face unit upgraded properly. That was the nice thing about having a giant mech as your means of protection; if you had the know-how, facilities, and resources to do so, you can change and upgrade your armor and weapons to your liking.
The facilities and know-how were no problem. The resources were. I made sure to rest up before gathering what I needed.
The first face I hauled down was Jade Face. I wanted to extract Face Nemesis first, but I've decided on functionality over sentimentality and Jade Face had systems I had an immediate use for.
When I went up to grab Jade, I noticed a blue dome in the distance with something inside. After installing Jade's extreme zooming systems meant for sniping, rather easily I may add, I was able to observe what was going on.
I saw Sombra giving chase to that looked like the element bearers and the stallion who had the wedding I crashed. I was incredibly tempted to fly off and try to, once again, make an attempt on Sunbitch's and Mooncunt's lives, but I knew I needed to whip myself into shape first. I'd win a battle of attrition, but I'm not patient enough for that.
I observed as Sombra attempted to... make ends meet, I suppose is the phrase I'm looking for. "I think he should make the switch from dark crystals to obsidian. Such an underrated material, especially if it's a shadow-based material like dark crystals."
Eventually he was defeated and, from what I observed, killed in a blast of bright light. I sigh as I brought Face Nemesis with me on the return trip to the Central Factory. "I'm willing to bet he would've made an excellent ally. Too bad he was killed by his pride."
As I lowered Face Nemesis, I searched in a compartment of my unit and found my last remaining memory of my sister:
A photo of me and her. I had my head on hers with a playful grin while her mouth was open with a smile, one eye closed. My Mechon's claw was in the picture as well, but it never bothered me.
This was taken by the one unicorn who saw us as more than monsters, the only pony I didn't wish a terrible fate on; Clover the Clever. She used magic to take this picture, and was the only pony that connected with my sister and I.
I sigh again as I put the picture back. I might make a replica Face Nemesis in her honor, but for now I needed the parts.
One thing I noticed that I can't believe I didn't notice before was the fact that all of the dead face operators had the same, fatal injury my sister had. This worried me a bit, as the maggot sisters may have found a way to penetrate Mechon armor.
If it was with the Elements of Harmony, the only reason why I was spared was because I never gave them the time to fully charge, so instead of killing me it sealed me in stone.
No matter. They no longer have the elements themselves. If I can get them to face me without the bearers, I'll be able to fight without worrying about THAT weapon.
Nemesis and Jade were easy to extract. Yaldabaoth and the mass-produced faces were a massive pain to even move. The golden mechon was larger than any of the other faces, forcing me to sever parts and make multiple trips. The mass-produced faces were really bulky, oddly having more armor than any other face. Sacrificed offense for defense I'm assuming.
I took a whole three days just to get every single unit down into the factory, during which I only took a bunch naps and quick trips back into the nearby forest for water. After I was finished, I immediately went to work on extracting Jade's guns from his shoulders.
"This is turning into an even bigger pain than I thought, all these wires and what-not I have to worry about."
After extracting the guns and whatever data I still needed, I put Jade in a nearby storage area and went to Nemesis next. I managed to extract the engines and their "covers" along with the system for managing them, but I entertained the idea of having three jets instead of one or two.
Yaldabaoth, sadly, had nothing of use to me except the far more powerful core and what I identified as a controller core.
Finally, I extracted the armor from one of the mass-produced faces, wishing to have thicker armor against whatever the maggot sisters had that can penetrate Mechon armor.
As much as I wanted to begin upgrading Metal Face ASAP, I wanted to make sure that the Central Factory wouldn't be found by my enemies right away. I was painfully aware that I couldn't keep this place a secret forever, but I want to delay that inevitability as much as possible.
Plus, if I'm lucky, I might be able to snag a magic artifact and make sure Sunbitch never gets to use it. I may be immune to all but the Elements of Harmony, but I'll be damned if I let them get more toys to play with.
Reserving the cliff-face entrance for when the place is discovered, I exit out of the snow-field entrance and flew south-east. If I can cause a ruckus somewhere away from the Central Factory, I should be able to buy myself some time.
I've forgotten how boring long flights are.
Don't be deceived by Metal Face's flight speed in the game. It's actually a lot slower than it looks.
After flying non-stop for almost two hours, stopping only once to have a drink right before a desert, I found what appeared to be a small settlement with a large patch of trees right behind it.
Oh, this settlement wasn't here a thousand years ago. Perhaps they wouldn't mind me paying a visit...
I heard a few screams of fear as I came in for a landing in the middle of the town, much to my amusement. One of the ponies, a gold-colored stallion, held his ground with a nervous look. "W-welcome to Appleloosa, strange being."
I give him a stare that he withered under. "How... kind of you to welcome me. However I must ask... if you haven't heard of me at all?"
"O-oh, are you perhaps a famous being from outside of Equestria?"
This is laughable, Sunbitch. You kept your subjects in the dark about me... and perhaps about a lot of other things you've ever tried covering up in your stupidity.
I looked at him as best as I could in my attempt to convey a grin. "Perhaps. I'm certain if you asked around Canterlot, you would know about me."
"Oh? Perhaps I can ask my cousin Applejack to ask one of her friends about you."
He's related to her, eh? I couldn't of asked for a better set-up.
Another stallion with what looked like a sheriff's badge and hat approached me with a bravado. "I-I'm the sheriff around these parts. If you cause any trouble what-so-ever, I'm going to have to place you under arrest, celebrity or not!"
The way he actually said this... to a being made of metal and is towering over him... the fact he went out of his way, just to say that to me as if to intimidate me.
I laughed... hard. "You maggots really think you can do anything to me? That is laughable. You worthless bugs wouldn't even be able to dent me, even if your pitiful lives depended on it!"
All of the ponies instantly started backing away from me. The sheriff spoke up, "S-so you show your t-true colors. You aren't f-famous after all!"
I laugh as I back-hand him and a few others into buildings, much to the surprised cries of other ponies. "I would rather think myself as infamous, thank you very much."
"Infamous or not, me and my tribe won't let you get away with what you did to the ponies!" I look over to see a small group of buffalo, with one slightly larger one wearing a native hat.
I scoff. "Oh look, buffalo jerky on legs!" This made him mad enough to ram into my ankle. I pretended to cry out in agony while holding it. "Oh no, my ankle! What will I ever do without my ankle?" I cut myself off with a laugh as I stomp him into the ground. "Sorry, sweetheart, but you can't even make me flinch!"
The golden stallion spoke up in a way that sounded like he pissed himself. "W-w-why are you a-a-attacking u-us? I-I-I assure you w-we did nothing w-wrong!"
That was golden, these ponies thinking that by doing nothing bad, nothing bad will happen to them.
I scoff once again. "It's not about the damage done. It's about sending a message. You should know that your maggot princesses never bothered warning her 'little ponies' about a dangerous presence... MY presence!" I crashed my claws on both sides of the stallion and looked at him up close. "You hear that? She effectively left you all... to die. BY MY CLAWS! If that isn't moronically stupid, I don't know what is."
He said nothing and my sensors picked up the tell-tale signs of urine, much to my amusement.
Moving away, I addressed the entire town, "I want you bugs to relay this message to your moronic rulers: Tell them that if they want me to leave Equestria forever, they must duel me to the death, with no outside help . If they fail to comply or get the message, I will continue attacking each and every one of their precious towns and cities.
"And trust me when I say... I don't want to bloody my claws before the duel unless they refuse to show up."
I looked at the ponies closer, causing some of them to faint like goats. "You hear that? If your rulers are too cowardly to duel me, any lives I have to take are on THEIR heads!"
With a mad cackle, I turn into a jet and zoom north-east in an attempt to make them think I have a hideout in that direction.
Ah... that may not of been my BEST performance, but I'll be damned if it didn't send a message... unless that entire town dies from fright...
With one item of business out of the way, I decided to see if I couldn't find any artifacts of power I could use or prevent the usage of. It wasn't until I started the return trip to the Central Factory did I find one.
A temple in the middle of a jungle. Haven't heard of that cliche before... oh wait.
Flying over it, my sensors picked up a fairly powerful energy signature, as well as a life signature moving around in it. The temple was far bigger than me of course, but I could pinpoint the artifact's location with ease.
So lets see here... I could exit my Mechon and traverse the temple and its hazards like a good little adventuring boy...
Or I could just bust the roof open and take the artifact like that. Where's your god now, Indiana?
I smashed the temple open and immediately found the artifact: A glowing blue sphere.
Eh... I could've gotten worse.
I picked up the sphere with my claws just as a yellow and grey mare entered the collapsed room. "HEY, just what are you doing to these ruins? These are--"
"Precious archeological sites that must be preserved, blah blah blah." I cut the mare off and she glared at me. "Sorry there, nurse, but methinks that the dead should help the living with gifts of power like this sphere, not hinder them with sites that will have no core significance in the grand scheme of things."
"Why you--"
"Save it, I ain't interested. All I care about is giving this sphere a nice, new home. Smell you later, cobwebs!" I hit the roof again and made it collapse over her, forcing her to retreat back into the temple, before taking my leave.
I made sure to grab the sphere with my human hands before continuing. No sense dropping it after going through the trouble of smashing a temple roof open.
Canterlot Castle
Celestia was still overseeing repairs to the castle. She was overjoyed to allow her student to start her advanced studies, but Metal Face's threat still loomed in her head.
"Your highness, terrible news!" She looked over to a panicking castle messenger, worry on her face. "A town by the name of Appleloosa has just recently been attacked by a giant metal monster! The residents are asking for royal assistance."
Celestia swiftly nodded. "Alert the guards and send relief to Appleloosa." The messenger bowed before taking his leave. She quickly summoned up a quill and parchment. "Dear Twilight Sparkle..."
After sending the message, she narrowed her eyes in a glare. "Metal Face... we won't let you roam this land free forever, as we will soon find a way to track you. Your attacks are unjust... and you will fall once again, just like Sombra..."
5 Reforging Revenge [Edited]
After bringing the artifact back to the Central Factory, I immediately had it analyzed for its potential. Needless to say that the results actually surprised me; the power output from the orb was far greater than Yaldabaoth's core on top of being smaller. What made the entire thing better was that, despite clearly outputting power for its unit, Yaldabaoth's core was hollow inside, just enough room for the sphere.
This can't just be a coincidence...
Sure enough, when I popped the sphere into the core, the color went from blue to red.
Perhaps this is what infused Yaldabaoth with so much power when it merged with the Mechonis.
Counting my blessings, I resealed the core and brought it back to the face maintenance bay. My stunt over at... Appleloosa should buy me enough time to upgrade my face unit.
Thinking back to the residence of that village, I scoff out loud. "They wouldn't know... none of them will ever know the pain I went through, the suffering I had to endure in that infernal stone prison, a fate worse than death. It is what further forged my deep-seated desire for revenge in the depths of my mind."
As I began to work on upgrading my Mechon unit, the machinery around me sounded like music that was starting to unfold. Unable to resist the temptation, I began so sing :
Waking dreams... of their eyes... Staring back, as they leave me to die.
I was forged in the deep... I am blank, but one feeling I keep...
Revenge... Revenge...
Memories fade to grey... As my life, without breath, fades to grey.
Trudging on, with intent... My life is gone, but my aim stays the same.
Revenge... Revenge...
I once again wallow in the feeling in helplessness I felt when I found her, dying in my arms. The feeling of burning rage when I think of the crime those two bitches refuse to acknowledge. The only thing I want in my 'new' life...
Revenge... Revenge... Revenge... Revenge...
I didn't know why I sang in a deeper voice, but I didn't care.
Although I noticed that the system cameras had caught me singing as I worked on my unit. I roll my eyes and decided to keep it in the system, both as a reminder of my desire for revenge and if I ever needed a good laugh at how I acted during the song.
I look back up at my Mechon. I only completed one part of my intended upgrades and that was replacing the old core with the newly dubbed 'Mechonis' core, which effectively quadrupled my unit's potential energy output. I got the idea that I should also increase the frame size, but discarded it as a bigger frame meant a bigger target for my enemies to hit.
With the new power output, I'm not even sure if everything I plan on installing will be enough to keep all of the power under control.
Remembering how complicated it was to extract parts from the other faces, I went and got a week's worth of water before finally dedicating my time towards the remodeling.
I managed to get the thicker armor on with no problems, only taking six hours to completely finish
I couldn't find a way to put the Jade Guns on the shoulder without them moving with my arms, which would restrict my movement exponentially, or without them being too close to my 'Metal Cannon'. I eventually broadened the shoulders with more parts from the mass-produced faces, enough so that I could put the Jade Guns on them without anything else being hindered. This took a whole day to do, plus half of another one.
After I was finished with both the installation and a begrudging nap, I projected how the cannons would operate. Turns out they had both a 'sniping laser' mode and a 'scatter-shot' mode. The former was self-explanatory, but the latter was for when enemies get too close for comfort, designed to coat an area in laser fire.
The shotgun of the Mechon, I suppose.
The projections showed 'coverage overlap' between the Jade Guns and the Metal Cannon. I fixed this by repurposing the Metal Cannon to a more long-range-artillery role, for when I wanted to commit widespread destruction over a longer distance. The scatter-shot was limited to close range and was slightly weaker, so that's something.
Next in line was the 'Nemesis Jets' and I decided on installing them alongside my current jet. I had to make modifications to the program that maintained and synchronized them so include the third jet, but my projections showed a tripled speed despite the thicker and heavier armor, both in humanoid form and jet form.
Finally, I installed the Mechon Control Core alongside the Mechonis Core, which took no time to finish.
Inspecting the power source, I realize I'm correct about every addition not being enough, but barely so. with the spare power, I decided to direct it as both a trickle charge and as a faster charge to my Metal Cannon. The cannon takes longer than it should to charge, which strictly limited me to close-range combat.
It's not as much of a problem now that I had the Jade Guns, but there may be a time when they won't cut it and I NEED a stronger burst of power to get myself out of a situation. The trickle charge is to ensure that, if I don't use the Metal Cannon for five minutes or longer, I'll have an instant use waiting for me.
I had just enough energy to apply a new paint job to make it more 'Metal Face' than a mish-mash of other faces. After that, I instantly fell asleep from tiredness.
"Oh come off it, you brute!"
"What? What did I do?"
"You know what you did. Dare I say, it's the stupidest thing I've ever seen you do."
"I could of done something far more stupid!"
*Sigh* "Why do I love you so much?"
"Because reasons?"
"Pffffft ha ha ha, okay fine you win."
I woke up, the feeling of tears staining my face.
Another memory of her... right before her death...
I dried my face before finishing the installation of the systems that I needed.
After that, I took a step back and admired my work. I don't know why, but the new paint job gave me a happy-pants feeling. Shaking it off, I admired the fact that my Mechon became a swiss army knife of destruction. A harbinger of vengeance.
"Now I'm no longer just 'Metal face'... prepare yourselves, Sunbitch and Mooncunt, for I'm Metal 'Revengance' Face and I WILL see my desires through to the end. Revenge... shall be mine!"
The memory dream I had re-awoke my burning hatred. Looking around the Central Factory, I decided against not building an army of Mechon. What better way to psychologically crush the maggot sisters than to have their entire nation overrun with soulless machines right after their physical defeat.
Sadly, all of the Mechon metal I have right now won't be enough to make any sort of 'army'. If magic is simply a weaker form of ether, I could try to cylinderize it and see if I can't form Mechon metal from it.
Of course it never CAN be easy. When I started the cylinder system up, I discovered it would take a full YEAR just to make one cylinder.
"Fuck that noise. I need to find a source of magic I can harvest from..."
After building a magic siphoning system alongside two pairs of one-way teleporters and a bunch of normal Mechon, I finally set out to see if I could find a more... harvestable source of magic.
I carried the siphon system and two teleporters myself while a carrier, loaded with various Mechon, followed me closely. I wanted to make sure that none of the bugs could see and track what I'm doing, so I kept a low profile as I searched for an energy source.
After a long flight, I eventually spotted a dark forest on the horizon. For some reason I felt a nagging feeling in the back of my head, like there was a memory, a sensation, a feeling? I somehow felt connected to the forest. Due to my speed, by the time I had shrugged the feeling off, more details had become visible. The forest was indeed an oddity in this disgusting place the bugs called Equestria.
I quickly send a mental command to my Mechon carrier that was, if my radar was correct, flying only 500 feet behind me. Good, the carrier had after all been given the order to always keep a five hundred feet gap in between us, whilst following my exact flight path to make things a bit easier. True this meant I couldn't fly top speed, but hey I got to keep my eyes on the lesser Mechon, right?
Anyways, with the position of my carrier confirmed I once again focused my attention on the forest.
Tall trees and thick vegetation radiating a kind of energy one could only compare to the feeling you had as a kid when you went on a visit to your uncle who lived near a dark forest. The kind of feeling you get when it feels like the trees stretch out specifically to grab you and pull you into it, so it can silently smother you in the thick vegetation.
However such were the feelings of a kid, me being older saw the forest as a kind of sanctuary and even though I had never seen it before my stomach tightened. The feeling was like seeing your home again after being away for a really long time.
No doubt ponies or even young human children only saw the forest as a place of nightmares, and whilst I didn't doubt the forest contained sufficient nightmarish creatures,still it screamed home and I felt connected with it in a sense.
There it stood; a magnificent forest being smothered by ponies! Those bugs were unworthy of the forest and it's mystical energies! That forest belonged to those who understood what it stood for; the strife, the pain, the blood and tears that came with survival and overcoming the challenges life throws at you, rather than locking them up in stone and turning the other way, pretending like they had never even existed at all!
More shapes appeared right in front of the forest. Houses, I realized, and quickly altered my flight path to stay clear from them. Wouldn't want them on my tail too quickly, but I would pay them a visit very soon, as it was a promise no longer solely to myself, but the forest as well.
Suddenly a decently strong wind started shaking the tops of the trees, making it appear as if the forest itself was supporting me. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of trees cheering and waving in approval, chanting in a language too primal for any creature other than plants to remember.
I reached the forest as the wind calmed and the forest resumed itself in silence, but of one thing I was certain, if the trees had eyes, they would be aimed at the little pony town near the village, waiting for the time I made good on my promise.
I soared over the forest in a peace of mind, which I hadn't felt in a long time. I reached my destination barely seven minutes later. Landing was a bit tricky as there was no clearing so I decided to switch to my Mech form mid air.
My landing was done perfectly and I looked around, scanning for possible threats. Creatures like hydras and dragons were the only ones who, due to their sheer size and strength, would make for tricky opponents. But of course their size would have allowed me to spot them from far away.
Still I wasn't familiar with all wildlife, so perhaps an acid spitting plant or stuff like that existed and if that was the case then caution would be advised, if only to prevent getting spat on.
My radar told me my magic source was a little north of my current position and after stepping over a few brushes I saw an medium sized cave entrance. "A magic source in a cave deep in a forest, how well hidden," I mused to myself. I entered, cautious of any traps or guardians ready to attack me, but none came. I was actually fairly disappointed but at this point, easy works fine for me.
After about three minutes of walking I found a large blue crystal tree in a large cavern room that radiated the same kind of disgusting essence as the Elements of Harmony for some reason. I deemed it unimportant for the simple reason it didn't appear to possess any kind of offensive capabilities. Still, I approached the thing very damn cautiously just in case.
Deeming the area safe I decided to give the 'clear' signal to my Mechon and minutes later the first Mechon appeared after I unloaded necessary equipment. "Alright, we don't got all day... actually we do, but that's besides the point. You there!" I focused my attention on a small group of Mechon. "Start digging to wherever that damn tree's roots go."
The Mechon's instantly went to the task at hand, whilst I checked upon the Mechon now carrying the siphoning machine and giving the thing a final check while the other Mechon were busy digging. I realized I had one more thing to check and quickly looked to see if the transport Mechon now carrying the teleporter were in the cave and indeed I found them hovering in a corner.
Barely five minutes later the last Mechon had crawled back up from the pit they had dug and the area they had hollowed out at the end of it. "Alright, now for the finishing touch." I mentally ordered the siphoning machine to be set up inside. It finished by protruding many wires that snaked into the ground around the roots.
"You guys can set that teleporters up by the harvester now," I said before giving the mental command, which caused them to fly down and start setting the things up.
Ten minutes later, I had the very first, purple magic filled cylinder in my hands and boy, oh boy did it feel good! I watched as the Mechons continued to create more and more of the stuff that would be the basis of my revenge.
"I hope you are ready, Sunbitch and Mooncunt." I laughed to the ceiling before looking down. "For I know I am!"
Author's Note
Special thanks to TheShadowOfZama for helping me pick out a song for 'Metal Face' to sing. I do not own the song.
Princess Celestia sat at her desk in her private room, contemplating. It's been longer than three days since Metal Face's attack on Appleloosa, where he gave the threat that if Luna and herself didn't duel him to the death, he would attack other towns. She wrote to her student and told her to keep the Elements of Harmony on hoof in the event that the metal beast decides to attack Ponyville.
Now, however, she faced a conundrum. If Metal Face happens to evade the elements and continues to terrorize the towns and cities of Equestria, they will have to answer his threat. She had no doubt that he would carry out the threat of beginning the murder of her little ponies, should they not accept his death duel. The tracking spell would come too late for that reason alone.
There was a knock at Celestia's door, jolting her out of her thoughts. "Come in."
Princess Luna opened the door and beheld her tired sister. "Tia, are you worrying again?"
Celestia sighed. "Metal Face. As much faith as I put into Twilight and her friends, we must still consider the possibility of them failing to seal him away."
Luna shuddered. "I don't fancy a duel to the death with a nigh-invulnerable metal beast. Back when he first attacked us in a seemingly towering rage, even our most powerful spells only temporarily charred his body."
"That's what worries me, Lulu. He has us in this much of a compromising situation. We may be far stronger now than we were back then, but I fear even that won't be enough."
Luna looked at the papers scattered on the desk. "What of the tracking spell?"
"Doable, but it will come too late if he does carry out his murderous threat." Celestia looks at the papers with a sigh. "We need more help..."
"Perhaps we can get the help of Discord?"
This caused the solar princess to look at her younger sister in shock. "Do you know what you're trying to--"
Luna held up a hoof to cut her off. "Hear me out, Tia. Discord is nothing like that metal monstrosity. The only time he ever WILLINGLY broke somepony's spirit was when he tried to prevent Twilight and her friends from resealing him. He may of tried to rule Equestria in a state of chaos, but he let ponies come and go as they pleased. He never outright terrorized anypony like that... thing has."
Celestia nodded slowly, seeing her sister's reasoning. "When you put it like that, perhaps Discord CAN be redeemed, unlike how I originally thought." She thought a bit longer before smiling. "And I know just the ponies to help him: Twilight and her friends."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, sister. They might be the ones who hold the biggest grudges against him."
"I still believe they have the best chance at reforming Discord. Especially Fluttershy, whom has had the least adverse reaction to him."
"The shy pony who's scared of her own shadow?"
Celestia shook her head. "She may be like that, but she represents kindness for a reason. Perhaps Discord will be willing to reform when Fluttershy gives him the kind friend he never got before."
There was a loud sigh from Luna. "I trust in your judgment, sister. I can only hope both him and the other bearers are... 'willing' to play along."
"I have full confidence in them, Lulu. Now, I need to prepare for his transportation to Ponyville in a few days. I can only hope Metal Face can hold off for that long."
Central Factory
Seeing the magic-filled cylinders exiting the teleporter and getting hauled off by the machinery continues to make me incredibly giddy. There have already been about ten-thousand cylinders transported in from the makeshift 'harvesting' facility and counting. There was still a ton of storage space for more but I knew that, at the rate we were getting filled cylinders, we would run out of room.
The one thing that sort of irks me is how tiny the cylinders are. They were small enough for a pony of all things to pick up and carry off, and the weight of the magic is next to nothing. Then again, I'm in a massive Mechon seventy-five percent of the time. I think it skewed my sense of scale enough to make me think that most things are smaller than what they should be.
However, what doesn't help is the fact that, not long after I got back to the Central Factory, the teleporter bringing cylinders in had developed a glitch in it's system. The Mechon on the other side were able to fix it no problem, but we've lost one filled cylinder and it's out there, waiting for a pony to pick it up and take it away. No big loss, but it's evidence against me.
I went into a refinery area and had a few cylinders brought in with me. After finding my way around the system, I managed to get the refining process running.
The results were fast and pleasing. Ten cylinders made a block of Mechon metal large enough to make the armor for many units. I could make a lot of the M30 or M40 series, plenty of the M50 series, a few of the M60 series, or a couple of the M70 or M80 series if I got crafty. it required at least two blocks to make one of the M90 series and, unfortunately, it seemingly required at least three blocks of the metal to make something like a M108/SPADE unit, one of the biggest Mechon units ever built.
Five cylinders made the materials needed to fully complete power cores, small energy weapon systems like a M34 Hornet unit's gun, and miscellaneous systems and programming. I knew that it would require more than just three cylinders for the bigger Mechon units, so I didn't bother trying to estimate further.
It was great that the refinery was working. What wasn't great is the fact that the program for automated refinement was missing, requiring almost constant manual direction for production to go anywhere. I made a mental note to try and develop a program for automation later.
Because right soon, I have a date with a certain bug nest and I wasn't about to break the promise I made to that forest.
Before I left, I managed to create something akin to a Mechon arm-cannon for my personal use, in case I get caught outside of my unit. The chances of that happening are low, but you can't predict all outcomes and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Finding a place inside my unit for the arm-cannon, I set out for the location of the bug nest. Thanks to the incredible speed boost from my triple jet engines, something I couldn't use because of the escort mission involving the carrier, I reached the village in no time.
What caught me off guard was the fact that it was covered by what appeared to be a misshaped glass dome of sorts. I scanned it and, while it had traces of magic in it, it was just as strong as normal glass.
You bugs are funny. Do you think I would be discouraged by such a weak barrier?
Zooming in my sight to see past the glass, I see the town decorated in some kind of... goth unicorn theme? The town definitely didn't look like that yesterday, like someone else beat me to the punch of conquering a town.
Well, time to crash someone's party.
I flew higher up before shifting into my mech form and diving down, claw first."This party's over!" I didn't even feel any resistance from the glass; it simply gave away to my presence. Seeing a group of ponies near an important-looking building, I fly towards it and land as the screams of ponies filled the air. I reveled in it, knowing just how pathetic of a race these ponies truly are. The only pony without a look of terror was a blue unicorn.
"The great and powerful Trixie demands that you--"
The blue unicorn was interrupted by Rainbow Dash, who had just exited the building with only three of her 'friends'. "Metal Face!"
I laugh. "Sorry I'm late to the party. What do you think of my little entrance?"
Now the one named Applejack spoke up, "How in tarnation did you know we'd be here?"
"What's that? The poor insects are a little confused? I'm here because I FELT like coming here!" There were a few more cries of terror from those words. "You being here's just an added bonus!"
"TRIXIE COMMANDS YOUR RESPECT!"
I look back at the blue unicorn. "No... you demand my attention. What do you think you are, the queen of all cosmos? The end-all-know-all of divas?"
"The great and powerful Trixie does not need to hear anything from a rusted tin can!" One of my fingers twitched at those words. "Now, leave before I force you to leave!"
I really look forward to the trend of having the one bug say something utterly hilarious every time I pay a beating to one of their nests. I once again laughed hard. "Oh my, the maggot really thinks she can beat me? This I MUST see, so go ahead... and hit me with your best shot!"
"TRIXIE WILL DO SO WITH PLEASURE!" She launches a red ball of magic at me, which somewhat surprised me considering her color scheme. The magic simply dissipated against my armor and I had another cruel laugh at her look of surprise. "What? You should of been nothing but an actual tin can!"
"Sorry, vomit worm, but I'm no ordinary tin can. I'm a tin can that's going to rip your face off... with gusto!" I pointed my Jade Cannons right at her and flashed my claws, causing her to lose some of her bravado.
"T-the great and powerful Trixie grows tired of your empty threats. The last spell was only a fraction of my power, now you will know Trixie's wrath!"
This time she launched a big laser of magic at me. All it did was produce a lot of smoke that completely covered me, yet she somehow seemed to be under the impression that she actually beat me, if I'm hearing her gloating right. I could see her through the smoke just fine, so I struck the ground right in front of her with my claw. "Look at you, you think you're so high and mighty... that nothing could ever match you in power. I think it's time to cut you down to size!"
I strike the ground in front of her again with a cruel laugh, causing her to finally scream with fright. My scans suddenly bring my attention to the amulet she was wearing; it held a lot of power and, according to the measurements, could put a normal unicorn on par with the maggot princesses.
I laugh again. "Using a magic artifact to increase your own power? Weak... weak and pathetic!" The bearers gasp as I backhand Trixie hard enough to topple her before picking her up by the amulet. "Can't let you or anyone else have this, so I'm destroying it!" I managed to break the clasp of the amulet, causing the unicorn to drop to the ground without it. I quickly throw it into the air and sliced it in half, which caused the glass barrier to instantly shatter.
"You, you're going to pay!" I hear Rainbow shout at me.
I look at her. "How so? You're down two necessary bugs to activate the Elements of Harmony." The pink one tried to say something, but all that came out was something akin to mumbling. I zoom in on her and busted a side due to laughing so hard. "Oh my god, that is hilarious! Tell me, how does it feel to be unable to say anything to anyone, huh?"
"That's just cruel to even think, ya monster!"
I look at Applejack now. "Is it, now? Maybe you should spend some time set in stone yourself, you dumb, country hick!"
Now the white bug named Rarity was giving me a disdainful look. "You ruffian, how dare you continue to insult us!"
A familiarity to the words she spoke actually gave me pause for a second as I tried to remember what it reminded me of. I quickly shook it off before waving a claw digit. "Is that the best you can come up with for an insult? Besides, methinks you're pretty much dead in the water without your precious elements!"
"I don't think so, Metal Face!" I look over to see the bug named Twilight Sparkle rapidly approaching with Fluttershy, holding the Elements of Harmony in her magic. "Your reign of terror will end here!"
Of course I had to waste time playing with my prey...
Before I could even say anything, she teleported over to her friends, put the elements on, and immediately started glowing. The same glowing I saw when Discord let me see through his perspective. "I believe my time here is--" The rainbow wave of death erupted towards me. "God damn it!" I quickly turn into a jet and sped off.
My sensors kept blaring, warning me of the wave of harmony chasing me down. I flew above the village, trying to avoid getting caught by it, but it wouldn't give up. Attempting to fly out of range was an option, but my more than stubborn pride kept me from flying too far away. Besides, the weapon could have unlimited range and it would get me the moment I thought I was safe.
It wasn't until I saw the bearers just floating there, feeding the wave, before I realized what I must do to save myself. I sped out over the forest I had visited earlier and gained some distance before turning. The wave follow my exact path, which allowed me to turn again to go back to the village.
"Catch this, Elements of Harmony!" Using the trickle charge I had on my Metal Cannon, I instantly fired a blast of energy to where the bearers were floating.
The shot exploded, causing the bearers to be flung away from each other and causing the rainbow wave to dissipate. I let out a loud laugh as many ponies screamed in horror. "Aw, I broke your harmony!" I landed next to the closest bearer, Rarity. "Looks like I'll have to get my claws bloodied sooner than I thought. Too bad, so sad."
She desperately tried to crawl away from me as I raised a claw to strike. "Y-you wouldn't... you wouldn't dare!"
Again, she reminded me of something... or someone, but this time it didn't give me pause. "Sorry, love, but I dare. Can't have you in the way of my revenge!" I went in for the strike.
"Y-you brute!"
"Oh come off it, you brute!"
I halted, now looking at her with what felt like pinpricks for eyes. Now I remembered... who she reminded me of.
The accent and pitch... similar.
Her speech pattern and hair style... the same.
Her eyes...
Her eyes...
Kill her! Kill her and get it over with!
B-but I... I...
Just kill her! She is NOT your little sister. She's nothing LIKE her!
My claw starts shuddering and I start hyperventilating, much to the pony's confusion.
... Can't... I can't...
JUST. DO. IT!
I CAN'T!
"DAMN YOU!" I turn into a jet and sped directly towards the Central Factory, not even caring if they trace me to that location. When I got inside, I pseudo-crashed and flew out of my unit, clutching my head.
"It can't be... it can't be... why? Why does she... remind me so much... of her? Why?"
I stayed like that for a while, curled up on the floor and repeating the same question.
When I finally recovered, I realized I had tears in my eyes. My own memories had revolted against me and made me withdraw from what I wanted to do. The more I asked myself why I had such a weak moment, the longer I kept going in circles.
I couldn't even understand why I didn't react like this the first time she ever spoke to me or even tried to remember who she reminded me of.
Shaking it off the best I could, I tried to forget about the bug named Rarity and focused on my hatred for the maggot sisters.
"I need to end this soon. I don't think what's left of my sanity can take much more. I NEED to make an army now, in case I myself can't do the job."
I finally got up and back into my unit in order to reach the refinery. I needed to make the place as automated as possible, and I need it done fast. After all, I now had more than just the Elements of Harmony to worry about.
Author's Note
I'm a bit iffy about this chapter, as it's my first attempt at getting someone to abort their killing intent through familiarity by... well acting and, in a way, looking like someone close. I'm sure there are better ways to do it, but I couldn't think of them for this scenario.
7 A New Alliance [Rewrite]
Mechon production was shaky due to the refinement process still being manual. I already had a few M108/SPADE units roaming two floors of the Central Factory, while I had many other Mechon units, both activated and wandering or deactivated and in storage. Production, both successful and faulty, was going so fast that the cylinderized magic gotten from that tree was beginning to run thin, using up cylinders slightly faster than they come out of the teleporter.
Despite the need for another source of magic to drain and the requirement of programming automation for the refinery, I was too distracted at the moment to consider it. My mind kept wandering as I operated the facility, questions that I couldn't figure out or answer continuing to circle in my head. It was because of this that I kept screwing up the refining process.
The other day, I had attacked another bug settlement to further provoke the maggot sisters into coming to fight me. The one bug kept annoying me with spells that did next to nothing to me, even with something enhancing her power.
I practically had her in my claws... so why didn't I kill her? She would of become an actual threat had I left that artifact on her neck, yet I only destroyed the necklace powering her. Was I so caught up in toying with my prey, so caught up in spreading my terror, that I didn't even bother attempting to end her life?
Then there was the question of the Elements of Harmony. Especially the white bug named Rarity, the one who somehow reminded me of my dear late sister. The accent I remember my sister keeping from our original world and was, as much as I hate to admit it, somewhat understandable, despite me still questioning why I didn't hear any resemblance back at the wedding.
Yet somehow a PONY, a filthy, stinking, cowardly bug, managed to somehow physically and psychologically remind me enough of my late sister and make me pause to the point of aborting my killing blow. Why did I react like that? I could of simply moved to another element bearer and murdered them instead, even if it was only to permanently disable the elements. Why did I abort the intent to kill entirely based off an unjustified and nonexistent similarity?
"Why am I being so INCOMPETENT?" I slam the console of the refinery with my arms in frustration. I haven't slept since my attack, ever since I couldn't keep my promise to that forest. The tiredness was beginning to muddle my thoughts, dampened my bloodlust over not killing anything, and amplified my enraged confusion over everything that happened. "Am I doomed to making stupid decisions? Am I doomed to play right into the hands of my enemies, into the hands of those who THINK they are always in the right? AM I?"
I breath heavily as I attempted to regain control of my thoughts, with little success. Stepping away from the refinery controls, I managed to order an M37/Worker Bee unit to scout for another source of harvestable magic, with strict orders to keep out of sight of the bugs as best as possible. With that, I return to my unit in an attempt to get some shut-eye.
"And why... why couldn't I kill ANY of them?"
"Big brother, don't you even think about it!"
"What? These racists little shits refuse to accept us despite the fact we clearly mean no harm. Can't I have a little fun?"
"We have to keep trying to convince them. One of them has to understand. One of them must!"
"You're putting a lot of faith into finding one out of a bunch of herd animals to understand us."
"Like I said, we have to keep trying, don't we? Then we can get their help in finding our way home. That's what I believe."
"You were always the optimist of us... and I trust and love you too much to say forget it."
"Then you promise not to hurt... or at least not kill any ponies from here on out... for me?"
"I promise, little sis. For you, I'll try my best."
I wake up to a beeping sound outside of my unit, discovering tears once again trailing down my face. I was not used to dreaming my memories since the stone prison was at LEAST kind enough to remove bodily needs, including the need to sleep, which allowed me what little mental capacity I had left to plan revenge and keep her memories close to me. Now that I was free, I kept being bombarded by the very same memories of my late sister, only in much fresher detail.
I wiped my face as I realized the answer to one of my questions, conveniently answered by that one memory dream. Because of the memories of my sister and another one of the promises I've made to her before her death, I subconsciously avoided killing ponies outside of the maggot sisters in my "attempts" to keep my promise to her. My own memories were starting to revolt against me, unless Mooncunt was somehow feeding these memories back into me in an attempt to get me to abort my threats.
The beeping started up again and I looked at the source in annoyance. The M37 I sent out had returned and wanted to transfer it's scouting report to me. I quickly transfer the data to my unit before shooing it away and thinking back to my current predicament.
If this was indeed Mooncunt's doing for said reasons, she can only do so much before I mentally degrade enough to break all promises. If I wanted to begin the murdering of the bugs sooner than that, memory wipes were always an option. However I didn't want to resort to that, as it would make me lose the very reason why I'm out for revenge in the first place.
I don't want to forget her but I also, for now, don't want to break one of the last few promises I've made to her.
Pushing the dilemma to the back of my mind for the moment, I look at the scouting data. The M37 didn't have to travel far before discovering another massive source of magic power: The Crystal Empire. Reading further, The scout managed to pinpoint the heart of the source after much bug evading, which was a heart-shaped crystal that spun at a steady pace, occasionally giving off a pulse of unidentified magic.
Remembering that Sombra failed to reclaim it and that it fell into enemy hands, I knew that any above ground activity in an attempt to harvest the magic would alert the maggot sisters to the Central Factory's location. If I wanted any chance in hell to get more magic, I once again needed to get it from under the source.
To that end, because the Empire gave off far more energy than the tree, I decided on a pipe-line structure leading from the source to the factory's cylinderization system. Identifying the general direction of the city, I ordered a hole to be cut in the sphere and maintenance pathways to be built leading up to the hole.
The cutting was fast and clean, allowing air-born digging Mechon to immediately get to work. Because of the distance between here and the Empire, my calculations estimated a few days if ground-based digging Mechon were used, otherwise it would span a week to reach under the city. I took my chances and prioritized the pathway before truly getting to the digging, although I left some of the M30 series to chip away at the dirt.
Before I went to help with the digging, I went to check on the tree harvester. I didn't notice before, but now that I was somewhat rested, I realized that output from the tree was beginning to slow down. The Mechon on site were able to install cameras around the tree and underground, which allowed me to observe said site and tree.
The tree wasn't glowing as bright as it was before, now reduced to a flickering state. "Peh... so much for that tree bearing any connection to those cursed elements if it couldn't even hold up against some meager magic harvesting."
Sighing, I go back to the hole in the wall and started helping the digging process myself. The maintenance pathways won't be completed for eighteen hours and I want to get as much done as possible.
"Something's digging into our tunnels, broodmother Kylisia!"
The changeling broodmother looks up, her pony-like muzzle contorted in both fear and somber realization. "So the ponies have found us even here? It wasn't enough for them to fling us to our deaths, they now seek to destroy us personally?"
The drone looks up at her. "Isn't it a bit premature to assume that it's the ponies, broodmother? It could be a pack of Diamond Dogs tunneling by our--"
"And by now, the whole of Equestria and the other kingdoms will have known about our incursion, desperation withholding. What's to stop them from warning everything else of our presence here, less trying to kill us as well?" Kylisia shakes her head. "I felt Zaragal's death a little while ago. It's us Changelings against the world now and we're living on borrowed time. Us and our queen"
"Shall we marshal what little defenses we have left, then?"
"Yes. Ours is a doomed existence, but us broodmothers and our queen will be damned if we simply laid down and died. If we are to die, we will do so with honor!"
All of the nearby Changeling drones and solders chittered and hissed loudly in agreement before scrambling to prepare their make-shift defenses. Kylisia looked around the room with a somber look. The room and network of tunnels were hastily dug in an attempt to escape the cold of the frozen north. Some of the Changelings who survived being blasted out of the city perished to the unforgiving cold, something most Changelings had no tolerance to due to being from warmer areas.
She had the energy to continue controlling what's left of her brood, but she was unable to lay new eggs in order to try and rebuild her population; the energy she managed to gather from their attack already spent on her brood, trying to survive and see another moon. She had no harvesters and even if she did, many of the nearby settlements and cities would immediately catch them thanks to new measures. The broodmother had been caught between a rock and death itself.
She glared at the entrance to the room they were in, the deepest they could manage. "You may wish to see us driven before you, damnable ponies, but you will find that we will not go quietly into darkness. Those who survive WILL hold you responsible for what you've done to us."
I finally started working on a baseline program for the refinery's automation at some point. I was about a quarter of the way finished, working between digging and small amounts of sleeping, when the maintenance pathways leading up to the developing tunnel were finished. I received the notification and ordered ground-based Mechon to start digging along-side the flying one's already at work.
One other thing that kept being brought to my attention was that one of the Mechon, an M37/Worker Bee Unit, kept picking up life-signs somewhere along the intended path to a spot below the empire. I stationed a few offensive units nearby in the event those life-forms are hostile, though I wouldn't cry if they were ponies.
Still, if they ARE ponies, it begs the question of what they're doing so far deep underground.
I had managed to calm my bloodlust down enough to manage things as properly as I could, although the weight of my earlier incompetence hanging over my head continued to cause problems. I felt a twinge of anger at my sister for making me promise something like that.
But... if I'm doing all of this for her, why am I starting to...
Another notification snapped me out of my current thoughts. The digging Mechon had breached into what appeared to be a small network of tunnels. When I got there to see for myself, I saw the main portion of the tunnel heading in the direction MY tunnel was going.
"Well, that certainly cuts down on digging time. Still, I doubt whatever made these tunnels would appreciate me putting in a metal shaft here. I'll just make sure they... take their leave."
Heading into a network of tunnels could spell out inconvenience if I decided to rush into it and get lost, so I sent some M37/Worker Bee Units into the tunnels to have them mapped out. I kept the other Mechon on stand-by in case something was to go awry before the scout returned.
As I waited, I took another look around the Central Factory. From my vantage point, I could see a few Mechon installing another generator in order to keep up with the energy demands of my army, even though I currently have no more units being made. Because of the ever decreasing flow of cylinderized magic from that tree, I had to finally run production to an all-out halt until the current project is complete. Spending all of my harvested magic on Mechon production at once, to me, is suicidal in the case of an event that could use it for something important.
It wasn't long before I received an incoming transmission from said scout. Imagine my surprise when it was a video feed showing a bunch of confused Changelings, small in number judging by the current feed. "Some of them must of been blasted all the way out here after that little invasion, although it now begs the question of how they managed to get down here. I guess they couldn't handle the cold."
I thought back to when I was released from my infernal stone prison. The Changelings were attacking the bug capital of Canterlot and made the princess of 'lurve' activate the blast that freed me. I realized that I owed these creatures my gratitude, even though the blast presumably killed many of them.
They also would make for interesting allies against the real bugs of this world if I could convince them of it. I was, however, worried about how loyal of allies they would be, considering their... "gimmick" and what had happened at said wedding. Ultimately my strategic side won over my cynical side, as any information on Equestria from supposedly 'native' beings who had a knack for stealth would prove to be infinity helpful.
Bringing another Worker Bee Unit to guide me, I disembark from my personal unit and follow the path that the first unit took. As I walked, I noticed that the caves were a mesh of naturally occurring cave systems and hastily dug out tunnels, some areas containing a green goo clinging to the walls.
It wasn't long until I happened upon the large room the Changelings were in. When they saw me, some of them got into defensive stances and looked prepared for a fight while others merely looked around, chittering in confusion.
I smile as I fold my arms. "Well, I never expected to see your kind around here." This seemingly surprised them, judging by their reaction, but they only became more cautious. "Oh, is that how you treat all your visitors?"
"What choice do we have?" I look to see a slightly bigger and more... "detailed" changeling in the back, presumably the leader of this rabble. She, judging by the voice, gives me a suspicious glare "How do we know you aren't trying to kill us?"
Ironic that the creatures of deceit would become paranoid.
I motion my arms in an attempted calming gesture. "Now, now, let's all calm down. I can assure you that is not the case."
She hissed in response. "Where's your proof? For all I know, you could be a ponies little slave boy."
That certainty made me top out in disgusted anger. "Do I LOOK like someone who would be a messenger boy for those maggots? You'd best--"
She held a surprised look for a few seconds before holding up a holey foreleg, cutting me off as the Changelings between us scattered. "Hmm, my apologies. I never knew you held such burning contempt for the ponies, to the point where one such statement makes you fly into a spicy rage"
This made me look at her in exasperation. "How did you even... oh right, emotion feeders." I give her a glare. "Still, why did you even suggest something like that?"
She sighs. "Please understand; ever since a few weeks ago we've become a hunted race. Up until this point, we've always assumed that all of the other races would kill us on sight because of what we had done."
"Let me guess, you crashed a royal wedding in an attempt to feed on love?" I chuckle at her own exasperated look, which looked amusing considering her race. "I know this because I was trapped in stone at the time."
One of the Changeling drones spoke up in confusion, "I never saw a stature like yours during our invasion." This caused their leader to stiffen up and the others to return to a defensive stance.
"Let's just say, I have two separate bodies. I'm like this when I'm forced to explore small caverns, but I'm in my other one most of the time."
Their leader cocked her brow before shaking her head. "You speak with sincerity and I do not believe you are lying. If the ponies have gained your ire, then I hope you will, at the very least, let us live for a while longer. I am Broodmother Kylisia and I lead what's left of the Changelings in the frozen north."
I bow my head to her. "My real name was lost to time, but just call me Metal Revengance, or Metal Face if you wish."
I would like to say an enemy of my enemy is my friend... but I don't know if they can be completely trusted. We have a common enemy, nothing more, nothing less.
The Broodmother nodded before having her eyes glaze over for a second and close. When she reopened them, the blue eyes were now green. When she spoke, a different voice came out. "So you say you are not out for our blood as well?"
This confused me greatly. "What the... who are you?"
"I speak through Broodmother Kylisia via our hive mind connection. I am Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings... or what's left of them anyways..."
"Well met, but... what do you mean by what's left of them?"
"I haven't got time to explain. I'm currently with the remaining Changelings of the hive and I've been informed of sand monsters heading our way." The Changeling queen looks at me with pleading eyes. "We cannot hold out for long against such constant attacks. I beg of you, if you have any sort of heart, please help us. We have... we have nobody left to turn to anymore!"
How she spoke earlier managed to mask her panic and make herself seem almost cocky, but to have her suddenly start pleading for my help threw me for a loop.
Outside of these changelings, she's with the remaining... wait, is she implying that...
I didn't need to finish that thought; I knew what I had to do, if only to have more intelligence of the rest of this world. "What's your location and how many Changelings?"
"We are currently situated in the Badlands of Equestria, with numbers totaling four hundred and seventy Changelings left. If this means that--"
"Then conserve your energy, Queen. I'll be there as soon as I'm able."
Surprised flashed across her face before bowing. "...Thank you."
"From one victim to another, I swear I'll get there." One final nod before the Broodmother regained control of herself. "Order the changelings here to relocate to the Central Factory where I'm situated for the time being. I'll lead you all there, MOVE."
Kylisia didn't need to be told twice. She quickly chittered something to her drones before following me out of the tunnels and into the Central Factory. I ordered all active Mechon units to treat the Changelings as friendlies before entering my own unit, causing one Changeling to somehow hiss, gasp. "I remember THAT thing!"
"Now you know." I look around the factory before my eyes fell on a pair of Mechon transport units. Knowing I had no other alternative, I quickly made mental comparisons before estimating that one storage unit could hold sixty Changlings, though it would be a tight fit. I ordered them to start carrying four each of the empty storage units and had them fall in behind me as I exited the factory.
Inside my cockpit, I open my current map data on Equestria in order to get my bearings straight. I had almost all of it filled, save one corner and, by process of elimination, knew the Badlands had to be there. The unfortunate problem come from the fact that we were on opposite ends of the map, with many bug settlements, including the accursed Ponyville, sitting in the middle.
Knowing I was pressed for time, I charted a course that allowed me to pass through with little detection before grabbing the transport units with my arms and speeding off with it. I did pass over an unlisted bug settlement on the way by, but I doubt they got a good look at me with how fast I was going.
When I reached the Badlands, It wasn't hard to find a mass of black figures running across the sulfur-infused sands. All of them balked when I flew over them and let go of the transports, allowing them to land. "Hope I'm not late!"
A bigger Changeling with green eyes, Chrysalis, approached me with relief on her face. "Not only did you come for us, but you brought us a way to escape this place?"
"Did you expect any different? Now get everybody in the storage units. I didn't have any time to specialize them for you, so they will have to make do."
She nodded. Just as she turned to presumably address her subjects, a few of the Changelings got flung into the air by a blast of sand shortly before getting devoured by what looks like a purple-grey serpent with a hot-pink head. Judging by the crunch I heard, the Changelings instantly died. "The Tatzlwurms are here!"
The worm barely got to look around when I flew towards it. "Hey, ugly! Have a taste of claw instead!" I managed to decapitate it, getting orange blood all over me.
Realizing they were tunneling monsters, I switched my sensors over to detect seismic activity while I kept an eye on the boarding Changelings. I detected tremors heading for the back ones and went to intercept. This worm barely poked it's head out to devour a few Changelings, though I managed to blast it's black tongues with pin-point shots from my Jade guns and save them.
After a few more times, I managed to nail another worm in the head with a killing blow, although it already bit down on a victim before-hand. One Changeling had separated from the boarding group and used himself as bait for another worm. He somehow expertly dodged out of the worm's gaping maw, causing it to surface fully in confusion and allowing me to blast it with a few scatter-shots. One even tried to devour me and cover me in some sort of green liquid, though I managed to avoid it as well and blast it's head off with my pre-charged Metal cannon.
Thank the gods for my Nemesis jets, otherwise I wouldn't be able to dodge some of these attacks. They still couldn't help me save some of these lives, though...
When nothing but a far off seismic tremor was registering, I landed near the transports. Chrysalis was the only one outside now, presumably doing a mental head-count. "Everyone accounted for?"
She grunted. "It's hard with all this sulfur in the air. It stings my senses and prevents me from properly connecting with my hive."
"Yet you were able to contact me through a Broodmother..."
"I was underground at that time. We had to vacate the tunnels, lest we become easy prey for those Tatzlwurms. Still, even with my muddled connection, It feels as though I've..." She squeezes her eyes in concentration before widening them in horror. "No... I couldn't have... what have I done?"
"Mommy!" I look across the sulfur-sands to see a small Changeling that looked like Chrysalis with another Changeling drone. My sensors blared at that very instant before the both of them were thrown into the air by a massive Tatzlwurm.
The anguished cry Chrysalis let out at that very moment and seeing the Changeling filly flailing in the air in a silent scream...
I briefly saw Chrysalis as myself... and the filly as my little sister.
The little sister who I couldn't save.
I snapped.
"YOU WILL NOT HAVE THEM!" I launched myself rapidly at the worm, knocking it clean out of the sand before it could eat the little Changeling. She was caught by her mother, who quickly flew back towards the transports with the drone in an attempt to avoid me and the worm.
The Tatzlwurm, now stuck on the one solid piece of rock in the Badlands, roared at me in fury. I let out my own savage cry before I started blasting it with laser fire while dodging some strikes and spit. Some of the spit got on my foot and I picked up virulent activity on that location, though it quickly diminished when I buried it in the sulfur-sand.
Despite being a massive size and not being able to burrow, the Tatzlwurm managed to start dodging my laser fire while in sniping mode, forcing me to get up-close and personal with it with claws and scattershots. I kept strafing it, though I had to start randomizing my pattern when it figured me out and got a few hits in.
It actually managed to put a few dents in my reinforced armor.
"Why you!" I fired scattershots at the ground before it, kicking up a lot of dust and rendering the Tatzlwurm temporarily sight-blind. I rushed at it with a feral cry and impaled it through the torso with my claws before slowly ripping it in half. It continued to screech in agony until I split it's head in half, permanently killing it.
Breathing heavily and my unit covered in orange blood, I flew back towards the transporter unit. When I landed and chanced exiting my unit, I was suddenly hugged by a tearful Chrysalis. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much for saving my little princess!"
"Well... I couldn't exactly stand by and watch her life end so cruelly short."
She let go of me for giving me a tear-riddled smile. "I can't believe it.. we've finally found someone willing to take us in and help us... after so... so long..."
I pat her on her back. "I'm going to have to hear your full story when we get back to the Central Factory. Better make yourselves comfortable, because it's going to be a long ride."
"I don't care if it's long. If it finally means salvation for my race, I'll gladly take it."
Author's Note
First of all, to all of you who read my "other" Chapter 7, I apologize for suddenly taking it down like I did. I was at the tail end of my last writing mood and I had written and published for the sake of doing so, without thinking the consequence. It was not the direction I wanted my story to go.
I hope this newer Chapter 7 will serve to be somewhat better, even if the 'gore' content is nowhere near what it originally was. The 'dark' part of this story will still be applicable before the end, so don't worry about that.
8 Exposition and Expansion
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.
1 Reminicing Before Chaos' Release [Edited]
"Sister... dear sister, why oh why did they take you away?" I heard the thoughts echo around in my mind. "We did nothing wrong to them like they did to us. Who always searched for a battle? We? I don't think so dear sister, that was them! I hate them for it sister, for taking you away from me." I was silent for a minute thinking of something else I wanted to tell her, anything at all.
"This rocky prison won't keep me contained forever dear sister and when it finally crumbles, I shall see you again. I promise you that my dear sister." I paused for a minute thinking of more. "I swear to you that it shall be their blood and their blood alone that shall satisfy me. Consider it a present from your brother for failing to protect you, not to mention the thousand birthdays I missed. No worries sister for their fur is thick and will make a comfy blanket for you."
"Are you talking to your sister again?" Discord's voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere.
"Forgive me Discord, but it's a good way of remembering a promise." I retorted, annoyed at the interruption.
"It's also a good way of becoming mad, oh wait we're both already mad!" He obviously found that little realization quite funny as he broke down in a maniacal laughing fit, which laughter about five whole minutes. "See, that's what I mean! I completely broke down laughing for that sentence like it was the funniest thing ever, whilst I was merely stating a fact."
That sentence out of Discord earned a mental raised eyebrow from me, as it actually made sense. "See I am starting to make sense! If that isn't the prove I am going mad, then I don't know what is." Discord stated with a panicked undertone in his voice. "Anyway repetition is boring!"
"Your face is boring," I retorted.
"Oh ho scathing."
"Okay let's try and see if I still got everything. My name is Metal face, it is not my real name, but I can't remember my real name anymore." That was the easy part, now for the more advanced stuff. "Okay it all began .... 1008 years, wait no that's not right." I began thinking harder, until I remembered my little trick for remembering the year. "If you leave the zeros from the year you get thirteen. One thousand and three years ago." I was happy to still being capable of remembering it. "Now how it began..."
1003 years ago
I had heard rumors about people mysteriously disappearing during conventions, but I was certain of it that if we were careful, nothing bad could happen. Perhaps people had followed somebody in a dark alleyway and got kidnapped. My little sister believed something more than that was going on, but honestly she had a big imagination and eventually also passed them off.
Until That day...
Because we lived in Canada conventions were few and far in between and we couldn't afford to go to a far off one. So it was no surprise that, when we heard one was setup in our area, we grew excited. It would be our first convention and perhaps last, so we wanted to go all out for this one.
Our theme was easy pickings; both of us were big Xenoblade Chronicles fans and thus we took on the roles of our favorite characters. I took Metal face as I absolutely adored his design, character,and the fact that it wasn't until halfway through the game that you gained the ability to properly fight him. Unfortunately, I wasn't the biggest fan of Mumkhar's design, both as a homs and as a mechon-homs, so I simply dressed up as Metal Face.
My sister, on the other hand, was a big fan of Fiora. She loved her design and character as a mechon-homs and her face unit, Face Nemesis. The convention was during late fall, so we had to wear warmer cloths under our cosplays, but she ingeniously cosplayed as both Mechon-Fiora AND Face Nemesis.
When we finally went, we didn't know what to expect or what to even do. We simply wandered around, looking at various things and even hanging out with other Xenoblade fans. Heck, when I saw someone cosplaying as Shulk, we managed to play out a scene from the game with the help of other cosplayers.
Everything was fine... until we saw him...
Because both of us disregarded the rumors, we had no problem walking up to him. He even SOUNDED normal, just the fact he had a huge hood on.
Both of us saw the thing we were missing from our cosplays. I couldn't find a good pair of claws, so I had to make them out of cardboard with a bad paint-job. My sister was missing the dual swords for Face Nemesis entirely.
We saw them both on display at his shop. He even offered a two-sets-for-one deal, something my family and I could never really resist.
However after we took our respective items, we both fainted on the spot and when we woke up, I wasn't happy! We were in the middle of a winter wasteland as what we cosplayed. Our voices even changed to our respective characters, which was jarring to us. On top of that, we had to learn very quickly how to pilot a faced mechon, something that took longer than it should of.
Fortunately once we got the Mechon under control a whole world opened up to us. A whole world filled with the most racist little shits ever 'multicolored sentient ponies'. Why were they racist against us? Well, because we fitted into the category of big, scary unknown things which was about thirty percent of the entire world. Even though we meant no harm.
This eventually drew the attention of two 'Alicorn' ponies who controlled the sun and the moon. They constantly regarded us as a threat, though neither of us had a problem driving them back.
"Looking back at it... I perhaps should have killed one of them to set an example for the other, but that's kinda too late now.
"No, don't get sidetracked I can be angry at them later, but for now finish the memories." I cursed myself for interrupting myself.
We saw the rise and fall of a mad king named Sombra, who had the Crystal city sealed away with him when the two sisters finally got him. My own sister was pretty sad about it, but she moved on later. Discord started reigning supreme down south and even though he offered us an Alliance we wanted no trouble.
At that point, I had almost completely mastered my control over my face unit and even manged to figure out how to exit said unit. Much to my relief, I retained my original voice and facial appearance, but I still had Mumkhar's mechon body.
It wasn't until after Discord was somehow usurped and sealed, did tragedy strike...
I found my sister, outside of her own unit, with a hole the size of a unicorn horn in her stomach, the one place where her armor was weakest.
I had power, but I've never felt so powerless in my life.
Cradling her, trying to find a way to save her, she looked up at me with dying, yet pleading eyes.
"Brother..."
That was the last thing I ever heard from her...
I controlled myself long enough to give her a proper burial, near where the Crystal Empire used to be.
After that, I completely lost it. I turned my reticle on the two who I KNEW were to blame for this, the ones who had hunted us ever since they found us. I attacked them in a berserker rage, with full intention to kill them the way they killed my sister.
It was then I discovered how they managed to seal Discord away.
They used the Elements of Harmony on me. I could feel the rainbow wave trying to change me, make me more in-tune with harmony. But because my rage burned so hot, it simply sealed me in stone in a poised-to-strike position. I could of dodged it, but I was blinded to the danger.
To rub salt in my wounds, they put me in their gardens alongside Discord, who was surprised to see me like that. I wasn't able to tell him what happened until a few years later, when my anger wasn't as seething.
Present day
We've only been relocated once. After that, we've been stuck in the same position... for over a thousand years.
"Are you quite done?"
I let out another mental sigh, full of anger. "Yes..."
"Good because I want you to watch this!"
Moving my mental eye as best as I could, I saw a trio of foals engaged in a fight, arguing over what Discord's sealed statue represented. The older pony broke them up and scolded them before continuing on.
"Tell me you made them do that."
"I did. I was just enough delicious chaos to..." His stone prison started cracking before shattering, releasing him. "Ah hah! Free at long last!"
"Lucky you... say could you be a pal and release me as well?"
He thought over it. "I don't know. You're out for revenge and I'm not sure if I want anypony dying on me during my reclamation of Equestria."
"I promise not to kill anyone while I'm out an about. Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye."
He gave it more thought. "Very well, I'll hold you to that promise, as gruesome it may be." He snaps his fingers and my statue form was covered in light.
But nothing happened...
"Are you serious? My armor's extremely high resistance to magic still works while petrified?"
My armor behaved similarly to the Mechon armor from the game. Only itself, weapons specifically designed to pierce it, and high concentrations of ether energy were able to damage it. The magic in this world was apparently weaker than ether, something I discovered in my first encounter with the maggot princesses.
Discord hummed. "I'm afraid I can't do much for you then. I CAN give you a good show as I retake what was originally mine."
"How are you going to do that?"
He snaps his fingers and suddenly I see my petrified form. "Well, what better way to see it than from the first-person?"
"Clever..."
"Just remember that I won't be able to communicate with you after I reach a certain distance. I prefer it like that; having someone telling you things to watch out for takes the fun out of things!"
"Whatever floats your boat..."
From then on I was taken through what Discord did to reclaim his place, starting with the stealing the Elements of Harmony before unleashing a randomized storm of chaos over the land. Through him, I was introduced to the new bearers of the elements, which led me to believe that, because of the transfer of ownership, it had weakened Discord's prison. I held on to the hope that my prison was also weakened to some degree.
Seeing as how they answered to Sunbitch directly, I actually enjoyed the part where he broke the spirits of the bearers through indirect manipulation, although he only did direct manipulation once out of frustration. I also enjoyed seeing them tear each other apart because of their reversed personalities. I swear, their original personalities sickened me...
Sadly, Discord grew overconfident after he checked on the mare named Twilight Sparkle. A little while later, the bearers appeared before him, elements equipped and back to their original selves. I almost literally cried out with him when the "rainbow wave of eternal torture" hit him and undid everything he did.
The rainbow light did hit my prison, but once again nothing happened, most likely due to lack of proximity.
It wasn't long before Discord was moved back to his original place, now sporting a terrified look rather than looking like he was caught singing.
"You just HAD to grow overconfident..."
"Oh be quiet... I didn't realize my manipulation was undone so easily."
"Their colors were BACK TO NORMAL, how could you of not seen that?"
"I was preoccupied." I let out an irritated mental sigh at that before going back to reminiscing about how I was going to get revenge WITHOUT getting hit by the Elements of Harmony again, the only magic I know of capable of piercing my armor.
I knew my chance at revenge would come eventually. My prison was still weakened after all...
Author's Note
Another displaced series, eh? I've been seeing them all over the place and I figured I would try my hand at one.
