Sometimes the Truth Can Be Deceiving
Chapter 1: The War Begins (Edited)
“ATTENTION!” Captain Armor’s voice boomed throughout the crystal hallways. The tall ceiling and the hardened walls closed in on the line of soldiers as the young moon’s rays reflected onto Blister. His attention was ripped away from the cold, hard floor, and forced him into the proper position. The Captain’s nervous look put most of the guards present on edge as he slowly paced up and down the line, his metal horseshoes clanking against the cold floor. “At ease.”
“I’ll keep this brief,” he started, “The rumors have been getting out of hoof, so let me put them to rest. Yes, there is a suspected threat of attack against the Crystal Empire, but by who and when, neither I nor the Princesses are sure. However, it is shaping up to be big.”
Nodding to the pink alicorn to his right, he took a few tentative steps back. “Though some unfortunate shortcomings in our intelligence have left the gaps in our knowledge, since we do in fact know it’s coming this time around, we’re not taking any chances.”
With a slight nod, a door on the far left of the hallway leading to conference room slowly but confidently opened, revealing three figures. The first emerged regally, giving off an air of superiority while at the same time valuing everypony, as any proper ruler would. Her quad-colored mane blowing in a non-existent breeze. The second figure, seemingly surrounded by an eternal starry night, made her presence known as she was flanked by a third, smaller and slightly hunched over figure. Upon entering, the smaller one’s look of uneasiness was mirrored by the guards directly in front of her.
Noticing a cold stare in Blister’s eyes, Cadence quietly made her way over to Blister while the others’ attention was on the Princesses. “I know you can’t resist the snarky comments, but please refrain from pissing them off, First Lieutenant.” Her pleading eyes only earning a gruff “Yes, your majesty” out of him.
Blister’s eyes wandered back over to the three new figures in the room as Cadence rejoined her husband, whispering into his ear. What he hadn’t noticed before were the rows of Canterlot Royal Guard Officers behind Celestia, Luna, and Twilight. Using some estimations and quick thinking, he deduced that there were about 80 officers present. ‘That just means more low ranks getting in my way.’ Blister’s eyes glazed over slightly, before widening, a subtle yet small smile made its way onto his lips. ‘And Celestia hasn’t even given us a plan yet,’ he thought slyly.
“Hello everypony,” Celestia’s motherly gaze wavered a little when her eyes passed over Blister, “As you all already know, an attack on the Crystal Empire is likely due any day now, so as extra defense, an additional 800 guards from Canterlot will be assisting the Empire’s 1,200 troops. Princess Luna and myself will be giving orders from on and off the battlefield, respectively, so your utmost cooperation would be greatly appreciated.”
Noticing a slight shift in demeanor, Blister’s attention was dragged to Twilight as she gave him an almost imperceptible look before returning to her standard facade. That made Blister pay attention again to the ones giving the orders as the Princesses returned their masks of neutrality. His ice-blue eyes then glazed over again. After a few short moments, his head snapped back to attention at the mention of his name, lime green mane ruffling from the sudden movement.
“Lieutenant Blister, do you understand your assignment?” Blister’s gaze softened as he brought his head up to meet the Princess’ eyes. "Yes, Your Majesty" he said, saluting before she continued on as if nothing ever happened.
“Finally, should our formation fail and become overrun, the Crystal Heart and the Elements of Harmony are our last resorts, in that order. Understood?” Nopony dared ask a question. “Dismissed.” As the guards broke for dinner, Cadence was able to sneak one last glance in towards Blister before she shook her head and turned back to start speaking with the other three Princesses. With concern lacing their expressions, the four goddesses began to exit the crystalline room, their hoof guards echoing off of the large hallway walls.
Before Blister could leave the room, he employed his horn for the first time that day, trying to sneak a glimpse at the silent messages being sent between the Princesses via their own horns. ‘This spell wasn’t illegal back in my day,’ Blister thought as his horn was silently cast in a shadowy gray light.
After cancelling the spell once the Princesses were far enough away, he was able to gather that his orders were to gather up a small platoon of mostly lower ranking infantry and report to the northeast section of the empire and set up a perimeter defense once the enemy was spotted. So basically, die the second the enemy launched an attack.
With a heavy sigh, Blister reluctantly resisted the urge to give Celestia a piece of his mind and went to eat dinner. With a slight fatigue starting to overtake him, Blister enveloped a tray, two apples and some hay fries and plopped down at a table, off in the corner. Ignoring the cold and wary looks originating from other tables, Blister pulled an earpiece out of his magic storage unit and, without detection, placed it in his ear.
‘Jarvis, talk to me, the satellites get any new information?’ He thought as he tentatively bit into an apple. He slammed his hoof down onto the table as Jarvis relayed the news, ‘Sir, nothing new has come up, we only know as much as the Princesses do.’ With a heavy sigh and a wave of his hoof towards the other tables, he asked ‘Is the Mark 7 ready for deployment yet?’
A simple ‘No, sir’ was all it took for another hoof slam down onto the table, earning even more stares and glances. What almost set him off however were the set of hooves nervously approaching him. Broadcasting another sigh, Blister turned towards the now frozen Private standing in front of him. His forelegs were shaking, eyes unfocused and wings threatening to jettison him out of hell. “Yes Private Thunder Spin?” Blister’s cold, piercing eyes tore into Thunder Spin’s resolve as he straightened himself and gulped. “Uhh, s-sir,” his eyes refused to focus on one thing at a time, “are y-you alright? You seem a-angry.”
Blister gave a subtle smile before fading into an irritated frown. “Yeah, no shit, Sher-” “Hey! Go easy on him, he’s just a Private!”
Blister’s head snapped towards the feminine voice that cut him off, “Piss off Crescent, you’re not involved in this! Besides, ya barely let me respond.” he growled back. The Master Sergeant slouched back in her chair and resumed eating, grumbling all the while. She considered going through the paperwork to add another complaint to her superior's file, but decided against it when she heard his response to the Private.
He began with a deep breath, “My apologies Private, the reason I’m angry is a personal issue, nothing of your concern, but thank you nonetheless.” With a wave of his hoof, the Private and his bewildered expression returned to his seat across from the Master Sergeant as a dumbfounded face adorned her features.
Before any questions could be asked, the alarms sounded as somepony came over the loudspeaker: “Attention all units, I repeat, attention all units! The Griffon army has been spotted advancing towards the Southwest quadrant of the Empire. I repeat, The Griffon army has been spotted advancing towards the Southwest quadrant of the Empire. Follow your orders and DON’T DIE!” Blister rolled his eyes at the loudspeaker pony as they failed to hide the panic in their voice.
Amidst all the chaos of ponies running around, orders being barked and the fearful expressions that found its way onto every Private, one thing was certain.
The Crystal Empire was under attack.
And the Griffons would hold nothing back as they charged the Empire into oblivion.
Sometimes the Truth Can Be Deceiving
Chapter 2: What Just Happened? (Edited)
Author's Note
I'm changing Rose's rank from Master Sergeant to Sergeant Major, which is a higher rank according to https://www.federalpay.org/military/army/ranks
Chapter 2: What Just Happened? (Edited)
WARNING: Gore and Violence tags has been added!
“Oh sweet Celestia, not the Griffons!” somepony shouted as their legs buckled beneath them, sending them to meet the cold floor below. Blister could only roll his eyes as he rushed through the swarms of guards, valiant looks of determination adorning most faces. Before he could get very far however, Blister was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder.
Whirling around to face the owner of the foreign hoof, his eyes were greeted with Twilight scribbling down notes on a piece of paper with her brother next to her. Blister’s eyes met Shining’s fierce looks among what they could make out in each other. Shining had to shout in order for Blister to hear him over the rumbling of hooves and screams of orders from Officers, “Set up your perimeter in the Northwest quadrant of the Empire. We want to make sure that they don’t make any flanking maneuvers.” A reply of “Yes, sir” was all that was needed before Blister shot off to round up his platoon. ‘I just hope he can actually stick to the orders this time around,’ Shining thought nervously.
Blister’s eyes darted across the edge of the Crystal Empire as his armored hooves beat against the crystalline road. His gaze fixating on minute details of house spacing and even random barrel placement. ‘This is perfect!’ He thought as he came to a skidding halt, his platoon behind him following suit.
Turning to face his guards, he gave the order, “ATTENTION!” And like cadets in training, they all snapped into position. Examining his platoon with a satisfied sigh, Blister then gave the “At ease” order, allowing them to rest their necks for the time being. ‘They’ll need as must rest as they can get before push comes to shove’ Blister thought as a grin appeared his muzzle.
His voiced echoed around the area due to a voice amplification spell, handy for when there weren't microphones around. “Your orders are simple but do not let those words deceive you. This requires your utmost concentration and focus. Our job is to prevent the enemy from flanking the main army by taking them out before they take us out. We will be achieving this by remaining as concealed as possible. Staying behind houses, in barrels or anywhere that would hide you from sight. From there, ambushes will take place on any unsuspecting griffins coming through.” Blister's commanding and serious tone earned him looks of determination.
“Master Sergeant,” Crescent Rose turned to face Blister, “gather about half of the troops and spread out about 20 meters that way-” he pointed his hoof to his left, “-remember to use anything you can for cover. Have some unicorns with an invisibility spell keep a lookout. Nothing, under any circumstances, gets through us. The other half of you-” the remaining guards gave you knowing looks, “-are to do the same in the opposite direction. Be sure to report every ambush before it occurs. Understood? GO!” Expressing a little pride, Blister quickly made his way over to a nearby house for cover.
But before he could get very far, he and every other unicorn in the Crystal Empire received an urgent horn message. Whoever had sent it had been screaming all the while, ‘THEY’RE NOT GRIFFONS! THEY’RE NOT- AHHH!’ A blood-curdling scream was pressed into Blister’s brain as the message ended. ‘Lieutenant-’ Blister jumped back from the sudden second message, ‘The griffins are changelings. Their changed forms seem to be somehow fading as they cross the barrier into the Crystal Heart’s radius. So, change of orders. Take half of your troops and have them engage combat on the frontlines. Use the other half to resume blocking flankers, but we’ll have to make do with less ground coverage.’
Captain Armor’s words hit Blister like a truck.
‘Any and all gods that may be listening, give me strength’ he thought, exacerbated.
A low rumbling could be heard in the distance.
“GET DOWN!” A gruff voice screamed and Blister finally made his way into cover.
Making his way up low wooden shutters and a newly refurbished roof, Blister eyes scanned the changeling army, finally stopping on something huge and looming making its way into view.
A magic enhancer labeled in big bold letters “I.R.O.N.” Four massive, magically enchanted lenses protruded from the main control unit embedded in chitin support mounds. The main control unit itself was a rectangular wire box with all kinds of flashing lights on it, a green ooze was dripping from all sides of it. Four changelings had just finished powering down their horns.
With time seemingly have been slowed, he watched in horror as an absolutely massive magical beam flew through the air leadings Blister’s eyes towards…
The castle.
The troops on the battlefield could only watch in horror as the payload made contact with the crystalline structure. In a short-lived blinding light, The Southwest wing of the castle was utterly decimated. Or more properly known as the battle wing, where strategizing occurs.
“Alright, THAT DOES IT! SERGEANT MAJOR, TAKE YOUR TROOPS TO THE FRONTLINES, I WILL MEET YOU THERE. EVERYPONY ELSE, HOLD YOUR GROUND.” Ignoring the yells in the background of troop rallying, Blister reached up to tap his earpiece.
‘Jarvis, deploy the Mark 7.’ he said sternly. ‘But, sir-’
‘I DON’T CARE JARVIS JUST DO IT. Who was in the wing of the castle that got hit?’ Blister asked angrily as he rushed to get out of sight of all of his guards.
‘Sir, the four Princesses and a large chunk of the nobility are incapacitated. The rest of the civilians are scattered throughout the North section.’ Jarvis’ reply only made Blister’s brow burrow even further.
‘These bombshells just keep comin’, huh? We’re on our own now.’ he thought with a sigh.
As Blister’s thought finished, the low rumbling of his armor came streaking around the corner, pausing in front of him. Grinning, he stepped forward and the armor opened up before scanning his eyes with a red laser. After a few moments, it launched itself at Blister, slowly encasing the unicorn in its cold, metal grasp.
After a couple of seconds, the mask was able to envelop his horn and flip itself down onto the soldier’s face. The suit then came to life, suit diagnostics were displayed on the right side of the mask while outside sensors were on the left. “Hello, sir?” asked Jarvis.
“Let’s do this,” he said with a smirk.
Soaring through the air, Blister’s repressed a momentary giddy smile. He was aiming to dive-bomb the changelings currently engaging in combat. ‘Jarvis, engage combat mode.’ The suit slowed down a little and its forelegs pulsed with more energy.
Ignoring the looks from bewildered guards and confused changelings, Blister jumped into the fray, ground-pounding into a group of changelings attempting to charge the Captain. Leaping out of the small crater produced, Blister let loose dozens of micro missiles from his foreleg, each one impacting and incapacitating its target.
Shining decided to make his presence known with a horn message, ‘Who are you?’ he asked desperately. Blister turned to Shining, seeing a bloody halberd in his magical grasp.
Dodging the question, Blister replied ‘Captain, I think it’d be best to go and check on your wife and sister, I’ll take over here.’ An enraged look came onto Shining’s face.
'And why the hell should I listen to you?!' He bellowed.
Following that obnoxious statement, the sound of hostile and frantically running hooves and buzzing emanated from behind Blister, and Shining’s eyes focused in on something behind him. Turning around to face the threat, Blister released a volley of swift punches to the gut of whatever was behind him. He then proceeded to charge up his repulsors before releasing them towards the group of heavily armed changelings rushing towards him. The remaining insect that dodged the blast continued charging, only to be met by a dropkick to the head. Blister’s metal persona then slowly rose into a cinematic pose. “Because your Lieutenant just saved your rump.” Blister said dryly.
Shining hesitated, his body refused to move. After a few brief moments of contemplation, his eyes widened with realization and a slight nod confirmed Blister’s suspicions. With a softened face, he said “Thanks,” he chuckled, “I’ll let the other troops know, Iron Mane.” At that nickname Blister let out a soft snort before Shining galloped off towards the castle.
Following the Captain’s message, Blister broadcasted his own, ‘Alright troops, those of you on the outskirts, let’s wrap this up. Start to herd these insects in the North section of the Empire. Let’s finish this!’
From across the Empire, battle cries could be heard as the Canterlot and Crystal Empire Royal Guard made one last advance towards the enemy, pushing the oversized insects into a conglomerate. Blister’s assistance gained him confused yet thankful expressions on all of the guards. His iron alter-ego teleported across the battlefield, lending assistance to any that needed it.
With the suit’s added power and Blister’s existing combat skills, he let loose barrages of punches, kicks, bucks, repulsive blasts and micro missiles onto his enemy.
Master Sergeant Crescent Rose heaved as the last changeling her squad ambushed collapsed. Whether it was dead or simply unconscious, she didn't care. There were more of them on the way and she couldn't let herself become distracted. The same couldn't be said about her subordinates though, as one of them collapsed from exhaustion and the other were groaning in agony, their muscles screaming at them to stop but they all knew no such break would come easily.
"C'mon maggots! We still got more bugs to lead into traps!" Crescent Rose shouted at her unit, trying her best to be inspiring, funny, anything to get these ponies to try harder. They all reluctantly returned to their original positions, with the Sergeant Major hunkering down in between a barrel and a dumpster in a stray alleyway.
As she was about to send out a horn message to ask why her Scout was taking so damn long with her enemy position report, she was interrupted by a fierce pain on her horn that sent waves of fire crashing down her entire body. She clenched her eyes shut as she tried to pry herself free of who or whatever was trying to kill her, the voice that spoke to her made her blood freeze. It had a certain mechanical quality to it, almost as if multiple ponies were talking to her, and they were all smug assholes in need of a good flank kicking.
"So, Sergeant Major," the voice began, arrogance and exasperation laced in it. "How is it you are going to wriggle your way out of this one?"
“Corporal, protect my flank! Warrant Officer Roaring Stone, take a group around the enemy flank and pick off as many as you can!” Blister let out an intimidating roar as he charged. The other troops picked up on this fairly easily and proceeded to charge in for the final strike.
The changeling army had been pushed back to the border, their numbers dwindling. The raid itself had lasted a couple of hours, and both sides were just about done with the fighting. Blister’s fatigue was overpowered as he charged, the AC in his suit working overtime to cool his greyish-black coat.
Before he could make contact with the enemy forces however, Blister received one last horn message. As it was relayed, he froze, cursing under his breath, ‘Help-! She’s- -hind-us-!’ The message’s multiple cuts off points and panicky voice caused Blister to rocket off into the air, but not before shouting “Chief Officer Dying Star, take command until I return!”
A small crater in the crystalline streets and blue streaks in the sky were all that was left after Blister’s sudden departure. The charge was thrown off a little, but many still pressed on as if nothing had ever happened.
Soaring through the air at top speed, Blister made his way over to where the castle had collapsed, only for his sensors to pick up heavy activity underneath the castle. Changing course to suit his new destination, he came upon a bloodied and beaten Shining Armor barely blocking attacks with a chipped sword from a hearty and bloodthirsty Queen Chrysalis. Their battle was surrounded by dismembered and gut-wrenching corpses lying in pools of blood. There were a few lightly beaten guards embedded into the crystal walls on all four corners, unconscious.
Trying to clear his head with a quick shake, Blister charged at her with unrepressed rage and determination, his focus narrowing. Upon closer inspection, the changeling Queen’s eyes were bloodshot, with a sadistic flare to them. Brandishing her black battle-ax, she swung at Shining, just barely nicking his neck. Lime green lines that resembled veins ran along the hilt up to either blade. With repulsors charging up and engines roaring, the Queen noticed Blister’s advancements and sidestepped out of the way, allowing him to swing himself around and go in for another shot.
The Queen enveloped Blister in her magical grasp and flung him away before quickly transforming herself into the metal hero that was temporarily removed from the picture. Shining was struck with fear and exhaustion, unable to move. When a loud growl was heard from the direction that Blister was thrown in, his doppelganger teleported behind the Captain right as one of the unconscious guards in the wall opened his eyes.
Private Thunder Spin’s eyes slowly, yet heavily, opened themselves up. His head was spinning and his whole body, from his back hooves to his wings was in excruciating pain. When his purple eyes finally opened up, he was greeted to the sight of the Iron Mane behind the Captain, with a battle-ax firmly planted through his barrel and out the other side. Shining Armor’s chest was burst open, pouring all of his crimson-red blood out the split in the skin. The blood loss was only compounded when the ax was removed, allowing the Prince to stumble for a step or two before collapsing onto the cold, hard ground. The Private’s eyes were open just long enough to see a blue blur tackle the traitorous metal pony, before gravity took over and let him fall to the ground, the impact knocking him unconscious once again.
‘Oh sweet Celestia,’ were his final thoughts of the day.
Blister, now consumed by a fury he had long since forgotten, screamed at Jarvis, “JARVIS, PREPARE THE UNIBEAN!”
“But sir it’s not-”
“JARVIS I SWEAR TO ALL THAT IS HOLY!” Blister warned. With that, the suit started rapidly charging up the ellipse reactor while Blister charged up his horn. When he screamed the order, both beams combined into a blue blur streaking through the air, hitting the Queen squarely in the side of her barrel. Blister tailed the beam of energy, ready to pummel Chrysalis.
Before the beam could fully leave Blister’s ellipse reactor, there was a mini-explosion. It sent him flying into the crystal street some 400 hooves away while Chrysalis careened through multiple walls and buildings, ending up not too far from the castle. ‘Ow, dammit,’ Blister thought as he groaned in pain.
Swinging himself back around again, Blister easily recovered, again charging for where Chrysalis lie in the rubble. The Queen grunted as a large picture frame found itself falling onto her head. Getting up, her eyes were greeted with the sight of another blue blur. This time, she was able to perform a blocking motion with her ax, stopping the blur dead in its tracks.
She was now able to get a good look at what was attacking her. The struggling pony’s form was adorned with a metallic mask that made it seem almost not-equine. There were blue circles on each hoof and little lines were scattered throughout its body. The body itself was a bright red with gold and silver accents. What really fascinated her was the larger blue circle in the center of its chest.
While she was fixated on his armor, Blister gained control of the situation, flinging her battle ax away from her and letting loose insane amounts of punches, kicks and repulsor blasts to every part of the overgrown insect each move flowing into the next. During the volley, he left himself open on multiple occasions, allowing Chrysalis to regain her bearings for a moment. During the fifth opening, she retaliated. A spell blast to the face and a hard uppercut to the gut, she kept up this and other patterns until parts of the armor, especially the mask, were torn off, revealing greyish-black fur, grey flesh, and blood.
The pair had mostly remained in the same noblepony’s house, but neither was able to successfully land a hit after their respective rage-induced panic attacks. Punches were blocked, repulsors blasts canceled against spells, and both were beginning to fatigue.
Chrysalis had just failed another uppercut and was thrown back when Blister blasted the ceiling above where she would land leaving rubble plummeting to the group, crushing her backside. He stood over her, unibeam charging, a little break in the mask revealing a bloody smirk.
All she was able to get out was “This isn’t over” before teleporting away and out of sight. Unbeknownst to him, the changeling army had already begun to retreat. Blister recalled the suit back to his house, asking Jarvis to start repairs.
Blister was heavily beaten, bruised and bloodied as he made his way back over to the castle underpass. What he saw almost made him lose his dinner. One final horn message was relayed for that day to him. It was a fairly simple, but crushing in its implications.
‘All available authority figures have been incapacitated,’ it began. ‘Martial law will be instated as reign over the Crystal Empire will temporarily relay to you.’
