From the Depths of Pandemonium to the Gates of Hell · 11:02pm Nov 18th, 2016
To anyone who's ever read Paradise Lost, that title might not make sense. I wouldn't know; I've never read Paradise Lost. Maybe I should...
So I've got a number of things to report on in this post. To start, as most of you already know, the latest chapter to Filly Fluttershy: Uprising was posted about a month and a half ago: The Chaos Vortex. Unfortunately, I haven't made very much headway into the next chapter, Scorched Feathers. I've got about a month and a half left if I want to make my 'by the end of the year' deadline, which is doable, but it's becoming less and less likely. In the meantime, I wanted to give a little recap for The Chaos Vortex, as well as mention a few smaller updates.
[Clock Is Ticking...]
If you've read The Chaos Vortex since it was published, you definitely noticed the countdown from 5:00 progressively going down throughout the flight section. That one took a little bit of effort, since I had to sync up the countdown with both the soundtrack and the actual length of time that the air battle section takes, give or take a second or two due to creative liberties, so I'm a little proud of how that turned out (Special mention to Brainscratch Comms' playthrough of Kid Icarus: Uprising, especially Part 21 when they actually play through the level. But that's still not how you use a Rose Staff.).
That said, I'm surprised I didn't get a little feedback about it. I figured readers who haven't play the game (Anyone? Anyone at all?) might think it's spoilery if I'm using a power of flight countdown on this of all chapters, while those who've played the game know what happens and knew exactly what it was for. I will defend the countdown though, and for one reason. If you clicked the music link, you'll notice that the track that plays in the air battle section is not five minutes long. Even if you add up the couple of seconds before the music starts and later on before Pit lands on the island, it's still not five minutes. So when I got to the part where Luna had to reactivate the power of flight, that gave me a chance to rewrite that scene in a way that I thought worked much better.
Rainbow Dash Attack!
That was probably my most significant change over the original. Dark Pit doesn't show up until wave nine in KI:U, and the Chaos Kin chase ended when it crashed into a rock, letting Pit capitalize. But I really wanted to play up the team-up between Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash here. For one, it made the banter/dialogue more interesting during waves one through eight than if it were just Fluttershy and Luna. But from an in-story view, Rainbow's intervention gave Fluttershy a much needed morale boost. The last couple of chapters in the Chaos Kin arc have steadily crushed Fluttershy's spirit, none more so than Celestia's Temple.
Like one commenter mentioned on The Chaos Vortex, everyone has their own goals and their owns reasons for being there. And I think that applies especially in Celestia's Temple. Discord was there to sabotage the heroine(s) as much as possible, partly to tip the scales even more in his favor than they already were, but also for the fun of it. Rarity was there to watch over the Lightning Chariot unicorns and maintain Luna's presence in the battle. Twilight and Shining Armor were there to protect/save Celestia and keep tabs on Fluttershy (or in Twilight's case, looking for an excuse to get revenge). Luna's intentions are a little harder to gauge. Rescuing the Goddess of Light isn't her real goal, and stopping Discord is important but secondary. Her real reason for being there is to stop Sombra. She kept him prisoner for good reason, and recruiting Fluttershy was the best way to clean up this mess.
But Rainbow Dash? She's mostly there to cover her own ass. Recall that she's a product of the Mirror of Truth's magic, a "reflection" of Fluttershy. The Chaos Kin's reign of terror forces her to deal with that, so she has to protect the original to guarantee her own existence. Regardless, she's there for Fluttershy when she needs it the most, in ways that all of Fluttershy's other "allies" aren't. Even if Rainbow's intentions are purely selfish, Fluttershy leans on her very heavily in this chapter, partly because of Rainbow's spirited, cavalier attitude, but also because she considers Rainbow her only real ally at this point.
Also, Rainbow spent a lot of time flying during the enemy gauntlet. Naturally, Rainbow Dash would be more eager to take flight than Dark Pit, and being able to fly would've made half of those waves piss-easy in the game.
VS! The Chaos Kin! The Crystal Tyrant!
Now this boss fight I actually tried to make good after what happened in the last chapter. If the word I use to describe the Celestia's Temple boss is formulaic, the word I'd use to describe the boss in The Chaos Vortex is kinetic. Since the Chaos Kin in KI:U is very quick and nimble, a high speed chase around the island between Sombra and Rainbow Dash made the most sense. It's also the only time I ever had Sombra show any level of cunning by baiting Rainbow Dash into a high speed chase that Fluttershy couldn't keep up with, allowing him to take on the two pegasi one at a time.
So... About Those Little Metroids
Yeah, I'm surprised I left that joke out too. But I don't think that would've worked in this story. I don't remember where it was, but I think an earlier chapter showed that video game references (and fourth wall jokes) go over Luna's head (suck it, Gamer Luna). I know for a fact that she didn't know what Game & Watch is, as per wave three. So Luna being in on a Metroid reference didn't make a lot of sense to me.
Whatever Happened to that Sagittarius Bow?
That was an odd thing to include, wasn't it? For Fluttershy to take a moment and arm herself with a weapon she never even used? Well, from a Watsonian perspective, I guess she forgot about it. From a Doylist perspective... well, I'm building up to something.
Going Forward: Why We Fight
With Fluttershy out of commission, the next chapter is going to be a major chapter for Rainbow Dash. But it's also going to be a major chapter for the storyline in general, and it's going to delve further into both Rainbow's and Fluttershy's motivations. We learn in The Chaos Vortex why Rainbow Dash decided to help Fluttershy in the Chaos Kin arc, but I think there's much more to Dark Shy than what we already know.
I also wanted to delve into Fluttershy's reasons for fighting. Over the course of the Chaos Kin arc, several characters have pressed Fluttershy on why she goes into battle against armies, mythical monsters, and gods (at the very least, Applejack and Spike have asked her). And a major part of this arc (particularly Celestia's Temple has been about challenging her motivations and breaking her resolve. This isn't much of an issue in KI:U, since Pit is driven by his total devotion to Palutena and his duty to humankind. But we're talking about Fluttershy here, and I don't think you could tell me with a straight face that the timid yellow pegasus with a love for animals that we know from the show could step up and do half of what this Fluttershy has done.
“I look into your eyes, and I see the fear and intimidation in them. I don’t see the warrior who stormed my tower for the Lightning Chariot, and I’m convinced that if you had lived another life, you would have been a weakling and a coward. So tell me, pegasus. Why do you fight?”
Much like with Rainbow Dash/Dark Shy, there is much more going on here. All of this comes with the return of an old enemy, and it all leads up to the final arc of the story. This next chapter is one that I've been looking forward to writing for years. Needless to say, it's going to have a lot of changes from the original.
New Cover Art, Yay! 
Admittedly, this one is kind of old news. Back in September, Twifight Sparkill (Fimfic and Deviant Art here) offered to make some cover art for Filly Fluttershy. After she sent me an initial version, some criticisms were made, and the cover art went through nearly a dozen painstakingly edited versions despite numerous protests that she'd done enough. In hindsight, I'm glad she didn't listen, because the final version was such a drastic improvement over the original. There's even a title and author.
New Avatar
Also courtesy of Twifight Sparkill. She had a few ideas to work with, starting with my original Stone Mask Shy avatar.
Eh, still better than my half-assed Photoshop avatar.
I also pitched the idea of Pinkie Pie rolling around in a puddle of Phazon, with obvious signs of corruption. But Twifight took more to the idea of Fluttershy hugging a Metroid, and started off with a very... questionable first piece.
Om nom nom.
After some feedback, parts of which were me explaining what Metroids are and why you shouldn't hug one, Twifight somehow got the impression that they were brainsuckers. And by that, I mean she willfully ignored me when I tried to correct her. But who am I to stand in the way of a talented artist's inspiration?
Uh, you might want to hold...
Yeah, that was bound to happen.
Oh shit. I think it's actually killing her. A little help here?
Ah, much better.
Personally, I think it's kind of cute. You know, in a 'you're holding a deadly energy-sucking alien jellyfish' kind of way.
So beyond that, feel free to share your thoughts on the story, the new cover art, or the avatar. Oh, and don't forget to support your local Twifight Sparkill. She's here on Fimfic (her blog posts are a bizarre kind of awesome), and she's got a Deviant Art account.
I'm sorry, but all I can think about when I see Fluttershy hugging the metroid is the story Equis: Interlude, where Fluttershy raises an infant metroid.
As for the story, I can't wait for the new chapter, since it's the only Kids Icarus story that's still alive. 
Keep up the awesome work!
4308766
That is a low bar, but thank you. Unfortunately, the Kid Icarus group has been pretty quiet too. I guess it comes with a franchise that's had one game in the last 25 years and no signs of any new game in the next 25 years.
4308996 I meant to put "especially" in there. My bad.
I hear that Twifight Sparkill is AMAZING! JUST AN INCREDIBLE TALENT!
... nah, I blocked her. She's a bitch.