Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 40: The Herd First
The visit to Clover the Clever’s darkened refuge was enough to impress upon Fluttershy that the Six Companions were nothing like how they had been portrayed during Hearth’s Warming Eve. She was ready to read about how mean, cruel, and spiteful Pansy was.
Lexarius’ methods, however, didn't quite match her preparation. He did not write every book in this enormous collection, but every pony who did wrote in the manner he asked of them. There were no long discussions on how Hurricane and Pansy were bad, and that everypony should make sure not to follow them. There were only reports; cut-and-dried reports that would not have been out of place in an encyclopedia.
Fluttershy skimmed through the general information on the Graywing Elite, and Commander Hurricane. She wasn't here to learn everything like Twilight was. Only the books that detailed Pansy's actions held her attention.
Hurricane’s activities were listed in a single book; a book that wasn't even entirely about him, but the Graywing Elite as a whole. Pansy, on the other hoof, had several volumes, all dedicated to her experiments.
Though she supported Hurricane’s dominance over the Graywing Elite, Pansy's methods differed greatly from his. Hurricane focused on ideology, morale, and tactics. Pansy was more interested in direct improvement of pegasi troops. “The Weak Sow, the Strong Take” were the guiding words of the Graywing Elite. Pansy followed them to the letter.
The first few books dedicated to Pansy’s work were labeled “Chimera Projects”. Fluttershy was thankful for Lexarius’ organization. These turned out to be Pansy’s first attempts, stretching back to the time before she knew of the power of Oceanus. Pansy tried to give pegasi soldiers the ability to cast spells by taking the horns of kidnapped unicorns, and transplanting them onto volunteers. That was all it took for Fluttershy to skip ahead. First of all, she was too disturbed by the images in these reports. Second, she doubted that the Stare would be something taken from the crude, early attempts of a mad pony.
Fluttershy went through the other books, all the while feeling that she was flying down a dark hole. Every turn of the page was another fight to keep going, to skim just long enough to see if there was anything to find before she moving on.
…resulting in what would eventually be referred to as “Eye of Fear”.
Fluttershy doubled back to the beginning of the page. “Eye of Fear” sounded close. Finally, the end of her awful search was in sight.
The earth ponies' construction of the Coldsteel Construct and the unicorns' discovery of the Crystal Grave left the pegasi in a precarious position within the Six Companions. Pressed by Hurricane to develop a tributary accomplishment in the Deep Father’s name, Pansy abandoned her chimera projects and most of her unsuccessful bloodline experiments in favor of utilizing the Graywing Elite’s captured windigo remains, resulting in what would eventually be referred to as “Eye of Fear”.
Fluttershy tried to turn the page, but her foreleg trembled so much that the paper kept slipping away. The Stare couldn't be good. She suspected that a long time ago, no matter how much she tried to use it for good. Not only that, Blue Moon sent her to this storehouse of information about an evil time in pony history to find out more about it. After a few more fumbles, she finally turned the page, only to come upon another problem. She couldn't get her eyes to focus. They strayed from word to word, refusing to linger long enough for her read anything.
‘Read,’ Fluttershy told herself. ‘You think this is scary? Think of who they’re going to carry into the hospital next. This is just a book. A book about things that happened a long, long time ago!’
The letters came into focus, and the words started making sense. Fluttershy dragged her eyes to the very beginning.
“Surviving records from the Graywing Elite state that Pansy was successful in creating a bloodline from the fallen windigo. Based on the ability to induce terror by eye contact, Lexarius has determined that the captured remains belonged to Lok’horus, one of the enforcer captains bound to Oceanus. Of two hundred volunteers for the ritual, reports from the Graywing Elite state that only three survived. Two were slain during the battle for the Old Kingdom, the third was captured for containment but--”
“Fluttershy, we have to go!”
Fluttershy flinched, and the book dropped heavily on one side, falling shut as it hit the floor. She gasped, and tried to find the page she had been reading, but Twilight was already pulling on her tail.
“I know you want to stay here in read, Fluttershy, but the princesses are calling for us!”
“But-but it’s there!” Fluttershy said. “I just need to-- Oh…”
“We can come back here later!” Twilight said. “It must be serious if the princesses want us!”
Fluttershy agreed, but that didn't make leaving the book behind any easier. Of all the inopportune times to be interrupted! With one more tug, Twilight had her walking down the hallway. Pinkie hopped behind them, while Vanguard led the way.
For a moment, Fluttershy forgot about what she had just read. She had expected Pinkie to come out of the archives as disappointed as she was, but Pinkie trotted out of the doors with an eager smile. What had she found out on the Old Kingdom that would put a smile on her face?
Fluttershy’s thoughts went back to her own findings. Windigos…all she knew about windigos came from Hearth’s Warming Eve. They were evil enough creatures in a play that portrayed the six companions as good. How much more evil were they in reality? And the Stare came from them? How was that possible?
Fluttershy felt more afraid than ever to look anypony in the eye.
Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow were already in the Chamber of Elements. Rainbow still had some bandages covering the many scrapes she suffered during her ordeal. Rarity and Applejack, however, were sporting fresh bruises. Twilight gave them a disapproving look, which they answered with sheepish grins.
“Sparring…er…got a little out of hoof,” Applejack said.
“The two of you were sparring?” Rainbow asked. “Why didn't anypony tell me? Watching that that would have been way more exciting than just staying in that boring hospital!”
Rarity pushed a stray lock of her mane from her face, and turned her nose up. “We weren't doing it to entertain anypony!”
“Everypony!” Luna’s stern tone silenced the entire chamber. When both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna approached them, they all knelt. “No time for formalities!” Luna said, gesturing for them to rise.
“What’s going on, princess?” Twilight asked.
“Black Rose is approaching Canterlot,” Celestia replied. She touched her chest briefly with a hoof. “I can sense the power of sunlight approaching the city.”
“A direct attack from Black Rose?” Twilight asked. “That is nothing like her!”
Rainbow slammed her front hooves together. “Let her come! We’ll take her down this time!”
“That mare’s more slippery than a greased up piglet!” Applejack said. “Twilight’s right, there’s bound to be some trap again!”
“Perhaps we should consider that she’s not coming here to attack?” Rarity asked. Her friends stared at her. “Black Rose and her Thorns have proven occasionally willing to negotiate.” She looked to her sides. The injuries she had sustained from her duel with Lion Court had all but disappeared. Doctor Redbrand had commented before that it took some very sharp blades wielded by a very precise pony to leave wounds that healed so thoroughly. “Well, negotiate on their strange terms, anyway.”
Rainbow glanced towards her flank. “Yeah, Longstride sure did an awesome job of ‘negotiating’ a meeting between his arrow and my cutie mark!’ She frowned, then dragged a front hoof against the floor. “I guess we could try something…” she mumbled.
“I've got something to say to Sablesteel!” Pinkie piped up. “I hope Black Rose brings her along if she does come!”
“The announced arrival is certainly strange,” Luna said. “But it doesn't change that she chose to come during big brother’s absence.”
“She’s in front of the city,” Celestia said.
Twilight’s horn was already glowing while the others braced themselves for an incoming fight. Any moment now, the chamber would fill with magic, and Black Rose would come out with spells firing everywhere.
Minutes passed with nothing happening. A bead of sweat trickled down Fluttershy’s brow. Her heart raced while she played the same situation over and over in her mind. If Black Rose did attack now, she would have nothing to offer. If only she'd found that section just a few minutes earlier! Things might be different right now. Just a few minutes…
“Big sister?” Luna asked.
“She’s still there.” Celestia closed her eyes. “She hasn’t moved at-!”
A burst of magic did erupt from the center of the chamber. When the light from the spell dimmed, the translucent image of Black Rose stood in its place.
“Excellent, everypony is here.” Black Rose smiled and pulled back a long strand of crimson hair from her face. “Please, forgive the ominous presence. I wanted everypony here before we commenced.”
“What are you up to, Black Rose?” Twilight asked.
“A great deal of things, I assure you. But it’s not what I’m doing that’s the reason for this. Gravitas’s arrival is much earlier than I had hoped. It appears I've overestimated the Eternal Herd’s compassion towards Equestria.” Black Rose’s smile widened a little. “Or is it the Herd’s fear of Oceanus that I've underestimated?”
“Your actions have unleashed the Eternal Herd’s most vicious general upon Equestria, Black Rose!” Celestia said. “The smile on your face says everything about your concern for this realm!”
The sharp rebuke did nothing to faze Black Rose. “I would frown until my eyebrows met my chin, your highness, if it would help Equestria even in the slightest. Sadly, I must take other measures for that. We have a mutual problem fortifying himself by Sky Mirror Lake. By now, my beloved must have told you the extent of his meddling. I would like to suggest some cooperation on our part to ensure that there is an Equestria to fight for by the end of all this.”
“Gravitas is sitting between you and the Foul Weapon,” Luna said. “All we have to do is delay him and tolerate his presence for a while and the power you stole will force its way back to my sister. Why would we help you move him?”
Black Rose pouted. “I had hoped my winning personality would suffice.” She was smiling as she continued. “But I also have my endurance to fall back on. It’s true that I cannot hold on to the power of sunlight forever. Even with modest assumptions, however, I can keep it for a long time.”
The smile disappeared as Black Rose gestured, causing another image to materialize. This time, it was a view of Canterlot’s outer gates. Everypony eventually focused on a gathering of royal guards and legionnaires. The train going into the city had stopped before something on the tracks. That something was a dark green, pony-like creature with insect wings.
“It took him a day to slaughter a quarter of the changeling population,” Black Rose said. “What will he do in a week? How long will it take him to twist whatever directives the Council of Elders gave him to suit his wishes? Will you really ‘tolerate’ him until I am forced to surrender this power?”
Fluttershy didn't know who this Gravitas was. She didn't have to know. She wasn't fond of the changelings. That didn’t matter either. From the faces of each pony with her, she knew that Black Rose had made her point.
“What kind of ‘cooperation’ are you proposing?” Luna asked.
“One that benefits all of us, of course,” Black Rose said. She pressed a hoof against her chest and closed her eyes. Golden light, like liquid rays from the sun, seeped from her and bathed her hoof with radiance. The light coalesced into a marble-sized sphere at the tip of her hoof. With a gentle flick, Black Rose sent it flying.
A beam of golden light passed through the walls and struck Celestia. Light bloomed from her, as if a small sun had been born. Everypony shielded their eyes from the harsh glare.
When the light subsided, Celestia looked to her still-glowing front hooves. “Why have you done this?” she asked.
“A gesture of good faith,” Black Rose said. “It also relieves some of the pressure, meaning I can hold on to the rest of the power of sunlight even longer. That should completely remove your option of waiting Gravitas out. You’ll need it soon enough. You’re about to come under attack.” The image disappeared and the chamber went silent.
Celestia's sharp breath drew everypony’s attention. “Gate!” she said. “There’s a gate opening within the Royal Palace itself!”
“Make yourself comfortable,” Gravitas said as he sat behind a makeshift wooden desk. The tent was large enough to fit the two of them with ease.
“If I did that, your two soldiers outside would be censured already,” Terrato replied. “Can we go straight to the questions and answers, Gravitas? Neither of us is interested in niceties.”
“Blunt and to the point, I wish we had you in those Council meetings, Terrato,” Gravitas said. “Very well, you may be the first to ask a question.”
“Is it true that you asked Black Rose to assassinate Celestia?” Terrato asked.
“Censure,” Gravitas said. “You must remember, your highness, that your sister cannot be assassinated here. She would have lost a great deal of power, but she would have simply returned to the Herd and stayed there.” He paused. “As she should have in the first place.”
“Did you ask Black Rose to censure my sister?” Terrato asked.
“Yes.”
Terrato considered standing on top of Gravitas, pummeling him until his dried up brains were smeared all over the ground. Black Rose had told the truth for once. It helped a little, but changed nothing. “Why?” he asked.
Gravitas lifted a small rock with his telekinesis and ground it into dust. “To make a point,” he said. “To show the Herd that these mortals have no compunctions towards turning on us as soon as they stand to gain from it. To show the Herd that it is time to stop doting on others and to start looking to our own defense.”
“And the Herd knows of your involvement?”
“You can tell them if you like,” Gravitas said. “My point still stands. I will ask the question this time, your highness.”
Terrato set his lips to a hard grim line. “Go ahead."
“You are not like your sister or Lexarius. You understand that these measures are necessary. Will you not join my side?”
Terrato snorted. “You should have asked me a thousand years ago. I might have considered. I would have still refused, mind you, but I would have given it some thought.”
“Give it some thought now. Your father stirs within the Silver Sanctum. Oceanus does the same in what twisted reflection of that place he recovers in.”
“Where does ‘killing all mortals’ fit into that situation?” Terrato asked.
“Killing all mortals has always been the solution.” Gravitas placed his front hooves on the desk. “Do not bother vomiting up the same swill that Lexarius and Celestia feed anypony willing to listen. Be your own stallion for once, your highness.”
Terrato snorted again and sat on the ground. “If you’re done trying to shame me into joining up with you, I’d like an answer,” he said.
“The mortals are bound to Oceanus,” Gravitas said. “Lexarius put on a good show about how we can ‘show them a different path’. What happened? He didn't raise them up, they dragged him down." Gravitas thumped the desk with a front hoof. "Celestia tried as well. Look at what the mortals have done to her in gratitude! We have given them enough chances. It’s time to put our kind first. Oceanus will try again. It goes against all sense to leave him all these soldiers to bolster his army.”
“The mortals have more than just the spark of Oceanus within them,” Terrato said. “It also took the power of the Eternal Herd’s throne to bring them into being.”
Gravitas snorted. “So Lexarius said.”
“Lexarius was weak!” Terrato snapped. “Don’t compare his resolve with mine or my sisters'. Yes, he meant well and he did well. But he was confronted by the weakness of mortals and he broke under the knowledge of it in the end!” He smiled as he continued. “I have dealt with the weakness of mortals: they’re fragile, their courage can falter, they grovel, they beg, they lie…” He paused, the image of a kneeling purple unicorn flashing in his mind. It wasn't even a year since he was explaining away Celestia’s barrier policy as “therapy”.
“This…this is wrong! This can’t continue!”
Terrato’s smile widened. “But they can choose to do what is right.”
In the silence that fell after that, Terrato entertained thoughts that he had provoked something from Gravitas that didn't involve contempt for mortals. As expected, all he got was the same monotone. “I had hoped that you remained in this world purely out of loyalty towards your elder sister: a respectable, albeit delusional, motive.” Gravitas shook his head and Terrato knew that the disappointment that the older alicorn projected into the whole world was now directed at him. A lifetime ago, this would have been enough to crush him. Now, Gravitas’s approval was worth less than the dirt beneath his hooves. “It seems that you yourself have committed to this course. That is a pity, your highness. Even before the three of you were sent here, I had thought you had more sense than either of your sisters.”
“Save your pity, disapproval, and whatever else you've convinced yourself that I might care about. My turn for a question now.”
“Ask your last one,” Gravitas said, his voice already distant. “I've made my demands and you've clarified your position. Going further would be pointless.”
“What is it about Oceanus that terrifies you so much?”
Gravitas didn't answer right away. His eyes widened and his lips pressed together just a bit more tightly. “What did you just ask me?”
“I asked one of the Eternal Herd’s greatest generals why he’s so scared of Oceanus that he’ll do anything to make sure that the traitors don’t get the smallest advantage.”
“And you are so brave, aren't you, Prince Terrato?” Gravitas spat out. “You and your sisters: so compassionate towards the mortals, so forgiving, and so sure of their worth!” He struck the makeshift desk, easily splitting it apart. “None of you were there during that battle! Lexarius and his troops were floundering in Bytos.” Derision mixed with Gravitas’s anger. “Celestia was hiding in the Silver Sanctum, crying over why her brother was behaving so badly while you chewed on her tail! None of you saw the destruction that had been wrought when the dust of the first rebellion settled! None of you had to see Sanctus Dominus himself, injured and faltering! You have not felt fear until you have seen that moment, Prince Terrato! Do not talk to me about being afraid!” He drew himself to full height. “You speak of trusting the mortals! You did not have to see your very comrades cast aside their loyalties for the traitor prince!” He pointed a hoof at Terrato. “Is it too much to expect royalty to put the Herd first?”
“You’re right,” Terrato said. “I haven’t seen what you have. Not even half. But I’ve seen things too.” He pushed aside the broken remains of the desk and brought his face against Gravitas's. It had been a long time since he had to look up to a pony who stood at the same level as he did. “You say that, as royalty, I should put the Herd first?” He grinned and took satisfaction in watching Gravitas grow angrier at his disrespect. “I say let the Herd fall! If the Eternal Herd can only go on if we destroy these innocents and all they've tried to build for themselves here, I say let Oceanus sweep away the old order! Maybe something better can emerge when it’s all over!”
“You watch your tongue, insolent prince-!”
“Or we can do it in the way my sisters and I are still discovering! We can save both the Eternal Herd and Equestria without sacrificing everything that makes them worth saving!”
“You would not say that if you truly knew what you were up against, colt,” Gravitas snarled.
Terrato snorted again. “How long are you going to let your fear of the firstborn decide things for you?” he asked. “Be your own stallion for once!”
Gravitas was about to make another angry reply, but he paused and exhaled slowly. Stepping back, he spoke in a flinty, but more even, tone. “There is nothing left to discuss. Fulmen! Ridentem! Escort the prince out of the Herd’s new base of operations.” Terrato turned and left without waiting for the two. Gravitas spoke once more as he turned his back. “When you get back to Canterlot, Terrato, you will find that it is already prepared for my take over.”
Terrato stopped, but he didn’t look back. “Did you think anypony would be shocked to find out that you brought more than two alicorns to back you up?” He pushed past his two “escorts”, shoving Ridentem aside with a shoulder when he didn't move away fast enough. “I trust my sisters and I trust the Elements of Harmony. Before this is all over, I hope you can do the same. We can still use you when the ninth rebellion turns up.”
Not 5 seconds before reloading a page, i was wishing that this would get updated, thanks man.
ARGH! Awesome Cliff... Canterlot is about to be invaded by not quite hostile Alicorns.
I'm curious as to power scales. Celestia, Terratao, and Luna seem to be strong to the point of rendering mortals pointless, is this true of the entire Eternal Herd or simply a few individuals? Do the EoH stand a chance in hell?
An update!
I sense epic fight scenes incoming.
update =
Should I schedule the bachelor party for Mr. Shit? he is engaged to Mrs Fan...
Awesome... the story is getting interesting.
Got a little mojo back. Things are about to get epic.
While I honestly prefer to have this read to me step by step by PutTrustInFate, i still felt the need to come here and give the story one of my reviews.
First off i want to start by saying this story has an almost bizzare level of dedication. It's risen right up there to parrallell Fallout:Equestria, despite the fact that this is only one story. That takes a lot of effort so big props on that. One flaw, as necessary as it was for the story to make sense, was how closed ended you made the story. As season three progressed this story steadily slipped from being something that could possibly happen in the future to being something completely AU. That isn't necessarily a problem given what the story is, but i still feel like an author of your caliber might've done something a little more open ended. Another thing that I've never really been a fan of is shipping the mane six, really at all but especially with OCs. I get that you're trying to make a love triangle build up here, but I believe the best stories are the ones that focus on more action or romance and not try to fuse both. Of course based on your responces, and stuff like The Hunger Games, that could just be my opinion on it. I'm also not too fond of your ideals on pony halfbreeds (I.E. the half wolven and half dragons, particularly the grossly overused half dragon idea) which suggests the happenstance of things that don't belong in any sort of pony fanfiction, at all. You haven't crossed the line into the realm of smut yet, and i believe you won't, just watch out. Another point on that is the simple unliklihood of such characters to actually be compatible in a natural setting, which cuts into the realism factor you've done such a good job of preserving.
Otherwise, it's a fantastic story. You have an incredible number of well thought out and well portrayed OCs who move the plot along at a fast and gripping pace. Your writing style provides a certain flow and elegance that lets the story move without hinging on any one specific detail. You keep a variety of sub-stories, all completely crucial to the plot, which i believe is one of the most concrete parts of making a good fanfiction, so great job. I could've asked more as far as suspence went, it was one of those stories i don't have any problem waiting for, but toward the end up breaking point and during some of the high action scenes here you still did a fantastic job.
I think I've wasted enough of your time though, i get to writing in depth reviews and then bam here we are at three pages like some sort of essay. Thanks for writing a fantastic story and I can't wait to see where you go with it from here!
-CC
Hmm, so the Stare is from an another one of Oceanus's Alicorns, and there was only one survivor from the experiments to create it...damn you cliff hangers! plus this 'Coldsteel Construct' created by the Earth Ponies sounds interesting...hmm, I too wonder what Pinkie found in those archives which is making her smile.
Hmm, so Black Rose just gave Celestia some of her power back, interesting, and now the palace is under attack, great, another cliff hanger
I'm shocked as Terrato is, Black Rose actually told the truth, Gravitas did want Celestia censured from the mortal world and without the rest of the Herd knowing...wow, all these questions being bluntly asked, explained, and answered is refreshing, so Terrato won't join Gravitas, yay... Gravitas sees all mortals as evil, totally saw that one coming...mortals were just as much a result of the King's throne as Oceanus, interesting...YAY! Terrato believes in mortals to do the right thing!...hmm, so Gravitas is terrified of Oceanus because of PTSD from the First Rebellion, I guess that could be expected...and apparently Canterlot is under attack by more Alicorns, that's three for three cliff hangers. Well done Visiden.
Oh man, this next chapter is going to be so awesome.
I'd feel better about this upcoming fight if there weren't some major personal issues still dividing the Element Bearers. That said, Dash and Rarity should be on the right path, and it looks like Pinkie has made some progress as well. On the other hand, AJ & Twilight are still having jealousy and leadership issues, and Fluttershy just uncovered some partial info about her powers that's likely to keep her upset for a little while.
Here's my wild ass guess for the chapter, since Shy's stare appears to be alicorn in origin, it would be interesting if one of the "visiting" members of the Herd might happen to possess it. Maybe even one of the ones that just showed up in Canterlot?
I was wondering how the confrontation between Gravitas and Terrato was going to go down, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Both characters seem resolute in their beliefs, and after this chapter I can only wonder how their next encounter will go down.
That being said, was I the only one surprised that they stopped running the train cause Chrysalis was on the tracks? Good thing there weren't any grudge holding Canterlot railway ponies on staff that day.
I'm kinda hoping that Black Rose makes it out of this story okay. Despite all that she has done, I can't bring myself to hate her as all that she has done has been for the benefit of Equestria and out of love for Terrato.
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Definitely curious about the power scale. Alicorns are clearly more powerful than unicorns, but by how much? Does Twilight's power potential match that of a typical rank-and-file member of the Eternal Herd's armed forces?
Ahaha! An update! Glad to have read it!
This was one of the first stories for me to find on this website so it's such a joy for me when I see an update!
awesome chapter! nice to see celestia get some power back, i was really feeling sorry for her. i get this nasty feeling that fluttershy is gonna have some problems with finding that book again...
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A graph would be so nice in this case. Same with Regia Carnifex, where does he fit in here, he was one of Oceanus' lieutenants.
I noticed some spelling mistakes and wrong words used in the last 7 chapters I read, though nothing too terribly confusing. Carnifax and Starswirl and how that whole shebang went down I would like to see elaborated on. And what exactly is Fluttershy, some descendent of a genetic experiment?
2346500 well, at the very least the Elements of Harmony seem to equal the power of one Alicorn. However, the the obvious problem is that we have no scale to judge relative power/magic by, mortal magic seems to be all spell based, and then there's the caster's power reserves, apparently varying per individual, so where would we consider the 'base line' to be? Meanwhile divine magic seems to be a little more open ended at least in the caster's element. There's been basically no mortal vs. divine combat yet, the closest thing was the Nightmare Moon/Pyre Valor vs EoH plus Vanguard and Scarlet fight back in Bastion city as the climax fight of Breaking Point. This was where the mortals got their collective flanks handed to them. It took a beam of pure magic, the last of Twilight's strength at the time, and a sonic rainboom/nuke by RD to even get NMM to fade back into Pyre for maybe half a minute for Pyre to make her 'why I hate you' speech to Twilight. Though another thing to take into account is NMM is using a mortal host, she said very obviously in a previous chapter that she was using Pyre's power, but apparently being the Alicorn (if not the divine being) of shadows, allows you to bring you own set of spells/abilities to the table, not to mention whatever extras being a handmaiden of Oceanus gets you. And apparently Celestia and Terrato are more powerful than NMM, whether this is because they're actually have a body or are Royals isn't made clear
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I was going to reply here, but I decided to reply in the latest entry of my blog instead.
HAZZAH!!! Long live the Prince
t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRhJxS-aj1ZJW60106MCD2s2UNrG1L_BU6uuYLi1i0LusFwxJ_l8A
This is the only story where I can read about a red maned, alicorn OC and be thoroughly entertained.
Solid work.
Well, that gave us several answers, but left us with even more questions! My biggest question is shy and pinky's archive trip. Also, I believe I found a slight error,
Should be and I trust the, in the, etc Elements of Harmony
I'd say that this is getting interesting, but that happened a long, long time ago.
Whenever I read "Black Rose" in this story I can't help but think of the identical-named dragon from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/135/710/130660655896.jpg
Speaking as someone whose read all you've posted; what was actually happening here? It sounds like Chrysalis, but she never turns up again, or was this an alicorn working for Garithos that Black Rose censored? Or did Chrysalis attack Canterlot on some sort of defeated suicide/ revenge mission, get killed by Black Rose and was that the 'Garithos agent' that Black Rose killed off screen?
Lexarius is discord right
3927944 yes.
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According to what Discord said, Lexarius is more Orderly than Discord. As a matter of fact I am reminded of something I read about Sheogorath. I believe Discord is suffering something very Similar to Sheogorath and Jyggalag. Those of you who know what I am talking about please no spoilers. Some people have not played Oblivion yet