Cigarettes & Gunmetal

by MonoGlyph

Introduction, Table of Contents and Miscellanea

[…] Discoveries have been made in the subterranean caves and tunnels of the diamond dogs. The artifacts recovered within altered the course of world history forever, though we’ve yet to see if it’s for the better or worse this way.

Over the last two centuries ponykind and their countless kindred sapient species bore witness to what is unquestionably the most radical technological and societal revolution recorded in the short 50 million years that we’ve inhabited the face of this earth. Our once-primitive villages and fiefs have evolved into sprawling cityscapes populated by millions of individuals apiece. Naturally, this population boom brought with it a number of problems including—but not limited to—rising instances of mental disorders due to perceived depersonalization and interpersonal disaffection, increased crime rates, popularization of anti-authoritarianism and other undesirable movements, rampant materialism, et cetera. […]

Our joining of minds resulted in an era of enlightenment and the inception of the scientific method. Technological progress was and is made at an unprecedented pace, accelerating exponentially with each year. Religious and, to a lesser extent, magical study has been cast aside in favor of advancement in the seemingly more pragmatic fields of the technical and the manifest. The Immortal Solar Monarch Celestia, once hailed as a godlike paragon to move the sun itself, is relegated to a more grounded position as an executive in the Equestrian government. Church attendance plummets with every passing generation. […]

Presently, we find ourselves in a dangerous position. The establishment of the vast digital network known as the Expanse and its social aspect, Grapevine and its affiliates, have made it possible to converse and trade ideas with people anywhere on the planet in a matter of nanoseconds. The potential for innovation is astonishing, as is the potential for abuse. The law and those who enforce it, as they currently stand, cannot hope to keep up with the inevitable fallout. […]

The theory of an impending event known as the singularity, (wherein technological advance accelerates to the point where our future is no longer possible to predict), has been scrutinized at length and ruled unlikely by popular scientific opinion, but this does not dissemble the fact that a major restructuring is in order if our society is to continue to function. Failure to do so will result in catastrophic consequences and, in the worst-case scenario, a global devolution into complete anarchy.

—Tall Order, chief administrator of the Manehatten Archives,
April 2001

Episode 1: Brain Cancer District
Characters featured: Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor
Additional tags: [Mystery]
Craving change, Twilight takes a break from the tedium of being Princess Celestia’s star apprentice and injects herself into an ongoing murder investigation with her brother’s help. The head of the local mafia family has been slain under mysterious circumstances; a vigilante stalks the streets of Canterlot. Can the inexperienced unicorn shed some light on this case, and more importantly, should she?
Inspirations include the novels Altered Carbon and Thirteen (AKA Black Man).

Episode 2: On the Subject of Hedonism
Characters featured: Pinkie Pie, Rarity
The freelance hacker Pinkamena Pie (online personality ‘Eu4ia’ to her clients) is in debt to the drug-dealing zebra living in the Everfree. Running out of time, Pinkie takes part in a dangerous corporate raid on the headquarters of Carousel Industries to retrieve an unconventional AI prototype. The CEO of the company, Rarity, juggles company recruitment, familial problems with her estranged sister and dealing with the thieving hooligans.
Inspirations include the novel Neuromancer and the tabletop RPG Shadowrun.

Episode 3: All is Fair
Characters featured: Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust
Additional tags: [War]
An artificially-grown genetic variant, Rainbow Dash, is in charge of a newly-assembled squad deployed to the Saddle Arabian border city of Bridleon. The Gryphon Commonwealth has mobilized to invade the territory for a yet-unknown purpose and unless something changes soon, Equestria and Saddle Arabia are posed to lose the city to overwhelming numbers. Rainbow and her second-in-command, Lightning Dust, set off on a daring mission to find and destroy their foes’ command post and destabilize their assault efforts.
Inspirations include the novel Broken Angels and the video game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Episode 4: First Contact Dermatitis
Characters featured: Applejack, Maud Pie
Additional tags: [Space Horror]
The results of the annual Equestrian Space Program Lottery are in. Applejack is to accompany the expedition to the newly-discovered planet Artemis II as an agricultural assistant to aid the terraforming efforts. After the tragic failure on Artemis I, suspicion surrounds the AI installed on the colony barges. Paranoia among the crew members runs rampant. Mysterious sightings are reported inside the subterranean sections of the newly-established planetary outpost. Is the fear of this alien world the root of the team’s hysteria? Or is it merely a symptom of something else?
Inspirations include the films 2001: A Space Odyssey, Aliens, and The Thing.

Episode 5: Beggars and Choosers
Characters featured: Fluttershy, Angel
A string of killings on the outskirts of Ponyville, ostensibly committed by a rogue manticore that’s developed a taste for equine flesh. City management and an independent lumber company have placed a significant bounty on the creature’s head. A sickly, hemophiliac shaman by the name of Fluttershy is in hot pursuit, assisted only by her trusty fletcher crossbow, an ill-tempered arctic hare, and the spirits of the slain. The rampage of the formerly nocturnal beast is an ill omen, portending the return of the Lunar Tyrant of legend. But the city, in all its opulence and unfounded self-indulgence, is ignorant of the coming darkness, one that won’t be tamed with streetlamps and neon signs.
Inspirations include the historical Beast of Gévaudan.

Episode 6: Nox Aeterna
Characters featured: Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy
Additional tags: [Double Feature!]
Rejoice and kneel, for the mistress of the night, Princess Luna, has returned after two hundred years’ imprisonment inside her confined lunar oubliette. Believing that the exploitation of anthroid relics will lead to the self-destruction of equine society, Princess Luna (or Nightmare Moon, natch) will stop at nothing to overturn the technocracy that governs the modern world and bring about a second Dark Age. Six unrelated individuals inside the Ponyville Residential District appear to be uniquely suited to foil the efforts of the royal lunatic—if her vast magical superiority and reserves of shadowy revolutionaries don’t silence them for good.
Inspirations include the novel Mona Lisa Overdrive, the video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the forced deindustrialization of Cambodia during the 1970s.

Epilogue: A Dinner Date with the Matriarch
Characters featured: Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia
Additional tags: [Season Finale]
In the aftermath of Princess Luna's flamboyant return to Equestria, Twilight finally scores the opportunity for a brief chat with her life-long mentor.

Author's Note:

So, I'd only got it in my fat head to put in an introduction after the first four submissions to the story were already done.

Ha ha.
Whoops!

I'll just go ahead and surgically insert the newly-composed introduction before the first chapter. It's the perfect crime. There's absolutely no way anyone will ever notice.

Disclaimer:
A portion of the fictional terms and occasionally entire setting/character concepts in this story are plagiarized wholesale from existing (published) works. I'll list these in a more detailed post-script later on.

Comments

[Alpharius IV]

My interest is piqued.
I enjoyed this foreword, I think it really sums up the state of the world without leaving the reader guessing, so they'd know exactly what they're dealing with.
I also like the sound of all the stories. I'm going to assume that they all act as background material for the characters, then they all meet? Maybe its the aftermath. I'll catch up on the chapters and try to leave comments as I go.