• Member Since 16th Sep, 2012
  • offline last seen February 7th

Andoriol


I just hope to entertain people with my fancy horse words. I always appreciate criticism.

Comments ( 331 )

Will read after work tomorrow, far too late to read all this at midnight with work :(

Still having fun with this. Still thinking sliced bread has been reinvented.

Now, now, I have to say, the team Emeris' got to lead looks a beautiful recipe for a big disaster. Of course, if any of the story I have read before have taught me anything, it's that this is going to be spectacular in many ways.

Thank you so much, for putting this story. I really like Emeris' interaction with the team and the way he straight up told Twilight to drop the pessimism by reminding her if her accomplishments. Also, I found Rarity's teasing about Emeris' dating life and Fluttershy's reaction to be funny as hell. Thanks for this chapter, so you'll get a fav and a like.

Grave Danger's name may as well be "Clear and Present Danger", or so we are to believe. It seems pretty clear that he doesn't trust Emeris, and given his expertise, will likely recognize dark magic for what he is. I fully expect him to undermine the chain of command almost immediately.

But then, maybe he won't. After all, he wouldn't have gotten to where he is without being all three powerful, skilled, and intelligent. He might actually turn out to be the most solid ally in this little mess.

I'm thrilled to see this published! And I'm really impressed with the rate you've been putting words to virtual paper recently.

As for the tags? Lots of people over use the tags. A lot. Tags are for the heart of the story, and the heart of this story is a romantic comedy slash adventure. While it will likely have dark elements, it's not a dark story at its core. So no dark tag. And for the AU tag? No. You are using the basic Equestrian setting with the addition of the OC Emeris. There is a point in the continuity of the series that you can say "This is where it diverges from canon". Namely two years ago when Emeris appeared. So no AU either.

Enchanting warm clothing and manufacture of armor is somehow more important than being rested for a confirmed engagement? This is the stuff that happens when you're sitting around at home. Just go to the quartermaster and requisition some jackets, armored if possible, warm in either case.

No no no, it's "Decepticons, rise up!"

I hope few month will show up Clop chapter or Darkness control chapter.

I hated this episode. First for the implication that Celestia and Luna would imperil the mane six and an entire city of ponies for a test. Second for the fact that they were manipulating Twilight.

THIRD for the implication that they were deciding whether or not Twilight Sparkle deserved to live or die.

What? That's precisely what it amounts to. If, as is hinted, Celestia and Luna were deciding on raising Twilight Sparkle to alicornhood and immortality, that means that they are hoarding the cure to death itself to themselves--- and giving it out to only those THEY deem "worthy," and the rest of their dying race can go hang. They have the cure to cancer, and they're standing in a cancer ward holding the cure in a vial over their heads and making the patients dance for it. But only the ones they personally like...

5437068 *Raised eyebrown*
The mane6 have always been in peril when dealing with things.
They ARE manipulative since episode 1&2.
There won't be land or probably enough food to live on.
Not everyone can handle long life...many will go insane...
And the biggest thing. Who would want someone that is 'bad' getting anymore power?

5436388
IT'S HERE IT'S HERE GREAT BALLS OF FIRE IT'S HERE!

5436456
An absolutely delightful explosion is on the way~

5436521
Yay! Those were some of my favorite parts as well, though the whole scene with the whole team was completely revamped from the ground up from its initial conception. It was basically fermented ass the first time I wrote it :pinkiesick:

5436654
I think I might be prouder of Graves as a MLP character than Emeris actually, he's actually a surprisingly complex character. That doesn't say anything about whether or not he's going to be a problem or not though! :rainbowdetermined2:

5436754
They're going to rest on the train there, and Twilight plans for herself and Rarity to do most of the magical part of the enchanting to ensure that Emeris (the most face-punchery of those involved) has full mana reserves. The group as a whole is already reasonably well rested. The blizzard has also been explicitly noted to be supernaturally bad, so having magically powerful thermal underwear is actually reasonable.

As for armor: Emeris is actually going to pick up some light barding. The girls though would only be slowed down by it, not a good idea in heavy snow and they shouldn't be in combat anyways.

5436869
Really? I don't remember that, but it's been years since I've seen OG so it's entirely possible I've just forgotten.

5436996
Um... you're going to have to slow that one down for me because I'm not sure what you're referring to here :twilightblush:

5437068
It is a bit weird that Celestia/Luna would even take a chance with the lives of the Crystal Ponies, but the Element Bearers have been thrown into dangerous situations time and again, for lesser things too (Dragonshy and such), they're a team of surprisingly competent badasses when you get right down to it. But they've been manipulating Twilight since episode 1. Well, Celestia has but Luna seems to have jumped in on it since then.

On them making that decision, it seems more like they were concerned about her ability to take on the role of princess. And we need to remember that Starswirl's spell wasn't completed when they gave it to her. They obviously knew what it was supposed to do and had no doubt Twilight could finish it, but it wasn't completed. We also don't know whether that spell rendered her immortal or not, though we tend to assume it.

Also, an immortal population would be bad unless you've got a post scarcity society. So there's a decent reason to not have any immortality thing spread out (if they even have the ability to do so, it's possible that Twilight ascended due to doing something related to her cutie mark in an extreme event rather than the actual spell itself, the way that the MLP Time Loops series runs it). And in that case, what other criteria are they going to use other than "Those we deem worthy"? You have the ability to make people effectively immortal, but giving it to everyone would be a bad idea, so you try to give it out to those who would be able to stand the test of time and use it responsibly and for the betterment of others.

I'm still not fully into the idea that the princesses have the ability to make others immortal (or give others immortality) though, and that's not how I'm running with this story.

5437417 No, an immortal society would NOT be bad.
Reasons:

1)Most important reason: NO DIFFICULTY, PROBLEM OR CRISIS SUPERSEDES THE ULTIMATE ONE, DEATH. This is why we have triage: because we know any other problem is reparable, but death is not.

2)Resources? The universe is damn big.

3)If you're so concerned about resource limitations, consider how much of our resources are consumed by sickness and old age. Hospitals are expensive for a reason. Which brings us back to point one: A race of immortal beings--- eternally young, in the prime of life, with their full mental and physical faculties at their disposal--- imagine what they could accomplish, unshackled by sickness and old age.

4)Imagine what they could accomplish if their Einsteins and Edisons weren't lost to the world every hundred years as each generation withered away. And if you would speak of the Hitlers and Stalins... we already suffer their ravages. How much faster and better could the world heal, and how much slower would we be to forget their sins if the Great Generations who thwarted them lingered on to remember for millennia?

5)Abstract concerns over future population difficulties do not absolve us of the moral imperative to life. Daddy worrying about whether he'll have enough for college tuition for all the kids does not grant him a reprieve if he decides to let one drown in the tub or starve in the crib.

We can overcome any problem if we are capable of surviving it.



The problem with "those we deem worthy"--- who deemed US worthy to deny the hope of eternal life to others for being less than perfect? They're living souls. That is enough.

And to think people mock us Christians for being judgmental....

5437672 actually one main threat would be staticness, nothing would get done because nothing needs to be done. Food? Nah im good, i live forever so i dont need to worry, space exploration? Nah things are good here.

Plus leaders would always be against change because change is scary

5437672
For one: I don't think that they're actually able to give immortality out like that. Again, Twilight only became an alicorn and we're not even sure if she's even as "immortal" as Luna/Celestia are in their agelessness. We don't know if any of them are unkillable. We also have evidence that at very least Cadence and Twilight are vulnerable to disease given that they were worried about catching what Discord had.

1)Most important reason: NO DIFFICULTY, PROBLEM OR CRISIS SUPERSEDES THE ULTIMATE ONE, DEATH. This is why we have triage: because we know any other problem is reparable, but death is not.

Um, depends. Insanity is not reparable, not really. And we don't know if they truly can't die. As stated above, we don't know what kind of "immortality" they have. We don't know if they are "merely" ageless or are truly unkillable.

2)Resources? The universe is damn big.

Your planet is not. Your country is not. You have more and more people because no one is dying and you have to feed them otherwise they start to starve. You have to house them. You have to remove the waste somewhere. You have to get them clothes and things to do. Even if they don't need to eat to live, they likely need to eat to avoid the agony of starvation. You don't own the universe, you don't own the planet or even all of your country. Where are you going to get the food? The space? Especially in a pre-industrial society which isn't able to get into space. Are there even other planets to go to in the universe of Equestria? Would they even think of doing that?

3)If you're so concerned about resource limitations, consider how much of our resources are consumed by sickness and old age. Hospitals are expensive for a reason. Which brings us back to point one: A race of immortal beings--- eternally young, in the prime of life, with their full mental and physical faculties at their disposal--- imagine what they could accomplish, unshackled by sickness and old age.

Exponential growth sucks. Populations tear themselves apart if they overpopulate, only now it's going to happen even faster. And don't forget the amount of resources (not just food and water but also waste and time) a child consumes while growing up. Also, we have evidence that even "immortal" ponies are not immune to sickness as I noted above. Hospitals would still be required to at very least ease suffering. Not to mention to take care of those who are brought into the world, as well as those who have not yet been made immortal.

4)Imagine what they could accomplish if their Einsteins and Edisons weren't lost to the world every hundred years as each generation withered away. And if you would speak of the Hitlers and Stalins... we already suffer their ravages. How much faster and better could the world heal, and how much slower would we be to forget their sins if the Great Generations who thwarted them lingered on to remember for millennia?

This is a hot-button issue thing. And devoid of emotional context: Einstein intelligence doesn't mean they'll continually innovate for their whole life. Einstein actually refused to accept Quantum Mechanics and spent many of his later years trying to refute it despite it being experimentally and scientifically viable. He basically ceased to provide scientific advancement after a certain point because he refused to accept an innovation. This would eventually happen with all the great minds. While they would eventually get past it, it doesn't mean they would return to the same level of innovation they had before.

Additionally, you can't kill the Hitlers and Stallins, can you even stop them when their factions are equally immortal? Do you strip away their immortality? If you can what gives you that right to do so? What's preventing them from doing it to you? Your best case scenario is to incarcerate them and their loyal followers eternally, unable to speak to anyone, unable to do anything, suffering eternally because the majority didn't agree with them.

5)Abstract concerns over future population difficulties do not absolve us of the moral imperative to life. Daddy worrying about whether he'll have enough for college tuition for all the kids does not grant him a reprieve if he decides to let one drown in the tub or starve in the crib.

We can overcome any problem if we are capable of surviving it.

Your initial point is valid, the example is unnecessary. But the needs of the moment do not excuse the concerns for the future. It's a balancing act where both must be considered. And no matter how heartless it may seem, sometimes one must die so that ten may live, there are times when sacrifices must be made to ensure the happiness and survival of the whole.

The problem with "those we deem worthy"--- who deemed US worthy to deny the hope of eternal life to others for being less than perfect? They're living souls. That is enough.

You have been given the ability to make others immortal (something I have to repeat: I don't believe we have reason to think Celestia/Luna have this ability), the choice is in your hands. Worthiness doesn't come into it for you, it's a choice you have, you just have to make it to the best you can. There's also the overlooked question of "How are they made immortal?" If it's insanely resource intensive in some manner or another (we have no evidence one way or the other with this, so this is entirely hypothetical) then you just don't have the available resources to make everyone immortal (before the others die). You've got to decide who lives or dies and avoid the riots that would come from some being excluded for one reason or another (or being too far down the cue).

And it bears repeating: We don't know what kind of immortality we're talking about here. If it's "merely" agelessness then your argument collapses since they still need food and water and can be killed. If it's "true" immortality in the sense of not even feeling the pangs of hunger, then many of the issues I point out can be eventually worked out, but I seriously don't think we have evidence for the latter. If anything evidence leans more heavily towards the former.

And to think people mock us Christians for being judgmental....

Okay, put this on pause please. I'm not bringing religion into this because for one, we're talking about brightly colored cartoon ponies, and for another we're talking about the practical issues of some potential unknown form of immortality on a physical society (Not an afterlife scenario in which the form of immortality would certainly preclude any issues we're currently discussing). What you or I believe does not matter to this discussion. This is for fun, even this debate should be at least intellectually stimulating and fun, not something to bring rage to.

There's only one mistake with the chapter. Autobots Roll Out; Decepticons Rise Up.

5437930 Yes, exponential growth sucks.

But people are not mice, or tadpoles, or bacteria. We do not blindly reproduce. Observed IRL that prosperity corresponds with a DROP in reproductive rate; most of Western civilization is currently below replacement rate. Current projections have world population peaking around 2025 and then descending.

Anyway nothing you say here supersedes the points I made.

And yes, my own headcanon is similar: I don't think that the Princesses can hand out immortality, or pick and choose. (See my own work, in particular "the Great Alicorn Hunt.") If for no other reason than that they are portrayed as good and benevolent rulers, and to play favorites with life and death would be the ultimate moral obscenity.

(but let's be honest here; the season finale was a dog's dinner. I mean, really awfully written-- it ignored canon all over the damn place, particularly about cutie marks, handed the entire cast the idiot ball, committed the cardinal sin of eating up limited time with grossly excessive musical numbers, and basically had Celestia doing what had to be the dumbest, most dangerous thing possible-- tossing Twilight the equivalent of a half-assembled magical nuke and saying "here, y'all, fiddle with the wires a bit and see what happens!".... and it's never even clarified what the darn spell was supposed to actually do when it worked right!)

5437417

I'm so glad this story is being continued, it really does deserve that much because there is still so much story to tell from what you've hinted at.

Very few authors do catharsis as well as you do, in all aspects (drama, romance, personal, action), and it's actually one of the things I've come to appreciate from your stories. One thing I always dislike is drama for drama's sake, which is a staple of many otherwise decent fanfics that try to be edgy. When drama appears in yours, it is always surprising, emotional, deep, and yet gets resolved in a very satisfying manner that makes the characters better off than before. So no matter how terrible an idea of this crew together is, something that may be far worse than the colonial marine detachment from Aliens in personality, I've faith that you'll tie it all together nicely eventually, and that it'll be a bumpy yet fun ride getting there.

That said!

it's possible that Twilight ascended due to doing something related to her cutie mark in an extreme event rather than the actual spell itself, the way that the MLP Time Loops series runs it

That has always been my personal interpretation, and the book Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell seems to confirm both theories in regards to Cadance (in the sense that it took an extreme expression of her special talent to 'ascend', yet it had Celestia giving the ascension). I mean, the implication that nopony in a thousand years was deemed worthy of being an alicorn by Celestia (yet Cadance was near the end of Luna's banishment, and Twilight was being groomed that early as well) is odd. Or the implication that in a thousand years nopony managed to have an extreme event with their special talent either.

Then again, Cadance ascended by reversing a spell using love. She reversed a spell. As a pegasus. Maybe extreme special talent theory has some basis afterall.

I'm still not fully into the idea that the princesses have the ability to make others immortal (or give others immortality) though, and that's not how I'm running with this story.

Am I right to assume that based on what you wrote in Letters from a Frustrated Scientist that you'll have it be a combination of an extreme special talent event and rare genetics?

5437417

I see you ended up using my name for the Unicromancer. :rainbowlaugh:

You have to admit it's fun to say. :derpytongue2:

Damn is it good to see you again! Loved the story prior, and I'm waiting for the chapters ahead! :DDD

5437417
The line is actually from the Transformers Animated cartoon, I don't think the Decepticons ever even had a catch phrase in the original cartoon other then Megatron yelling at Starscream.

wooooooooooooooooo its here!!!

Great galloping Gorbachev's! This got out quicker than I thought it would, and a nice way to start out a new story!

"Me: It's done. It's finally done!
Books: Stop him! he's trying to read us all! Stop him!
Me: NO! No, I'm going to read you. I'm going to read you all! DON'T YOU TRY TO STOP ME!"

... So. It has begun....

yay :yay:

And so it begins. Looks like Emeris's Gary days made the situation rather worse. Still, Luna is responding with escalation of her own. It remains to be seen how well that goes.

A very encouraging start. I look forward to more.

5437980

But people are not mice, or tadpoles, or bacteria. We do not blindly reproduce. Observed IRL that prosperity corresponds with a DROP in reproductive rate; most of Western civilization is currently below replacement rate. Current projections have world population peaking around 2025 and then descending.

I'm not sure where you get this data, but it's not accurate.

First off: Yes... humanity blindly reproduces. For proof, just look at any overpopulated third world country. Birth rates continue to stay a unsustainable levels despite the scarcity of resources available (2-10 live births per woman in Africa, on first glance it appears to average at about 6).

Closer to home (for me anyway), since 1950 (the introduction of birth control, coincidentally enough...), the actual number of live births has stayed amazingly steady in the US at around 4 million per year, but the death rate has been steadily raising with the population. The raw numbers show that actual number of births heavily outweighs the total deaths.

And again, I don't know where you got your information. But looking over the census data, and it's just plain incorrect. It's actually very hard to find any country where the death rate exceeds the birth rate. Looking at all of Europe and the Americas, I could only find about ten: Hungary, Moldova, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Belarus, Ukraine, Cuba, Guyana, and Puerto Rico had negative population growths, but every other country (all 77 of them) had positive values, averaging around 1.2% annual population growth, and some (not counting tiny countries) as high as 5%.

<<Here is a link to the data if you would like to see for yourself. Courtesy of the United States Census Bureau and international partners. >>

YbJ

So, are they bringing the Elements of Harmony? I mean the actual necklaces/tiara, not just the 6 ponies who represent them. After all, they are going on a dangerous mission where they might have to fight monsters and face off against an evil villain, so why not bring along their all-powerful superweapon?

This is something Emeris should have considered and mentioned to Luna at their meeting.

Do you mean there are people who don't use Dragon Slave and Ultima on mudcrabs? That's like saying there are people who don't use Implosion on goblins, or Magma Kraken on cockroaches.
Preposterous~!

I added a link to this to the Tv Tropes page.

Whoa, changing to Decepticons. Shits about to get real.

5438091

Very few authors do catharsis as well as you do, in all aspects (drama, romance, personal, action), and it's actually one of the things I've come to appreciate from your stories. One thing I always dislike is drama for drama's sake, which is a staple of many otherwise decent fanfics that try to be edgy. When drama appears in yours, it is always surprising, emotional, deep, and yet gets resolved in a very satisfying manner that makes the characters better off than before. So no matter how terrible an idea of this crew together is, something that may be far worse than the colonial marine detachment from Aliens in personality, I've faith that you'll tie it all together nicely eventually, and that it'll be a bumpy yet fun ride getting there.

Well I'm flattered. Thank you very much. I'm of the mind that any action the story covers should further the story in some way or another, even if it's to show that a character doesn't change when they should.

And yeah, this team is a pretty disparate mess of specialists, the interactions emotionally are going to be... interesting to say the least :pinkiecrazy:

Am I right to assume that based on what you wrote in Letters from a Frustrated Scientist that you'll have it be a combination of an extreme special talent event and rare genetics?

Ooh! Good catch! Yes. The specifics are nebulous but that sums up "natural" ascension like Twilight and Cadence's.

5438330
Ha! I knew it!

5438964
It's going to go spectacularly, obviously. :pinkiecrazy:

5439167
Emeris can be pretty stupid sometimes, he didn't think to check. I actually debated on including that, but it didn't fit the flow of the chapter well enough to include.

They actually aren't bringing them. This is because (as far as they know) there isn't a singular entity to blast with them and using them leaves the Element Bearers vulnerable to attack (a bad idea given large numbers of enemies as we're dealing with here). The Element Bearers are being sent because they've shown to be extremely competent at resolving situations of numerous kinds that even badasses struggled with (The dragon, the wedding, Nightmare Moon, Discord, etc.)

5439176
If you're using Magma Kraken on a cockroach you are wasting way too many motes and willpower. You should have a Hearthstone or summoned demon to handle that crap.

And if you just have got to go for overkill, you should be using Total Annihilation, come on!

Thanks by the way :twilightsmile:

5439209
YES. YES IT IS. :pinkiecrazy:

Hmm... at least he didn't cry in this chapter. With these types of groups there is always a traitor. I wonder who it could be.

Also, may want to slap an Alternate Universe tag on this bad boy.

5439739
I hope there isn't a traitor just to shake things up. Granted there is nothing stopping them from being big jerks to each other.

5439739
5439774

The definition of "Punic" is "treacherous" (it can also mean "or or related to ancient Carthage", but that doesn't exactly work in Equestria).
Emeris just this chapter wondered about how astonishingly accurate pony names are for who the pony would grow up to be.
Now, Andoriol could be using this to distract us from the real traitor, or to make Punic distrusted for [insert multitude of story-related reasons], but unless he takes the idea for a spin a betrayal of some sort is almost inevitable.

5439270
Yeah, it's still a pretty good line though.


And was popular enough to get carried over to the Prime cartoon.

Lets do this (knuckle crack sounds).

Throwing him right into the deep end. Personally, I would put him off of active duty till I had an actual personality baseline say 6 months.

Opening scene was nice and cute. Dash et all. Rarity the gossip strikes again. Wonder what was upsetting Applejack there in the carriage. On that note, how is it going to go over when word gets out that two of the most eligible mares in the kingdom and herding with "Gary". I have to imagine that many stallions would love get even one of the mane six in his herd and most mares as well. For the prestige if nothing else.

This is a wonderful team Emeris has been handed. If he's lucky they'll wait till they are out of town before trying to destroy him. Or each other, possibly in that order. I really have to wonder what Luna is thinking. Half of these ponies already can't stand each other (two appear to be enemies) and they are all experts and high ranks. And she's putting an Outsider (lol) in charge of them. I am serious about an armed overthrow though. These are the kinds of ponies who might get the idea into their heads to protect the Princesses and Elements from their own better natures and destroying Gary would definitely qualify.

This "team" is going to be a beautiful wreck. And Celestia/Luna deserve what ever it spits out. I really have to wonder if the Princesses are being willfully blind to the situation or if they are over-estimating human mental fortitude. My money is on Grave Danger being a real problem. I almost wonder if Luna's little sacrifice yourself line was an attempt at reverse psychology. Emeris would be far more effective if he didn't have a death wish after all. hmmmmmmmm something about this whole situation feels off to me, can't get more specific though.

Personally, I'm on Emeris side about him being team lead. If I had to send him, I'd use him as a contractor or adviser and start doing some actual integration with the high level people.

So Emeris finally got to see a heartsong. And it didn't seem to want him involved. We'll have to see if it's an artifact of his being an outsider so it doesn't work on him as he doesn't belong (and therefore being included in one would significant) or that this song didn't include him and didn't want an interruption.

I look forward to meeting Cadence and Shining Armor. I wonder how the Princess of Love will take someone who coopted and abused her domain like Gary did. (While I do like the demur Cadence most of the fandom uses, I do hope yours has some flaws....... imagine a hurt princess of love actively working against the love Emeris has found)
======

Then the little unicorn, probably no taller than Twilight, made a ‘can we get on with it’ gesture with a foreleg, the voluminous sleeve of his robe flapping around some as he did.
Aaaaaand he went right back into the douchebag box.
Luna moved on, not addressing the near insult even though I could practically feel Shadow Play stiffen beside me

I don't follow this ...... like at all. :applecry: He makes a move along gesture, cutting off his little intro time, therefore signifying that he is not worth being allowed to do an intro. Which offends ponies at him for cutting himself off when he clearly had something to say?? (Captain what does it mean when the compass spins round and round?)

5440016

hmmmmmmmm something about this whole situation feels off to me, can't get more specific though.

I'm pretty sure we can all agree that Emeris is being tested in the same manner as Twilight here, just what he is being tested for remains to be seen.

5440016
There are a lot of little insights in that comment!

Then the little unicorn, probably no taller than Twilight, made a ‘can we get on with it’ gesture with a foreleg, the voluminous sleeve of his robe flapping around some as he did.
Aaaaaand he went right back into the douchebag box.
Luna moved on, not addressing the near insult even though I could practically feel Shadow Play stiffen beside me

I don't follow this ...... like at all. :applecry: He makes a move along gesture, cutting off his little intro time, therefore signifying that he is not worth being allowed to do an intro. Which offends ponies at him for cutting himself off when he clearly had something to say?? (Captain what does it mean when the compass spins round and round?)

It's insulting because that kind of gesture when someone is speaking is rude in general, and he is directing this gesture at Princess Luna. He's basically telling her ”I can't waste time with you... get to the point" with non-verbals.

5439739
5439774
5439812
We shall see! And you know me better by now warpd, I don't just throw drama in for the sake of drama! Also, good catch Dragonjek! Though Punic's name has layered meanings towards his character and his personality. What exactly they are will be revealed in time.

5439855
Ohhhhh! ... I actually really like that. I think I'll go with it :pinkiecrazy:

5440016
YOU AGAIN!

Lets do this (knuckle crack sounds).

YES. LET US.

Throwing him right into the deep end. Personally, I would put him off of active duty till I had an actual personality baseline say 6 months.

That was the original intention! But events are a happenin' and shit needs to be handled now, not later. Life is what happens when you're making other plans.

Opening scene was nice and cute. Dash et all. Rarity the gossip strikes again. Wonder what was upsetting Applejack there in the carriage. On that note, how is it going to go over when word gets out that two of the most eligible mares in the kingdom and herding with "Gary". I have to imagine that many stallions would love get even one of the mane six in his herd and most mares as well. For the prestige if nothing else.

On the nosey!

This is a wonderful team Emeris has been handed.
...
hmmmmmmmm something about this whole situation feels off to me, can't get more specific though.

We shall see! :pinkiecrazy:

Personally, I'm on Emeris side about him being team lead. If I had to send him, I'd use him as a contractor or adviser and start doing some actual integration with the high level people.

That's debateable. While the princesses had hoped to put Emeris in charge of something a little less... intense than this at first, they need this done now.

So Emeris finally got to see a heartsong. And it didn't seem to want him involved. We'll have to see if it's an artifact of his being an outsider so it doesn't work on him as he doesn't belong (and therefore being included in one would significant) or that this song didn't include him and didn't want an interruption.

:pinkiehappy:

I look forward to meeting Cadence and Shining Armor. I wonder how the Princess of Love will take someone who coopted and abused her domain like Gary did. (While I do like the demur Cadence most of the fandom uses, I do hope yours has some flaws....... imagine a hurt princess of love actively working against the love Emeris has found)

I shall sum up Cadence's feelings towards Gary in four words: "Not romantic, but conflicted."
======

I don't follow this ...... like at all. :applecry: He makes a move along gesture, cutting off his little intro time, therefore signifying that he is not worth being allowed to do an intro. Which offends ponies at him for cutting himself off when he clearly had something to say?? (Captain what does it mean when the compass spins round and round?)

Aburi summed it up better than I did :pinkiehappy:

5440115
YOU-! Good sir. ARE CORRECT!

The return of cuddle-Dash. Now accompanied by snuggle-Jack! :yay:

Seems that Emmy's gonna use some new skills. Can't wait to see what black magics he unleashes.

I get a feeling that Emeris is going to make Grave Danger look like an idiot. I really hope he makes him look incompetent. Good god I hope he makes him look like a dipshit. Not sure why but something about him grinds me waaay more than just general douchebaggery should. In any case, hell yeah, the story continues.

5440226 Just because he's treacherous, doesn't mean he's treacherous to Equestria (to add a qualifier to my previous post). There are a lot of different ways to spin treachery, so I do know not to preemptively label him a villain. Even if I think he'll be one.

Although now that you've said there were layers to the name, I'm imagining him as the Hannibal of Equestria. How would one ponify Carthage--Colthage? Cowthage? Carthalter? Collarthage? Cowthage and Collarthage sound the closest, if you say them really fast...

5440261
Cuddle-Dash and Snuggle-Jack... I LOVE IT:rainbowkiss:

And skills that we haven't seen him use or even acknowledge in more than passing, yes. But not as much as you might expect.

5440388
Maybe, maybe not. Though Graves is really supposed to grind your gears on a subtle level. He's arrogant and annoying.

5440729
:trixieshiftleft:

:trixieshiftright:

Ponycian. That's the word you're looking for. :raritywink:

Also, his full name is actually Punic the Second of the Ponycian Family :pinkiecrazy:

Man, Grave Danger is giving me a SERIOUS Severus Snape vibe.

I honestly hoping for him to stop being a wimp and start standing up for himself...I mean, seriously...it's messed up..

Pegasus and unicorn made sense, but againap?

I agree with Emeris: What is this strange word, what is the origin and its hidden meaning?

Oh, what is it with Cheerilee and Big Mac having formed a herd? I'm kinda surprised as I thought that AU would come after play once Emeris arrived. Or is the love potion episode after this?

5440883
Ooh! You picked up on that! It's a fair bit of his visual inspiration actually!

5440969
AhahahahahahahahahahaHA!

It's funny because some of it is true!

5441196
I know right? How fucked up do you have to be to be like that?

5441329
The word is based off of Aganippe, a (amongst other things) figure in greek mythology known as "the Mare who destroys mercifully", an aspect of Demeter, a black winged horse in this form. Have fun figuring out more~

5441366 -_-
I gonna put this here to up my spirit and prepare for the upcoming dismemberments...
Can't find anything about soldier with dark magic.

5440787 He does his job well. I hope for his downfall to be as brutal and torturous as equinely possible.

Login or register to comment