The news had shocked the entire nation. Anger, violence, and even threats of war have erupted in the colony on the borders of the harsh Frozen North, all of it centered around the infamous city of Gueldergrad. If Equestria is to put an end to the chaos before it escalates, somepony must venture into the foreign lands and set things right.
A noble unicorn steps up to meet the challenge: Shining Armor. Newest prince of the Crystal Empire. Captain of the Royal Guard. The pride of the Equestrian armed forces.
But there is a lot hidden in the far-stretching lands of the Frozen North, and even more can it reveal among those who dare to enter. Things the valiant captain does not yet know about his own company, those who command him, or even himself...
(Collab effort between JLB and yours truly. Inspired by the video game "Spec Ops: The Line". Knowledge of the source material is not necessary to get the optimal reading experience.)
memecrunch.com/meme/DVN9/gentlemen-you-had-my-curiosity/image.jpg
My feels senses are tingling up a fucking sandstorm.
I'm keeping an eye on this.
So far, so interesting. I definitely like where this is going.
I'm reading all of Shining's lines in Nolan North's voice, by the way.
Really well written. Spec ops : equestria is a cool premise.
The three items on the sideboard where pictures right ? The third was someone he took a picture along with him and set up on his nightstand, yet someone he's fallen out with since? It's not like he'd have a separate picture of Flash Sentry just to scowl at right?
Unless Blueblood is in charge of all the ships and demands his picture is nailed to every nightstand or something
Looking forward to the rest of this.
static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/NEAT_3654.jpg
Great story! I gotta say I loved the radio hosts talking in the background giving all the necessary exposition without making it seem tedious and a bore to get through, you've got talent my good sir! I'll definitely be watching this, I've seldom even heard of Spec Ops, so the plot is entirely new to me.
Can't wait for the next chapter!
5841304
i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/015/044/b5f.jpg
Looks like somepony's starting to feel like a hero.
Uh-oh.
We are here because you wanted to be something you're not... A hero.
I think these two lines fit now:
5881846 Where would that second one fit, though?..
5881955 I'm 100% sure that the imagined radio talk got atleast some civies killed. If not now, then in the next chapter.
5881973 You keep thinking that. Poor caprics.
How the fuck did their armor stop a bullet.
5913542 Nobody said the goats were particularly good shots.
5913542
Who said it did?
5913561 What?
5913545 Skill has nothing to do with the actual damage a bullet does.
5913613 What me and DA are trying to say is that he didn't get outright shot. He got grazed. Lucky to be alive.
5913619 Ah, ok.
*bleats angrily*
Hmm, quite interesting. Watching, with a thumb!
About the picture: barbed wire in Russian is колючая проволока. Колючка for short. The word провода is for electric circuits only.
6250208
You may notice that the cover art (and the story itself) doesn't feature barbed wire only. The word was an intentional choice, with full awareness of the alternatives.
To be fair, though, we chose "провода" primarily because it looked better on the cover art.
Well that's got to be one of the coolest abilities for the crystal ponies. Near immunity to physical harm would prove rather useful.
6625780
Don't get carried away. This issue will be addressed later on.
I'm sure he's friendly.
Will King Sombra be appearing in this story?
7054969
Nah, he has nothing to do with this. It's an interesting idea though.
Wait, inspired by Spec Ops-
[INTENSE FLASHBACKS INVOLVING WHITE PHOSPHORUS, AMONG OTHER TERRIBLE THINGS WHILE JIMMY HENDRIX'S STAR SPANGLED BANNER BLARES IN THE BACKGROUND]
Oh god no.
Damm, they really need to upgrade their armory.
Hell of a ride!
I'm glad we got a long chapter with a focus on just three "good guys" for awhile. The amount of jumping between subplots and secondary characters in the last few chapters was getting hard to follow (a problem I'm noticing more and more of this story, though that might just be because it's being released as it's done). I much appreciated being able to stick with Shining, Bonnie & Coalcutter for a time and put the chaos of the frontlines aside for a bit.
I'm eagerly awaiting the next chapter now, trying to figure out if we're on the doorstep to a false climax or not. So many loose ends still to tie... Good luck!
Oh, and by the way...
That paragraph was bitchin.
(P.S. I was reading this while listening to the Evpatoria Report, and after it was finished my iTunes dilligently went to the next two artists in alphabetical order, playing these two songs for the last few thousand words. Talk about intensity...)
Shit
I'm thinking High Strung is going to have his brains platered all over his equipment at some point, yes?
Dude, I was listening to the soundtrack for Spec Ops: the Line, and that last battle, mixed with the music, felt just like the game. It was perfect.
Oh shit...
pines