18 Vanishing Act
Chapter Eighteen
Vanishing Act
The main problem for us was that our modified spell guns didn't just throw pure energy, and so they had much less effective range than the imperial weapons. We'd have to take a beating in order to get close enough to attack.
The Nebulas had rigged a few small hatch covers as temporary shields to protect the gun crews, and I'd slathered them with the anti-magic goop, but it was nowhere near the careful preparation I would have liked for such an assault. Nebula wasn't designed to carry so many ponies up top, let alone protect them properly.
The first shot hit Nebula over her second gas cell and crackled into a light sparkle of thaumic discharge. The imperials had fired too early, and the blast had been more than half dissipated by the time it had reached us, so it didn't even scorch the anti-magic coating on her envelope. I love it when my opponents make dumb mistakes.
Of course, cleverness isn't all that necessary when one has easy access to overwhelming force, and the imperials were accustomed to "getting a bigger hammer" as a response to most problems.
Nebula surged up hard beneath our hooves. The complete ballast dump was part of the plan: we needed to go from out-of-range to in-your-face as quickly as possible to reduce the time we spent getting shot.
The next blast hit the top tailfin with a roar and the surfaced blackened and bubbled, but didn't catch fire.
The next one hit just aft of the topmast, and some of the ponies stationed at the hatch there got hit with the spatter that sprayed under the edge of the improvised shield. There were a couple of yells of surprise and pain, but nothing to indicate anypony had gotten seriously hurt.
Right after that, two shots hit us simultaneously somewhere forward of the mast. They were hard enough that Nebula shook and swerved, and we all had to grab hold of something to keep on our hooves.
Then the whistle plug in the cupola tube blew three hard blasts: it was the signal for us to prepare for the attack. We all crouched down and held our breath as the big vent panels slid open and the roar of escaping lift gas surrounded us. The gas wouldn't do a pony any direct harm to breathe, but it did displace oxygen, and being light-headed while trying to aim high-energy weaponry was inadvisable to say the least.
The vents slammed shut and there came a single long blast from the whistle. We flipped the hatch covers aside and the weapon crews swung their launchers, catapults, and guns toward their targets.
Sirocco had done his job perfectly and brought us to a near stop between the two ships, with the top of Nebula's envelope just slightly above the enemy's gondolas. That gave us a direct line of fire to their turrets and engine pods.
Of course, that meant that their guns had a direct line of fire at us, but I was counting on their confusion when faced with a situation they couldn't possibly have trained for to make them a lot slower than our own crew, who knew exactly what to expect.
I love it when I'm right.
"FIRST RANK FIRE!" I shouted.
The net launchers flung their loads at the propellers, fouling them with chain-laced nets, while the catapults targeted their turrets with cross-headed shafts to smash the heavy metal barrels of their guns. Even though our green crews missed more than half their shots, we still completely disabled the engines and turrets to either side of us by the second volley, and the few shots the imperials got off missed or only did structural damage.
I looked forward toward the cupola and saw through the haze of smoke that Ao's crew had fired their grappling lines into the enemy's envelopes. It was time to—
I was slammed onto my side by a blast of magic from my right. I hadn't seen the imperials open ports in their gondola so that they could use their light guns. It was a stupid and hopeless tactic, and that's why I wasn't prepared for it.[1]
----------
[1] That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
----------
I started to slide down the curve of the envelope, instinctively flopping and scrabbling to get a grip on the smooth surface. My head and neck felt like they were on fire, and I couldn't think clearly. It didn't even occur to me to use my wings. It was only by pure chance that I hooked the back corner of a forehoof shoe onto a strand of the anti-magic webbing and jerked to a stop. I shook my head in an effort to clear it. The plan… there was something I had to do. Something important. But what?
A moment later, Ao was there, supporting me and saying… something. I couldn't make it out. She must have realized my confusion, because her antlers glowed softly and the image of a green flame appeared in front of my muzzle.
Fire? Yes, fire! I remembered. "FIRE THOSE SHIPS!" I bellowed, using the Royal Voice to make sure the enemy crews heard me clearly. "BURN THEM FROM THE SKY!"
My words sounded strange and muffled to me, and I worried for a second that I'd messed up the voice technique somehow and that nopony had heard me. But then I saw our specially fitted guns firing. I had lost my goggles somehow and squinted in the glare.
The sides of the enemy airships erupted into roaring green infernos. Within seconds, huge burning patches of the outer envelopes tore away and twisted in the fierce updrafts caused by the magical fire.
Well, the imperials weren't so foolish as to continue fighting in the face of the imminent destruction of their crafts, and they began throwing themselves out of every conceivable opening. Parachute canopies popped open like spring flowers under a fast aging spell.
Ao lifted me back up to the mainmast hatch. I lied and told her I was fine, though I may have mumbled my words a bit because I really couldn't hear my own voice. She gave me a worried look, but flew back to the cupola after a moment.
While I blinked and squinted, trying to get my vision to clear, my catapult crews fired a few more grapples into the enemy ships and then attached the lines to winches so that they could pull them in close for boarding when the time came.
And the time came right on schedule. Just as the last earth ponies bailed out of their craft, the illusion spells ran out of energy, and the devastating green fire and apparent damage flickered and utterly vanished.
Gotcha! I thought, with smug self-satisfaction.
Then I passed out.
= = =
When I woke up, I was ravenous.
I turned my head and saw Ao and Skyla having a whispered conversation by the door to my cabin. Ao saw me move and floated over to the bunk. "Ma…Ms. Nightshade, can you hear this one?"
I had enough sense not to nod. "Yes, pretty well, Ms. Ao. Is there any chance of getting some food?"
Ao glanced at Skyla, who nodded and said something to a pony standing outside my cabin.
I sat up slowly, and my head only swam a little. "We did it?"
Skyla nodded as she approached my bunk. "Yes, the prize crews[2] are aboard the airships and the Nebulas are transferring over the gems and crates of medals as we speak."
----------
[2] In aeronautical tradition, a captured ship is referred to as a "prize," and the ponies put aboard her to take over are called a "prize crew."
----------
"So, for the moment," she continued, "I'm in command of three airships. I guess that makes me an admiral, doesn't it?"
"Only a commodore, I think," I corrected her, taking a bit of guilty pleasure in her slight pout of disappointment. "Nopony seriously hurt?"
"Aside from you?" Skyla said, lifting an eyebrow at me. "A couple of nasty burns and one broken foreleg, but nothing else, fortunately. Though…" She glanced at Ao.
"What?" I asked, dreading an unpleasant surprize.
"Loose Leaf is back aboard," she began. "No, just lie there and let me tell you about it. It'll go quicker if you don't interrupt me."
I frowned but nodded at her to go on.
"The second ship had a big contingent of pegasi, too. They didn't make it out to attack you and Swift because Loose Leaf had gotten a group of her own ponies aboard, and they set up an ambush right by the hatch where the attackers would have to exit." She paused, avoiding my gaze and then went on. "It was a pretty terrible fight, and Loose Leaf's bunch weren't interested in taking any prisoners. She actually… ugh!"
Skyla squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She looked like she might vomit.
I looked to Ao in puzzlement.
The kirin bent down and whispered to me, "This one informed your ardent followers that you would not be pleased by a gift of the severed heads of your enemies."
I groaned and dropped my head back on the pillow. It hardly hurt at all. "I'll try and get it through their thick—" A little voice at the back of my mind warned me, Don't bring skulls into it! "I'll… I'll give them a dose of the old-school Luna style. That should straighten them out," I finished lamely.
The awkward atmosphere in the cabin was broken by Cream Puff arriving with a steaming bowl of soup and a fresh chunk of buttered bread.
"Oh, thank you, Puff!" I said enthusiastically, as glad for the interruption as for the meal.
"My pleasure, Ms. Nightshade!" he said as I began wolfing down the food. "Oh, hey! You've got your ear back!"
"Pfhat?" I managed to avoid a barley soup spit-take by the barest of margins.
"Your… ear," he said, helpfully pointing to one of his own.
Ao turned, and I couldn't see the expression on her face, but it seemed to convince Cream Puff that he ought to immediately be elsewhere. "Uh… I'll come back for the tray," he called out over his shoulder as he cantered away.
"Wafs fis abouf ma ear?" I demanded around a mouthful of excellent sourdough.
Ao sighed. "This one did not wish to distress you unnecessarily."
"And?" It was hard to glare sternly at her with my muzzle practically submerged in the soup, but I managed.
Ao glanced at Skyla. Skyla shook her head slightly and rolled her eyes.
"The shot that hit your head burned away your right ear, and a good deal of your skin," Ao said, bluntly.
I stopped chewing and lifted a hoof to my right ear. It felt sore, but whole. "Really?"
"It grew back," she clarified.
"Really?"
"Yes. The sight was quite—"
She said "interesting" and Skyla said "gross" at the same time.
"Huh." I didn't know I could do that, but it made sense. Even occasional kitchen accidents would leave an immortal pony looking like the victim of a mad slasher after several centuries if some sort of regeneration wasn't involved. I'd lost scars before, but I hadn't realized I could regrow entire parts. Fortunately, I didn't make a habit of losing them in the first place, and had no desire to experiment to determine the extent of the power.
"Also, the head of the crossbow bolt that hit you in the side was squeezed out of—"
"Agh!" Skyla's cry of disgust interrupted Ao, and she pinned her ears back as she turned away. "I'm going on deck for some fresh air!"
When she had gone, Ao allowed herself the slightest of smiles. "This one suspects your niece has not the proper appreciation for some of Your Majesty's more unusual qualities."
"Oh, I think she just would have prefered a glowing aura sort of regeneration involving less in the way of parts coming and going," I said, licking the last of the soup out of the bowl. "Honestly, what did it look like?"
"It was disturbing," she said without hesitation. "For a short time, we did not realize what was happening, and feared some curse or malady."
I shrugged. "Reality rarely meets romantic expectations."
Ao lifted a quizzical eyebrow.
"Romance in the sense of a fictional narrative," I explained.
"As you say, Majesty." It was what Ao always said when she didn't quite understand whatever it was I was babbling on about, but was content to remain unilluminated.
"Is there any more soup?" I asked.
= = =
We were anchored in a forest clearing somewhere north of Amberdale. Loose Leaf's group had made sure we weren't followed from the battle, but there would no doubt be all available pegasi combing the province for us, and everypony was working as quickly as they could. The three airships were camouflaged with netting and cut branches, which would probably be adequate if our pursuers didn't come very close.
I felt worlds better after my meal, so I took a tour of the imperial ships. They weren't built for comfort, but they were well designed, given the restrictions they had to operate under. Most importantly, they were simple enough for the prize crews to operate safely under normal conditions.
The crews weren't going to be fighting any battles. While I was unconscious, they'd stripped out everything nonessential to flight from the captured ships, and that included the guns. So lightened, the airships would be marginally faster than other craft of their class and capable of a greater altitude ceiling. The unicorns also had the advantage of being able to recharge their engines on the fly, which made running away a very viable tactic.
Their mission was to spread out and deliver the medallions to as many unicorns in the Empire as possible. They would drop teams at strategic spots where they could continue on hoof, and near metalworking centers where more of the medallions might be made. If my calculations were correct…
"Ten thousand medallions at six ponies each, with an outside failure rate of two percent—though I'm betting it'll be closer to point two—means 57,600 from the first batch alone," I said to Skyla as we watched the last crate of medallions being lowered over Nebula's side from her quarterdeck. "That's just over twenty-three percent of the unicorn population, in a little under a month. It'll be harder and harder to produce medallions as time passes of course, but with sympathetic pegasi and earth ponies—yes, there are quite a few by all reports—in six months, the Empire won't be able to maintain its infrastructure, let alone any war-making capability."
"But there will still be unicorns left, won't there?" Skyla asked.
"Yes," I agreed. "Even some by choice, I imagine."
"I don't like that," she muttered.
I gestured toward the other two airships. "Unicorn crews will be able to keep ships like those in the air when the imperials can't. That's a big advantage. The rest of the plan will fall right into place because of simple economics. All it will take is for one smart petty noble to realize—"
"But are you sure the medallions will work? Everything hinges on that!"
"Of course I…" I trailed off. I wasn't sure. I had planned on testing a medallion after we'd captured the imperial ships, but the little matter of being shot in the head had upset my schedule.
Skyla lifted an eyebrow at me.
"I haven't tried one out yet, but I'm sure they'll work just fine," I told her
She turned away to look at the lowering sun. "The ships lift at midnight. It would be nice to know all this effort hasn't been a waste."
"You're right." I nodded. "I'll go ask for volunteers for the test."
"And isn't there something else we need to do before we head west?"
I paused, one hoof in the air. I couldn't think of anything else on the schedule. "Remind me?"
"The overseer." Skyla said, coldly. "Amberdale is only a league south of us. It shouldn't take long."
"Oh," I said. "That."
Everypony who knew about the plan agreed. Everypony thought it was not only necessary, but just. Everypony said that, in the absence of the ability to imprison or banish, it was the only rational way to protect his underlings. Everypony but me.
I would have gladly killed him in the heat of the moment and rationalized it after the fact, I suppose. But the heat was long gone, and the thought of a cold-blooded execution, no matter how well-deserved, made me queasy.
In books it always goes like this: the hero challenges the villain to a duel. The hero defeats the villain without really harming him much. Then the hero is satisfied and turns her back, allowing the villain an opening for a foul strike from behind. This morally justifies the hero when she turns and delivers the finishing blow.
Sometimes, in the darker, more modern novels, there is an anti-hero who dispenses justice when the law fails. There is almost always a speech, articulated justification for ridding the world of the undoubtedly evil villain, delivered by the anti-hero to the villain before the final act. Often, this gives the villain a chance to suddenly produce his hidden weapon, further justifying his righteous end.
But the world wasn't going to arrange itself into black and white moral pigeonholes for my benefit. There was going to be no duel, no speech. The overseer was going to fall asleep that night and never wake up again.
Unless…
"I have an idea," I said to Skyla.
= = =
The overseer woke up surrounded by his female servants. He jerked and writhed for a minute before realizing he had been effectively bound. I remained in the shadows of the unlit bedroom, where he couldn't see me clearly.
The unicorn mares silently watched as he cursed, demanded and blustered. I had left him ungagged in the faint hope that he might say something of interest, but it swiftly became clear that all he was going to do was run through the usual litany of a bully backed into a corner.
I floated a power crystal over to the bed and wedged it firmly between his hind legs. "I'm sending you to a place where you will receive justice for what you've done. Wiser ponies than I will decide your fate," I told him. "Who knows… They might even pardon you if you are willing to change your ways."
"You can't do this to me! I am—"
"These mares are going with you to testify as to what you've done to them," I continued, ignoring his outburst. "There is a small chance that the gem will malfunction and explode instead of transporting you all to Equestria, and in that case, I think the meat of your thighs will protect the others. It would be a lucky escape for you, I think."
"You have no right to—"
"No, it's true, I don't," I agreed. "By the laws of your Empire, you could legally do nearly anything short of killing your servants. Because of that, I'm going to give you a choice. You can go with these mares, or you can stay here—" I stepped out of the shadows. "—with me."
He decided to go.
I gave Katydid a map, a letter of introduction, and a royal warrant, along with private letters to Luna, Cadance, Celestia, and Spike. "You should arrive somewhere north of Canterlot, if my calculations are correct. Just ask any pony you see for assistance, even earth ponies. They'll be happy to help."
She hugged me, which was a bit of a surprise. "I'll keep the others from killing him," she said.
"Tartarus is worse, I promise you," I said. I looked down at the medallion in my magic field, turning it so that the fine lines of the mandala glinted in the dim light. Sun, moon, and star sigils clustered at the middle, making a key to a very specific lock. I set it gently on top of the gem. "Time to go."
Katydid nodded and then said to the others, "Gather around the bed. Get as close as you can."
The five of them crowded in, and Katydid raised her hoof over the medallion.
I smiled at her and nodded in encouragement as I backed away, out of range. "Go ahead, pull the ripcord."
She brought her hoof down hard, forcing the center of the mandala down onto the point of the gem, and the unicorns' horns pulsed as the burst of sudden magic flowed over them. The portal spell blossomed around them. It hissed and churned, burning its way through the thickened interstitial medium by pure force. In a few seconds, the connection was made, and the six ponies vanished.
I let out a sigh of relief. It was nice to know that my plan was still feasible. Celestia might be a bit miffed at me when the flood of refugees began appearing in Equestria, but if everything worked out as I hoped, in the long term many of them would return to their homes as full and free citizens.
I was feeling decidedly chipper on the flight back to our little fleet's hiding spot. Everything is going to be just fine, I thought, with a relaxed smile on my big dumb face.
= = =
=
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Everything is going to be just fine, I thought, with a relaxed smile on my big dumb face.
And then it inevitably wasn't.
8245286
It never is.
Big Dumb Face.... Foreshadowing?
You don't kill pony Nazis, you don't kill rapists; who *are* you going to kill? My bloodlust must be sated!
Oh boy. On the one hand, the medallions are a brilliant idea. On the other, I think I can already guess how this is going to go wrong.
In any case, definitely looking forward to seeing how things fall apart.
This plan is going to feed into The Majesty Mystery and how a lowly slave of the earth empire became the feared Red Queen Radiant Majesty.
8245354
Wow! Good idea!
8245303
Oh yeah...
Alicorn regeneration magic seems to work awfully well for a low magic world.
You mustn't think such things, Twilight. It only provokes the universe.
Then Luna comes overto scream at Twilight for not returning immediately the moment she had a way back.
derpicdn.net/img/2012/6/19/10021/thumb.png
8245296
How has she not yet learned not to invoke Murphy?
So, they have a way back home.
Did I miss where this became possible? I thought the whole original point was to find the gems to power the gateway to go back.
8245465
They can go back individually with the spells imprinted on the medallions but they still need the gateway in order to get the Nebula back. And I don't think Twilight will just leave her ship behind.
Circut Breaker
TheGrog
From Chapter 5:
It's always been possible on a limited scale. With the discovery of highly charged gems and cheap thaumophillc metal (orichalcum), it has become possible on a somewhat larger scale. Not large enough for more than a few ponies at one time, though. Nebula is still stuck.
godofthunder4242
I know, right?
Relagen
Think of what it's like back in Equestria!
8245404
An entire musical number, just to invoke Murphy!
Yikes. No wonder Twilight couldn't think straight. She took an arrow to the brain. And apparently, she's also Wolverine.
Just how good is her regeneration, anyway? Like, can she survive a beheading?
Yes, Twilight. Blow a raspberry at Murphy. That way, your face will be in perfect range for retaliation.
8246255
Yeah! If she were cut into halves, would each half regenerate into a complete Twilight? What about thirds? Quarters? N=N+1?
8246507
Twilights for everybody!
8246507 8246661
Twilight is a bacterium confirmed!
8245332
Why, the heathens who dog-ear pages and crease or curl book spines, of course!
So twilight had over 50.000 "parachute" skeleton keys printed for her own universe, which was protected by said lock.
And there is an entire empire of militant earthpobies out there which are looking to conquer even more stuff.
There can be no way this goes wrong. At all.
On an unrelated note. Think of how horribly outclassed they will be if they figure out a way to get their armies to equestria and get smashed with magic
8246255
Or Deadpool...
8245391
*smacks Twilight upside the head*
No! Bad princess! We do not say that. We do not think that.
I thought it was Applejack that was the Silly Pony!
Yeah, looking back you realized that you jinx yourself Twilight. Great chapter by the way. Am I only one who think that Celestia had same feelings when Twilight start The hunt on pirates that Twilight now feel to Flurry?
Play time to see just what Twilight big master plan is to end the Empire without causing a massive clusterfuck of everypony gets screwed.
Okay, makes sense, adding more complexity to it meant that it would dissipate quicker, makes sense. Good thing you can take that beating. And nice to have their solution have it's flaws.
MAXIM 52: The army you've got is never the army you want.
Same applies for equipment. ALSO
MAXIM 47: Don't expect the enemy to cooperate in the creation of your dream engagement.
Yes you do, and who doesn't? Especially when you can keep goading them into making more and more dump mistakes through keeping them off balance and afraid.
Also very true... They very very much subscribe to Maxim 6
MAXIM 6: If violence wasn't your last resort, you failed to resort to enough of it.
But still it makes perfect sense, they likely have not had any real challenge in ages. Just being able to smash what few upstarts show up hard enough that.. skill what's that? Which is a very believable, realistic flaw, and one a clever pony like Twilight can exploit all to hell.
Damn this is tense, and.. we know they win but DAMN are you doing good keeping the tension going, making it clear this is NOT easy and is still a lot of risk, just, SO DAMN GOOD!
Ohhhh... ohhhh that is SMART, and. damn Twilight is freaking AWESOME, able to use every little trick, every edge, every small advantage she can to eek out a win. Seriously.... Her and Kirk need to team up! Why is this not a thing!
Even as often as it happens, never gets old. But yeah, just toss enough randomness at them.. and they are to rigid to adapt quickly.
Riiiiiggghhht... somepony got overconfident.. good thing you got magic dissipating armor and are pretty much the toughest most durable being on this planet right now. But still DAMN that is nice, again not making this easy for them and doing it well.
OHHHH yes, time for fun... and dazed Twilight is fun. Again you make her so damn GOOD... but not mary-sue levels of always right, and clearly making mistakes, or being caught by surprise. it's just such an amazing balance of Uber-badass, and just normal pony.
Did you just make magical flamethrowers? Though.. green? The only green fire we've seen is........ no way... Twilight.. what are you doing?
Okay, so is this were her idea about parachutes came in, or was that just to GET them to use parachutes?
Oh... OHHHHHH!!!! Very clever! Very, Very clever, though how is this going to win the war? it's a trick that only works till they figure out it's a trick. There has to be something more. Still, more ships for Twi's fleet for now.
So she got hit REALLY hard. Like, if she wasn't Twilight, Freaking Sparkle she'd be dead hard?
Guess getting shot takes a lot out of you. Likely also the whole, energy spent being healed.
Okay, so the fire wasn't their main plan, just something ELSE Twilight came up with for this to work, just one more step, that makes sense. Still... so what are they going to really be up to that needs an imperial ship to make it work?
Or at least a Commodore. But... don't let it go to your head Flurry!
And given the tone, doubt it's for a good reason. She get ratted out as a traitor quickly? Though at least she would have gotten away. Or, is there been a crackdown on 'blacklips' and other potential allies for Twilight?
Ohhh so more, what she did, and she's back because.. okay that makes sense, and nice to have an infiltrator, plus she really did get more allies for them, so good news. And the bad?
AH.... yeah.... that. That is going to be an issue. This is the danger of dealing with fanatics, and ones that already have little qualms about killing in general. But to Skyla.. it's going to be quite hard, especially since she's likely seen the results. Still nice reminder of just how... unused to warfare like this the Equestrian ponies are. Bar Twilight.
Wow.... that is both impressive... and very very disturbing in equal measures. Yeah I can see Skyla being a bit
over that.
Well that would explain the hearing issues... damn that really was a "Anypony else would die" thing. Guessing she has a helmet that took the majority of the blow, but her ear stick out of it and got vaporized? Just, damn that is... very nice reveal. And love the guy is taking it so casually.
Yeah, might as well tell her how bad she nearly got fucked up. Guess she had a LOT to heal from and a reason to be hungry.
Art of this please!
Just be glad everything grows back for you now Twilight.
Wait, wasn't that made clear back in Enigma that she could fully heal from anything that didn't outright kill her? including regenerating things? But also, love that she's so "Well that's interesting' instead of freaked out.
Maybe it was just an assumption made based on how this normally works.. but she seemed pretty sure back in Enigma she could fully heal. Still, good to confirm this.
Also let's hope this puts her off being a Sky Pirate after seeing the aftermath.
Yeah, you get the Wolverine version, that looks WAY more awesome.. so long as you haven't eaten recently.
I find this SO DAMN ADORABLE! Just, the image of this.. and Twi being that hungry just.. just.. WHY IS THIS SO ADORABLE!
Riiiiiiiigggghhhtt.. yup nothing about your life at all is like that.. not at all.
Okay, so not meant to fight, just a way to get around fast and spread the new medals and plan to other parts of the Empire? Get things stirred up all around?
Alright, and then hope none of them are so broken they turn them in, or just want to avoid trouble, or don't buy this, or any other way this could go wrong, still.... called that part of the plan.
Ohhh self replicating more or less, they can just keep making more and more, that is great. BUT WHAT DOES IT DO!?
Doing WHAT from that batch alone?
Wait... left? Vanishing Act? No.... no way.... HOW!?
Yes, that. Also heading west.. so this really was the whole thing? Just, get these sent off and then go home? Okay... seems anticlimatic, so has to be more to it then that.
But that fucking asshole still needs to be taken out.
Yeah that ain't gonna happen, all this asshole will do is scream for his guards, run, and then likely whimper and beg.
Ehhhhhhhh..... hard to see this as being that big a thing in Equestria. IRL yes but.... harder to buy that mindset sinking in there, given how little we've seen of the system failing, and how their leaders are so beloved. The main makings for that type of thing just are not there.
He's going to be their test subject, isn't he? And if these do what I think....
Yup.. saw that...
And the ones she would call THAT...... she really is.... HOW!?
Oh you do not WANT to know the litany of what you are you bucking piece of offal.
HOLY FUCK THEY ARE! But but... HOW!? And this.. this is a perfect way of doing this, deprive the EP's of their slaves and resources, save the Unicorns, and prevent the unicorns from just turning the tide. Likely be harder and harder to implement as the EP's catch on, but the crack down will just make resistance all the easier to form, and they will be blowing through resources. This.. this is a good plan. But how?
Also, nice placement there Twi.
Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe
Smart move.... but not as fun.
Good luck with that... now.. HOW!? The whole Lock thing?
Maybe he'll get to share a cell with Tirak, bet that would be fun.
Okay but.. If Twilight can just do that... what is the point of having a lock it takes three of them to open, if Twi can just fake it? And how are they able to do something that powerful even with one gem? And.. what about the whole "The barrier is to hard" thing that was keeping them here to begin with? Granted, we did see the barrier could be overcome, and that was a nice set up to see with the necklace, so it was set up that things COULD make it through, but... explain the lock thing and how Twi is able to just bypass it so easily?
Okay, so is just raw power.. damn those gems must be freaking REALLY powerful. Then again you can't be sure they got where they were going.
Twilight.... this is CELESTIA! No... no she will not. Surprised yes, but not 'miffed'.
Ah, so just doing this to show the EP's FUCK YOU! and force them to concede, if not... then no more magic at all. And Twi is more then able to screw with you in so many ways... but what if they reinforce the barrier somehow?
And, guessing you don't just use that to get home because you won't leave the ship?
Still this is a really smart plan. And.. yeah did not see this coming. Now it's a matter of the uni's making it work and getting enough gone before the Empire catches on to make them unable to respond well enough and stop even more.
Well.... nice to know there is still something left that will go horrible horribly wrong. Becuase as awesome as this was, is rather anticlimatic. And yeah Twilight is a better being then me and I love her for it.
Again GREAT idea, now to see what snags develop.
8246877 They have no hope, at all. Soon as they get to Equestria, they will be dealing with the full force of four very pissed off, fully powered Alicorns that outstrip their entire army easily. Plus, only so many per trip and likely not much equipment. They stand NO chance. The only reason Twilight isn't single hoofedly tearing through their entire armada is the magic limiter. Remove that, and let them deal with Twilight, Luna, AND Celestia, as well as possibly Cadance, plus a whole army of unicorns that know how to actually fight and have access to way more magic they the invaders have ever seen?
Hell Shining Armor could likely stop their entire invasion force with just his shield spell.
8245389 It's more a biological thing then a magical thing I'd say. Still, it burned a lot of her energy, hence the hunger.
8245546 Okay, so the sigils can only open a small hole, as a kind of emergency return mechanism... still a rather dangeous saftey flaw, but one that should be able to be used smart. Still feels odd Twilight would make such a big deal about this lock, and then be able to beat it on her own.
Or, is it not that it needs the direct power of three alicorns activly opening it, but simply, those sigils are keys in their own right that any of them can use? And only to return? I mean, I can see several ways this makes sense, but bit confused on the precise nature of things.
And yeah that was some freaking EPIC foreshadowing and set up.
8246255No, she can fully recover from anything that does not outright kill her, but once she's dead, she's dead. from my understanding.
I'm just wondering how the fabric of reality is going to deal with having tens of thousands of holes forcefully ripped into it, instead of one or two stabilised portals.
That universe seems to already have a history of universal outsiders meddling with it, I wonder what will be able to enter now?
8249234
Eh, I'm sure the fabric of reality will be just fine.
Just.
Fine.
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8246255
Actually, that was the crossbow bolt that hit her in the ribs last chapter. I should make that clearer in the text.
And, yes, she not invulnerable. If she's killed outright, there's no coming back.
That's only true if their guns have a particularly limited number of shots, or if they think Twilight doesn't know their maximum range. The first can be negated by simply designing them to take larger crystals (which, as deck guns, is perfectly possible) or by having an ammo room filled with spares (don't tell me the warrior culture hasn't invented mechanisms to make switching them out comparatively fast and easy), so I don't buy it as a reason. The second is definitely possible, but they've already shot at her and it's slightly wishful thinking to begin with, especially if they don't know her world doesn't use magitek.
Still hope you have enough spare sailcloth. Take too much more hits like that, and you might run low on the anti-magic goop as well. Remember that being here is pretty effective at cutting off your supply lines.
That's an interesting idea; you need to slow your climb anyway, so may as well get some use out of the lost gas.
I read up on the speaking tubes and whistle plugs last chapter. From what I got of the Wikipedia article, they're pretty well restricted to two endpoints here, but I'd imagine that that warning is not something you sound in one place and hope everypony else hears. I suppose Equestria supplements them in a way not supported by non-arcane physics?
And that's the difference between an audacious plan and a spectacular failure. Puts you in good company: Jack Sparrow (as much as he plans anything), Mal, ...
She's climbed the mast, then? I suppose it makes sense given how she was describing the gunnery crews and their defenses, but I must have missed whenever she left the deck; last I remember she was needing Ao to tell her what everypony was doing above the envelope.
Things like this make me keep thinking that the envelopes are draped with rope. It's reinforced cloth, it makes perfect sense that there's plenty else for the lines to catch on, but dragon-back combat seems to have gotten itself stuck firmly in my mind. (Really glad you like the series -- been a while since I read the books, but the first two audiobooks read by Simon Vance are great. First time I realized I'd been reading it wrong, though, and I still think of him as "Teremere".)
Light guns may not be best for anti-ship, but they'd still be more than enough for personnel. Hope she's got her armour on!
Apparently not. Ouch.
Hah! Rope-like drapery! Guess I wasn't as far off as the diagrams suggest.
Projection only helps so long as you clearly enunciate. Also, please tell me you turned away from Ao. Have we seen her power for illusion before? Doesn't seem particularly common among ponies, despite the premiere.
I think this here is the difference between her and Loose Leaf. Even setting aside the shipping goggles for a moment, Ao cares for Twi and doesn't like seeing her hurt, but still trusts her to look after herself and to be able to prioritize. The pegasus worships her, but would probably either trust her completely and take that as nothing truly being wrong, or be doting over her despite Twilight trying to get her back out to the battlefield.
Nice! I guess that answers the question of pony illusions, then. Good bit of foreshadowing there, too.
She has carnivore teeth and eats like a carnivore, but I don't remember what her thoughts on meat were back at Twilight Town. Either way, I imagine the new unicorns are going to be keeping a careful eye on her from the first time her stomach growls.
Um, Twilight, that's not pleasure you should be feeling. She's not going to be satisfied until she is an admiral. You've just changed the future of the Crystal Empire to be a large-scale, organized, and somewhat more legitimate version of Twilight Town.
Back from her mission, then, but quicker than any of them thought she'd be. Rallying the "traitorous" blacklips, maybe? If she has a friend in one of the nearby cities, she could have passed the task on to them and come back to see how else she could help her mistress.
Well, that's some initiative. Hopefully the scribes didn't get too hurt, but given Skyla's demeanour, something went wrong.
Ah. Right. Even with the proper reading of the prophesy, she is still their dark mistress.
Well, there is that. Still, you'd think Luna would mention something about the healing one of the times her lover came back with a big raw scar.
Oh, she will. Give her a few years and a few battles, and she'll be quite thankful.
Good for keeping up with the Nebula, and good for storing some of the captured riches, but nopony likes an escort mission. There's one time limit put on getting the portal working.
True, so long as they don't get surrounded. Not exactly relevant, but these are first reactions, after all:
Oh! The medallions aren't a way of getting orichalcum into Equestria, they're organizational tools. That makes things so much clearer.
This is one of the things I've been wary of. The unicorns here are unquestionably in a bad position, and the Nebulas can definitely provide invaluable help, but it's not their rebellion. As I've said, being convinced you can speak for some group you're not a part of doesn't end well.
...that's not just making sure the medallions display the proper message. What have you cooked up, here, Twilight?
First blood of the revolution. Yeah, you've been fighting imperial crews all this time, but as you said, heat of the moment, and you were pirates. Make this one count for the history books.
All right, either you agree with me (though you seem a bit too happy for that), or you're going to utterly ruin his reputation any any ability to regain his standing (and leave the other ponies on the ship a bit disappointed). Either way, this will be fun.
Seems to be going for the latter, then. Not being particularly public about it, though.
On the one hand, great way of intimidating a stallion. On the other, your speech says you have something else in mind.
Definitely a teleport gem, then. But whether to her Equestria or to another Twilight, I'm really doubting he'll get that pardon. If it is her Equestria, that isn't a bad way to get a message home either.
It's still not the opening salvo of a revolution. Guess that just means you get to do that even more spectacularly.
Twilight, Twilight. Stop being so self-conscious about your teeth. On a related note, I've been rewatching Agents of SHIELD, and have gotten to Raina being all disappointed with her new looks. I get it, but doesn't stop me from thinking she's cute like that. I would say "beautiful" or "pretty", but those have implications beyond those of "beautiful countryside" when used with humans. Might still get away with it on an ace forum, but, well, this isn't that.
Interesting, you've hooked the medallions up as teleports for some reason.
This is going to be fun!
That's still revolution talk. Pulling the economy out from under the earth ponies definitely destabilizes them quite a bit, but they'll still need a push before unicorns will be able to get anywhere near equal status.
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Thank you for quoting this! I somehow missed it on my own readthrough, and that is just too precious to let it keep hidden. Don't forget that this is the big, black, demon with her muzzle stuck deep into a bowl, and then
I imaginelicking soup out of her fur and staring disappointedly at it being empty. So cute!I think I have a tendency to see her as too much the pirate, and forget that she was a pirate in Equestria. Passages like this are a great reminder that, for all the extra realism iisaw's added, it's still a bright, caring world.
Yeah, definitely not "miffed". Maybe a bit put out, though -- with the number of refugees she's sending over, it's going to have a noticeable effect on support structures and population centers (especially if they don't all go to the larger cities). Not to mention the amount of paperwork that will be showing up on the Princesses' desks.
And thanks for the pointer to Clocktower Society. I've been hearing good things about it, and sounds like it's about time to check it out.
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I should make that clearer.
Exactly! Moreover, she knows Twi. The Twi in Loose Leaf's head doesn't really exist.
I'm not seeing a problem here.
Well, Twilight just screwed with the interdimensional laws of the 'verse. And now the universe gets to screw with her......
On a side note, very interesting chapter, but I feel as though it could have been better. TwiTwi not anticipating parts of a battle annoyed me, and the end was a little lacking on the attention-keeper side. However, I still look forward to the next chapter.
8248360
I think you forgot a few.
Maxim #15
Teamwork is essential—it gives the enemy other people to shoot at.
Maxim #2
A sucking chest wound is nature's way of telling you to slow down.
Maxim #53
A medal proves that you were smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive it.
8261036
... None of those are part of the 70 Maxims from Schlock Mercenary.
MAXIM 2: A sergeant in motion outranks a lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on.
MAXIM 15: Only you can prevent friendly fire.
MAXIM 53: The intel you've got is never the intel you want.
8261121
O I C...
Never read Schlock before. I got mine from an ex-marine friend who pointed me to one of those "Murphy's Laws of Combat" lists. Much the same sentiment I see.
This actually gives me a worse feeling than all the times you say something terrible is about to happen.
While Celestia might be unhappy about the Refugee situation, I suspect she might want to have words with Twilight about this so called 'triple lock' that I thought was supposed to prevent world-travel without three princes agreeing. Twilight only has access to two.
8543733
...while Twi sheepishly hides her magical "bobby pins" in her mane.
the surface
"only"
Now, Equestria has to build a wall and make the Empire pay for it.
I hope to think that Equestria would take in refugees, rather than turning them away.