• Member Since 2nd Jun, 2012
  • offline last seen Jul 26th, 2023

Lithl


Friends aren't people who don't piss you off. They're people who are worth forgiving over and over.

T
Source

An explosion of liquid light rocks Ponyville, and when its inhabitants awake, they find themselves stuck in the most foul of foul swamps. All of Ponyville has been transported to a strange new world of foreign magics, dangers, and mysteries, and this time the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony will not be alone in saving the day. But which day needs saving the most? Will it be Equestria's? Or Creation's?


This fic is a crossover with the Exalted roleplaying game by White Wolf Publishing, and was inspired by a collection of pieces by Rhanite.

Chapters (20)
Comments ( 290 )

Extremely well written,I look forward to more.

Impressive sir,

I have no idea where this is going, but i'm liking it so far. Keep it up.

Now this is how you make a crossover. Not only is it with Exalted , but the author clearly knows his lore in depth. Favored with the power of the Sol Invictus

922382
Thanks! :twilightsmile: I'll admit, I was doing a lot of fact-checking while writing this (description of the Dowager, distances to locations from the Noss Fens, and build of a Yu-Shan gateway are probably the most apparent so far). But with >1gb of Exalted 2e pdfs on my desktop (plus >200mb of 1e materials), and all of the Exalted 2e books on the shelf in my room (barring Broken-Winged Crane, Thousand Correct Actions of the Upright Soldier, and Glories of the Most High, which were originally digital-only), I've got plenty of reference if there's anything I haven't memorized. Plus, Ink Monkeys.

I hope once I get the ball rolling, I can bring in some truly Exalted-worthy epic-ness to MLP. Or bring MLP to Exalted-worthy epic-ness. Or something. :pinkiehappy:

Oh! And Saekwaka is currently editing the prologue and ch1, so hopefully I can iron out any mistakes I did make. Thanks, Saekwaka!

This is my first time commenting on here so forgive any weirdness in my post

I love anything and everything Exalted flavored, especially if it is a crossover. Exalted works so well because you can make anything in it. The ponies could even be worked into it nicely. May I confess my unending love to the Exalted setting? I've been waiting for this crossover since...uhh...well over a year, before those pictures you used had been made.

Anyway, I will be following this story closely. I love reading things like this and pointing to the screen and saying "I've been there in my game!!"
~Mal

924701
No weirdness at all! I'm glad you're liking it so far.

Cookie to the first person to match a name to my (Exalted) avatar. Description doesn't count. Telling me where the image is from doesn't count. You gotta give me the name!

Now I'd really like to read this but I have to ask, how accessible is this fic to someone who has only limited knowledge of Exalted? I know a bit about it and am fascinated by the setting, but I am really just on the time of the iceberg of knowledge. Would I be lost by reading or is it explained?

Normally I'd read it anyway, but I honestly don't know if my brain can handle the research to understand the fic if I enjoy it. I already have too many complete histories of sci-fi and fantasy worlds stuffed in my head. :derpytongue2:

The Dowager in Equestria. This is really, really bad. Even among the deathlords, the Dowager sets a standard for calculated sadistic evil.

963031
I'm trying to make this accessible as I can. My assumption when writing is that the reader is familiar with MLP, but not with Exalted. Of course, there's a lot of Exalted material, so there's no way I could cover all of it. Some stuff gets covered in my descriptions of the scenery, some stuff gets covered by character interactions, and a couple things that I've touched on briefly (but are not critical to the story) I talk about a little more in depth in the author's notes for funsies. (I don't intend to ever cover game mechanics outside remarks in the author's notes like I did with the Written Upon the Water spell; this is a story, not an Exalted game -- there will be no talk of character sheets or dice, etc.)

I'd love input on how well I'm doing on that front, though. Am I presenting too much information to the reader? Too little?

963331
The Dowager. In Equestria. With the Well of Udr. Did I just win the most epic game of "Clue" ever? :pinkiecrazy:

964323

I have to say, so far so good. Everything is pretty easy to understand and follow. The notes at the end are nice as well. :scootangel:

Will the rest of the mane 6 become exalted? Bad to assume, but I'm guessing they will. After all, mortals have a hard time in the Exalted setting right?

966281
The cover image might just be a hint at some exaltations occurring in the future... :ajsmug: See if you can make out the caste marks!

(The remaining five of the Mane Six are also not the only ones destined for exaltation in this story)

And yeah, most of the interesting stuff that happens in Creation sucks if you're a mortal (the uninteresting stuff actually isn't that bad for mortals, except for being boring). The Mane Six are currently on the level of Heroic Mortal rather than just an extra, since they're already protagonists. They're still mortals, though, and it seems like half of the more violent sorceries/necromantic spells/artifacts just say "all mortals in the area die, period." while exalts of all types at least get a chance of survival. Traveling through Cecelyne is a bad plan for any mortal (heroic or otherwise) that enjoys being alive. (Pinkie is wrong about dying within a few minutes, but it's still a bad plan.)

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I've seen the cover image before as well as the individual pictures, them being part of the reason I asked. :twilightsmile:

I admit most of my Exalted knowledge comes from tvtropes and from an acquired *cough*torrented*cough* rulebook. Though I didn't make it all the way through, got distracted by something and never finished. The setting fascinates me, and I'd love to learn to play but time in addition to the fact that I know noone who is into rpgs kind of hampers the effort. So the fact that there is now a pony crossover is great. It helps that it is a very entertaining story as well. :pinkiehappy:

968655
Yeah, if you read the description, Rhanite's art provides minor spoilers for the story. :raritywink:

Honestly, it's been a while since I've actually had the chance to play. Our group's best ST got burned out on the game (though he seems to really like the changes made in the errata dubbed "edition 2.5", so maybe he'll get back into it), and our second best ST doesn't want to do anything until and unless they release more info on Authochtonia (at which point he plans to run an Alchemicals campaign).

Kinda makes me sad, too, 'cuz just before the first ST got burned out, we had started a mixed campaign where I had this Auroch totem Lunar that I found really amusing to play. He was built like a wall*, and he was about as intelligent as one, too. The ST them promptly lost his campaign notes, so even if he stops being burned out we can't go back to that campaign. :raritycry:

*sigh* that sort of thing happens to my group a lot, unfortunately. My ugly-as-sin Scum (Dark Heresy) who still managed to be the face of the party finally getting combat-worthy? Party wants to swap to D&D. Sorcerer becomes Duke and starts the world's first bank with major plot points falling out of the sky? Party wants to play Deathwatch. Halfway through second mission? Party wants to play Black Crusade. Tau-obsessed player finally gives up on W40k RPGs trying to get Tau stuff? Two players have a baby, one loses his apartment, and one is banned from joining us due to a rather funny story involving a cow.


* By which I mean, Legendary (6) Stamina, 5 Resistance, 6x Ox-Body Technique (I ran out of health boxes on my sheet!), Deadly Beastman Transformation (with natural armor mutations), moonsilver superheavy plate, and both of the Lunar healing charms (both of which are Gift charms, so you can commit essence to them when you go Deadly Beastman and they'll keep working every round of combat). His weapon of choice? His face :pinkiecrazy: (He had a pair of Smashfists as Tattoo Artifacts, and for flavor instead of one on each fist, one was on his face.)

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Must.... resist.... spoilers.... :fluttershyouch:

Took me a minute to get what ST stood for, I'm used to GameMaster or DungeonMaster not StoryTeller. :facehoof: Anyway, that sucks, especially your best getting burned out. Have you ever actually completed a campaign with your group? Sounds like you switch settings too often to finish anything. Oh and now I'm really curious about the cow story.

I understand the stats and essence but I only know a bit about charms and even less about the artifacts, however I know enough to get the gist of your character. He must have really been a home wrecker..... with his face. Any jokes about his face being so ugly it could kill? Or maybe something about being hardheaded? Thick skulled? :trollestia:

My only question here is how exactly Pinkie Pie got past the whole "only humans can become Exalted" limit.

966378

I've seen that image before, so here go spoilers for those of you who don't know what those caste marks mean.
Twilight Sparkle = Twilight Caste, the magicians, scientists, and inventors of the Solar Exalted.
Applejack = Dawn Caste, the greatest warriors and generals of the Solar Exalted.
Rarity = Eclipse Caste, Diplomats without peer, admirals, and couriers.
Rainbow Dash = Night Caste, Thieves and Assassins.
And thanks to the process of Elimination, Fluttershy = Zenith Caste, priests of the Unconquered Sun and leaders of men.

Also: Curse you for ending on that cliffhanger.

983515
Well, it's an established fact that half-humans can exalt (Black Ice Shadow, for example, is a ghost-blooded Chosen of Endings in canon Exalted). Also, the only sapient mortal creatures I can think of in the Exalted canon that are neither human nor heavily Wyld-tainted are the Dragon Kings... and Dragon Kings are only sapient when they're taught how to be. After the Great Contagion, there were no sapient Dragon Kings left to instruct the infants/reincarnated Dragon Kings (although there is a group of Pterok ghosts in the Underworld who have refused to reincarnate so that they can maintain the Dragon King legacy/knowledge).

Also also, as mentioned earlier, the interesting stuff that happens in Creation kinda sucks if you're a mortal (even Heroic Mortal). So putting ponies in Creation means either leaving them out of the interesting stuff (not a fun story), killing them all (not cool unless you want [Sad]/[Dark]), or making them exalt. :pinkiehappy:

tl;dr: Ponies can exalt because the Storyteller said so. :raritywink:

983515
If ponies have souls that function like humans, then they can exalt like humans.

Pinkie Pie has a bounty out on reference spotting! One cupcake for recognizing Octavia's cover! :pinkiesmile:

My God, that was amazing.

Your writing is near flawless,and your plot is great.

Keep going!

PPS

Twilight's exaltation didn't really live up to my hopes for it. This horse dude feels like a footnote, and the speech seems to come out of nowhere. I was hoping for some epic feat of intelligence with clear plot relevance, and I don't see any interesting or epic plot hooks in this confrontation.

1043245
To be perfectly honest, I wasn't planning to exalt Twilight until the next chapter. Then again, I was planning for the ponies to reach gate 16 this chapter, and they haven't quite gotten there yet. While I do plan before writing, the act of writing shapes the story just as much as outlining a chapter does; my story is malleable.

I would have loved for Twilight's speech to be more epic, but I'm no social-fu master myself, so impressing that into text can be difficult. That said, you don't generally get a Solar exaltation just from talking pretty (well, maybe an Eclipse...) - Twilight's exaltation comes as much from her speech as from her desire to protect everypony from a god who wanted to perform [Mature]-rated experiments with the ponies (mortal ponies are not supposed to be rainbow colored, nor are they supposed to talk - this is new for Hiparkes) and her need for more power to successfully do so (with no exalt using War charms to direct the mass combat, Hiparkes would have wiped the floor with the ponies in seconds). A lot of the stallions were a bit too eager... but they would have been sorely surprised once they found out exactly what Hiparkes had planned for them.

While a terrestrial god, Hiparkes is not a minor god. He's the god of the Marukan Plains, home to the Marukani Alliance which contains several hundred human settlements. The Seventh Legion (the second-largest standing army in Creation) only rides on Marukani horses.

Hiparkes fled a battle against a herd of intelligent horses that matched the size of his herd-form, plus a newly-minted Solar exalt, plus an exalt of unknown power and type (but with access to First Age weaponry and starmetal equipment - starmetal being made from the corpses of dead gods...) His flight was as much a strategic withdrawl as it was fear. Remember, the fight only actually began when he succumbed to rage; getting a buzz cut from a blast of ball lightning can take the wind out of your sails pretty easily.

Also, Hiparkes has a third form which he hasn't revealed, and looks nothing like his other two forms... dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Trixie_lolface_2.png

Was "The Conductor of the Cacophonic Steel Chorus" a reference to Keychain of Creation? =3

1043538
Yup! PPS got the cupcakes, though. :pinkiesad2:

Have a moustache instead! :moustache:

Loved it!

Twilights exaltation did seem a little underplayed tho. Massive solar power which she did what with?

If she was using war charms show us her using them.

This is roughly the shape of the gems Rarity found (yay, MS Paint!):
lithl.info/images/my-little-exalt/hearthstones.png
(not to scale - the one on the left is about half the size of the one on the right, and the center one is between the two as far as size goes)

This is the shape the gems were laid out in (top is furthest from Rarity):
lithl.info/images/my-little-exalt/heptagram.png

Also: I was going to make this a bit longer, but the fight scene (and subsequent chase) kinda got away from me. I'd already delayed the chapter a bunch, and I didn't want to delay it any more, so I've decided to cut this chapter off at AJ's exaltation. There isn't too much in my outline for the chapter that I've skipped, and it should work out nicely for the beginning of the next chapter, so I don't feel too bad about it.

Love the fight and chase stuff. I can "SEE" twlights use of the war excellency her planning and leadership. Mare needs to put down the lore excellencies and drop a few more "death of obsidian butterfly'" on the bad guys at some point. (or magma kraken, magma kraken solves every problem ever thought of)

Oh and Dawn caste vs some books? Methinks there is gonna be allot of paper mâché very soon.
Would be very cool to see some "obvious" charms being used. Crashing wave throw is perhaps as much fun as you can have playing a dawn caste whilst keeping your pants on.

Enjoying it! Keep up the great work. :)

Good chapter...but my knowledge of Exalted mechanics forces me to ask.

How the heck is Trixie an Air Aspect? Because either some thousand years ago Trixie's great grandmare ran into an Exalted Human in Equestria, or Trixie was fresh blessed by the Air Dragon (somehow). It makes no sense @___@

PPS

That fight was a lot more satisfying than the previous one.

1185696

IIRC, Terrestial Exaltations only happen because someone, somewhere, no matter how far back in your family Tree was a Dragonblooded. Which is just about potentially every Human in Creation after five thousand or so years. As Trixie just entered Creation from an alternate world, she and all the other ponies should be ineligible for a Terrestial Exaltation, unless she somehow has one for an ancestor. Now given Exalts and their Mature rated activities, this might not be that far fetched, though that kinda thing is generally more the realm of Lunars. Or I suppose if Mela got off her behind and hit Trixie up with a fresh lineage. In which case hello, sweet, sweet Legendary rating in Breeding.

So anyways, what I'm trying to ask is... whats up with that? :rainbowhuh:

1189349
Oh god, I just read magma kraken in your comment as magma kitten. That sounds adorable and horribly burn inducing. But still cute.

1189349
Learning Death of Obsidian Butterflies or Magma Kraken would require passing through the Five Stations of Sorcery dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Twilight_Sparkle_lolface.png
(As far as initiation into the Terrestrial Circle of Sorcery goes, Twilight has reasonably already passed the Stations of Humility, Journey, and Fear, and if/when she learns how to read the languages the Station of Tutelage would be trivial for a bookworm like Twilight with access to a GIANT LIBRARY IN A TWILIGHT MANSE. The Station of Sacrifice could be another matter.)

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1189604
Exactly! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Trixie_lolface_2.png
(Asking how Trixie can manage to possibly be an Air Aspect is a Good Thing™. Let me reassure you that there is a reason for it beyond "Rhanite drew it" -- I do actually have plans for the story.)

The name of your avatar is Pasiap, the Great Elemental Dragon of Earth. What type of cookie do I get?

Also, would it be okay if I made a fic based around Exalted ponies, and used Rhanite's pictures, but took the story in a completely different direction?

1207680
What kind of cookie do you want? :ajsmug:

You'd have to ask Rhanite about using his stuff (send him a message on deviantArt), but I've got no problem reading another Exalted pony story!

Since Octavia had to leave a note for Vinyl, does this mean Octavia has the Acquaintances background, or does Vinyl have something that lets her ignore Arcane Fate memory loss?

1211788
Nopony (mortal) can outright ignore Arcane Fate under normal circumstances. A Sidereal can force themselves into a mortal's memory with repeated contact (this is what the Acquaintances background represents). Mechanically, others make (Wits+Integrity) rolls with a -3 internal penalty to try to remember the Vizier, so a mortal with high Wits+Integrity could potentially overcome Arcane Fate spontaneously. The roll becomes easier the more often it's made, which is how Acquaintances are developed.

Pinkie maintains friendships with everypony she meets, which would effectively be Acquaintances 5 (Ponyville only) or possibly N/A (elsewhere in Equestria as well). Pinkie also claims the rest of the Mane Six have threads of fate interwoven with hers, so that she's got no need to maintain a relationship with them just so that they remember her. But hey, why not throw a party anyway? :pinkiegasp:

Derpy is a mailmare (and a background pony in canon), so is ultimately forgettable by other ponies; that said, she's got her daughter Dinky, and at least Rainbow Dash is familiar with her - she would have Acquaintances 1 or 2.

In order to maintain her position as a cellist at high society functions (because ambrosia ain't gonna pay the bills in Canterlot), Octavia at the very least needs to have Acquaintances with the rest of her ensemble. She would also likely have a few dots in Connections[Equestrian High Society] or something as well to help get gigs for the ensemble.

More important than all of that, though, is the sidebar on p120 in the Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals:

Arcane Fate:
A Storyteller's Perspective
Who remembers and who fails to remember a Sidereal character and who’s made how many rolls end up being a lot of paperwork. Your secret technique is to just skip it. Extras and unimportant characters forget the Sidereal, unless they have a spectacular (Wits + Integrity) pool. Important Storyteller characters remember the Sidereal unless they have a terrible (Wits + Integrity). If players have to worry about remembering a Sidereal, have them mark down how many rolls they’ve made on their sheets so you don’t have to do the work.
Do as little work as you have to—after all, you’re already running the entire damn world.

I take this as an extension of the golden rule, Storyteller fiat. Vinyl is able to remember Octavia as her roommate because it suits the situation I've put Octavia into. If I were to stat out Octavia, sure, she'd have Acquaintances 2 or 3 to cover that truth (I don't think I'd give Vinyl outstanding Wits+Integrity...), but deciding how many background dots Octavia has is far less important than telling the story.



The characters in this story aren't statted out beyond a general charmset and a general relation between which attributes/abilities are higher or lower -- Applejack's got higher Strength and Stamina, while Rarity's got higher Appearance and Charisma. Pinkie Pie has Archery and Performance, while Rainbow Dash has Martial Arts and Athletics. Twilight would have a rating of 1 in... pretty much every mundane ability*. Because she read about it. In a book. Yup. :twilightsmile:

* By "mundane ability", I mean everything except the esoteric crafts like Craft[Fate] and Craft[Reality]. Twilight would have something like Craft[Air] (an ability which encompasses calligraphy, among other things) or Craft[Water] (which includes cooking). She demonstrated a distinct lack of Craft[Wood] (incl. weaving) during Winter Wrap-Up, but she's probably read "Making Birds' Nests for Dummies" since then.

It's probably a given, but I'm not rolling dice to decide the flow of combat. I'm writing combat in such a way that it's possible the dice could have landed that way. The characters' anima banners will flare when I feel it's dramatically appropriate, not when I've calculated that they've spent exactly the requisite amount of peripheral essence. While the stunting mechanic in the game brings cinematics to the dice, I get the opportunity to skip the dice all together and go straight for the wire-fu.

I just noticed something. Gazpacho soup (possibly piping hot.) Goalpost flanks. SMEGORAMA!!!! A Red Dwarf reference!! I half expect her to show up saying "Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast."

1234887
Derpy always meets the nicest holograms. :derpytongue2:

I'm in an Exalted game that's just starting and I wanted to ask your opinion on something.

I'm playing a Night Caste I want to be Martial Art based, but I know that Solar charms are for the most part stronger than Celestial Martial Arts. From what I can tell, the only ones that may measure up are Solar Hero Style and Water Dragon Style, though I heard the latter one is only good in the beginning. What should I do, if I don't want to be outdone by my party? Keep in mind, we already have another Night Caste, who does all the Stealth & Larceny stuff, though I am much better at Athletics than him.

1240718
Honestly? I much prefer to have a style that fits the character, rather than twinking out. Righteous Devil Style (especially the form charm) is weak compared to most other celestial styles. It's a very flavorful and fun style for a gunslinger, though. Then again, I don't generally get bothered if another player is able to outshine me. (In the Vampire game I've been playing recently, my True Brujah's contribution to combats so far has pretty much been to use Lapse repeatedly -- the character generally sucks at combat, but cutting an opponents' Str, Dex, and Wits pools plus their movement speed in half lets my allies make short work of the enemy.)

If you want to stand out among your party, find something that no other character excels at, and focus your energy on being good at that one thing. My friend created an Abyssal, for example, who could barely hit the broad side of a barn and who had a hearthstone with a side effect of cutting his movement speed in half. His charmset, however, made it so that attempting to attack him (physically or socially) cost willpower, attacking him (physically or socially) dealt damage to you, you lost most of your die pool on the attack, and even if you hit he would soak the damage. The character was built for an online Exalted chat, where he had noticed PVP was on the rise, and new characters were boned unless they were twinked for combat. So he made a character that simply wouldn't die, and punished anyone for trying to attack him, then he could play the game as he pleased, without worrying about PVP.

While Water Dragon Style (and the rest of the Fivefold Dragon Paths) are strong Celestial martial arts and there's nothing mechanically stopping your Night caste from learning them, I'll point out that normally, the only people who learn those five styles are Dragon-Blooded graduates of the Cloister of Wisdom (either as members of the Immaculate Order or otherwise), and their Sidereal Sifus. You could still learn the style, but if I were your ST I'd want a good reason why a Solar is learning a style intended for exceptional Dragon-Blooded.

Solar Hero Style, on the other hand, is the Second Edition equivalent of the Brawl charm tree in First Edition (1e had Brawl and MA as separate abilities, while 2e has the brawl charms under MA). It's a very different fighting style, and it's really only Martial Arts in the sense that the phrase was used in the 16-17th century -- that is, the "Arts of Mars" (the god of war) -- not how it is often used today, usually referencing Eastern combat styles. (That said, the older definition of Martial Arts could be applied to the other combat abilities in Exalted and leave all combat under the MA ability, but that messes with game balance.)

All of the Celestial MA styles can be strong, when you play to their strengths. Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style is very subtle, and it can be difficult to even realize the weapons being used by the character even are weapons. Celestial Monkey Style, once mastered, is the most flexible style available (Celestial Godbody Understanding lets you use any weapon and any armor with any MA attack, including Celestial Monkey Style charms; it also cuts the Str, Dex, and MA minimums on weapons in half). Silver-Voiced Nightingale Style turns your character into a Siren. Black Claw Style (from Ink Monkeys) is very defensive -- or at least the character appears to be a victim against an aggressor, even when the Black Claw user started the fight. The style also has several charms producing Emotion effects either in onlookers or in their opponent.

1251811I already OK'd Water Dragon Style with the ST and justified it with my back story. I'm just worried about being outclassed by the Terrestrial Ally I have due to my Ally background, who has incredibly high damage and soak.

On a side note, do you know when I should use certain dodge charms, as other than 7 Shadow Evasion, my second Dodge excellency seems better than the other available dodge charms. Should I buy some dodge combos, or what?

Keep in mind this is my first Exalted game, so sorry if I come across as lacking basic knowledge.

1253453
Excellencies are bread-and-butter for pretty much every ability. There's a reason most ability trees are rooted in an Excellency. (To be honest, I find the Third Excellency best for defensive abilities like Dodge and the First Excellency best for other abilities; First and Second are the same result on average, but First has the chance to be better if you roll 10s; Third Excellency on defensive abilities lets you activate it Step 6 -- Step 6 lets you see exactly how many successes the attacker has rolled before you even make the choice of activating your charm.) Other charms give you the advantage of other effects beyond just increasing your success(es).

Shadow Over Water lets you ignore penalties being applied to your DV (perhaps most commonly from your opponent using a flurry, from being flanked, or because your DV hasn't refreshed yet). Reflex Sidestep Technique lets you use your full defense against an unexpected attack. Flow Like Blood lets you ignore onslaught and coordinated attack penalties for the rest of the scene. Leaping Dodge Method helps escape an attacker, helps reach a goal while under attack, or sets you up for a stunt/coordinated attack of your own.

With regard to buying combos: they can be very strong, but in RAW Exalted 2e, they're pretty inflexible and expensive. If you can get your ST to follow the Scroll of Errata "2.5e", then there's no need to buy combos at all.

Scroll of Errata v20120313
Combos
(pp. 244-245)
Exalts need not spend experience to purchase or create Combos, nor spend Willpower to activate them. Characters may simultaneously activate as many of their Charms as they desire, so long as the combination of powers activated obeys the rules for creating Combos (for example, characters still may not activate two Simple Charms simultaneously, nor activate another Charm at the same time as a Charm that lacks the Combo-OK keyword).

Thanks for the advice.

If all dragons are just powerful elementals, what element is Spike in this story anyway?

1266643
Fire Elemental. Spike's most notable characteristics are flame resistance (Blessed Fire Body, RoGDI* pp163 or Elemental Rejuvination, RoGDI* pp170), flame breath (Dragon's Suspire, RoGDI* pp170), and sending messages (No specific Spirit charm, but it could be a unique Sending or Relocation ability). Dragon's Suspire manifests a breath (usually) weapon of the Elemental's element, and Elemental Rejuvination works only on the Elemental's element. Blessed Fire Body supercedes a Fire Elemental's Elemental Rejuvination ability.

As an example of something else, a Wood aspect Lesser Elemental Dragon with Dragon Suspire would likely have a spray of thorns it could spew from its mouth, and an Air aspect may have an ice breath. Spike's god fire. :moustache:

* The Books of Sorcery vol. IV -- The Roll of Glorious Divinity I: Gods and Elementals
(WW80303)

Look, I can get off my lazy bum and write!

Wow, this was almost as long as the original Prologue (shortest chapter) and Chapter 2 (previously my longest chapter) put together! :pinkiecrazy:

I need to go back and do some editing work on the previous chapters, though...

Also: Now that everypony (well, except FS/RD/Rarity) has exalted, I feel fine putting up the alternate cover. Whee!

PPS

The transition between Servant telling Twilight she built him and Twilight reentering the room for an unrelated reason is awkward. Is something missing there?

It doesn't really feel like the plot is moving. The characters are picking up exaltations left and right, but what have they accomplished? They haven't learned anything useful, or followed any leads on a solution, or had any interaction with the Dowager or her forces. They got in fights, but the fights didn't seem to tie into anything; they were just there. They found a kickass house, but as far as safety or plot development goes, they might have been better off with the tents.

Why did you have the ponies lose most of their abilities? There's already an overwhelming power discrepancy between the settings; taking away flight, special talents, and just about everything else the ponies have going for them seems like kicking the un-exalted while they're down. I'm hoping they come up with a countermeasure (and that it doesn't depend on being an exalt or having one close at hand).

I like the backstory of how Pinkie is constantly fighting Arcane Fate with her attempts to be friends with everybody. I hope we see more of that in her interactions in the story.

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