• Member Since 5th Dec, 2018
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SockPuppet


I like writing about the worst day of a character's life; it lets us see the mettle inside. (Pronouns: Sock/No!)

T
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Dusky isn't looking for trouble. All she wants is a job, a place to call her own, and a quiet life.

But when Diamond Dogs kidnap four foals, it's up to Dusky—formerly Major Dusk Fireball, Household Battalion, Equestrian Royal Guard—to lead the citizen-soldier reservists of the Ponyville Home Guard into the Dogs' caves in a desperate rescue mission.


Feature box, 2019-08-10 to 16! Thanks, all!


Cover art by commission with Pillowrabbit (Deviant Art / Fimfic ). Thanks!

Follows my "A Story to Relate to," but can be read fully independently.

Side-story: Redheart's War

Additional character tags for searching: Sweetie Belle, Flitter, Cloudchaser, Sparkler, Dinky Hooves, DJ P0N-3, Octavia, Princess Luna, Starlight Glimmer, Davenport, Bon-Bon, Toola Roola, Coconut Cream, Rainbow Dash, Mayor Mare.

Chapters (5)
Comments ( 198 )

Great start and an interesting character.

Im looking forward to seeing where you are going to take this fun story.

Thumbs Up

The Monk
“To say that Twilight Sparkle went bugfuck would be like saying the Incredible Hulk had some mild anger management issues.” -DustTraveller

Must admit, I was hesitant. But, after only a third of the way into the first chapter and you did the impossible. You got me tolerating Rarity, which I have found difficult since season one for personal reasons. Well done. Can't wait for the rest.

My only suggestion would be faucet instead of sink. The following line got a chuckle out of me as I pictured Sweetie Belle doing that in a cupboard under the sink:

Sweetie Belle concentrated, lit her horn, and then extracted the groceries from her saddlebags, and started washing produce under Rarity's sink.

Comment posted by SockPuppet deleted Aug 10th, 2019

Okay, I am definitely tracking this thing now.

9774772

Thank you!!! In Chapter 3, the reservists draw their weapons and armor.

9774814
Thanks! Four or five chapters remaining, depending where I put the breaks.

Well I’m loving this story so far. I may or may not be a sucker for a good story especially one that has Bat ponies.

Can’t wIt for the next chapter. Great job so far.

Your Rarity is spot on, Sweetie Belle is hilarious, Dusky looks to be a well thought out and interesting character, and I love the bits of backstory and lore sprinkled throughout. Very eager to see what happens next.

9775323
Wow! Thank you! I've been working on this fic since May, so I'm glad it's working for people!!

9775387
Thanks! It's entirely written, I'll drop one or two chapters a week.

aaannndd there goes a couple more themes i was going for in my story. *tracking* :twilightsmile:

Upvoting ostensibly because I enjoyed what I saw so far, but really because you had the guts to spell "pegasus's" correctly.

9775620
Thank you! :twilightblush: I don't own themes, though! Write your story, too!!!

well done and good use of scenery. i'm glad dusky chose tail sigs over wing sign. would have been an easy give away for a low light cave dweller like the dogs.

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It'd be for a laugh but have Rarity summon her fainting couch for cover at some point.

9776830
and the hardwood bottom would stop most arrows so practical too

I really like Dusky throughout all of this. She's being very no-nonsense and pushing forward anyway because she knows she has to, but at the same time, she acknowledges her own limitations and those in her command and is keeping that in consideration. Not only do you have to respect her for that, it only drives home all the more that you're darn right that she knows what she's doing. :ajsmug:

9776880
Though the fainting couch would certainly be lost to the cause in the process. :raritywink:

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Thanks! I appreciate the kind words.

Good work on setting the scene.

And here we see the single fastest way to banish prejudice from the mind: An urgent need to confront and conquer a common enemy.

Nothing turns “us and them” into just “us” faster than introducing another “them” that poses a real, existential threat to “us.”

I say KILL THEM ALL!! Let Faust sort them out! Kidding...:rainbowwild:

Hope you update soon, the story has me riveted:pinkiegasp:!

Would to learn who's this Rex & why ordered those foals kidnapped.

Lovely cover art, Pillowrabbit does some damn fine work.

Good story, too. :twilightsmile:

Well this seems interesting, I'll follow along and see where it goes.

If you've a reasonably powerful mage at hand, an over-charged light and noise spell makes for a fine flashbang. For that matter, clamping a forcefield over someone's face is always an effective way to deal with mundane opponents. No need for fancy tricks or spellcraft, just cut off their air and wait for them to stop twitching.

Teleportation is always a useful trick, I once knew a mage who always kept several vials and pouches of various caustic or poisonous substances on his person. A sudden face full of quicklime makes for quite the distraction in a pitched battle.

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The twin aesthetics of magical combat should always be efficiency and creativity. The less magic you expend on a given problem, the more problems you can solve. The more creativity you employ, the better your chances of taking your enemy by surprise, and thus saving energy.

Magic-proof armor is a common issue, good counters include teleporting or throwing heavy objects at him, destroying or super-heating his footing, or rendering the atmosphere toxic and/or removing it entirely. Don't bother fighting the armor, go around the armor and attack what it doesn't protect. Every advantage comes with a disadvantage that a wise mage can exploit.

Considering that the children in question are the only ponies in a warren of dogs, they ought to give off a distinct magical or psychic impression. Luna would likely be able to find them, so could anypony with specific training in divination. 'twould likely not be enough of a trace for a remote retrieval via teleportation spell, but coupled with a geomancer's reading of the cave system it ought to be possible to land a squad right on top of their location. Afterwards, exfiltration via another teleport would be simplicity itself.

Sadly, the local Ponyville garrison seems to be lacking a dedicated cadre of war-wizards. So they'll have to go in the hard way, one tunnel at a time. Hopefully the dogs don't realize that they can simply collapse said tunnels whenever they like.

9777779

The Ponyville unit is most certainly short on spellcasters. That's what makes them Home Guard, not Regulars.....

This shit is awesome.

Can’t wait to see Dusky rip Rex’s head off and shit down his neck.

9777779

One of my favorite, fairly simple, and surprisingly effective non-lethal combo spells is to teleport a small, spiny cactus into the space of the crotch of an enemy's pants. Fairly easy to escape most enemies at that point.

So, yes, a particularly creative mage with even middling power can be effectively surprising.

well Rex, I'd say it's been nice knowing ya, but it would it be a lie.:pinkiecrazy: I know diamond dogs are not very smart, but if you challenge an alicorn well.....enough said.

Excellent chapter:twilightsmile:

I very much look forward to the conclusion of this battle. I can think of a few punishments for Rex, assuming he survives that is :pinkiecrazy:

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