To Paper Pusher, the walk to work was normally a non-event, and it was merely something that happened exactly the same, each and every day. The precursor to the chaos that was trying to bring order to the understaffed RGIS records.
Today was not the old normal. All the reports he had read strongly implied normality would be a rather rare resource for quite some time. This time, every step had a metal-plated reminder that things had changed. Just the sound of his armoured shoes on the stone was enough of a distraction, let alone the fact that it had taken three fewer steps to reach the first corner on his journey.
Other than Celestia's sun in the sky, it could have been the middle of the night if judged by the level of activity alone. With the armour's cooling effect, he could close his eyes, and the illusion would be complete.
Restaurants, normally so busy, were closed. In the most active parts, four in five shops were closed, and less than a dozen restaurants were even open in the entire city.
His metal-covered hooves echoed through the empty streets. Parts of the great city were reduced to a ghost town.
Even the normal scents were muted. The lack of most of the shop’s tempting fragrances and the noble’s perfumed trails allowed other scents to win through. Fresh bread from two streets over mixed with the bitter forge smoke from further afield.
The high notes of metal on metal clearly rang out over the city without the everyday clamour of the capital around. So far, he had only crossed paths with five ponies instead of the hundreds that would have been typical. None of them had anything that was worthy to record in his report, and none had any obvious sign of being a dark cultist.
As he approached the end of a long street, the hushed sound of gossiping old ponies reached his ears. He sighed internally and double-checked his armour hung on his frame just right.
“Civilians," he mumbled. Each and every one of them was different. Each and every one an unsolved enigma. At least masquerading as a normal guard meant his part in social interactions came with a manual.
As he had an audience, he turned onto the next street, his motions crisp and professional as the guard guidebook demanded.
Up ahead, only a single guard pony stood at attention outside the single open shop. An orderly line of ponies waited, six mothers with their foals and four geriatric ponies.
It looked somehow wrong without the symmetry the regulation pair brought to door duty.
His helmet's magic showed the officer's name, rank and number, along with another detail. A crossed-out wing next to a stylised cross with hoofprints marked the pony as walking wounded that had lost the ability to fly.
“Sir, nothing to report.” The guard pony offered a crisp salute without a single hint of the depression that claimed so many in their position.
Paper Pusher returned it by the book, but he lacked the exacting precision that endless repetition brought. “Very good, carry on.”
Thanks to the uniform enchantment on the armour, the guard would appear to be a standard earthpony, but to one who can see past the illusion, there stood a one-winged pegasus. He was the ninth crippled pony that a simple mark of ink reactivated to full duty.
The little formalised exchange repeated. The second was another pegasus, this one missing a rear leg, again simply concealed by the enchanted armour.
The third and fourth were so aged that they had well and truly passed the average life expectancy, yet they were here. They did not exactly follow regulations. Instead of the perfect stance required by the guidebook, they both allowed the wall to support them.
“Lovely day for a walk, Sir.”
Paper Pusher paused. The off-script comment was an unexpected variable the guidebook gave no advice for. He took a moment to consider.
The blue sky had not a single trace of clouds. Celestia's sun warmed him and brought a small smile to his muzzle. Past the gate the married couple guarded, Earthponies toiled as they converted three-quarters of the public park from a place of leisure to a farm.
The last quarter was full of colts and fillies. A pair of school teachers and a single guard tried to guide the crowd through a much-simplified guard drill.
“They’re coming along nicely.” The kind and grandmotherly voice said, completely out of place from the apparent form of a young athletic guard pony.
Paper Pusher turned his full attention back to the speaker, and the illusion retreated under his gaze.
“Any chance you can get an extra assigned here so we can help with their training? We might not be as young as we once were, but we can show them a thing or two.”
The three ponies looked definitively outnumbered and perhaps outmatched by so many young ponies. One of them glared at their instructor and stomped their small hoof. Clearly, they were not used to accepting instructions. Seven of them stood out immediately, each part of a noble house. Not a single one of them a firstborn or heir. So this is how they are meeting their obligations. Paper Pusher thought as he made a mental note of what families would need to be quietly investigated, if he ever had the ponypower to spare again.
A hollowness, an emptiness that was still very much unfamiliar, opened up in his chest. His first choice to look into this would have been Candice or Revealing Light. Candice was off playing Batmare with Princess Luna, and Revealing Light was no longer alive.
“Sir?”
Paper Pusher shook his head and snapped back to the moment. He mentally pushed away the image of that small line of text, a simple name and a status update. “I’ll need to check the rota.”
“Are you alright, Deary?”
“Yes, I am well.” Paper Pusher said as the old mare looked at him. Something about her kind maternal expression coached more words out of him. “A… colleague. I learned a pony I know died from a daily status update. I know I have the report on my desk.” Paper Pusher looked down. White unicorn number three it was accurate, it was useful, but now that she was gone, it felt strangely impersonal, like a disservice to her memory.
A metal-clad hoof rested on his shoulder. The impersonal contact of metal against metal brought no comfort. Still, the attempt had been made at least, so Paper Pusher uttered the automatic politeness. “Thank you.”
“It's never easy losing a pony, especially if they're under your command.”
Ice gripped his heart as realisation sunk in. For two breaths, it was as if the air held no oxygen. Under my command? Pages and pages of deployment orders flipped past in his mind's eye. The few little movements of a quill it had taken to reorganise the pony power. Those necessary optimisations had most likely placed Revealing Light in the situation that cost her her life.
The urge to get to his office rose inside him. The report he knew would be waiting for him called. He had to know the details. He had to know exactly what happened to Revealing Light, and he had to know if it was his fault.
“Go, continue on your rounds, sir. We have everything under control.”
“Then carry on.” Paper Pusher nodded firmly, then performed a crisp turn, and marched off, only half paying attention to the outside world.
His mind drifted to all the ponies that used to crowd the RGIS offices, all the other ponies that used to help with paperwork and backroom intelligence work. How many of them would actually return? How many of them were even now dead?
A long slow breath pushed out between his teeth. He was no tactician, no expert general. All he was good at was paperwork and organisation. Everything he did since his responsibilities had expanded had been apparently optimal actions, assigning the right level of force to deal with each suspected threat.
Logically, I made the right choice. He told himself. Every other course of action open to him would have only cost more lives. He was going to lose hours ploughing through all the reports and double-checking every bit of analysis to see if he had made any mistakes. Each and every guard that died was a tragedy. So few ponies had what it took to become a guard, so each one lost was a resource forever gone from the nation, and the world was poorer for it.
His hooves almost took him to his old office. Instead of the much grander one he now had as the current acting captain and a position he only held by default.
He lit his horn, his aura eagerly embraced the helm. No matter how well it was fitted, it still caused his ears to ache if he wore it for too long.
A shuddering sound came from up ahead. I don't have any appointments scheduled. He almost groused. The last thing he needed was even more unexpected news. His aura hesitantly retreated from his helmet, and in a single stride, Paper Pusher straightened up. Just as he rounded the corner, he once more looked like the poster of what a guard should be.
Outside the captain's office, a pony leaned against the wall, eyes closed and shivering. His leg twitched as visible cramps rippled through the limb.
Paper Pusher did not need to get the guidebook out to know what to do. There was only one right answer. "Sir, do you need medical aid and or any assistance?"
The stallion took a long shuddering breath and visibly forced themselves under control. "I will be fine, thank you…Captain." The stallion looked up, and his features resolved into a name in Paper Pusher’s mind. This was Noble Guide, one of the witnesses to the attack on Princess Twilight that ended up burning a hole in the council chamber.
“I am afraid I was not informed I had any appointments today, Lord Noble Guide.”
The noble took a slow breath as if testing to see if it hurt. “This is more an unplanned visit, I wish to make my organisational skills available, and it seemed that you would be best informed as to where my talents will be of most use.”
Paper Pusher’s mind turned through already shuffling mental sheets of paper. He headed towards the door to his borrowed office. “Then please, come in.”
Noble Guide nodded and followed.
A huge stack of paperwork and a pile of scrolls that overflowed his inbox greeted him. Despite the size of the office, it was never meant for the sheer volume of paperwork that now flowed through it each and every day. It was as Revealing Light used to say, ‘The reward for a job well done was just a harder one.’
He lit his horn, and his aura reached out, ensuring anything, and everything confidential was at least covered. He kept his stride even as he made his way around the desk towards the captain's chair. “Please, take a seat.” He offered as he took his own. Despite the size of the chair being standard, somehow it felt too large now he had a noble sat opposite him.
Noble Guide sat with all the stiff decorum that the etiquette the nobles held themselves to demanded, despite the small grimace of pain. The default polite request as to his health crossed through Paper Pusher’s mind and was rejected. He had already refused help and apparently was doing everything he could to maintain the pretence he was well. “My apologies for getting straight to business, but as you must know, the current situation has us all saddled with drastically increased duties.”
Noble Guide nodded. “I quite understand. That is exactly the reason I am here, to offer my services.”
The map on the wall painted a bleak picture. So many small settlements had a red pin that denoted they needed immediate assistance or the depressingly common black pin that meant it no longer existed, either evacuated or destroyed. Roads and rail lines crossed the map, but not enough of them. Too many of the needed supplies were still forced to travel by road, and that directly led to many of the daily casualty reports.
Paper Pusher's eyes glanced over the black pin that sat atop Manehatten and then settled on Vanhoover. “You organised and arranged building, in essence, what is a small city in short order. Are you up to upscaling the train yards and directing the laying of new tracks?”
“I believe I can be of service with that,” Noble Guide said as his own attention turned to the map. “I assume the plan is to have a line to each town and village we still hold?”
“It's a large project and a logistical nightmare.”
“That is without the local bureaucracy interfering.”
“Are they going to be obstructionist in this?” Paper Pusher asked. It made no sense why a pony would resist the necessary efforts to safeguard Equestria. It was illogical, but then again, so were most ponies.
“Not deliberately,” Noble Guide said with a grimace. “Do you mind if I take my medication?”
“Go ahead.”
Noble Guide retrieved a fine glass vial covered with silver decoration and the fine marks of one of the top Alchemists in Canterlot. When he unstoppered it, a strong medicinal scent mixed with citrus and mint wafted into the air. With one swift motion, he drained it to the last drop.
Paper Pusher breathed in. The flavourings did a good job confusing things, but a deep earthy and musty odour with a hint of rotten garlic defeated the ruse. Northern bitter root… That's no common pick-me-up or a noble excess trying to keep a youthful appearance. While not illegal, that particular ingredient was on several watchlists and several that it was generally combined with were flatly illegal. Mentally, auditing the Apothecary's house got added to the end of a very long list of things to do once Equestria was safe again.
“That's much better.” Noble Guide said as most of the tension and concealed pain lifted from his features. “As I was saying, I doubt any will be trying to interfere. But there are many very capable individuals who will insist only they know best. They will end up working cross purposes without a strong hoof to guide them and the right words to allow them to save face as they set their ego aside.”
Nobles… Paper Pusher thought as his mind went back to each and every official request to remove Candice from her position from the logical to the outright implausible. Each and every one of them was a mix of purely personal outrage and impassioned dissertation on why it would be for the good of Equestria. “I understand… can you do it?”
Noble Guide nodded. “There will be many more sleepless nights for me, but I will get it done. If anything, it will be simpler than a normal day in court here. If not for the time pressure, it would be a delightful vacation.” He smiled.
There was something about that smile that Paper Pusher did not trust. No matter how much he thought about it after Noble Guide had left, he could not place what was wrong with it. It was almost as if it belonged to a different pony. He sighed And this is why I prefer paperwork over ponies.
Hours, hundreds of pages and two inkwells later, Paper Pusher still preferred his paperwork to the complexities of pony interactions. He stared at the highest priority scroll open before him. The one that should have been on the top of the stack, not buried halfway down under a request for additional armour cleaning equipment.
He reread the scroll for the third time. The deployment order sat on the desk and no matter how long he looked at it, nothing even hinted at the possibility it was an illusion or hallucination.
He placed the talisman next to the seal. A soft golden light radiated from it. “So not a forgery then.” A little bit of hope died inside him. It would have been so much simpler if this was simply a fake an enemy agent had planted.
For a heartbeat he considered sending a message confirming the order, but nothing about it could have been a mistake or a scribing error. Not being this consistent. The beautiful horn writing was almost definitely Celestia’s own, not a single mistake nor hint of hasty quill work.
His eyes ignored all the boilerplate niceties and settled on his orders.
Gather the needed forces to escort the eighteen magically strongest ponies currently incarcerated in the nation, and transport them to Canterlot.
Why? With all the current demands on the pool of pony power. Demands that Celestia knew as well, if not better than he did himself. His eyes narrowed for a moment. He wouldn't dare?
He sorted through the drawer and withdrew a jar of multi-hue oil. He gingerly set it down upon the scroll. He slowly counted down from ten, and nothing happened. The liquid sat still without even a single ripple.
So this is not one of ‘his’ pranks. Even now, in the privacy of his office, he was unwilling to tempt fate by mentioning that name. So, I have to conclude this is real. With that decided, he set to work pulling out dozens of prisoner reports and a pair of procedural manuals.
They would need a three-to-one advantage against the convicts. So for eighteen prisoners they would need fifty-four guard ponies. It looked like the old couple would not get their extra pony anytime soon.
Three firm knocks sounded from the door. Paper Pusher yawned and looked up from the last report he had to deal with today. The sky outside was dark, the moon’s light shading the world in silvers.
The knocks sounded again.
“Enter.”
The door opened to reveal the predatory gaze of one of Luna’s thestral guards. “Acting Captain Paper Pusher?”
Paper Pusher nodded.
The mare reached under her wing and pulled out a scroll. “I have a dispatch for you.”
“I take it this is urgent?”
“It will help you save lives.”
His aura accepted the offered scroll and quickly broke the seal, he looked over it. His eyes narrowed and snapped to the mare. “How?” It was such a simple question but asked so much, and he had to know.
The mare offered a kind smile. “The Night Sovereign was able to converse with her before the end, and hear any final messages she had.” She nodded to the open scroll. “That is for you as Acting Captain.” She pulled out a simple folded bit of paper. “And this is for you, the pony.” With far more reverence than she had offered the scroll, she laid the plan piece of paper on Paper Pusher’s desk almost as if it were some religious offering.
She wrote to me? The image of her twisted and dying form using some of her final breaths in this life to dictate a letter to him, personally. He almost could not believe it. There were so many others that she had deeper and closer relationships with.
Why me? The folded paper held his gaze. He had to know what it contained. Still, any personal missive save from the Princess herself would have to be examined after the official communication to him in his role as Acting Captain.
He looked up with a question on his lips, but the mare was gone. The door had not reopened, the window was closed, and yet, she simply was not there. “Night Guards.” He sighed again and turned his attention to his friend's final report.
“Blighted methods and tactics…”
great chapter
It's been a while since we've gotten a chapter from Paper Pusher's perspective. Seeing his first impression of Noble Guide was a treat.
Luna/Revealing Light's letter was a good surprise as well.
Edit:On second read this chapter is extremely well structured. The reveal that Paper Pusher is the guard captain, to the conversation with the old couple leading to his realization that he may be responsible for Revealing Lights death, to the interruption of Moonlight Scroll, to a hint Celestia's machinations. All leading Luna/Revealing Light's letter.
This chapter ties into main plot while also, having it's own plot. It's very well done.
Paper Pusher has good instincts. He knows something is off about Noble Guide but he isn't sure what. Celestia relies too much on her mind reading and Face to see it.
But what does Celestia want with those prisoners? Her own personal Task Force X?
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Not even that, a brisk mental scouring and an application of an appropriate template will solve her manpower problems quite neatly. She'll come out of it with a coterie of faceless myrmydions ready to face the worst of the enemy with not a thought of complaint.
I'm only surprised that she hasn't done it already.
Again Celestia you left Equestria ill prepared. Don't even have the railroads setup to move supplies and ponies fast.
I really want to hear your justification for all.of this.
And Luna i do not like you gabe him a personal message claimkng it from Revealling Light. Don't stupe to Celestia's level. I want asnwers to why you did that to Revealing Light.
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Something tells me that she's not interested in 18 ponies, only 18 ponies worth of magic ability. And right now, I no longer am sure if Celestia will bother keeping the ponies attached.
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Me thinks its probably something in regards to trying to "fix" Luna's fragment "problem". Fixing it is probably requires magic that she'd rather not use up, consider her wellspring is the equivalent of a logarithmic function.
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To Celestia's defense, the construction of military logistical rail lines would be an almost wasteful usage of funds when you and your immediate subordinates are the equivalent of multiple hydrogen bombs full of VX gas, especially so when you've been at peace for basically time immemorial and have had little need for mass troop redeployment. And as previously stated in this chapter, civilian construction of rail lines is tremendously hampered by noble bickering
11318908
civilian use there as well so not buying especially with her mind control abilities.
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Celestia's pragmatic to the core - using government funds to make what for all intents and purposes be a logistical luxury, especially to fast track what is more than likely a new invention, would be more work than probably be worth, prior to the Blight. More than likely she planned for it to slowly and naturally expand over the years, considering her plans move at the speed of lifetimes.
Prior to the Blight existing, there would almost zero reason for her to expediently force through rail connections to every town in Equestria, when it was more than likely existing and growing finely on its own, albeit slowly.
Criticizing peacetime actions for an unexpected war, especially when you have every reason to believe you'd never have to go to war on the level requiring mass mobilization, is frankly silly.
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I critize her entire leadership. she has made so many mistakes. as Luna pointed out ponies used to be far better in combat. so her leadership is poor. I think she still has too much of the old alicorns in her. She even left Twilight and Cadance ill trained. So I beat railways could have been built more then current but again she failed. she acts too slowly and not understand thigns the way she should. again Cadice was harmed because she failed to consider the nobles goign after Littel Star.
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Celestia is not without criticism. Especially so in regards to how she's treated her fellow alicorns and the general ethics of how she rules, and just her as a pony. Combat prowess amongst ponies would drop during a millennia of peace regardless of any chicanery on her part to the contrary. But just saying "more railways = good" when there was frankly no reason for there to be more; its akin for pushing for mass adoption of automobiles in the military just when the Model T roles out - sure, you could, and in the long run as technology gets better its the smart decision, but its costly and better off being done later
Celestia is a lot of things, a lot of them not good, but her style of planning and ruling got her through a thousand years of ruling by herself and essentially made their Pax Equestria; an immoral ruler? Sure. An ineffective ruler? Hardly.
Furthermore, Ive yet to see her 'not understand things the way she should' except in situations where it's because she's missing key information, which is through no fault of her own, because it's information other characters are keeping the utmost secret.
Candice's accident was a result of her not gauging Twilight's reaction accordingly, not that she didn't expect the nobles to target her daughter. Again, because she's lacking key information, in this case, the fact Nova even existed or could manifest herself at
If any criticism should be leveled at Celestia, its that she thinks her plans and manipulations are infallible, or that nopony could be actually playing her. Not "oh she didnt build enough trains lmao"
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isn't it. rails help trade and shipping of goods. with the plus of allowign even quick troop response when needed. She had track laid forthe empire even though there was nothign out there till the Empire returned. so your defense fails with that point
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11319107
Q’s got a point there about building a rail all the way to the Crystal Empire long before it showed back up. He’s also got a point about increased trade capabilities. Troop deployment could basically be an afterthought until times of war, but the trade benefits alone would be more than enough to justifying increased rail lines to more cities and towns.
Speaking of war time, I’m a firm believer in the phrase Sī vīs pācem, parā bellum. Even being underprepared is better than not being prepared at all. Yes, Equestria has known peace for a long long long long time. That’s no excuse to slack off the training, not conduct a war game or two, drills…basically everything that helps a military at peace still keep somewhat active and sharp.
Granted, Celestia may have done exactly that: war games and drills. But how frequently, we know not.
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clearly not enough in Luna's eyes and considerign the events that happened even beforethe story show that weakness and she never corrected it. Heck one of the firstthigns both Night and Luna agreed on was that both Twilight and Cadance were not properly trained in the alicorn capablilites. heck if Twilight was properly trained her deal with Night would never be needed for she would know the trick.
the biggest weakness in this story is that Celestia has mindcontrol abilites yet seems to not use it in a good way. why have the nobles be so snooty and a pain if with a simple session they are good. Hell the actual bad guy in this story made Blueblood a better guy. IF he could do that why not Celestia? Its a sad thing where I think her Warmind is actually the best personality of the three
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Wherein lies the rub is that there is more than likely a rail line connection to every major city and significant town in Equestria. What the new project being done by Pusher/Noble Guide would be is a rail line connection to every town and village in Equestria. Sure, there's increased trade capabilities, but the only apt equivalent infrastructure project of such size and scope for comparison would be the US Interstate and the Autobahn, which were projects done by modern, industrialized societies (who didnt have to deal with pushback from what is basically a majority opposition legislature in the nobility), and even then, this Equestrian Railway is possibly more ambitious than either of those.
And, in regards to "Wishing for peace, prepare for war", need I remind that Celestia (as well as Luna and Twilight) is the equivalent of a walking nuclear arsenal in what is basically the Late Medieval period - her preparations for war were her continuous build-up of magic reserves. Conventional armies, in terms of Equestrian strategy, exist to keep up morale at home and prevent panic, to act special forces to act as a scalpel compared to a MOAB, or to act as an occupying presence rather than an actual fighting force made to fight pitched battles. No Equestrian army, regardless of preparedness or capabilities, could sufficiently prepare for what is basically the Flood from Halo, popping up in what is the heartland of your empire. Not even the pony who casted the spell predicted the sheer destructive capability the Blight would cause.
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Not to mention scary. The Warmind may be the strategist and tactician, but I fear having been chained for so long it may have gotten a tad rusty in some areas. Plus there’s the concern of how close to Daybreaker it is from Twilight’s whirly-twirly through a space/time portal.
As for the lack of mind manipulation on the nobles…I can understand both Celestia’s reasoning and the author’s reasoning, even if the second is only in part.
Celestia, in this fic, is a powerhouse not because she has immense control and strength…but because she conserves it as much as possible. I believe I made a comment about this in a previous chapter. This lack of magical usage means she does indeed have a lot of power behind her, but the even the most mundane of actions takes more magical energy than it should. She doesn’t exercise her magic enough for it be fine-tuned and quick on the recharge. Luna and Twilight are quite the opposite. While their magical reserves may never truly rival Celestia’s in terms of quantity, the quality of their reserves is by far superior. Twilight especially, being the Element of Magic as well. They use their magic constantly, so they have a better grasp of their capabilities, their reserves recharge much quicker, and they can use a great deal less magic for even complex spells.
As for the author’s reasoning…I’ll admit, it’s mainly a theory. But mind-manipulation is a powerful ability that is easy to misuse and overdo. Writing a character with that sort of ability can be really tricky at times.
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we see her use it too foten for that to be true
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Ah, but therein lies the answer. She uses it *often*. Probably the only thing she uses often enough that it no longer takes a tremendous amount of magical energy.
Though I will admit…I am grasping at straws that make a certain degree of sense to me.
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we see her use it liberally. Remember when Bluevblood was in court and she used it and the mask to hide that she was basically in Daybreaker mode. She quickly resorted to it to remake Twilight.
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Rites of Ascension is another FiM fiction story that is really well written. Strongly suggest reading it.
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I miss the good old days when that Story used to update monthly!
But when I wrote that comment I think my MAIN problem was how much it felt like a Rites fight.... ..like you could take that Fight, put it into rites and BOOM
What this Story is REALLY GOOD AT is creating Atmosphere and letting you EXPERIENCE that Atmosphere ...
Easiest Example : Chapter 1 ! You can just Picture EVERYTHING in that Chapter!
More obvious and recent examples , Chapter 60.2 , when Luna felt scared And turned to look at the Perception Filter I FELT SHIVERS go down my Spine it was unreal!
Chapter 64 , I don't think I need to talk about it , That chapter was either Written by the Gods or Nightsclaw is just the God of writing, EVERYTHING in that is Perfection! I could FEEL EVERYTHING in that Chapter!
And just to Prove my Point , Chapter 62.3 is a chapter that also has a Battle and Fighting in it but I actually REALLY ENJOYED that!
Its all about the way it makes you feel!
Chapter 41.? Probably would be one of the more boring chapters of this Story ( ironic isn't it) If it wasnt for How you presented it with Discord watching everything and switching between ponies.
To come back to chapter 35.4 the fight just feels very ....Sterile? There's nothing really TO IT ! Its not even THAT LONG , only about a third of the chapter so its not that bad and I understand WHY its there, its for the stuff AFTERWARDS! But it still doesnt make the Fight itself more enjoyable to read.
I think Nightsclaw realizes that , thats why Chapter 62.3 was written the way it was!
And that makes me really happy !
Aaaand I just wrote WAY TO MUCH stuff again! ....well it happens ....
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Yeah, Rainbow's new blade chapter wasn't about the fight itself, it was exactly about what comes after. The only things on display there were Twilight's power levels really. Glad you are enjoying the story overall though.
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That’s not really a high bar
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More like subtle mods. Note how blue lood is after the BAD giy messed with his mind
My goodness Paper Pusher, you need a long vacation when this is over or something. Considering that “off-script comment” is about as generic as “nice weather we having today isn’t it” and it somehow catches you off guard (ha) Twilight at at her most list obsessed would handle that better.
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Not what I meant
Alicorns have a weakness for toltal desintagration
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An egg sample from her ovaries and a blood sample
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So, I think you are replying to a different comment that I have made before on this story and others. While it is the nature of things to attempt to improve and better themselves, ascension is anything but natural and has nothing to do with evolution. There are only two requirements (you already know them) and in all of known history, only once has it happened by accident in this universe.
(Also I recommend proofreading your comments before posting. It looks like you hit the caps lock halfway through and didn't go back to undo it.)
For all that Twilight believes that she is in control, at any point in time Nova can overpower her will and act with impunity, and ultimately that body is under the total control of Night by virtue of the wording of their contract. Depending on your definition of control Celestia is the most controlling, and Luna has the greatest self-control. (from the sound of it, this isn't a good thing.)
Actually, of all the alicorns presently on Equus, Celestia is very likely the weakest. Luna is an artist and killing is her medium. She knows everything there is to know about war and battle strategy as well as life and death. She knows how best to use her magic to maximize its effectiveness and has been doing so. Twilight, as the alicorn of magic, channels, and recovers fastest of all of them, and the more she uses the stronger she gets. Kadence because of her connection to the Crystal Empire is almost completely immune to magic rendering the vast majority of attacks moot. Celestia has been hoarding magic for the past thousand years. This means that she can hit with literally cataclismic force, however, every missed attack is power that she will never recover. This means that she can be outmaneuvered and exhausted. Also, she is made of three (maybe four) parts and the fragments don't agree with her, she is violating their purpose, which makes them less effective or even a hindrance should things ever truly come to blows.
Here is approximately what the chess board looks like:
Black King = Celestia (the player)
Black Queen = Daybreaker
Black Bishop = Mask
Black Rooks = The Nobles court
Black pawns = The Royal Guard
White King = Harmony's Spirit (the other player)
White Queen = Luna
White Bishop = Twilight
White Knights = Kadence & the Element Bearers
White Rooks = Blueblood & Kandice
White Pawns = Twilight's knights
Wat?
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It could kill bill
But the catch for most entities is that it must be total destination
11327759
Hahahahahahaha
You know, something interesting has occurred to me. Equestria is sparce. There are (now were) roughly four metropolitan areas on the eastern coastline and, barring Canterlot and Clouds Dale, the rest of the country is populated by only small settlements barely larger than villages. There is also the Deer in White Tale and the diamond dogs of Splended Valley but that's about it. It is actually very suspicious and alarming that the Blight has been able to grow to the numbers that it has. Where did all those bodies come from? There shouldn't be enough beings of sufficient biomass or neurological structure to supply a force this size for this extreme of a dispursion. Are they concentrating their efforts, or are they capable of reproduction somehow?
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Would you be willing to describe your OC in greater detail? I think I'm missing a few things.
The issue here is the nature of the injuries inflicted on body and soul. Of the six "children" of Twilight Sparkle only three still "live." They were all butched, physically and spiritually, by Celestia's ethereal burning blade and the pieces were sewn together precariously to create an new, lesser Twilight Sparkle. It is unclear what precisely happens to a soul fragment when it "dies" but it is safe to assume that restoration is impossible. I will note however, that the reason she still appears as a patchwork, even as an alicorn, is likely due to Celestia's bindings preventing the tears from healing. Celestia is to Twilight, what Palpatine was to Vadar.
This is an interesting one because I guarantee you she did know the original Twilight Sparkle. In fact it is not impossible that she was a contributing factor to her birth (in a small but not insignificant way) but that knowledge would be closely guarded by Nightmare deep in the Luna wing of the Grand Oaks Bastian. Worth a shot though. Graymane may have some theories worth trying.
Her constant consumption of leathal doses of opium and the thounsad-ish years of very pent up magic/stress makes her immune to drugging of any kind. You'd be better off seducing her and taking her for a ride or ten (-thousand). Faust knows she needs it and it would have the bonus effect of titanically reducing the amount of magic she can hold at any given time. Her power is directly proportional to her stress.
Unfortunately it doesn't quite work that way. Even with the memories to act as a template. You would need the specific template for each child. Then you would have to comb through the pieces of Patchwork and any other remnants (like those bones in the basement) and sort it all into piles of just the specific individuals. The only silver lining to this is that all it would require is three blank soul fragments from a complete being. Assuming that the removal of Celestia's bindings doesn't result in Patchwork fusing properly back into Twilight Sparkle. They were all one soul at one point after all.
It is good to see you taking this possibility into consideration
Bindings (and memories) don't work this way. Given that Celestia did not detect Patchwork and Nova's tampering with them. It is safe to assume that Celestia's bindings are not connected to her directly meaning they draw power from somewhere else. If they can be isolated from their power source they would likely become brittle and easier to break. Also, memory is attached to energy, that is how it is stored, it is not energy in and of itself.
You lost me here. I don't know what you tried to say.
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Yes, the author is from the UK.
Nice to see Luna isn't actually a casual murderer and Revealing Light is alive. Looking forward to more updates.
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Dude, fuck off and write your own fanfic. Don't clog up a comment section with this shit. The unimaginable arrogance to pollute another author's comment section with your daydreaming about your OC is beyond disgusting.