50 - Friendship is Magic
Golden Chalice ran, emerald eyes wide and sweat glistening on her forehead. The next alley she ran into was dark and was supposed to have a Blue Guard staging area with maps and supplies hidden behind the false front of crates and barrels. What she ran into was the opposite of what she wanted and expected. All three Blue Guards were tied up together and gagged. Two loyalist guards were standing there and immediately noticed her run into the supposed-to-be-secret area.
This was it, Golden Chalice knew. She had been running to avoid the loyalists since East Street fell. This was the last refuge on this side of Canterlot and no other zone had delivered a word since sunset. To think that, after just twenty hours, they were finished.
The turncoat mare just stood there in the back of the alley, frozen in place as the guards approached her like lightning to cuff and chain her. Why bother doing anything? It was over. There was nowhere left in Canterlot for her to run. She was too tired to keep it up anyways. If the guards weren't presently clacking irons around her hooves, she probably would have collapsed on the stone pathway anyhow.
She did, in fact, collapse onto the ground. A tick worked its way into her expression and she laughed in a half-mumbled sort of way. All the work. All the planning. Poof.
Far above, visible in the night sky of Canterlot only because of its mass of city lights, was Cloudsdale. It was never supposed to have gotten involved. At least not so fast. It seemed to have been drawn into Canterlot air space on Celestia's own wings. The Blue Guard's aerial domination in Canterlot meant nothing once Cloudsdale's loyalist pegasi legion was unleashed.
Golden Chalice reflected on her life. She had little else to do now and likely wouldn't for quite some time to come. Perhaps word would reach the prisons one day as to why the cloud poison hadn't worked in time to eliminate Cloudsdale from the equation.
“I never thought one of my own guards would betray me,” Twilight looked into the cell, her eyes dead of all the emotion she had experienced in the past few nights.
She stood there in the guard barracks' prison corridor. Her changeling accessories pulsed in a calm green glow, keeping her hivemind connected at unnatural distances. Even now, Spike and Rarity's minds were present in hers as they took care of the Crystal Empire far up at Equestria's northern border.
“It was never personal,” Centurion glared through the bars. He remained on his side, trapped in the walls of his cell. “I did what I knew was necessary for the sake of Equestria. Only the Elites know how to keep our country strong in Celestia's absence.”
“For the sake of the nobles,” Twilight corrected with a more stern expression than he had. “Let's not pretend this was about anypony but you and them. They promised you a high position in the Royal Guard if you helped, which was why you opposed Storm's appointment and insisted you remain outside my hivemind for just a bit longer when I offered a week ago. You may have served Celestia well, but you're nothing but a disgrace now.”
Too upset to hold a conversation longer with him, the queen stepped away. As she was leaving the detention block, she heard one last remark.
“Equestria will never lose its voice to yours alone!”
“Now may not be the best time,” Chrysalis buzzed to Pinkie Pie. She knew her words fell on deaf ears and she would have to play along regardless. She merely wanted it to be on the record that she gave her two bits about it.
The pair was in the central square of Canterlot, standing on the stage that was often used there for public speeches, concerts, and even cake contests. The massive expanse of the square stretched out around them, but it was not all polished marble and smooth tile. Parts of the place were broken by well-kept garden divides and benches. The last of the scorch marks from the Blue Guard coup had been cleaned away by Queen Twilight's decree for emergency city upkeep.
“Happy Happy Happy~” Pinkie Pie sung out in sickly cheer as she danced on the stage.
The crowd below hadn't lost the edge from the city's earlier altercations. They were on edge, unhappy, and ready for either rage-filled argument or outright fighting. Pinkie Pie knew she had to do her part. If not for Canterlot then for her bestest friend Queen Twily!
Pinkie Pie twirled in her new changeling-style dancing dress. The billowy pleats moved with a mysterious grace only matched by the same outfit Chrysalis was wearing. Only, Chrysalis' was larger. The taller being danced along with Pinkie with all the indignation she expressed vocally within the hivemind.
At least the music was loud enough to make the changeling's wounded pride numb. Tables of sweets and goods were scattered about to help smooth out the frowns of the Canterlot ponies. Pinkie was at least talented enough to be making some progress with them on that front. A few ponies joined the dancing, much to the pink one's satisfaction. Others followed while some lingered at snack tables and became less agitated with every sweet they tasted.
There were many ponies present, some coming, some staying, others leaving. Pinkie bounced with a resilient smile, content with every small bit of progress she could make. One smile at a time. That was her latest motto.
“Hey there!” Pinkie flew off the stage. She called out to a finely-dressed unicorn who looked very unsure about joining in. The Element of Laughter showed her biggest smile in her arsenal. “What's your name?”
Princess Cadance looked out the window of the royal bedroom. It was situated high within the Crystal Castle. Spike was addressing a vast crowd of crystal ponies below with a happily dressed-up Rarity at his side doing likewise. But Cadance's gaze was not on them. It was on the frozen wastes to the north of the Empire. She could see the sparkling snow from here and the beginnings of the great dangers lurking within. Perhaps this was why the Empire had once been ruled by King Sombra. The Empire forever laid upon the dangerous edge of Equestria.
Her golden horseshoe clacked against the clear glass of the cold window pane. Her breath warmed a spot on it enough to make a miniature cloud of fog upon it. The room was getting as cold as the outside was and had been for over a month now. She stared a while longer before dropping her hoof and looking back to her husband, who was fast asleep under the covers of their large heart-shaped bed.
It hadn't taken long for them to find out about the coup in Canterlot. Twilight and the loyalists had gotten it under control faster than they could get there, however. So the two had only helped to a small degree by reining in the coordinated coup in Manehattan. That takeover had been far smaller and less planned, though. All in all, Cadance was content with Twilight's control over the terrible turn of events. She hadn't witnessed the trouble in the capital, but she knew Equestria would be safe under her just as the Empire would be safe with Spike and Rarity.
She stepped quietly across the plush carpet until she was beside the mattress. “Nopony will ever take you from me,” she whispered as she leaned over him and stroked his face. He was used to her touch and seldom awoke from it. Doubly so since she trickled her soothing magic through her every caress.
“Not even death itself,” she added and touched her horn gently to his. “Till death do we part...but not if we're above it.”
Their voyage would make their bond boundless.
Cadance's pink love magic sparked from her horn with a black mist.
“Something is wrong,” Twilight winced and then held her head in her forehooves. The pain stabbed in her mind and then was gone. Her feelings of anger and rage came flashing to her in episodes and affected the others to a lesser extent.
“Twi?” Applejack touched her queen's shoulder in concern.
Embrace your emotions, Chrysalis encouraged through their shared mind.
“I can't hate! Not hate!” Twilight shouted in her bedroom. She and the others were supposed to be relaxing on the new hive-size half-mattress half-ring bed.
The anger in her voice made Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy shirk back on the bed. Rainbow had been far less challenging of late. Spike and Rarity were always away now. Pinkie was always oblivious or aloof while Chrysalis was supportive of Twilight to the point of being provocative. The guards and maids were only ever subservient, which left Applejack to be the only bold one to intervene. She was the last voice in the hivemind that didn't bend to Twilight's growing aggressiveness.
“Twi,” AJ leaned in close face-to-face, “what is it that you hate?”
A new wave of anger snapped within Twilight's mind. It carried so strongly through their connection that both Direway and Midnight Strike crippled over at their posts. Fluttershy whimpered but still crawled closer on the bed and even hugged Twilight. Choosing to do what she could for her queen, the yellow pegasus ignited her Hive Power.
The darkly decorated chamber quickly transformed into a cheery and familiar hideaway punctuated by a willow tree and a small stream. Fluttershy squeaked in worry when she saw even her own efforts were being affected by Twilight. Though the hivemind began to calm, all could notice the black tips of the grass and the trickles of black something in the stream.
“Thanks, Shy,” Twilight winced as she hugged her friend back and rested into the grass.
“Mind answerin' me, my queen?” Applejack insisted. She remained as close as she had been before. “Because our hivemind sure ain't.”
Our mind is fine, Twilight calmly disagreed, flinched, and then let out a restful sigh. Her entire hive was confused as to what she was thinking and feeling. Thoughts emanating from her were nonsensical until she spoke them or put immense effort into projecting them as she did now. I'm in perfect control.
The others were not so certain. Fluttershy clung to her queen as if her life depended on it. Memories of the near-death incident carried through the hivemind to her even though she hadn't been there at the time. Discord may have saved them then, but he wasn't around anymore.
Rainbow Dash pounced from the other side of the bed, tackling the queen and rolling over until they stopped. Twilight wound up on top while Fluttershy's hard grip had been lost at some point along the way. The pair had barely avoided rolling into the water, which flowed slowly beside them in the stream. Something about the wet soil and grass made Twilight smile at last. Or perhaps it was simply Rainbow's colt-like chuckle that did it.
“Maybe my Twily needs some cuddles to lighten up,” Rainbow playfully tapped her on the nose. “You still worry too much. So not everypony has warmed up to Buggy yet. Big surprise. Especially in Canterlot. Blue Moon and what's his face are smoothing it out. All you should be thinking about right now is me.”
“Hey!” Chrysalis tried to get in between them in protest.
“Wait for me, please,” Fluttershy timidly joined Chrysalis.
Applejack put her hoof to her face and then curled up beneath the tree. “Forget I even bothered.”
However, there was still a strong voice in their mind that spoke to AJ as she set her head down on the sheets. The day had been long, she was tired, and so was Spike for that matter. If anything, he had more reason to be tired if not only for being with that fuss bucket Rarity all the time.
There really is something to be said about the differences of culture, Spike commented. He was busy even though it was night. Rarity had gone to sleep in their hivemind-connected ring chamber while he finished some matters of government in the Crystal Castle's royal study. Canterlot ponies are nothing like our Crystal ponies.
To be fair, Applejack replied, we're still thought outsiders here. All Celestia's blessin's mean dry apples when they don't think of us like anythin' special. Them Crystals think you're some immortal hero.
Spike blushed and paused at his desk. But his blush then cooled and his expression drooped darkly. Immortal. That's true...
Hey there, AJ grimaced at herself. She could feel his troubled heart. Didn't mean nothin'. I'm sure...uh...
Spike let out a long breath, heated from his natural dragon's flame deep within. He put the quill down and got up from the large chair that had been made for him. I know, AJ. There's no reason for you to be sorry about it.
But I sure can feel sorry if I want to, the country mare responded in her old stubborn way. Cadance been any help?
Spike snuffed out the candles in the room and left it for the much colder hall of the castle. The icy tile sent a loud click every time his claws stepped against it. As he walked back to the ringroom, he became uncertain and replied. It's too strange, his eyes squinted even though Applejack wasn't there to see it. She's been distant lately. Like something really serious is on her mind. When I asked her what she thought about mortality, I thought she'd understand. She's immortal even though Shining Armor isn't. But then...
Applejack finished it by digging through his recent memories she hadn't bothered with before. She got defensive and evasive.
Spike shook his head and walked into his and Rarity's ringroom. He closed the door quietly behind him. Shining doesn't know what it is either. He's noticed too. Something has her worried. Or stressed. I just don't know.
The orange mare looked over to the queen and her three enthusiastic special someponies. Rainbow had now settled in Twilight's hooves, Fluttershy nestled against her back, and Chrysalis was trying unsuccessfully to squeeze Dash out of the way and steal a kiss.
We all have our reasons, AJ shook her head as Spike had done.
I just wish hers didn't make me feel alone, the mid-sized dragon humphed but did so quietly. He didn't want to disturb the gracefully sleeping Rarity, who was curled up in the center of the ring pad's soft green glow. All other lights were out, so she was only visible under that dim pulse.
Twilight feels the same as you, hun, Applejack tried to be more soft and caring. As a result, Applebloom came to her mind. The little filly often needed a motherly touch that only AJ provided in their family. It had been a while since she had seen her little sister. That made her homesick.
Somepony else has some worries, Spike noted and finally laid in beside Rarity. He hesitated, though, and didn't curl around her as he had done before. Something felt different when they were the only ones in the ring and, in fact, had it all to themselves. Instead, he merely rested his claw on her forehoof. Twilight has already told you to go back to Ponyville so you can be with your family. You shouldn't put it off if it bothers you so much.
Thanks for the kindness there, sugarcube, Applejack yawned. I might take up the offer. I just feel antsy about leavin' Twi after what's happened here. I'll bet the family's just as worried, though. I write, but...you know.
Sure do, Spike agreed as he gazed at Rarity's peaceful face. Though covered with her sleeping mask and dressed in her night gown, her natural beauty still swept him away. He yawned with AJ. Well, goodnight. See you on the other side.
Don't go makin' it sound all glum-like... Applejack weakly retorted as she too drifted off to sleep.
Black crystals crawled up the long thin tower in the forest near Neighagra Falls. They too pulsed with a light the way the tower's tip did. Only, they pulsed with an added red hue rather than plain green. The dark rocks seemed to meld into the mostly smooth thin transmitter, transforming it into a jagged spire far more sinister than anything within a thousand hooves. Or a hundred thousand for that matter.
When the crystals reached the tip, their fusion was complete. The transmitter continued to pass hivemind signals between Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. However, the signals were different now. Spike and Rarity's connection was enough the same not to be noticed but different enough that it was no longer their original thoughts that reached Twilight.
A dark mist surrounding the base of the transmitter pole shifted as if to give a “humph.” No coercion would be needed at this point. No, only a truly dangerous opponent might need to be coerced into frailty or disarray. The only ones that needed any containment were already accounted for.
“Do not make me any more impatient!” complained a very loud and buzzy voice. The changeling royal stood tall, though perhaps not as tall as a true queen. She was princess in body even if queen was her title now. “We starve! Every day we delay is another chance to lose more of the hive.”
Hearing the scattered moans and chittering of the mass of changelings behind her, the mist rose up and swirled around her head. It assured her that the hive would be fed. So eager, its venomous voice dripped with a kind of contempt. Princess Flux must prove herself, hm?
“Queen Flux! I'm the queen!” the thin changeling royal screeched. Her messy orange locks shifted as she looked one way and then another at the mist swirling around her. “She shouldn't be alive! She was supposed to die!”
I won't get involved in any petty feud you have with Chrysalis, the voice bit back. The power behind it made even the stubborn changeling flinch in fright. Just do as I say and your hive will never go hungry again.
The hundreds of changelings behind Queen Flux ground their teeth and bit their lips both in hunger and anticipation.
Canterlot is even weaker than it was when your rival attempted to take it. Their guards are tired and divided. The Crystal Empire will hear no cry for help. Cloudsdale will fall. The pegasi will be too busy to even consider saving Canterlot again.
Flux shook her whole body clear out of the black mist. “I don't trust ponies. Even less ones that make such intricate plans.”
The black mist no longer cared to waste time with its changeling pawn. The stage had been set. It would have the princess foretold in the prophecy. Nothing could overcome it. Not with its fathomless knowledge of dark magic. What irony that this foretold princess had become a pony queen with a changeling mind. No other non-changeling beside itself had such an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of such a mind. No other knew of the weaknesses that came with it.
In due time, the shadow would have immortality.
“I just don't get it,” North Star scrunched her face.
Spitfire found herself nodding in solemn agreement. The two had been working together more and more often due to Cloudsdale's political condition. It seemed to always be on the knife's edge of rioting these days. Ironically, the rioting was usually in favor of Twilight.
“Who would mess with the lower levels?” Spitfire voiced both their thoughts. “It doesn't matter what side you're on, no pegasus would dream of jeopardizing the city's cloud stability. The whole thing could go down.”
The two finally came around the last bend in the sky city's dense lower cumulus levels. What they both found there was far worse than either imagined. The messenger had dragged them out of the mayor's office with hysterics about some cloud-eating disease, but they had doubted it. The lower levels around the weather factory had always been known for myth and rumor. This was likely nothing more. They only went out to inspect it because he wouldn't stop insisting.
Before the two of them was a massive chasm where there should have been a full one thousand cubic hooves of cloud suspending the city above the ground. A tiny pinhole at the bottom even let one see the early morning light bathing the fields several thousand hooves below. A dozen city maintenance pegasi were flying around in panic. Some of them just sat to the side, staring in helpless horror as none of their patching materials did anything to stop the erosion.
“Sweet mother of Celestia...” Spitfire whispered out, her whole body having frozen.
A sickening black mold seemed to be spread around the edges within the chasm and ate away at the cloud. The black patches moved inwards at the city's foundational clouds like acid melting through the soft innards of a melon.
“You!” Spitfire managed to recover while North Star still stood in fear. The Wonderbolt grabbed the nearest maintenance technician, who was staring into space listlessly. “What have you tried?”
“Everything...” the male pegasus looked at her as if he was about to cry.
“We can still use the X5 cloud machine in the factory! It can produce faster than we can lose cumulus,” Spitfire tried to order him and the others to get the massive machine. When they didn't move and gave her the same pitiful look, she felt the helplessness creep into her own heart.
“We already tried,” the large male now had tears running down his cheeks while he trembled. “The black stuff...it got into the machine. We tried putting it into turbo mode but it just used up the water reserves and put out nothing...nothing....”
“We're out of water?!” North Star shrunk back when a portion of cloud beneath her hooves rotted away.
Spitfire looked to the chasm then to North Star. Finally she looked to the south where Canterlot lay on the horizon. They had only recently started moving away due to the uprising. “We need Queen Twilight. How much time until the cloud loss makes us lose altitude?”
The technician's eyes danced about in calculation. “An hour?”
North Star matched Spitfire's strained expression.
“We need Twilight now.”
Queen Twilight Sparkle yawned. She stretched as well, wings spreading and flexing. In spite of the extreme issues she faced on a daily basis now, she had woken up encouraged today. Perhaps it was the happy faces of her hive that helped in that. Sure, the royal court was still in chaos over the coup, but Twilight knew she could handle it with her friends at her side. The emergency measures they had already taken had given at least some semblance of stability in the meanwhile.
She stood out on their hive bedroom's balcony that faced the uphill portion of Mt. Canter, which Canterlot and its castle were situated upon. The morning air was fresh, crisp, and cool. The deep green of Mt. Canter's thick outer-city forest was spectacular. Almost as magnificent as watching the many waterfalls cascading down into the deep treescape, pouring from the mountain's rich frozen tops going through their natural precipitation cycles.
Twilight shuffled her accessory-free hooves to different parts of the balcony because she loved the cool sensation of the stone underhoof. Fall was coming and, with it, lower temperatures. She spread her wings again to feel the soft air through her feathers. If every day was as nice as this one was starting out to be then perhaps she would never need a vacation. The alicorn knew that was an exaggeration, but liked to be optimistic anyways.
Chrysalis stepped out onto the balcony with her. She was the only one around with the queen at the moment because the others were off to their own individual work and interests. It was a rare moment for the changeling to be alone with Twilight since the hive group had been closely knit for a good while. Chrysalis breathed deep and enjoyed the view along with her queen.
“I may have lived most of my life underground,” Chrysalis remarked, “but I can see the beauty of it.”
Twilight smiled, though it was minute. “Equestria really is breathtaking. There are all kinds of biomes,” she returned to her scientific mind. “Different ponies like different ones. I grew up here in Canterlot, though. Maybe that's why I still love the natural coniferous landscapes. It makes me a bit nostalgic.”
The two continued enjoying the scene and the breeze. Chrysalis yawned in contentment and leaned against the balcony's railing. Twilight, however, noticed a pony in the distant sky.
A lone Wonderbolt was flying swiftly towards them.
Thank you so much to for reading, enjoying, and supporting me by demanding more! 
What a journey! Over two years of non-stop writing with a new chapter every month or more over that time span. I never imagined that my desire to have Chrysalis reformed in the show would end up with me writing a story over 225,000 words long and with over 10,000 views.
I've changed and grown much throughout the course of this story. Always for the better, I hope. Now that I think of it, I believe Hive Alive was the first story I began to experiment with chapter images or "flare." Custom title headers, chapter names, dividers, and such may not add anything to the story itself but they do spruce up the decor. 
It stokes my inner artist and the practice has become standard for all of my stories now. Rarity, I understand when you get caught up with artistic inspiration~! Oh dear, look at me rambling...anyways... 
Love you all! Keep rockin' it, bronies~! 
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Looking forward to it.
Jesus. This is "Empire Strikes Back" level of depressing.
Great Scott!
Nitpicks:
"reining in"
(Actually, "reigning in" would imply something COMPLETELY different!)
"crippled" doesn't make sense to me in this context. Do you mean either "crumpled" or "toppled over"/"tipped over"?
that's a lot of gambits.
Is Cadence trying to turn Shiny into an undead?
See, this is why the Internet is the way it is! Will Twilight invent the Hive equivalent of TLS and SSL? Timd will tell!
Poor Twily, so stressed and unwilling to distribute it across the Hive. Mistakes will be made...
Keep going! ;)
6544041 not an undead, just immortality.
6544201
well, yeah, but the black smoke worries me.
6544815 it's the same kind Twilight used in the Sombra episode, which is based on fear and hate. Cadence fears they don't have enough time, so it makes sense it's affecting her both mentally and physically.
Do you think you could PM me when the sequel comes out? And thank you for such an amazing ride ^_^. It's good to know that this story will live on. Especially since there's so much more to tell ^_^.
Sombra AGAIN?! Sorry, that one needed to get out. I know I'm going to be disliked for saying this, but I'm not going to read the sequel.
Well, that is just not good for our gangs, not at all. Cloudsdale is doing horrible, Equestria is weak because of division of opinions, a rogue group of Changelings are planning an invasion, and poor Cadence and Twilight is getting the Sombra treatment. ...Can you say 'awww crap'.
Even with the bizarre shipping nonsense, this have been an enjoyable story. Can't wait to read the sequel.
C&Cs will be PM.
6551542
Still dislike that rule. And honestly I don't play 20d / PnD games [other than the one I crafted] because of that [mind you I only tried playing twice. Still barbarian skeleton rape. Then the other time I go to the bathroom. Return to a dead character who had his hands cut off, strangled to death by them, a Necromancer raising me as a zombie, the killer blowing me up. The necromancer raising me again. Then blown up so bad that I couldn't be raised. All the while a Chaotic Good Paladin stands by while two evil characters are doing this [I admit I was chaotic neutral if that matters at all] and sat by and watched. His response was "Not my problem." Seriously though I was in the restroom for less than two minutes
.]
So yeah. Those two times sucked bad enough that even 14 and 11 years later I still remember those moments vividly.
6551609 well, thats just a bad group you had there if they do that to your character the moment your back is turned, the DM is supposed to be telling a story, not getting the characters killed. its not an us-vs-them thing, the players and dm are supposed to work together to tell a story, something my dad, being a dm longer then iv been alive, has drilled into me for years, and a lesson iv taken to heart when i started to dm my own games. ill bet that if you find yourself a good group, youll have a much better time then you did with that one that screwed you over
6553380
Honestly if you know any good online groups. I might give it a go. It might be nice seeing what a good group is supposed to be like.
6554162 im afraid i dont know any online groups at all, good or otherwise, all my D&D experience is with groups that actually get together in one of the players' house to game, usually the DM's place since he/she is usually the one that sets everything up. however, if you look for any gaming stories near you, they generally have tournaments going on that you can attend, and maybe find yourself a group that way
Whew, when I finished chapter 49 a few weeks ago, I read worried this fic was going dead. I'm glad it didn't.
It was a real blast to read, can't wait for the sequel.
Also, ominous~
I just hope Chryssie's new home won't collapse around her.
Oh dear.
6581554 Are you... trolling people with science? That's... kinda hilarious actually. I feel somewhat honored I got hit. Anyways, onto the response.
First, I am intimately familiar with what seizures are and how they work, seeing as I suffer from them regularly. Believe me, I've researched them extensively.
Second, I have spent the last ten years studying both psychology and physics. I am well aware that the 10% thing isn't the proper phrasing for how our brains work. We are not computers, but we're damn close. It's just easier to explain it in computer jargon.
Finally, and this is in my opinion the most important thing to note here, we are talking about a fantasy character, in a fantasy world, where the laws of existence itself are variable to the whims of the author... and Discord. Physics can take a flying leap off the Sphinx.
Typo/grammar fixes:
just finished reading this. good read, though for a completed book its a bit much of a cliff hanger... plan on writing the sequel soon?
Cheers
Tiwake
That line sold it for me. Was wondering if the rest of the hive would come back into play, was not disappointing to that effect. Looking forward to the sequel with so many threads.
I just finished this fic', and all I have to say is it. Was. Glorious!
And I can't wait for the sequel.
And now to watch a movie that has the same name as you.
I just "finished" this fic, and I'm severely disappointed.
One would think 230k words would be enough to tell a story in its entirety. Instead, the author goes into pointless arcs and starts new threads that don't reach any resolution. THIS STORY IS NOT COMPLETE. It's a middle part of a trilogy and showing worst traits of such.
By the time the sequel is complete I won't remember a thing of this story and so all the time reading it has been wasted.
A good multi-volume story would at least resolve SOME threads by the end of a volume. No such luck here. Just right where things might begin getting interesting and, let's count... at least 12 completely unresolved threads, another 6 or so only partially resolved.
7032968 Do you know why Classic armies pre gunpowder Focused on Rank and File with large grouped forces of troupes? It was not inexperience, it was the fact that they knew that having numbers is intimidating and the massive army of foot soldiers can easily over power and over run a disorganized mob of half trained militia or even soldiers. Also melee's typically started with massive groups of soldiers striking into each other like squares, however they dissolve into a melee as soon as there is enough room for one on one combat tactics, and do not think that the armies from the dark ages were without their dirty tactics as well. Fields of burning pitch set alight like seas of fire from a single burning arrow, steak traps in holes dug two-three feet underground, Weapons specialized for quick throwing to get the first strike against near opponents just outside melee striking range. Our soldiers without technological advantages and weaponry would be struggling to catch up to well trained and equipped armies from the past.
we train for quick strikes and stealth operations because we have the equipment to make those methods a viable combat strategy, back then those tactics would at best whittle down the opposing army to a somewhat more survivable force, that is if the army didn't catch the saboteurs. We rely more on technology than our senses and that hampers us greatly when it comes to classic warfare, as back then you had to be more reliant on your natural senses to note where your enemies are, then on a radar and listening for gunfire. our modern armies are trained to use the equipment and strategies that have been proven to work with our more modern equipment, without the equipment we would have to rethink and adapt our strategies or get swept aside by the better prepared armies who know the tactics that work best with the given equipment.
'First rule of engagement, NEVER underestimate your opponent.'
7033254
The kind of guerilla warfare a modern army would employ dates back way before gunpowder weapons, man. Like, BC old. It worked amazingly well back then, too. Ask Sun Tzu, the Huns, or the Mongols. The Vikings kicked Europe's butts for the better part of 200 years. Skanderbeg demolished the Ottomans with a vastly smaller army. It practically decided most of the colonial wars in North America, even before gunpowder weapons were particularly good at hitting anything. Large armies on the move have a lot of stress points, and this is really not a new concept in military study.
Intimidation and steamroll lines are great for scaring off or running down half-trained militiae, but with a few very specialized exceptions like a proper phalanx, they're pretty much uniformly inferior to almost every other form of attack that even existed in the times and places they were used. It was a tactic rooted in culture and shows of force rather than particular effectiveness against other armies.
7038106 indeed, then again, there were different armies they used back then, the malitia army which was the most common, and the royal army which were pretty much the Spartans, and Roman Phalanx of the country or countries in question,
in actuality we really don't know how wars were exactly fought back then just that they did happen and that many of them were mere skirmishes compared to the bloodbaths that were WW1 and WW2. Also I'm realizing that I'm trying to defend the same idiotic fools that Praised Catholicism as the Highest point of theology, and Executed early scientists for the sin of 'Devil Worship'... Well at least they give us plenty of Ideas for Medieval videogames, characterizations, and world building.
7058591 musical equivalent of Murphy's law lololololololololololololololololol
This was a good story. Got a bit too political for my liking in the end, but it's obvious where you plan on taking the story. Chances are I am not going to be reading the eventual sequel. It's like... Luna and Celestia know things are going to hell, but go galavanting off, to their death it seems to be foreshadowed, taking Discord with them. All while knowing Equestria is falling apart at the seams.
I love this story and how it performed, but my personal interest is that everything going wrong that possibly can does not make for a great story, nor interesting. Just my opinion, I'm certain plenty will enjoy it. Then again, I suppose it'd also be hard to have a sequel going any other way with how you set things up. I just don't think it's going to be very enjoyable having to deal with all of these issues one after the other, potentially completely eclipsing the personal growth that was great in the first half of this story. It's an honest shame you moved so far away from that plot point, it truly was a good one.
Anyways, despite the negative critique of my opinions, this was some pretty solid writing. So, congrats on that.
8188610 wher i ncanon have they even covered Cadance's acension?
8188620
Technically I was using the book "A Crystal Heart Spell" on Cadance's ascension. Don't know if the book is considered official canon. But still even if that's not the case. All the others listed throw out the whole "New Magic = Alicorn".
Especially since friendship magic was a thing before Twilight; Celestia worked with spells around the Elements of Harmony before Twilight; Even destiny / cutie mark magic / spells existed before Twilight putzed around with Star Swirl's Spell. As well as with how many types of magic / new magics that were made in Pony History that were made. None of them gave birth to alicorns. Or there would have been tons of them.
For instance the discoverers / innovators of: Alchemy; Dark Magic; Necromancy; Chrono Magic; Transformation Magic; Neuromancy; Weather Magic; The first Sonic Rainboom; Weather Magic (the first ones); Lunar and Solar Magics / manipulation; Love Magic (the first one to discover it); and that's just a small smattering of magics of different races that never became Alicorns. For instance if New Magic = Alicorns. Then Smart Cookie + Private Panzy + Clover the Clever who first discovered Friendship Magic would have been Alicorns.
8220863
It’s only a sin, if Pinkie Pie forgets that in Equestria apples, cupcakes, and rainbows are appropriate numbers in Magical Maths and Sciences. How else is she going to bake the fourth wall? Or a Time Sorbet?
8221023
Oh, that gypsy magic.
8188766
A common theory is that the long must achieve a difficult, nigh impossible feat ( completing the last spell of the most powerful unicorn in history) while wearing or in the presence of a catalyst such as the EoH. This often has Cadence carrying a lump of cosmic spectrum stone.
8248833
But likewise is disproven. Namely with Sunset (I don't know why the writers made her an alicorn magic girl in Friendship Games, then decided to do away with that. Despite foreshadowing in Rainbow Rocks Music Video, my Past Is Not Today; And then giving it to her in FG. Seriously dick move), and then Flurry Heart.
Likewise Tia and Luna were Alicorns before they met the EoH. And in a time when Celestial Magic was a thing that unicorns did constantly. And Cadance didn't do a neigh impossible feat. She had natural resistance to love magic (and the magic jewel that Prisma used broke).
___________________
Really there is no common points between them. Twilight did a Destiny Spell that utilized the powers of the EoH; Cadance had a massive resistance to love magic (with love as her special talent. Makes a bit of sense); SciTwi overdosed on Equestrian Magic (which we see in EG has transformative abilities); Sunset was remade in the EoH+Equestrian Magic (you see her get swallowed up by the ball of super condensed friendship and transform into a magic girl with wings and a horn, mimicing SciTwi's but of light rather than darkness); Flurry Heart was born that way; and the Royal Sisters were always Alicorns (from what we see in their flash backs to their pasts; and images with them as alicorns even during Star Swirl's time.).
So ... yeah. I mean it's a nice thought. Three times when that might be the case with a catalyst (depending on if you count the Magic Eating Radar to be a catalyst). But neigh impossible feats, not really.
8505342
Congratulations on using math and spelling mistakes to ruin a divide by zero joke
8505554
The various branches of the American military compete for resources all the time, and yet they are part of the biggest war machine on the planet... Doesn't seem too difficult, if done right.
8506376
First thanks for the spelling correction.
Second sorry for ruining the joke I just wanted to reveal how Pinkie divided by zero.
This story bites off so much you can see the author choking on his own words
8659195
I really need to read this story. It's been sitting in my Read It Later library for years. I've only ever read the first two chapters
8658619
Since you said Yanks I assume you are not American which is why you would not understand it but American language Y'all is actually a term. I live in Texas so...
8689555
Must be. Or from those places infused with snow birds or Yanks that moved to the south. Actual Southerners use it as a plural. Or at the very least an Implied Plural (such as when you go to a store and ask, "where'd y'all keep [insert object]?". You aren't asking where that person keeps it, but where the store as a whole keeps it.).
And of course. Both grammar, proper usage, and fellow Southerner's in the LunaVerse thread would agree.
Apple Bloom
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8666664
I'm a Southerner. Yanks are those peeps from above the Mason-Dixon Line. Of course any good "Real" Southerner, not some place infested with Snow Birds and Yanks looking to move down south would know.
And no. Texas lost the right to use Y'all. Especially since it's actual usage I've got proof of. Both grammatically, from actual Southerners, and guides on how to use it properly. Texas is one of those trashy states, that have so many Yanks misusing it, that everyone there doesn't know shit of the proper use of the word anymore. Them and lots of Virginians.
The second I hear a person is from Texas or Virginia, I ignore them when it comes to Southern Terminology. Especially like how you just proved, you don't know your Southern Terminology when it came to the word Yanks.
8737738
Not knowing and not caring are two different things. I'm from Arizona. Just trapped in Texas. I hate this state.
8737801
My Grandparents live in AZ, one of my favorite states to live in tbh (literally the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen in all the states both in and out of the US I've ever lived in). How'd you get trapped in Texas? That's almost more worse than getting trapped in Florida, especially if you lived in a great state like Arizona.
But yeah, Y'all does have "implied plurals" (such as asking one of your friends if them and your other friends are going out; or asking a store clerk where the store keeps X; etc.) Seriously look at the link. It has guides both informative to those who aren't from the South, as well as those who grew up in places that heavily misuse the word.
8737825
Think I will look at it. I bounced around the country for a few years and ended up in North Carolina with a friend. His wife didn't want me there and so come Christmas time 2015 they offer to pay for a vacation to visit family, I unfortunately had to pick my last choice which was my mother, in Texas and so off I went. Didn't find out until later that it was a ploy to kick me out and so that's how I got trapped here working a minimum wage job and trying to save up enough to move away again.
8737839
Wow ... dick move of dick moves.
Honestly if you're under the age of 35, I'd say go join the Armed Forces. Best outcome you get free housing, free food, and a steady paycheck at P2 (Private Second Class) when I was in, I got a bi monthly paycheck of 1,500 USD / mo. Which, and when you leave as long as it's honorable, or medical. Can get help with housing (And save up a shit load of cash for when you get out in ~4+ yrs.)
Worst case, you get an honorable medical discharge, and have to go through the DAV (Department of Veteran Affairs) to keep the VA from screwing you like a two bit Prench whorse. Get a disability rating, and get loads of help (And potentially free medical) for life. I ended up in the later, but I get a steady monthly check of 2,900k / mo; free medical; free dental; and when I'm ready to get a house a VA Home Loan for up to 148k.
Still, best of luck to you, and hope you can get to AZ soon-ish. At least hope you can find a good roommate, to help make saving up easier. TX from just driving through seems like a state that loves over charging for things and would gut a person financially.
8737875
I wouldn't do well in the military. My current mental state wouldn't allow it. I am however considering SSDI. Asperger's Syndrome is a pain in the ass.
8737892
That it is. I have that as well (well actually the psychologists keep going back and forth between if it's Asperger's or PPD-NOS). But I found it to be quite easy. It was structured, things were orderly (to a significant degree, which is good with my manifestation of OCD), and was good until my undiagnosed Anxiety Disorder reared it's head.
Still best of luck with SSDI. I'll cross my fingers for you.
8738558
Thanks. And yes Anxiety disorder and its companion depression are irritating.