The Truth of the Matter
Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 8: The Truth of the Matter
A chorus of pained groans greeted the day after Fangbreaker's reclamation. The courtyard was littered with empty barrels, mugs, and unconscious ponies, while the air reeked of vomit, piss, and warm booze.
Work still had to go on despite the mess. Laborers assembled scaffolding while waiting for the construction materials to be moved into the fort. Dreadstep wanted Fangbreaker Fortress completely repaired before the spring offensive. Working through the winter was a tall order, but a lot of the ponies stationed at Fangbreaker were enthused. The harsh conditions would serve as an additional penance for even allowing the fort to reach such a state of disrepair.
Though she had stayed up past midnight, Applejack was up with the dawn. It wasn't because she was needed for pressing matters, though. Until she received some kind of order from Vanguard, or his higher-ups, she had to stay in this squad with her friends instead of going to Infantry. For now, they didn't seem to have any other duties other than dealing with Nightmare Moon, leaving her with free time that she had to fill up somehow.
The rest of her friends were already preoccupied: Twilight had volunteered to sort out what was left of the fort’s library, and re-shelf the books that the Legion had saved during its retreat. After Rarity’s talk last night, Applejack considered talking to Twilight. However, when she tried to approach Twilight, something inside her shrank back. The information was…too fresh. She was still so unsure about how much of Rarity’s words were true. She needed some time to figure this out.
“You have a crush on him! You’re in love with him! You want to push him to the ground, and mash your lips together!”
Applejack shook her head. ‘Rarity’s overreacting like she always does,' she thought. 'She's fussing over tiny details, and making them out be more serious than they really are. So what if I like being around Vanguard? Nothing wrong with enjoying a friend’s company. And what’s not to enjoy? He’s brave, reliable, honest, kinda good looking…’ She shook her head again. ‘Darn that Rarity! Now, I’m starting to doubt myself!’ She looked around for any recognizable faces. Fluttershy had slept in the medical ward last night, and got right back to work in the morning. There were plenty of injured ponies to keep her and the rest of Medical busy. Rarity was sleeping off a headache. Rainbow had mentioned getting some target practice once she could aim straight.
With nothing else to do, Applejack had gone over to the training grounds for earth ponies. The walls and floor were still covered in wolven graffiti. Most of the debris had been cleared, however, and somepony had been considerate enough to set up a few target dummies. She looked down her chest, painfully remembering that the Element of Honesty had shattered just like the rest of the Elements of Harmony. She didn't know what caused the necklace to shatter, but she instinctively assumed that it was her fault. With the elation of reclaiming Fangbreaker, and the celebrations now behind her, all the foreboding feelings began to crash down. Nightmare Moon was just one problem, and she wasn't even sure if they had dealt with her completely. More problems loomed ahead. She felt restless just sitting around, waiting for somepony to tell her what to do.
That was why she had come to the training grounds. She had brought the supposed chain of Apple Slice, though she had no idea what to do with it. She figured that something that was passed along generations of ponies just to be given to her had to be useful. Despite being metal, the chain was as light as rope, and its length made it easy to carry. However, its length also made it useless for anything but tying up something small.
“Hey there!”
Applejack had heard the soft-speaking tone somewhere before, but she couldn't place it. She turned around and saw a dark blue unicorn whose purple mane came down in elaborate ringlets. A few more seconds passed before she found the name that went with this pony’s features. “Captain Nightcanter,” she said with a salute.
“So formal!” Nightcanter remarked, her crooked smile widening slightly. “No need to stand on ceremony. By the way, you’re that mare that Vanguard was dancing with last night, aren't you? He mentioned your name before...what was it? Applejack?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I've never seen Vanguard dance before, and I've done my share of trying to get him to.” Nightcanter leaned forward, and nudged Applejack slyly. “So what happened after that? Did you start rolling your oats once you got somewhere private?”
“Rolling my oats?” Applejack asked. “No, ma’am. I’m an apple farmer. Don’t know much about working with oats. I do have an uncle who tried his hoof in the oat business once.” She turned grim for a moment. “The Oat Family didn't take too kindly to that.”
The smile on Nightcanter’s face lessened. “I meant if you did some horizontal dancing,” she said.
“Uh…no, we just stuck to ‘Snakedodge’. That was pretty hard too. Not as hard as ‘Horizontal Dancing’, I reckon." Applejack tapped her chin with a hoof, and tried to picture such a dance. "How do you even do that?”
Nightcanter stared at Applejack incredulously, then shook her head. “Nevermind,” she muttered. “I’ll just assume you didn't do what I thought you might have done.” More ponies began to enter the training grounds. Some of them worked on cleaning up the place, while the others started exercising. Nightcanter focused on the chain coiled around Applejack’s neck. “So what do you have there?” she asked. “Not planning to strangle ourselves, are we?”
“No,” Applejack replied. “This here chain’s supposed to have belonged to Apple Slice, but I don’t know what to do with it.”
Nightcanter’s eyes widened. “Apple Slice?” she asked. “As in ‘the Last Great Apple’?“
“There’s that title again." Applejack frowned. "There's lots of great Apples out there. Not just whoever this pony is! Why, there’s--”
Nightcanter put a hoof up. “You can list off a hundred of your chosen Apples, Applejack. They might be great, but not in the same way Apple Slice was." She focused on the chain. "May I have a look?”
Reluctantly, Applejack handed the chain to Nightcanter, who inspected it with a spell. “Obviously magical,” she said. “How’d you get this?”
Applejack narrated her encounter with Crow Quill. She stumbled on some parts, mostly because Nightcanter's intense stare.
“You should be honored,” Nightcanter said. "An enchanted weapon requires powerful magic.”
“Magic, huh?” Applejack eyed the chain warily. In the past, she had only one response to magic: leave it to Twilight. “Twilight mentioned that. I’m sure the unicorns here have a lot of these stashed away.”
“Not really," Nightcanter replied. "Some transmuters, and conjurers can make temporary ones, but an enchantment to last through centuries…a unicorn died to make this, Applejack. Probably several.” A frown creased her face, but she quickly replaced it with a smile. “There are a lot of stories about Apple Slice bringing down ursans by lassoing them,” she said. “Have you given that a try?”
“Lassoing?” Applejack asked. “Just look at how short it is! Sure, I could lasso things with it, if they were a spitting distance away.”
“That’s your earth pony-ness talking," Nightcanter said with a snort.
Applejack frowned. “My what?”
“Your earth pony-ness." Nightcanter tapped Applejack's chest with a hoof. "That stubborn, no-nonsense tendency of yours not to trust anything that you can’t get a feel of with your senses. This is a magical object, an artifact even. You have to trust in its magic, not in what it looks, or feels like.”
“I've never used magic before,” Applejack said. “I’m no unicorn. Guess I’m better off giving this to Twilight or Rarity.”
Nightcanter’s horn was still glowing as she stretched out the chain. “Then you’d be handing them junk,” she said. “These enchantments are pretty specific. There aren't any stories about ponies in the Barrier Lands wielding a magic chain after Apple Slice. You’d think somepony would have taken up some magical equipment, but no. One explanation I’d consider is that it doesn't work for just anypony. If you really are related to him in some way, you’re the best candidate.”
Applejack looked at the chain with even more distrust. For a moment, she didn't want to have anything to do with the chain knowing that some unicorns died to make it. She thought about it, then decided that it would be more disrespectful to throw it away. After all, they had sacrificed a lot to create this, and made sure that only her family could use it.
“Just give it a try,” Nightcanter said.
“Okay.” Applejack tied the chain into a lasso. Despite being made of metal links, the chain proved easy to work into knots. She gave the thing whirl, still surprised by how easy it was to wield it. Nightcanter pointed her to a distant, practice dummy. With a shrug, she tossed the lasso, expecting the chain to jerk once it reached its very short maximum distance.
The links stretched out…and kept flying.
Applejack nearly dropped the chain as the looped end reached the target, landing on point. On instinct, she tugged once when the chain landed to tighten the loop. The target dummy snapped near its base, and clattered on the ground.
Nightcanter examined the extended chain. “Force,” she said with awe. Other ponies had noticed now, and were moving in to see the strange weapon.
Applejack chuckled nervously at the increasing attention. “Sorry about the target,” she said. “I didn't mean to. I swear I just gave it a good tug.”
“Did you really?” Nightcanter asked. “It boosts its wielder’s strength too. Probably important seeing as trying to lasso a rampaging ursan would be impossible without such an enchantment.”
The murmurs among the crowd were enough to make Applejack break into a nervous sweat, despite the cold morning breeze. She pulled back the chain, and tried to put it away when links suddenly clicked together, even going so far as undoing the loop. In an instant, she was holding a short chain again.
“You lucky pony,” Nightcanter said. “To wield the weapon of the legendary Apple Slice…I’d cut off a leg for that honor.”
A loud, mocking snort came from the gathered ponies around them. Nightcanter frowned, then looked over to them. “Who did that?” she asked.
“I did!”
An orange pegasus stallion with a cropped, bright green mane stepped forward. His barding was similar to the one Tailwind wore, including the stylized wing. “You were gushing about the 'Legendary’ Apple Slice. Hah! That stallion was a glorified murderer, who dragged his ponies with him to a massacre!”
“Hey!” Applejack snapped. “Don’t you badmouth my family like that!”
“You've only stayed in this place for a short time,” the pegasus said. “Of course you have no grasp of our history.” He looked back to Nightcanter with a sneer. “I’m surprised that a Special Operations captain is feeding a legionnaire the same sugar-coated tripe that they tell earth pony foals before bedtime.”
“And I’m surprised that a flight captain thinks I won’t strangle him with his own tail just for that snort,” Nightcanter hissed. “You better stay out of dark alleys, Sunray.”
“You should hear the truth if you really are related in some way to Apple Slice,” Sunray told Applejack. “He's no hero. During the division, Princess Celestia chose the Apple Family to settle in the Heartland. That same family cast Apple Slice out because he was a budding violent psychopath. He worked his way up the Legion’s ranks by being a ruthless murderer until he snapped, led his ponies against a horde of ophidites, and got massacred. It was such an embarrassment that the Legion whitewashed the event as a ‘heroic last stand’.” He looked at the chain with disgust. “I can only imagine how many…creatures he strangled to death with that thing.”
“Celestia drill my backside,” Nightcanter snarled. “You’re one of those conspiracy nags. Don’t listen to this idiot, Applejack, he’s a damn chosen apologist who thinks Apple Slice must be garbage because his high and mighty clan tossed him out!”
The two ponies sized each other up. Now, most of the crowd were more interested in what would happen between the two quarreling captains than the mysterious chain.
“That’s enough quibbling!” another pony from the crowd said. It was a unicorn stallion this time: a bright blue one with a long, curly white mane. “You’re both wrong anyway,” he said. “Apple Slice couldn't have possibly been a hero, or a psychopath. He’d have to exist to be either.”
Nightcanter rolled her eyes. “Here we go,” she said, “another ‘earth ponies are useless’ lecture from Mage Captain Drizzlecloud!”
“I hate to disappoint you, but Apple Slice is not real,” Drizzlecloud said to Applejack. “He’s a myth created by the Legion to inspire earth ponies during that time. Prior to the legend of Apple Slice, earth ponies had no heroes to look up to. Pegasi had Wind Runner and Ash Frost, while unicorns had Afterthought and Moonrage. To keep Infantry recruitment going strong, the Legion invented Apple Slice, the noble farmer who gallantly refused to join his family in the Heartland to continue protecting Equestria. A few centuries later, when the earth ponies finally had actual heroes, some pegasi started spreading stories about how Apple Slice was actually a monster. Likely because they felt that the earth ponies were getting too proud.”
“Of course the unicorns had a clear conscience in the entire affair,” Sunray muttered. “They always do in Drizzlecloud’s ‘historical facts’.”
Drizzlecloud turned his nose up. “Don’t blame me, blame the truth.”
“Hold on for one pony-picking minute here!” Applejack said. Despite being faced by captains, she wasn't going to sit there while they threw one story after another about somepony who might be family. “The Queen told me that Apple Slice fell valiantly in battle during his last stand!”
The three stopped, and looked at Applejack.
“The Queen?” Drizzlecloud asked. “Our prince’s mother, and one of the Eternal Herd’s great rulers?”
“Yes, that Queen,” Applejack said.
“I believe her,” Nightcanter added. “I heard it from Vanguard Clash. The Queen spoke to our prince through this one.”
“Then I will not doubt that the Queen did speak with you,” Drizzlecloud replied. “As to what she actually told you…that I can throw some doubt on.”
“What do you mean?” Applejack asked.
Drizzlecloud raised an eyebrow. “Rather convenient to say that the Queen told you that now that Apple Slice’s story is the topic of the conversation.”
“Are you calling me a liar?” Applejack stepped towards Drizzlecloud. “I oughta--”
“You can roast me over a slow fire if you want,” Drizzlecloud said. “It doesn't make you more truthful in anypony’s eyes. You’re better off showing proof.”
Applejack fell silent. There was no proof. To be doubted like this was painful, irritating, and humiliating. She wanted to lash out, but Drizzlecloud was right, hurting anypony would prove nothing.
“And I suppose you have proof, Drizzlecloud?” Nightcanter asked.
“I can show you documents if you want,” Drizzlecloud replied. “I happen to have done some research into this personally.”
“And I've got a few books about the subject back in Bastion City,” Sunray said.
“No doubt written by pegasi,” Drizzlecloud retorted.
Before anypony else could say something, a sudden blast from a horn sent them scrambling. The training grounds cleared in less than a minute.
“What’s going on?” Applejack asked. “What was that horn blowing for?”
“The prince is arriving,” Nightcanter said. “It’s to be expected though. Don’t know why everypony’s in a panic.”
“Uh…Captain Nightcanter?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you kindly for helping me out with this thing.”
Nightcanter smiled in return. “No problem, Applejack. If you and Vanguard finally start doing it, and need some company, give me an invite. I really want to see him cut loose.” The smile widened. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
Applejack didn't know if she should smile back, or be afraid.
“You better get back with your squad. I’m willing to bet that our prince is going to want to see all of you!” Nightcanter walked off. Applejack coiled the chain around her neck, and made her way back to the shared quarters.
Terrato had arrived within the audience hall by teleportation, to the shock of the workers still there. He had not come alone either. With him were Dreadstep, and Celestia. Whispers quickly went rampant throughout the fortress, especially when ponies noticed the sun symbol on his sister's flank. The word was out: Celestia was in Fangbreaker Fortress. Rumors were already abounding in Bastion City and they only grew in number here.
Most of the morning was spent on inspection. Terrato surveyed his newly-reacquired fortress with a sense of pride for his legionnaires. and grim speculation. If he was going to use this place as a launching point for his invasion, expansions would have to take place. By noon, he was receiving reports in the audience hall with Celestia, and Dreadstep. Celestia had been silent ever since she spent a day in Bastion City as an earth pony. When asked her what happened, she had not answered. He had called for the Elements of Harmony. Perhaps the sight of her beloved student would put some cheer in her. Afterwards, he had an execution to attend. It was best to do that without her at his side.
When the Elements of Harmony did walk in, however, it looked like they were going to do the opposite of what he wanted of them. Celestia noticed as well. Her eyes widened, and she leaned forward out of concern. Before she could say anything, Terrato spoke first. “You’re looking significantly less gaudy than when we last had a meeting,” he said. “Are my aesthetics starting to rub off on you, or is there something you’d like to tell me?”
Twilight stepped forward, her head low as she spoke. “Your highness, the Elements of Harmony….well…they shattered.”
“Twilight…” Celestia went among them. They gathered around her, seeking comfort. Terrato let them stay that way for some time while Dreadstep looked to him nervously. The old stallion knew the signs of his prince’s growing impatience.
“That’s enough feeling sorry for yourselves!” Terrato said. He looked to his sister. “Stop coddling them, Celestia! Harmonia Intus!”
Applejack’s eyes widened. “Hey, I recognize that! The Queen said it to me before.”
Celestia shot a disapproving look at Terrato before addressing Applejack. “Harmony comes from within,” she said. “Don’t be so sad, girls. It’s true that the loss of the physical elements is a terrible thing, but all is not lost.”
“What do you mean, your highness?” Twilight asked.
“True Harmony does not rely on metal and stone,” Celestia said with a smile. “The jewelry you held served as focuses to channel the power of harmony. Without them, it will be difficult to call forth the power of the Elements, but not impossible.”
Twilight's face brightened. “How do we do that?” she asked.
“Tell me first as to how they came to shatter,” Celestia replied.
Twilight narrated their last encounter with Nightmare Moon. Her friends added their experience after she had disappeared. Celestia fell silent when Twilight mentioned the voices she heard when she was transported into the middle of nowhere. Terrato also fell into a frowning contemplation.
“From what you've told me, I can only guess that you were not in harmony when you tried to use the elements,” Celestia said. “The devices sensed your great need, and activated anyway, but the strain of doing so was too much.”
“So we broke the elements…” Twilight said.
Celestia shook her head. “No, Twilight, you broke the devices. Whatever has come between all of you must be dealt with, and then…” She hesitated. “It is difficult to explain. You must simply remember that Harmony has personal as well as social aspects. You must grow in both.”
The depressed, self-pitying look on Twilight disappeared. “We will, princess!" She looked to her friends, who nodded in return. Both Rarity and Applejack were doing so with less enthusiasm.
“I have full faith in you, Twilight. One more thing...” Celestia leaned forward to whisper to her student. Curious, Terrato listened in. “Later, I would like to talk to you about this Pyre Valor.”
Twilight nodded with less enthusiasm, and Celestia walked back to stand next to Terrato. “Good that you have that settled,” he said. “With Nightmare Moon gone, there won’t be much of a need for you to remain a squad. I want you to return to your previous positions, and concentrate on your training.”
“Terrato, perhaps you should let them see their families first,” Celestia said. “They were forced to leave their homes so abruptly.”
Terrato paused, then returned his gaze to the bearers. “Would you like that?” he asked. “Would you like to see your families?”
“That would be lovely!” Rarity said. The others nodded vigorously.
“Go then. I’ll give you a couple of weeks. While you’re there, I want you to help facilitate the drafts. Having fellow chosen tell them the importance of what needs to be done should move your neighbors along." Terrato waved a hoof. "You are dismissed.”
Twilight bowed along with her friends before leaving the audience hall. Once they were gone, Celestia turned towards Terrato. “Lunalux Umbra, and Solis Coruscaria,” she whispered. “The last of Oceanus' handmaidens. Is he on the verge of returning?”
“He’s a rebellion short,” Terrato replied. “I had thought that all the betrayers had fallen into dormancy. I don’t know how those two stayed up, but we’ll deal with them when the time comes. Hopefully, with you back in full power.”
A knock on the doors of the audience hall drew both their attentions. A legionnaire entered, and bowed low. “Your highness, we have a pony here who teleported into the fortress asking for an audience with you.”
“You sound pretty shaken, legionnaire,” Terrato said. “Something else I should know?”
“Yes, your highness. He said that his name was Blue Moon, leader of the Thorns, and that it was imperative that he see you at once.”
Terrato's frown deepened. “Bring him in,” he said.
“Terrato, who is this pony?” Celestia asked.
“Blue Moon is Black Rose’s younger brother,” Terrato said. “The Thorns served as her special tasks group. They should also be dead, but this shouldn't come as a surprise when dealing with her.”
Celestia tensed. Black Rose: the pony who had brazenly stolen her power during that fateful day. It had been some time since Terrato last heard of Black Rose. He looked towards the doors, and watched as a unicorn stallion, flanked by a pair of guards, walked through them. Blue Moon was so slender, and delicately featured, that it was easy to mistake him for a mare. He had a flowing, silvery blue mane, and his coat was a very pale blue. He wore an elaborate soft-clothed coat, partly armored around the neck and shoulders with gracefully curving plates of metal. On his collar was the emblem of a black, five-petaled rose with six thorns protruding symmetrically around it.
“Blue Moon,” Terrato said. “Your sister has been quite a headache lately.” He unleashed his magic as he spoke, looking to break down any magical defenses around Blue Moon before trapping him. To his surprise, he found none. He delayed the caging spell for now. “I assume the rest of the Thorns are up and about as well?” he asked.
Blue Moon knelt with his head held low. “Lion Court, Longstride, and Sablesteel have all been given their assignments, your highness,” he replied. “Rhapsody failed to revive, but Black Rose still has Warsinger, and only needs somepony it is willing to attune to. Frenzy Heart also failed to revive, and will have to be replaced completely.”
“That’s…unusually informative,” Terrato said. His eyes narrowed. “What are you up to, Blue Moon?”
“Your highness, I am here to warn you of my sister’s plans.”
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Hmn, the 'Warsinger' and a need for someone skilled enough to play for it. A role for Octavia or Lyra, perhaps?
Does the name Coruscaria come from somewhere specific? This is the second war-fic where I have seen that used.
Woot, they get to go home for a while!
first of all, my suspicions about the chain's enchantments are true, awfully convenient, but true.
I rarely complain about your writing but I must say I am a little disappointed with that scene with Mane six and Celestia, it could be longer and more emotional.
the reason why the elements went bye bye... that I almost guessed.
Threesome with Nightcanter... you're just giving us more shipping material, aren't you?
and now the two big things:
Terrato dismissing the special care squad and sending them off to the Heartland... I'm not sure if I like the first part, but the second part is definitely something I'll be looking forward to. this might be a very interesting experience :D Terrato might be doing a bad thing separating them though. they have to work on their friendship to deal with their issues and for that they need to be close. He will need the Elements sooner or later and he must realise that.
and as we can see in the second big thing: Black Rose is not only on the move but her brother appears to be working on betraying her. so it's obvious that Terrato will either call the mane six back together soon to deal with her, or he won't even get a chance to actually divide them in the first place. Of course sending them to their homes and giving them a common goal as well as some time to think about what happened might be exactly what he thinks will get them back in sync again.
in either way, lots of things to look forward to in the future :D
The plot thickens . . .
I expect that if anyone's going to attempt to argue in Pyre's defense, it's probably going to be Celestia.
Good story, well written- nice idea with the return to the Heartland. Should be fun to see how their perceptions of their home has been changed by their experiences.
Also, the throwaway mention of Prince Blueblood has led me to think that he would be one of the first to be conscripted, considering his high position and status. It might be interesting to see how he deals with the differences between his former life and the borderlands.
I still like my translation for Solis Coruscaria: "The One and Only Sun Shine".
The Warsinger, eh? I'm calling it right now: Lyra will be turning evil. Perhaps making an Ursula-type deal to gain a pair of Hands.
Does this Fimfiction page have a link from EqD?
435580 no it still links to fanfiction.net, not sure why Visiden hasn't told the EQD people to add a link to here yet
438170
TBH that is probably the only reason i have not read it yet. The ratings and comments on fimfiction help to figure out if the story is any good and fanfiction has none of those.
438193 I also rely on comments/ratings all the time, everyone probably does
if you haven't read this story, then go read the previous one in the series: Breaking Point, if you haven't already
If you are hesitating to read this story, I'll say this: don't, it's one of the best fan-fics I've read, and anyone whose read this story will probably back me up when I say that, if you need any more convincing I'll gladly write a wall of text detailing in great length and detail why you should read this story
yeah, I agree that fanfiction.net is sub-par, but they have so many more stories, from not just ponies, but yes not having a ratings system sucks, though people would probably just spam/abuse it anyway
438270
Alright dude, this'll be the next fic i read.
And I'll give you my short list of best stories out of the about 100 fics I have read. These were either mind-bowing or unbelievably epic.
Best Night Ever
Ponies Make War
Alicorn The last chapter of this one is what really makes it great.
And these are incredibly awesome stories but not quite to the level of those above IMO
Expectations
The Moonstone Cup
Duties
My Little Alicorn
Sharing the Night
The End of Ponies
Night's Favoured Child
There are probably others I have forgotten about because they are not on my list on fimfiction or the author disappeared. I just had to get that out of my system, lol.
439680 thanks for the recommendations, so many fan-fics, so little time...
here are my favorite stories, these are the one's which I found to be impossibly good:
Equestria: Total War
The Color You Bleed
The Flight of the Alicorn
and this story
second tier of stories:
Under the Northern Lights
Gilda Versus Knitting
Banishment Decree
The Ballad of Echo the Diamond Dog
At Home on the Range
439734
Thanks, man! I'll be sure to read them... eventually.
web.me.com/robinsonalexc/Hobbies/OSX_Theming_files/awesome_face___HD_by_ConnorJones2610.png
The thing I'm still most looking forward to is the interaction between Rainbow Dash and Scarlet Rabbit. For some reason, I find their dynamic really entertaining.
Also, I hope their experiences in the war don't make them stop pursuing their dreams. Hopefully they don't try to go career. Hopefully Applejack fully intends to return home (the place she got her cutie mark over) and Rainbow Dash continues to strive for the Wonderbolts. Hopefully Fluttershy will be able to put the horrors of the war behind her and go back to her cottage and good life in Ponyville, along with Rarity. Hopefully Twilight doesn't lose herself trying to become a better warrior-mage for Equestria and Celestia.
439851 439734
I recommend "the Age of Wings and Steel", which is a lot like this, except the main character isn't a fighter at all (he's a cripple), which makes him all the more compelling as a protagonist in a story set during a war.
Also, a shameless plug of Night's Favoured Child.
449854
Oh man. I forgot about your story when I made my list, it is one of my favorites and should be up there (i'll fix that). It's been a while since I have read it so I don't remember all the details but I do remember how interesting the senario of nightmare moon ruling is and I love the OC characters. I will reread it when I get the chance. I can't help but wonder if any of the other mane six will show up. I eagerly await your next installment, no need to rush though!
439734
Thanks for telling me to read Upheaval because it is amazing! I am in the middle of reading it (chapter 43) and am just taking a break to post this. I must now go and read more!
449854 yeah, rainbow is beginning to have feelings for scarlet, though they're hidden by their rivalry, it will be interesting how that plays out, with their soon to come race
um, sadly enough, joining up with the legion is a lifetime commitment, and the only way out other then death, or special circumstances is retirement, and even then you are expected to serve again if called upon, so unless the war ends, there's no getting out of the legion for Twilight and her friends, what will be interesting, is to see how they deal with this fact as time goes on, and it might be sooner rather then later, given they're going back to the heartland to see their families (I'm expecting to see a lot of 'we were so nieve/innocent back then' moments, then realizing that was only six-ish weeks ago)
I doubt Rainbow wants to join the Wonderbolts anymore, given there are bigger fish to fry in the legion (Scarlet being one of them) plus the Wonderbolts will probably get drafted into the legion in accordance with one member per chosen family decree
for Fluttershy and Rarity it's probably too late already, once you've seen war, there's no going back...
seeing if Twilight will slip slowly into obsession (or not so slowly), will be interesting
will read both of those fics when I have the time
I love Applejacks innocence and naïevity, even though I think she should just stay out of the way and make love to Twocolt in a corner.
So you just gave Applejack an enchanted, strength-boosting magical lasso chain.
Are you trying to make her a one-mare army?
The Apple family now parallel the Belmont family.
“You should be honored,” Nightcanter said. An enchanted weapon requires powerful magic.”
You're missing an opening quote there.