• Member Since 10th Jul, 2011
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Flashgen


Struggling to edit and write, and starting to read.

Sequels1

T

This story is a sequel to A FLEet|ng LIght |n thE DArknEsS


Case Report: Summary of Events
Submitted by: Verdant Vines
Location: Ponyville
Date(s): April 16th to April 23rd
Case: Ponyville Mass Disappearance (#3467)
Classification: Top Secret

To whom it may concern,

What follows is an update on the status of the investigation into the disappearance of the entire citizenship of Ponyville.


Readings:
Nimbus Productions - First Chapter
Scribbler Productions - Full Story

I highly recommend both of them.

A print version of all the stories in this series can be found here.

Chapters (2)
Comments ( 156 )

Glad to see this finally uploaded. It's been quite a journey getting here. I hope it does well.

Spoiler:
I found some cipher text at the bottom. Highlight the Fic to find some super secret stuff.
Most like likely it is substituition with p =a and a =m

3653150
Just ran it through an N shift cipher and an ROT13 cipher. Nothing from the classics. Maybe the numbers have something to do with it?

3653150If you change the formatting from light to dark, you can see all kinds of super-secret stuff.

3653484
It looks like just a simple letter shift, like the cryptoquote in the newspaper.

3653563
But not quite. There's a hidden clue that gives me an idea that the code changes.

The code is not a simple substitution cypher unless it's also not using proper english in many places. I'd say the most likely bit is that it has something to do with the circled and crossed out numbers mentioned previously.

EDIT:
D: Wish I could do some more helping but I've run out of time. Good luck to all who attempt the decoding

3653701
Yeah, there are double letters that don't make any sense. I am not skilled at this code cracking at all. Good challenge though.

Solved the cipher on the hidden message at the very end, though I'm not sure if the author would appreciate me spoiling the puzzle before people have time to think about it, given that it's a bit trickier than normal simple substitution ciphers.

Flashgen, do you have any objections to me translating it into plaintext for everyone? Or would you prefer it be left in the mental-static mode the cipher seems to represent?

As an ending, it does make the story fit the title a bit better (without it, this story definitely doesn't really seem much like a glimmer of hope!) while still managing to be a bit creepy in its own right.

I'd definitely like to see a sequel story with whatever the cipher-writer is planning, but it also would work really well as an end to the story, since a sequel in that line would probably end up removing a lot of the "fear-of-the-unknown" stuff the first two stories used so well.


Finally solved the text at the end, enjoy:

spoiler - I’m still here still alive at least I hope this is alive I was so foolish to give in but it didn’t last forever I feel clarity now I found out how to break free I found out how to move quietly and unseen I found out how to speak to you whoever you are without them knowing it’s like static to them I’m trying to find the others to save them to snap them out of it maybe together we can fix it or at least make sure it doesn’t happen again they’re preparing for something I don’t have much time wish me luck but you’ll need it more.

3654854
Man, I've been thinking over that message for a few hours now. If you don't mind, could you PM the key to me? It's been driving me nuts.

3654854
There must have been letters to delete. I would love to learn to decrypt better than I do now.

3654931

I don’t know how to PM people as that was the first comment I’ve ever made.
How to decrypt the message:
spoiler - It’s encrypted using a Vigenere Cipher and “HOPE” as the keyword. You can check my work here as well as an explanation on how the encryption works: http://user.it.uu.se/~olgag/Cryptology/vigenere.html

3655226
I thought it might be one of those, but couldn't find the bloody key. How did you know?

3655226 Thanks for that, man!



Ugh, need more answers! (Spoilers)
So the one who wrote that cryptic code, Was that applejack?

The screams stopped.
Granny. Big Mac. Apple Bloom. They were infected? one of them?

I guess that's why she told Dash and the others to run, there might be hope for them.
But not for her family. I guess they're the three bodies in the grave, but why haven't the police found their bodies?

3655403
Habeus Corpus.

No proof, no proving, as they say.

So where are they?

For that matter, what are they?

3655419
Yeah, I guess you are right.
These are just speculations of mine, I guess.
I mean with all those unanswered questions...:applejackunsure:

Oh, and quotes from the previous chapter.

Don’t forget us

Don’t ignore us

We are reaching out

We will not stay buried

Us.We.Buried. I think they're Big mac, 'bloom and G'smith. Again just a speculation.:moustache:

3655458
If they have gone the way of disco, I think I'd prefer it if they stayed in the ground, thank you very much.

You can't do something like this to me at 3am. I have to sleep. :applecry:

3654854

I’m still here still alive at least I hope this is alive I was so foolish to give in but it didn’t last forever I feel clarity now I found out how to break free I found out how to move quietly and unseen I found out how to speak to you whoever you are without them knowing it’s like static to them I’m trying to find the others to save them to snap them out of it maybe together we can fix it or at least make sure it doesn’t happen again they’re preparing for something I don’t have much time wish me luck but you’ll need it more.

And the plot approaches the viscosity of molasses!

No wonder the keyword was HOPE. :heart:

CDF

I saw this in featured and clicked it, hoping it might have to do with A fleeting light in the darkness.

I had no idea you were adding a sequel, but hot damn I'm going to read it right now.

oh god this is one of my favorite stories ever thank you so much for the sequel. that last hidden message sent a chill up my spine.

ABOUT TIME, FLASHGEN

*rabble rabble chidings rabble* :twilightangry2:

Looking forward to this

Creepy sequel is creepy. Love it

Also, Flashgen. You should link to the sequel from the original or people might not realize.

3655403 They said that they searched where it appeared there had been graves dug out. There was nothing in them. So I believe your theory may be correct.

This is just as good as the previous story, if not even greater! There aren't a lot of stories with the same feel as this. Chilling.

Hell. This is worse than Left 4 Dead.

3655403

Ugh, need more answers! (Spoilers)

So the one who wrote that cryptic code, Was that applejack?

This entire chapter is a transcript of the diary Applejack kept. There are a couple of ways anything written invisibly in this chapter could have been added to it:

It could have been added by the investigators on purpose, indicating they spotted and copied something in the original, but for some reason didn't point it out the way they called attention to basically every other detail about how anything was written, which makes this seem unlikely.

It could have been physically added after the fact without the knowledge of the investigators, but there isn't anything I can see that indicates that might be the case, or even that anything had the opportunity to do so.

And finally, it could have been written by the investigators unknowingly (Applejack and Twilight both did this too). Given that the previous chapter has suggestions that the second wave of investigators are already starting to experience the same effects, I'm inclined towards the idea that influence of the shadow walkers whispering to them caused the other creepily threatening bits to be written, and Twilight* doing something similar from wherever she is now caused the ciphered message to be written by the investigators in an attempt to communicate with them.

*It could be basically anyone already taken, but from a story perspective we would expect it to be one of the narrators we already had, and Twilight's narrative emphasised the cipher's keyword "Hope" much more than Applejack's did, and the message overall reads more like a continuation of her story.

The screams stopped.

Granny. Big Mac. Apple Bloom. They were infected? one of them?

I interpreted that completely differently - Applejack was so confused or mesmerised by the voices that she attacked and killed her family thinking they were shadows and that the barricade was down. When she came to her senses and realised the barricade was still up and who she had killed, she simply couldn't finish the thought "They were... dead". She sent Dash away because she realised that the rest weren't safe around Applejack herself. The bodies probably were taken by the shadows after Applejack buried them, same as everyone else had been.

Freaking asdf level amazing, top notch. Where the first only got me sucked into atmosphere, this one is seriously, seriously creeping me out. Dangnamit Flashgen y u do dis ;__;

SO AMAZING. You tied with my curent best story on here... so much happy... so much sad.... more, please, more?!!!?! :pinkiesad2:

Holy mother of....that was fun to decrypt!

And it continues! Holy crud, I cannot wait to see where you're going with this. :pinkiehappy:

Simply amazing. One of the best stories I've read in a long time.

Great job Flashgen, this was a brilliant add on. I loved every part of this! I look forward to possibly more in the future! Keep on writing and scaring folks! :pinkiehappy:

Dear god they're even here too........

we are everywhere

I think I'm genuinely terrified.

I can safely say that I got the chills reading this and they still haven't gone away. I'll take all the luck I can get and I hope to hear back from you. Zhpc zoui hbs Kvcs pbqz aphw jpbsmuu nsbf uvpschz.

I applaud you. Now I know I'm getting Ashley, Kansas cubes. Some Roanoke, to.

Why am I reading this at night and deliberately playing creepy music?! :fluttershbad::pinkiecrazy:

I haven't even started reading yet and already have tears at the thought of the dark horrible things and heart-breaking disappearance/absence of the Mane6 in this, I mean, since all disappeared.

Of course it's Winter, and I have allergies, and there is dust in the vents, and the heater is on.

So naturally it's rather easy to coax moisture out right now, but still, I thought "Cloverfield", where horrible bad things happen to those you care about it, and you don't even know why, and any happy ending is kind of obscured in mystery.

Especially Twilight, I mean, Twilight better survive this story, that much adorableness...


Wish me luck, everypony.

I saw this, I turned the background dark.
Also, I knew that blog post a couple of days ago had something important in it! suck it!

3656432

I interpreted that completely differently - Applejack was so confused or mesmerised by the voices that she attacked and killed her family thinking they were shadows and that the barricade was down. When she came to her senses and realised the barricade was still up and who she had killed, she simply couldn't finish the thought "They were... dead".

Huh, I don't know if I misread that part of the story or saw it in a different view.:twilightsheepish:
Y'see I thought the things she fought were illusions caused by her fatigue, stress and those... those"demons".
Her family was still there, probably watching as she fought the air.

When she snapped out of it, I thought that the recent event that occurred in her head was a premonition.
I think that she believed that what she saw, will happen. Her family will turn into them. And she had to prevent that.

It's like, when a someone close to you got bit a zombie. You know they will die soon. You want to kill them in order to save them from something worse. That someone would have a choice, let them get killed by you or turn into a monster.
Except in this story, Applejack made the choice for them.

At least, that's what I think happened.

This entire chapter is a transcript of the diary Applejack kept.

I honestly have not thought of those possibilities. Thanks for that!

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