Scoots
Mom and Dad,
I didn’t realize how much I missed you guys until I read your letter. It’s so great to hear from you. You don’t need to worry that much, though – we’re fine. I got paired with Sweetie and Apple Bloom, even! We’re all doing OK and they say ‘hi.’
Things don’t get too hot out here – most of the action happens farther down the line. A lot of the time nothing happens at all. I even found time to get my cutie mark! It’s a little box having to do with new technology and stuff and I can’t wait to show you! I hope you’re doing OK and aren’t worrying too much – I’ve given dad enough grey hairs already.
We finally know who we’re fighting, too. Some ponies up the line captured one of them and got them to talk. He said that he belonged to a ‘union’ that is trying to take control of the sun and moon. They think the princesses are evil and that we’re all ‘impure’ because we allow them to have dominion over the sun and moon or something crazy like that. He spoke a strange language, but it’s similar to Equestrian and we were able to get the gist of it.
I’m sure the newspaper makes it all out to be really awful – and it is – but not where I’m at. If we did get into a bad fight we have the Wonderbolts on our side, anyway. I’ll be careful, though. I promise. I’m not sure when I can read your next letter, so don’t get anxious or anything if I don’t reply right away. Say hi to everyone in Ponyville for me! I love you both so much and can’t wait to see you again.Your daughter,
Scootaloo
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Ohhhh... Scootaloo...
*sigh*
I can't say I didn't expect something like this from her, but somehow I get the feeling it's only going to come back to bite her later.
I really feel sorry for Scootaloo in this chapter.
Ouch. This walks a hard line with trying to tell the folks all's good, but deep down, Scoots knows her parents know she's in far worse than she's letting on. They'd know their daughter well enough that she'd probably never say such things over a letter.
When Scoots gets home one day, it's going to be a tear jerker for sure, cause i bet she'd just let it all out right then and there. She might make it somewhere private first, but i wouldn't give her a day upon getting home.
Wow, this actually was hard hitting. I don't think I was expecting this, but I have to say these last three chapters really helped me feel what the crusaders are actually going through.
Letters home 10/10
I like the contrasts each letter gives. The double letters, the harsh truth and the total lie. Really well done.
T
I never thought I'd get into a story like this. Then one day I favorited it. It's so gritty and dark. I'm like what the hell?! But I keep reading.
Those 317 words did not dissappoint. While not as emotional as Bloom or giving the initial shock as Belle, I could just feel the hours passing by as Scootaloo struggled to lie to her parents. Same with all of them holding back on their upgrades, thats gotta be hard.
A thought occurs to me...after the war ends (unless we're going for a total downer ending) and the crusaders go bac to their normal lives...how will their experiences and their 'enhancements' affect their lives? From the looks of things, Applejack is not going to handle seeing Applebloom's changes well...on that matter I kinda wanna now what happened to applejack and how rarity is handling this. and what of pinkie pie and fluttershy (if they aren't dead
) and rainbow dash?
so many questions....
5344955
I think Pinkie Pie is gunna throw them a big Welcome Home! party, dispite Applejacks warnings, and throw it in AJ's barn. The crusaders are gunna enter the barn on four hooves (or two hooves and two metal limbs), and then shits gunna hit the fan.
5345068 They'll enter on all fours, but I'm betting they'll be bipedal when the lights flip on...
5345367
That's what I thought. I bet you anything either one of them is gonna run out crying and the other two are going to have to catch her, or their going to have a little mental break down and almost kill somepony.
5345377 PTSD is some hard stuff...
5345437
It is yes, but with the way the story is going, I'd bet they are either gonna get a mild case or just have some problems with surprises.
5342298
AJ's Draft:
My only guess is... Well actually, that is a good question but for other reasons from my perspective. My grandfather farmed his whole life and lived through WWII, but was apparently royally hacked off when his applications to enlist were denied and he was taken off the draft *because* he was a farmer. I think it was because they needed the farmers at home to supply food and such (he died when I was three, and the details on the stories I've heard since are fuzzy...).
Sweet Apple Acres looks like one of the largest orchard operations in Equestria, supplying billions of apples to hundreds of thousands of ponies every year. I can understand maybe taking one of them (like Big Mac) because of the need for soldiers, but allowing AJ or Bloom to go to the front even after he's sent home injured smacks of either desperation loosening such restrictions on the draft, or administrative incompetence for not considering that they're the ones feeding said soldiers on the front.
Tactical Sonic Rain-Nuke:
From an initial standpoint, I can see where this would seem like a good Idea (F U enemy HQ), however, I am uncertain of the condition of the Pegasus after the drop. From the looks of things, RD basically hit the ground at supersonic speeds which would kill any normal animal. Now, obviously she survived somehow, so before we can carry forward with its viability as a tactic we must determine the risk to the pegasi in the aftermath.
I see two main possibilities as most likely (with several more likely not being mentioned)
1: The magic required to achieve SRB Speeds creates a barrier of protection around the pegasus making them more resilient than normal to damage inflicted due to sudden changes in velocity and vector (because even turning too fast could rip out a wing or lethally throw their spine out of alignment). In this case, they can fly back up and dash off to their next objective after shaking off negligible disorientation from the impact.
2: There is no barrier, and only their natural magic gives them enough resilience to survive and pull what few stunts they can manage. In this case, they still have a form of resilience similar to option one, but it's much less powerful. Most won't be able to shake off the landing before becoming too vulnerable for the tactic to be anything other than a Kamikazi maneuver.
Helicopters: I don't really see a reason why not, other than airships, or pegasi already being available, bumping it lower on Twilights itinerary unless The Union pulls a similar tactic first. Airships can hover just as well as a Helo, and carry heavier armaments, but at a speed cost, while pegasi kitted out with "Battle Saddles" would be faster, more agile and more maneuverable than an attack helicopter at a cost to armour.
In the and, it's really a Pro/Con game.
Scootaloo should be glad that applejack isn't her [insert relative] because she would be able to see right through her lies
5345728 All right, I the draft answer(I have family that was alive burring WW2 and now people from the time).
)
With the "T.S.R.N(Tactical.Sonic.Rain.Nuke) maneuver" I always figured the flightier doing it bounced in some direction(thats how the regular S.R.B. works).
Now about helicopters, I never said attack choppers(hell, the examples I gave where cargo and personnel transports, the hueys with the missiles and what not where all mad in the field and later adapted to mass production). with air ships(wiliest I love them) are to vulnerable for up close work. The best task I can thing of for them are supplies runs to rear line basses, high altitude bombard meant(bombes/cannons), or air borne launch plat forms. Now with helos in play you can move supplies and personal to F.O.B.s and given a Pegasus escort right to the field. But sine you mentioned air ships, how about a
Aerial Navy now that wood be interesting.
(On a side note dose Equestria have a regular navy?
5346005
Hmmm... I take it we've more or less settled on the other issues so I'll jump to the helis.
The functions you've described can also be supplemented via pegasus wagon with only minor alterations to make them viable for wartime. As shown in Pinky Keen when Ditzy inadvertently drops half a moovers wagon on poor Twilight's head, Sky-wagons are apparently capable of a stationary hover for at least a short time. This means that an armored wagon can supliment the role of a mobile air borne troop transport, and the infrastructure is already there for rapid supply transport to the FOBs (likely this is how Twilight and Princess Luna got the Nightmares their new weapons and other "toys" to the shimmering valley on such short notice).
Great update! I can't wait for the next 4,000+ update with crusading, battles, and more Apple Bloom!
5346392
*Night Mares ( I believe that's how were supposed to spell it, but, not my place to be a grammar Nazi)
You got a point here, but this brings me to something. Zeppelins.
They have already been confirmed (as seen in many episodes). So, why not have an Equestrian air-based navy built of zeppelins, maybe the flagship can launch helicopters or something. Anyway, the zeppelins can be used with cannons on the side and/or bomb bay doors to drop Pegasus troops, supplies, and of course, bombs. The Union could also use this before the Equestrians, making up for their lack of an air force to combat the Wonderbolts. Just as Sun Downer said though, they are too week. They may be better off as a terror item rather than an actual front line machine. But for-say, it had some armor, bullets could bounce off and it could still stay afloat. And since they don't have any 8,8 mm flak cannons or anything like that, it would be hard to shoot down.
I'll take my like back, just so I can give it to you again. These letters really break my heart, they inspire too much feeling. Keep up the good work!
5346392 Okay true, but it wood free-up pegisi for other roles, but lets compromise and try something like the vertibucks from FoE?
5346825 Now for you Peg Box, happy we`re thinking alike and all, but its a trick to armor up air ships(WW1 Germany can attest) without lowering its selling and cutting its maneuverability, they could possibly make shield talismans, granted they'd probity drop under sustained fire, and more then likely will need to be replaced every so often. But I digress, the prospects of an Aerial Navy wood be substantial to say the lest.
Now, heres a question for NC, doss the story occur before or after rain bow rocks? a simple yes or no will suffice.
5347162
Well, this is true. Yet, if my prediction is correct, the penetration of an Equestrian rifle is just short of a Union rifle, amassing to about a few millimeters. So about 15 mm of armor on a airship, accounting to wind, gravity, bullet drop, and height, should easily deflect any sort of bullet fired from an equestrian or union rifle (expecting them to not be designed to penetrate armor). Of course, tanks are another story. Hope this clears up the armor situation. (Oh and if Octavia Harmony is reading this, yes I accounted for spalling in the armor, nothing's invncible
)
5346825
I did mention earlier that a flotilla of airships would make for an excellent mobile staging grounds for the Equestrian counter-offensive. I didn't know I needed to say it again.
5347162 5348704
Vertibuck:
I haven't had a chance to read FoE yet (it *is* in my "read later" stack. Calm down) but looking up Vertibucks, I... Well frankly unless there's something I'm missing (which is likely) it seems that they're close to on par with (or possibly even better than) modern aerial troop transports for versitility, maneuverability, armament and defensive power.
I'll settle for a prototype/generation 1 version that matches the rest of their tech level, though, if only because we seem to be running out of pegasi...
Airship Armor:
This is a point actually... +/-15mm of armor may not seem like much for a ground vehicle, but for something like an airship, that's 15mm times however many meters^2 it would take to cover the entire hull, and if you're feeling particularly ambitious, the envelope as well. That weight adds up *real* quick, so its a balancing act between deciding how much armor is "enough" to meet your needs without going over the airship's lift/weight threshold.
Now, Equestria's airships likely have *something* magical implemented *somewhere* in their design (I see no propellers and they have to steer somehow), so there are "options" available that wouldn't be in real life, and they could possibly be further augmented with newer tech such as rotors, sooooo...
--------------
As to Sun Downer's earlier question of a sea-navy...
I've always been of the opinion that if a country in a fantasy setting is capable of making reliable Airships at an equivalent resource/capital cost to the production of a sea-ship, why go back to a navy restricted to water? If needs must, simply make the airships water-capable (and the Equestrian Airships' hulls are already boats), and roll from there...
5348981
Sorry, im blind aren't I?
5348981 I completely forgot you said that ablaut the Aerial Navy, sorry.
And about the vertibucks, there not in the original. You should go to the FoE wiki(theirs no spoilers on that page I promos) and we`ll continue after K?
5348991 And don't worry Peg Box, Void has your back apparently.
5349157
Its just Pegasus guys, peg box sounds weird.
5349162 K
5349157
Took a gander...
I actually found this page during my earlier search, and its why I'm so leery of something on this level of Par given their current level of tech development. The stated "specs" have them mounted with everything from Gatling Guns to anti-tank missiles, and while the original Gat. is actually a US Civil War era innovation, semi-reliable missile systems weren't developed until WWII. These systems were extremely primitive compared to what would be mounted on a FoE vertibuck, to say the least.
According to this, in our own history, helicopters saw very limited military use in WWII as supply and search and rescue platforms only. The technology was underdeveloped, severely limiting their utility in the field. By the Korean War, the technology had developed enough to see more widespread use of Helicopters, but bureaucratic BS kept them mostly out of service until it was almost over, and it wasn't until the Vietnam War that military use of helicopters became widespread.
NCMares has set the "rough" level of their general service military hardware at roughly WWII (with a few things being either more or less advanced depending on artistic license), so I'm still putting a "maybe" tag on if we'll see an Equestrian Helicopter Analog. Remember that the Nightmares are really the only soldiers who get to play with the *Really* advanced stuff, and that's limited to the fact that they're still ground troops, regardless of their Special Forces/Black Ops status.
5349265 I keep telling you, Im NOT saying to put weapons on them(that comes later) but to use them as quick transports to the edges of battle fields.
And besides I now of a WW2 chopper thats perfect for the roles Im thinking, the Focke-Achgelis Fa 223(Lunas pet dragon remember), all that needs doing is adapting it to suit ponies.
5349297
swannysmodels.com/images/Fa223/boxart.jpg
... So... They basically took a cargo plane, cut the wings off and latticed helicopter props to the sides...
Well, you learn something new every day I suppose. It works, and appearance-wise it actually melds rather well with my suggestion of a WWII Tech level Prototype/Gen.1 Vertibuck.
5349350 O if only you could see my smug face.
imagination this but with a crooked smilie, and without the horn(my OC is a Pegasus).
5349363
/Eye-roll
Yes, yes... I'll be the first to admit I'm not right about everything, and my worldview is ever shifting as I take in new information. I also realize that we've been arguing the same point against each other without even realizing it. I blame lack of context and the nachos.
5349384 Quite, now I will say that Im not entirely clear on the service of the... lets jest call it the pet dragon ya?(Lunas pet dragon
) If I remember correctly there where some technical problems in the first wave, but Im confident in TS to solve them(if NC goes for this
).
5349395
According to wikipedia (I've got my dash of salt...) While the the pre-production models had some hiccups, the final runs were very reliable... Thing is, the Allies bombed the snot out of the production lines and they were only able to put a few into service.
5349424 O ya, might of bin thinking of smother piece of hardware, it can be hard the keep thing strait some times.
5347162 This is pretty much pretending RR never went down. Twilight's not supposed to go through that portal whenever she pleases, lol.
5349693 Thank you very much! That's real high praise, haha. Just doing my best, bud. :)
5350124 K, thanks.
This story...
Well, for quite a few stories people say "it has potential", but the author doesn't have the vision or skill to back it up.
You, sir, have both, as well as my admiration. You have a new follower.
5350690 Thanks a lot! I just hope that I can continue to live up to it, lol.
Okay, this has bin welling up in my for a while now and I need to say it. (inhaling of breath sound) Applebloom, the country farmer is the sniper, so much Cliché and I love it!
5353536
Oh so very true, yet a sniper like Vassili Zaitsev learned because his father taught him to shoot because he needed to kill for food, Apple bloom had no such teacher, or had to do no such thing. Due to the sheer lack of firearms in the public (Canada FTW!) their wasn't any way for her to learn, which makes the story all the better.
5354744 One could almost say it's a special talent, or something...
5354744 Its still a Cliché(one which my grandpa proved in his youth).
(wink wink)
5354778 Ooohhh
5354778
Applejack is probably going to be very pissed, or very, very sad that her sisters cutie mark is killing at range (if it is).
5353536 Dude... I live in Kentucky, where guns form a lifestyle for some people, and I have never shot a gun. Seriously, classmates in my 7th period last Friday were discussing shooting and someone has literally pointed and laughed at me. Given, it was my friend, but she still had a point.
I'm the anti-cliché!
Actually, I shoot archery for the school, so I guess I'm just a little cliché.
5356434 Kentucky you say, me Grandpas from Missouri, according to him(if he wasn't touting his own whistle that is) he could shoot the tip of cigarette, in some ones mouth, with a 22, with out incident. Jest felt like sharing.
5355040
Not necessarily killing at range...
Marksmanship takes a great deal of hand eye coordination, eye for detail, and at the more extreem ranges calculating for windage, the coriolis effect, movement of the target... And I'm sure I've missed a few more. Several of these skills can translate to other professions such as land surveying (to name the the one at the top of my head), so she isn't necessarily doomed to a life as a professional sniper (Though I *do* see the CMC getting together over the weekends and heading down to the range every once in a while, if only because that sort of thing never really leaves you).
I see it as being like Scoots. She has a radio speaker signifying her affinity with the new technology. While this skill will be invaluable during this war, I can easily see her going back to Ponyville and becoming Equestria's premier radio host as a possible means of helping herself settle back into civilian life and coping with everything she's seen and done ("GOOD MORNIGN EVERYPONY! And welcome to Equestria Daily Broadcasting!").
And since we're on the topic of shooting... I enjoy it when I get the chance to go to the range with a friend of mine (Infrequent as that is, because I can't afford my own range-pass, ammo or the gas to drive all the way out there myself). I'm a crap shot most of the time, though. Strange enough, I'm primarily right handed, but shoot lefty because that's my dominant eye. Using my friends right handed bolt-action is fairly awkward, to say the least and I have to watch out for flying brass from my own rifle too.
5356814 Coriolis Effect... Snipers don't really care about that, it's so minimal. I get your point, though.
What rifle do you use? If it's more modern, you could probably get a conversion kit for left handed shooters, right? I learned to shoot right eyed, however. It's just getting used to not putting your left eye to the sights.
5356898
I did say it was at the "extremely" long ranges, so Bloom probably won't need to worry about it too much.
As for my rifle, it's just a lower-end Mossberg 22 my dad bought for me to shoot (or at least try to) rabbits with. Nothing special, and not something I'm going to brother sinking a whole lot of money into.
I learned right eyed too, but noticed that I'm consistently more accurate with my left so I switched (still pretty crap, but I'll take what I can get...).
5356814
Ya got a point here, and Cutie Marks have never been specific to the last detail when it came to the hosts talent. Take Cheerilee for example, you could mistake her cutie mark for someone who is good with flowers until described better. So something as simple as a sniper cross hair could simplify it right down to "I'm very good at killing ponies", or "I'm very accurate with my rife that kills ponies" (I think I see a pattern developing here...). As for Scootaloo in the future, shes got a job with radios, but what about AB? I doubt killing stuff is going to be very popular unless the Griffon Empire attacks the weakened Equestria or something. And SB is up for debate.