23 -- Setbacks
23:25, 11/30/2015, UNKNOWN LOCATION
The room was dark and almost devoid of furniture, save for an almost featureless desk and chair. The room might have been mistaken for a long-forgotten office or storage room were it not for the lack of dust combined with the well-dressed man who stepped into the room. Out of long-ingrained habit he sat in the seat after straightening his tie. His posture was ramrod straight as he pressed a seemingly random spot on the desk before tapping in front of him as though he had a keyboard.
The wall across from the desk flickered as power fed into a monitor hidden in the darkness. Text began to scrawl as the system powered up.
>>SYSTEM ACTIVATION
>>LOGIN/PASSWORD REQUIRED
>>”0”
>>”********************”
>>USER AUTHENTICATED
>>ESTABLISHING SECURE CONNECTION
>>SECURE CONNECTION ESTABLISHED
>>0 IS NOW IN ATTENDANCE
>>CURRENT ATTENDANCE INCLUDES 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
>>ALL MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE
“Good evening, gentlemen,” the man known as Zero said to the empty room, his speech appearing as text on the monitor. “The agenda for today is to discuss the ongoing efforts of Commander Bradford on Earth, as well as Major Fujikawa in the alien theater of operations.” More lines of text appeared and were followed by a synthetic voice as the other members of the Council spoke.
1: The alien attacks around Earth are continuing to decline in both frequency and scope. As of this moment, less than a dozen sightings or attacks were reported worldwide, which brings their activity levels down to where they were prior to Twilight Sparkle’s arrival on Earth.
4: I’m afraid the reason might be due to the aliens’ war efforts elsewhere. Our non-human allies are doing quite well considering their average level of technology is, at best, early twentieth century. There are notable exceptions, however.
6: That may be an optimistic evaluation of the situation, considering the loss of Princess Cadance. The Equestrians won’t take the loss of one of their rulers well.
10: Can someone explain to me how that happened? I know that she was one of the younger alicorns, but current threat assessments placed her equal to Luna and Celestia. Do we know how many forces were committed to her elimination? Hell, what kept her from just flying away or teleporting to safety?
4: That is not currently known. Strike teams were deployed within fifteen minutes to her last known location. Investigation of the scene and interviews with civilians fleeing the area indicated that Princess Cadance entered the battle, and the aliens dropped everything they were doing to get at her. The trail of bodies leads into the mountains and a cave complex. It is believed that she intended to use the caves to bottleneck the attackers, and she partially collapsed the cavern in an attempt to eliminate the possibility of her being captured.
1: There was some mention of a local working alongside the aliens, of an indigenous race that we’ve yet to encounter. Could one of the nations on their world have already fallen to the aliens?
6: The Equestrians provided some information on the most likely suspect. His name is Tirek, and the race he belongs to bears some similarity to the centaurs of our mythology. He was previously thought incarcerated in the the deepest hole the Equestrians could throw him into, though the specifics are a bit vague. What they were certain of was Tirek’s ability to steal the magical capacities of other creatures.
9: Steal abilities? Do we have a more detailed explanation?
2: I’ve been glossing over some of the reports of the survivors of the battle. Tirek’s ability is extremely… interesting. The targets of his attacks often show symptoms similar to the Equestrians that fell prey to some of the toys that EXALT are deploying--
16: How in God’s name did EXALT make their way to Equestria, anyway?
2: Let me finish. Equestrians that were attacked by Tirek have lost all capacity for magical ability, and also appear to be physically weakened as well. Where this gets interesting is that Tirek doesn’t block the abilities like the Jammer grenades or Rule Breaker. He actively adds their magical capacities and abilities to his own stockpile.
3: Is that so? I suspect that I’m not the only one who can see the possibilities in such a power.
14: I think this Tirek needs to enjoy the hospitality of the good Doctor Vahlen. He has so much to teach us, I think. Do the Equestrians have any theories for how his power works?
2: There’s nothing listed in the notes, but I have a theory. Rule Breakers and Jammers operate under a magical formula that automatically interrupts the flow of energy from the Field to the caster and returns it to the source. I think that Tirek’s ability might start in a similar fashion, but instead of releasing that energy, it’s redirected to him.
4: Such speculation is pointless at this time, but I think that we can all agree that the live capture of this ‘Tirek’ or another of his species with a similar ability is an objective that should be pursued.
>4 has called for a vote: Priority orders for live capture of ‘Tirek’
>Yes votes: 12 total, No votes: 2, 2 abstain.
>Proposal accepted.
11: I don’t think the Equestrians are just going to let us take Tirek into custody that easily. He is technically a citizen of their world, after all. And Captain Shining Armor probably wants his head on a pike.
15: On the subject of the good captain, I find it hard to believe he wouldn’t take appropriate action to defend the princess. Weren’t there security measures in place to ensure her safety?
4: I would think so, but the report isn’t complete yet.
7: Until the report is complete, further speculation on this subject isn’t necessary.
12: Agreed. As tragic as the circumstances are, we have more pressing issues. Do we know how EXALT managed to make it to the other world?
9: Unknown at this time, but there is a high probability that the EXALT infiltrator that sabotaged the Alpha site is responsible. A significant amount of data on current projects was accessed while he was there. The ‘Jammer grenades’ and the towers they’ve deployed in the smaller hamlets are likely a weaponized offshoot of the Rule Breakers. While the resources necessary would be staggering, it’s possible they created their own Kaleidoscope as well.
14: Doctor Shen has been able to inspect captured equipment, and he is confident that we can reproduce both the hand-held devices and the installations if necessary.
5: It took several pages to come to that conclusion, but not before going over every single factor that might make them infeasible. The good doctor has expressed squeamishness about XCOM’s methods in the past, and I think he is taking issue with the development of something we can use against the Equestrians just as much as the aliens.
4: Is he wrong in thinking that way? These people went out of their way to help us when they could have let us fend for ourselves. It seems poor form to actively design and produce weapons to use against them.
11: I would rather prepare for the eventuality and not need it than the other way around. From what Major Fujikawa reported, Princess Luna was extremely displeased when she became aware of EXALT’s existence. We need countermeasures in place should the worst come to pass.
9: I’m inclined to agree with you there.
1: Indeed, though news of this decision should not be shared with Major Fujikawa or any of the personnel that are away from Earth. There has been a disturbing trend of information leakage to the locals that I don’t want to contribute to.
5: Speaking of the locals, is there a threat index placement for the two new major players, Shirogane and Chrysalis? I don’t know about any of you, but I’m extremely suspicious of anyone who rides in to save the day while at the same time using blackmail to force their way into the coalition.
10: Chrysalis’s threat assessment varies depending upon a number of factors, but with the appropriate countermeasures to detect the changelings, she won’t be as much of a concern for us. As for Shirogane, theorists speculate that with a steady supply of alien trinkets, she will remain loyal to the cause.
1: You’ll have to forgive my skepticism, but if the dragon matriarch is only loyal because of the trash we give her, what’s keeping her from switching sides to the aliens should they make a better offer?
4: Spike. Twilight Sparkle’s dragonling companion was hatched in the Equestrian capital without any dragons being present, and my few cursory searches found no clues as to the origin of the egg. I suspect there’s a familial relation there, and that’s the real reason for her participation in this alliance. Even as a collector of rare things, I can’t fathom any of the twisted wrecks being presentable in any way for her hoard.
5: I’ll play the devil’s advocate on that point. It could be less for display of wealth purposes than as a trophy collection. From what I hear, Commander Bradford had to put his foot down when he found out XCOM operators had a bit of a black market going for trophies taken from the corpses of aliens.
15: Something has been bothering me since I first started reading the reports for this month, and I’m surprised no one has mentioned it yet. Chrysalis has been providing a real-time monitoring system for alien attacks on population centers, and Shirogane’s kind has done a stellar job of interdicting UFOs…
7: I’m assuming you have a point.
15: The Equestrians and XCOM personnel became aware of the attack on Cadance due to her letter, and only then deployed forces to assist. Where was the changeling network to warn them?
4: That… is a good question.
13: Doesn’t Chrysalis have a history with Cadance? Could the lack of response be a case of convenient negligence? Come to think of it, there hasn’t been any early warning response to the attacks in the Crystal Empire.
14: As much as I hate to admit it, I think our dealings with the Equestrians might have dissuaded us from entertaining the possibility that not all of their people are as honest and straightforward as they appear.
2: I can second that.
1: If Chrysalis was deliberately negligent, then I suspect it won’t be long before the Equestrians pursue justice for themselves.
10: That’s a very likely possibility, and we can’t interfere if we want to stay on good terms. We’re currently on shaky ground due to some of the things the Equestrians have learned already. Of course, that doesn’t preclude us from making arrangements with the changelings outside of normal channels. We’ll just have to be quiet about it.
11: On the note of other arrangements, Doctor Shen’s attempts to approach both the minotaurs and griffons to discuss their respective technologies were unfortunately rebuffed. Some interesting insights were learned about the cannons that were used in the defense of the capital, however.
8: I’ve seen the pictures, and they look like rip-off Flak 88s from over half a century ago. What could we possibly learn from those?
11: Doctor Shen reported that the weapons themselves use some sort of smart munitions system that is tied to the gunner. The accuracy and power of the shot is apparently partially tied to the killing intent of the creature that fires the weapon. It’s not something that can be automated. The shooter must be conscious of the harm he is going to cause, and have the will to inflict it on the target.
5: I think that those guns are related to the ‘Toy Box’ that was mentioned in some of the other reports. Current speculation on the subject is that it was a weapon of mass destruction that was deemed too powerful to use, or some form of autonomous machine. These theories seem to be supported by Shen’s findings regarding the minotaur cannons, and that might be as far as we can get on the subject. Captain Harris had Twilight Sparkle attempt to research the subject and found precious little, and the minotaurs are universally silent on the subject.
12: While an interesting bit of trivia, speculation about the Toy Box is pointless now. What weapons did the griffons have that could possibly be of use to us? Last I heard, they were still using bladed weapons and some form of heavy crossbow.
11: The weapons themselves don’t appear to be all that special, but after reviewing some of the high definition footage taken by the MECs, I discovered something interesting. Pull up file beowulf053498136 and pause at the twelve minute, seventeen second mark, then advance at one frame per second.
4: What are we looking-- oh, I think I see it. How do they do that?
5: I’m seeing the ‘Myrmidon’ skewering a muton. I’m not certain how this is relevant to the discussion.
4: Image magnification of the spear blade shows the muton’s armor parting before the blade comes into contact with it, like a hunk of snow melts when you put a rod of superheated metal into it. And no, as far as we can tell, the bits of these weapons that glow are not giving off any detectable heat.
7: The armor cameras for the strike teams also caught those crossbows taking out cyberdisks of all things, so I assume that whatever effect is being used is carrying over to their bolt weapons too.
11: Indeed. It’s a shame that they’re almost religiously protective of the weapons. From what I understand, Lieutenant Morikawa has some rapport established with High Talon Alvar while using Beowulf. I imagine it wouldn’t be too difficult to rig the MEC frame with some scanning equipment to try and unravel this mystery.
9: While I can certainly appreciate the scientific need to unravel the mechanics of these weapons, I still fail to see any practical applications for it.
1: The Kinetic Strike modules that the MEC units field are excellent for disabling hard and static targets. Aside from Lieutenant Romalov, we have no way of reproducing anything similar for regular infantry without a prohibitively large power supply. While the griffon weapons aren’t nearly as… spectacular in their results as the KS modules, they are still able to negate enemy armor seemingly without any sort of power supply, and all while using weaponry that went out of style over five hundred years ago.
3: It might not be as revolutionary as some of the other recent developments we have had, but I suppose I can see the benefits of it. KS impacts tend to leave very little in the way of useable salvage, and something like this could reduce the chances for collateral damage.
14: I agree that some time should be devoted to researching the subject, but there are some more pressing tasks that require our time. Researchers at the Omega site are reporting some progress on Project Medea.
9: There’s no mention of Project Medea in the monthly reports. What is that?
13: It’s being kept separate from the usual XCOM information systems, as it is what we hope will be a replacement and countermeasure to Commander Bradford, should he need to be removed. What progress was made?
14: As most of you are aware, regular medical scans are made of any Gifted personnel so their particular brain structures can be catalogued and hopefully reproduced artificially. The Kinetic Strike modules we mentioned earlier are an excellent example of this in practice. Using the base telekinesis formulae from Twilight and combining it with scans of Lieutenant Romalov’s brain, we were able to create a device that is capable of delivering three thousand newtons of force with the lightest of touches.
14: The researchers at the Omega site have had access to the scans of Commander Bradford for just under a month, and they are confident they can create an interface that can send data from one point in time, to a time in the past. Best estimates are that they will have a ‘receiver’ constructed by the beginning of next year.
10: Excellent. If this works then we’ll finally have a countermeasure against him.
7: It is to Commander Bradford’s credit that he commands the confidence of XCOM’s operational personnel as well as having the backing of this council… but with the alien invasion apparently winding down, I would be much more comfortable if he were to ‘retire’.
“Enough,” the man known as Zero interrupted, and the council fell silent. “Commander Bradford has performed outstandingly in the face of a global threat we have never seen before, and he has done nothing to warrant his removal. Development and testing of Project Medea will continue as a means of supplementing the abilities that Commander Bradford already provides to the XCOM project. Until there is substantial proof that he is no longer capable in his current position or committed to the preservation of humanity, then this subject will not be discussed again.”
A somewhat reluctant chorus of agreements came from the council before the members disconnected one by one. When the last of the council members left, the man known as Zero tapped another place on his desk before clasping his hands before him.
“Good evening, Commander.”
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Afternoon, folks!
I'll admit that this chapter is being released at an odd time of the day and week, given my normal schedule. I also normally follow a Mente Materia chapter with a Celestia chapter, but I was on a roll and wanted to get this one finished.
Also! I'd like to thank Setokaiva for all his work thus far, and to welcome him as part of the team going forward with pre-reading. He's done great work for me in the past and I'm expecting great things in the future!
........... so they ahve no information at all about her status?
All sorts of info in this chappy!
No confirmation of Cadence's death...hope it's not true...
5951136
I don't think you'll hear us complain
5951172
I'm assuming you mean Cadance? Not much more information besides the speculation listed above. Further elaboration will become apparent in the following chapters. :)
5951176 ...... luna.
the dream realm is utterly immaterial. it is something that seems to imply there is more to the mind of magical creatures than just neurons. it exists outside of physical laws and physical understanding.
there is no way they could keep luna from visiting dreams short of taking luna herself out.
5951136
I LOVE PLACEHOLDERS.
...ohh its not a place holder anymore....
5951136 My gut instinct is that Cadence isn't dead, but is in really bad shape in some way. Alternatively, her "death" could have been faked by Chrysalis in some way toward some goal. The changelings lack of surveillance can point in either direction.
...i think I may have come to an unpleasant conclusion about how this story will eventually end, based on finally finishing the XCOM campaign and rereading Coming Soon from Stardust, and the framing chapter of this story. That bit, with the Uber Ethereal on the ship...
Twilight's going to die. She's the Volunteer. She'll sacrifice herself sending the ship into space. That's why in the future, with the guard and the kid, Celestia and Luna are still around, but he seems to talk about Twilight as though she's passed on.
Please, Arad, say it ain't so.
but unlike the volunteer, she's an alicorn capable of long-range teleportation? maybe she can spare herself like that?please, don't do this. my fragile heart couldn't take it.
I'm looking forward to Celestia breaking free of Discords Curse and Annihilating the alians with frigged hateful force. Also waiting to see how Twilight rips Tirek apart for killing Cadence.
5951181
That's all your headcanon - the dream realm thing - if I recall correctly. I don't remember Arad defining the dream realm, though I might be forgetting.
Even then, the Ethereals have enough power to mindrape Twilight with ease, and they are a mixed bag of unknowns, so it's not necessarily safe to bet that they can't interfere with Luna somehow (though I hope they can't). Even then, I doubt the aliens dream (remember, there's 'nothing there'), so she can't get them, and if Cadence is in a coma, then she's not dreaming.
I enjoy the exposition, these guys give some insight into the possible workings of the universe. I'm now holding higher hopes for Cadence's chances of survival.
If council member 2 is correct, about the energy redirect being a thing, then Tirek redirects an individual's magical energies to him. If I were Tirek, I would have sucked her dry and kept her alive to keep my own power supplemented. If he kills her, he most likely loses that power, since it would be destroying the source.
Am I weird for overly enjoying these Council Meeting chapters? I love Zero so hard, and Chryssie seems to have an ace up her chitin, judging from the discussion.
5951181
According to your headcanon. Who says Changelings even dream? And it's never been said that it's impossible to keep Luna out of your head if you really want to.
As for the aliens, I really don't think they dream. XCOM shows them to be more like organic computers than sapient beings at this point, dreaming probably requires to much imagination for them to do.
5951235 I'm afraid that the only thing that can be said for certain is...
i.imgur.com/4FsP1wc.png
5951298 ..........i am talkign about cadance being alive. luna could figure that out herself using dream walking.
and if they can't dream, that means they would be incapable of figuring out a way to repel dream walking.
Hehehe. I think I'm starting to like 14.
Oh, I'm pretty sure Vahlen and Twilight would just love to get some "interrogation" time on Tirek.
i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab302/Church0/XCOM%20-%20Doctor%20Vahlens%20Interrogation%20Methods_zpstgl4r0on.jpg
Analysis later. Have things to do.
(P.S. - Council, are you trying to replicate Pinkie Sense? Cause I don't think you're ready for that 4th wall breaking power quite yet.)
Very interesting. I wonder if minotaur armaments would work on MECs - given that the pilot is still capable of intent...
And the griffon blade enchantments, combined with a reverse engineered cyberdisk (controlled by a griffon or pegasus pilot via MEC interface) would also be a terror to behold.
keep it up! love this story!
I for one revel in my hate for 90% of the council. And XCOM's sheer... humanity...in their dealings with the Equestrians. Great chapter.
5951181
You can't have a nightmare if you never dream.
And even then, you're assuming Luna is completely all powerful in the dream realm, and that it's IMPOSSIBLE to have something better at it than her.
5951532 i am talking about cadance here. dream walking to determine her current state. heck she could do that to create a communication network unlike anything the aliens or humans could create. nor one they could access.
and ultimately luna is a being with an elemental affiliation to the night and all that is related to it. if there is something who is more powerful than her in dream walking and such, it would not be a creature that anyone would want to encounter. would be a discord like being at least, an elemental entity rather than affiliated with an element.
i doubt it would be an alien though. if they cannot dream, that means they cannot access dreams. they could scan the physical phenomenon of dreams, watch how a brain reacts, but not the ethereal aspects that luna can. best comparison would probably be if you do not have gills, you cannot breathe water.
in my mind "Project Medea" will work like the trans-timeline chat room from homestuck, and anyone who uses it will get into an argument with themselves, twice. once in the past and then again in the future on the other side of the argument
Hmn, the "redirect" theory on Tirek's abilities plus the fact that they said loss instead of death (and these guys probably wouldn't mince words to keep things PG) actually gives me a certain amount of hope regarding Cadance's chance of survival. There's no sense in killing her if Tirek can't siphon power from a corpse. Of course, that might not stand in the way of alien experimentation, but hope springs eternal.
Neat details on how minotaur and gryphon weaponry works.
So Cadence really is dead? ....fuck....
Mushroom management policy on so many levels and on different fronts... and I love it!
Arad - keeping us in the dark since 2013
5951569
Yes... and I pointed out to dream walk to someone it probably helps for them to be dreaming.
Way to assert your headcanon as fact. Again.
There are so many things wrong with this. First, my link was referring to them keeping Cadance from dreaming, if she's even alive. Second, 'if they cannot dream, that means they cannot access dreams' First off, they have allies that do - EXALT and probably Tirek - and second that's not true. That's like saying someone does not have a safe they can open, therefor they cannot open other peoples' safes.
Remember that thing I was saying earlier about you asserting your headcanon as fact? You did it again.
One thing I don't like (and this is true for the game too) is the ease X-Com research and implement alien technology. It seems like a few weeks or month is enough to basically neutralize or copy (or even improve) on anything they encounter.
I do really like the story however, so it's just a personal nitpick.
5951652 its not head canon dude. its analyzing. maybel una is not Literally elemental, but at the same time her abilities are interconnected to night related things. dreams, darkness, the moon, etc, etc.
and cadance not dreaming. who is to say that they do not dream in coma's? there is an ethereal attribute to dreams with the ponies. even if there are no active dreams, it does not seem unlikely that it requires active dreams for luna to locate them in the dream world. at the very least be able to determine if she is alive or dead.
and tell me, how would creatures incapable of dreaming access a supernatural dreamscape? how would they be able to comprehend or navigate it if they lack the capacity to experience it?
Cadence better not be dead.
5951679
Aka headcanon that you base on facts. Still headcanon because it's not confirmed in canon. Like the popular headcanon that ponies have retinas.
Okay, tell me if you see the problem with this exchange:
You: Luna would be able to reach Cadance through her dreams.
Me: Well, how do you know Cadance is dreaming?
You: How do you know she isn't?
Unlikely or not, we don't know if that's true. Until the author says anything about it, it's irrelevant to discuss.
Tell me, how would humans incapable of flying access the power of flight? How would they be able to comprehend or navigate flying if they lack the capacity to experience it?
Answer that, and you'll find the answer to your question.
5951744 dividing my comment up like that is an obvious tactic to try to make me look stupid. especially when you are completely seperating me stating how do we not know, and giving my reasons for suspecting it wouldn't. kinda obvious. its clearly a whole thought but you divide it to make it look like an incomplete one.
and no. they can't jsut create a device. because the reason we learned to fly is because we figured out the physics and had the capacity to comprehend them, and thus build structures that can take advantage of how physics work.
a creature incapable of dreaming would be icnapable of creating some device to block or interact with dreams, because they would be incapable of comprehending the necessary information.
science requires comprehension. magic requires acceptance.
derpicdn.net/img/2012/8/8/69452/medium.png
"Greetings, Princess. Though we all
grieve for the loss of gentle
Cadance, we must find the resolve
to carry on. She sacrified herself
to save the Crystal Heart and give us forewarning of this new enemy, but the incursions of invaders on our world remain unchecked."
lh4.googleusercontent.com/-kyi0zXG2F3Y/U-kjtbDRneI/AAAAAAABW7U/t_tUMgvnmLk/s650/PrincessCadance.png
5951603 Only MIA... I hope?
It's nice to know Zero will put his foot down on the excessive pragmatism of some of the other Council members...
5951801 Alicorns never die, they just go MIA...
The council actively plotting against the player character? That's XCOM, baby!
An intriguing look behind the scenes.
I don't trust Zero. Who comes to discussion and doesn't participate? The one who actually makes the decision.
For what reason is Zero superior to the others?
5951776
Believe me, hon, it don't take too much extra effort on our part to make you look stupid.
5951785 En Taro Cadenza.
5951929 einstein could have been viewed as stupid if you're hell bent on viewing him as stupid.
5951883
But he doesn't really make the decisions, does he? He merely calls votes, and doesn't(I think) even participate in them himself. He's a moderator more than a dictator.
However, you still raise an interesting point. I don't think he's EXALT or any other collaborator, as he would have had so many chances to cripple XCOM entirely if he was the mole. I think it's more likely that he's somehow related to Discord, who, at least in this story, fills the 'Big Good' character role even more than Celestia.
5951235
I'm not entirely sure why you're getting thumbed down, to be honest. It's a valid point, from my(albeit limited) of xcom, having never played the games. Nice day to get caught up, though, right on when it updates again.
Also, hello from Ynanhluutr.
5951937
I believe what he was saying was more along the lines of your not understanding basic grammar, punctuation, or spelling. It's basically impossible to fuck up typing as badly as you do many comments a chapter unless you really just don't try.
But I see where you're coming from, and it's a valid point- English may not be your first language, and if so I retract my previous statement. However, what I think everyone's main problem with you is that you make baseless assumptions on how the author's universe works, even after Arad replies to you and tells you you're wrong. His AU, his rules, mate.
This is interesting. There are sixteen voting members of the Council. Yet, including Zero, there are seventeen Council members altogether. Who's the non-voting one?
According to FIENDship is Magic (one of the comic lines) Triek is (or was) the prince of a kingdom of centaurs/weird imp things before he went round the bend. I wonder if the kingdom still exists? If it does, X-COM could arrange a 'field trip'...
5951823 Princess Cadance is now AFK.
5951744
5951776
Canon to the rescue! According to FIENDship is magic (one of the comic lines, canon until confirmed otherwise), Nightmare Moon acquired her ability to dreamwalk while banished to the moon (there were a race of beings there that managed the dreams of ponies, Nightmare enslaved them). They specifically managed the dreams of ponies, not other races. Also the first thing Nightmare tried was to give Celestia nightmares, but she couldn't because Celestia has a magic mind-shield.
[Speculation]
Given that Candace grew up with Nightmare still banished, Celestia likely taught her this mind-shield technique, so Luna might assume Candice's mind is unreachable. But said technique specifically doesn't work when the user runs out of magic, so with her drained... maybe?
[/Speculation]
Edit: Remembered that Luna dreamwalked a human already. Nevermind, this isn't canon to this story.
5951963
Perhaps zero is less of a councilman and more of a mediator, or even a dictator (roman usage of the word, meaning a chief magistrate given absolute power in emergency situations. Glancing back up I don't see zero actually participating in the conversation at all, aside from swatting the rumblings against Bradford and managing the forum.
I'm kind of scared to see what would happen to Tirek in a rule breaker field. If they live cap him I'd practically cover him in rule breakers. Something tells me 1 just isn't enough
5952012 with my logic about the comics, especially lately, that the best aspects should be respected, and the half formed ones ignored. such as just Saying they cannot beat up the violent, pyrmaniac bulls rather than having a reason.
that nightmare moon thing also ignored her whole rage and jealousy against celestia, and there is no indication that she could not have just left. so not enough thought put into it.
the only ones of the fiendship is magic comcis that were applicable were the sombra and tirek ones, especially sombra's. chrysalis was half okay, but then went bad. limited origin to the changeling, and idiot balls all around.
not to mention its clear that luna always had the ability as she and celestia have a system. celestia would ahve strange dreamsn and luna would keep an eye on them. be weird if they figured this out in only a year or so.
it is especially bad sense we have had a cult themed episode, and an episode based on the five stages of grief in the show itself.
No Council rescue mission for Cadance?
I hope she died, otherwise she will learn a lot about alien tec from experience.
106.imagebam.com/download/KP4xcCryjJ7Sfpals0lELw/40826/408253649/ca.jpg