24 -- Adrift
“The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.”
--Marcus Tullius Cicero
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11:20, 12/03/2015, CRYSTAL MOUNTAINS
The mountains that made up the northern and western border of the Crystal Empire had suffered the effects of wild weather far more than Canterlot or its surrounding areas. Not a ray of the early afternoon sun breached the blockade of gray clouds that hung low overhead. A reasonable amount of snow had also blanketed the area, with more falling by the minute. Neither the chill in the air or the precipitation kept the assembled allies from doing what needed to be done.
Pairs of pegasi patrolled the skies, searching both for survivors and enemies that were missed by earlier sweeps, with reports coming in constantly of new finds deep within the mountains. The latter were dealt with swiftly and mercilessly by heavily armed griffon and pegasi teams, who used their capacity for flight to tremendous advantage. The former were guided to friendly forces on the ground so that they could be escorted to safer territory.
A temporary stronghold had been set up at the base of one mountain, with dirt and stone walls hastily excavated and strengthened by earth pony magic. A variety of guards patrolled the perimeter while a steady stream of flying cargo chariots offloaded more troops and supplies as they landed, and left laden with refugees from the Crystal Empire.
At the base of the mountain itself, shifts of diamond dogs and minotaurs attacked a collapsed cave entrance with the efficiency of expert engineers. Each piece of stone was carefully broken down and removed while supports were constructed to prevent another cave-in. The work was methodical and slow, for any undue haste could potentially bring disaster and injure the workers clearing the way.
The entire area was a picture of controlled chaos, and at its center was a single spot of calm. Shining Armor stood in the eye of the storm, standing ramrod straight and still as a statue as he stared at the cave entrance. The black armor plates that wrapped around his body had slowly become frosted over from the snowfall, and what was exposed of his coat, tail and mane hung heavily with melted snow and was slowly beginning to accumulate the icy precipitation as well. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of goggles, which went a long way towards maintaining the illusion that he was waiting calmly for news.
He did not respond as a chariot flanked by griffon escorts touched down, or when Alvar dismounted from the transport. The Myrmidon followed shortly afterward, and behind him was Lieutenant Zhang and another human. The human was covered in layers of winter clothes, and his mouth was covered by a plastic mask attached to an air tank. Despite his best efforts to straighten up to his full height, he was forced to lean heavily against the human beside him as the pair trudged through the snow to the worksite at the cave entrance. Alvar and the Myrmidon came to stand beside Shining Armor, and an awkward silence began to stretch between the three as the unicorn didn’t so much as twitch an ear in their direction.
“You will have to pardon our late arrival, Captain,” Alvar started, and when no response made itself apparent, he continued. “After we were informed about the princess’s last stand, I asked for Lieutenant Zhang to provide assistance. His ability will greatly assist the excavation crews in locating the… in locating the princess.
Shining Armor said nothing in response, and Alvar was left struggling for a way to fill the silence between them. “Well… we saw the forces deployed on the ground during our descent. I counted several enemies slain with magic and the wreck of an enemy airship along the trails and partially covered by snow. Princess Cadance did spectacularly during her last stand. It’s an end that any griffon—” The young high talon froze in place when a talon tapped on his back lightly, and he turned to look up at the Myrmidon. Rather than the expected head tilt, the elder griffon was shaking his head slowly.
No more attempts at conversation were made as they watched Zhang approach the worksite and stop. The work crews themselves all paused in their work to watch the human. After several minutes, Zhang and his aid turned back towards the way they had come while the work crew gave a look at the cave entrance before resuming their work.
“Captain,” Zhang addressed Shining Armor as he did his best to straighten to an at-attention stance. His expression showed signs of fatigue and his breath was labored, but still he faced the unicorn directly before continuing. “There are plasma burns on the rock face around the cave entrance, but none within the cave itself. I suspect that Princess Cadance erected a shield at the cave mouth to defend herself. The presence of alien bodies within the cave seems to indicate that the collapse happened after the shield fell.” The plastic mask fogged up as he took a moment to catch his breath. “I could not see more than fifty feet past the debris, as the crystal formations in the rock seem to be generating interference. At this time, I cannot say with certainty that Princess Cadance is in the cave or what her condition is.”
“Thank you for your efforts, Lieutenant,” Shining Armor said crisply before turning and marching towards a small group of unicorn guardsponies that were loitering near the chariot landing areas. He either didn’t hear or simply ignored the condolences that Zhang and Alvar offered. A quick command to one of the idle unicorns was all that was needed to teleport the captain away from the wind-swept mountain ranges.
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13:07, 12/03/2015, THRONE ROOM, CANTERLOT
The golden-armored Solar Guard were a stark contrast to Shining Armor as he marched down the corridor towards the throne room and the day court. They all snapped to attention as he passed, but nopony could muster the courage to speak to the captain as he walked right up to the throne room’s doors and pushed them open.
Princess Luna sat upon the throne and was surrounded by a modest escort of Solar Guard and a far larger herd of petitioners. The low babble of idle conversation in the chamber died abruptly as Shining Armor marched forward, and the crowd of petitioners parted before him without any prompting. Luna cast a wary eye at the unicorn before looking back to the pony she had been speaking with. “I apologize for the inconvenience, all of you. I am going to have to call a quick recess. Captain Armor and I have much to discuss,” she said before waving off the guards in the room as well.
The moment the doors closed, Shining spoke, “Where is the faker?”
“Queen Chrysalis is not here, and she will not be for the foreseeable future,” Luna explained cooly. “I have a great amount of respect for you, Captain, so I’m going to politely ask you not to seek her out. If I must make it an order, then questions will be asked that we cannot afford to answer at this time.”
Shining Armor said nothing, but the tenseness of his posture and his clenched jaw spoke loudly enough for him.
“I know what you are thinking, captain, and when I first heard of your wife’s fate, I confronted her immediately,” Luna explained, and she let out a sigh when Shining Armor didn’t react in any way. “Princess Cadance had left for the Crystal Empire before her part in our alliance could be solidified, and she was understandably concerned that if she preemptively stationed a changeling with your wife, it would spark an understandable but unfortunate confrontation.”
Just as before, Shining Armor’s expression didn’t change.
Luna’s eyes narrowed at the captain’s continued silence. “As unfortunate as these events are, we cannot afford disharmony in our alliance. I swear to you that the perpetrators of this heinous act will be punished accordingly, but if you jeopardize our position by pursuing a personal grudge, then you will give me no other alternative than to relieve you of duty and sentence you to house arrest until this matter is resolved. I do not want to do that, captain, but I will if you force my hoof. Am I understood?”
“Perfectly, Princess,” Shining Armor said mechanically.
The alicorn held her stern glare for several more moments, before it finally softened. “Then you are dismissed with my condolences, Captain. I must confess that I did not know Princess Cadance very well in the short time since my return, but she was one of the brightest stars in the night sky.”
Silence rushed in to fill the gap in conversation. The only sounds that filled the throne room were Shining Armor’s hooves as he swiftly marched out the way he came.
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14:00, 12/03/2015, CRYSTAL REFUGEE CENTER, CANTERLOT
As with the unexpected arrival of the griffons, the refugees from the Crystal Empire had banded together in their time in exile. Unlike the avian predators, who naturally gravitated towards the taller structures for their impromptu community, the crystal ponies had elected to convert one of the larger parks on the castle outskirts into their sanctuary. Temporary shelters and tents sprung up quickly to accommodate the new arrivals, and hundreds of Canterlot residents arrived to donate their time, effort, and supplies for the cause.
To the beleaguered crystal ponies, to be welcomed so was an unexpected comfort after losing so much. To the ponies that lived in the capital, it was no more inconvenient than helping a relative that had fallen on hard times. What unified both was the comfort of their fellows who were also struggling, and a slow-burning anger at the creatures that were responsible for the atrocities they had endured.
At that precise moment, no creature was a better representative of the latter emotion than Shining Armor as he marched into the park.
It wasn’t long before he was spotted by one of the ponies helping with the relief effort, and a hushed whisper cut through the general chatter and noise like a knife. Barely a minute passed before silence dominated the square, with only the sounds of Shining’s hooffalls echoing through the park. The crystal ponies that caught sight of Shining all bowed or lowered their gazes respectfully. The Canterlot natives and guards paused briefly before continuing their work as quietly as possible.
This continued as Shining Armor cut through the middle of the camp and towards the small knot of guards directing incoming traffic into the park. The majority of them were the gold-armored Solar guard, but a half dozen wore the black armor of the Earth veterans. A pegasus with lieutenant stripes and several burn marks along his flank and barrel armor supervised their efforts until he caught sight of the approaching captain. A brief look of concern crossed the lieutenant’s face before he steeled himself and went out to meet his superior.
“Lieutenant,” Shining Armor said quietly, and he continued without giving his subordinate any chance to respond. “I want you to explain to me why you disobeyed my orders.”
The lieutenant straightened slightly as the captain’s tone sank in. “When we discovered that the rail lines to the Empire were damaged, Princess Cadance elected to continue on hoof rather than remain at the train. I agreed with this assessment, and we resumed our journey north. While travelling, we encountered survivors from an assault in progress taking place on one of the outlying communities. Princess Cadance ordered us to cover the retreat of the civilians while she engaged the aliens directly. When the battle was joined, the aliens halted their attacks and concentrated all of their efforts on the princess.
The lieutenant hesitated for just a moment before steeling himself. “I elected to follow the princess’s earlier orders and ensure the civilians were escorted to safety before pursuing the invaders. Unfortunately, Tirek chose to pursue the noncombatants. There was no chance that they could survive without our help, so we held as long as we could before falling back.” Nearly a minute passed as the lieutenant tried not to shrink under the goggled stare of the captain. “Captain… I would like to express my deepest regrets at your loss. The princess—”
“MY WIFE!” Shining roared, drawing more than a few surprised looks from the other guards and the crystal ponies nearby. He took a step towards the lieutenant as he continued to yell. “I gave you one order! ONE ORDER! Guard my wife! You disobeyed that order, lieutenant, and now she’s DEAD!”
By the end of his rant, Shining had invaded the other pony’s space and made no effort to halt his advance. His ears were laid back and the muscles along his jaw were clenched tight. One hoof came up, before coming down on the cobblestone path heavily. Without another word, he turned and stomped out of the park.
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20:37, 12/03/2015, STRIKE READY ROOM, CANTERLOT
The Strike Ready Room was filled with a modest assortment of soldiers relaxing as best they could. The vast majority was an almost equal sampling of the three pony races, followed by a flock of griffons, then humans, and lastly a small sampling of zebra and minotaurs. Most simply sat in small groups to talk or play simple games to pass the time before they were called up for deployment.
All avoided Shining Armor.
The guard captain sat on the bench closest to the chariot lofts and teleportation areas, with his goggled gaze locked firmly on the opposite wall. A quartet of blades sat ready in their sheaths beside him, and his armor had been checked and rechecked several times. The moment an alert was received, Shining Armor would be the first soldier on the ground to fight.
The only problem he was encountering now was a disconcerting lack of cooperation from the aliens. For nearly six hours he had held his position, waiting for his chance to take to the field. He needed the aliens to attack somewhere, anywhere, so that he could have a proper target to vent his anger and frustration on. He needed it to keep his mind from dwelling on—
Shining was saved from walking down that dark train of thought when Captain Harris sat down next to him. For a long moment, neither said anything to the other, or even acknowledged the other’s presence. “Captain Armor,” Matt said finally, though his gaze was locked forward much like the unicorn.
“Captain Harris.” The response was anything but conversational.
Another moment passed before the human let out a sigh. “I’m not going to waste your time or mine by offering condolences, you’ve heard enough of that from what I’m told,” Matt said slowly, and he paused as Shining Armor’s left ear twitched. “However, I think you’re forgetting that you aren’t the only person who’s lost someone important to them.”
“I don’t need a lecture from you about losing my wife,” Shining snapped.
“What about Twilight?”
The simple question caused whatever barbed comment Shining had prepared to die before it was said. “She has her friends. They’ll help her get through this,” he finally managed, before growling, “She also has you.”
“You’re right, they’ll help her as best they can. But she also needs you. Her friends can sympathize with what happened, but you knew Cadance as long as she did. You lost your wife, and Twilight lost the closest thing she had to a sister,” Matt explained carefully and quietly. Silence filled in where the conversation left, and Matt let out a sigh. “Captain Armor,” he said, and his voice was more official than informal. “The princess requires your presence at the Vault of the Sun. You are to report there immediately.”
The order forced a reaction out of the stallion as his head snapped to the side to glare at Matt. The human made no move to meet Shining Armor’s glare. No further explanation made itself apparent, so he stood and marched out of the ready room.
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21:00, 12/03/2015, VAULT OF THE SUN, CANTERLOT
Canterlot Castle held enough show rooms and display cases to put most museums to shame, as the princesses had collected a great deal of things over their many years of rule. The majority of the public halls were filled with art and artifacts that held cultural or aesthetic value. A small minority of these halls were private and maintained by the princesses themselves, and were often stuffed from wall to wall with trinkets that held nothing but sentimental value.
The Vault of the Sun was neither of these. Anything that had earned a place in that room was considered too powerful or dangerous to be allowed somewhere that might tempt anypony who saw it. Shining Armor had only ever been in the vault twice. The first time had been in the presence of Princess Luna to retrieve the Clover Leaves for their first trip to meet the humans. The second had been to replace them upon his return.
It went without saying that access to the vault was restricted to a precious few ponies, so Shining Armor was understandably put on guard when three ponies were waiting just past the entrance guards. Twilight Velvet leaned heavily against Night Light, and tears rimmed her eyes when she caught sight of her son approaching. She took a breath to call out to him but stopped when her husband pulled her close. The elder stallion’s expression was blank as his wife sobbed into his chest. Despite knowing his goggles would prevent it, Shining found that he couldn’t meet his father’s eyes.
The last pony in the room was Twilight Sparkle. She had a worn blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and she did a valiant job of holding back tears as she looked down. Shining followed her gaze to find his sister’s hoof resting on…
“I’m sorry, I have duties I must attend to,” Shining Armor said quickly as he turned and began to march away from his family. You think you’re so clever, Harris, not specifying which Princess gave the order? I’ll remember this…
“Son…” “Shiny, stop, please...” The words of his parents fell on deaf ears as he continued—
“SHINING ARMOR, DON’T YOU DARE TAKE ONE MORE STEP!”
The shouted order forced him to pause, the angry and grief-filled tone only partially responsible for his hesitation. He looked over to see his sister fixing him with a glare that would make lesser beings cower.
“Shiny, if you walk out that door… if you don’t come here right now, then I don’t ever want to see you again,” Twilight said shakily. Though her voice faltered at the ultimatum, the true measure of her resolve was found in her unyielding glare.
He wanted to leave. Sun above, did he want to. Am I willing to give up my family to avoid what’s waiting for me? Shining clenched his teeth and turned back to face them. Who are you, and what have you done with Twilight? he asked himself, and he felt the mildest sense of deja vu at seeing his sister in this light. Every fiber of his being willed him to stop, to run, to find something to vent his frustration at. Despite this, Shining forced himself to walk stiffly toward the gathering, and the object that sat at its center.
The Crystal Heart sat beside Twilight, its perfection unmarred by the violence that had caused its arrival in Canterlot. When Cadance… when his wife had possessed the artifact, it had shone brilliantly with magic and power, but now it had only the smallest flickers of light within it. Shining slowly reached out with a shaky hoof, before placing it on the center of the heart.
The dark corridors of the castle’s lower levels vanished instantly. A vast field stretched in every direction around Shining Armor, with waves of long grass waving as far as the eye could see. Not a single cloud was in the sky to block the sun as it hung in the late afternoon sky, but the heat was countered with the gentlest of breezes. It was a setting that couldn’t be more comfortable to anypony that experienced it.
The stallion whirled around to look for the source of the voice. “Cadance! CADANCE!” he screamed, but there was nopony there save him.
“If you’re here, Shiny, then the worst must have happened.” The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once. Regret tinged the voice as it continued, “I am so sorry. I am so sorry that you were the one left behind. I had always thought that our situations would have been reversed, given our circumstances.”
“Where are you? I’ll find you, I’ll save you! I just need to know where you are!” Shining Armor shouted as he continued to run full tilt across the grasslands. His heart hammered in his chest and his legs began to burn from the sprinting. They were minor inconveniences that he could ignore. “Where are you? Please, Cadance!”
“I’m sorry, Shining Armor,” the voice said. “I’m not the Cadance you want. When the extent of the danger became apparent, I was created by her to say what must be said to those who remain. I’m an echo of her love for you... and her last will and testament.”
Shining continued to sprint as the sun slowly sank towards the horizon. He sprinted until his legs couldn’t support his weight anymore and he collapsed to the ground. His heart demanded that he keep running, but his body couldn’t support that order. Through sheer willpower, he got his hooves under him, only to collapse again. He ceased his struggling only when a familiar shadow fell over him.
The setting sun shone brightly around Cadance as she watched Shining struggle to reach her. “My Shining Armor, always so stubborn,” she said as tears filled her eyes. “Shiny, it had been my greatest wish that we be together for as long as fate would allow it. I know that you will cherish my memory to your last days, but going forward you’ll have to accept that you deserve more than me.”
Shining continued to crawl and stumble forward until he fell before the radiant figure. “You’ve got it wrong, Cadance. You’re more than I ever deserved! Please… don’t go!”
A shaky smile tugged at his wife’s features as the tears finally fell from her eyes. “I’m nothing but a memory now, Shiny. You deserve someone to have and to hold. Your heart is too strong to be held back by a memory, so I know you’ll find somepony that will help you heal.” She leaned forward until until their faces were just inches apart. “I still have one gift left to give you. Goodbye, my Shining Armor.”
The stallion looked up… and saw the stone ceiling of the Vault. Cadance’s image, and the endless field, had vanished like a pleasant dream. Shining removed his hoof as he looked back to the Crystal Heart, and his breath caught in his throat as the last light of Cadance’s magic faded away.
His armored hoof rose sharply, and he had every intention of striking the Heart with all of his strength… but the anger was gone. The fire. The outrage. The blame. All that was left for Shining Armor was the reality of what had happened to his Cadance. His raised hoof hovered in the air before pulling the goggles off of his eyes. Only his pride allowed him to maintain his stoic facade, but it lasted only until Twilight pulled him into a tight hug and sobbed into his shoulder. He returned the embrace, and wept.
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Edit: Afternoon folks! As some folks have suggested in some of my earlier chapters, I'm going to include the soundtrack names for all my chapters going forward (if songs are present). The song for this chapter is titled 'Honeysuckle', more commonly known as 'Shino's Theme' from .hack//GU.
I also wanted to apologize for the delays in this chapter. Grief is a really hard things for me to write, not because of grief itself, but because this chapter brought back a lot of sad memories for me.
I also messed around a bit with different formats for how this chapter would play out, but I really wanted this to focus on Shining Armor, and how he copes... or doesn't cope.
This chapter seems to entirely confirm Cadence's Death.
While in other story types, apperent death, with no body found can often be reversed, this is XCOM.
Death and injuries are depressingly common. And moreso for named characters.
6059421 Dang I wanted Twi to be the next Death goddess, slaughtering aliens like nobodies business. I also really hope Celestia can break the wanderers enchantment upon her person.
... please tell me this is an elaborate setup for Cadence coming back more powerful than before...
ah! damn it! the song was too much! It would have been easier to take if there were just blood and violence
Seriously? His wife's last gift to him was the removal of his free will through the use of mind altering magic to stop him from rightly hating the ones who murdered her?
THATS SO FUCKED UP!
Hate, rage, blame, they are all natural parts of life and integral components to any healthy mind. To just remove them without the victims permission simply because they believed that the victims emotions would be detrimental the victim is just wrong on to many levels, and yes I am calling Shining Armour the victim of this atrocity. If you are going to do that you might as well mind wipe all of the soldiers and leave behind nothing but the perfect emotionless military minds.
Unable to feel pain, loss or hatred so their minds are always clear allowing them to fight to the moment their body can no longer move, implanting military strategies so that their formations are always perfect and they can work seamlessly without input as they would all think the same way negating the need for a command structure. It would be the perfect army but it would also be against so many morals you might as well tell the ponies to kill themselves now, and yet Shining Armour's WIFE does this so him, without his permission. I just........ its so wrong that I don't know what to say.......
If you are going to kill someone and replace them with someone who looks the same but is not them do it with a sword so that a new body has to be made and at least belongs to the new being instead of stealing the one of the previous owner.
I might be in denial, but unless I see the body or the ashes with vid confirmation, I'm still keeping up the theory that she's been captured. No way that Tirek would let such a prize get out of his hands so easily. I don't see any part of the final message indicating that it activates upon death, so it is more a 'just in case' instead of the conditional.
6059520
And risk Solaria coming back? I'd rather keep it as a last resort, a sort of ace up their sleeves whenever whatever uber-ethereal decides to show its face in the story. Remember how bad a regular one messed up Twi?
6059591
To be fair, this is only relevant if the Equestrians find Cadence's abilities unethical to begin with. Evidence shows they don't, no matter how horrifying it is to us humans. It could open up a big rift between Matt and Twilight if he finds out about it.
6059591
I suppose I wasn't explicit in the explanation, but I hoped it was implied. She didn't remove his capacity for anger. She nudged his emotions so he could move on for it. Anger is the second stage of grief, and it can prove unhealthy if it isn't resolved.
I'll give A larger reply for the other comments tonight when I get home from work.
6059519
I would be very disappointed if this were not the case. Building up someone's death and giving a "gotcha!" surprise reveal that they're still alive is always a dumb narrative cliche. In XCOM it would be practically blasphemy.
6059646 Almost, but not quite.
I find it more interesting when you don't actually know. This story did this pretty well.
When I started, I learned that a character was named Lana Jenkins. Standard pattern matching suggested that she was an Expy of Leeroy Jenkins. Same last name, and first name starts with the same letter. With many, many stories, games, and otherwise following through on that meme, it took me a few seconds to decide that Lana would probably die pretty quickly. As she was an assult class, known for getting a lot closer to enemies than others, that just made it even more obvious.
However, she did eventually get killed. It wasn't for that reason however. And she got better.
By your statement, Lana's Resurrection qualifies as exactly what you just complained about.
Now, Cadence might be dead or might be alive. I think it would be more interesting if she remained dead in this case. The social effects her death has on Shining armor, his family, and spiriling out from there are interesting, and if she shows up alive again it would detract from that.
6059520
From what I've read so far of Celestia (the fic mind you), the only spell put on Solaria is that she can no longer do harm (maybe even limited to not harming the innocent), no personality adjustment or anything, heavily suggesting that Solaria simply went through a natural change of personality and whatnot, and ending up as Celestia.
Also, she already did kill an ethereal if I recall correctly, so either the spell was already deactivated or it was indeed only to stop her from doing harm to the innocent specifically.
I am really hoping you did not kill off cadnace. Largely because it is as common as anything for a fanfic to kill off named characters rather than build up something for it. I am seeing people saying they hope this is not a bait and switch, but ultimately it is in fact more common for a fanfic kill off the likes o fcadance. There are dozens of stories that resort to that.
The concepts of anyone can die does not work well with mlp. They are a lot more resilient than humans are, the ponies, as they practically live in a death world as if it was normal. Hell, abstract concepts can empower them when they need it most too.
Seriously, they do not have the same issues as xcom because they kinda have some inborn advantages that humans don't.
Also i have thought on the hwole elements won't work on the aliens thing. After a while i came to the conclusion that this was nothing but plot convenience than something that survives under scrutiny. Ignoring that harmony is both and neither order and chaos, in story you depict harmony as order. The reality of the situation is that the aliens are sowing chaos and destruction in their wake. Meaning they are not in fact order, but just another variant of chaos. It is not a matter of semantics. They destroy and consume and create an imbalance as they do so.
Aka, the elements would be most effective. Especially since the power of the elements comes from a combination of abstract concepts and the raw might of what is likely some primordial harmony elemental; the tree of harmony itself.
is it wrong i would like to see an alt take on this where he leaves?
My only regret for such a beautiful chapter is that it did nothing to advance the plot.
6059642 But was it even magic that did that? Maybe that message just helped Shining move on from his anger and into a true realization of what happened.
Hmm...
Still no evidence of a body yet...
There is no body. She is alive. More than likely a captive at worst. Stumbling lost in the caves at best.
6059646
Prepare to be disappointed. Cadance is either dead and her body is being modified to have her return as a zombie juggernaut or she isn't dead. She will be back.
"That's X-com, baby." Muttered Shining as he nailed a picture of cadence to the memorial wall before taking a shot and stabbing his knife into the table.
vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/xcom/images/c/cb/XCOM-EU_Memorials.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20121109180231
6059763 To take your argument about how the invaders are so heavily dedicated to sowing chaos...you're quite right.
However, the Elements are not a weapon of mass effect. It appears to me that the girls attempting to utilize them in the open suddenly makes them a much more valuable target than they already are. On top of that, there's another big problem with trying to use the Elements on the invaders that are hitting so many places at once, in addition to the girls making a direct attempt to use them.
Where exactly are they supposed to aim against interplanetary invaders?
What I am really waiting for in this story is for "Celestia"to wake up.Any mention of her practically disappeared after the second chapter except for allusions to her past exploits with the Griffins. Great story so far,keep it up.
Edit:I just saw that there was another story,I have not kept up with the current situation.
You know, I think this is the only fic I've ever read that actually killed off Cadance.
Of course, there's another possibility.
6059827 Who is to say they are? The elements of harmony wiped away Discord's rampant chaos in seconds. Not to mention the tree's power, least in combination with the girls, managed to revive the magic of all of tirek's victims in one go throughout equestria.
Also isn't there something that elements could use against these guys? They have a hive mind, some psychic link, and it is stated that the power is similar to magic. So it could take advantage of this link to strike against all the aliens at once.
Even if the girls could not figure it out, its pretty apparent that the tree has some form of intelligence.
6059646
Or Maybe she is alive... As the Ethereals' newest experiment. Turning Cadence into a weapon, forcing Twilight and Shining to off her for good... that would be a dark twist worthy of X- Com.
6059622 it would actually be worse if she were captured, they have ways of destroying your free will and have no qualms doing it, and using her as a high profile weapon to take out one of the other princesses and shining armor would not be beneath them.
6059715 Similar to the one up above, if she does come back I doubt it would be with her magic and sapience in tact, Actually I believe she would just be another husk(albeit a well maintained one) that the aliens would use as a weapon.
6059720 No the spell was designed to stop her from doing any harm period, when she killed/knocked out the ethereal, I'm thinking a second part of the spell came to light, attacking her psyche and rendering her unconscious. The wonderer needs to come back and heal her or I don't think there will be much of an equestria left.
6059519
Nope.
Beloved character suddenly dies out of nowhere? Check.
Death occurs off-screen? Check.
3 chapters later and still no body is found? Check.
She'll be back. Author will have his cake and eat it: milk all the feels over her "death" and then bring her back.
6059591
Huh, that's an interesting take on it. On first reading I thought that line meant Shining achieved catharsis and that the gift was the crystal heart itself. Having his emotions directly manipulated by an outside force gives an entire new feeling to that scene.
...Can't talk right. Too busy crying.
6059811 Somehow both appropriate and too soon at the same time.
6059910
Never said it was an immediate good outcome. Besides, got to figure out if Tirek gets first dibs on her or not, i.e. power boost for Tirek or X-Ray meatpuppet, and the consequences of that decision.
6059962 moste likely both Tirek get the magic then the aliens get the left overs.
I really, really do home cadence is not truly dead.
Death is only permanent as long as you cant duplicate a body and hence the savepoint of th mind from a sample, snapshot, or reach back through time. the last of which is most complex, and yet is canon.
Oh, the feels.
A wonderful chapter, you can feel the emotions pouring off the ... page? It is made clear once again just how horrible this war is.
The scene with Shining Armor at the very end was very touching and I hope he will be able to function with some degree of normalcy.
However, I am not convinced that Cadence is dead. I have been burned by such situations before. No matter how much implications you give and how sad the mood gets, until I see a body, Cadence is not dead. She might be lost, most likely injured, but she is not dead.
Considering that you mentioned the interference from those crystals in the cave, I strongly believe that she is alive, but unable to reach anyone because of said interference.
6059591 she did what had to be done for Shining...anger clouds the mind. turned inward, it is an unconquerable enemy. the warrior who strikes first in anger is the warrior who falls, who fails in his objectives. she did not take his anger or his hate...she replaced them with love, as is her power. she did not wish for him to be consumed anger and hate, she did not wish for him to become like Sombra. hate...leads only to suffering...
6059914 I'm betting on Brainwashed and Crazy personally
6059914 Perhaps.
I suppose being captured is another possiblity. With
6060180 That indeed. Except it might not be reversible, or at least not easily/safely/in a timely manner, considering the horrors X-Com Aliens routinely commit, she might not really be recoverable.
Could make for a fun reoccurring villain, especially if she has enhanced abilities similar to those shown in the show, (and used for Evil) That is, Mental influence, and power boosting of others. I suppose that alone isn't really impressive, considering that the psionic aliens already do that....
Still something like that might happen.
All right, back from work. There's a lot of comments, but I'll try and address the biggest ones, then have a group response for the smaller ones.
6059591
To revisit my earlier point: the anger that Shining was feeling was the second stage of the grieving process, and it was nearly fratricidal in it's strength. Shining marched into the throne room with every intention of confronting the disguised Chrysalis in broad daylight, then he nearly struck one of his subordinates. Had the aliens attacked and Shining participated in an operation, he might have gotten himself or others killed while trying to pursue his bloodlust. He very nearly walked away from his family because of the anger he was feeling. Can the defense of Equestria hold when one of its top officers is letting his emotions rule him? Probably, but how many lives would it cost before he brought things under control?
6060169 said it very well.
Again, what Cadance did was NOT remove his capacity to feel anger or outrage. She gave him the ability to move on with his grief, rather than wallow in his rage to avoid accepting what happened.
6059763
First things first: This is XCOM (baby). Everyone should be expecting death. For every major character to survive until the end would be a disservice to XCOM. Now, I didn't just arbitrarily pull Cadance's name out of a hat and decided she needed to die. I've said this before and I'll say this again:
I HAVE PLANS. There's a lot of things that has occurred that services those plans. Cadance's fate is one part of those plans.
Regarding your second point: Harmony is all about perspective. If you were to walk into my apartment, you would think that someone had tried to ransack it for valuables. That is your perspective. To me, I know where everything is and the mayhem makes sense to me. That is my perspective. What is harmony for me, isn't harmony for you, and vise versa. What is harmony for Equestria (and the Elements), isn't harmony for the aliens. What is chaos and disharmony for us, is part of a very well-practiced system for the aliens.
Again, perspective is key.
6059784
That would be much sadder. :(
6059785
I felt the need to make a more personal, smaller scale chapter for this. Plot advancement will happen in the next chapter. :)
6059811
6059827
On that note, what effect would they have on the aliens? I imagine for greatest effect they would have to hit one of the Ethereals with it to try and affect the entire network... but who's to say that the Ethereals don't have the same 'partitioning' that Chrysalis developed?
------
Those seem to be the major comments that I see.
6058622
So just call you Big Sky, since you're piloting the Hyperanger?
6059645 You have to admit that manipulating a being's thoughts is ethically questionable at best... Personally, I think I lost a little respect for Cadence, if this was indeed her last act of life. While it is not healthy to dwell upon any one stage of grief, neither is it healthy to skip one either. Ignoring that fact, she essentially mind-raped him, even if it was done for benign reasons. Furthermore, what if it was his desire to join his love in death? To follow her on the journey that is the great beyond that resides after life? To tamper with his mind seems like a great injustice to the stallion. Regardless of the outcome of their search - be it a body, or recovering their princess - I don't think Shining Armor will ever be the same again...no, he will never be the same again.
6060244
That's cool. My only problem with the story is that you just ignored the terrified, wild speculations I made last chapter about how this story's going to end, 5951235
And the fact that you didn't respond makes me very, very scared that I might be right.
6060294
Word of God on the Volunteer is that they survived.
Praise be!
Praise!
So, yea, the explosion had a 99% chance to hit.
6060294
Saying yes would be spoilers. Saying no would be spoilers too... Saying nothing seemed the least of all evils. :S
6059910
I'm pretty sure The Wanderer is Discord. They apparently have very similar body structure (both used endless writhing tentacles to assault their foes), both mention visiting other worlds to see what's up before returning to Equestria, and both had intimate awareness of the spell on Celestia. I'm not sure how the thousand year stoning plays into this version of Discord... (or can't remember)
I'm also pretty sure that the entire spell was simply a block on Celestia's ability to inflict harm. Remember when she did her thing? Discord noticed from another world and freaked out about it apparently being too soon. I think what happened was that Discord planned for her to be released from the spell under different circumstances, but in her desperation she forced her way free. Unfortunately it took so much effort that it burned her clear out, which is why she's in the state she is.
I suspect that when she awakes she'll be our lovable Celestia, but maybe with some lingering personality questions about how far she should go in pursuing the aliens. Laying waste to them all in the most direct way possible might have been fine for Solara, but Celestia isn't Solara anymore.
6060244 Ahh but you did arbitrarilyu kill her off. Plan or no plan, you killed her, because she was a show character, despite her advantages, and using arbitrary things such as pulling tirek outta nowhere and having the aliens somehow block the ponies.
Just because you didn't not pull the idea outta the blue does not make it any more arbitrary.
And this is not xcom. Mlp is not the same animal and it is more than just kid show. The ponies have attributes that gives them edges against the likes of the aliens. There is a far smaller disparity in power between the ponies and the aliens than with the humans and the aliens. Mainly their disadvantage is in the form of not having projectile weaponry asw a norm. But considering they can make spears that are able to pierce straight through alien technology, all they need is some weapons to enchant of a more modern make and they could turn even primitive fire arms like muskets into something devestating.
Not to mention they could easily replicate what the aliens use in order to block the psionics of the enemy i would wager, and be far more creative with how it is implemented.
In other words, the factors that make characters so likely to die in xcom, do not exist HERE. Because there is not as large a power gap and the ponies could rather easily bridge the gap that does exist.
Also what you just said far from disproves my point, and may in fact emphasize it. If the harmony that the elements are different from the harmony of the aliens, it would mean the elements would view that as not harmony anyway. The elements of harmony do not take into account the point of view of the enemy. By all means neither discord nor nightmare moon viewed themselves as evil. It was their Actions that made them vulnerable to the elements. Actions.
Even then, what you just stated does not make it true. By the end of the day it is not the belief that is important, it never has been, but the actions.
If belief would stay the power of the elements, then neither nightmare moon nor discord could be harmed by them. and it just puts your story on very shaky footing if all that keeps the elements from destroying the aliens is a point if view that the elements not only would not share, but would not matter as point of view is always usurped by action.
6060368
The Aliens have order. The Aliens have ethics , Aliens have their version of Harmony between their races.
It's Alien to everything we know and love but from their alien point of view its all perfectly logical and sane.
You want to fire the elements which they don't really understand beyond it being a Harmony rainbow beam? Who's to say it doesn't hit the alien hive mind of super magic users and decide their harmony is bigger and therefore the most common harmony out there and decide to help it along. Get rid of this one small spec of a planet in their galaxy spanning empire to harmonize out the universe?
Discord warned them about that a lot of chapters ago , theirs ins't the only harmony out there as unpalatable as the Aliens version of it is.
Plus you know , story would suck if they could just use the magic maguffins to fix all their problems.
I don't believe for an instant that Cadance is dead and/or that we've seen the last of her. That doesn't necessarily mean that it'll be a happy reunion when we do see her again, though.
Personally, I'm hoping for "fairly untouched prisoner being used to keep Tirek powered up" since that's about the best I can come up with that gives a chance of future rescue with her mind and body relatively intact. Given that this is X-COM, I'm not expecting a happy ending, just desperately hoping for one.
6060429 because their 'harmony' iS KILLING a lot of people and cuasing mass destruction and death, destroying the peace that REAL harmony was creating. not a single soul was forcing anyone to get along with each other. the aliens just destroy and consume any who dare opposes or rejects them. put simply, harmony is not about extremes, just compromise.
so basically points of view do not matter at all in this situation. reality is reality. the elements harmony created a flexible world that could adapt to change and capable of growth, and the order the aliens bring is sterile and lifeless. the antithesis of what the elements of harmony do. worse than chaos.
because never once has the elements of harmony just destroy or sterilized. they purged the evil from luna, which was an infection rather than her choice. with discord they simply froze him in stone, and discord found a place in harmony out of his own will.
the aliens have false order. order means nothing if choice is not involved, as it is easy to follow without will. its the lazy way to do things.
6060368
Perhaps arbitrary was the wrong word. I think 'on a whim' is a better turn of phrase for what I was trying to state.
As for your other points, lebowski does a good job of addressing them.
After my last chapter, didn't you say you weren't going to come here anymore? o_0
6060323 Has the announcement of XCOM's sequel influenced your plans for the rest of this story?