Mechanical Brother of Mine II: The Blazing Beast of the North
Shaking the snow off his body, Franky descended into the cave’s darkness. When the light from outside fully faded, he groped around until his head banged into something hard and metallic. He gave a grunt and then ran a hoof across the barrier.
“The hell? Is this a door?”
He pressed against it and it slowly opened with a deep groan. Franky moved through the gap and into the shielded space. He felt dust swirl up around his hooves and invade his nose. The scent of metal, oil, and wood transported him back to Water 7 for a brief moment. Lights flicked on and dashed away Franky’s memories, replacing them with a world of steel. Even under a veil of dust, spots of workbenches still held a sheen. Sketches layered the room like wallpaper— complex drawings with margins black with notes. Franky honed in on the ones with schematics that resembled guns and other weaponry. Other sketches depicted all manner of pony: winged, horned, or none at all.
Franky shut the door and advanced over to the schematics. His gaze swam around the room, drinking up the pictures, the scattered tools, and the half-finished inventions that littered the workbenches. He came to a stop in front of one particular schematic that depicted a pony with neither wings nor a horn. Sheets of metal ran up its legs and a thick visor covered its eyes. A metallic horn was marked with arrows connecting it to the pony’s forehead while translucent wings framed with silvery cables were diagrammed to its back.
“Well, whaddayaknow? Looks like I found a long lost cousin.” Franky turned his head away from the schematics. “Now if only there was someone actually here.”
He trotted along, passing more blueprints, pausing here and there to study ones that caught his eye. Finally, he came to a full stop in front of a massive button that jutted out of a wall. A horse’s skull with crossbones running through it was emblazoned on the button’s dusty surface. Franky stared at it for a moment before reaching towards it.
“Huh, this a pirate base or something?”
~~~
“Mmmm.” Twilight set her cup down and smiled at Cadence. “I was a little sceptical at first, but quartz tea is quite good.”
Cadence took a sip of her drink. “I felt the same way, but the crystal ponies really know their food well.”
She and Twilight reclined in their seats, each having a bit of their tea and refiling their cups when they ran out. Above, the Crystal Empire’s dome refracted sunlight into dazzling beams that arced across the entire kingdom. Twilight took in the sight and enjoyed the warm breeze that swirled through the streets, passing over the glassy table she and Cadence were sitting at.
“It’s always such a nice day like this,” Cadence sighed. Twilight snapped her head back and frowned a little. Cadence let out a small chuckle. “That’s why I’m glad you could visit.”
“It was the least I could do. Plus, no pony-eating monster worms this time.”
They both laughed at that. Twilight then set her cup down and sat upright, looking straight at Cadence.
“This also ties into some research I’ve been doing.”
“Oh?” Cadence raised an eyebrow. “Anything I could help with?”
“For now, just having access to the empire’s library is enough, but I may need some additional hooves later.” A smile spread across Twilight’s face. “It’s complex, but the basic hypothesis I’ve formed is that the crystal ponies are actually an offshoot of earth ponies from the pre-classical era. I have a rough paper trail going off of Starswirl’s writings, but I’m hoping to find more concrete evidence here.”
“Sounds like you’ve already put quite a plan together.” Cadence tapped a hoof to her chin. “What do you need help with though? I mean, the library is big, but nothing for a study monster like you.”
“Cadence…” Twilight blushed a little. “Books aren’t the only thing I need. Finding archaeological evidence is my primary goal up here. There’s probably a few relics within the Empire itself, but locating migratory routes outside is what I’m really interested in.”
“Outside?” Cadence’s eyes widened a bit. “Twilight, the area past the barrier is incredibly harsh, even without the threat of Sombra. Remember, the Crystal Heart was in place before he came to power.”
“I’m sure a barrier spell and some extra security can handle whatever is out there.”
“I don’t know, Twilight.” Cadence shook her head. “How about you start looking inside the Empire first while I run this by Shining?”
Twilight groaned and flopped onto the table. She opened her mouth to complained, but stopped when the table rattled under her. The teacups fell over and shattered against the ground. Nearby, other patrons of the restaurant had their tables crack and plates shift around. Twilight felt herself vibrate a little as a dull rumble filled her ears. Then, just as suddenly as the quake had started, the shaking stopped and waiters rushed out to replace broken materials.
“What in Equestria was that?” asked Twilight.
“An icequake,” said Cadence. “Another reason I’m not too keen on this exploration idea. They’re not regular or that strong, but they can cause chasms to open up.”
“Cadence…” Twilight raised up a hoof and pointed towards the barrier. “I don’t think that was because of ice.”
Cadence joined the other restaurant guests and the ponies on the streets in staring upwards. Past shimmering blue illusion of a clear sky was a blurry black trail smoke. Whispers filled the air around Twilight and Cadence and both exchanged a quick look before getting out of their seats.
“The Guard will need me at the castle,” said Cadence. She unfurled her wings and took to the air. “Flying is the fastest way.”
“Right.” Twilight spread her wings as well and followed after Cadence.
~~~
“Cadence, Twilight!” Shining Armor called out upon seeing them land on the throne room’s balcony. He rushed over to them, but was blocked by a guard galloping past him. All around the himself, ponies rushed in and out of the throne room. Shining sighed and drew closer before clasping the Cadence and Twilight on the shoulders. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Safe?” Twilight’s forehead creased. “Shining, what’s going on?”
“The entire palace is a mess,” he explained. “I’m trying to get the Guard in order, the rest of the staff are doing their best to stay calm, and we’ve got civilians everywhere panicking. We’re trying to tell them Sombra isn’t back, but the news isn’t spreading fast enough.”
“So what—” Twilight stepped aside to dodge an incoming bureaucrat. “—what exactly happened?”
“We’re still not sure.” Shining turned and beckoned them down a hallway. He spoke as they moved along. “The patrol teams reported no suspicious sightings or irregular magical levels, but then a mountain range exploded. Half of the teams are deaf from the blast and we’ve even got some who went temporarily blind from it. If there barrier hadn’t been here…”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “It just looked smoke from inside the shield.”
“I know.” Shining led them up a stairwell and out onto a balcony. “But if something like that were to happen any closer to the empire, we could be in trouble.”
Shining trotted over to the balcony’s edge and looked out at the empire. Directly below, guards darted across the castle. A platoon of them stood around its walls as a secondary blockade against the waves of civilians clamoring at the gates. Past that, ponies rushed through the streets and into their homes with a few guards sticking out amidst the crowds in their plated mail.
“As soon as we calm the civilians down, I’m going to lead a squad to investigate the explosion’s origin site.”
“Then I’m going as well,” said Twilight. “Who knows what sort of historical significance ha—”
“No.” Shining stomped his hoof to the ground. “Twilight, we have to investigate this as a threat, not some archeological dig. Please, just stay here. If it turns out to be safe, then you can come.”
~~~
Twisted metal and fragmented rock remained where there had once been a mountain. Fires blazed across the swath of destruction, but only the larger ones continued to roar in the midst of the perpetual blizzard of the north. Snow whipped around, smothering the smaller flames while feeding the numerous plumes of thick smoke that rose up into the sky, creating a black veil over the mountain range. The large fires that still raged sent embers and ash into the clouds, turning the snow a sickly grey that fell to the ground and turned into a slurry of broken lab equipment and crushed rock.
Amidst the destruction, a pile of scrap shifted around and fell to the sides as a blackened hoof rose out of it and pushed away more scrap. A loud gasp came from the pile as smoke poured out of the hole the hoof had created.
“Okay,” Franky said from within the pile. “That was definitely not a pirate symbol.”
A bit of snow fell through the hole up above and Franky lifted a hoof to block the entrance.
“Shoot! Now I’m gonna be cold again!” The sound of a shod hoof hitting the ground sent out a metallic clang the was lost to the howling winds and the roaring flames around Franky. The sound reached Franky though and he struck the ground once more.
“Hmm, that sounds hollow. Maybe something survived the blast.” A flurry buffeted the pile, sending a flow of snow down a hole. Franky grinned and advanced over to the hole. “Maybe something warm.”
~~~
The dirtied snow crunched un Shining’s hooves. Behind tinted lens, his eyes scanned over the desolate landscape. The world turned white in the distance, blurring the view of the countless mountains that surrounded the empire. It was all grey around Shining and the small band of guards that trailed by him, all of them looking at the ashen snow and the bits of rock that cropped up out of it.
Unfrozen sections of rock stuck out of the mountain range like blotches on paper. Some spots were just tiny dots in the snow, but others were the size of a stallion. Twisted pieces of iron and steel rested in the center of these large gaps, their mangled forms unnatural amidst the frigid lands. Smoke still hissed off the biggest slabs of metal, mingling into the blizzard’s snow and staining it grey.
More smoke rose up ahead of the group and the faint glow of fire could be seen below that. Shining slowly climbed towards the blaze’s source, he and the guards winding past the metals that littered the mountainside. Cresting the slope, he raised up a hoof, signaling the guards to come to a halt.
The iron and steel scattered behind them was nothing compared to the ravaged sight in front of them. Scrap was piled high in the unnaturally flat gap between mountain peaks. Sizzling fires dotted the destruction, scorching the scrap and what remained of a metallic floor. Shining arced his hoof forward before taking a step closer to the decimated area. The guards followed after him, all of their eyes scanning the area.
“Be at the ready for combat,” Shining said. “Search the area and collect anything that looks suspicious.”
The group split up into pairs of two and fanned out. Shining kept walking forward with his horn now faintly glowing. He kicked away a dented iron beam in front of him. Both he and the guard at his side kept their heads straight out in front of them, but their eyes constantly moved across the destruction.
“Tell me,” he said to the guard, “did Sombra heavily utilize metallurgy?”
“No,” the guard answered, his face twisted with grimace. “He was actually highly against it since he saw it as a way to oppose his magic.” He paused and swiveled his head around the area and tapped a hoof to the steel floor. “Even if he hadn’t, our blacksmiths couldn’t have made something of this size and quality with our raw materials.”
“That’s what’s bothering me.” Shining lifted up a long bar of steel and squinted at it. “This smithing doesn’t match modern Equestrian architecture either. I’m not seeing rust anywhere either, this cou—”
A loud yelp to the Shining’s left forced him to drop the bar. He and the guard galloped at full speed over to where they’d heard the sound. Arriving at it source, they found one guard heaving another out of a smoking hole in the floor. Shining rushed over and helped pull the guard out with one last push of magic. The rescued guard breathed deeply on the ground before collecting himself and standing up with a lowered head.
“Sorry, Captain,” he said. “I couldn’t react before the floor gave way.”
“Darn.” Shining frowned and sent a bright beacon up from his horn and into the air. “I should’ve considered the structural instability. We’ll have to have some pegasi sent up. We can’t use the wing spell with the heat around here. For now, take back what evidence we have. ”
He and the three guards slowly backed away from the hole. Treading cautiously over the ground, the started going back the way they came. As the walked, something clanged behind them. All of their heads shot up and they looked back to see the hole had widened and now a rigid piece of the floor dangled over the gap. Shining shook his head and marched on.
~~~
“Incredible,” Twilight remarked, running a hoof over small slab of steel. “If the damage to the area was really like you described, it’s unbelievable that this metal is in such a state. To melt or deform would be normal, but to break apart like this is like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
“I was worried you’d say that,” Shining sighed. “If it’s not familiar to you, then it’s probably not familiar to anypony.”
Twilight lifted her face away from the evidence that was spread across the table and moved close to Shining Armor. “You have to take me over there.”
Shining furrowed his brow at her. “No, not until we can safely map out the area. Who knows how deep whatever was there goes. We have to wait until we have pegasi that can fully explore it without risk of injury.”
Twilight bowed her head to the ground and turned around. “I’ll write to Celestia on what you’ve found then. I just hope whatever is left up there isn’t completely ruined by the snow.”
~~~
Twilight’s hooves crunched under the snow. It glistened from the light of her horn and the sliver of moon high in the sky. In silence, Twilight snuck across the mountain, her scarf and mane blowing the howling winds. Soon, the smell of burnt metal and ash filled her nose and the snow became soiled and grey. Twilight paused to look over the destruction and shivered.
“Gotta investigate while the evidence is still fresh,” she said before unfurling her wings.
Twilight took a deep breath and jumped up into the air. Hovering just a few inches above the ground, she drifted into the epicenter of the area. She swiveled her head left and right, taking in the piles of scrap, the ashen remains of wooden supports, and the scorched ground that still shimmered in a few spots.
Hmmm, maybe I can get a better idea of what this was if I get a little more altitude. Twilight looked up and flapped her wings a few times. Now a sufficient distance from the ground she could see that the structure’s ground plan at least had worked around the mountain range. Its edges curved around the surrounding rocks, allowing the natural formations to act as a shield against the snow. Its almost like somepony combined diamond dog and dragon architecture with this weird metal.
Something glinted down below, forcing Twilight to blink. Recovering from the glare. she looked down and saw a sheet of scrap wavering over a tiny chasm in the floor. Her eyes widened as a sound rose up from the gap: the bang of a hammer.
Twilight gulped and fluttered down to the ground. When her hooves touched the floor, the hammering came to a halt. With only the wind howling now, Twilight stepped forward, her horn lightly aglow. She stopped a few feet away from the gap and stared at the sheet that partially cover it. Nails haphazardly stuck out of, but the thing that made her eye widened was that corners of the sheet were welded to the rest of the floor.
Something is definitely here she thought. Bending her head close to the hole, she asked, “Hello, is anypony th—”
A sharp crack from below silenced Twilight. Before she could react, the ground shattered and she fell. Her wings shot out, but the left one slammed into the remains of the floor and she went into a spiral. She flapped her right wing in a panic and managed to slow her descent so that she only bumped into the ground rather than slam into it. With a groan, she staggered to her hooves and winced when she tried to bring her wing back to her side. It twitched and stung but refused to fold. Her breath fogged up in front of her as she looked up at the hole in the ceiling.
“Okay, nothing too bad.” Her horn grew brighter. “I can just teleport an—”
“Idiot!” A deep voice roared. “I just fixed the hole!”
Twilight gasped at the sight of glowing blue eyes glaring at her in the darkness. A steel horn poked out into the light, followed by a charred hoof crept out the shadows. It was connected to a leg that looked as if were made of multiple steel tubes latched to one another. The creature it belonged to stepped into the dim glow of Twilight’s magic, revealing a face with the all its teeth and the spherical shape of its eyes showing. The rest, save for a piece of steel that coated what remained of its muzzle, was burned to a black crisp. The monstrosity advanced towards Twilight, its blue hair swaying back and forth like a supernatural flame, but she bent her knees and lit her horn up. A blinding flash filled the area, forcing the creature to stumble and grope at the air. Twilight gritted her teeth and sent out another blast of magic, this time unleashing a wave of lavender aura that threw itself over the creature and wrapped it up. It struggled and caused the spell to shudder, but it managed to hold and the creature gave a dejected sigh.
“Guh, this week is definitely not super.”
“Good. You can talk,” Twilight huffed, sweat running down her face. “This’ll make things easier.”
“Let me go, you stupid pony!” the monster grunted. “Isn’t it bad enough you broke the ceiling? Seriously, I’m freezing my butt off now because of you!”
“Well, maybe I can get you to a warmer location if you answer my questions,” Twilight said with a small grin.
“Fine.” The monster gave a harsh snort. “Don’t think I’ll be much help though.”
Twilight’s grin widened. “Having something living is a real help! Now, first I need to know if you’re dangerous or have any more of whatever you used to blow up the top half of this structure.”
“I don’t know. Look, I didn’t mean to blow it up, especially since it burned off most of my fur. I just wanted someplace warm to stay until this damn blizzard blew over.”
“Wait…” Twilight’s eyes widened and her spell suddenly dissipated. The monster fell the ground and let out a groan. Twilight rushed over and helped it up. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry, I thought you were a monster. I didn’t know you were a pony! It’s a miracle you’re still alive! We need to get you treatment now!”
“Hold it, hold it.” The pony pushed Twilight away and sighed again. “Look, it doesn’t hurt too bad and I’m really getting tired of all this pony business. I just want to get a better look at this lab before I head back to my friends… maybe get some soda along the way.”
“But you… I… your skin is gone for Celestia’s sake!” Twilight shouted.
“About that…” the pony raised a hoof and pointed into the darkness. Far off into it, there was a faint glow. “This place might have some stuff to deal with that, but there’s no food left and not a drop of cola. That cold isn’t helping much either.”
“Hmm…” Twilight tapped at her chin. “Maybe we can work out a deal. You show me around this place and I’ll bring you stuff up here.” She glanced to the side. “Taking you to the empire might have some issues. The ponies are a bit suspicious of shadowy figures that come out of chasms in the earth.”
“Again, lucky me.” The pony turned, shivered, and then walked toward the dim glow. “Well, come on, we can at least get a little warm.”
Twilight followed after him. She watched each step he took, observing the way the metal coils, springs, and pistons moved in place of muscles on his legs, stomach, and back. Even his tail was steel: a bulky angular piece of metal that swayed back and forth along with his step.
“What exactly are you anyway?” Twilight asked. “I said pony earlier, but your body… you look more like a machine.”
“I am.” He turned around and smiled at her. His lack of lips made Twilight shudder. “Name’s Franky. Long story short, I’m what ya get when your body’s mincemeat and all you’ve got are some scrap ships to salvage from. Uhahaha! Was good enough to survive that explosion though!”
Twilight’s face scrunched up and one of her eyes twitched. She shook her head as she passed through a door and into lit room. She blinked under the fluorescent light. Half of the room was filled with workbenches and boxes stuffed with what looked like rolled up sheets of paper. The other half was lined with bookshelves and a tiny fireplace with a massive bearskin rug stretched in front of it. A few comfy looking chairs surrounded the fireplace as well, but the rug made Twilight shiver a little with eyes that seemed to look directly at her. The door closing behind her made her jump a little.
Franky sighed and slumped into one of the chairs. “Little jumpy? I don’t blame ya, there’s some pretty crazy stuff here.”
“What exactly is all this anyway?” Twilight looked around the room again. “It reminds me of a lab, but none of the architecture matches anything I’ve ever seen.” She paused and stared at a blueprint pinned to the wall that depicted a pony’s leg next to a something that also looked like a leg, but the knee was reversed and it ended with some sort of paw rather than a hoof. “It’s like finding a part of history that doesn’t exist.”
“History?” Franky let out a raspy chuckle. “No, no. This is the future.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Future?”
“Yeah, surprise to me too, but hey that’s why secret labs are secret.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I get the feeling telling you all at once will make you think I really am a deranged monster, but the gist is a guy from where I come from carved himself out a nice little research spot where no one could bother him.”
“I don’t like the sound of this. What exactly was this pony building here?”
“You’ve got some good intuition, Miss…”
“Twilight.”
“Right.” Franky pointed a hoof at one of the boxes filled with schematics. “Half of those are weapons neither of us could possibly dream of.”
Twilight gulped. “And the other half?”
“Nothing short of miracles… at least by today’s standards.” Franky shot Twilight another grin. “I’ve seen some technology around this country and the stuff here could revolutionize all of it. Plus, it could help me with my own stuff.”
Twilight bent her head forward a little. “What exactly do you want anyway?”
Franky tilted back and looked up at the ceiling. “Well, at first I just wanted to get back to my friends, but I need to patch myself up now.”
Franky brought his front hooves together and stared down at them. For a moment, the only sound was the crackling of firewood. He sighed deeply and reached into the chair’s folds to produce a crisp newspaper.
“Despite how much distance there is, this place still gets news printed to it. You shoulda seen the stack by the snail.” Franky draped the paper of one of his hooves and held it out to Twilight so that she could see the bipedal creature on the front page. It was practically covered in bandages save for the red vest. Its right claw-like appendage held a straw hat over its chest as if the creature were giving its condolences to something. “This changed everything. This guy here is my captain.”
Twilight’s eye twitched again.
“Okay, so you think I’m crazy. Whatever. Point is, I need to shape up before I meet him again, so I’m gonna stay up here, but it’d be a real help to get some supplies sent up.”
Twilight took a few deep breaths and collected herself before looking back at Franky. “You’re right, I do think you’re crazy. But it sounds like you only want to get back home, so I can allow it on a few conditions.”
Franky leaned forward. “Such as?”
“For one…” Twilight’s horn lit up and the rug floated off the ground and draped itself over Franky, obscuring his burnt visage. “Please keep that on, I can’t focus with you looking like some ghoul out a horror novel. Second, you have to promise me that none of these weapons ever become public. Technology this advanced could tear Equestria apart.”
Franky’s eyes sharpened from underneath the rug. “Deal. I know just how much trouble this stuff could cause in the wrong hands… er, hooves.”
Twilight glanced over to the wall of blueprints again. “Some of it could really help though. This wasn’t exactly the archeological find I was looking for, but i—”
“Twilight!”
The door flew to the room flew off its hinges and went flying towards Franky. He jumped up and dodged it at the last second before tumbling to the ground. In the meantime, Shining Armor burst into the room, his horn radiating with magic. He huffed in between scowling and glared at Twilight as he marched over to her.
“I told you not to go! Thank Equestria Cadence had enough sense to say good night to yo—”
“Gwwwa!” Franky roared.
The edges of the rug had fallen into the fireplace when Franky had dodged the door. The flame now covered entire back of the rug. Franky darted around the room trying to get the burning skin off, but it was entangled on his legs. Shining aimed his horn while Twilight screamed at him to calm down, but he still fired a shot, only for it to miss and start ricocheting off the walls, adding to the pandemonium. Suddenly, Franky darted forward, blinded by the flames threatening to consuming him and rammed straight into Shining.
The two became tangled in a flaming ball of limbs with Franky’s blackened face pressed close to Shining’s so the later got a full view of the horrific damage he had suffered.
“Gah! Someone get some water! I’m on fire! Ahhhh!”
One of Franky’s hoof’s flailed to his right just as Shining was about to fire another shot in defense. It struck Shining square in the muzzle and his body went limp. Franky tumbled off him and burst outside of the room, still ablaze and howling like something straight out of Tartarus. Outside, the small squad of guards Shining had brought with him laid eyes on the monster and immediately fell back, none of them even wishing to get near it. Meanwhile, Twilight went over to Shining’s side while trying her best to put out the flames, all while Franky’s screams filled the air.
The Legend of the Blazing Beast of the North would later become a renowned campfire story throughout Equestria… Luna petitioned to have it banned due to all the nightmares it caused.
♦♦♦
3D2Y
A lone ship sat anchored in one of the many small waterways that crisscrossed between massive striped mangrove trees the rose high into the sky. Bubbles rose up all around the ship, their reflections dancing across its lion masthead and the shiny coating that covered its hull and sails. A woman in a sari dress and long raven hair stepped up to a ledge near the ship and smiled at it.
“Sunny,” said Robin. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
One of Sunny’s door’s creaked open and out stepped a hulking figure. He wore a familiar hawaiian shirt, but it was now at least three times larger to accommodate his orb-like shoulders and square forearms. In place of curvy pompadour, Franky now displayed a shaved head despite retaining predominant sideburns. At the sight of Robin, he grinned and flexed his arms together, forming a star on his combined forearms. The action also lifted up his shirt, revealing twin tattoos a crossed hammer and wrench on both his legs.
“Well,” Franky called out, “our archaeologist extraordinaire, Robin!”
Franky held his pose atop one of the ship’s rails in a moment of silence. A small hand touched him on the side and he turned around to look at the young woman behind her. She barely made it up to his waist in height.
“I think a simple hello could have worked,” she said while scratching at the back of her lavender hair.
“Hmmm,” Robin mused. “Franky, are we going to be getting a new crew member?”
Franky let out a loud round of laughter before giving the girl a pat on the back with his enormous hand. “Quite the opposite! Twilight here might be a rival of ours someday. Ya shoulda seen the ship she and her friends made! Honestly makes me a little jealous they got the hang of shipbuilding so fast.”
Twilight blushed a little. “Applejack is the one who really knows how to build it and Rarity is the only one that could make it look nice. I can only crunch the numbers to make sure everything goes in the right spot.”
“You should give yourself more credit,” said Robin, a smile appearing on her face. “A ship takes all its crew to work right.”
“From the stories I’ve heard, it sounds that way.” Twilight turned and looked up at Franky as her head and back began to glow. “Well, thank you again for the tour. I’m going to go check up on everypony now. It sounds as if things might get a little crazy, so be on guard.”
There was a flash as translucent wings sprouted out of Twilight’s back and she jumped into the air. She waved as she floated up and away from the Sunny while Franky and Robin waved back.
“We’ll see you in the New World someday!” Twilight called out. “Don’t think Rainbow Dash doesn’t want the One Piece! You’d better get a good head start!”
“Ha!” Franky said. “She and the rest of your little crew just try to keep up with the new and improved Sunny!”
To the New World!
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So, what's the name of Twilights crew? The Harmonic Pirates? Elaborate, man! If you don't mind, that is.
Sorry for the confusion. Was that last bit a time skip over a large period, or was it the human versions from EQD, instead of the pony versions from Equestria?
Hope tiredness is something minor, such as short sleep, lack f sleep, or reaction to a particular food stuff you can avoid in the future.
Fun as it might be, I could never see the ponies actually joining up with the Straw Hats. Still a nice thought to entertain though.
Nice!
4286525 The Elements of Piracy.
I loved that part of the separation
Franky was so hilarious with his flaming rug and scaring all those guards.
The narrative was par for the course
This is one of the few stories where I am shocked it has as many dislikes as it does.
It's a rare instance in which a fanfic crossover actually bothers to make a very strong, concerted effort to fundamentally tie the two worlds together such that both exist in a sensible relationship to one another.
One of the others I hold to this regard is "Your Summons is Pink", which I wish the writer would just quit his job and school and family and whatever other useless things he's doing (such as eating and sleeping and bathing) which take time away from writing that story to entertain me with the fascinating notion that the ponies are one of the summons beast clans. (Alondro has many writing slaves like that at his giant mansion which he bought with all the money he earned from investing in Hasbro stock)
In any case, this story should have thousands of likes, as it is well-constructed, develops the characters and keeps them from acting in stark contrast to their core personalities (remember writers, a person will always attempt to remain true to who they have always been, even if that person is a conniving thief. Familiarity is a very strong force in mental attitudes), and even has the strength of altering the canon when and where it makes sense that the canon would have to begin changing due to the convergence of these two 'worlds' and the interference by so many new characters.
The pacing is strong, the dialog is often witty, and the action is creative and makes some very clever character substitutions in places where they fit so very naturally into alternate roles.
It's a really great story. The only thing lacking (as is the case with almost all fanfiction of any genre) is that readers must already be rather familiar with both series... but not as much as some. There is enough 'introductory' material to glean a sense of who everyone is and what they're all about, but it does take a little time and in the first few chapters a series-naive reader would be confused about some events and characters. But that's the only flaw I've noticed, and as I said it's the literary flaw common to almost all fanfics.
4286762
Ah, okay. That makes sense. And it's a pun, too. One that the pun master Chuggaaconroy would consider decent.
4287356 I used to be confused as hell when I first started reading this. I had watched maybe up to the Arlong arc at most when this story first started. However, this story was what caused me to start watching more One Piece. Now I'm fully caught up with everything that's happened so far, and this story is made so much more enjoyable because of it.
OK, this is why I like you.
4287797 Oh?
Oh! I hadn't noticed! But, oh, you're right! Oh my.
4287356 Y'know, I have to say I never really got into Your Summon Is Pink. Friendship Contract is the one I got into, and with Aku and Yurehime as my witnesses, it is my second(ish) favorite crossover I've ever read, with the first not even dealing with MLP. (The first is a Doctor Who/Sherlock Holmes crossover.)
It completely and utterly DESTROYS the Naruto timeline, because he and Sasuke become friends early on, and while a lot of the bigger events do happen, most of the more tragic parts are completely ruined because the ninjas are better prepared, not to mention they have the fuckin' Sun and Moon Goddesses to call upon. (Solar Flare and Meteor Swarm, anypony?
)
4288167 4287640 4287356 4287101
This is still my favorite MLP/One Piece crossover fic on this site.
4289603 To be honest, I think the Sasuke 'tragedy' was overblown with emo.
I mean, SRSLY, so his whole family was killed by his brother who was sent by the Kage and then joined a weird pedo snake guy who touched him in bad places and stuff.
Walk it off!
4291457
I have dreaded the day Naruto would worm its way into my slice of fimfiction.
Besides, we have a perfectly good brooding character with a dark past (and hair) that doesn't have some predestined crap going on.
fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/076/1/5/sketch___law_pony_by_puppet_rhymes-d4t3ivb.png
4289603 Yeah, but the author hasn't updated it since July of like... 2012 I believe.
4291599 Aye, true that. I think it's mostly because he so completely and utterly ruined Naruto's plot line that he ran out of ideas for new chapters. Either that, or real life finally caught up to him.
4291596 Yeah... Naruto's not as great as OP, but it was my gateway anime. Not to mention that the fic I'm talking about is so much pony that the Naruto that does come through isn't a retard, even if he is still boastful, and he's more careful, more world-weary, and just a bit wiser than "normal." So, all in all, it's less Naruto, more Young, Mature Blonde Ninja who likes the color Orange.
4291457 I agree. Sasuke's angsty crap annoyed the crap outta me. I mean, oh my god, either prove yourself to be an Antihero, or just show off your powers as a villain. No, goddamit, stop just sitting there like a bitch! Bad Sasuke!
4291596
Here something from the MLP:FIM comics.:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/4/9/596408__safe_twilight+sparkle_princess+twilight_shining+armor_idw_king+sombra_spoiler-colon-comic_robot_steampunk_gears.png
4296508
Gear third
Also it's the paramount war arc- he had a diiferent colored shirt on throughout
4291599 Actually, it updated twice in 2013, and again this January. It's up to chapter 4.
I'd rather the author take his time to craft a good tale than hastily throw out a pile of crap... like so many other fanfics... like the overwhelming majority of fanfics...
Some people have time to write for long periods, some have a great deal of work and/or need longer to get the ideas and narrative worked out to their satisfaction.
I have both those problems... which is why I haven't gotten very far on anything.
4297007 Wait, wait , wait... you're telling me he HAS updated? Then why the fuck haven't I seen it in my unread favorites list?
I found the Episode of Merry fansubbed by Hatsuyuki Fansubs. You can find it here. Thought you ought to know. *faints*
Good stuff but I really wish the Set Drift shorts were posted to a seperate story.
I'm gonna hold off on this one until I watch more One Piece so I'll understand more of what's going on inside the story.
-bathroomstahl
This was a fun chapter, if it once again focused on recapping the manga chapter again. MAinly because, for the first tmie in a while, Twiligh is in character!!!
If this chapter was a Set Adrift chapter, then why is Set Adrift not in the chapter name?
I wasted my time reading it thinking it was part of the plot!