6414387 And if you were paying attnetion, as you obviousyl weren't, there was a divided opinion amongst her company. STeelhooves only admonished it because it should have been surgical and clean. Calamity however was more sympathetic to them as the wasteland is a desperate place and he has a great disdain for those who go around killing innocent folk.
One judged that she acted harshly, the other was confused over her actions but trusted that she acted with her heart.

Littlepip mourned her actions because she did it purely out of rage and horror. she questioned whether she had the right to be judge and executioner. It caused her to question ever single decision she has made so far, every single life she took, and whether or not she had the right to judge those who she would inevitably face later on.

its as calamity said. littlepip had a good heart. a heart that fought against the wasteland, literally and metaphorically. and guilt was how it made sure that it would not be completely hardened. it would inevitably scar her, but it would not claim her, like it claimed so many ponies before.

Blackjack is kinda parallel but also an exagerration of littlepip, in every way. Though i credit compleltly that she was written as more vulnerable than littlepip because of it.

D:
Wow, what a twist that was, jeeebus cripes D'x Its all coming together slowly~ I am loving it! Awesome job on this chapter.
There is a lot of twists and turns in this story isn't there? Shit... Feelings, why u do dis?

Man I love this universe, so much weirdness and awesome sauce Its amazing.
Good job on Kkat for making it, and for you for writing this, keep it up!

it’d been a week since anything had gotten betwixt my nethers.

I remember no such thing being mentioned. She has had to be in the Wasteland longer than 1 week.

Poor Jetstream, I get the feeling Macintosh's Marauders are going to be the sad past like the 6 Ministry Mares were in FO:E. Now to see if Glory is a bitch or not.

6415660 I didn't get a notification when you replied. That's annoying.

Still, I stand by my point of view. I understand Littlepip's perspective on the matter, and it was an admirable way to stand defiant against the callous reality that the Wasteland makes monsters of everyone, but the fact still remains that it wasn't a big deal but she whined on about it until the end of the damned book.

Sure, nobody can truly judge whether anybody deserves to die, but I don't think anybody can really blame her for what she did. I mean, she had already done a ton of their dirty work, killing off the "bandits" and attacking a relatively non-hostile Steel Ranger base to give them clean water, when she discovered not only were they liars abusing her trust, but they were also a bunch of cannibals, the kind who ate their own families, and those "bandits" she had killed on their behalf were former residents who couldn't stand for the atrocities they comitted. And if that wasn't all, they made a cannibal of her as well, feeding her an innocent traveler, passing it off as "radigator". Anybody would lose their shit at that.

And yet, she went on and on about what a monster she was, spouting "corrupted kindness" and drowning the narrative in her own tears. Sure, it's nice that she's big-hearted and would never let the wasteland claim her and all that, but I honestly couldn't give a damn that she slaughtered a load of heartless murderers, and I wished that she would shut up about it.

6423395 I think you might have missed the greater point. Littlepip's virtue is sacrifice what she sacrificed at Arfu was her ignorant naivete. Though she had been trying to come to grips with the wasteland up until that point and learn as much about this new place as she could, she blinded herself to the real truth. The fact that there is no escaping the wasteland. It takes and takes, until there is nothing left, leaving you with two options; perform evil and survive, or don't. In the end, the wasteland ultimately did claim Littlepip...in the most unorthodox sort of way. She gave her very existence to end the wasteland.

Coming back full circle, think about it from this perspective... How do you deal with the fact that your virtue is the one thing you must do to stay true to yourself, in order not to lose yourself...but your virtue is to give everything of yourself? Of course she cried, she saw the writing on the wall. That scene with the mirrors was a warning. She would either make the ultimate sacrifice, or she would lose herself. Do you know the difference between a hero and a villain? The hero's ordeal ended before they could lose themselves...

Follow your hero long enough and you'll trip over their corpse.

Achievement Unlocked!

What a Twist!

Found a friend.

For all that I have to roll my eyes at the themed villains, Virgo was amazing and I can't wait to see her again. :D Also, finding I like Sekashi, so of course she's not sticking around. :B

6432611 Lil' Pip didn't give her existence, only her life and body. Giving one's existence means giving more than just one's life : it is giving everything with the knowledge that noone will ever know what you did ....

Having noone remember you is a worse fate than even having someone hate you.

I just love SS&E's Background Pony way too much ....

7362945 I can tell, especially since you are nitpicking semantics. The point stands, call it existence, call it life, call it whatever pleases you...Littlepip knew the choice that she was presented with and chose to give of herself, knowing that she was giving up (damn near) everything.

Last Chapter I decided one more... and again I face the same dilemma. Do I read on, or get back to what I was doing before?

As a side note to my own... issues. Virgo was a great character that I can't wait to see again. Morning Glory appearing antagonistic, at first glance, that is going to lead to an interesting next Chapter. My reasoning for thinking the first glance part is do, largely, because of Blackjack's character. Shoot first, ask later, even if she is working on changing that. Taking her weapons and binding her with duct tape, seems like a rational choice to make, although I could be wrong.

I... guess... it won't hurt to go one more Chapter in.

welp. it seems like Morning Glory found you BlackJack. also i would like to make this connection right now to Fo:E and this. so far i have found that Morning Glory is both the Calamity and Remedy of this story thus far, cuz of the fact she is the Medic but also is/was a member, to an extent, of the Enclave. Remedy was the Medic and Calamity the, at one point, Enclave person in Fo:E. BlackJack is like... Little Pip kinda. both were from a stable and have been trying to do the right thing from the start. as for P-21... i dont know yet with him.

There has to be a explanation for this. And what is with all the itchy mane?

No, brave pony. I am not a fighter, or scholar, or healer. I am a teller of stories.

She had learned many stories throughout her life. Some mundane and some extraordinary. But that is a story for another day

For some reason, I just can't help but laugh at BJ's misfortune with the Enclave and that orb.

Though I'm starting to price together quite the story now.
Macintosh and Maripony.
stonewing and Jet stream.

I wonder when we will see who Vanity loved?

But first,the big question: What in all the holy fucks is going on up here!
Did Glory betray Blackjack? Or is this a good thing, and now it's time to make allies in high places?

“A he is he? Perhaps you would better suited to make him smile, then? A foal I have already.”

you would be better suited

If you try get close enough to deactivate one, the others will get you.

If you try to get close enough to deactivate one, the others will get you.

You see either of them?”

You seen either of them?” (Blackjack is asking where her friends are, not if they are within eyesight)

The audio tapes from P-21 are awkward to read. There is no doubt P-21 was P-1 in the first audio recording, as even the text says so during the flashback scene and the recordings are from him. So P-21 was raped due to an unwillingness to have sex. And Blackjack thought all males want and like having sex all the time, any time, with any mare. Who would've thought that is not the case? True double standards. And some further character development for Blackjack and her past in Stable 99.

Virgo Zodiac's introduction was pretty amusing, she let her pride in her family name get the better of her and explain how the trap works to the one she wants to capture. That backstory with Jetstream and Stonewing is just sad. Wingponies broken apart, reminds me of this sad song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YnOs88X4is

Also that twist at the end, but does Glory know about Blackjack's little raid with casualties on the air base? Sure it was self defense, but surely Glory can't be happy knowing if Blackjack killed some Enclave soldiers to explore further. Leave it to her to trap Blackjack, just place a shiny memory orb at the top of the base's tower. That'll work.

I like how Blackjack actually uses speech to avoid conflicts, just like what you can do in the games.

“Better wiped than striped!”, “Die you zebra commie!”, “For the herd of the free and the home of the hay!” the robots shouted as they all advanced in unison. Pink bolts of disintegration energy lanced out from their spider legs.

Olay I had to stop reading, this just....what xD? I get it, patriotic propaganda. But, first if the Zebras have a Ceasar. Also have an empire and seem to follow the Roman model....how are they still communists? That's just inconsistent.

Second herd of the free? Yeah sure that's cool. Land of the hay? What? What was that, propagand, or an ad for hayburgers xD? Like jesus, I love world building. But the world you build is kinda inconsistent at times. Like the whole Celestia Proetecs Luna Defends? That's incredibly redundant. Wouldn't Celestia provides Luna defends make better sense? Seeing as Luna took over governing she would be a defender of her people.

I'm liking the story so far, I'm glad I finally decided to tackle it. I like Blackjack well enough, and her somewhat mary sue tendencies of having weapons that kill others not kill her aside. Shes quite fun to see interact with others. I just take issue with the world building. Aside from that, I can't wait to read more. Also I hope to see more of Lancer, his edginess is so delicious. Not to mention his loyalty to the Legion. That's pretty cool. And hope its expanded on in the story. Like I said world build it whore right here.

But that's it, just wanted to get this grievances out. Sweet story :D.

“Actually, I told them to put it there,” a familiar mare said as the door opened. In stepped Morning Glory, wearing a freshly-laundered black uniform. Her lips smiled warmly. “Hello, Blackjack. Welcome to the Enclave.”

derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/6/6/1750845.png

Glory your an idiot. Did she not realize that the soldiers would shoot her on sight and inevitably get slaughtered.

I try to talk each and every pony out of it. Try to convince them to choose to live. I tell them that they’ll have a home in Chapel if they want, or I’ll help them get to Stockyard or Gutterville. But the choice to live has to be theirs. Otherwise, I am no different than the Wasteland.

I’ve so many conflicted feeling about thi scene. Still I can’t be mad at Priest. God knows how many suicidal ponies pass through Chapel every month. And he tries to help each of them. Tries to convince them that suicide is not the answer that they have something to live for. And sometimes, despite his best efforts, he fails. I bet he’s haunted by the faces of every single one he couldn’t save. I think he need a lot of hugs.

That said, I can at least understand why the pony who was infected with the Raider disease decided to kill herself. Slowly (or not so slowly) having your brain rot away while you turn into a mad pony who attacks and kills other is a horrible fate. And there’s no cure. So I can absolutely understand that one would rather die than becoming a danger to everypony around you.

I also was wondering why Ponies would walk all the way to Chapel just to commit suicide by lasers. But in RL we – sadly- also have places who are infamous for attracting suicidal people. That one forest in Japan comes to mind.

My only rule is that children must go last. The Crusaders exist for that reason: to give them a family to live with once their own is gone. But yes, some make the final walk too. And Celestia damn me, I let them.

So the Crusaders are the children of ponies who committed suicide. Wow, that’s depressing.

I doubted that the particulars of a two-hundred-year-old shooting at a museum would still be important.

The story has just spend several sentences of Blackjack speculating about it. You bet it’s going to important and that whatever they’ve stolen will show up in the story eventually.

Your friend seemed to know him. They talked. They argued. I could only see the brown one’s words.

Again, this should’ve happened way back in Chapter 2. Plotwise I understand that it didn't happen back then, but logically it makes no sense that they didn't try to question U-21 in the farm house.

The brown one used a spell, tying your blue friend head to hoof in straps and rope.

Good to see that P-21 did just switch sides, even if U-21 arguments got to him.

Then, from the sky came more pegasi. The fight was brutal, terrible, and fierce. I did not see how we could prevail.

The Enclave just happened to arrive during the ambush of the Bounty Hunters to take Glory? Something tells me that’s not a coincidences.

“Well… they just don’t. They don’t want to refuse.” Why didn’t she get that? It was simple. It was just the way things were; there was nothing to think about. Males wanted sex because it felt good. It was what they were for. How they were wired.

Stable 99 rears its ugly head again. Blackjack has spent some time with P-21 and they went through a lot together. She knows that he’s pony who has his own dreams and hopes. Yet she still can’t wrap her head around the idea that he may not have wanted to have sex with any mares.

Anypony that tore other ponies to pieces wasn’t exactly what I’d call an ally. The idea of anypony who could even do that didn’t sit well with me. Still, at the moment I had other problems that sent me ducking down.

Seems at least a tad bit hypocritical considering what happened to the Bounty Hunters in the museum.

I have you now, Security! You have fallen into the brilliant trap of Virgo Zodiac, seventh daughter of the Zodiac family!” I looked at the five bound ponies and then out into the glare of the floodlights. “Your capture will earn me an impressive fortune for my research. Surrender in the name of arcane science!”

When just went from suicidal ponies killing themselves in front of Blackjack to a Team Rocket villain. Talk about mood swings.

Come to think of it, there weren’t many goofy scenes so far. We had drunken Blackjack fighting Deus and Drunken Blackjack fighting in the museum – although the later one was equally scary and amusing. A Team Rocket type villain showing up after 12 chapters of murder and misery feels a bit out of place here.

I’m trying to unlock the secrets of PipBuck manufacturing! They truly are a marvel of ancient magical technology.

That’s actually a very reasonable goal for a crazy scientist. Pipbuck are extremely useful. Besides I really want to know the heck E.F.S. knows who’s friendly and who’s hostile.

Within a second the entire minefield had detonated in a ring of shrapnel destruction, the sentry bots lying in sparking heaps. The floodlights fell over, their magical bulbs breaking and cutting off the harsh glare.

Death trap destroyed in less than five minutes. Blackjack may not be very smart, but she’s great when she has to come up with plans on the spot while under pressure.

“So, are we gonna jump her now? She’s getting away,” one of the stallions asked dully just as I left earshot. The sound of hooves against his butt was answer enough.

At least there’s some gratitude out there.

“Look! Here’s the plan. You’re going to make me feel good. That’s your job. If you can’t do that, then get to medical and have them fix you till you can.” I gave a little annoyed sigh. “You don’t actually do anything here except breed, so the least you should do is be happy about it--”

Blackjack is a rapist.

Yes, that was pretty obvious from the get go when the story explained how Stable 99 worked. But there’s a difference between acknowledging it and actually showing us what exactly Blackjack did to P-21. Sure Stable 99 being Stable 99 was one of the reasons why Blackjack never questioned what she did. But the fact that she was indifferent to the sobbing stallion who clearly didn’t want to have sex is still pretty fucked up.

Having a main character be a rapist, is probably the most surefire way to make the audience lose sympathy for him or her. The story could’ve played it safe and come with a bunch reason why Blackjack never had sex with any stallions in Stable 99. Instead the story did the opposite.

Yet people still like Blackjack. Probably because she has a moral compass and when the realization finally hit her she’s terrified about what she did to P-21.

Her reaction makes it clear that she regret everything and wished it never happend.

I looked at the remaining two files, feeling nauseous. There was no time to waste. There was no way I was going to be sleeping now. Or doing what I’d been about to do. Or taking the time to listen to… more…

I’ve also seen people criticizing an infamous rape scene in a later chapter. Especially the aftermath of it and how it downplayed the horrifying aspects of rape. Not sure whether or not I’ll come to same conclusion if and when I reach that chapter.

However, at least with P-21 I feel the subject of rape was take serious. Throughout the last chapters we’ve seen how much of an impact all the abuse had on him. Most notably him actually trying to shoot Blackjack once and later literally begging her not to give him a gun because he may actually snap and kill her. It’s made pretty clear that it’s not something he simply got over.

I popped off the first burst, the second, and the third. As the last three rounds tore into the pegasus’s limb, I watched it fall off! The pegasus swayed wildly, blood raining in spurts from the severed stump, and then started back toward the main building. They didn’t get far before folding and crashing with a definite crunching noise a few dozen feet away. Necks were not supposed to bend like that.

Well fuck… That could’ve gone better.

“Actually, I told them to put it there,” a familiar mare said as the door opened. In stepped Morning Glory, wearing a freshly-laundered black uniform. Her lips smiled warmly. “Hello, Blackjack. Welcome to the Enclave.”

Blackjack killed at least two of them. This is going to be a pretty awkward conversation.

Blackjack’s On-screen Body Count: 94

“Actually, I told them to put it there,” a familiar mare said as the door opened. In stepped Morning Glory, wearing a freshly-laundered black uniform. Her lips smiled warmly. “Hello, Blackjack. Welcome to the Enclave.”

I'm definitely suspicious of her now

Whattttt? I mean of course it would be Glory who would pull that kind of trick but what a cliffhanger

he wasnt lost. He was taken by the same scum that started the war. The same scum that kept the war going. The same scum that got Doof.

9130388
Fun fact, the same strategy might also provide itself useful/true on real life cenarios

it’d been a week since anything had gotten betwixt my nethers.

Someone's a Firefly/Serenity fan I see lol

Great story, this is the first fallout story I've read and man there is just really no real "good guys" in the universe (I know of the overview of the fallout universe but never played the games)