Psalm is best penitent pony.

When I came to, we were on an elevator that opened up at a construction site near the university.

How freaking deep did they have to be for the university to be safe from the enervation?

not something that happened in the Core… there must be some other source of Enervation.

I am leaning towards the magical cable monster that has a strong fetish for EC-1101.

Even with three VC soldiers, we couldn’t fight them.

VC?

Four little ponies in my head joined in as the Dealer sulked in the back of my mind.

Who are these four little ponies? Four ponies. Fourpony... hmmmmm.

“Or a piece of her. The garbage that doesn’t matter,”

Well this is depressing. Poor Twilight, why can't I read happy stories?! Though will a piece of Twilight learn that she had a child and got to meet her great grandchild to the something power?

The green unicorn twins’ shameful incestuous relationship because neither could love another as much as they loved each other.

Gestalt and Mosaic?

Now we get to meet the mysterious benefactor that doesn't mind repairing Blackjack.

Edit: Awwww, motherfucker. Another chapter! SHIT! And I need to do things. Later mysterious zebra/pony chapter, later tonight.
6482090
I like you, you seem chill.

Well there's one nightmare realized that I feared. I hope Glory will be OK. Blackjack carries on not worried about her own condition as priority. Oh shit, it's the Zodiacs again.

Shit, I knew BJ was a tough badass, but this is a whole nother level of insane, badass and crazy...
I approve of this.

LONG CHAPTER IS LONG!
Awesome work well done, man oh man, I don't know what to say to this chapter other then it was awesome.
BJ don't know when ta quit, shit.

Nice work

“You know, a rare few might get exposed to taint and get some decent benefit from it like regeneration or the like. But most, like you, just die."

This always kinda annoyed me about the original FO:E. You've been contaminated by Taint, the mysterious and horrific toxic substance which permanently corrupts all it touches. The monstrous abominations that inhabited the Old Olney medical center? The disgusting bloatsprites that fester in filth? That will be your fate, as is the fate of all corrupted by taint. It's damage will never be undone. But that's OK, because it gave you regenerative limbs and all sorts of super helpful perks! Woohoo, you've got superpowers!

Meanwhile, Blackjack gets cancer and her bones are liquefying. She has at best, a few months to live. Like everybody else who gets tainted. I mean, nobody got a free pass from F.E.V. in Fallout. The only person who came close was Harold, and even he turned into a weird hideous mutant thing. Before becoming a tree. Yeah, Littlepip's positive Taint reaction irks me.

6482316
VC in this instance stands for Volunteer Corps. Took me a minute to figure it out too.

And your screen name aside, just in case you aren't being sarcastic or something, the four (At this point in time) ponies in her head are equal to the number of statuettes she has collected.

Somber, about halfway through this chapter, you lose your space between paragraphs formatting. Just thought you might want to know.

"Wooga wooga wooga!" Imma be honest... I giggled.
Another excellent chapter of laughs and feels!

“The brain’s an organ, and your organs are fucked. I’m having trouble finding biological systems that aren’t compromised on some level. Muscles. Epidermis. Looks like your reproductive bits got lucky. That’s about it, though,”

I laughed more then once this chapter.
T

AWE YEAH!!! Finally i get to meat Cancer!

with the Princess doubling her fun.

oh and long chapter is LLLLOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNGGG!

Rubber legs are, I assume, why she needs to replace them later. (I think this may not actually be the case, but nobody spoil it for me, I am really looking forward to getting to that part.)

So I was totally right about Scotch Tape (who really grew on me in this chapter). But I'm stumped: how did Blackjack figure it out? How did P-21 know for sure? Okay, I guess I can figure out the second part, but not the first. (Also, god, if he's even figuratively twice her age, how old was he when she was conceived? c.c) I figured it out via circumstance and narrative convenience; I don't think BJ has that luxury.

And finally Lacunae's backstory is revealed. :D I like her a lot more now. She's a very creative use of the whole Goddess-Unity thing. And still way better than Starlight. I need to stop picking on Starlight so much. :(

Admittedly, aside from the two big reveals and the promise of seeing Dr. Zodiac, this chapter felt like a lot of filler, that giant frog fight especially. It was nice to see Wind Whisper again, though, and I definitely like Lightning Dancer. I hope she sticks around in the future. The stuff about Glory's mom was pretty neat, too. Okay but I draw the line at dream sex with Trixie

6793827 Thanks, happy to help. FYI, would it matter if Iif you're interested, I updated 6792503 to cover the rest of the publication history.

6798870

I was very pleased with the way Lacunae was written; she's got tons of magical power, but she's not immortal and, best of all, her ammo is finite. :B I REALLY HOPE SHE ISN'T VINYL SCRATCH

(Also >> the ch 27 comment.) She really grew on me over time, too, becoming something of a personal favorite. But okay, I'll bite: yes, for at least a couple of reasons, it'd probably be pretty bad if she were Vinyl (among others, didn't she die in the stable that killed off all its residents because of the broken water talisman?), but what gave you the idea she might be? I'm afraid I don't remember all the details of this area that well.

P-21 and Priest. Unexpected. <.< I'm super-happy for him, but I can't help thinking it's just going to end up with him getting hurt. I mean, if nothing else, dating Rampage's ex can't be healthy. :V

There's also pattern recognition. :D What doesn't end up with people getting hurt? :V

6806350 Well, I think there are a couple things that got Blackjack there. Duct's attachment to and desire for a monogamous family with him is a big part (I think there might also have been something about him being the only stallion she used in her turns on the breeding queue), but there's also something about Blackjack herself: she's pretty self-centered. (I'm not saying she's really selfish, because I strongly think that on the whole she's the opposite, but she tends to see herself as the center of everything. There's a reason that "it's not all about you, Blackjack" and its variants come up repeatedly.) An extension of this is that I think she applies a similar perspective to her close friends and loved ones, and in that case, it strengthens her impression from the audio-logs and so forth.

On the ages, remember the Stable 99 mantra: don't think about it. However, I'd say contra 6806391 that the impression I had is that in general, Stable 99 mares tended to reproduce at a later age than the stallions, since they would only do so after the death of their mother.

Okay but I draw the line at dream sex with Trixie

So, holding out for waking-world sex with Trixie instead? :V

6806487
I am super-impressed by your OCD. :D Thank you, it shall not go unappreciated!

I forget what happened to Vinyl in canon. What led me to think she became Lacunae was her was just the note about her being the best musicker out of the four who were playing at Chapel. It was less an "oh this is what that means" and more "it'd be stupid but I've seen it before".

I guess I was just underestimating Blackjack, which one should never do. :B P-21 being Duct's only stud makes a lot of sense, actually. And I think it about it a lot, thank you very much. :V Someone's gotta.

So, holding out for waking-world sex with Trixie instead? :V

Asleep, awake or unawares, Blackjack gets all the mares. :(

I glanced at their equipment.

“I thought they called it power armor. Not pussy armor,” I replied.

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img06.deviantart.net/143c/i/2012/010/2/2/rubber_hooves_brigade_by_mistermech-d4lyj8q.jpg

PSALM. YES! My guesses were correct

The purple mare rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Sure! It’ll probably be fun!”

Calling it now Maripony is a disguised twilight sparkle who had Big Macs foal given to...spacepony mare... Who then gave her up to get into the vault making BJ Twilights decendant! HA it only took very clear evidence but i did a smart!

Something leads me to believe sanguine is either golden blood or the product of his actions, in a direct sense instead of indirect

Dunno if it's been said already in the comments, but I thought I'd point out that this chapter isn't formatted like the others, Somber. You never realize how much you love double-spaced paragraphs until it's suddenly gone. The rest of this chapter though... hoooboy, that was good. It was really cool to get a look in Lacunae's head like that, and subsequently get to see some of Blackjack's inner turmoil as well. But now the plot shall thicken once more. Zodiacs ahoy!

~SolidFire

i was wondering when the Zodiacs would be making a return.

what is with all of this homosexual porn and i still don't understand how long a memory orb is suppose to last

7911376
Well, when you have a bisexual viewpoint character in a homosexual romantic relationship, that'll make any porn there is more likely to be homosexual.

Also, isn't that what this site is for?

Five minutes later, we continued on our way. “I’ll kill you! We will have our revenge. I swear, I’ll get you for this if it’s the last thing I’ll do!” It’d taken two rolls of duct tape, a broom handle, a plunger, and a half dozen tubes of Wonderglue, but I doubted that she’d be getting her revenge any time soon.

can someone please draw this

I thought they called it power armor. Not pussy armor,

I've seen this girl suffer just about everything short of being eaten alive...and still, she persists.

I could just start calling her the element of tenacity instead of mercy now, right?

But then there is another thing...is The Dealer really part of her psychology?
The things that guy does...not to mention the quotes:"I need you", don't exactly belong in her head. You know?

Its like saying "I need me" okay?

So weird. But at least she is still alive...for now.

And with more then half this story to go, I know that ain't ending anytime soon.

The filly didn’t look up from her bottle. “Hey. Rubber hoof brigade, coming through,” I said as I waggled my limp limb at her. “Wooga wooga wooga.”

I woulda died laughing if one of my friends greeted me like that. I don't care if it's the result of mutation, that craps funny.

Blackjack is the goofy older sibling who just wants to keep you safe. Good girl, many brownie points for taking care of Scotch like that.

“Famous. Last. Words,” Vanity replied, smiling indulgently at the ladies and making Twist pout a little. The handsome stallion wore a pristine white dress uniform. “If your night is pleasant, then consider yourself fortunate. The Gala has a well-deserved reputation for driving mares to drink.”

one of my favorite stories is "anything but the Gala", where Celestia keeps trying to get Luna to host the Gala in her place. it's actually told from Luna's viewpoint!

endopsychoillusory what? *googles it* BAHAHAHA!!!! google finds it in the chapter.

How are there any bullets left in the wasteland, or at least how are they not super rare and expensive. Assuming all bullet production has ceased since all the factories were destroyed (and assuming that somehow no bullets degrade to worthlessness over 200 years) there is no way they’d be enough bullets left after all this time for people to just spray with wild abandon.

Assuming that there are 5 million ponies left in the wasteland (which seems reasonable to me) and assuming that on average one bullet is fired per pony per day (there would be some like BJ who fire dozens or even hundreds of shots per day, and those like priest who probably hasn’t fired a shot in years, maybe even decades) that would mean 5 million bullets are fired per day. So over the course of 200 years, that’s 365 billion bullets in total. I doubt there were that many bullets in equestria when the bombs fell, and that’s just assuming none of the bullets fell apart with their old age. I doubt any bullet would survive being out in the rain for 200 years, or not having any rust after 200 years. It just doesn’t seem right.

8906930
In an upcoming chapter (like 4 I think) they meet a character who explains exactly that.

Well, that was a doozy of a chapter.

And Twilight was hiding something from Big Mac.

And I'm pretty sure what it was.

Time to RAFO, I guess.

I have no shame in admitting that I cried a little in this chapter.

31,452 words? It’s even longer than the last one. Sweet Celestia, now I’m intimidated!

Still, I lived. I didn’t deserve to die. That was for better ponies… like my friends.

i.ibb.co/Rbn2Kdg/neverending-circle3.png

“Is this Hell?” I whispered.
“If so, does that make me the devil?” he asked in return.

Hell and devil doesn't really fit into this setting. And yes, I know that one of Littlepip’s titles included the word Hell and that there are Hellhounds in the original.

A lie. They were Enclave. Or Sanguine. Or somepony that was going to sell me out… betray me. My horn flashed as I struggled, and one of the stallions yelped as my bullets bit into his flank. Somepony blinded me with a rag across my eyes. I fired wildly, desperately. Another sedating surge washed through me like a blanket, the lethargy blurring away the rest of my senses.

Holy shit! Blackjack is losing it!

Again!

She almost kill the ponies trying to help her. Understandable since she’s not in the best mental state after the little tunnel excursion, but it’s still scary.

Rarity and Vanity entered with a fanfare, and almost everypony save one gave a collective gasp of approval at her exquisite gown.

Happy to see that Rarity did chose the right family member.

“Oh, like the one hundred and thirty first Gala, where you transformed half the attendees into frogs and the other half into pigs?” Twilight offered with a kind smile. At her friends’ looks, she flushed. “I was curious whether our experience really was the worst gala ever.”

In hindsight this is even funnier, after what happened in the second Episode involving the Gala.

“But I still don’t like him. He’s...” But whatever he was fell out of earshot as Jetstream strolled away. Normally, I’d have been fascinated, but right now all I could do was wonder if my friends were alive. I knew better than to hope that they were okay.

Thank god! One member of the Mane Six who isn’t awed by Goldenblood!

“Hoofball?” Twilight Sparkle blinked in confusion and a little unease. “Um… well… I don’t think she’s ever been to a hoofball game.” The purple mare rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Sure! It’ll probably be fun!”
“Ayup!” he agreed with a nod. “Then I’ll be sure to ask her. Thanks, Twilight.”
Twilight Sparkle seemed to start, then slumped a little. “Oh. Yeah. Sure. No problem.”

Big Mac knows the truth. Twilight knows that he knows. But they still pretend it’s not the case. Kinda cute.

I must say, this has been a really nice flashback so far. Everypony being happy and having a good time. Probably the reason why they used that specific memory orb. Don’t want to traumatize an already traumatized patient even more by using the memories of a pony being cut open.

“Twilight… needs to… be seen… with Luna… now!” he insisted as he held her foreleg in his clammy grip. “Half an hour. Then… everypony… will be… leaving. The attention… can go… off Luna.” He squeezed her foreleg. “Please, Flutter… shy… My life… doesn’t matter… compared to… you seven. Please…”

That is such a Blackjack thing to say.

Goldenblood is a lot more bearable in this chapter compared to 24, where Spike shilled him like there was no tomorrow.

“Now, I want you to stay calm. We went through some rather extraordinary measures to try and save you. If you hadn’t helped us at the Fluttershy clinic… well…”

What are the odds that the elevator they found would take them straight to the one group in Hoofington who has access to pre-war medical technology and the knowledge to use it? They sure are the luckiest unluckiest ponies in all of Equestria.

“I can’t even begin to guess how it’s fucking with your brain.”
I’m having trouble finding biological systems that aren’t compromised on some level. Muscles. Epidermis. Looks like your reproductive bits got lucky. That’s about it, though

Now everything makes perfect sense. Blackjack is suffering from permanent brain damage, which explains some of the stupid thing she did in the later chapters. And then reason Blackjack becomes so notoriously horny in later chapters is because her vagina is the only intact organ left.

“You have to take care of yourself. You’ve got six months to live. Maybe a year. We removed the most blatant taint tumors, but there are others inside you, and--” I silenced her with a hard shake.

Wasn’t there another famous Fallout: Equestria protagonist who was also daying due to radiation poisoning?

Feels like another “Littlepip but worse moment!” You were said when the Lightbringer was dying at the end of the story? Well Project Horizons isn’t even halfway done an Blackjack is already in the same situation, except slowly dying still isn't thw worst thing that's going to happen to her.

“Funny… I thought helping others was a good thing,” I muttered, “you’re the second doctor I’ve met who thought I was stupid for hurting myself to help others.”

There’s your second opinion Blackjack. Listen to the doctors. Or don’t.

I mean at this point you’re going to die anyway. Can’t get worse, right?

It can.

“I’m… I’m not sure I can keep doing this, Blackjack. I don’t know why we keep throwing ourselves into harm’s way over and over again. 99 is done. Throw EC-1101 in the river or down that shaft or something and let’s go back to Chapel and have some kind of life again with no monsters or killing. Just a quiet life for as long as we can.”

I’m now gay for P-21. He really is the smartest one in the group.

“I have to go. I have to help her. Don’t you see? If we’d just let her go after we left weather station four… she never would have gotten hurt. She didn’t deserve any of this. So I’m going to find the only thing in the Wasteland I think can help, or I am going to go stark raving mad.”

Before this part there were certain points in the story where I got angry at Blackjack (or other characters). For example when she sneaked away to kill herself. But that’s nothing compared what she does right now. This right here is the most stupid, selfish thing she has ever done.

For the first time I genuinely hate Blackjack. I actually want her to break down during her trip to Skyport because her body hasn’t properly recovered. I want some Raider to shoot off one of her legs and leaving her lying in ditch. Just so that maybe… maybe she realizes how utterly stupid she’s acting right now. However, since this is Blackjack we’re talking about she will probably only lament about what a bad friend she is because she wasn’t strong enough or some other bullshit while slowly bleeding to death.

I believe she’s a hero. A pony who’s willing to risks her own life to help others. She liberated the slaves of Brimstone Falls because it was the right thing to do. She volunteered to act as bait to lure the invading Raiders away from her Stable. She almost died saving that pony on the Seahorse. That’s heroic.

This, however, isn’t heroic. It’s stupid! She’s barley able to walk, still recovering from something that almost killed her. And she’s goes to Skyport just on the offhand commentary of one of the doctors that they “may” be able to restore Glory’s wing. Even if they were able to do that, how is she going to convince them to help somepony branded as a Dashite? By shooting them until the comply?

I know that she not thinking straight and blames herself for Glory’s fate, but this is such a huge level of stupidity that I can’t sympathize with her. I really hope she eventually learns a lesson about not rushing off blindly without a plan.

Okay… this was going to take some getting used to. “So, I guess this makes me a one-eyed Blackjack.”

It’s also going to screw up your aim until your vision and your brain has adjusted to you having only one eye. One more reason on the long list of reasons why this is a stupid idea.

“I’ll buy every bit you have. Three bullets each,” I said without hesitation. I had plenty of ammo… and hopefully they hadn’t eaten any of it. Looking confused, they agreed.

I just realized that the group never actually told anyone about the Enclave food being infected with the Raider disease. Yeah, most ponies probably wouldn’t believe them but they could’ve at least told some ponies they know like Bottlecap, Priest and Whats-her-name from the Pecos. Maybe even contact Pon3 to broadcast a warning. Instead they did nothing allowing more innocent (as innocent as one can be) ponies to turn into crazy Raiders.

“I do not need this right now!” Sword met tongue in desperate slashes, but the flesh was almost as tough as cable. I’d nearly been dragged completely into its mouth before the tongue severed. Steadying myself, I brought the shotgun up and blasted it, but the peppering darts didn’t seem to do more than irritate the monstrous frog.

I’m surprised that Blackjack is even able to put up a fight. Maybe her brain really is too stupid to realize how serious her injuries are.

“Anypony can die,” Scotch Tape muttered as she looked at the mucky water beneath her.

Anyone dies eventually.

Well except maybe for Turritopsis dohrnii, but that’s not the point.

(Almost) anyone dies eventually. But must people/ponies want to the delay that as long as possible. Just because you’ll die eventually doesn’t mean you have to foolhardy rush into danger dying a pointless death while accomplishing noting.

“You led, Blackjack. We followed. You didn’t make us do anything.” He took a deep breath. “Chapel will be there whenever we’re done. Till then… well…”

What are you doing P-21? Don’t encourage her stupid. Throw a memory orb at her head, tie her up and drag her ass back to the hospital until she has recovered.

“Food trade, medical aid, or other business?” the bored puce pegasus asked from behind her counter as we shuffled through the Skyport gate.

I’m surprised they actually let dirty Wastelands walk to their front door that easily.

“And I doubt even the Enclave could have stopped them. They were set to sweep all across Hoofington,”

I think you guys overestimated them. Sure they had strength in numbers but I doubt they would’ve stand a chance against the Reapers or the Brotherhood or any other faction with years of combat experiences. Sure Daisy’s plan was to shove infected meat down every pony’s throat, but that doesn’t turn you instantly and would require them to capture ponies alive. They could’ve caused a lot of damage but in the end they would’ve been whipped out.

My eye locked with hers and I repeated in an even softer tone, “What’s your name?”
She glanced up at the ponies ready to blow me away. “Scarlet.”

First appearance of a Griffon I in the story. At this point I wasn’t expecting them to show up.

And since this was before it had been firmly established that all the Griffons in the show have names that start with a G, Scarlet ironically sounds more like a pony name than a Griffon one.

“Unless you’ve got an extra PipBuck on you, she has to,” he said as he pointed a hoof at me. “All she has to do is get it there.” I seethed at him for even suggesting this! This was bordering on ‘following Blackjack’ reckless! Scotch wasn’t looking very sure about it either.

So P-21, the stallions who wants to be a teacher, has no problems sending a child into danger? If Blackjack acts more reasonable in comparison you know something is wrong.

It feels like this chapter wants to make every main character behave as unlikeable as possible.

“P-21, this is your daughter we’re talking about!” I said, gesturing to her with a hoof. How could he suggest that she--
“What?” Scotch Tape gaped at him, her eyes popping wide. Aw crap… P-21 closed his eyes and shook his head as he clenched his jaw. I could almost see the curses he suppressed. The olive filly just gaped at him, then at me. “You’re my…”

At this point most readers have probably forgotten that the story brought up that Scotch is his daughter. At least I can’t remember when it has been mentioned. So it works a shocking reveal to the audience.

In-universe, however, it feels odd that this has never been brought up before. Not once since Scotch joined the group has Blackjack every acknowledge that P-21 is her father. And we’re inside her head, reading her thoughts the whole time.

Unless it was mentioned once off-hand, somewhere and I missed it. I which case this is my own fault.

“I… you… I… I mean… Momma always talked about you,” she said as she stared up at him. “She said she loved you.”
“That’s nice,” he replied, glancing at her with a scowl. “I didn’t love her. She could teach me what I needed to escape. She was… tolerable. But she just used me just like every mare did in 99.” He sighed. “Forget it. I’ll do it.”

That’s cold. However, Stable 99 was mostly unpleasant for him. Especially when it involved Mares. Understandably he doesn’t really care about a daughter he probably never wanted in the first place.

“But…” I began, but she gave me a hard, hurt look. Short of tying her up, there wasn’t any way I was going to get her to not do her part of the plan.

Then tie her up! She’s 12!

They were reloaded. They were ready to put down the crazy mare that defied them. I took the deepest breath I could and screamed out, “Glory!”

I was seriously tempted to add a “Glory” count to this chapter. It’s like that one woman from Doctor Who’s “Orphan 55” who couldn’t shut up about Benni.

Scotch Tape stared in shock at the hole that had opened in the mare’s neck. The mare released the weapon, staggering away. Another twelve millimeter hollowpoint blasted out another bloody chunk. Then a third, and the mare fell limp beside me. I slumped over as I saw something die inside the teal eyes behind Scotch’s goggles.

Scotch Tape’s On-screen Body Count: 1

Okay, not doing that.

“I thought they called it power armor. Not pussy armor,” I replied.

I hope this turns into a running gag, where Blackjack constantly hijack’s Enclave Troopers as her personal transport vehicles.

“They attacked the town while we were negotiating salvage rights,” Dusk answered sourly, “we would have withdrawn, but their griffins forced us to bunker down inside that factory. They attacked with a full wing but left those three once we were cornered.” Leaving them in big trouble till I came along.

Just realized how useful and valuable Griffon mercenaries are. With most Pegasi being part of the Enclave, there aren’t many fliers on the surface. So having a group of armed, well-trained Griffins on your payroll gives you a huge advantage in combat. They can attack their enemies from any direction, can work as snipers on otherwise unclimbable objects and obstacles like fences or mine fields don’t bother them.

“I know it hurts,” I said softly, reaching to pat her with my floppy hoof. “It’ll always hurt. It never gets any easier.”

She doesn’t really seems sad about having killed Red Eye’s Raiders. Or the Remnant in the Museum. Or Aries’ Bounty Hunters. Or the Pecos in Flank. Or Leo’s Bounty Hunters. Or the Enclave Troopers in Miramar. Or…

So yes it does get easier. At last for Blackjack. The first few times when she kill somepony it greatly bothered her. Like far back in the farmhouse when she really wanted to scare the Raider into fleeing by aiming above the head but then survival instinct kicked in and she hit her straight in the head. Now Blackjack doesn't seem to waste a second thought one killing them. It doesn't make her a bad pony. It's just a necessary skill if you want to be a hero and survive against your opponents.

She did, after saying quietly, “You kill enough ponies… and you can kill anypony…”

Some ponies are able to kill hundreds of ponies but still refuse to harm innocents. Or in Blackjack case, can’t bring themselves to shot a defenseless enemy who has surrendered. I doubt any amount of dead Raiders would change that.

“You! Are! Not! Bulletproof!” she shouted, smacking me with each word. “If you can’t do this heroic shit without getting holes shot in you, then you need to quit and retire!” She pointed the clipboard at my nose. “If you’re so set to die, then do it somewhere nice and quiet.”

I like her!

“I don’t think it’s easy. I think it’s stupid. You can get shot ten ways to Celestiday, but how does it make the Wasteland any better?” She pointed a hoof. “Your pegasus friend is still critically depressed. That alicorn thing is catatonic. That filly is probably traumatized for life! You can’t fix that with bullets.”

I like her a lot!

Glory!

doctorwhotv.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/doctor-who-benni-orphan-55.jpg

“You are going to go in there. You are going to talk to her. You are going to smile. You are going to make her happy. I don’t care what you have to say, how you have to lie, or what you have to do… you are going to find some way to make her want to live,” I said as I clenched my jaw, tears running down one cheek. “Because I can’t…”

Okay Blackjack is a reckless moron, but the fact that she travelled all the way to Skyport and Scrapyard, fought against a group of Raiders, dragged Dusk back to the Colligate and forcing her to play nice just to cheer up Glory is heartwarming.

“You and Dusk…” the yellow mare chuckled. “Well, don’t worry about it. Dusk is always a hardass, especially when it comes to Dashites. The only time she actually unwinds is in bed. Usually takes a good licking, too.”

IRL couples aren’t allowed to fight in the same unity for obvious reason. But hey, talking magical ponies in the post apocalypse. I’m going to let it slide.

“Hit Dusk hardest, I think, being the eldest. We were both finishing school when her mom left. Councilstallion’s wife going Dashite… it was pretty bad for her family for a while.”

That explains Dusk’s assholeness to a certain degree. Must’ve been hard not only having your mother “abandoned” you but also getting flank from everypony because she’s a Dashite. I bet she had to work twice as hard as the rest to proof herself. So when Glory became a Dashite, Dusk viewed it as a personal betrayal.

I stopped her again, the whole building rocking and groaning in the wind. “Psalm… you’re the Marauder, Psalm.” She gasped, her eyes going wide. “Macintosh’s Marauders?”
Before my eyes, she aged to the black mare in body armor. She hugged the sniper rifle, bowing her head. “This is my penance.”

So that’s the third Marauder still alive. Sometimes it feels like you can’t walk two steeps in Hoofington until you run into somepony who was still alive during the war. And most of them aren’t even Ghouls. Not a critic, just an observation.

Good to see that we’re finally learning more about Lacunae. Until now I didn’t really care about her as a character, because there wasn’t much. She was just kinda there talking about the Goddess.

She was trying to do a striptease… and was so bad at it that I hadn’t even noticed. “So… do you like what you see?” she said as she climbed onto the bed. I didn’t. I didn’t want to have sex with her. I wanted to hug her… but a hug would kill her. Still, I went through the motions with her.
It wasn’t good. This wasn’t good. No amount of sex should have that many quiet tears.

Trixie has lost everything and is forced to prostitute herself. Project Horizons, you could just have her being miserable and poor. But that wasn’t enough for you. Because you don’t do miserable. You only do MISERABLE!!!!

But didn’t this version of Trixie invent/rediscover an invisibility spell or something like that? Hence blue Alicorns being able to turn invisible? Shouldn’t she be famous or did that happen much later in the war?

“Or a piece of her. The garbage that doesn’t matter,” she said as she waved the bottle around the building, “Nice endopsychoillusory projection, huh? I wonder what all this represents? Huh? The loss of my friends? My hypocrisy?” She saw me staring blankly and sighed. “Figures... first pony I get to talk to, and she’s a moron.”

Even Purplesmart’s memories are smart, realizing that it’s only a memory. And getting annoyed at Blackjack’s stupidity. This is great!

“Okay... horrible mind rape or emotional crush time incoming. Bring it on.” I stood before my battered, bloody, bleeding self. “Okay! Bring it on! Evil twin combat? Mind messing? Some horrible self-revelation? I can take it.”
….
I screamed as I shoved the mirror away, clenching my eyes. I wasn’t that. I wasn’t going to be that! That pony belonged in a cave! I was going to be dead in six months... a year at the most!
Please... let me be dead...

Blackjack is smart enough to know that she’s going to face her own demons and think she’s prepared, yet she still breaks down crying when the mirrior showed her how she has changed. Poor Blackjack.

“You could say that,” I said, and the yellow mare nodded and deftly placed me back in the wheelchair. “Thank you, Lacunae,” I said as I settled back, looking up at her with a soft smile. “That last bit... with the mirror. That was you, wasn’t it?”

Aaawwwwwwwww…

i.ibb.co/V2bxJMP/neverending-circle-4png.png

“You don’t understand,” he hissed, clenching his eyes shut as he rubbed his face. “I can’t be her father... it’s... I just can’t!” I’d seen that look in his eyes just a few days ago. There was more to this than just unexpected relationships.

Afraid of the responsibilities? A underlying resentment of all females from Stable 99? Him feeling used as a glorified sperm donor?

“Not that,” she said softly, pressing her limbs together. “I saw... it. The monster from the tunnels.” She drew a trembling breath. “There was a heap of scrap in there. Just a pile of junk... but I knew it was going to come alive. It was going to eat me... eat us all. I would have stayed there till I reappeared if some mare hadn’t brushed against me. I nearly got caught anyway…”

Ohh she got her first real trauma. Now she’s truly a part of the group! Can’t wait for her to get shoot and having her very first near death experience.

A zebra mare bearing a scorpion cutie mark-- were they still called cutie marks on zebras?-- and carrying a rifle the spitting image of Lancer’s skulked on his left, and a white pegasus mare with two needle rifles on her battle saddle stood to his right. The stallion with the arrow glared right at me. “Professor Zodiac will see you. Now.”

Didn’t saw that one coming. The Colligate runs a bounty hunter agency on the side? Well, I guess you need money for all your research projects and caps don't grow on trees.

Blackjack’s On-screen Body Count: 148

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This chapter made me wonder how far Blackjack would go to save her friends. What if Sanguine, Red Eye or somepony else told Blackjack that he could fix Glory’s wings for a "small favor". Like killing a pony or retrieving some object from another faction. Assuming Blackjack couldn’t simply threaten said pony, would she have done it? Maybe that’s the thing that could turn her into a monster: Trying to save her friends at any price.

Slightly disappointed how reckless and stupid Blackjack was in this chapter. Even more disappointed that her recklessness was actually being rewarded. That’s only going to encourage her to do more stupid reckless stuff in the future. Then there’s the fact that Blackjack was initially portrayed as being barely able to walk only for her to kill a small army of Ghouls without any side effects. And that’s after everything before basically told the readers that she has never been in a worse shape.

Personally I would’ve preferred it, if the part in Colligate had happen over several days. Give Blackjack and Co. some time the recover, while Glory remains in her bed and refuses to talk to anyone. Maybe even have Blackjack unsuccessfully try to talk to her, until she finally decided to travel to Skyport in the vague hope that they could fix her wing.

“P-21, this is your daughter we’re talking about!” I said, gesturing to her with a hoof. How could he suggest that she--

That was... unexpected

“I thought they called it power armor. Not pussy armor,” I replied.

This is probably one of the best lines I've seen in a good while.

“Well, if you ask me the scientific conclusion is inescapable,” she said as smiled at me. Suddenly, the glowing clipboard swung through the air to smack me upside the head. “You! Are! Not! Bulletproof!” she shouted, smacking me with each word.

Holy shit I'm dying. It's the little moments of humour like this that makes everything they go through seem a little less bleak. I suddenly need a count of how many times Blackjack gets shot because it's almost absurd.

I'm loving this story so far, I just want all of them to get a moment to piece themselves back together because they deserve that so many times over. I'm both excited and worried about how much more I have to read

“I can’t believe you set me up with your sister. She’s going to hate me!” Applesnack muttered as he brushed his shaggy tan mane aside. “Couldn’t you have been your sister’s escort?” he asked the big red stallion with a frown.

Small knit pick but I thought Applesnack never met Applejack till the megaspells from Fluttershy were released and he said something along the lines of "I've never met your smoking hot sister yet" to Big Mac when he was dying. Not sure why he would be flustered here. The timeline with the Megaspells and just whenever Applesnack knew AJ just feels off. Again small knitpick, doesn't really take out from the story.

Jesus Christ. What a chapter. Blackjack running off by herself makes me so damn angry, like please stop trying to kill yourself. I know it worked out at the end but it was at the expense of pushing your friends into an uncomfortable position.
Then revealing that Scotch was the daughter of P 21? I'm not a smart dude so I completely forgot about that. I just hope he turns into a good father for her.
Then was the connection with Lacunae. Trixie was just wow. If not for her being the dominate one in power that controlled all the Alicorns I would just be devastated. Jesus christ like the fact that she had to go through all of that just to get her life back together was just sad. I don't want to call her pathetic because that would be too harsh but Jesus I just feel so bad for her. That whole sequence with Trixie was incredibly well written to the point where I'm pretty sure I've wiped my memories the last time I read it because of how sad it made me feel. The part with Twilight mentioning how she manipulated Trixie who just got out of a tough spot was a very smart line since we know that she was able to afford milk for a while and had her own small place. A very long but great chapter.

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What the fk was wrong with me. Sorry for this stupid comment. Loved this chapter and the 10 hours spent editing this chapter did not go to waste.

“P-21, this is your daughter we’re talking about!” I said, gesturing to her with a hoof. How could he suggest that she--

I must be some form pf stupid since i litterly couldnt make the connection till blackjack said it

Lacunae: something missing. I’d thought that Lacunae had been a pony whose memories had been taken away. She wasn’t. She was a collection of the pain and angst of hundreds of ponies. Their shame. Their regret. Their guilt. All collected into one vessel sealed off and tossed into the one place they couldn’t be heard. I wondered what such a being would be... stripped of all its misery and doubt. No mistakes. No confusion…

Suddenly, the stories of alicorns abroad being complete monsters made a whole lot more sense.

Virtue isn’t something inherent. The Goddess and countless ponies within had shoved their flaws and weaknesses into the equivalent of a closet and created a mare who was gentle and kind, who had learned from her mistakes. Who was better for them. You couldn’t have empathy if you anesthetized yourself to the pain of others.

Sybok in shambles.