6515795 Oh, this is great.

Edit: What you fail to understand is that there is no one true be-all end-all guide to create a great story. What you consider in your eyes to be a waste of time and an absolute failure is regarded to be an excellent work of art in others, mine included. Oh, the story ended with a lot of characters that were built up, including the main character, dying? Boohoo. That definitely does not give you an excuse to unleash your hatred and insults on Somber for ending his story the way he wanted it to end. After all, Somber is not just writing the story for us. He is also writing it for himself.

The source you give talks about not ending your story abruptly in such a way that defies the reader's expectations. The thing is, when reading through this story myself I always just felt that it would have an end such as this, and that it was building to this point. If I could have picked up on it, surely you, a professional writer, could have as well?

You couldn't give your criticism in a way that wasn't completely filled with insults on a story that Somber is not compensated for, and act like he's a professional writer on a site where anybody can post their own fan works for free.

You are the only failure I see here.

The contents of this recent blog of Kkat's on the wisdom of Dan Shive are something always worth keeping in mind, and seem particularly relevant in the context of the recent conversation.

6515795 Wow. I'm not to big of a fan of Somber, and I'm hardly liking the story so far (I'm on chapter 6) but you're acting in the most uncalled for, childish, sort of way. I know anti-bronies smarter than you. You've been on this site for about three years, and you think just because you have three followers you can leave a comment like this? Saying someone who has a whole army to back himself up fucked up his own story?

I literally know nothing about Somber, but you're making yourself look like a complete fool. How old are you exactly? I'm sixteen and even I seem to have my priorities straight. I'm not even mad. Your incompetence is just too hard to watch. Here's a challenge, write a thirty-chapter story with each chapter being over ten thousand words long.

During my time on this site, I've said some pretty dumb stuff, but what you're saying makes me feel a whole lot better about myself saying those dumb things. Do you expect the writer to just make a perfect world? The main character's perfect, her friends are perfect, life is perfect?

I'd say stop replying to Mr. Somber and let him continue updating this fine ass story until it's over. You don't like it? Go read My fucking Immortal.

6515795

I never said writing was easy. I said coming up with an ending that wasn't total shit where 90% of everything in the book was ignored so your OC could get her Superman on, was easy.

I'm not cleaning up your mess for you. You fucked up. You can live with it or you can change it. But you should at least disclaimer the shit out of this story that most of it is pointless filler and none of the characters or anything that happens makes a single shit of difference in the end.

Blackjack ends up being no different than her first week out of the stable. All the character development for all the main characters was a massive waste of time since you just offed them to prove how badass Blackjack is that she keeps on going.

The entire book is there to end in a pitty party for your OC and by extension you.

You don't get to waste everyone's time lying to us as if all the events of the book are leading up to something when it's all just pretence for your own emotional self gratification.

You, as an author, lied to your readers. That is why you are a failure and people should never read anything you write again. It is a waste of time because it is only a selfish act on your part. You broke the first rule of writing. The most basic rule of writing.

Did you never actually take a writing class? Ever learn the basics of what not to do? Because this was some pretty basic shit. There is a thing called the Unspoken Contract. You broke it. You might not know about it, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

This is from a page for amature writers that might help clear up why you fucked up so badly. I found a game designer who made the same mistake you did to explain it to you.

Wow... what a wall of complete and utter trash. Every bold is the "you" detailing the tamper tantrum being shown quite vividly in this paragraph.

Every scra scratch is to show complete falsehood in a statement trying to sound smart but in the end, just sounds like a total dick wad.

Every underline shows things that by all means should not be, due to the blatant level of 'higher than though' attitude.

Red lettering is to depict words intended to share a collective thought of a great majority... or a believe in a 'rule' that does not exist and is in every way wrong. In short, stop speaking for people when unqualified and not elected. Share your opinion yes, but don't make it like your opinion is everyones... otherwise you are no better off then idiots who try to rule by fear.

Just with this paragraph alone, I don't even want to read what you have written earlier.

Yes, I have issues with this story... but the worth of this story is nowhere near as low as you are barfing it up to be. So don't you dare tell me what is a waist of my time, and don't you dare tell me what I should think of a story because that is no ones right, and if it were to be anyone, I would not even remotely chose you for such a tender honor.

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Phew! You scared me there. I almost insulted the wrong person!

.....who wrote that asinine hateful trash anyhow? Eh. Haters gonna hate. I feel like the story holds true to the FOE theme of hopelessness dashed with points of triumph, a real mix to be honest.
So, quite well-written I think =P

Charon and Cerberus

Ha nice reference there

while she was hammering out a guide to the Wasteland.” He groaned and rubbed his hooves. “When I think of her wanting me to sneak into a radigator nest to ‘observe wasteland wildlife’…”

Oh hello Wasteland Survival Guide, need a mine to write about? Or how about radiation damage? Oh, you need a city's history? Let me just waltz over to the broken bow and say 'hello' to some mirelurks, but don't worry they will be taken care of and I'll even keep your molerat stick because the mole ratties just loooveee it! Because I'm a good research assistant, yes I am!

Just pop in a Stealth Buck and put a recorder in their nest, easy.

(Damn I can be so cynical and lighthearted..)

I turned slowly to face the a cracked road and a collection of blue bars approaching the crossroads.

to face a cracked road ? Either way it should be one or the other

Poor Blackjack, why'd she have to go and lose an eye oh well atleast she has her Glory with her again, for all the d'aww moments between the regularly scheduled madness. I am liking Glory's ideas when it comes to 'hot shower time'

To pick a side or not. Oh damn we are nearing the infamous Chapter 33 already.. infamous for what exactly I dunno I just know the basic theme why it is called that.

Annnd Blackjack lost Steelpony.acv well shit. Why wasn't there a 'Copy' option?

Oh what's up Steel Rangers, fancy seeing you being so diplomatic.

Finally a level up, how I missed that so.

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The import doc button doesn't work for you? I've never had problems using it before.

I've just finished reading this story from the google Docs site and wow.....just wow. I don't want to spoil anything for others reading this story.

All I can say is this. I have no words I can use to fully describe what a brilliant, amazing and emotionally engaging fix this is......as far as I am concerned in my opinion I am putting this story on equal par with KKats Fallout:Equestrian itself. I cannot give any higher praise that this.

Well done sir and others for creating this truly epic masterpiece which I will cherish in til the end of my days

@:3

6518259

Just pop in a Stealth Buck and put a recorder in their nest, easy.

Or instead of using a Stealth Buck we can go over the top to the corner of the building, jump in the river and take the hidden underwater entrance that almost never has anything but nests just inside.

Although I have found that even if you know the entrance is there it can be a bit hard to find at times...

Maaaaan, how did they get caught? Jesus, oh well, let's see what happens next chapter. DUde, awesome work on this chapter, and nice job!
Now, onto some other stuff till next time!

Oh!
6515795 People like you are the reason I don't read comments, cause all I see is nothing but absolute fucking bullshit. And it hurts my eyes. Somber spent, what... four fucking years on this story? And you have the nerve to say he fucked up? Dude, this story is amazing and I love it, its going fucking great so far and Somber has done an amazing job with this!

I'm not cleaning up your mess for you. You fucked up.

You, as an author, lied to your readers. That is why you are a failure

Dude, the only failure here is you, so how about you bugger off.

Somber's an awesome writer, with more skill in writing then you do with coming up with a decent coherant arguement.
And if you really think anyone agrees with you, take a look at your watcher count, then Somber's, he has a fucking army backing him, and I'm one of them. He spent I think four years on this, with other people, giving us all something amazing to read, for free for fucks sake, with chapter that are so long it takes me a whoe day to read through them! I can't do that.

And this is Fallout: Equestria There is no fucking happy ending, tis the wasteland, people die, there's rape, killing, slavery, I have never read a story in this universe that ends happily.

For fucks sake, don't like reading this? Then leave! No one's stopping ya, here's the door. *opens door* Head on out.

So not to sound ungrateful towards Somber and his awesome story (if I didn't like about the story I wouldn't be complaining), but I was currently on chapter 36 before I stopped reading because google docs started burning into my eyes and I had to quit. So if that chapter could be gotten up sometime I'd be willing to continue reading the story.

Okay, thisbchalter had tons of giggle moments in it. Probably more than should've been considered sane. And I'm gonna wager the Ranger decked out like a castle is Steel Rain

Jaded, when I said I'm done with you, I meant I'm done with you.

6521625 Yeah, I got sick of google docs, decided to just download the .epub file then read the whole story on my phone before even finishing chapter 1 :P

>>Somber

This is one of the best FOEs on here, and don't let anyone tell you different!

I can tell you have put a tremendous amount of time and effort in, and it definitely shows. Your characters are all well-developed, and you do an excellent job describing what is happening at any given moment. Just the fact that your publishing 20,000+ word chapters a week makes you one of the best authors on here.

YAY!! New chapters! Ima raed tem now!

Can we have a happy ending to a chapter, please? I'm literally going to cry if the next chapter ends like these last two chapters.
You should be proud, Somber. It takes a particularly well written story and talented author to make me cry. Props to you.

And a rubber ball was pressed into my mouth and tied in place around my muzzle. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t see. Couldn’t speak.

Yeeesssss, haha. Something was taken from the store. Glory maybe likes being a dom.

I don’t give a thundering fart what things are going on!

I have not experienced one of those in a long time.

He was a schemer

Confirmed, Blackjack is like a good version of The Joker.

I chuckled. “‘Cause then it just wouldn’t be any fun.”

Yup, Joker.

I’ve come across ammo containers I’d emptied and tossed aside now miraculously holding more ammo.

Sooooo meta.

The rose quartz wings sparkled softly.

Oh shit, the dead mare in the zebra ruins.

Least Stripes has the data now and can begin working on things. Though I don't know how much shit that will stir up. Cause I know it will, Blackjack touched it.

New Perk Added: Eye for Eye -- For each crippled limb you have, you do an additional 10% damage.

wait does this mean she does 40% more damage because her legs are crippled?

Hah, so, I made the mistake of waiting for the main scene of the next chapter to finish yesterday, then forgot I hadn't responded to this chapter, so you're getting two in a row. :V

So, if I were snarkily renaming chapters like I did with the original story, this one would be called "SUDDENLY BDSM". :V Who would have guessed Blackjack bottoms? On a serious note, if there's a problem with their relationship, it's that Blackjack puts too much emotional stock in Glory. Then again, I think it's reciprocal. It just means that if anything happens to either of them, the other is gonna be a wreck.

Once again, Enclave politics are completely fucking fascinating. I like that you gave Lighthooves a sympathetic angle, while simultaneously not excusing the terrible shit he did.

Keeper is great. :D I would read an entire prequel story about his companions and their time in the Hoof. I mean, I sort of just did, but you know what I mean. :B Looking forward to meeting Crunchy Carrots soon. That whole "stuff keeps appearing" conversation is very meta, but sets up the scene at the end of the next chapter well.

I'm liking Goldenblood less and less, but I expect that's intentional. I mean, if he doesn't turn out to be what's behind everything, I'm gonna need some new hats because I will have eaten them all. :B

6820185
I suppose I react to them a bit differently due to their placement, within the main action rather than immediately adjacent to other non-native features like the chapter breaks.

6830098
Well, BDSM can involve "allegiances" . . .

Keeper's fun. One of the things I like about meeting some of that group time to time is when their stories don't quite mesh, or the parts don't quite match with the characters as we've seen them in Blackjack's present, sometimes in ways that make the one telling the story look better. It does make it feel like they were people who had their own things going on as well as working together, then later a falling out.

“Oh, I would sooner destroy a rainbow window than an artist like yourself,” he replied. “However, since I can’t have you doing something stupid either...” And the stinger tail slipped out and jabbed me in my rump. A lethargy began to overtake me. “Please understand, I hold you in the highest respect.”

Inconceivable.

A half dozen Steel Rangers surrounded them. At their lead was the biggest suit of armor I’d ever seen; it looked as if it had been custom built to contain the size of the pony within. Its matte black frame was gilded in golden leaf, and all four hooves ended in glittering hydraulic rams. The enormous Ranger looked down at me and said in a deep, booming voice, “Step aside! We are escorting these prisoners to Ironmare Station.”

Ante up.

Blackjack: "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! I'M THE MARE WHO'S GONNA BLAST YOUR FUCKING FACE OFF WITH A MEGASPELL GUN!"

Boom

6517371 Dude. you could've put a spoiler tag on the "dying" part. I was expecting to read comments about this chapter and I had the ending spoiled for me in the first comment. Really shitty.

“Maybe,” she replied in a playful tone that screamed ‘yes.’ Then she gave a little murr and kissed me softly. “If you’re a good mare, you’ll find out.” Oh, okay. I’d be good. I’d be the goodest bestest nicest mare ever, yes sirree!

sounds like something i would think too blackjack

I reached over to the terminal to pull out the cables, then blinked as my hoof passed right through it. “Bwah?!” I gasped as I waved my hoof back and forth through the computer. “Wha… how…?” I stammered as the computer swirled and then seemed to resolidify on the table. “That’s weird! You’re weird! Everything that flies is weird!” I pointed at the computer, my mane bristling. “This is not natural!”
“Relax, Blackjack. It’s just made out of clouds,” Glory said as she rested her hoof on top of the terminal easily and unplugged it with her mouth. “She fights monsters, has a building collapse under her, smashes through an interrogation window, tears apart soldiers in a chem-induced fury… and this is what freaks her out? I don’t know if I should be impressed or disappointed,” Lighthooves commented.

“Well, if you like ‘em so much…” the stallion said. “How about… eighteen hundred, but I throw in the berries, some scrap electronics, and some gem power cells for the weapon?”
“Deal. Gimme!” She lunged for the container and he held it out for her to snatch away. Holding it in her mouth, she trotted away and began to munch them one after the other with a blissful look on her face. Suddenly, the earlier comment about them being a controlled substance didn’t seem quite so ridiculous.

“Absolutely and completely?” she pressed as she smiled at me. I nodded, and she dug through her bags a second, withdrew a blindfold, and tied it in place. “Don’t touch it,” she said firmly. O…kay… Then she was off the bed and rifling through her saddlebags. I fought hard not to peek as she returned to the bed. Then she pressed my forelegs over my head through the gaps in the bed and… my ears twitched at the sound of hoofcuffs being locked around my legs.

“G…Glory?! What are you doing?” I gasped, and then I felt my rear legs spread quite far apart and cuffed to the hoofrail at the bottom on the bed.

She moved over me and whispered in my ear, “Shhh… trust me.” And a rubber ball was pressed into my mouth and tied in place around my muzzle. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t see. Couldn’t speak.

But, sweet Celestia save me, I could feel! And what was inflicted upon me was some of the most intense feeling in my entire life. Some sour, rational, sane part of my mind grumped that it was no time for… this! That part was grabbed by the rest of my brain, beaten with rubber hoses, and tossed into that closet in the back of my mind. I crested, wailing into the gag, and she didn’t relent.

Glory had to have been related to Vanity… somehow. She paused only to remove the gag and let me catch my breath before silencing me with a very lovely something else. I returned the favor in desperation, rewarded with noises of her bliss and the feeling that I was a very good pony.

When we’d finished she’d returned my sight to me, and I was feeling quite confused and exceptionally buttery inside

Bruh...you should try your hoof at "cloptional chapters".

“Pfft. As if I’d ever sell such a piece of beauty,” I said, pining over a gun I’d only seen once. For all I knew, it kicked like an orgasming mule and jammed like a virgin on… oh Goddesses, was I feeling the itch again already? “What are the odds I could get more of those berries?” I asked as I looked at the lovely berry fiend.

What a colorful imagination, Blackjack.

Got out on my own, hooked up with a ghoul to start our business; I was the handsome face and she was the set of wings that got us from place to place while she was hammering out a guide to the Wasteland.” He groaned and rubbed his hooves. “When I think of her wanting me to sneak into a radigator nest to ‘observe wasteland wildlife’…” He shivered and shook his head. “Eventually, we parted ways… she wanted to sell it for cheap. Me… I fell in with a crazy bunch who’d be my friends.”

Anyone wanting to make a story on Ditzy's story in the Wasteland?
I can imagine it now: Fallout Equestria: The Wasteland Survival Guide!

“Deal. Gimme!” She lunged for the container and he held it out for her to snatch away. Holding it in her mouth, she trotted away and began to munch them one after the other with a blissful look on her face. Suddenly, the earlier comment about them being a controlled substance didn’t seem quite so ridiculous.

Dope? Weed? Marrejuahna , anypony?
Got some berries here too. Think they may have psychoactive properties...hrmm...

Spaciba

Russian for "thank you"...wonder where that came from?

Dianmond done got turned into diamond dust.
She got dusted.

I don't know if this is the right chapter or not but its almost midnight and I'm to lazy to go and check,

That Enclave pony that traded info for talismans mentioned something about the SPP towers eventually being taken down by entropy.

This bugged me a bit.

Now I'm not the smartest pony in the stable but I know my way around basic quantum theory and I can tell you that made no sense whatsoever.

Entropy is (If I remember correctly) basically the amount of randomness or uncertainty in the universe. The amoumt of entropy in a sealed vacuum (IE our universe if it is a true vacuum but thats another lecture) dictates how many possible configurations of something in that system there could be and it also factors in with heat and thermodynamic equilibrium (The heat death of the universe)

The law of the system states that entropy In an isolated enviroment can never decrease therby increasing until heat death occurs.

In conclusion, entropy has absolutely nothing to do with a stupid cloud tower.

8303037
Entropy is also the universe progressing to a more evenly distributed energy state. In the case of matter, this means a more stable oxidation state. Iron in steel is in a high energy state because you literally spend energy digging in out of the ground, processing it to seperate it from all the silica-oxide around it, heating it up to remove the impurities, processing it again into a bar, transporting it to the machine shop, processing it into a girder, transporting it to the work site, and installing it into an SPP tower. All that energy you put into making a girder for the SPP reduced the entropy in that girder. Over time, the universe is going to return it to the state it was in originally, via rust.

This is constantly happening all around us. We use energy to violate entropy and create things that would have otherwise oxidized long ago. Life is the ultimate violator of entropy, because it takes energy (In the form of sunlight and geothermical chemicals) and uses it to reorder matter into a lower entropic state. When life dies, the complex chemicals break down again into its constituent parts because it can no longer use energy to keep itself from falling apart and returning to the distributed low energy state that most inorganic life exists in.

In short, eventually the SPP towers are going to fail via rust, cracking, wind, or even the geological shifting of the earth. An SPP tower is HORRIFICALLY unstable, with a center of mass way up above ground level. Entropy wants to move that center of mass as low as possible, preferably fusing it completely with the ground it rests on. Really, the bigger surprise is that so many others haven't fallen over. Even birds unevenly nesting on the tower would stress the structure, since they're effectively giant mushrooms.

8303037
In a less wordy way than Somber said.
Entropy is also used as a five-bit synonym for "rot". Every building eventually decays and falls over.

It's a very classy villain who asks for permission before going into a monologue.

New Perk Added: Eye for Eye -- For each crippled limb you have, you do an additional 10% damage.

Uhh, I’m pretty sure having damaged limbs is counter productive to someone’s fighting ability. Then again we’re in a city where ammo and caps literally respawn, so logic is kind of thrown out the window.

8908731
This would be on top of any debuffs resulting from crippled limbs (which tend to go to speed, weight capacity), not instead of them. Crippling becomes less detrimental, not an advantage.

“Well now… it depends. Professor liked to say that maybe a spirit of discord was floating around putting bottlecaps and trash in places to tease me. The rest didn’t think it was a big deal,” he muttered sourly with a scowl. Then he sighed and shrugged. “But me… I don’t like it one bit. It ain’t a natural market. So I got to thinking… why do ponies come to Hoofington?”

huh, so that's where he's been. apparently something reformed him cause the "ponies die every five seconds" is not his preferred method of chaos. he is helping ponies.

I am not good at predicting stuff, but I am almost certain that the silver butterfly from the memory orb was from project eternity. I thought that this project was about the statuettes I dont want to be spoiled, so neither confirm or deny it.

“ Spasiba …” I muttered as I touched the golden memory orb with my horn. Wait, what’d I just s--

Um..... Why does Blackjack know Russian? That's "Thank you" in Russian

10138151
She a liquor savant. Give her tequila and she'll be speaking Spanish. Yeagermeister? German.

10138151
Сила водки, товарищ

“And you fed my subordinate to a raider,” he replied smoothly, making Glory blink in surprise.

Boo hoo, too bad, don't use said subordinate to mark Glory a Dashite.

If Rainbow Dash had just waited …” But she gave a little shake of her head.

It'd be no diffferent. While Dash might have been able to survive up there, she'd be the only extra survivor. Dash, despite surviving, would make no more leway than anypony else on getting the Enclave to actually change.

It, or at least its leaders, were final in their desicion and the only change, really, is that "Dashite" is not a convient brand for traitors- though, knowing Dash, only so much inaction would be tolerated before she'd try again, and they'd just have another "if only she waited..."

10706083

Boo hoo, too bad, don't use said subordinate to mark Glory a Dashite.

Not to mention that he himself blow off his subordinate's head and was pretty nonchalantly about it. He saw Minty getting tortured for information, he had a gun and instead of shooting Blackjack he killed his own follower. Wasn’t even a mercy kill because later chapters showed that the disease doesn't get transmitted via bites. He just did it because he’s a dick.

Which is perfectly in-character considering that earlier he laughed about Blackjack gluing two Enclave members to the floor while ignoring her killing two others.

“What I meant is, you should get to know these tribes and decide which ones you like and which you don't!”

New Vegas, what a great game! My favorite one of the whole franchises. And I did play the first and second one, too. Project Horizons, however, is more like a Fallout 3 where every single Quest is “Tenpenny Tower”.

Blackjack has met all the major players in town: The Crusaders, the Finders, the Society, the Colligate, the Enclave, the Reapers and the Rangers. And while she hasn’t met the leaders of the Rangers or the Society, something tells me that’s going to happen pretty soon.

I felt as though Leo’s beam had shot clear through me once more, and this time I didn’t know how I was going to recover. I didn’t even want to recover… but I had to. Somehow. I didn’t have Glory to save me this time…

camo.fimfiction.net/tqfmLSOa1hznOlp59Guv0nzs13b9evFkivbn0NF0h6U?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ibb.co%2FxLnHnDS%2Fneverending-circle-2.png

And when I parted from her, I only wandered, looking for death. When we reunited, I had drive, purpose, and meaning. I had hope.

P-21 is dependent on Blackjack to keep going. Blackjack is dependent on Glory to keep going. Glory is dependent on Blackjack to keep going. Even by Wasteland standards this group shows some extremely unhealthy behavior.

He hadn’t been worth it. If it’d bring her back, I’d toss him down to the rubble below. EC-1101 hadn’t been worth it. Saving Hoofington wasn’t worth it. Glory was a million times more precious than anything else.

Now the real dark thoughts are surfacing. Still have to agree about the EC-1101.

Then the helmet retracted, and the crimson features of Lighthooves looked upon me with an expression of faint satisfaction. I looked back. I didn’t feel rage, or hate… I felt relief. It wasn’t suicide if an enemy killed me.

The Wastland really loves fucking with Blackjack, doesn’t it?

And the stinger tail slipped out and jabbed me in my rump. A lethargy began to overtake me. “Please understand, I hold you in the highest respect.”

I love Lighthooves. He’s such a smug, arrogant asshole. Which makes him the perfect villain.

Steam also brought toys she took into Momma’s room when she and Momma made all the oohs and ahhs and ‘yes’ noises doing stuff I wasn’t supposed to know about till I was in filly school.

I’m surprised that didn’t happen in front of Blackjack. It’s Stable 99 after all.

“Everypony dies someday, Fishy.”

Except for Fishy. She only dies on the inside.

Glory. Sleeping. Breathing. Warm and soft and wonderful. This was a dream. I was still unconscious. Or crazy… or dead… I slowly turned, and my motion made her stir. I held her in my rubbery hooves and pressed the side of my head to her chest. Her heart beat slow and steady and sure. The greatest sound in the world.

Looks like I brought out the" Neverending Cycle of Blackjack’s Suffering" (TM) to soon. I knew Glory wasn’t death, but I figured the next chapter would be Blackjack thinking that was the case and feeling horrible. Instead this was resolved surprisingly fast. Not that I’m complaining. I had enough sad Blackjack for a while.

Please believe me when I say that everything I’ve done has been to preserve my home and my people,” he said calmly. I really didn’t want to hear it.

Fuck you asshole! I may have felt a bit sympathy for you, if you hadn’t been an smug assholes who tortured ponies and playing with a deadly disease.

The Enclave’s charter states that its leaders are chosen through civilian elections. There’s no way we’d tolerate its rules and laws otherwise.

If the Enclave had more ponies like you, that may actually be true. Glory really is too good for this world.

The ‘academic experts’ have been chattering about potential threats. A surface power. Zebra forces. A reorganization of the griffins or another dragon attack.

Knowing how Fallout: Equestria ended, there’s a certain irony to this. They thought that Littlepip’s actions finally gave them a good excuse to paint all surface ponies as savages and that they could achieve an easy victory over them cementing the militaries role as protectors of the common Pegasi. Except this time, they bit off more than they could chew, which led to their downfall. Reminds me of the Falkland War. Galtieri thought it would give him enough popularity to stay in power, but in the end losing the war was the final straw that broke the Junta's neck.

There’s even been speculation of a threat from the stars.”
“Please. Nopony takes that sort of thing seriously,” Glory said with a dismissive wave of her… stump.

Project Horizons: Mothership Zeta confirmed.

Come on! I’m not the only one who would want to see Blackjack fighting the Zetas, right?

And if we killed off all the primary threats, then there’d be no strong arguments against colonizing the surface. No, my goal was to adapt the disease to make it infect pegasi

Why would he tell Blackjack this? Why not lie and claim that he has have a different plan? Because there’s no way Blackjack is okay with anything that involves the potential mass murder of innocent Pegasi. It will only encourage her to throw a wrench in his plans at the first opportunity.

“Maybe it’ll backfire. Maybe it’ll blow up in my face. Certainly possible. But Thunderhead Intelligence’s learned that, sometimes, the unexpected is the most effective move of all.” He looked at Glory with a small smile. “In any case, I’ll get what I need, likely with far less bother and fuss than dealing with a snotty gang of Wasteland mares.”

Okay If you want something that’s inside a den of Hellhounds, a Rad-Dragon lair or an area with a strong Enervation field then Blackjack is your mare. She has survived things nopony should survive and won against opponents far stronger or numerous.

However…

If whatever you want isn’t in someplace labeled “Certain Death” then this is a stupid idea. Because Blackjack’s other (in)famous trait is that she’s unpredictable. If she decided that whatever you plan to do is bad, then she’s going to screw you over and not think about the consequences. And then you wish that you would’ve dealt with a snotty gang of Wasteland mares instead.

“I would like a full confession and formal declaration of leaving Thunderhead and the Enclave,” he replied levelly.

Oh shit!

Finally, she took a deep breath. “No,” she said, and his amiable expression hardened a moment. Then he shrugged as if it was no matter. But from the look on her face, she wasn’t done yet. “No, but I will talk with him.”
He rubbed his chin, “I see. And you’ll convince him to end the Volunteer Corps?”
“No. I said I will talk with him,” she replied. “Your fake confession didn’t do anything. A coerced one won’t be much better. So let me talk with him about your concerns. Maybe he’ll change his mind. Maybe not. But it’ll be more likely to succeed than what you’re trying.”

After all the ways this story fucks over the main cast, I was expecting Glory to agree to his demands. Forcing her to lie to her own father and pretend to forsake the ideals she believes in. That she’s not going to do it, is a surprise and a nice subversion of what usually happens in this story where the characters are often forced to make the worst decisions.

Also hug respects to Glory for standing her ground, pointing out the flaws in his plan and offering a better solution that isn’t going to make her feel more miserable.

I was probably the cleanest I was going to get in a long while. Goddesses knew I needed it after that little ‘adventure’ with Rarity and Vanity. But for some reason, my mind was telling me this was wrong and I should stop it.

Is that the same Blackjack as the one form Speak? I’m starting to believing the clone theory is actually true. Because this Blackjack isn’t notoriously horny and tries to bang anything she comes across. I know she's in a bad place at this point, but still. It's like they are different ponies.

She washed me a second time… and herself… before finally unlocking me from the bed. I had to admit, I was so relaxed that it felt like all the rest of my bones had changed to rubber too. “Wow…” Okay, so at the moment, complex sentences were beyond me.

Never thought I would ever read a description of bondage sex that's wholesome, sweet and romantic. Almost felt like they cuddled for two hours.

“I’m so glad I didn’t mess it up, then. Dusk thought you’d like it.”

Did Blackjack actually drop someone hints, back when she met Dusk ? I really can’t remember. It was so long ago that I’ve read that chapter.

If Dusk was just making a wild guess then… yikes… that could’ve gone terribly wrong.

“Morning Glory, who’s this?” His tone was light, but I suspected that his death gaze was merely charging up.

Blackjack’s greatest challenge: Meeting her girlfriend’s dad for the first time.

“She’s my dear friend,” she said, and I suddenly realized that ‘dear’ could mean ‘idiotic’ from how she said the word.
“I see,” he replied evenly, and muttered, “I’m never getting grandfoals at this rate…” Then his eye hardened on me.

No matter the species or the setting, parents will be parents.

Well, if she’s forgiven you, then I suppose there must be some merit to you. I did the same for her mother… but, if the next time I see my daughter, she’s without her other wing, I swear you will be the one to answer for it. Is this understood?”

You just had to say it, did you? Now she’s guaranteed to lose her other wing, too. T.

Also, I’ve to admit that I initially though she had lost both of her wings back in the tunnel. Don’t know why, but I felt pretty stupid when I realized it was only one wing

Maybe put her in the HMS Celestia on the moon… that’d keep her safe, right?

The best way to be safe is not staying around Blackjack for a prolonged amount of time.

“To prevent a war,” she replied softly as she shivered, dropping her gaze a moment. Then she looked back up at me. “Even if he’s wrong, I can’t fault his intent. I agree his means are wrong, but his end is to protect my home.”

Glory is far too trustworthy. Just a few hours ago she believed that the Enclave would never turn against each other. Now she believes everything Lightinghoove says. Part of me hopes she just pretending to agree with him.

And yes, having a deadly disease that turns ponies into murderous, raping cannibals so that it can also affect your own people is evil, no matter the intentions.

And after encountering Goldenblood… well, I was suspicious of anypony who tried to get others to do their dirty work for them. I got all the same vibes from Lighthooves as I did from Goldenblood: he was a pony who would get a lot of ponies killed if he thought it was worth it.

Another smart moment from Blackjack

“Just… I don’t like that we helped him. I know what he told us. I just… I think it’s going to end badly. That’s all.” I’d gotten what I wanted. He’d gotten what he wanted. That was fair, right?

As Blackjack would say… my mane itches like crazy! This Project Horizons. If somepony says something is going to end badly, it will end badly.

Perhaps Flank getting burned down by Lighthooves troops?

Also, did he basically save Blackjack’s live to get directions?

So why was my mane going so crazy?

Hah, I knew it. Bad things going to happen!

“But… what if she dies?” I whimpered, feeling like an absolute foal. I needed some adult to tell me it was going to be okay.
“Then… that’s a real bad day. But you have to remember all the good parts. That knowing her is worthwhile. I miss Twilight every single day because I remember how much she meant to me. You have to do the same for Glory for as long as you can.”

A very emotional moment and a great advice from Watcher. I love it!

The manticore’s claws snatched inches from my spine as the winging monstrosity landed almost on top of me. With rainbow muck on my cheeks, I stared up at the monster as it crouched beside me

Alright, enough with the mushy feelings! Time for another random encounter battle.

“Hey, Security!” yelled a mare from the darkness above. “I was thinking… why don’t you make this easy, huh? Give up. We’ll make it clean and quick.”

I’m starting to suspect that this ominous mare is actually Notshy. Taming monstrous animals seems like the kind of thing an evil Fluttershy clone could do. Not to mention that this mysterious ponies is out of sight so that the readers never got a description of her. But then again, why wouldn’t Blackjack not recognize her voice if it's Notshy?

I bumped into the thrashing Glory and wrapped my hooves around her. I found her neck and lifted it above the water. She screamed, but it was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard! She had to be alive to scream!

For somepony who’s deeply afraid of Glory dying, you’re doing a shitty job at trying to keep her alive.

I started laughing my fool head off right there in the middle of the pitted street.

And now we can add "almost drowning" to the list of Blackjack’s near-death experiences.

His ghoul bodyguards Charon and Cerberus hadn’t said a word as they trotted along in their black combat armor and machinegun-armed battle saddles.

Fallout 3 reference spotted.

“I guess,” I said as my lovely marefriend made rather post-coital noises as she lay on one of the bunks and devoured the berries one by one. “Got any shotguns?” I asked with a grin.

I remember seeing a comic about this scene a looooong time ago.

These berries are either an addictive drug worse than Jet or Enclave food is so bad, that Pegasi jump at any opportunity to get something that tastes good and this guy knows it, which is why he offered Glory the berries. I like to think it’s the later.

“You mean you… and me…” I sputtered, then flushed at his easy smile. “You just met me!” It was impossible. He was… he was… old! And… old! And… in very good shape for his age.

Yep that settles it. Speak Blackjack is a clone. Because Speak Blackjack would’ve already dragged him to the bedroom.

Something about him… a yellow pony… a yellow pony. A merchant pony… Bottlecap… I suddenly blurted, “You’re Bottlecap’s father!”

Looks like Blackjack got to meet Bottlecap’s whole family.

figured out that, if they wanted all our comfy things, then all they’d have to do was take them. So they rounded up a dozen of us and tossed us right out the door.” He rubbed his chin. “Might be that charging ponies for air was going a mite too far.”

Sound like they got what they deserve. You can only screw over others so many times until they decided that enough is enough.

Did you know that the professor wouldn’t loot corpses? Guns, ammo, caps and chems just left behind before I came along! And Big Daddy wouldn’t haggle. Just took whatever price was quoted him

Every party needs one character who put points into the social skills.

Come to think of it, Blackjack’s group really has everything covered: Blackjack and Rampage do the shooting and stabbing, P-21 does the sneaking and exploding and Glory does the talking and science stuff.

We found Dawn’s tribe slaughtered. We kept coming across more and more ugly sights. 95 was gone… some genius had opened the stable to the outside to ‘trade’ and discovered just now nasty the locals were

The Hoof is fucking over ponies for 200 years. Really makes you question why any sane pony would actually stay in that place.

“I’ve come across ammo containers I’d emptied and tossed aside now miraculously holding more ammo. Never completely full, always with just enough ammo to keep me going. I’ve picked locks on safes only to come across them locked and filled with new plunder. I’ve hacked terminals only to find the passwords changed. Found food where we’d cleaned everything out,”

The characters in the story just discovered video game respawn mechanics. Maybe that's the reason why the place is still crawling with Raiders. I wonder if this is just a meta joke or if this is going to be an important plot point.

“We got so many damned ponies living around this city that we’ve got an actual war brewin’. I can’t think of anyplace else in the Wasteland that’s got a big enough population for a war. But we do.” He sighed as he lifted another cigar. “Eventually, it got to my friends as well.”

This is getting worrisome. Maybe the city is “alive” and trying to lure ponies in to make them miserable. Like a supernatural force that feeds on misery, corrupt ponies and bring out their worst behavior. Would explain a lot of stuff, like how Stable 99 became such a hellhole.

Then again, ponies in Fallout: Equestria are perfectly capable of doing a lot of fucked-up things on their own.

Glory turned her head away as she sniffed. “Mother.” I felt lightheaded. Of course, it made sense, but I felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. My pounding head wasn’t making thinking any easier.

Her father was a hero, her mother a member of the legendary Hoofington Six. I think I can see from where Glory’s desire to help others came from. I also think her mother would be very proud of her, if she could see her now.

Only us Finders have managed to keep ourselves out of it. Till Usury had to go and start slaving.

She just continued the family tradition of exploiting ponies poorer than her.

“Now she’s scraping up brahmin turds.”
I scowled, then my eye popped open wide as I looked to the door leading downstairs.

Wasn’t expecting her to survive Red Eye’s takeover.

“We’re going to need a scalpel, forceps, vodka, a spoon, any healing potions you have that are still purple, a fire, and a memory orb. A very long memory orb.”

Did she land onto something sharp that’s now stuck in her eye socket or is there a tumor growing inside the hole? Whatever it is, it’s probably unpleasant.

Sweet Celestia. I knew this stallion.
Goldenblood lay on his side on some pillows, and there was a head resting on his flank.

I think that’s the first time the reader is inside his head. This should be interesting.

“It’s hideous. All buildings in Hoofington have to be hideous. It’s in the building code,” he said, then smiled and got one in return. “Just be glad it’s not one of those black monstrosities they’re building in the Core.”

It’s like Gotham City where it’s mandatory to have all buildings look as sinister as possible with tons of gargoyles and other creepy stuff.

“Not Celestium or Big Macintoshium…”

They named a metal after Big Mac? Not offense but that’s a horrible name for a metal. Should've stzck with naming schools and ships after him.

It seemed to curve midflight, passing right by Goldenblood’s ear as it flew straight into the head of the stallion in the doorway behind Goldenblood. He dropped instantly, falling in that boneless way that signaled a terminal injury.

That was random. Poor guy.

“That’s what I need to figure out, Mr. Horse,” Goldenblood said softly as he stared at the blood and brains on the tip of the rod, the last wisps disappearing into the silvery metal. “That’s what I need to figure out…”

Getting strong supervillain vibes from this scene.

The recent flashbacks to Goldenblood are a huge improvement. We can see that he’s up to no good and shows a worrying lack of empathy over the death of that stallion, which is a stark contrast to how he acted when being around Fluttershy. Makes him a lot more human and less like an omnipresent perfect being that's behind everything.

If there are fewer scenes of him being involved in everything and more stuff like this, I may actual warm-up to him as a character.

“It’s okay. I got the tumor and cauterized the rest of the socket.”

So, it was a tumor. Lovely!

I’d never seen a mare destroyed before. In that moment, I took away everything from her, even her revenge. She pulled the gun from my throat and trotted away to a filthy corner. A few more weeks of me in misery was the most she could hope for. I wished there was some way I could have helped her. Something I could have given her. At this point, even revenge would have been a gift to a mare who had almost nothing. She was left following her father, cleaning up after his brahmin.

I remember way back when "Crusader’s of the Lost Mark" aired and we learnt that Diamond Tiara had a horrible mother. Supposedly this should’ve made us feel bad about her. Unfortunately every single of her appearances so far had her acting like a one-dimensional bully. So, I didn’t care about how sad she was. In fact, Silver Spoon giving her a verbal smackdown was the most satisfying part about the episode. Probably say a lot about what kind of horrible person I ‘am.

I feel the same way about Usury. At first, I thought she got of lightly for all the horrible crimes she committed. But this is Karmic Justice at its finest. One of the most powerful slavers in the region is reduced to shoveling brahmin shit and she loathes. Then she tries to get revenge on Blackjack, to get at least a small victory only to realize that she’s too late. Blackjack is already dying and killing her would be doing her a favor. She’s not even getting that little bit of satisfaction. And that's when she breaks down.

And it's exactly what she deserves. That bitch was a slavery who profited from other ponies suffering and misery. It's about time she got a taste of own medicine.

Like I said I can be a horrible person.

“I’ll probably wipe out two settlements, save a baby, destroy a dam, have a mind-blowing revelation, and have my hoof fall off before we get there… what do you think?”

It would be funnier if it wasn’t something I could see actually happening.

Blackjack’s Whipped-out settlement count: 2

But I still felt good. I gave a smile to Glory, who’d mounted the very formidable-looking gatling beam weapon she’d purchased on her barding. For once, life was good, and things were going my way.

That’s not good! Every time she feels happy something really bad is about to happen.

A very familiar collar rested around her throat. The sight of it gave me the curious sensation of my blood both boiling and freezing at the same time. Beside her trotted P-21 and Scotch Tape, equally bound, though at least the filly wasn’t collared. A half dozen Steel Rangers surrounded them.

Not the kind of reunion I expected. How the hell did the Steel Rangers even managed to capture an Alicorn? But mice to see that they at least were decent enough not to put an explosive collar around a foal’s neck.

Blackjack’s On-screen Body Count: Still at 151

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That was nice. The chapter funny moments, sad moments and really cute moments with Glory and Blackjack.

Sure, they almost drowned but after Blackjack being forced to kill her whole stable, an attempted suicide, another attempted suicide by a different character, Glory losing her wing, Blackjack learning that she’s dying of cancer and Glory seemingly falling to her death "almost drowning" doesn’t sound that bad.

The story needed a break from all the dark stuff and it's good that we finally got it.

This is also the second time Blackjack and Glory were separated from the rest of the group, putting the focus on developing their romantic relationship. And it's working, because I’m starting like Gloryjack. They’re both young mares without much experiences about relationships, so this sound like a receipt for disaster, yet they are really cute together.

Let’s see how Blackjack is going to broker a peace between the Rangers and the Reapers next time and how many Rangers I can add to her kill count.

You know lighthooves does sound reasonable but that's more the reason to be suspicious of him