I feel like an idiot. I realized that 'Project Chimera' probably had something to do with Discord. What I never made the connection to was flux. A state of flux is essentially chaos. Whatever is in the/a state of flux is constantly changing. How did I never notice that? I know the definition and everything!

“Because… I owe you,” he replied quietly as he walked to the elevator door.

For Gardens and Spike I am assuming.

Good thing I kept my access probe to myself. Wouldn’t want to get fresh.

Least not before a nice dinner.

Its cutting torch flared to life as a metallic scream sounded from its speakers.

The machine monster in the tunnels again?

“Do not tell me I have to choose between crazy and ghosts.”

Why not both?

was it just me, or did they look a little more blueish?

Getting blueing on guns today is expensive and old ones with the finish are rare-ish.

the blade humming in the air as it connected with her leading foreleg

Something ain't right about that blade. And I don't think it is good.

It just keeps telling me how Blackjack is going to kill me.

EC-1101 can now think for itself and pick a user?

or if Glue cracks Twilight’s work… there won’t be another!

Glue? Which Twilight's work?

spraying me briefly and punching a whole slew of holes in my limbs as I raised them reflexively.

Boo is now part of the group.

he needed Flux and the Impelled Metamorphosis Potion.

What is the real difference between Flux and I.M.P.? Both are from Discord.

Oooohohohoho... oh my... that... mind blown.
Awesome job o this chapter dude, jeeeeeeebus... BJ, ugh...
Too soft... squishy.

Nice job!

All I can comment on is *grabs popcorn to finish the other two chapters*

Funny enough it's a Discord episode next in Season 5.

Holy crap on a cracker!! DISCORD IS CHIMERA AND FLUX?! DUUUUUUUUUDE

I still remember being awake at 2:00 a.m. reading this chapter when it was released on gdocs in the summer of 2012. That "oh shit" moment is one of the highlights of my time reading pony fiction.

Discord..... what a sad day this is....

I wonder how Psychoshy will react to the fact that her mother has been a tree for all these years.....

And at last we have an answer to one of the biggest mysteries in Fallout Equestria: Where is the Lord of Chaos?

6784301 THE HALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

THE CAKE IS A LIE ITS ALL A LIE a lie

We were well down the hall when the huge manticore let out a long and mournful cry I wouldn’t ever forget.

She was an evil murdering cunt... So why can't I stop these tears?

6597048 IMP was the formula Twilight hoped to perfect to make alicorns. Taint, which Littlepip encountered is the imperfect form of it that never worked while Flux is what both were made of. So if Flux was milk and Taint was Chocolate Milk, then the IMP would be the chocolate milkshake.

‘We’re not just mixing chems and dangerous substances here: we’re mixing science!’ ‘When in doubt, throw science against the wall. See what sticks.’ ‘You are a trusted friend in science!’ ‘Not never but NOW!’ ‘Your right to work, no matter how hazardous, horrible, or harmful that work may be.’ ‘Three bit work; aren’t you glad you’re being paid four?’ ‘Donkeys: doing your part for Equestria!’

Oh, I didn't realise Cave Johnson worked here.

The reveal about Psychoshy was no surprise at all. All the signs were there. I guess it was nice to get confirmation.

That final reveal, though? Kinda mad. We'll have to see where it goes. :B

Other thoughts. So now all the Chimera ponies are either dead or Precious? That's kinda weird. I'd kind of forgotten about Boo, aka "that random seventh pony in the audiobook cover art who never showed up in books one and two". Very odd addition to the party. I wish P-21 wasn't gay, because I want him and Rampage to get together now. :V I wonder if Razor Wire is the "real" Rampage, given how deep her memories of her go. If the Dealer is or is caused by EC-1101, that would be cool. Two more criticisms.

That scene with Rampage and BJ discussing P-21's addiction stands out as being kind of not great. You've handled hard, real-world problems well in this story, but Blackjack's willful ignorance of what's happening with him feels stupid, even for her, and Rampage's dialogue came off like an after-school PSA. She's not usually one for lecturing.

Lastly, all the sympathy. There's something to be said for the drive to make sure that every monster has another monster behind them. Except Brass. Yet you even gave her sympathy at the end, which kind of aggravated me. There wasn't even any catharsis with the death of the pony just the thought of whose death made Blackjack jump for joy. Her half-hearted apology at the end would have been a nice, pathetic note to end her existence on, but no, she has to fuck manticores. I'm currently trying to decide if the whole "I'm gonna kill them, no wait, I can't, P-21 you can't either, let's be friends" thing is actually irritating me or not. It's a definite cycle with these characters, and while it fits show themes, I'm not sure that's such a great thing, considering how far away from the show we are here.

Of course, the real victim in all of this is Ol' Hank. :(

7133587
Peril of cliffhanger based chapter splits? Leaving on high tension situations risks that any negative feelings inspired will linger until resolved later on. And of course all the work in the past is a little fraught, since that's where there's so much more room to mess up canon characters and everything around them. But any talk about that would fit better next time.

You know, I'm not sure that I can remember anyone ever really talking about shipping Rampage before. Maybe it's partly because it seemed like she might never have really got over Priest (leaving aside the associated baggage). There not being all that many comparably prominent straight male characters likely didn't help.

In fairness to Blackjack, she is basically working off of PSA-level material, and probably doesn't have much of a mental model for something like a functional alcoholic (her own major experience having left her falling apart at the seams). That, and she's top tier where denial is concerned.

The sympathy is something I've had trouble with a lot of the time, probably more towards the back end than earlier. I think it was around this time (actually, maybe a bit earlier, before getting to Hippocratic, with Psychoshy) that I first really started feeling frustration where Blackjack letting people go was concerned. Every single time, it seems like it would make things so much easier, and be morally gratifying as well. But longer term, breaking from that would make her a very different character, one I suspect I'd like less. (I love me some superhero stuff, and my basic model for that done right is—for better or worse, pretty much always has been—the DCAU. So a relevant comparison is Man of Steel, and the choices made there.) That said, simply avoiding this kind of situation coming up in the first place while writing, not always, but enough to spread them out more, would have kept the basic structure while avoiding some of the negative feelings along the way. As for Brass herself . . . I think it comes down to Blackjack just not being allowed to be happy about that sort of thing. Kinda agree on the over-selling it: "but he loved his dog" fell flat as character work, and even absent the sex angle left a feeling of awkwardness about the ending, like they were thinking "well, I guess we just walk away now."

Forgot to say at the time, regarding the writing in FoE core characters and having them talk up the PH cast: there is one very important exception to that—Homage. As long as (and I don't think she did, but I also don't remember everything perfectly) she wasn't going so far as to say Blackjack was better than her girlfriend, she's fair game, since that's about a third of what she does.

7135096
It's funny, I got a little mad when BJ spared Psychoshy, then with Sanguine, I'm thinking to myself, "I'd rather have sympathy for Psychoshy than this." XD

And I hate to say it, but I actually like Homage better in this story than the one that introduced her. (She is far and away my least favorite FoE character.) There's a lot of the requisite "talk about LP's sex life in public" and "humiliate LP because someone thinks it's funny", but otherwise, she was helpful, she was kind, and her revenge-kissing Glory is probably the best thing she ever did in either story.

7133587 Poor hank! :'(

Here I was hoping we could have him join the group... but I knew that already because of the GDoc nope, have never read this story before, can't remember any so as to not spoil it for myself reading something for the second time even though I have 'never' read it before...

Spoilers below for up to this chapter, read with caution. Ink blotted for your protection! It occurs to me that it's probably not necessary; people spoil in these comments so it's whatever. Why would you read them first? Still.... it won't be me if I can avoid it.

I can certainly sympathize with Hank... every time I hear anything about Goldenblood I kinda want to kill something, too. He and Hoofington are just so OOC for Equestria that they jar me out of the story a bit. They're like the war (already a lot to take in) turned up to 11.... hundred. I get that 200+ years later things are bad... but this shit started back then (apparently driven forward by Luna the crazy warmonger, a rare negative portrayal of her) and I just keep rolling my eyes about it. Sometimes, Somber is a silly pony. Oh, and turning zebra superstitions into something real (albeit involving magic meteorites or something, not stars)? I think I preferred Zenith's line: '...it's just a stupid rock!' War never changes... as in it's fuckin' dumb. I don't buy the dealer's armchair quarterbacking of the Ministry Mares either... Yeah, I'm sure the religious fanatics would have just gone home and everything would be shiny and happy if Equestria had surrendered. Haven't you met Lancer? Zebras are all about live and let live. This is a group of people who had a major problem with Luna... so what'd they do? They tried to assassinate the OTHER sister. *golfclap* I'm sure that would be the best way to get rid of Luna; they're totally rational and trustworthy. Further, given everything that Hoofington and the O.I.A were accomplishing under the Mares' collective noses, I don't feel like a resignation would have actually done anything. Hell, Goldenblood could just erase their memory of it and put em back to work as long as Luna told him to. And I get the impression that this particular Luna would do just that.

Oh, speaking of sympathy... Blackjack, if anything you've got it backwards... spare the poor mooks who are just punching the clock for the wrong team... and kill the shit out of the monsters paying them. Seriously, I don't freaking care that Sanguine has reasons. You're worried about lying to him but you're breaking your word to a dying mare who had a semblance of honor? That death scene was well done... got to me way more than the rest of that chapter. Rest Well, Dusty. Priest was one of those 'too good for this sinful world' types... I was braced for his death within minutes of meeting him. Kinda thought Charity would die, too. Blackjack keeps making predictions about her fearsome future... last time she did that said filly was torn in half a paragraph later. Glad she made it though... may she swim in a vault of caps one day. Back to Sanguine... even long before Blackjack drove him crazier (Brimstone's Fall level, which is a REALLY high level), he sent fucking DEUS to Stable 99 with his gang of rapist raiders... If he wasn't a sick monster the whole time, why didn't he send some ninja pony to sneak in and steal it while a few others BSed the Overmare with the same lie he'd fed her that got her to open the door to begin with? Easy win, no need for horrors, done deal, family saved and holy shit, you can maybe even look 'em in the eye! But nope, let's go full comic book super-villainy (cause this shit can't even show up in cartoons) for some reason... It makes this sudden sympathetic excuse feel tacked on.

Well, I called the Med-X thing, not that it took a genius. I like that Blackjack isn't buying it. She's got a major (guilt related, but also genuine) soft spot where he's concerned... I don't see her being able to Velvet Remedy him about it... but Rampage might. When she chased him making kissy faces... oh god, chapter high point right there. 'Back! Back I say!' Blackjack offering him a hug was really touching, too.

The Psychoshy and Discord reveals weren't too shocking... though the latter is highly dependent on where it goes and it's certainly a fascinating development. Honestly... how the hell else would Flim and Flam get Flux? In Fo:E Twilight made it, and that's believable because she's Twilight. Take it from her and that narrowed the field quite a bit. The former reveal... didn't we already know that? I mean, some characters didn't, but... well I guess it hadn't been expressly spelled out. Then again, most of the major players seem to be from 200 years ago one way or another so maybe I just assumed and happened to be right. Heh, wonder if Psychoshy will be around long enough to find out her mom is still alive... I'm not particularly invested in her yet (or her mom, for that matter... blindly optimistic treason is still treason), but that would be a helluva meeting. Ooh, could it be she couldn't use EC-1101 because Goldenblood locked himself out of it (my hatred is a reasoning one, I will not close my mind about him... mostly) or is it simply because it's already found Blackjack and so won't continue seeking an operator? Or is the dealer an actual pony spirit living in the program like it was a Crusader mainframe and protecting it from the wrong hooves? ...Yeah, don't answer that.

Hippocratic isn't just banging rocks together, folks, they know how to science up a clone! I wanna pet Boo.... even if she is a shout out to those creepy FMA dolls. Looking forward to seeing how that and the Killing Joke thing play out (Glory is 20% cooler... but can she still science?).

TL:DR? Well, it's ink-blotted, so never fear! Really nice work, Somber and company... don't let my picking at details make it seem as though I think otherwise. Forward we go!

Well fuck me in the ass and call me Sally.

Holy shit... the revelations in this chapter are batshit crazy. That's the source of I.M.P and Psychoshy... damn. But if she couldn't access EC-1101, then what in the bloody hell lets Blackjack do it? And the Dealer... I think that's the coolest revelation of the chapter. Super awesome to see that he's not just BJ's craziness. Onward, woo!

~SolidFire

ho-ly shit. Discord is the source of Flux and I.M.P and shit.

aww fuck, and I thought discord was still a statue. That brings up the question: What happened to the crystal empire? Wait oh shit, how could Discord die???????? adsoifjalsjflads

Hello mister De Lancie, what're you doing here.....stuck in this statue?

can someone please explain the whole level up system ?

phoenixes, dragons, manticores… produced a pony hybrid that was too aggressive to field safely.”

Fury, Precious and Brass.
I wonder what their backstories are besides "one's upon a time, in a monster lab far far away..."

It keeps telling me Blackjack is going to kill me

Theory confirmed! The Dealer is, in fact, separate of BJ!
I knew it!

“It?” I asked with a frown. He gestured towards the round pillar in the center of the catwalk ring. I approached a short extension that stretched halfway across the void and looked up at the smooth face of the pillar. At the chimera carved into the face. Goat… lion… snake… all mixed and jumbled together. Written at the bottom of the strange mish-mash creature were the words: ‘Project Chimera’.

So...they turned Discord into a Flux fountain...
Surprised they haven't turns the cloud cover into cotton candy.
There'd be a lot of angry Enclave, that's for sure.

Funny, I since asked Kkat about Discord, and he said he just plain didn't involve him in his world. Said he died or just disappeared before it all happened.
Good job, Somber. Great surprise!

8089319
Well, we know Brass was a gigantic amoral bitch. Come to think of it, I wonder if Deus knew she was still around...

Re Discord and FoE: yeah, the original almost didn't bring him up at all, and were it not for a couple extraneous mentions of him from the stained glass windows and Celestia, it would have been consistent with him never existing in this universe at all.

7399963 words cannot express my hate for you right now

Also while sure it was treason. Treason is just a rule that says follow me or else. Then again I think government is only a necessary evil at this point and she, unlike her companions wa actually wiling to take a risk to end the war. It had tragic consequences but technically she succeeded.

8121120 Words can always express hate; try harder. ...Not that I mind, of course, hate me as much or as little as you please, no worries. Especially for something I said 9 months ago. I had to go reread it to figure out what had you so irked. As to treason... I disagree. It's betraying your country and your comrades, your friends. There's more than just a government at stake, and a government is to be for the people anyway. She assumed that she knew better than anypony else how to end the conflict. She severely underestimated the capacity for violence and hatred in those around her, friend and foe alike.
She ended the war by getting practically everyone killed. If that's your idea of success...
Hey, it's fine to do what you think is right... unless what you think is right is freaking insane, which is why you don't make a decision affecting the entire world by yourself. Lots of serial killers think they're doing the right thing... that's what crazy is. She did something completely crazy, and it destroyed almost everything. Well meaning? Certainly. But if she hadn't betrayed her people, hadn't assumed that she alone could only solve the problem by helping the enemy... the bombs might have never dropped.
If that means you hate me.... K.

I was wondering what had happened to Discord.

....

HOLY SH!

I was starting to think it was him in the last quarter there, but wow! What a twist! Well, at least for me!

Also, what if her crazy has something to do with the second star fall? Probably not, but the thought occurred to me.

 ‘When in doubt, throw science against the wall. See what sticks.’

nice little Portal reference there.

the last part of this chapter reminds me of another of my favorites: "Tryptich" by Estee. someone stole magic from Discord and used it for several purposes, including trying to turn a normal pony into an Alicorn.
but it didn't work: the poor filly keeps slowly changing between Earth, Pegasus, and Unicorn.

“It’s not. It won’t work!” Psychoshy sobbed. “It just keeps telling me how Blackjack is going to kill me. It won’t open the casing.”

Damn, Dealer.

The gun went off again, spraying me briefly and punching a whole slew of holes in my limbs as I raised them reflexively.

Welcome to the group, Boo!

Twilight stared at the blank in horror. Goldenblood stared into her eyes, then asked in a voice soft as a lover’s whisper, “Twilight… have you given a thought... just a thought… about what Equestria will be like if we win this war?”

8289328
Yeah this reveal explained so much about the wasteland to me

As it was mentioned ealier, I really belived that discord was respawning loot in the hoof.

Fluttershy's daughter???!!! WHAT? I was so shocked. I belived, from the goldenblood orb in (ch.33 i think) that tarot was flutters daughter

We were well down the hall when the huge manticore let out a long and mournful cry I wouldn’t ever forget.

😢😭

“Sanguine said he could clone me new organs. Even a whole new body, if he had Chimera.” I frowned, knitting my brows together. “What if we could use Chimera to help Scotch?”

Kinda feels like doubled standards.

He snorted angrily. “Are you saying you’d believe me after what I did to your stable?” He had a point. I’d taken one heck of a pounding since then. I’d needed to see that office first. Read that message from a loving wife. “The sick fact is that what I am... this... this walking corpse... doesn’t deserve them. But their memory is the only thing keeping me from becoming a mindless feral. Saving them gives me purpose.”

I mean.. if he'd did that straight out from the beginning I'd believe him and gladly help him

“Does nothing,” Twilight interrupted. “I’ve examined all the formal documents you’ve submitted on Flux over the last decade. Every single one. And I’ve concluded that I’ve never seen a larger collection of gibberish in my life.”
“Oh… you couldn’t have really read…” Flam began, and then he met Twilight’s flat gaze. His mustache drooped so much that I thought it would simply drop off. “Every… single… one?”

And that’s why Twilight is a badass. 😎
That and the fact that she knocked-out one of Tirek’s teeth with her horn laser.

“Oh, I doubt I’ll get off so lightly,” rasped a familiar bastard. It was slightly mollifying to see that Goldenblood looked every bit as battered and exhausted as Twilight. His golden mane was disheveled, and his suit looked as though it’d been slept in. “My apologies for being late.”

derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/11/6/144598.png

Let’s see where this is going.

I’ve done nothing… nothing… for five years now. Nothing since Big Macintosh died! My friends have accomplished more to help protect Equestria than I have. It’s my responsibility to come up with magic that will save Equestria!

Poor Twilight. If only she knew that she spent so much time on the one project that will become the key to restoring Equestria.

“Because… I owe you,” he replied quietly as he walked to the elevator door. “And I’m sorry.”

Okay that was interesting. A tired, worn-out and regretful Goldenblood. Very different from the all-powerful, all-knowing director of the O.I.A. who seemed to be in control of everything.

I sighed. Great. More crazy? Dream? Enclave mind control device finally kicking in? Possession? What kind of commentary was it on my life when I couldn’t count out any of those?

My guess is that it’s similar to the memories she received when travelling through the tunnels.

“Okay, Rover, wherever you are… you’re right. Thumbs are better.”

Still think they look wrong on ponies.

I dropped... and fell into a tangle of robotic limbs. The three cameras that apparently served as its eyes turned to focus on me. “Always told ‘em this elevator was unsafe fer pony travel, but does anypony listen to old Hank? Nooo.”

Robot with southern accent coming out of nowhere and saving Blackjack’s live. That was certainly not what I expected to happen next.

I frowned; I’d never thought of the bombs falling from a machine’s point of view. I tried to imagine having a life and then suddenly being told to go to sleep, then waking up to find that everything that was important to me was gone.

“I spent the first ten years trying to keep the floor waxed, but nothing gets out nuclear fallout from vinyl wood. Nothing!”

Somber predicted Codsworth.

But there’s some folk like the doc who keep saying we’re suppose to do what he says, and at the same time we’re suppose to do what the Core Command says and at the same time we’re getting Core commands to not do what Core Command says!

So there are two opposing forces fighting for control over Hoofington’s robots and computer system.

The robot’s buzz saw whirred as it seized me by my throat with a pincer and plunged the rotating blade straight at my face! I brought up my forelegs and the saw teeth sputtered and sparked off the enamel.

Suddenly the robot went into kill mode. Wonder who programmed him to react this way.

Four hooves, head, and tail; that was a pony, right? It was as if somepony had started there and then suffered some sort of psychotic vision of massive twisted knots of flesh and barely restrained bulk. The pale form’s bloodshot eyes glared around wet leather straps that seemed to be holding most of its body together. However, all that was secondary to the size of its mouth, which was filled with broken stone-like teeth.

Hoofington underground, is a world full of wonders and terrors. But mostly terrors!

I balked at the helmet. Without my E.F.S., I’d need to rely on my eyes and ears more, and my mouth was the only way I was going to be able to use the revolver at all.

Besides, it’s not like there’s anything important inside your head that needs protection.

“Hi,” I said as she stared at me. “Hello?” More staring. “Are you okay?” More stares. I moved, and she moved. I waved my hoof in front of her eyes and she shrank back. Her ribs showed through her hide. “Hungry?” Nothing. Even more disturbing was the lack of a cutie mark on her flank. I nudged one of the Fancy Buck Cakes at her, and she pressed her nose to it, sniffing, and then started to chew on the wrapper. “Um… need some help?” I took the cake from her, unwrapped it, and then handed it to her. She munched it down, orange carrot filling smearing her lips. Then she took another and started to chew on that wrapper.

Hello Boo. Welcome to Team Trauma.

And then I looked back to find myself face to face with Fury. Her orange eyes widened in shock, “You? Fuck! You can’t be here! How the fuck are you here?”

Fury is about to have the worst day in her life.

“Sorry about this,” I said as I put the bullet into her head yet again. But as she glowed, I turned my back to her and threw open the fire box. The explosion slammed me into the coiled hose even as I gripped the valve handle and pulled, praying to Luna and Celestia that the water was still on. The hose hissed and immediately swelled. I turned back around, holding the fire hose, and pointed the nozzle at the glowing ashes.
As they began to rise, I blasted them into the heap of twisted bunks with a jet of water. The yellow mare took shape again, then gasped and stared at me in confusion a moment. Then she looked down at the half a bunk lodged in her torso.

Again showing Blackjack’s ability to thing outside of the box when under pressure and come up with creative solutions to take out seemingly invisible enemies. We’ve seen this before when she fought the twins.

“Like I said… sorry,” I muttered as I backed away towards the terrified white mare.

Blackjack: She’s going to brutally killing you but at least she’s sorry about it.

Also, it took me until this chapter to realizes that she was part Phoenix. I knew it couldn’t be a Kirin because they didn’t exist when this story was written, but someone I forgot about Phoenixes existing in the show. Probably because there’s a loooooooooot more Kirin fan art nowadays. Not bad for a species introduced in the second-to-last season.

I watched in shock as one stallion simply trotted forward and was torn to pieces by a trio of satisfied nightstalkers.

That explains why the Nightstalker mentioned before didn’t attack Blackjack. There’s plenty of free food down for them so they aren’t really hungry.

Softest heart in the Wasteland? Maybe, but I couldn’t do better by leaving her behind.

And that’s why she’s still a hero. When the chip are down she does the right thing – or tries to do it.

“Here pony pony,” grated a male griffin through a power armor helmet. No time. I waited for the next fat drop and scrambled up to the next landing.

A lone guy in power armor after Blackjack. Yep, he’s death!

Wonder why they didn’t just block the exist(s) and wait for her to die. Seems a lot smarter than entering a place that’s dripping in flux. Power armor or not.

“I don’t know how you’re not jelly yet, but I swear I am gonna smear you on a cracker!” he swore, now moving much quicker after me.

Seriously dude, just leave! Let the Flux kill her. And if the Flux can’t kill her because she’s immune for some weird reason, you’re putting yourself in a bad position. No matter what they pay you, it’s not enough to follow her.

I stared down at armor that bulged at every seal. Red meat now oozed out the holes. I shuddered as I stepped back. Again, I really really hoped he was dead after that… and that he didn’t turn into something worse.

“Guys? Did you hear that? Sounds like Security killed Gus!”
“Great, that means the rest of you now owns me 10 Bits!”

Congratulation unnamed Griffon. You just won a spot-on Blackjack’s Kill Count list and my personal list of dumbest characters in this setting.

You are no Colonel Aurum, but you’re close.

Also first Griffon killed by Blackjack. Was expecting this to happen a lot sooner with all the RedEye mercenaries showing up in the story recently.

“Oh?” Goldenblood arched a brow as he trotted in front of her. “Would you rather have ponies die when we have the magic and technology to save them? If so, make the command. We’ll shut that room down forever.”

This scene her really makes Goldenblood an Anti-Blackjack. He’s all about how sometimes you need to do bad things for the Greater Good. While Blackjack refuses to compromise her morals just because it’s easier or convenient.

Brass swooped up and smashed through the glass, showering me with shards that I barely deflected with my upraised hooves. “There you are!” she shouted in glee as she pounced at me. “They said they spotted a pony with a black and red mane, but you wouldn’t believe how glad I am that I’m the one who found you!”

Seriously what’s with these henchmen going after her all alone? If you really want to follow her into a potentially lethal and dangerous place at least bring some friends to give yourself an advantage.

“I just wish you were the gray cunt. I’m looking forward to ramming that gatling beam gun right up he--”

You really shouldn’t have said that.

“You’ve killed so damn many of my lovers and pets. I’m going to feed you to them, clone you, and feed you to them again,”

Wait lovers? Is she talking about the Manticores? Yickes…

Ohhh… I could make up some sort of sob story for you, but the fact is that this is the way I am, and I like it.

Yep some people are just assholes who realized that they can benefit from exploiting and hurting others. Even if she’s just a mock, it makes this story a bit more realistic if not every bad guy has a sob story.

I suspected that if I had my PipBuck, the health monitoring system would be informing me that I was all kinds of fucked up in the head and torso regions.

Nothing one or two doctor’s bags can’t fix.

Suddenly, there was a click and the whirr of fans. The lights overhead flickered and came on, and the vents began to blast cold air and rattle loudly.

Was that you, Boo?

“Listen, Brass, before you kill me and eat me and stuff… there’s one thing I just got to know: did you do this whole manticore transformation thing because you couldn’t find any of your own species to fuck?”

Sick burn.

“Death Filly!” screamed Rampage as she dropped from an overhead vent and onto the back of the nearest beast.

That was unexpected! Rampage knows how to make an entrance.

The mechanical pincers seized her thrashing limbs and flopped her on to her back. She screamed in terror, and had I been able to move, to stop what I knew was coming, I would have. As it was, I was too battered to even look away as her limbs were pulled taut.

Okay there have been a lot of nauseating and gruesome deaths in this story, including what happen to the griffon, but this takes the cake. Even someone like Brass didn’t deserve this.

She lifted her remaining forelimb and stroked his uninjured cheek. “You big baby…” she rasped as the manticore started to lick her wounded face and mane. She licked back once, then finally closed her eye and went still.

So, even the self-proclaimed asshole with no regrets has somecreatures she cares about and get’s a sad death scene. Shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Wait wait wait. I told you what?” I frowned, pink crumbly meaty… stuff… stuck to my lips. I didn’t remember any of that! I frowned, chewing the can thoughtfully as I looked at the pair.
“Remember? We called down for five or six minutes; the elevator was only ten or twenty feet down before it jammed. You finally said you were all right and that we should go through the door and meet you down here. Warned us to watch out for the turrets too,”

Okay, whoever did this was probably the same person who turned on the robot that removed Brass’ organs and maybe have been the one who sent out Hank to save Blackjack. Looks like she has an unknown ally.

It’s like they’re animals or something,” Rampage said with a frown. “Stupid animals at that.”

Even animals know to run away from danger.

“Don’t get me wrong. He was a good pony, but it wasn’t like you two were making adorable sweaty stallion lovin’, right?”

Rampage can be a real insensitive jerk, can’t see? I know that’s her way of dealing with bad stuff but still.

“Hug?”
He looked at me, then sighed and pulled himself to his hooves with a groan. “Let’s get going.”

Awww, these two.

But P-21 isn’t anything like her. I mean, she had sores and huge hollows under her eyes and I think there was some foaming at the mouth. Like, she was crazy without them.

Oh great, it was one of these education movies that try to scare children straight instead of giving an accurate portrayal.

“Blackjack, if P-21 is hooked, he’s going to need a lot more than just Fixer. Doctors can take care of the physical conditions. If he’s using it because of something in his head--” But I whirled on her at that.

Seriously, why is bloodthirsty raider the reasonable one in this group?

I remembered those hollow-eyed, slat-sided wretches outside Flank, and P-21 wasn’t like that. Those were addicts. He wasn’t like that, so he couldn’t be an addict.

And here we are seeing the Blackjack way of dealing with problems. Pretending everything is fine until you break down.

Although I do wonder at what point this addiction started. Feels like it came out of nowhere but then again, P-21 is good at hiding this kind of stuff.

“None. Less than an infant. And no soul, either, or at least none we’ve ever been able to detect. A body made of pure Biomagical Flux.” He gestured to the blank. “Is this a pony? It has no parents, no magic, no spark. It has enough instinct to sleep when it gets tired or eat when it gets hungry, but it otherwise will die without care.”

It's supposed to be reassuring but it sounds extremely creepy. Also, we’ve seen that Boo is smart enough to run away from danger. Not sure if she’s unique or if all Blanks could develop similar survival instincts given enough time.

We could produce whole armies of blanks, suit them up in power armor or fuse them with dragons, manticores, and phoenixes and send them against our enemies. With Chimera, we could conquer the entire world, if Luna willed it!

Getting kind of creepy here Goldenblood!

“There’s something that Sanguine wants; I think it’s more than just ‘this building’. Maybe… maybe we can work out a deal?” P-21 snorted in disgust.

Fuck, that’s the last thing anybody should do. But again, if Scotch’s live is one the line and he could save her, I can understand this.

Although, I remember the vision and what he did to Glory. Can they actually thrust him not to do something nasty that will turn Scotch into a monstrosity after a month?

He’d probably believe me if I told him we’d let him go; I had that whole ‘noble idiot’ thing going. P-21 could rig something to go boom. We could do it. I could not only win, but also get vengeance on the bloody monster.

I mean letting the guy just walk away after everything he did is wrong. You don’t even know what else he would do.

Warning: report any and all instances of music and/or singing; do not participate in any musical numbers.

These are ponies. You can’t expect them not to break into a song for longer than a week.

She looked like hell; great wads of yellow feathers had been torn from her wings, her mane was ripped and torn, and her yellow hide was bruised. “Stop screwing around and just open it!”

Did Sanguine hit her? That’s a new low even for him.

I rolled to my hooves, expecting to see P-21. Instead, my eyes popped wide as I stared at Boo gripping the mouth trigger of one of the guns. Her blank eyes stared back, and she swallowed.

She knows what guns are and how to use them. When die she learn that? This absolutly proves that she’s not just an animal.

“You made me one!” he screamed. “I didn’t want to kill them. I didn’t want to kill anypony! I just needed Chimera to save them.

Again, blaming other for his actions. It’s not like he hasn’t been killing ponies before meeting Blackjack.

“You were doing all this to save your family?” I gaped at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He snorted angrily. “Are you saying you’d believe me after what I did to your stable?” He had a point. I’d taken one heck of a pounding since then. I’d needed to see that office first. Read that message from a loving wife. “The sick fact is that what I am... this... this walking corpse... doesn’t deserve them. But their memory is the only thing keeping me from becoming a mindless feral. Saving them gives me purpose.”

And here’s the tragic backstory.

You know, not every bad guy needs to have a tragic event in his live to become evil. Some people just use others as stepping stones to get what they want.

Also, Sanguine is an idiot.

He had nothing to gain by lying to Blackjack. If he had told her the truth she may have believed him, she may have not. Heck, she worked with the guy who he’s responsible for branding Glory as a Dashite after he told her about his noble intentions. It's at least worth a try.
But pretending to be an evil scientist who wants to do evil stuff basically ensured that Blackjack would’ve never worked with you ever.

He looked at me and screamed, “Then you fucked everything up!”

No you fucked it up yourself, because you acted like a monster. Doesn’t matter how many families he killed, they weren’t his so it didn’t matter.

In addition, for your crimes against the mining settlement at Brimstone’s Fall, Red Eye wishes for me to personally inform you that you will be shot on sight if you are seen anywhere in the vicinity of the Cathedral or Fillydelphia.

You know you fucked up when a guy like RedEye despises you for what you’ve done.

He ever so slowly pulled his hoof away and murmured, “Maybe… but he should be killed. He’s done horrible things… he deserves to die for them.” And I couldn’t argue with that. He was right. Sanguine should die. It would be a win. The right thing to do.
But I’m not an executioner.

Okay, I get not wanting to kill in cold blood. But what else are you supposed to do with him once you’re done. Letting him walk away? That’s spitting in the face of all his victims. Force him to work at the Colligate or some other place for the rest of his life. Make him atone for his crimes and perhaps give him a chance to be better. But please don’t let him just walk away.

So I’ll unlock Chimera if you’ll do what you have to do to make a clone for her.”
“You’ll just give me Chimera for that?” he stammered in disbelief.
“No. I’m not giving it to you. Sorry, I don’t trust you or Red Eye with it. But I will let you help your family. And if this is an O.I.A. facility, then I can’t believe it doesn’t have some kind of automated defenses.”

Probably the best course of action. Saving Scotch and his innocent family but not handing over a powerful weapon to a guy they can’t thrust.

“Is she a clone or something?” Rampage asked as she passed me my PipBuck.
“No,” Sanguine said simply. “She’s Fluttershy’s daughter.”

She has aged well for a hundred-year-old mare.

“Sure. Here and everywhere. Word will go out to let Chimera be accessible along the networks and allow anypony with the right access codes to use the files. I have no idea how far and wide those networks stretch,”

This… is going to cause a lot of trouble. I know already.

“Discord,” Twilight Sparkle whispered in horror, her eyes wide as she pressed her hooves to her mouth.
Then a low, snide, nasal-sounding voice croaked in a condescending tone, “Hello, Twilight Sparkle. Long time no see.”

That was unexpected. Since this is an unreformed Discord, who has been locked up and used for experiments he’s probably not as nice as his show version.

Blackjack’s On-screen Body Count: 160*

*Fury, the power-armored Griffon, Brass and the mercenary she threw over the railing into the deadly mist. Not included are non-sapient beings like Hank, the Fatties and the Manticores. Wasn’t sure about including Brass. Technically whoever turned on the Auto-Doc is responsible, but it was Blackjack’s actions that put her into the range of the machine.

----------

It’s interesting to look at Sanguine’s actions now and realize hat he indeed tried to be "reasonable". First, he wanted to buy off the Pipbuck, then attempted to obtain him via the challenge and only sent Brass after him, when Blackjack tricked him. The hostage situation was him getting desperate.

Maybe this is just me reading too much into it, but it feels like he’s supposed to be an example to Blackjack what happens when a Pony desperately wants to win. Sanguine "wining" by saving his family was more important than the lives of others and any moral boundaries. Still even before he got desperate, he was okay with Deus murdering a whole stable, so my sympathies are limited.

Hopefully Sanguine won't get be killed by a bad guy or performs a heroic sacrifice in the next chapter. That would be a cheap way to solve this moral dilemma and allows Blackjack to have her cake and eat it, by staying true to her principals will also not letting him get away.

Show mercy and not killing bad ponies, regardless of their crimes, is admirable. But if you spare them you are responsible. You can’t just send them away and hope for the best. That’s just careless. There’s a reason why real-life prisons attempts to rehabilitate the inmates instead of just throwing them out after they have served their sentence. At least in an ideal world.

I also do like Twilight a lot in this chapter. Finally, we’re seeing the powerful Ministery Mare who’s done with all the bullsith and excesses.

Need to speed-up things and not spend weeks on a single chapter.

Damn, I know Brass was a bitch but that was still pretty brutal...

That did it. With a manticore’s roar she lunged, all bestial rage and fury. She pounced forward as I took the sword and swung, the blade humming in the air as it connected with her leading foreleg and cleaved the limb off completely. She flapped her wings to keep from falling flat on her face, and I feinted with a cut to her head... wait, when had I learned to feint? Sure enough, she pulled her snarling maw back and stabbed with her venomous tail. The sword reversed and sliced the bulbous tip away. She screamed, taking to the air as her stumps dribbled blood.

This sword was definitely touched by the stars or has someone's soul inside. Everytime Blackjack brings it out it just gives a really sinister vibe

Of course, Hydra had effectively rotted my heart with all the taint that had contaminated me... I met Rampage’s hard glare and said firmly, “He’s not an addict, okay? He’s just not. We’ll get him talking with Scotch and work out his problems and you’ll see.” I didn’t know how I could convince her… I wasn’t precisely sure if I was convincing myself.

Why does she think of P 21 this way? They're relationship seems so complex to me. On one hand they are handy dandy companions that love each other as friends like during the boat scene when P 21 got really fucking pissed at the rapists and Blackjack always being there to cheer up P 21 and defend him like here. But on the other hand Blackjack sees P 21 as a tyrant who would make his own daughter into a breeder? And then there's this. I'm not sure why Blackjack is being so stubborn about P 21's addiction, it's so very interesting.

What was that? Was she talking about… Dealer? But… but he was my crazy! Wasn’t he?

Oh my God this is so very important. Who's the pony in EC 1101. He's not Blackjacks crazy. Goldenblood? Someone from the past. Someone smart who helps guide Blackjack into making a good decision everytime. It has to be Goldenblood right? But then it might not be him, why would he know how to deal cards? That doesnt sound lime him. Theres no proof. Maybe the scene where dealer looked younger had some clue. I love a good mystery

Goldenblood sighed and spoke formally, and I felt my lips move with him as I spoke his words. “Project Chimera containment open. Password: a wonderful, wonderful thing.”

Sametime? You know I suck at guessing but I really want to believe that dealer is Goldenbood

Holy shit its Discord. Of course, Chimera why didn't I put two and two together. Wait but if Blackjack can access this doesn't it mean she's a relative of the main 6? Or is it based off of whether Dealer likes you or not. Clearly Fluttershy's daughter didn't work so maybe it's up to Dealer? Also I would love a small excerpt of just listening to Dealer shit on physcoshy and just constantly tell her how Blackjack is going to kill all of them. That must have been hilarious.
Also loving Sanguine, glad he isn't just a big bad and it's pretty funny thay Blackjack is aware that he's almost playing a character. Also glad that dropping that crate into him didn't kill him and for once I'm glad Blackjack didn't off him. Wonder if he'll turn a new leaf.

“Great and incredible?” She suddenly laughed, her mane frizzing even more. “I’ve done nothing… nothing… for five years now. Nothing since Big Macintosh died! My friends have accomplished more to help protect Equestria than I have. It’s my responsibility to come up with magic that will save Equestria! That’s what I promised Luna when I established the Ministry of Arcane Science. But even after everything she’s done for me, I’m no closer to giving Luna what she needs to end this war. Don’t you understand? I’m a failure.” I knew that look on her face; she might not have been on a mattress, but she was fighting hard to stay off it.

Imagine “Lesson Zero” Twilight, but angry. Really angry. *Hides under the covers*

“Mmhmm! Between when the alert went out and now, there’ve been four hundred and two million, seven hundred and ninety thousand, one hundred and twelve commands issued and four hundred and two million, seven hundred and ninety thousand, and sixty seven countermands issued.

Talk about job security.

“Didn’t think it could happen… fuck…” And then she stiffened before slumping over. She glowed one final time, exploding in a spray of dirty water, and when I next looked back there was nothing but the gurgle of ashy liquid flowing down into the shattered drain.

In the end, Fury was just a total washout.

“I don’t know how you’re not jelly yet, but I swear I am gonna smear you on a cracker!”

This poor guy was born in the wrong time. Before the war, he could have been an action movie star.

“We store other unique biological samples as well,” Trueblood muttered. “You never know when you might find them useful.”

Ok, Scytale.

“Sure. We watched a movie about a pony hoarding stable supplies because she, like, needed healing potions or something. But P-21 isn’t anything like her. I mean, she had sores and huge hollows under her eyes and I think there was some foaming at the mouth. Like, she was crazy without them.”

What passed for drug education in Stable 99

“She can and does. She sees nothing wrong with using Chimera to help the lives of thousands of actual thinking, feeling ponies.” He looked at the blank standing there. “And think. If we could somehow give blanks intellect, we wouldn’t need ponies to fight anymore. We could produce whole armies of blanks, suit them up in power armor or fuse them with dragons, manticores, and phoenixes and send them against our enemies. With Chimera, we could conquer the entire world, if Luna willed it!” he said with a grand wave of his hoof, before he dropped it and stared into her eyes. “And she will. Maybe not today, or tomorrow… but she will. The temptation is inescapable,” he finished in a dreadfully quiet voice; I couldn’t tell if he was talking to Twilight or to himself.

Twilight stared at the blank in horror. Goldenblood stared into her eyes, then asked in a voice soft as a lover’s whisper, “Twilight… have you given a thought... just a thought… about what Equestria will be like if we win this war?”

She swallowed, staring at the simple ghostly pony. “I’ve been… occupied.” He glanced at her, then shook his head with a faint sigh. She looked back at him and asked quietly, “Have you?”

He frowned at her before speaking as if confessing a horrid crime. “Lately? I’ve been incapable of thinking about anything else.”

Well, this is terrifying. How far had Luna fallen? Who was the bigger threat between her and Goldenblood? Was Goldenblood trying to save Equestria from Luna? But Agent Monsterpony claimed that the O.I.A. served Luna. Did the O.I.A. break into opposing factions after Goldenblood’s removal? All we’ve seen so far has implied that Horse was abandoned by the old guard and had little real power. But maybe there was another pony leading a splinter group.

“Sanguine said he could clone me new organs. Even a whole new body, if he had Chimera.” I frowned, knitting my brows together. “What if we could use Chimera to help Scotch?”

Oh boy. Here it comes…

“I’d love to know by who, how, and why, but I don’t have time for that. When I was dying, you said you could replace organs for me using Chimera. Well, now I have a friend who breathed a whole lungful of chlorine gas, and if she’s not dead now, she may be soon,” I said as I stared into his eyes. “So I’ll unlock Chimera if you’ll do what you have to do to make a clone for her.”

SURE IS CONVENIENT THAT SHE NEEDS THIS BITCH ALIVE TO SAVE SCOTCH

Goldenblood sighed and spoke formally, and I felt my lips move with him as I spoke his words. “Project Chimera containment open. Password: a wonderful, wonderful thing.”

Speaking of wonderful, the buildup to the Discord reveal was fantastic. Truly first class.

“Discord,” Twilight Sparkle whispered in horror, her eyes wide as she pressed her hooves to her mouth.

Then a low, snide, nasal-sounding voice croaked in a condescending tone, “Hello, Twilight Sparkle. Long time no see.”

Boss fight time? Maybe, maybe not. BUT JUST IN CASE, LET’S SET THE MOOD!