papermint Rampage HAHAHAHAH thos of you that do not git this will shon "starts to LOL again"

Hahahaha, wow, what a chapter... tanks man... fucking A! LOving how this is going man, this is frigging epic!
I need to work on my own story Dx
So I can see fanart, because ambitions. But ima lazy uck, ugh,

Nice chapter well done! I shall read on!

Hahahaha, wow, what a chapter... tanks man... fucking A! LOving how this is going man, this is frigging epic!
I need to work on my own story Dx
So I can see fanart, because ambitions. But ima lazy uck, ugh,

Nice chapter well done! I shall read on!

I couldn't help but notice that the fight scene with The Legate is a bit different from the Google Docs version. I assume the changes were intentional?

so large I that couldn’t see across it

so large that I

Twister said she popped

as she

The Legate looked up and me

at me

I'm kinda at a crossroads for a proper comment here.

Be Kind!
No, Fluttershy. Not this time.
Do better!
It’s not for me to do better. It was him. Now I am going to do better…
I pointed the gun right at his head as he lay there in a spreading pool of filth. I was fairly certain he’d be crippled for life; perhaps he’d bleed out. But I looked down the barrel and stared right into his eye. I’d given him mercy and he’d squandered it. He’d hurt others. It was every bit my fault. If I’d killed him, he wouldn’t have hurt another pony…

Me every time Blackjack has the chance to be bad
s2.quickmeme.com/img/d6/d6b8987e336a7a7e1dfad7e8180762f69d4a8167ceb962c389897e161b8802cb.jpg

No, we must reward her. One of us. One of us!’

Funny... my coworker and I were discussing this reference just the other day; I had to show him this line on my phone last night and we both got a laugh out of it. I didn't know about the original source for the song until he told me about it, just the Simpsons version. Horror was different in the 30s... But, heck, the original fits even better here. And speaking of references...

MEGA DEUS

...You're a louse, Somber.

Speaking of lice.... maaaaan, Psalm is freaking everywhere. Retcon? She's like Forrest Gump with a high powered rifle... you turn around and she runs up and shoots you in the face. That she was the cruel operative with the SMGs is equally jarring... she kinda tortured that nurse for no real reason. Killing Pinkie wasn't vile enough? And of course, now that I think about it, the most likely way Blackjack was dreaming that stuff was from Unity... so she's in there somewhere... I'm an idiot... of course she's a bundle of guilt and such... so yeah, we knew where she was already, awhile ago. I'll take the red dunce cap, if you have one. Better glue it to my head or I might try poking a particular alicorn in the eye with it. I wonder who she'll kill out of the canon next...

Honestly... this account of the peace summit is just weird. Forget Psalm a moment... it was one thing when Big Mac stepped in front of Celestia to take a bullet; Fo:E left it at that and that was fine. That all happens in a flash and it's done; tragedy ensues. This was more gradual... and Celestia was even more useless than she was against Chrysalis. Why did Twilight want to make alicorns again? They seem like a waste of time as portrayed here. Either the zebras already have targetted poisons for them somehow or Celestia lacks the constitution of an earth pony. Really, how the HELL did these zebras not just roll over Equestria in a week? They're portrayed as basically superior in every way. How did they ever consider Luna a threat if their Caesar could just 1v1 her? We see how easily they can take out an alicorn. Yeah, this doesn't add up worth a damn.

On that note, I could do with less favoritism towards the Other... but that seems to be the way the wind is blowing in this fic. It's a bit jarring... and frankly, laughably false... given what the zebras did with mega spells, and at the summit, and even to other zebras... and this Legate... army of cyberzebras, oh but Blackjack is 'profaned by metal'? What a hypocrite. Yeah, too bad the princesses didn't agree to a duel, ya dipshit. Let's see... Blackjack's duel sure ended fairly... oh and this from the sort of racial mindset that brings poison bombs and hit squads to a peace summit. Yep... I'm sure a duel between Luna and the Caesar woulda TOTALLY been on the up and up. ...Are we supposed to fall for this horseshit? The impression I got of the Caesar was an inferiority complex that made diplomacy early on impossible; he escalated the war by having to prove to his people that he was a strong leader even when he wasn't. Sounds like Luna later, actually. But the thing is, with Luna we're being told that much, over and over and over. With the zebras... I have to figure it out from subtext. Never mind that the Remnant is even a thing. 'Kill em all, no matter how long it takes!' Bahahahahhaha... I can't take them seriously... am I supposed to?

Ah well. More than enough to keep moving forward, despite that little rant. Ah! The encounter on the bridge... well... it was certainly interesting. It confuses me a bit that Blackjack doesn't already consider herself a killer. She mercy killed 99, the foals and Fluttershy medical, and has killed countless in combat. Ultimately, Lacunae was right about her being a joke if he'd walked away again... some infections have to be cut out. I'm mixed on her taking the shot because Blackjack couldn't, but that's not a bad thing. Overall, that scene delivered for me. Hell, the sheer transparent approach of those bandits was actually pretty hilarious.

And finally, a real Twilight figurine! It's long since occurred to me that the not smart pony has progressively gotten much less not smart, which is all to the good. It'll be interesting to see how much effect this, and having them all, has for her. Given that, even after her upgrades, she just got wrecked again... I'd say she needs all the help she can get, especially since we're still waiting for the other hoof to drop from ole Trixie before Maripony gets blasted.

Geh... I think I'm going to have to do a word count of the comments I'm making on this. It's like the perfect storm of awesome and irritating to make me want to spout off continuously; I apologize. It didn't happen with Fo:E; I just wanted to keep reading. I do here too, for the most part... but it's more grueling to do so.

With the zebras... I have to figure it out from subtext.

That's kinda their thing though isn't it? Dance around pretty much everything to make sure any potential threats are as least sure as they can make them.

Never mind that the Remnant is even a thing. 'Kill em all, no matter how long it takes!' Bahahahahhaha... I can't take them seriously... am I supposed to?

As stupid as it is, after asking 10 of my friends if they would rather have the enemy win or have everybody die, 3 of them said that everybody would die. So there is definitely some people like that our there. And when they're are dealing with what they see as the harbinger of the end, it makes sense that they would risk everything to stop it. Such a thing could easily be seen as an all or nothing situation.

Uh... I haven't seen Present Perfect's comments for a few chapters... I wonder why?

Oh well! :\ Great chapter as always... Psalm killing Big Macintosh... WHY? :'( You know what. Don't answer that. This is one of those darker things that I don't want to know. He trusted her... v.v

One of these days Somber, one of these days... I would like to finish this, and move on. But till then, I will keep going, suffering, crying, and laughing. All to this wonderful, wonderful story. I'm looking forward to the next chapter. ^^

7897970
Busy man, other things. This is a lot to handle all at once, especially if you're doing a review rather than just reading/listening.

7931415 Very true. Thanks, it is nice to finally talk to you, also thanks for replying. I forget that people can be busy, reviewing is quite fun, yet it is also quite difficult. I look forward to talking to you again. ^^

I just realized...

Project Horizons is to us what EC-1101 is to Blackjack.

...Maybe? Probably not. I don't know, but it sounds cool. Ish.

HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE PSALM DID NOT JUST KILL BIG MACINTOSH >:|

People told me I would hate this story. They said the last two books are far and away the most bleak and depressing. I did not believe them. But I'm starting to. :| Twist and Shujaa was one thing, but this is beyond the fucking pale! Augh.

Okay, so, well, sex ed with Blackjack, always fun? <.< What the hell is the status of her relationship with Glory? They love each other, they don't love each other, they're just fucking, but BJ still refers to her as "my love". Argh.

God, she's just developing more and more complexes as things go along. I thought she was making an effort to get better! :|

NEST sounds like an acronym that's also a reference to something...

And what the hell was all that crap with Luna at the end? c.c

8015822 Their relationship is "Glory attempting to be open minded and Blackjack being the self centered mare who whats to be the mare that Glory wants her to be because she loves her but can't because she's immature and terrible for Glory." I think 'complicated' is the best word for it. Glory wants a Blackjack who isn't who Blackjack really is and is hoping that she can some how have that special relationship, even if she does have sex with others on the side. It's really tough for her because she doesn't accept it.

8016202
Okay, that makes sense.

Relationships are hard, no matter how you're involved in them. D:

8015822
Eh, I'd have a hard time saying book four as particularly more bleak than, say, two. Not to say there aren't some moments, including ones you haven't reached yet, but on the whole... I don't see it. Five's more likely ta getcha though. (It caused at least one longtime fan to pretty much go off the deep end in a very vocal way, and suddenly.)

As for the relationship, beyond what 8016202 said (and 8016517), bear in mind how background plays into this. Both are in their first relationship, both after in some way being forced out of their homes. Between the two, Glory, whose mother abandoned her family to pursue a hopeless crusade, has the better parental example of a functioning romantic partnership. As a Twilight-ish character, I'm betting she wasn't exactly paying attention to examples outside her family, either. Blackjack had 99. Long story short, they are seriously figuring this out on the fly.

PP, if everyone you know who's tried to get better/work through complexes has successfully done so, and on an early try, I'm envious. :P
Please advise how to copy... please?

If it is, I'm not sure what to.

Trippy as fuck? :V

Running, screaming
Fighting, dying
For a cause that's oh so trying
The patience of the dead and dying.

Bleeding, fucking
Misery squared
Upon my soul
This pain will bear.

Running, laughing
Winning, and crying
I'll crush this cunt
Or I'll die try trying

Rampage snickered.  “Oh, come on.  Deus couldn’t go five minutes without a ‘cunt’.”  P-21 looked at her coolly, and the striped mare blinked.  “What?”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use language like that around my daughter,” he said primly.  I shared a look with Glory and suppressed a laugh.

“Oh, really?  What should I use?” Rampage asked with a grin.  “Sugar pot?”

“Vagina would be the most accurate,” Glory offered.

“Hoo-hah,” Twister suggested.

“Vertical smile?” Sunset said with a grin.

“I usually just call it my turbine,” Scotch said as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, then looked at me, “‘cause it makes me hum.”  It seemed perfectly reasonable to me, but P-21’s mane seemed to twang a little like snapped wires.  “What?” she asked, and the poor blue stallion looked so flustered that I decided not to chime in with my own personal nickname.

Never heard "Hoo-Hah" before.
Never heard anybody call it a turbine either, but her description is just so hilarious!

Makes er' humm! Haha!

I do so love the socio-sexual mores of Stable 99.
Too bad they're all gone now. I doubt many stables would ever develop such a colorful personality.

he knew I couldn’t pull the trigger.

The round ripped right between his eyes and sprayed his brains across the crumbled asphalt.

No…

I stared at his limp body.  That… that hadn’t happened.  Couldn’t… never…  Then I heard the most gentle whisper through my mind.  

‘Forgive me, Luna, for I have taken the life of another.’

Talk about being haunted. Psalm is takin' over!
Everypony make way for the murderous Marauder!
Train Blackjack is leaving the station!

Psalm turned, bringing up Penance.

Her sword! Soul jars can be anything, and souls can imprint on the wielder! Psalm must have been in the sword

And finally we conclude with the last statuette, and yet another existential crisis.
The weirdness never ceases, does it?
But...BJ really is turning I to Psalm.

What if it wants just the soul sword? What if it was something deeper?
Oooh, what a scary thought! Right?

8084944 simply. Bauetiful.

7992188 you should really broaden your horizons.

High Glory is best Glory

I'm so damn confused

Celestia was supposed to surrender the throne to Luna after the failed assassination attempt that ended Big Macintosh's life.

But here we are with that event haven't been passed yet Big Macintosh is still alive and then gets killed here.

Was this an accident or did I just read the original Fallout Equestria incorrectly?

8283659
Think you have a mistake with FoE. As Watcher said pretty early on over there (Fallout Equestria Chapter 9)--

“Well...”  Watcher’s words came slowly, as if they were painful.  “The Massacre at Littlehorn broke Princess Celestia’s heart.  After that, nearly midway through the war, Princess Celestia decided She wasn’t the right pony to lead Equestria anymore.  So She stepped down, abdicated Her position to Her sister, Princess Luna...”

--it wasn't the assassination attempt and Battle of Shattered Hoof Ridge (which came later) that led to Celestia's abdication, it was the pink cloud attack at Luna's school at Littlehorn.

Am I the only one who wishes someone could make a game of Fallout Equestria? It’d be a lot more interesting than the original Fallout games.

Dammit! She almost had him! Lancer is definitely going to have to die before she takes on Legate again.
In fact, I bet he's going to come back at least one more time to screw BJ over before he dies..

Blackjack: (Singing) Whoa! Whoa! I'm not the Starmaiden, but I'll still beat up this Lega- (THOCK) AH! (THWACK) OH! (CRUNCH) AUGH!
Vitosius: (TRIPLE STRIKING SOMERSAULT)
Blackjack: (BAM) OW! (POW) OW! (CLANG) AUGH! (KICKED RIGHT DOWN INTO THE MUD) Uuuunnnggghhh...
Vitosius: (JAW KICK POPPING HER BACK INTO THE AIR BEFORE JUGGLING HER)
Blackjack: (CRACK) AH! (CRUNCH) OH! (CAR WRECK NOISES) UGH! (EXCESSIVE BLUNT TRAUMA) UNGH! (Is somehow allowed to land, staggering back and forth as her eyes look off in two different directions, singing unevenly) WhOa! WhOa! I LiKe ApPlE BoMbS, pLeAsE pUt ThEm In My GlOrY- (HOOF) WAUGH!
Lancer: OH YOU BEAT THE BOLTS OUT OF HER!
Blackjack: I hAvE mY- (A SECOND HOOF) AGH! (A THIRD HOOF) AH! (THE FOURTH HOOF) UGH! My FaVoRiTe CoLoR iS 21- (THE FIRST HOOF AGAIN) UH! (Falls back to a sitting position with double swirly eyes) No MoRe PeNiS fOr Me, StYgIuS...
Vitosius: (Winds up!)
Blackjack: (Now uttering completely incomprehensible rambling impossible nonsense) The Stable Dweller is Littlepip. (HEADSHOT)

Twilight Sparkle statuette.
+2 Int.
(If you're Blackjack, take +2 Luck instead)

8778967
There is a fallout equestria game. Granted it's more centered on LittlePip, but I think you can customize appearances.

It's called 'FoE: Remains'. This is it I believe. https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/702978

7471677

and this Legate... army of cyberzebras, oh but Blackjack is 'profaned by metal'? What a hypocrite.

The difference is that all those cyberzombies would be nothing more than soulless robots with a zebra skin over them. Sorta like a Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 terminator or reskinned 1st gen Institute synths. Blackjack would be closer to Robocop, except without having her mind wiped and reprogrammed. The cyberzebras are nothing more than tools, much like a good socket set. (Minus the 10mm, because that went missing once it left the store.) Blackjack is an unholy fusion of pony and machine, giving up her soul to augment herself in unnatural ways.

“On the edge of the badlands,” Rampage said with a yawn. “You missed Flank. Place is a wreck with Caprice gone. I swear, in five years, they’re going to be nothing more than a gang of drugged out fiends infesting the ruins,” the mare said contemptuously.

Could always go safe it again

the poor blue stallion looked so flustered that I decided not to chime in with my own personal nickname.

Well now I wanna know what Blackjack calls her lady bits.

God Psalm killed Big Mac? I mean I guess it was fated an all but Jesus that sucks. Also I'm guessing by collecting all 6 statues Blackjack was able to survive that bullet since it gives her more luck?

“Yeah. Softest heart in the Wasteland,” Rampage drawled. “Look, everypony has to bust their murder cherry eventually. Blackjack finally popped hers. She’ll get over it.”

So... all those... how many ponies she's killed up until now didn't count? The 40 foals? Her stable? How many harbingers did she kill? Or does it only count because he was defenseless and and pleading for his life?

Ahh this brings me back to fallout vegas and it’s final legion boss. Who i killed with a single mini nuke…

Now that I am reading the story the second time, I notice a lot of details. Inconsequential ones. The Warden Hobble was a pegasus, to my surprise. I am surprised that we didn't see Lighthooves here, totally remember seeing his ass fleeing with that Vertibuck.

There are a lot of these moments for me.

Totally no recollection of Sunset dying here. Reading it now, I remember that someone did try to abduct "Rainbow Dash". It's weird. The same way I remembered that she met that Clint guy from the seahorse on a bridge at some point in time.

He gave a hollow little laugh before breaking into wet coughs. When he finished he gave me a wan grin. “I’m not high on Celestia’s friends list at the moment, or ever again.” He rubbed his face. “We can’t let them take her. It will mean the end of Luna as ruler. Celestia is still frightfully popular.”

“Don’t worry, Teacher,” I said as I put my hoof on his shoulder. “I won’t. No matter what.”

Ohhhhhhhh. Oh, you. Really?

The scarred, exhausted stallion trotted next to me. “What happened?” was all he asked.

“I thought they were going to take her. Luna forgive me… I… I begged him to move…” I whispered. His golden eyes met mine, and I broke, sobbing hysterically. He wrapped his hooves around me, holding me close. One damned pony commiserating with another…

Man, I wish I could say this was shocking. But after Pinkie… this just makes too much sense. Goldenblood and Psalm. These two little ponies are just the perfect pair! Any major plot or scheme the Ministries devised during the war, Goldenblood was actually behind it. And anypony important who died during the war, it was actually Psalm who killed them!

Just when I think you’ve finally pushed this as far as you possibly could, you take it one step further. You know, at this point I can’t even rule out the possibility that Psalm actually does make it to Maripony and is somehow responsible for opening the door to the safe room so that Trixie can get to Twilight before she dies… Wait! Wait just a minute! We know that Psalm does get absorbed into Unity at some point…
…
…
…YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

“I knew. I’d heard the transmission,” he said grimly. “But Big Macintosh’s body wasn’t even cold before the report went out. There was no investigation of his death. It wasn’t even a day before Goldenblood disappeared her into the O.I.A.”

So this provides at least some explanation for why Goldenblood brought Psalm into the O.I.A. It was for her protection. But this doesn’t absolve him! Not even close! There is absolutely no reason he had to allow her to continue killing for a living! He should never have allowed her to even lay hoof on a gun again. There had to have been something, anything else she could have done. For fucks sake, just look at Echo! He sure wasn’t killing anypony!

She ignored me, almost in a rush as she thought at me, “So I pulled the trigger. It’s my fault. Understand, Blackjack?”

“Lacunae...”

“Do you want to be a killer?” Lacunae snapped, half desperate as she looked down at me with an expression of almost frantic need for agreement.

This is a rather frightening development for Lacunae. Ever since she joined the party, she has served the role of the default Team Mom. She’s played this part for everypony at some point, but most especially for Blackjack. I don’t think Blackjack is ready or able to admit this, but judging by some of their interactions in the past I feel like she subconsciously has latched onto Lacunae as a replacement for Gin Rummy, and this is something Lacunae has knowingly been willing to provide. Throughout all the emotional breakdowns the group has suffered through, Lacunae has been the one constant, the solid, immovable rock that everpony else can reliably anchor themselves to. And why shouldn’t she be? She claims that due to the unique circumstances of her existence, she simply is what she is and is incapable of changing. But why can’t we imagine an alicorn can change? It seems that she is. Through some combination of factors: guilt (over Psalm?), stress (having to hold everypony together, especially Blackjack), and perhaps even turmoil and change within Unity itself, Lacunae is changing. This change may well come with her experiencing a breakdown of her very own. When that finally happens (at the worst possible moment, of course), it could be one of the party’s most daunting challenges yet.

Scotch Tape staggered down from Lacunae’s back and onto mine. Glory looked at my forehoof critically. “If they’re broadcasting a signal, you should be able to pick it up on your PipBuck, Blackjack. Just try to find a frequency in the P band and…” She met my flat gaze and adjusted. “Look for the strongest channel. It’ll probably be a lot of buzzing and screeching terminal talk.”

I might as well take this moment to point out that reading all of Glory’s dialogue in the voice of Rainbow Dash never gets old.

“Fine!” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “We are here to take back something stolen from us. What is your business here?”

I glanced at P-21, then said, “We’re here to free the hellhounds from the Enclave control.”

Lancer closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Of course. Only you could want that.”

Blackjack:

Scotch Tape cocked her head in confusion, and I sighed, “Basically... I’m the zebra devil destined to bring chaos and destruction to the world.”

“Oh.” The filly smirked, but I could see the thought process work through her head as her smile disappeared. “Oh...”

But there was one surefire way to know that this was Rainbow Dash’s office. It lay right beside a photograph of six young Ministry Mares in ragged and torn dresses with a dapper young dragon standing beside them, a mouth-scrawled note read ‘Best night ever!’ in the upper corner. It was a small figurine of a purple unicorn smiling brightly back at me, clean despite the dust that covered everything else. I lifted the Twilight figurine and turned it over to read the inscription. ‘Be Smart’.

The pony gang was complete.

Rampage had drawn a crude map showing how to get to Grimhoof, a route essentially heading back south to Flank, then continuing east till the road crossed the Hoofington River above the reservoir.

Can't wait to see how Flank looks under new management.

Lacunae was outside, keeping an eye out for the Harbingers. No sign of them yet, but they were reforming and rearming; we had to get out of here before they made a second attack on me while I was still here.

This is a good way to force Blackjack and Co. to keep moving and learn more about the EC-1101. Not because Blackjack is just curious but because it's a super-weapon the Harbingers want and you don't want to give it to the guys and gals willing to reduces whole settlements to rubble.

Nopony besides Big Daddy and Brutus ever fought him hoof to hoof.

They fought against Deus and won? Call me impressed. I didn't thought an ordinary pony was able to beat him in a fair fight.

It never ceased to amaze me how he could hide entire grenades in his brushy mane and tail. Maybe it was kicking the Med-X, but he looked pretty good. Then again, he’d always looked good… not flier-good, but still…

Sounds like Blackjack is developing a crush on him, too.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use language like that around my daughter,” he said primly.

Funny how he's okay with Scotch banging Crusader colts but not vulgar language. And I'm pretty sure she has already heard the word cunt at least once, growing up in Stable 99 and all that.

“Vagina would be the most accurate,” Glory offered.
“Hoo-hah,” Twister suggested.
“Vertical smile?” Sunset said with a grin.

"I call it a taxi so I can roll over and get some sleep."
First person who recognizes where this is from gets five Internet points.

“I usually just call it my turbine,” Scotch said as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, then looked at me, “‘cause it makes me hum.”

That's... creative. I certainly will not make fun of that at every appropriate and inappropriate opportunity.

“Just because a mare’s fertile doesn’t mean she becomes a sex fiend, Boomer. Y’all know that,” Twister said.

Sadly there are several fanfics who would disagree with that. And no, I'm not just talking about clopfics where this is at least expected.

You’ll start looking at stallions more and the idea will be on your mind a lot for a week or so. Just make sure you stay around other mares, and we’ll stop you from doing something with some moron just because he’s got a nice body. Make sure you never point your hind end at a stallion if you can help it. Really gives them the idea if they get a good whiff. Give yourself a good rubbing once or twice a day till the itch passes.

What's that? Blackjack acting matures and actually gives Scotch a bunch good advice how to deal with Estrus? A rare occurrence.

Maybe it was the sight of the black-and-white-striped tank with ‘MEGA DEUS’ hoofpainted by Scotch and Rampage in red across the front

Come to think off it, shouldn't Scotch be the one member of the group who has issues with Deus joining them? She's from the same Stable as Blackjack. Even if she didn't directly witnessed the attack, ponies she know must've been among the causalities. School mates, colleges form work and all that.

Someday she’d find someone she did love. Someone who didn’t hurt her all the time. Someone better. We might be together for days, months, or even years, but eventually I’d do something to drive her awa--
Then P-21 smacked the back of my head. “Ow? What did you do that for?” I whined.
“You’re getting that look again,” P-21 said with a smirk as he tugged his hat lower on his face.

I miss the old grumpy P-21, but I also really like this new P-21 who's at peace with himself and cares deeply about his daughter, Blackjack and his friends.

“Hey there, Becalm. Long time no…” I turned, levitating the sniper rifle as I regarded the orange unicorn carrying saddlebags bulging with scrolls and papers. His yellow eyes focused on the rifle floating beside me, and he finished lamely, “…see?”
“Cheddar?” I murmured. “What… what are you doing here?”

This is going to end in a tragedy, isn't it?

“I see. Elder Thorn is only a few years ‘elder’ to I. She is of the Mendi tribe, who have always objected to the war, much like Ministry Mare Fluttershy. Mendi are as respected as the Ministry of Peace. If it were Elder Earthquaker of the Achu, or Elder Longsight of the Propoli, however, it would be far more promising.”

Looks like only a token effort was made by the Caesar. I guess he doesn't really believe that this is going to work.

“Everything is a mess in the backchannels. I don’t know if they think it’s going to be Celestia or Luna. I’ve told them it’s not Luna, but they’ll question it. For all I know, they might think it’s more likely after I warned them.”

Well should be pretty obvious which of the Royal Sisters it is, once she shows up. Can't really mistake Celestia for Luna or vice versa.

He rubbed his face nervously. “I can’t imagine what Celestia is thinking. This is precisely why ambassadors were invented!”

Her personally showing up the to peace conference sends a much stronger message than if it had just been an ambassadors. May even be the reason why the Caesar agreed to the meeting in the first place.

He looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown as he stared with his bloodshot eyes into empty space.

Always nice to see him when his facade cracks and he's not looking as perfect as usually.

Then things went from Cupcake to Roadapples. The ground beside the tent collapsed, and instantly zebras began swarming out of the hole. Many of them sported strange wings and took to the air as soon as they were above ground.

Okay so the Zebras – or at least a radical faction of them – did indeed tried to kill/capture Celestia during the peace summit. That's a relief. I really didn't want Goldenblood to be responsible for the failed peace conference, too.

The elder tried to move in beside Cheddar, snapping in rapid-fire zebra. Some of the zebra attackers, with almost contemptuous ease, scooped her up and tossed her onto another zebra’s back, and she was swiftly borne away from the fighting.

Poor mare. She really believed in the peace talk only to realize that she was just an unwitting pawn.

“No! Please! Peace! We want peace!” Cheddar shouted as the zebra attackers advanced.
“Have it,” a stallion replied calmly. The powerful zebra rose and brought his hooves down in one thunderous stomp that exploded my friend’s head like a grape.

Huh, I was sure Psalm would've somehow be responsible for his death. Nice to have the Zebras do some bad stuff, too.

“Anope. I know you won’t, Psalm,” was all he said as he gazed back at me. Slowly, he smiled, trusting me to do what was right. “I know you’re a good pony.” He was the best of us. Honorable. True. A good pony with a noble and caring heart.
I put a bullet straight through it.

Wow, that escalated quickly.

He wrapped his hooves around me, holding me close. One damned pony commiserating with another…

Despite all his flaws and my dislike of him as a character, I still nice to see him comforting Psalm like that.

“You missed Flank. Place is a wreck with Caprice gone. I swear, in five years, they’re going to be nothing more than a gang of drugged out fiends infesting the ruins,”

Not surprised. That what happens if you kick all the competent ponies out and then decide to turn your place into a drug den.

“Lookie here! Two fine ladies wanting to use our bridge,” a stallion called out as a half dozen bandits trotted out from behind the cover of a rusty skywagon lying on its side in the middle of the road.

You see a white pony with a black and red mane and four cybernetic legs and your mind doesn't immediately realized that it's Security and you should not mess with her? Under what rock have you been living the past couple of weeks?

“Um, Snide? Shouldn’t they have brahmin if they’re traders? I mean, she’s got a beamy gun, and her legs are metal. Maybe we should let them by.”

I hereby give you the title of smartest Raider in this story.

“Yeah, right. Everypony knows that Security never comes this far south,” Snide said with another snort.

Okay you've heard about Security. You're just an idiot!

“Oh shut up!” the unicorn snapped, smacking the scarred pony upside his head. “We only tell that story if we’re sure it’s Security! Now get over there and take all their caps, you idiot!”

How did you guys manage to survive more than a day out there?

“Contrary to popular belief, I don’t play judge and executioner. I haven’t heard anything about a band of raiders raping and murdering everyone trying to use this bridge. If I search that skywagon, am I going to find a bunch of raped and brutalized ponies?” I asked slowly.

To their credit, they didn't immediately start shooting and instead only tried to extort them. By Wasteland standards that makes them the most kindhearted Raiders every.

“And I can respect that,” I said in low, reasonable tones. “In fact, if you can keep this bridge safe for travelers, I imagine most wouldn’t mind paying a small fee.” When his gaze turned sly, I added, “Small, reasonable, manageable fee!”

And how are you going to make sure that they aren't going back to extorting the next group of travelers as soon as you're left. They already have proven to be lying through their teeth with their made-up sob story for Security.

“‘Course he did.” The confused, scarred stallion frowned and answered, “That caravaner’s daughter. Remember? Wanted to keep slaves and all.”

And that's why it's not always a good idea to let people walk away and hope they'll magically turn into better people.

Maybe the stallion saw it in my eyes, but the fear in him melted away. The corner of his mouth twisted in disbelief that I was weak enough to spare him twice.

Technically it's the third time already. All the Raiders on the Seahorse did encounter Blackjack before at least once before.

The round ripped right between his eyes and sprayed his brains across the crumbled asphalt.

Oh no. Anyways...
Didn't expect Blackjack to actually do it.
Blackjack’s On-screen Body Count: 206 (Clink )

Snide had promised everything from his firstborn to his mother not to be next; apparently summary executions were quite persuasive. No wonder they were so common. If I’d just started killing people from the outset, the Hoof would probably be fixed by now.

Reminds me of a scene from the Walking Dead TV Show. The main characters were captured by group of cannibal but escaped after killing a large number of them. The surviving cannibals went after them for revenge but ended up defeated by the main characters.
Then leader of the cannibals began pleading for their lives: “We can walk away. And we'll never cross paths again, I promise.”To which the leader of the main characters responded: “But you cross someone's path.” Cue execution.
I feel this situation is pretty similar. That guy got a second chance and threw it away. Sparing him would mean more death and suffering for innocent ponies. In fact if he knows that there are no consequences for his actions it would probably encourage him. Sometimes in the Wasteland, killing the bad pony, even if he's unarmed is the best solution.
And the fact that Blackjack hesitate for so long and still feels bad about it, shows that she's not a monster.

I didn’t talk to anypony for almost an hour after that, walking along behind the tank and lost in my own thoughts.

And Blackjack is back to being miserable. Well it was nice for as long as it lasted.

“Look, everypony has to bust their murder cherry eventually. Blackjack finally popped hers. She’ll get over it.”

Not everyone can shrug this off as easily as you do, Rampage.

“Then I pulled the trigger,” a solemn voice said inside me. For an instant I was sure that Psalm was now talking to me, but it was the comforting voice of Lacunae. The large purple alicorn landed next to me. “You aren’t the only pony with magic, Blackjack.”

Wow, what a twist. Still not cool, Lacunae. Not cool.
Blackjack’s On-screen Body Count: 205 (- Clink )

“You want to change the Wasteland? Well, unfortunately, fear has a powerful effect on others. If it became known that you were so merciful that you couldn’t kill your own rapist just because he said ‘sorry’, then every raider with half a brain left would wring their hooves and recant their ways only to return to raping and killing as soon as you had disappeared over the horizon. Your friends would have to kill on your behalf, and it doesn’t matter how loving or tough they are; that would poison your relationship with them.”

Lacunae makes a very convincing case here. I do like that the fact that Blackjack granting mercy to every unarmed foe isn't an unambiguously good thing. That's what makes it so interesting. Sparing a life is a noble thing but is it still the right thing to do when you know that the one you spare will continue to harm others?

“It’s not your fault, Blackjack. It’s mine. Put it out of your mind,” Lacunae said solemnly. “I’ll do whatever I can to keep you from being an executioner.”

She's becoming really protective of Blackjack.

“Mind if we talk a little about what happened?”
Glory nearly cried as she smiled and nodded. “Sure.”

She did the smart thing! She talk with the others about what's bothering you instead of keeping it to herself until another breakdown happens. Maybe it's really going to stick. If I was Glory I would probably cry, too.

Then there was a pause... followed by the whine of a magical energy weapon being primed right beneath my head.
I fell back just a second before a crimson beam tore up through the asphalt and into the sky. “They’re below!”

Someone has been playing Fallout 4 at ths point. Deathclaws being able to burst out from the Earth was a nasty surprise. And they were animals, while Hellhounds are sapient and can use tactics. Like digging under you and the fire the guns at you. That's a pretty effective and scary tactic.

Four hellhounds blinked up as they stared at the twin cannons in horrified realization.

The moment when you realized that you're utterly fucked!

Boo just trembled in fear, looking as if she wished nothing more than to be back in Star House with a Fancy Buck Cake.

Right now she's really regretting her wish the come along. Welcome to an average day in the life of Blackjack, Boo.

Suddenly there was another concussive blast, and Deus erupted back out onto the street from another newly-made door, his scoured armor free of any clinging hellhounds.

Yeah you probably shouldn't fight a tank with brain unless you have a tank, too, or your name is Blackjack. And even Blackjack didn't win as much as she did talk him down from attacking her.

Not a zebra... a cyberzebra. I stared in shock as I spotted more in the wreckage.

Oh these guys from the flashback arte here too. Unless the Remnants can produce new Cyborgs they must've been around since the war.

Then I was shot in the back.
The bullet smashed hard against the base of my neck, sparking off the reinforcement along my spine. Funny, something about the gunshot seemed awfully familiar...

Hello Lancer!

“You?!” Lancer swore. “How! What oath did I swear to be cursed enough to have you show up now?!”

Consider it a karmic torment for all the Zebra you gunned down in Brimstone's Fall.

“Fair enough. And you let us out of here,” I added. “Deal?”
He shuddered. “I should have killed you when we first met. You’ve been nothing but misfortune for me since.” Finally, though, he gave a little nod.
“Now, show us to that door...” I said with a grin.

Hopefully Blackjack is already coming up with a plan to double-cross Lancer and his pals. After all the guy has proven to break his word the moment it's convenient for him. And whatever they want is probably something you don't want to hand over to them.

The fourth encounter, both Glory and Sunset placed exceptionally lucky shots that simultaneously vaporized two hellhound guards before either of them could get a roar off. Scotch Tape swept the dust into a nearby garbage bin.

Black comedy at it's finest.

“We always wondered why Intelligence stopped blocking the VC program. They’ve been using us to smuggle things to the tower.”

Not bad move. Albeit that would require at least some members of the Volunteer corpse being in the known.

”Actually, I was thinking of trying to find this place’s reactor and blowing it up,” he said with a sheepish grin.
“Overkill, Dad.” The olive filly looked down at the floor.

Aww but sometimes overkill is fun.

My ‘things are going too smooth’ paranoia tripled. I pressed the enter key, not sure what would happen.

Yeah I'm with you Blackjack. Something feels not right here.

“This is Security to all Enclave personnel,” I said calmly. “In five minutes, I’m going to free the hellhounds you’ve enslaved here. You can use that time trying to stop me, or you can clear out.” I paused, almost knowing for certain that he had to be listening. “Lighthooves. You know what I can do. Remember Minty? Get your people out of here.”

I imagine somepony is screaming a litany of curses right now.

“Let... let me try,” Glory said as she stepped up to the field and touched it with a wing. The feather passed right through like it was water. She passed right through, and once she was on the far side, the magic field dropped, leaving a ring of deactivated gems. “Wow... it worked. Let’s go.” From her flustered appearance, she clearly didn’t want to talk about it.

Let me guess: It's because she looks like Rainbow Dash.

Missiles. Zebra missiles. Dozens of them. Perhaps hundreds. In the center of the building, a sort of workshop had been set up where the large missiles were being disassembled, packed into the VC crates, and loaded into two Vertibucks. Suddenly, it all clicked into place. Lighthooves had his delivery system, targeting talismans to guide them, and plague to load them with. He really did have a weapon to kill thousands, potentially tens of thousands!

If either Lighthooves or the Remnants get these missiles it means bad news for everyone else. Hope P-21 still has enough explosive to blow these crates to kingdom come.

Glory lay unconscious at Sunset’s hooves as her glistening stinger pried and ripped the blue mare’s gatling beam gun off her and tossed the wrecked weapon over the edge of the building. The mare looked at me as I emerged, and the stinger at the end of her tail popped off. Sunset plunged her tail stub into a storage compartment on her side and withdrew it with a new tip, this one crackling with arcane lightning. I raced at the pegasus as she crouched to pick up Glory.

That was an unexpected betrayal! .

“The Thunderheaders have missiles. Cruise missiles! If we can get into the S.P.P., then we can smack them right out of the air!” Sunset shouted. “We have orders to retrieve the Rainbow Dash copy. She can breach barriers, Twister! That’s all the proof we need! Take out that alicorn, and we can get out of here!” But Twister and Boomer weren’t firing just yet.

That escalated real quickly. My first guess was that she was secretly one of Lighthooves' deep cover agent, but turns out she's still loyal to the Enclave and willing to take drastic measures to complete her mission.

Two hellhounds who had been about to tear me to pieces instead turned and leapt after her. Their claws sank through her armor, and Sunset screamed as she was borne to the ground, claws ripping her armor and flesh to pieces.

Shame about her, but she made her choice. Glad that Twister and Boomer didn't turn on Blackjack, too.

The shot of Dash that Rampage administered had Glory awake and practically bouncing on her hooves. “Right! Rematch! Next time I’m going to take them all down! Ten seconds flat!” she said as she punched the air with her hooves, snorting.

Was that really the best way to wake her up? Injecting drugs into her bloodstream?
Also unless I missed something Blackjack didn't kill a single Zebra, Hellhound or Pegasus during this. That was kind of unexpected.

“Maiden, didn’t I tell you that your death wouldn’t be at my hooves? Your demise has been decreed to be carried out by Legate Vitiosus himself. I would not kill you, even if I had the opportunity,”

Not immediately killing Blackjack when you had the perfect opportunity to do so. That's going to be the biggest mistake of both your and your Legate's life.

“Maybe it’s not about being good and bad, Legate. Maybe it’s about trying harder to do better, to be better people. And so long as there are people here trying to do that, I’ll give them all the protection I can. Security saves ponies,”

That was a great answer. Security doesn't just save ponies, she encourages them to do better.

“Then we are enemies, whether you are the Maiden or not. It is my solemn duty since I assumed command of the Remnant to execute the Caesar’s final orders and destroy this vile place and all who live here.”

So following his orders is more important than whether or not it's the right thing to do?

“You do. And perhaps that alone would be enough to win. But you have many friends as well. Loved ones. Children. Can you live with them dying on your behalf? Will you so eagerly slaughter dozens to win?” The calm certainty of his smile chilled me.

Look at that: Another bad guy who's using innocent as bargain chip against Blackjack. First Sanguine, then Dawn and now this guy. Feels like a recurring thing by now.

“No, Legate! She must be slain here and now,” Lancer begged as the zebra horde pulled away.

Lancer is the smartest guy of the bunch. Albeit not smart enough to just kill her with a sniper shoot from afar.

And like that he turned and darted in with a speed that almost took me by complete surprise. He leapt over my swing in a somersault and smashed his outstretched hooves against my skull, rattling my focus. He landed in front of me and launched into a backwards flip that crashed his hindhooves against my jaw.

“Behold! I have the power of the spirits and Anime on my side!”
The guy is trashing Blackjack. We've seen characters putting up a pretty good fight against Blackjack before. We've seen character beating Blackjack in a fight before (Whisper comes to mind). But this is the first time we actually see Blackjack being completely outmatched against an opponent. Even the fight against Stronghoof wasn't that one-sided. And that was before Blackjack got her upgrades.

“Whereas I have augmented my body with sanctified alchemy and sorcery that only the zebras possess. The fury of the spirits, the might of dragons. The ferocity of griffins. The power of things... beyond your grasp.”

Yeah, totally different things.

Lancer smiled like it was Hearth’s Warming Eve. I’d win. I was a cyberpony killing machine who wasn’t going to be defeated by freaky zebra martial arts. “I’ll beat him!” I croaked.

Now you're losing focus Blackjack. This isn't about you beating him. It's about finding a way to escape the situation you're in. Surviving means winning.

I had to win -- it was what I did best -- but I wanted to lose. That sick, insidious seed inside me liked this battering, wanted it.

And I really hoped we were past the point where Blackjack goes into suicidal self-destructive behavior mode.

“No,” was all I said as his eyes widened within that skull, his foreleg trying to jerk itself free. Then I pulled him forward and rammed my horn into the left socket of that bony encasement.

Typical bad guy mistake. If you have beaten the hero in combat and have him you at your mercy, DO NOT brag. Because that always gives the hero a second wind allowing him to beat you. Always!

Half of my face exploded in pain that cut right through my fury and focus. The right half of my world disappeared into a wild blizzard of colors and shapes as shrieking, staticky feedback shot through my skull.

I assume Lancer interfered to save the Legate. Honestly didn't expect Blackjack to win this one fair and square.

“They are gone, though. I checked. They’ve moved back to the base. They left you for dead.”

Second big mistake. You should've made sure she's dead. Cut off her head if you have to. Thank god the Remnants are stupid, otherwise they would've already won.

“Got some right here,” Rampage said brightly. “Chemical confidence in a nice little inhaler.”

Not everypony can chew that stuff like bubblegum without any negative consequences.

“You mean the Legate spared you?” Rampage asked in confusion. “Why?”
I thought and I thought, and the more I thought, the fewer answers I could come up with. Finally, I sighed. “I don’t know...” But it made my mane itchy…

Well that makes more sense. He seems to be under believe that there has to been some sort of epic battle and Blackjack isn't yet worthy.
Still a stupid guy! He's just sabotaging himself with all of this crap.

“The Brood of Coyotl aren’t ripping off Project Steelpony. They’re from Project Steelpony. And I’m going to check the rest of this head and see if I can find any more parts.”

Professor Zodiac has some explaining to do. I mean it's either her or Goldenblood and I'm not sure which one of these options I like the least.

Maybe there was some alternate history where the war never happened. Where fate was kinder and gentler than it was today?

Like an alternate history where Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi went separate ways and lost their magic? Now that would be ridiculous.

“Because if you accept what that bastard said about your destiny being ruin and death, then it’d be no different than me accepting the medical mares telling me that my destiny was to be a walking sperm bank who should be dead right now. We decide our own destiny.”

And that's why you're Best Pony!

I could go after Dawn, the Harbingers, and Cognitum and try to end that threat once and for all. Or perhaps try and find out a way to stop the Legate and his army from attacking the Hoof and all my friends within it. Or go to the clouds and try and stop Lighthooves and his biological weapon.

And don't forget the Goddess, albeit there's not really anything you can do about that.
Blackjack now has her own Rogues' gallery.

“I don’t suppose you know somepony with a flying machine, do you?” he asked playfully.
I sat there a moment, looking down at the figurine and thinking, and then my lips curled in a small smile. “Now that you mention it...”

Time to steal a Vertibuck. Or ask Spike for help, perhaps?

You have collected one of each of the six Ministry Mares statuettes. Stronger together than they are apart, they have granted you +1 Luck in addition to their normal benefits.

So your Luck is now only -5. You are making progress.
----------
So I've slowed down a bit since the last chapter but the goal right now is to finish reading at least one chapter per week. Let's she if I can keep it up or if live interferes.

I'm actually enjoying this version of peace summit and Big Mac's death. I thought I was going to hate I but no, that's was pretty good. Even Goldenblood taking precautions to assassinate Celestia if necessary didn't bother me that much, which actually did surprise me. Of course, he still was correct about it being a trap because he's Goldenblood but that's a small nitpick. Buuuttttt if it later turns out that he someone orchestrated the Zebra attack then I'm going to be really mad at you Somber. Not very likley, but you never know with Goldenblood.

Hot take: I think Blackjack should've killed that guy. Don't want it to be a recurring thing or even portrayed as the right thing to do, but I feel it would've been far more interesting for her to break her rule and then consider what it means for her.

Last but not least: The Legate is a moron. He has the opportunity to kill Security and instead decides to make sure she survives because he want some glorious epic fight like he's in a video game. Now if it turns out he has a more valid reason to keep her alive, because he needs Blackjack or the Maiden, for a future plot I take it back. But as of now I consider him the same level of stupid as Colonel Aurum. The fight also felt like straight out of an Anime. Like when a new baddy shows up in Dragon Ball Z and beats up everyone with zero effort to show how strong he is. And then we had the clique of the villain almost defeating the hero, only to say something that makes the hero mobilize his last resources, allowing him to defeat the villain.

11905705

So I've slowed down a bit since the last chapter but the goal right now is to finish reading at least one chapter per week. Let's she if I can keep it up or if live interferes.

Life interfered?

Glory sighed, smiled, and shook her head. P-21 leveled a sardonic look at me. Even Scotch Tape seemed to get it. Rampage’s grin lost some of its edge as we rolled out of the village, and she just looked at me with admiration and pity. “You gave them hope, Blackjack.”

There is something sad about this being THE first time Blackjack see a look of hope

“You taught me about devotion and conviction,” I said with a sincere smile. “Don’t worry, Teacher. I won’t let them take her.”

Oh no

I stared at the screen, but no matter what I typed, the same data scrolled. Dawn had said there was a fuse lit once EC-1101 was out of Stable 99. This ‘LNR PLC’ place was sending requests out to whoever could receive them, not realizing that Equestria had been destroyed. So what happened when it got to ten million? I suspected that whatever the LNR PLC was, that was where Horizons was too.

LuNaR PaLaCe?