We’d finally, truly, left the Wasteland

AND THE WASTELAND IS CUMIN TO GIT YOU

Whooohooo, what a chapter, well done man, well done hehehehe eue, this is gloriously well done.

Nice job, nice job.

“ever hear of body paint?”

ever heard of

I reached out hoof

I reached out a hoof

so no need shut down

so no need to shut down

The airship is caught in between Raptors but a civil interrogation is worked out. Not really an interrogation without force but whatever. The Fleur comes to Shadowbolt Tower and Thunderhead, while Lancer is off doing whatever now without his stealth cloak. Finally, I am one chapter away from being caught up on the fimfiction upload of Fo:E - PH so far, again.

“Some things never change,” I muttered.

I know this is probably unintentional but I am so happy!
T

I think the formatting got screwed up around the newspaper article and letter parts.

Here's a silly question, just for the fun of it: Why isn't the magical orb that's inside of Rampage being detected by the Enclave's magic-sensitive security system?
<I know! I know!) <Oooh! Tell us!) <You're talking to yourself again, Pinkie dear.)

“They’re what I’m trying to prevent. The Enclave is not a clubhouse for overprivileged idiots to play with war machines.”

Am I the only one getting some serious former U.S.S.R. vibs from the Enclave? E.X:
"Democracy", that really isn't, but they keep the people ignorant of it
The state controls the media
The state does its damndest to eliminate or suppress all those who oppose it
Most people in gov. got there by having the "right" parents, and can get fairly far in life doing little to nothing at all, or by sucking up and doing favors for the higher-ups.

Well... okay. I'm not really sure what to make of this chapter. I'm glad that Lancer didn't die, he isn't allowed to until he does better.

Like I said, zebra-based world-building is top-notch, and if all that stuff about moving flame and killer cities is setup, I'm really looking forward to Homelands now. :3

Near the end, like not ten minutes ago, I commented to myself that Lancer is the kind of antagonist I really don't mind seeing reformed, but I can't for the life of me recall why. >.>

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I think there are a few things that help him as a reformee, at least to me. He was a bad guy, but though he wasn't a mook he wasn't in charge either. Stemming from this, there was a betrayal by the one who was in charge, which also included a betrayal of the principles Lancer originally was fighting for; there was a definite reason that instigated his reform, which followed from his relationships and motivations. And it hasn't been an immediate, 100% everything's fine and he knows exactly where he stands deal.

Lastly, he's not an inferior imitation/niche-filler of the best thing to come out of a spinoff franchise, who then ends up becoming a new main character for no reason. :V

Avast ye armored featherbrains, bring that ugly metal ship about and prepare to be boarded!

8091187 that has to be the pirate impression i've ever heard

There was even talk of holding a special election to replace him.  But tradition is tradition, and he remained.  He treated the pony interference as a terrible insult to our people and demanded that the trade agreements we signed with your people be suspended.”

Okay...so...Ceaser Salad over here was basically a failed candidate and nobody liked him. He was unpopular.
But he was the one who called out for war in the first place.

So what would have happened if the Achu or Zencori had their Ceaser instead?

As I passed Boo, I tugged off her captain’s hat and set it atop my head.

Captain Blackjack. Oh, if only Thrush could see her now.

Then the pair started quibbling over if I needed to be stronger or more enduring…

Soul jars were weird.

Wait...are they really talking inside her mind?
I thought she was imagining it all!

I didn’t sleep

You're doing it again Blackjack! Don't go pulling another Yellow River or, Faust forbid, an Arbu

When I thought of cloud farming, I honestly just thought of plants on solid clouds.

Bulbous mutations of plants, adapted for pegasi though?
Genius.

wait, what tribe is zecora in?

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Zencori.

“Do you have anything like that now?” I interjected. “Or is this a two-century-old prickwaving dickfight of who had the deadliest toys?”

Somber, I absolutely love you for this reference alone.

To sleep… and maybe to dream. That was the trick. For in sleep, what dreams would come?

Ah, Blackjack, quoting Shakespeare now are you? Proof perhaps you're thinking way too much again.

To be, or not to be--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep--
No more--and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep--
To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause.

Given all Blackjack has been through such a monologue fits her surprisingly well. Were someone (who didn't know her well) doing a play based on her life, I could absolutely see this speech happening on the bluff at Star Point.

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The Mendi Tribe according to the wiki page on Zebra Tribes, the Mendi are potion brewers that live in deep woods which sounds a lot like Zecora.

I thought about what had happened to Rarity. How she died in Canterlot, her hoof fused to a window...

How would Blackjack have known about the details of Rarity's death? Littlepip only found out those details from memory orbs while in the ruinx if Canterlot. Didn't Canterlot happen after Littlepip and Blackjack's little drunken adventure together?

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Blackjack was connected to goddess when she read littlepips mind. She learned the same time the goddess did.

My second time reading this story is a totally different experience. Since that first time, I've read Homelands, Speak and Dead Tree. Something drew me back to this story however, and I'm having a great time (however I'm definitely using the wiki as I read, now that I'm not worried about spoilers)
Thunderhead is what I remembered as one of my favorite arcs as well, so I'm stoked right now...

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Goldenblood is Richard the III. :D

Blackjack speculates on this thought: "To sleep… and maybe to dream. That was the trick.".
This must have been inspired by Shakespeare's line in Hamlet "To sleep, perchance to dream-ay, there's the rub",
But Hamlet was despondent and thinking of suicide and death. Not the Blackjack we now know. Nice reference though.

I walked up to the prow and looked up at the Raptor across our bow. The breeze from her props caught my mane as I stood upright, put one hindhoof on the rail, and rested my left foreleg on my hind knee. I levitated out my sword as I examined the massive Raptor and took in her name. Dozens, possibly hundreds, of beam weapons from power armored ponies all pointed right at me as I switched on my broadcaster and turned it to the channel that had gotten me in trouble at the Rainbow Dash Skyport.

“Raptor Castellanus,” I said formally as I pointed my starmetal sword at the colossal machine. “This is Captain Blackjack of the airship Fleur. Heave to and prepare to be boarded!”

Still the best comedy snippet in the entire story other than Blackjack going on her drunken Museum rampage.

“Scotch Tape, stop poking m--” Glory said as we broke into another open gap between clouds. On our left, barely beyond range of my E.F.S., was the long, dark form of a Raptor. Dozens of black specks, wings of power armor, flew in wedge-shaped formations next to the long, lean, lethal machine. Beyond it, I could make out a second Raptor. I could barely hear the hum of their motors, somehow muffled from detection. Nothing so big should be so quiet.

This reminds me of castle in the sky

Rampage popped her head out of the hatch and glanced around. “Huh,” was all she said before dropping back down belowships. “Down worry, I got this!” she shouted. The wheels below began to shriek as the propellers buzzed behind us and the Fleur ’s wings began to flap wildly. A minute or so and we’d be in the clouds. Hopefully that would do something…

Down worry?

Wait a minute.. didn't they said they were gonna pick up her father from the fluttershy clinic?

Wait... what happened to boo?😢

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Yes actually... They did.

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Also good question.

And here we go into another arc. Here's hoping that Blackjack will get shot less

So I think there's a bug here. See, in chapter 17 in the memory orb where Goldenblood appeared for the first time, there's this conversation between Celestia and Luna:

Luna looked sympathetic. “You couldn’t have known the Caesar would take our rescue so personally.”

“I should have, Luna. I’ve ruled for a thousand years. His father was flexible. And his grandfather. He’s more in his great great grandfather’s demeanor.” Celestia sighed, shaking her head.

So apperantly here zebra is ruled by a monarchy, and the title of Caesar is passed from father to son. However in this chapter Lancer mentioned:

“Our people were not ruled by immortal royalty. We elect a Caesar from the tribes. All thirteen tribe elders get a vote, and no tribe could have consecutive Caesars.”

Maybe somber just forgot about previous settings?