Wheeeeeeeeeeew, what a messy chapter this was, all the blood guts and death... and every bit of it was deliciously succulent~
Hahaha!

And that scene with Bastard and Scotch, won't lie, when you warned me I expected... more? Regardless, its not that bad.
But nice job on this nonetheless!

“I–” she began, but he grabbed her, turned her towards the door the balcony and jabbed a hoof out over her shoulder.

“I–” she began, but he grabbed her, turned her towards the door and balcony and jabbed a hoof out over her shoulder.

Every single of them desperate for us to stand and fight.

Every single one of them desperate for us to stand and fight.

The Society held their own with Grace still alive, badly hurt but alive. Thanks to hellhounds again.. hmm interesting only takes 15 minutes for the hellhounds to clear the Brood again? Just like the battle of Chapel.

I appreciate the warning, I am personally glad this behavior described is not condoned. In it for the long haul no matter what happens..
Wow, I had a hunch and it was right. Just wow. Why am I not surprised?

RIP Stygius. Took a shot for Whisper. That Legate bastard. Poor Whisper and her family. All those shippers suddenly silenced as well..

RIP Sekashi. No more funny stories. Poor Majina.

Kick his ass Whisper. The Legate deserves it. Give him the chair!

Oh hello Xenith, she sure is no one. Can she get in close?

Snatching the Legate's immortality device. Nice.

Boo! Where have you been? Psalm!

Oh sure leave it to Velvet Remedy, the pacifist to stop the Legate's restoration device. Least Whisper gets her cold satisfaction.

RIP Goldenblood, you got a death you wanted. Poor Whisper, what else does she have now? Other than Tenebra as a sister and Hades and Persephone as parents.

According to the spreadsheet I am to believe otherwise about Morning Glory. As much as I want to believe.. Pulling at my hope string will not do it.

Only one way to find out the price to pay for this finale. How will the dust settle..

I'll admit, the scene you warned us about at the beginning did bother me a little, but I can understand why it was there. I did think think would be with Blackjack, though.

It's not the fact that Stygius died that bothers me (especially considering the characters that have been killed off in the last couple of chapters). It's how he was killed in such a dick fashion! I mean, I understand the villainous strategic thinking and the tragic value of it all, but still! Seriously, he just proposed and Whisper has reached an apex in her life to the point of reviving the magic of music, and the Legate just comes over and f*cking shoots him, and it's all gone (snap) like that! What the hell, man!

Still, this doesn't deviate my overall positive feelings for this story.

Okay, just started this... haven't read a thing beyond the author's warning up top (yeesh, spoilery), and I can't read right now, have to sleep before work; I just opened this to have it up... not to put off sleep, ridiculous. BUT.... I had to laugh. Like, a lot. Everything that happens in this fic... and THIS you warn us about?! THIS you remind us you don't condone? So wait... you condone the other stuff? Ahahahahha wat?! Hooo.... you're a card, Somber. That said.... yeah I'm actually a little squirmy about Scotch (I'm gonna assume) being sexual, both apparently upcoming and in prior chapters. I mean, she's like CMC age; it's a little creepy. Compared to the fucked up shit in this fic... it's barely a blip on the radar, and yet, I get why that warning's there.

SHE IS ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I COULD KISS YOU RIGHT NOW SOMBER!!!!!

Eh, I don't think the warning was necessary. She might be underage for California, but as was discussed some chapters previously, it's not like this is in any way unusual for the Wasteland.

Of all the rape, murder, gore and slavery, people are triggered by underage consensual sex? Jesus, priorities.

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Well, it was also following up a thing from the flight to the moon where there was a big enough backlash over some of P-21's semen floating around the null-gravity cabin getting in Scotch's eye that it was changed to the talk about 99 mares' "tastes."

8108157 I'm not! Underage people do all sorts of things all the time with absulutely no repurcusions.
lots.

Huh... Princess Luna a voyeur... Who knew?

Everypony who has read any mature rated story with a Luna scene in it.

I couldn’t let her become dark and jaded.

Like her father before

Whisper flew to him, and the two embraced, twirling in midair as the fighting raged around them. The sun was close to the horizon now, and the sky was turning red in the west.

“Is now really the time?” Tenebra shouted from the catwalk next to the gun crew, who were busy laying fire on a knot of Brood below. “There’s fighting going on, you know!”

Hehe, one would think they didn't even notice.

“My priorities!” Tenebra squeaked. “You’re... you’re... kissing! In the middle of battle!” A barrel bomb exploded down the street as if echoing her outrage.

This is quite the funny battle. But I'm beginning to wonder who's fighting who?

I imagine the poor sap at the end of that barrel cried out "why? Just, why!?"

A tiny smile rose on his lips. They formed the shape of three little words, and then he was falling, blood glimmering like rain in a crimson halo around him. There was no music. No sound at all as he fell from her outstretched hooves, his yellow bar gone from her E.F.S.

Jeez. How mellow dramatic.
Reminds me of Psalm and Stronghead

Morning Glory was alive!

What the fuck is wrong with you, Blackjack?
It's the literal end of the world and "Glory" plus "Space-" automatically makes you smile, even though most of your friends just died or got turned to soul juice...

Seriously, BJ.

eyy she's alive. Please tell me p-21 and Ramage are still alive

It's wigging me out that there's less than 100k words to go in this story @_@

So, no surprise that Glory is alive. I mean, I was ready to believe she was dead, but it seemed reasonable to expect otherwise. I take it she was that burnt body they were considering pulling the plug on.

I feel bad that you wrote yourself into a place where all the really cool action was happening away from your protagonist. I mean, you're basically giving us the full time span of a rocket trip from the moon (sidenote: where the fuck are they going to land? Isn't the spaceport still under a megaspell?) by letting us see the interesting stuff. It's just... I kind of wish Blackjack was actually there instead of watching other people do cool stuff. :B

Anyway, Grace's last stand was thoroughly rousing, she's such a good character. Sounds to me like she won't be much better off than Crumpets, though. Stygius's death came as zero shock. I mean, you don't do something like propose in the middle of a fight and then not die. Hades' cry of anguish was the part that actually got me, though. The song thing strikes me oddly, since it's a great piece of headcanon I've seen used in other stories that has absolutely no place here, because PH is so far removed from the show, at least in tone. It's so weird to have this be a thing now.

I did come back and read the 'sex scene', and honestly, I couldn't be bothered to have a reaction to it. I mean, I'm sort of upset with Bastard for going along with this, but when it comes right down to it, I really can't expect anything better of him. So, that was a thing. (Also, I thought she was 12.)

Pythia is the sassiest zebra filly and I love her. I don't know if I just really like the archetype or if you're super-good at writing sassy, adorable foals. XD Also, was not expecting Xenith to show up. (Has she before?) You've got probably my two least favorite characters from both FoE and PH working together to stop the Legate, and it was awesome. So Blackjack has to fight Akira and Sauron when she gets back, okay.

I will say, I was more or less completely lost for what was going on in that final sequence. The fights I followed fine, but flesh monsters and sunlight lasers and buildings moving and... I don't even know what happened. And why was the MoI Hub the only place not affected?

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I'll admit that I'd hoped Glory would be dead. The scene in 71 was such a beautiful ending for her...

That's certainly true, about it being the actual protagonist there, but it's also one of the first times when we get to see the refrain "It's not all about you, Blackjack," really in action. :V

(Speaking of Hades, I wish Visual Pony hadn't corrected "ANULIATE!" to "ANNIHILATE!" :| It breaks the joke.)

The singing as magical enhancer has actually been a thing for a while. Mostly isolated cases like Blackjack in the museum (and that only implicitly), but in chapter 47 when Rampage started one in Hightower, there was this:

Carrion leaned over towards Xanthe. “You understand that this is why you couldn’t beat them, right? You just couldn’t compete with pony combat folk music.”
Xanthe didn’t argue, though she did furrow her brow. “There was once a report that said pony battle effectiveness increased by almost seventy percent when they were singing. It recommended withdrawing immediately till the song was over.”

Which suggested a broader musical number type of thing, least to me. (That actually puts the concept, if not us actually seeing a full-scale case, before Horizon's "Fugue State," which I think of as the classic of the genre. 0_0. And this chapter came out just like a month after the Versebreakers anthology, so it was certainly on my mind when I read this. Since then I've... kind of thought of this as a crypto-Versebreakers story. )

Yeah, the sex scene really isn't a big deal--least that's what I thought--but it (and something related from the ride to the moon) drew a big negative reaction. The one on the way there was changed, this one was a bit more relevant and got tagged.

Pythia is great, don't gotta feel bad. :V Xenith was there a bit in the crossover in Manehattan, but it doesn't look like it was a huge part. Gotta say, in many ways a scene I love, but then there's Velvet Remedy being stupid and un-self-aware. Everyone else's reactions help there, but it still kinda sticks. But that might have been my favorite part of what Pythia did in that scene. :V
...I kind of want to see some kind of actual PH/Akira/LOTR crossover where that happens now. Or death battle or whatever. <.<

The final sequence and some of the Legate stuff leading up to it is confusing. I don't have much trouble with following the physical events that happen, but his motivations and what he knows compared to the reader aren't always clear, and seem to sometimes contradict other stuff (maybe? it's murky). Bottom lining it: Tom isn't coming in on the trajectory the Legate anticipated, and to make sure the capture/consumption works correctly he needs to raise the Eater to the surface (I'm not entirely sure why that's necessary, but might have been at some point); the Legate doesn't have enough power in the Core to lift it up, so he brings up and broadcasts footage of the flesh monsters (previously in the tunnels beneath the Core) and mechasprites and stuff so that the Twilight Society will hit the Core with Celestia 1, and the FADE shields soak up that energy and uses it to raise the Eater to the surface. Related to that, he wanted as many people in the Core when he did the monster thing as possible, to better shock the Twilight Society; Psychoshy's song was motivating them and improving morale and effectiveness, which resulted in fewer retreating to the Core, and thus had to be stopped.
The MoI hub wasn't affected because of the plot. :V Or, the Legate prioritized shielding on the place he was located or something. Lunajack also speculated that all the soul motes hanging out there strengthened it somehow, like a quasi-soul jar.

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Originally, Tom came in at an angle, was slowed by all the rock, and the Eater could have nommed him at its leisure. However, when the trajectory was changed to straight down, Horizons would go off before the Eater had time to devour Tom. So he needed to rearrange things to catch Tom and have the time to eat him properly. That meant raising the eater to the surface so that it would be strongest and most capable of eating it, as well as orienting the fade shields to hold it in place. That meant rearranging the city itself.

In other words, I had an awesome visual in my head that I wanted and so it ended up in the story.

The MoI hub has basically turned into a type of soul jar, so rather than try and eat it or incorporate it, the Eater just got rid of it. I didn't like the idea of all that zebra history and artifacts being obliterated. Call it lazy writing.

“Don’t knock ponies singing together,” Bastard replied. “I don’t understand it myself, but I knew folks who said there’s a magic there beyond just casting spells. Think about it. People together just deciding to sing together, everypony knowing the words, everypony in unison, sometimes with music from who knows where... it’s magic. And when it’s done, earth ponies might have rebuilt an entire house in a few hours, or a unicorn in Canterlot's made connections with damn near everyone in the city. I don’t understand it, but even I don’t scoff at it.” He paused and pursed his lips. “If I ever do burst into some silly song, though, shoot me, please. Especially if there’s dancing involved.”

Another fun chapter, why do these have to be so fun? Why can't I have something to just reinforce the mattress, maybe make it softer? We... I really liked the chapter; the action was great, and, thanks to the AN, I wonder how a pacifist run would look.

The Author's Note was incredibly fun to read.

The ending left off on an uphill, things seem like they will reach the climax of the ride very shortly. I don't know if I can wait until tomorrow to start the next chapter; it is just so exciting.

I'm glad to see the last sentence, I really want to see a follow-up to it. Anyway, I don't feel up to a longer comment. Sorry...

As if I didn't hate Velvet Remedy enough before this chapter, she pulls her pacifist bullcrap while fighting THE LEGATE!!!

P.S: Great chapter, looking forward to the next one.

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I'm curious. What spreadsheet are you talking about?

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Give you real good odds it's this one: Project Horizons character list and descriptions.

Has anyone adapted the hoofington rise song? It’s such a moving moment, i’d love to hear it with music and vocals

this is next level messed up. i like it.

Glad Glory lived.
I'm happy to see Xenith kick ass again. Now that Littlepip's crew has been back I'm confused. Why didn't the refugees and others head towards the other larger cities and defenses. On the top of my head I can think of somewhere like Friendship city instead of heading towards the core right?

Wish we got a whole separate story of every perspective of the war. I'm a total nerd for war tactics or genres involving war (shout out to The Saga of Tanya The Evil). Probably just because the writing makes every single person feel like they're doing something crazy and for a purpose. Like if they were to fail their mission lots of people would be in trouble.

Legate losing felt wrong? Not sure, I would prefer for him to somehow lose because of his ideals but I guess seeing ponies and Zebras working together works? Just Whisper and Xenith feel kind of just two random unaffiliated characters working together.

Loving this final arc

She tapped her PipBuck broadcaster. “Attention to all defenders of the Society. This is your princess. The enemy bears down on us, but we cannot run. The enemy is without mercy or compassion, but we cannot cower and fear. The enemy is powerful and determined to annihilate us, but we cannot be defeated! Beneath us lies the greatest treasure of the Society. Not plantations or talismans. Not crops and fungible goods. People. Stallions. Mares. Foals. Every single of them desperate for us to stand and fight. To protect them. To show our enemy that it is neither guns nor numbers that make us strong. It is neither caps nor gold that is our wealth! It is our common bond. Our unity. Our community. Our Society. We will not run from its defense. We will not cravenly grovel for mercy from an enemy that has none to give. Defenders of Elysium, I implore you. Fight! Fight, and I shall fight with you! Stand, and I shall be beside you! Die... and I will fall next to you.” She paused and swallowed, then finished, “But we shall make our foes pay dearly for every life they dare touch! Society! For Blackjack! For my father! For your princess! Fight!”

That’s an absolutely top tier pre-battle speech right there. It’s up there with all-timers like this one…

I considered it a personal triumph to put my mind back into the blank and find another mind pool. Eenie, meenie, miney... that one.

Ugh. That was just terrible. It was a logical outcome though, considering the circumstances and the characters’ histories. Yeah, moving on…

“You know what? This is us, not talking about it. Ever.”

——————————————

Okay. Give me ponies fighting to the death or dying any day instead of... whatever that was! I didn’t want to think about it. Being like that... no. That was a living death. That was sadistic!

…I’ve got a bad feeling about who this might be!

She turned with a satisfied little smirk only to spot another flier taking aim right at her head.

Suddenly a pair of hooves appeared around the Brood flier’s neck, and the rest of the dusky batpony emerged behind the winged Brood. He pressed his mouth to its ear and let out a scream that sent spasms through the cyborg’s body. Then its brains dribbled out its nose and opposite ear canal. Stygius dropped the limp carcass into the chaos below, then smiled at Whisper and lifted his chalkboard with a heart drawn on it.

Whisper flew to him, and the two embraced, twirling in midair as the fighting raged around them. The sun was close to the horizon now, and the sky was turning red in the west.

“Oh, yes. Of course.” He took a deep breath and strained, then bellowed, “ANULIATE!” and sent another sphere rocketing down the street. It dipped low, slipping into the roadbed. However, a second later, the street collapsed under the returning Brood with a great crumbling. “Heh. That got them!” He paused. “...Right?"

“Absolutely, dear,” she answered, patting his shoulder. “Now, do be careful and aim the way you’re facing... and do try to use actual words.” She looked back at the three. “Go on and play. Take care that you don’t get hurt.”

This is just adorable.

“Happy?” Whisper said with a wide smile, and then she launched herself up in the air. Then, to the astonishment of everyone, including me and I think herself, she began...

…to sing.

No one’s happier than I

I feel like reaching up to touch the sky

I’m soaring through the clouds

I could sing out loud

I’m aglow and I know the reason why

Up and down the yo-yo goes. Up and down and up and down and up and up and up and… up???

This whole scenario with the proposal and then the song is really cliche and REALLY cheesy, but when this song starts for some reason it all works. I can clearly hear Whisper singing this in my mind, and it’s just beautiful and the happiness is just infectious like the best songs from the show.

Then time seemed to slow as Stygius’s handsome smile faded and his gentle eyes widened. There was a dark flash, and he disappeared only for his legs to wrap around her from behind. She turned her head in bafflement, but suddenly he slammed into her, knocking her into a sharp spin as a line of pain bloomed on her side. When she stabilized, a bloody graze marring her coat, Stygius was in front of her, facing her. His wings struggled to keep him aloft, and she gripped his blood-slick legs with hers. A tiny smile rose on his lips. They formed the shape of three little words, and then he was falling, blood glimmering like rain in a crimson halo around him. There was no music. No sound at all as he fell from her outstretched hooves, his yellow bar gone from her E.F.S.

I’ve got to admit something. I think this story was starting to get to me. I was emotionally exhausted. Drained. Burnt out. Character deaths just weren’t hitting right any more. Glory, and P-21, and Rampage just didn’t affect me as much as I expected. As much as I wanted. Don’t get me wrong, I still felt them, a little. But there has been so much death in these latest chapters that I wasn’t nearly as devastated as I thought I should be.

And then here comes Stygius! Of all characters, this goofy dweeb goes and gets his ass killed and I can feel it again! I could sit here and try to rationalize why that is, but I think it’s best to accept that it’s probably beyond logical explanation. Regardless, this was the first time in a while that Horizons wrung tears out of me.

Her eyes turned to the catwalk, and she saw three figures. Only one was armed. Only one was needed.

The Legate.

Flanked by two Brood unicorns, he pointed a zebra rifle at her with a calm, steady smile. Hanging from his back like some grotesque talisman was Goldenblood’s grisly torso, his eyes staring sadly at her. “Silence,” he said. There was a flash, a single bang, and a numbness spread through her body. She fell down into the fire and smoke and chattering gunfire.

I have to give credit where credit is due. The Legate is a smart cookie. He’s not above getting his own hooves dirty when needed. And he stays on top of shit.

I can just imagine the command center of his evil lair in the Core. Typical war room paraphernalia abounds. It has monitors all over showing him views of the entire Hoof so he can easily track the progress of the battle. The center of the room is dominated by a huge round table above which is projected a map. It’s the spitting image of the Cutie Map in Twilight’s Castle, although this is of course a map of Hoofington and environs. Suddenly, the sterile atmosphere explodes into controlled chaos! Red lights flash, klaxons blare, and EMERGENCY STEAM is vented into the room. The Legate’s ever present smug ass grin is momentarily replaced with a look of agitation as he peers over the Hoofsie Map. Over the northeast corner of the map, a glowing symbol hangs. It’s a bloody, dripping treble clef, a grotesque caricature of Octavia’s mark. This dread omen has only one meaning…

PONY BATTLE HYMN DETECTED

With the nature of the emergency clarified, the Legate’s smug ass grin returns. He can handle this. He’s prepared. He casually hefts Goldenblood over his back, and trots to a nearby alcove perpetually occupied by a pair of unicorn brood stowed here for just such an occasion. In a flash of teleportation, he departs to put a swift end to this threat…

“But...” She stared at the batponies. “But... I... he’s gone… I’m not. I mean...”

“You are still a part of us, no matter what’s happened.” Persephone brushed some of the blood from her face. “You might have a long way to go, my child, and your language desperately needs some refinement, but we will not forsake you. You’re a part of our family.”

Whisper looked from one to the next. “You... you mean it?”

Tenebra sighed, rolling her tired eyes. “I guess if I’m going to have a sister, it’s appropriate that she’s a bitch.” But she wore a small joyless smile as she said it.

This is just heartwarming as fuck.

Rise. Hoofington Rise.

Don’t let the fear crush you down now.

Rise. Hoofington Rise!

Stand for the light. Don’t let it die!

This is not quite as stirring to me as her first song, but it’s still inspirational and a badass scene.

Goldenblood simply lay there staring up at him monologuing. I tried to kill everyone out of a misguided duty to Equestria. Destruction the only redemption I could conceive. How shameful. How petty. How foolish. But all this hate... this malice... Millennia of life, and this is what you desire? “This is what you do with immortality,” he said with disgust. “Pathetic.”

“This is what every immortal does, eventually,” he answered, then stared at the setting sun. “Every immortal craves an ending. If we don’t get it, we’ll create it.”

Except… you’re not getting an ending for yourself! I dunno, this comes off as insane troll logic even by his standards!

“Come on,” he muttered at the screens. “Come on! Your time is almost up! Here I am! Look at what’s coming! You’re great and powerful and afraid! Give in to your terror! Use it! Use your great and overwhelming power before it’s too late! Use it!”

“What are you talking about? What are you...” Goldenblood trailed off. “Oh no… Celestia One...” And his eyes turned to the skies.

Five minutes later, back in Tenpony Tower…

Then the bird opened its mouth wide and sprayed a tight beam of flame right into the Legate’s face. His meat immediately charred and blasted away, leaving a blackened skull atop his neck. He dropped Goldenblood at once, raising his hooves to block the flame as the Brood around him began to writhe, some firing at random and others collapsing. The torrent of flame ended, leaving a dark line of soot painted across the top of the tower.

Sekashi lunged at the Legate’s back. “You–”

But he whirled around, and his rear hoof came up. It impacted with her temple with a sickening crunch. She tumbled to the ground, blood leaking from her ears and her head twisted almost completely around. “No more stories, Love,” the Legate said as he brushed the darts out of his rump.

SEKASHI NOOOOOO! YOU MONSTER!

“Pythia! You betray me?” the Legate said in shock.

“The others are running for their lives, but I just wanted to see how this would play out with my own eyes,” the filly said as she held the dazed Majina close in one hoof and the starmap in the other. “You forgot the first rule, Amadi. We use the stars. We don’t serve them. You’re a bug playing with balefire bombs.” The Legate whirled and kicked a monitor at the filly, who ducked a moment before it took her head off. “Okay. A really deadly bug, but my point stands!”

Ok, first point: “We use the stars. We don’t serve them.” That’s cool! Assuming it’s actually true that this was the orthodox Starketteri doctrine, I really like this. I’m not sure if this makes them more badass or just even more insane, but it’s interesting!

Second point: While the Starketteri survivors were pretty sweet in general, Pythia is amazing. On the other hoof, it is annoying when a great character gets introduced when a story is 95% over…

Wait. *Checks notes* Pythia is in Homelands. Look, I was going to take a break and read some other things before moving on to Homelands, but you’re making this really difficult!

Whisper hovered before him. “Me. You took my husband. You won’t take anything else.”

Whisper is a great fighter, but it almost feels like she got a DBZ style random power up considering the level she’s fighting at here. Whatever though, I guess you can’t let Blackjack get ALL the OP moments.

The hood was pulled back, and Xenith shook out her long mane. The scarred zebra mare leveled her green eyes at the Legate and said softly, “No one.”

Velvet and Calamity have both made their contributions, so I guess it’s Xenith’s turn now. And boy, she doesn’t waste it!

“Look, I’m a pacifist, okay?!” she shouted back. “I’m not Littlepip!”

“We know! Hurry up and pacify the fuck out of him!” Whisper grunted, her limbs straining as the Legate started to pull free.

LOL, Whisper, just LOL.

Goldenblood, though, wasn’t struggling. “Go,” he said as he smiled up at his daughter. “Tell Blackjack I did better.” Even if he didn’t think he had.

So while he did get killed by the Legate as predicted, he actually didn’t plan on this happening. I’m impressed. I have to say that, he did good in this battle.

The gleam of silver and the glow of green started to peek through the muck sliding off in great sloughs. It was shaped vaguely like a ring, a massive storm of soul motes swirling around.

Then an eye opened.

An eye the size of a Raptor.

The immense mass shifted, and two enormous silver fingers reached over, grabbed the M.o.I. hub, and flicked it away like an offending speck of dirt. The white building arced out of sight as the immense towers of the Core slowly bent outward, their bases slipping underneath the dripping mass as they spread open like the petals of a horrible steel flower. Their outstretched tips glowed a brilliant green as a cloud of white motes began to swirl faster and faster in the center of the ring. With a great creaking and grinding, that eye lifted. Something like a mouth opened wide.

And it let out a scream of Enervation that could be heard around the world.

I think of each death of this chapter accompanied by the song Bauklötze.