"Miss Mare-Do-Well..." the stallion chuckled as he took a long glance at the costumed mare in front of her. His eyes skimmed over the armored bodysuit, the boots covering her hooves, the belt pouches resting on her sides, the grapnel launcher secured on her foreleg.
"Picked up a few new tricks, I see. I'll admit: I almost didn't expect you to show up. Thought you'd have hung up the cape and cowl after the thrashing you took from Night Shade."
"And let scum like you roam free to terrorize innocent ponies across Equestria?" Mare-Do-Well growled, her glare piercing through the empty eye lenses on her mask. "Over my dead body."
"That can be arranged." He clapped his hooves together, attracting the attention of the three cloaked pegasi flying over the arena. All of them closed in on the stage, stopping behind their leader and hovering in place.
"Hmm..." the stallion mused as he turned around and faced the group, noticing something off. "Where's the fourth one?"
"Knocked unconscious, Diamond Cross," one of the pegasi answered promptly. "He had his head shoved through a magician's hat from what it looks like."
"Wow," Vinyl muttered, casting an amused glance towards Octavia. "Sounds painful."
"Diamond Cross..." Mare-Do-Well said, glancing at the leader of the cloaked ponies. "So that's your name, eh?"
Diamond Cross let out a small chuckle. "I guess you could say that," he answered, casting a look at Mare-Do-Well. "What about you, Miss Mysterious? Who's the mare hiding underneath that mask?"
"You'll have to rip it off to find out," Mare-Do-Well replied coldly, crouching down. "So... who's gonna be the first to try?"
One of the cloaked pegasi let out a yell and threw himself forward in a dive bomb, his hooves and wings outstretched. Rolling her eyes, Mare-Do-Well simply raised her forehoof and fired her grapnel launcher, the claw grabbing onto the pegasus's cloak. Before he could register what was going on, he found himself faceplanting onto the stage floor with a scream, followed by a loud *SMACK!* as a hoof slammed into his backside.
Trixie frowned as she looked down at the now-unconscious pegasus in front of her. "That was pathetic," she deadpanned.
Mare-Do-Well slammed down her forehoof as the grapnel line retracted back into the launcher. "Who's next?!" she shouted out fiercely. "Hopefully you'll put up more of a fight than he did!"
The two remaining cloaked pegasi spread their wings, ready to engage, only to stop at the sound of a low, gruff voice.
"No," the large earth pony spoke out, holding out a long wooden staff in his forehoof. "I will be the one to battle her."
Mare-Do-Well watched as the two pegasi shrugged and flew back to Diamond Cross. Her eyes were locked on the earth pony as he slowly stepped forward with a stoic expression. Silence filled the air as he stopped a few short feet away from the costumed mare. He removed his cloak in a flourish and threw it aside, revealing a dark grey robe covering his body. What little of his jet-black mane hung behind his head in a ponytail, along with his equally short tail. The seat of his robe, where a cutie mark would be on his body, was adorned with a ying-yang symbol accompanied by a pair of crossed swords.
This guy looks like he means business... Mare-Do-Well and the stallion locked eyes with each other for a few intense moments, until the stallion closed his eyes and bowed.
"Greetings," he declared. "I am known as Silver Blade."
Mare-Do-Well returned Silver Blade's bow with one of her own, her empty eyes glaring out from underneath the brow of her fedora. "Silver Blade..." she repeated in a low voice. "I believe Trixie already told you who I am, not that you needed it."
The stallion straightened his posture, bringing himself up to full height. "Your reputation precedes you, shadow warrior," he replied, his expression unwavering.
As she also stood up straight, Mare-Do-Well couldn't help but chuckle at Silver Blade's remark. "Shadow warrior, eh?" she said with a smirk. "Never been called that before."
"A fitting title for one such as yourself," Silver Blade continued, pointing his staff at the costumed mare. "The garments you wear blend in with the shadows and strike fear into the hearts of those who dare to oppose you. And those who oppose you are met with a force to be reckoned with, your skills in combat unmatched. Especially impressive for a unicorn such as yourself, who are not usually gifted with the strength and agility of the other pony races."
"How flattering," Mare-Do-Well replied smoothly, lifting the brim of her hat. "And what about you?"
"I have journeyed across Equestria my entire life, training my body and mind, always seeking out worthy opponents to do battle with," he declared. Crouching down, the stallion began twirling the staff over his head. Everypony watched as the staff spun in his hooves, becoming a blur that moved across his entire body as he flipped and jumped in place like a gymnast.
"There is nothing I thirst for more than the thrill of battle," Silver Blade said. "And you, shadow warrior..." At that instant, he took a massive leap into the air and swung his staff down. Octavia and Trixie gasped loudly, Vinyl letting out a sudden "ACK!" as the warrior landed right in front of Mare-Do-Well, who didn't even flinch as the end of the staff stopped just inches from her masked face.
"...are my next challenger," he finished.
"Jeez, melodramatic much?" Vinyl muttered, rolling her eyes and giving Octavia a "get a load of this guy" gesture with her hoof. Silver Blade glared at the DJ with his eyebrow raised, prompting her to stammer and take a nervous step back.
Mare-Do-Well looked up at Silver Blade and nodded. "Fine. I accept your challenge," she answered. "I was planning to fight you anyways, considering that you just crashed Trixie's show and attacked innocent bystanders."
"Excellent!" Silver Blade declared loudly. "This battle will last until one of us falls or submits. Any combat techniques and tools may be used. The only rule: no outside interference. If such a thing happens, the one receiving assistance will forfeit." He glanced at all the ponies around him: the cloaked ones behind him, the two musicians, and the showmare. "Is that clear?"
"Fine by me," Mare-Do-Well chuckled, crouching down and pawing the ground with her forehoof. "Whenever you're ready."
Silver Blade chuckled and lifted his staff over his head. "Do not disappoint me now."
Mare-Do-Well returned a chuckle of her own. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Everypony held their breath as the two fighters silently stood opposite each other for a few moments. Mare-Do-Well glared at her opponent, sizing him up. I've never encountered a martial artist before, unless you count Rainbow Dash... if he's as experienced as he looks, I can't afford to get careless. Let's see how good he is first.
Before anypony could blink, Mare-Do-Well vanished in a flash of light. She reformed right above Silver Blade's head, her hind leg outstretched. Silver Blade quickly brought his staff up and intercepted the attack, catching Mare-Do-Well's hoof. Swinging it over his head, he threw the costumed mare across the stage. With a flip, Mare-Do-Well landed on all four hooves, looking up as her opponent closed in on her with his staff.
Mare-Do-Well ducked the first swing and sidestepped the second. On the third, she grabbed the edge of her cape and pulled as hard as she could, bringing the other end into the stallion's face and leaving him dazed for a few moments, giving her enough time to throw two quick punches into Silver Blade's muzzle. Before she could follow up with a third strike, the stallion grabbed her forehoof and delivered a solid kick into her gut, sending her crashing into one of the stage's backdrops.
Mare-Do-Well shook the stars out of her head as she pushed herself onto her hooves. A shadow appeared above her, and her eyes widened as she spotted Silver Blade attempting to strike from above. Raising her forehoof, she fired her grapnel launcher at a scaffolding above her. Silver Blade's staff struck the very ground she was standing on as she shot upwards.
As she clambered onto the scaffolding, slightly winded from being pulled up so quickly, a voice reached Mare-Do-Well's ears. Looking down, her eyes narrowed as she spotted Diamond Cross laughing madly.
"While those two are busy, let's say we have a little fun with you nice young ladies," he cackled as the two cloaked pegasi swooped towards Vinyl and Octavia.
"This is SO not cool!" Vinyl groaned loudly as she and her partner fled into the backstage area, the two pegasi right on their tails.
"Oh no you don't!" Trixie roared, her eyes glowing dangerously. Before she could take off after the four ponies, a blast of magic struck her, and she collapsed onto the floor. Ignoring the pain and growling furiously, she looked up as Diamond Cross stood above her, an evil grin spread across his face.
"Ah ah ah," he said in a disapproving tone. "Let's not make this quick and boring, shall we?"
"Go to hell," Trixie spat out. This response was met with a sharp kick to her side.
"Looks like somepony needs to teach you some manners," Diamond Cross replied coolly as Trixie glared at him, clutching her side in pain.
Above them, Mare-Do-Well's rage was building up within her as she watched the scene unfold. You've gone too far, punk. When I get my hooves on you-
Her thoughts were interrupted as she was dealt a sharp blow to the back of her head and was knocked to the floor. Her ears were ringing as she turned her head, her eyes widening at the sight behind her. "Uh..."
"You weren't thinking of running away, were you?" Silver Blade taunted with a sly grin as he twirled his staff.
Mare-Do-Well's mouth curled into a smirk that was visible through her mask. "Who said I was running away?" Without waiting for a response, Mare-Do-Well brought up her hind leg, knocking the staff out of Silver Blade's grasp. As it flew upwards, she rolled underneath the stallion and lifted herself up on her front hooves, thrusting her hind legs towards her opponent. Her bandaged hooves connected with his chest, knocking Silver Blade back a few feet, but he remained firmly on his hooves. Mare-Do-Well galloped forward, aiming a punch at Silver Blade's muzzle. He deftly blocked the blow with his hoof and attempted to counter with a punch, whiffing the brim of Mare-Do-Well's fedora as she dove to the side.
Rolling onto her hooves, the masked heroine looked up, spotting Silver Blade's staff falling towards the battling pair. Lighting up her horn, she attempted to grab it using her telekinesis.
Unfortunately, despite concentrating as hard as she could, the staff refused to obey her, continuing its plummet until Silver Blade jumped up and snatched it out of the air with a front flip.
"What the-?!" Mare-Do-Well barely had time to blurt out before she jumped backwards, narrowly missing Silver Blade's attack. "My magic... how-?!"
Silver Blade merely let out a laugh as he pointed his weapon at Mare-Do-Well. "You think I'm not aware of the gift of magic that unicorns possess?" he answered with a smirk. "An enchantment has been placed on my staff, nullifying any magic that could be used against it, including telekinesis."
"A staff that is immune to magic, eh?" Mare-Do-Well repeated, curiously eyeing the staff. I definitely need to tell Twilight about this! "Good to know. Too bad magic's not the only thing I have at my disposal." Reaching into her belt pouch, she tossed a pair of flash bombs at Silver Blade, blinding him for a moment as they detonated. While he was disoriented, Mare-Do-Well followed up by firing her grapnel launcher at the staff. Pulling with all her strength, she yanked the weapon out of the stallion's grasp, catching it in her hooves as it flew towards her.
Silver Blade couldn't help but grin. "Well played, shadow warrior," he told her with a hint of amusement in his voice. "But do you know how to wield it in combat?"
Actually, no. But there's no reason to tell him that. Mare-Do-Well gave a smirk as she stood on her hind legs, holding the staff straight up with one forearm. "Why don't you find out?"
"Very well, then!" Silver Blade rushed forward, his forehoof raised and ready to strike. Gripping the staff in both of her forearms, Mare-Do-Well charged towards her opponent, her cape flapping madly behind her as she and Silver Blade closed in on each other.
"This SUCKS! Worst. Gig. EVER!"
"Gee, thanks for the update, Vinyl!"
While Octavia glared at Vinyl in annoyance, the two musicians galloped as fast as they could, making their way through the backstage area. Flying right above them were the two cloaked pegasi.
As Vinyl and Octavia sped past an aisle of stage backdrops, the DJ turned around, her eyes widening as a pegasus swooped down at them. Grabbing Octavia's hoof, she quickly ducked around a corner, pulling her friend out of the pegasus's flight path at the last second.
"Thanks Vinyl," Octavia muttered as she tried to catch her breath. "Why are these ruffians even-" Her sentence was cut off as she looked straight ahead, spotting something approaching from behind Vinyl. "GET DOWN!"
"What the-?!" Vinyl was instantly tackled to the ground by Octavia before she could react. The two hit the floor, their manes blowing in a sharp breeze as the other pegasus sped right over them, laughing.
Vinyl growled under her breath as she pushed herself onto her hooves. "Yeah, keep on laughing, punk!" she shouted angrily, shaking her forehoof. "Just wait til Mare-Do-Well kicks your-!"
"Vinyl!"
The DJ stopped and turned around, scratching the back of her head nervously as an irritated Octavia got to her hooves. "Oh... uh, thanks Tavi."
"Hmph," Octavia muttered as she followed Vinyl down the aisle. "Normally, I'd ask you to show more class, but considering who we're dealing with..." She let out a long sigh and lowered her head. "Why would anypony want to attack a magic show of all things?"
"You seen all the crap those cloaked freaks did in cities throughout Equestria?" Vinyl responded, keeping her eyes and especially her ears open. "As far as I'm concerned, they're just terrorists, they do this because reasons. Or maybe they just love getting their butts kicked by Mare-Do-Well, who knows?"
Octavia frowned. "But why do you suppose they wanted to know where Applejack was?" she asked Vinyl. "They said they had some kind of beef with her."
"Does it really matter, Tavi? Besides, they're just asking for a whoopin' if they're going after one of Mare-Do-Well's friends."
Octavia raised her eyebrow at Vinyl's remark. "Applejack is one of Mare-Do-Well's friends...?" she repeated, casting a suspicious glance at the DJ.
"Well duh," Vinyl answered, an eye roll hidden by the lenses on her sunglasses. "Hell, she's friends with all the Element bearers, even Princess Twilight."
Octavia stopped in her tracks, never taking her gaze off the unicorn in front of her. "Vinyl..." she said slowly. "Why does it sound like you know who the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well really is?"
Vinyl turned around, lifting her shades above her eyes and giving a wink. "Not exactly, but I do have my suspicions," she answered with a sly grin.
Octavia wasn't buying it. "You're joking."
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
"Actually, yes. You do."
Vinyl groaned loudly. "I'm serious, Tavi! Just hear me out!"
Octavia narrowed her eyes. "Okay, Vinyl. I'm listening," she said slowly, a hint of skepticism in her voice.
"Okay," Vinyl began, lifting her sunglasses so that they rested on top of her head. "Remember that Nightmare Night gig I had in Ponyville last year?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Octavia asked, crossing her forearms.
"That's when Mare-Do-Well returned," Vinyl answered as she slowly approached Octavia, her expression nothing short of serious. "A bunch of little kids were about to get snatched away, but she swooped in and turned him into a pinata. Well, earlier that evening, a certain unicorn was on the dance floor, also wearing a Mare-Do-Well costume."
Octavia wasn’t impressed at this response, as indicated by her loud groan followed by a facehoof. “So what? That doesn’t prove anything!”
“Okay, maybe it’s just a coincidence,” Vinyl admitted. “But I have this strong feeling that it’s not.”
“Okay, let’s say you’re right,” Octavia replied. “So who’s the unicorn who dressed up as Mare-Do-Well?”
Vinyl leaned in close to Octavia before answering. "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well is Sun..." Vinyl's eyes suddenly narrowed as she stopped mid-sentence.
Octavia raised her eyebrow, waiting for Vinyl to finish. "Well? Who is she?"
Vinyl held up her forehoof, cutting off Octavia. "Hold on a minute." Her ears perked up, and she turned towards the stack of boxes behind her. Octavia held her breath as she watched Vinyl examine it closely, placing her ear against the stack. Then suddenly, she spun around and kicked it over with both of her hind legs.
"Vinyl!" Octavia blurted out in shock. "What are you-?!"
But before she could continue, two other voices reached her ears, coming from the direction of the mess Vinyl just created. "Holy-!" "How did she even-OWWW!!!"
"Come on, Tavi!" Vinyl shouted as she grabbed Octavia's forehoof. She led her down the aisle and around the corner. As they ran past the adjacent aisle, Octavia spotted the pile of boxes that Vinyl had kicked over. And struggling to free themselves from underneath the pile were the two cloaked pegasi.
"How'd you know they were there?!" Octavia blurted out in disbelief.
Vinyl gave her friend a smirk. "Keen sense of hearing, remember? I could hear them whispering from the next aisle!"
"Oh right," Octavia muttered as she followed Vinyl close behind. "Given how loudly you blast your music, I always forget about that. Got any ideas?"
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" Vinyl answered hurriedly as she rounded another corner, Octavia on her heels.
"Hey! There they are!" In a panic, the two musicians turned around, their pupils shrinking as they spotted one of the cloaked pegasi flapping behind them. There was a crash as his partner flew into him, blinded by a cardboard box covering his head. As the two tumbled around in a heap, Vinyl pulled Octavia into a narrow hallway.
"Why don't ya watch where you're going, ya klutz?!" "Move it, you're stepping on my cloak!"
"Vinyl?!" Octavia asked worriedly as she followed the DJ.
"Just give me a..." Vinyl's eyes lit up as she passed a doorway leading into a room filled with instruments and large speakers. Her mouth curled up into a smirk as an idea formed inside her head. "Oh ho, this'll do nicely."
"Wait, what are you-?" Before she could finish, Octavia found herself being pulled into the room. She watched for a few moments as Vinyl slammed the door shut and began rummaging around the room, before an annoyed expression took over. "If you've got a plan, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't leave me in the dark like this," she grumbled.
"How are you on the drums, Tavi?" Vinyl asked, her horn lit as she began messing with the sound system, turning the knobs all the way up and plugging in various equipment.
Octavia raised her eyebrow in confusion. "It's been a long time, but I bet I could probably still play them fairly well," she replied slowly. "Why?"
"Heh heh..." Vinyl chuckled as she threw a pair of drum sticks towards Octavia, who clumsily managed to catch them in her hooves. She was too busy juggling them to notice the pair of earplugs flying towards her until they bounced off her muzzle. Looking up, she spotted Vinyl holding a guitar in her hooves, her ears plugged up. Her horn was lit, and enveloped in her red magic aura were two sets of wireless headphones.
"I'll kill the lights, you lure those punks in here," Vinyl told her with a sly grin. "I'll slip these babies over their ears once I shut the door. Then... we blow the roof off their heads."
"End of the line, missy!"
*SLAM!* After chasing Octavia through the backstage area, the two stallions suddenly found themselves in complete darkness.
"Hey, who turned off the li-" They let out a yell as something was shoved tightly over their heads, covering their ears.
"What is this?!" one of the stallions shouted as he tried to wrestle it off.
"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED, YO!" a voiced boomed out.
"Who- where are ya, punk?!" the other stallion growled loudly, slamming his hooves together and clearly not amused.
"LET THERE BE LIGHT!"
A pair of bright spotlights suddenly ignited, temporarily blinding the two stallions. They tried to shake the spots out of their eyes, only to get interrupted when the voice rang out again.
"LET THERE BE SOUND!"
Suddenly, an absurdly loud techno beat slammed against their eardrums, coming from the headphones they suddenly realized they were wearing.
"That little-! Get it off!" they shouted as they tried in vain to throw the headphones off. Unfortunately, they refused to budge, and the pegasi ended up tripping over each others' cloaks.
"LET THERE BE DRUMS!"
The stallions looked up, spotting Octavia at the seat of a massive drum set. Smirking, she gave three quick taps with her drumsticks...
"Oh crap."
...before bringing them down in a furious flurry of beats. Beats that pounded the stallions' ears without mercy. They dropped to their knees, clutching their throbbing heads as Octavia continued to lay on the drums, her hooves moving faster than they could keep track of.
"How the hell does she even know how to drum like that?!" one stallion yelled out in disbelief as he clutched his head in pain, watching the normally-classy musician beat on the drums like a madmare. "I thought she was just some lame violinist!"
"That's cellist to you," Octavia replied with a smirk. "And I used to play drums in my school's marching band."
"What'd you say?!"
"LET THERE BE GUITAR!"
"Oh come on!" one of the stallions screamed as Vinyl jumped in front of Octavia, holding a guitar in her hooves. Giving a quick nod to Octavia, she turned to the stallions with a smirk on her face, their fearful expressions giving her a feeling of satisfaction.
"Please don't-!"
The stallion never got to finish his sentence as Vinyl let loose a loud power chord from her guitar, emitting a deafening noise that caused the stallions to reel back. Her hooves moved across the strings of the guitar as she began playing a loud riff that added even more decibels to the sound coming out of the headphones.
"Make it stop! PLEASE!!!" a stallion cried out, his eyes tearing up from the deafening music he and his partner were unlucky enough to be listening to.
"LET THERE BE ROKK!!!" Vinyl screamed into the microphone levitating in front of her. Her voice crashed against the stallions' ringing ears, and they began screaming loudly as the music got even louder. Octavia wailed on the drums, Vinyl broke into a guitar solo, and the stallions just lay on the floor in fetal position, clutching their heads in pain as they begged for the noise to stop.
The last thing they remembered before blacking out was the booming voice of Vinyl Scratch and the sound of snapping strings as she brought her guitar down on their heads. It would also be the last thing they would ever hear.
"GOOD NIGHT, PONYVILLE!!!"
Yay!!! Update!!! I give a thumbs up!!!
AC/DC for the win!
But he uses a staff? i don't get it.
okay, that last bit was awesome! you get a bonus point for that!
the first half:
was anyone ELSE reminded of the below?
tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.Mf8559d48700adc9765ba6eb1d0e1c701o0&w=300&h=201&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0
the second half:
I'm torn between this...
tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.M7829da3a78122f48f1b0ec4195cce547o0&w=300&h=221&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0
...and this...
tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.Md2ef4722d0cc814b78b624bda595b2cdo0&w=300&h=225&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0
Will other Equestria Girls-only characters appear in this story?
Oh! Slade's expy is in town! Hell yes!
By the power of Rock!
Kill them with AC/DC. That's a new one. The new guy fighting Mare-Do-Well is kinda Deathstroke-y at first glance, which I can appreciate. Any hero of that style needs to fight the martial arts master sometime.
I'm firmly of the belief that this needs to be a comic series, though the writing is stellar anyways. Keep up the action-packed work at your pace, and may your plot lines remain strong and superhero-clichéd to a certain extent.
Octavia, Vinyl, this is why you are best background ponies.
Loved the AC/DC reference.
7313698
That's odd. There shouldn't be any -teleporting- in EQG at all, but I haven't watched it yet (I've got the DVD, but never got around to watching it) so maybe there is. I can't really agree with A, but B is, as you say, reasonable. The question though isn't whether they can improve, but whether repeated teleports are manageable endurance/stamina/mana? wise.
Maybe short distances are less taxing, but I'm pretty sure that the show and most fanfiction agrees that most unicorns may not even be able to manage teleportation and that it isn't easy even for those who can. Twilight has also been frequently branded as something of a prodigy. If a better way to teleport existed, it would probably be known already, in my opinion.
Yeah. The authors can make the characters do whatever they like, because they're the author. If they say it is so, then their world/universe allows it (i.e. the internal laws/rules change, etc). The way I see it though is that writers rely heavily on the reader's understanding of certain things and basic facts that hold for our universe (plus some common memes/tropes/plot devices) to tell a story. The moment you ditch those things then I think you have to explain yourself. You can't just say that gravity isn't true in this 6' x 6' patch of ground but it works everywhere else and also have gravity as a universal rule (i.e. you need anti-gravity, magic (preferably a definable limited spell/action, or further explanation of universal rules). It's fine to declare AU and go off into worldbuilding, but not fine to contradict basic assumptions without explanations (preferably in character and in context).
Well that was fun reading. Other than the martial artist, 'Night Shade's' goons don't seem too bright.
I think that's 'whaled', unless you meant piteous, high pitched moaning.
P.S.
Try not to murder ponies, Scratch, that might just be a hanging offense.
7320089 It was at the beginning when Sunset was stealing Twilight's crown in Equestria. But the way teleportation works (at least, in this AU): shorter distances are less taxing, especially if you're only moving a few feet. Attempting to teleport longer distances will drain your magic faster.
In Sunset's case, short-range teleportations won't impact her magic reserves as much. She can pull it off roughly 10-15 times before her magic is exhausted. During patrols, teleportations between Ponyville and the other cities drain a considerable portion of her magic, though in most cases, she recovers enough while prowling the rooftops to teleport a few times in battle.
7320569 Don't worry, the only thing Vinyl killed was their eardrums.
By the way, I appreciate the honest feedback, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.
7316272
7313635
7315108
7315497
7317266
I'm highly disappointed that none of you caught the Freezepop references.
…Actually, I take that back. Freezepop isn't nearly as well-known as AC/DC. By the way, you can thank Rock Band 2 for that moment of awesomeness.
7315497
7313635
7314699
I actually had Gray Fox from Metal Gear Solid in mind when writing Silver Blade's dialogue, but I had no idea I was giving Sunset her own Slade. That's pretty awesome.
7321362 Bad eye, ninja skills, uses a pole, WAS KICKING SUNSET'S ASS, that's all the hallmark's of a Slade character. Now we just need the backstory of how he lost his wife and his son being mute and we're set.
7321312 Duh. That's why I caught the Let there be rock reference. Plus, I have never even heard of Freezepop.
7322689 Not that surprising, honestly. I heard of Freezepop through Harmonix, who developed the first two Guitar Hero games and created the Rock Band series. Outside of those games, they're not that well-known (at least, to my knowledge) compared to much bigger acts like AC/DC.
One of Freezepop's songs, "Less Talk More Rokk," is a perfect fit for Vinyl Scratch, so I typically associate it with her. The catchphrase I picked for her, "Let's get this party started, yo!", is one of the lines in the song. And Chapter 24 gets its name from another Freezepop song, "Get Ready 2 Rokk."
7322747 Interesting.
7323455 Freezepop is associated with Harmonix, the creators of Rock Band. Outside of that, they're not exactly well-known. I frequently associate Vinyl Scratch with their music, especially when it comes to one of their songs, "Less Talk More Rokk", since it fits her perfectly.
We beat these henchmen
We beat these henchmen with rock n' roll!
Beat these henchmen
We beat these henchmen with rock n' roll~!
7321312 Looking into it now, then.
As a huge AC/DC fan, I loved this chapter just from the title alone.
7330973 Thanks for catching those mistakes. Fixed.
Now that I'm caught up in the story I have to ask two things.
1. Why is Twilight, Sunset and Daring looking for the other artifacts? They want to stop Nightshade right? OK, find one... and then put it into Canterlot's vaults where the elements where kept, you know the one that only Celestia or DISCORD can open? After that there is literally no way for her to assemble the relic and be a threat, though the fact that Celestia alone beat the last person to use the full relic means that 4 alicorns plus discord plus rainbow power means that in the end Nightshade is little more than a joke.
2. Why did Twilight just kinda walk away from random villains attacking innocents? While this story is about Sunset as Mare-Do-Well it is kinda weird how other heroes don't ever get involved in fighting criminals, especially when they are right in front of them committing crimes. Hell if you really want to keep the relic safe and stop them just use it and wipe the floor without breaking a sweat. It makes sense that Sunset fights alone on her patrols but Twilight just going 'Nah, I'm good' and walking off is fucking weird. Unless this is one of those stories with everyone but the hero is fucking worthless and if Twilight (one of the strongest beings in all of Equestria and a magical prodigy and multiple time savior of the world) tried to fight the random mooks she would have been KOed and the relic stolen to further the plot.
7347672 Even by themselves, the Relics are incredibly dangerous. This was demonstrated in Chapter 7, when Stray Wind's physical strength skyrocketed while using the Earth Relic: without even trying, she managed to deliver a kick strong enough to send one of Night Shade's minions cleanly though a brick wall. (Keep in mind, Stray Wind is merely a unicorn whose special talent is costume making.) Twilight also said it's possible that Sparkly Skies, a pegasus with paralyzed wings, would have no trouble keeping up with Rainbow Dash if she uses the Relic of Flight.
Night Shade's magic is incredibly strong, especially when she's not in control of her emotions, something Sunset experienced firsthand. Even without all three Relics, if Night Shade has even one in her possession, she'll become a major threat.
Out of the three Relics, the Relic of Magic is the most powerful. But if used improperly, it's also the most dangerous. Unless Sunset and the others know for sure how safe it is, they don't want to risk using it in case it backfires. Also, Twilight is the only one who can get into the safe where the other Relics are stored, hence why she had to leave with Applejack. As for why Applejack didn't stay behind to help Sunset, there's a reason for that, but I'll leave it for another time.
7349085 I figured AJ was just really fucked up already and in no condition to fight. The idea that Twilight would have so little confidence in her own abilities that she would rather risk innocents, who are already physically under attack directly in front of her, being hurt than help fight off the attackers and use her own powers, as one of the strongest beings in the world, to hold onto the relic for maybe five minutes against random criminals.
It's kinda insulting to twilight to say that she, a multiple time world Savior, would 'job' to random nooks.
I get that even one alone is 'dangerous' but the fact they were introduced as a super artifact that FAILED to beat Celestia on her own means that it has no chance of 'winning' now that there are four alicorns.
7349921 Huh. You do have a point there. Taking that into account, I might revise Chapter 23 so that Twilight insists on staying at the arena to help, though she'll still end up heading to the castle with Applejack and the Relic. With what I've got planned later on in the story, that HAS to happen.