Unity
Chapter Twelve
Raincatcher Gulley, Planet Hydaelyn. Brayflox Alltalks was worried that she had made a mistake. Not a mistake of profession; like most Goblins she and her kin worked as merchants and traders and wouldn't have given up that life for anything. But her decision to settle down and build a trading post rather than traveling the world may not have been the best choice.
Gazing around the Longstop Trading Post, the Goblin Matriarch saw only her kin, no customers. Indeed, there had been no business in weeks now. Perhaps potential customers were afraid to come. After all, she mused, it had been long enough now for talk of the dragon incident to have spread to all corners of the land. Or maybe people were staying clear thanks to the whole Illuminati/Goblin Cheese affair. Or maybe it was just the lousy weather; Raincatcher Gully was well named this time of year.
In fact, speaking of rain, a new storm was sweeping in from the south, forming out of a clear sky before the frightened Goblin's very eyes. Never had she seen a storm blow up so quickly, and in her gut she felt that it was wrong somehow. As the clouds began to swirl and throw down lightning bolts too numerous to count, Brayflox ran for cover, shouting for her kin to join her. "Flee! Flee! Shelter-taking!"
"Yes, yes!" Kinsman Bluffnix agreed, "No profits-making in rain!"
"No life-keepings in rain." Brayflox countered. "Evil tidings ride this storm!"
"Yes, yes! Guttrix feel this too!" Another Goblin said.
"Enough of tongue-wagglings! Hide! Hide!" The Goblins rushed to and fro, seeking out shelter wherever it could be found. This was harder than it would have been for most sentient species; Goblin buildings were rarely structurally sound by most people's standards. But as the swirling clouds began to pass overhead, all were secure in one place or another. They expected, of course, for the storm to blow over. It didn't work out that way, though, at least Brayflox wouldn't have to worry about the Gully's weather anymore...
XXXX
As morning dawned, Twilight Sparkle trotted out the door of her home and joined her friends who were gathered at the west end of the new town. “Big news Twilight.” Rainbow said, “We had some pegasai keep watch from as high up as they could safely fly all night. There were two more storms, further away.”
“How much further?”
“Like, a lot. Barely in sight even from up high.”
“Should we send groups off in those directions too?” Applejack asked.
Approaching with a heavy pack which he dropped to the ground, John Tucker said “I wouldn't. Too many different groups out at once, makes me nervous.”
“So, we just head out towards the two closest ones then?” Pinkie asked.
“Right. We'll figure things out soon as everyone else is here.”
The 'everyone else' arrived within minutes: Roger, Midnight Steel, Sword Breaker, Nigel Bakker, and three human deputies. “Okay:” Tucker said, “Let's figure out who's going, and the best groups for breaking up into.”
The chosen set up was a lot of discussion in the making. Tucker had planned to go along himself, but Midnight insisted otherwise. “You're the Sheriff. You need to stay safe.” He insisted.
Tucker then turned that logic around, insisting that as the second-in-command of the combined police/guard (and highest ranking pony) Midnight shouldn't leave either.
Wanting two unicorns on each team for magical flexibility, Twilight suggested that Rarity come with her team, and that Sword Breaker recruit another unicorn guard for his. Applejack and Fluttershy joined Twilight's team as well, and Pinkie and Rainbow went with Sword Breaker.
The human component on the groups split as well, with Twilight getting two of the deputies plus Roger, and Sword Breaker getting Nigel and the other deputy. “We need one more for our group.” Nigel said.
“Was gonna be me.” Tucker said, glaring at Midnight. “Guess we can wrangle Bert into this. Surprised he's not here already anyway...”
“Who says I'm not?” A familiar voice asked. Bert swung down out of a tree, heavily camouflaged.
“Of course.” Tucker chuckled. “Alright then, there's our teams. Let's get you geared up and on your ways...
XXXX
New Mexico, Planet Earth. Anita Wallace sang along with her children as they sped along the interstate towards Arizona. This was a big trip for the kids, ages three, five, and eleven, who had never been beyond the borders of their county before. They were excited at the prospect of seeing Phoenix, of course, but even the high desert scenery was a wonder. In all directions, there was nothing but hard-baked rock, patches of sandy soil, and the occasional cactus. The road itself was the only sign of human habitation, and there were only two other vehicles in sight.
A sudden rumbling bought the song to an end. "What in the world was that?" Anita wondered.
The rumbling came again, and the three year old, Amanda, pointed out the back window. "Momma lookit!"
Glancing in the driver's side rear view mirror, Anita did a double take and braked to a halt on the side of the road, stepping out to get a better look at what was coming up behind them. A massive wall of swirling clouds and flickering lightning, rapidly approaching.
Having grown up in the desert, Anita was well aware that when it rained, it poured. But this seemed to be a storm of singular ferocity. Jumping back into the seat, she popped the engine into gear and pealed out as fast as possible, hoping to outrun the storm.
It took mere minutes for it to become clear that outrunning wasn't an option. Anita was pushing eighty miles an hour and still the clouds were closing in. The wall of lightning was worsening as well. Realizing their only chance was to ride it out, she pulled to the side of the road again, switching on the four ways as she did so. "Kids, hunker down in your seats as far as you can! Stay back from the windows, and don't touch anything metal!"
The children did as they were told, while Anita herself kept watch a few moments longer. Another vehicle, this one a huge R.V., pulled off behind them, and then the storm struck. The lightning flashed and boomed, and all three children screamed in fear as the world went away in a flash of white...
...And abruptly faded back in. "What the hell....?" Anita whispered, then exclaimed it again, louder, when she looked out the front windshield to see the desert, gone. In it's place was a stretch of highway, perhaps half a mile long, the R.V., and a dense forest.
"Mom, where are we?" Eleven year old Paul asked.
"I don't know baby... I just don't know..."
XXXX
After seeing the two contact groups on their way, John Tucker and Midnight began their daily rounds through the town. This mostly consisted of a focus on the outer perimeter; troubles inside town itself were rare, the real danger was beyond the wall, in the deep forests of their new world.
As they walked side by side along the top of the wall, Midnight said “You're still worried.”
“Damn right I am.” Tucker replied. “I mean, what if Macintosh is right? What if what's out there right now is from somewhere else entirely? It's miraculous enough that humans and ponies have been able to get along as well as we have. What are the odds that still other beings will be friendly?”
“Think positive. Look at what we've accomplished already!” Midnight argued. “Tell me honestly: If you were back home on earth, reading a story about a town in these circumstances, would you find it believable that they could maintain this level of order?”
“Not for a second.” Tucker admitted. They continued in silence for awhile longer, before he added “I'm still nervous though... Like, inventory the weapons nervous.”
“Combat drills are always good.” Midnight said.
Leaving the wall, they headed back into town, towards the police station. As they went, they passed through the open-air markets that had sprung up in the parking lot of Fallow Meadow's old Wal-Mart. Sounds of commerce filled the air, as ponies and humans haggled over prices or discussed the previous night's events. Suddenly, the busy but happy atmosphere was shattered by the sounds of angry yelling.
Running to the scene, Tucker and Midnight found themselves in front of Bon-Bon's confectionary shop. A mess of fruit and boxed chocolates littered the ground. On one side of the heap stood BonBon, and on the other... ...On the other stood a human woman, whom Tucker didn't know by name but did recognize as one of the handful who had left with Carl Harner's group. He was pretty sure she was the 'They'll kill us all!' woman from the first day.
“What seems to be the problem here!?” the Sheriff shouted.
“The problem is highway robbery!” The woman exclaimed. “I come in with the others, looking to trade like every Thursday... Bring lots of fresh fruit to trade. I just wanted to buy my husband a chocolate bar, it's his birthday tomorrow! But this... This PONY... She says I've only got enough here to trade for that fake stuff she makes from the local plants!”
Tucker nodded, then looked to the pony. “Bonny? What's your side?”
“I'm sorry Sheriff, but it's got to be this way!” BobBon argued. “Real chocolate, what we've got is what we've got and when it's gone it's gone! That pushes the price up, it's just economics.”
“Economics in the middle of the jungle!?” The woman roared.
“It's a valid point miss.” Tucker said.
“The 'fake stuff' as she calls it tastes just the same.” BonBon insisted. “And I did try to offer a compromise, double of it what I'd normally give for this amount of fruit in trade.”
“That seems pretty fair.” Midnight interjected.
“Maybe normally! But... Here... Birthday... Never know, could be last one we live to see...”
“Is the fruit still good?” Tucker asked.
BonBon nodded. “Yeah, it's got a thick skin. It won't have been hurt from the fall.”
“Okay then, why don't we do this: Trade her the fruit for the chocolate, and I'll cover the rest of the cost.”
The woman looked up in surprise. “You'll do that?”
“We'll split it.” Midnight said. “If Miss BonBon agrees.”
“Yeah, why not.” BonBon said.
Through tears, the woman thanked everyone, and helped in picking up the mess. She then whispered to Tucker “Our leader is waiting for you at the station, wants to know about last night.”
“Thanks for the warning.” Tucker grimaced...
XXXX
Fort Barsoom, Planet Malacandra. The world was dying. G'drik knew this, as did all of its people, the Mor-tax. The world was dying, and had been, ever so slowly, for nearly a million years. First the bulk of the plants died off, as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels fell too low for c3 photosynthesis. They took most of the animals with them when they went, and the microbes as well. Then radiation levels increased, swamping the planet's geomagnetic field and causing yet another die off. By a hundred thousand years ago, the only life remaining were the handful of c4 capable plants, domestic food animals, and the Mor-tax themselves. And now the oceans were gone, evaporated off in the increasing heat which would soon finish them off as well.
The cause of all these troubles was, of course, their sun. A type G-3 yellow dwarf, it was over nine billion years old, nearing the end of it's stable hydrogen burning life, and getting bigger, brighter, and hotter with each passing day. Estimates were that all life on Malacandra would cease within three centuries.
All of which made what G'drik was now seeing an impossibility: A thunderstorm had formed to the west. There hadn't been storms since the last of the oceans ran dry. Yet here one was, regardless. It was moving towards the Fort, at speeds which seemed impossible. Curious, but not afraid, G'drix reached it's tentacles down to a keyboard and typed in a set of instructions, ordering it's machines to scan and analyze the storm.
The scans revealed data that would have terrified the Mor-taxian, had it's species still possessed the capacity for fear: This storm was not a storm at all, but the terminus of some manner of wormhole. It's tight focus and the rigid internal structure suggested that it was artificial, but beyond that were only mysteries. G'drix looked up as the clouds moved overhead. If it was going to die, at least it would be quick...
XXXX
“...And here we go...” Midnight mumbled under his breath as he and John Tucker approached the police station, where Carl Harner was waiting with five others.
“Sheriff.” Harner said. “Interesting weather last night.”
“More than you know, I think.” The Sheriff answered. “Guessin' you saw two storms? We logged two more as well, further away.”
“Four... And maybe more even further away than that.” Carl mused. “You thinkin' what we're thinkin'?”
“New neighbors? Yep, almost certainly.”
“Who'd you kidnap this time freak!?” One of Carl's men shouted at Midnight.
“Travis shut it!” Carl swore. “Maybe it's you and maybe it's not.” He said to Midnight. “Either way, we gotta know who's out there.”
“Who or what.” Midnight said. To the confused expressions on the looks of the men, he said “No guarantee these storms grabbed folks from the same worlds as before.”
Carl blanched white at this: Clearly, he hadn't considered that possibility. “We've gotta get ready! What if the new things are aggressive?”
“Same thought on our minds.” Tucker assured his former deputy.
“Good... Good... Listen, like ponies or not, I know all about 'enemy of my enemy.' Worse come to worse, we'll stand together against whatever worse is out there, like we did before.” Carl said.
“Good to know.” Midnight said. “Though, I hope it doesn't come to that.”
Tucker explained “We've got contact teams on the way to meet with the two closest.”
“You did what!?” Carl exploded, “What if they get slaughtered?”
“Don't remind me of my worries.”
Carl nodded. “Right, right... This is your neck too. And I guess the sooner we know the better...” He turned to face his men. “Alright, let's finish up our business and get home.”
xx
Meanwhile, in the upper floor of Carousel Boutique, a familiar trio of fillies were planning their day. “...But what can we do if we're not allowed to go more than a block from home?” Sweetie Belle wondered.
“Who knows?” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “You know adults, freaking out over everything. Though, not sure if I blame 'em on this one... Those storms ain't right.”
“Least it's just that, an' we didn't get in too much trouble over the D.J. Thing.” Apple Bloom said. “Say Scoot, where'd y'all find that awful record anyways?”
“Pinkie Pie of course.” Scootaloo answered. “She called it the 'Height of Gryphon Musical expression' or something.”
“Ah'd hate 't see the low end of it then.” Apple Bloom said, and her friends shuddered in agreement. “Now what'r we gonna do?”
Staring out her bedroom window, Sweetie Belle pointed across the road, to a human structure with a sign that read 'Arcade' and said “Why don't we go check that place out? There's supposed to be games or something.”
“Better than sitting around here.” Scootaloo agreed.
xx
The first thing the Crusaders became aware of, as they pushed the door open, was the silence. The chamber walls were lined with a large number of decorated cabinets, each sporting a video screen, but the screens were dark. “Are they closed?” Apple Bloom wondered.
“Not quite.” A male voice answered. The fillies looked to see an aging human male standing behind a counter. “But, the machines take power to run, so they're all off even though I tried to convince the council that this was good for morale to have up.”
“Well, what the hay kinda games are these anyway?” Scootaloo asked.
“These, my dear filly, are video games from the classic era: Frogger, Centipede, Galaxar! I've got one of the best collections of classics in the world, all still fully functional...” He sighed. “And almost all going to waste.”
“That's too bad.” Sweetie Belle said. “But, you said you weren't totally closed?”
“We do card games and bingo in the back room. And, there is one machine that I got running off the power allotment I'm given... C'mon, I'll show you.” The man led them to a cabinet near the front door. “Hang on a sec, I leave it unplugged when it's not running...”
Sounds of fumbling came from behind the machine, and then the screen lit up in brilliant colors. “'Super Mario Bros?'” Scootaloo asked, reading the title.
“One of the greatest video games ever.” Their host said. “Gather 'round, I'll show you how it works...”
XXXX
Shetland Crossing, Equestria/Gryphonica Border, Planet Eqqus. Gerolt the Gryphon stood perched atop the town clock tower watching the approaching storm with trepidation. Word was out of what had happened to Ponyville, and Gerolt was sufficiently in-the-know to have heard the reports that a Zebra living near the town had claimed that it was taken by a strange storm. And this storm was certainly strange. Uncontrolled, violent, eerie, not right by any means of looking at things.
Glancing down, Gerolt saw the various Gryphons, Minotaurs, Ponies, and even a few free-hive Changelings of the town scrambling for cover from the approaching catastrophe. Market stalls were moved indoors, windows were shuttered, doors were slammed and locked. Gerolt chuckled at this last one; closing the doors, sure, but locking them? What did they expect it to do, rain monsters? He frowned. Then again, stranger things had happened of late.
"Tempting the storm-gods again?" A deep voice asked from below. Looking down, Gerolt saw a massive minotaur leaning out a window, looking up at him.
"Come now Steel Forge, you know I don't buy those old storm god myths."
"Few Gryphons still do these days." The minotaur replied. "Doesn't make lightning any less dangerous. Get your foolish tail inside before it gets blasted off!"
Gerolt shook his head, convinced that his friend was over reacting, but joined him inside the tower anyway. "You do know what I'm thinking, don't you?"
"The same thing the rest of us are?" Steel Forge asked, "That we're about to vanish off the map like that pony town did? I assure you, I would have evacuated had there been time... Of course, the Diarches are leaving no stone unturned in their investigation, and as smart and strong as they are it's only a matter of time before they figure it out. Certainly, we'll be rescued then as well."
"Assuming we still exist to rescue." Gerolt said sourly. "I've heard nothing to confirm that Ponyville wasn't just vaporized."
"Always the pessimist." Steel Forge chuckled. "We'll be fine. I just hope you Gryphons don't decide pony is back on the menu if there's no food available wherever it is we're going."
"I think I'd prefer a cheeseburger." Gerolt snarked, looking at the Minotaur as if appraising him. Steel Forge needed a moment to get the joke, before breaking into laughter.
Outside, the rumbling grew louder, and in a flash of white Shetland Crossing vanished...
XXXX
Gerald Motto shook his head in disbelief. In over thirty years he'd never seen anyone take to a first-time video game so quickly. Seated on a tall barstool, the little orange pegasus was already up to world 4-2, and it was her first quarter. Of course, she was on her last life, but it was still pretty impressive. The gathered crowd thought so too; At least twenty people had formed in a semi-circle around the machine, cheering her on.
At last, though, the inevitable happened. “Aw man!” Scootaloo complained. “Now I gotta start over!”
“Y'all mean I get 't start.” Apple Bloom said.
“Oh all right! That's awesome though! I wish we could try these others.”
“You and me both kid.” Someone in the crowd said, and everyone laughed.
“I'm still pushin' for a bigger power ration.” Gerald said. “We've got a great thing for keeping people happy here, we oughta be using it.”
Most of her attention focused on the game, Apple Bloom said “Mah brother's on the council, I could tell him how much fun this is.”
“I'd like that, thank you.”
On the screen, Mario fell into a pit. “Consarn it!” In spite of still enjoying the experience, Bloom had lost all of Mario's lives in the first level. “Who's next?”
“Me again!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“No hogging now, anyone else..?”
xx
Night was falling as the trio headed for their homes. Even with the lack of any 'Princess Saving' cutie marks it had been a fun day; probably the best since arriving on this new world. As Sweetie Belle trotted up to the Boutique's front door, a flash of light caught her attention. It was far away, but brilliant, and in the direction of the further storm from last night. She wondered what it represented. Nothing bad, she hoped...
Ah, the original Super Mario Bros. I remember playing that on NES with my dad. I kept having the same problem. Nowadays, that level is so easy, but probably a lot of people, mostly the young, had that same problem.
(Gets invincibility star) "Yes, I'm invincible!" (Runs into the walking owls) "HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!" (Falls in a hole and dies) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Also, the Mor-Tax (I didn't watch the show, but I read about the show on Wikipedia and saw the 1953 movie; in my opinion, they goofed up when they made the aliens invincible) hate humans with every fiber of their existence. That could be problematic.
One correction, when you make a scene transition have these seperate and centered, not part of the paragraph. Makes it easier to distinguish.
Here we go! GOBLINS!
Hmm, one's goblins, who's the others?
Wow, both Earth-cities are from the United States! What are the odds!
Man, whatever storms these are, they are NOT picky.
Wait... shit their sun's... damn.
Can you say 'humidity'? All that ocean water is now in the air, giving pressure...
Well actually, the things you're describing will happen at around 6 billion years of age, when the star is just 10% brighter than today. 9 billion years would be melting the planet.
its
I have a bad feeling about this.
The picture for the goblins ain't showing for me.
I HAVE A VERY BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS!
Are we talking WoW Goblins or the more traditional ones?
EDIT: ah, did not read well enough.
Anyway, I looks like the heat has been turned up quite a few notches!
5887137 I was thinking WoW goblins too! I'll only be able to picture them as such...
Well, looks like they're gonna be setting a few more plates at the dinner table. Though I hope that Mor-tax doesn't act like his invading kin did....
The trick to pulling in so many thingies is that a fair chunk of your audience won't know one or more of them. Or any of them. And even then, it's hard to care about more factions when there is plenty to work with between the groups you already have.
This chapter didn't really do anything or tell me anything I didn't know from the last cliffhanger. I don't know where you're going with all of this and the pool of characters I'm interested in isn't any larger.
5887084
Good questions:
1: "Another city from the U.S." Not a city, that storm just grabbed a stretch of desert highway and the cars on it. In either case, there will be a town from elsewhere on Earth in the future.
2: "The planet would have died when the star was six billion years old." Maybe, certainly that's the current assumptions based on the rate at which stars increase in heat and light output as they age. Note, however, that the star in question is slightly smaller than our sun, class g-3 instead of g-2, which would slow it's aging somewhat. (Admittedly, not that much, but still). We could also assume that the Mor-tax planet orbits further away from it's sun than earth does from ours, in which case the time scale would be shifted backwards.
3: "Humidy and air pressure" Good catch. Maybe a lot of it is being lost to space, or maybe the Mor-tax themselves have done something technologically to prevent it from overwhelming them.
4: "Grammatical Errors" Another good catch, I'll fix those tomorrow. Thanks :)
5: "The Goblin picture isn't showing ." Weird. I'm not sure what to do, it's showing up for me. If it still won't show and you wanna see what they look like, just google image "FF14 ARR Goblins." There's lots of pics.
*Inserts New Mombasa from Halo*eeyup your fucked now
5887079
This is exactly why I'm using the version of the Mor-tax from Well's original book (Well, except for the name and the fact that their planet is a Mars-sized world orbiting a different sun rather than Mars itself). For one thing, assuming the exact level of technology shown in the novel, if they invaded Earth today modern human weapons would hand them their asses so fast the bacteria wouldn't have time to get them. Of course, Unity doesn't have access to full military tech, but they do have magic, and Bert, and the Mor-tax are just one little base with no back-up coming.
And as regards the t.v. show, there's lots of full episodes on Youtube, but frankly you're not missing much. I always thought it sucked that the producers turned what was supposed to be War of the Worlds into Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and that's something I won't be doing here.
Hmm. Ffxi goblins had casters, but I don't think ffxiv goblins had any magic users... they had a ton of explosives though, even a tank. Shame, they might have brought along knowledge of human magic use otherwise.
A few new humans; an entire new town of mixed ponies, griffins, free hive changelings, and minotaurs; a town of ffxiv goblins (traders, crafters, hunters, warriors); and a horror. At least I hope it is just one. A single tripod can completely demolish a human town, and that is not including the terraforming fuckary they tried in war of the worlds
Looking good!
Not sure if I blame 'em on this one
Hmmm... Final Fantasy? I'd like two Phoenix Downs, please...
War of the Worlds... My experience with this comes from the Musical (the voice with the Richard Burton voiceover). So... Oo-laaaaa!!
Actually, one other thing. Now someone (or somepony) should notice that all the storms have one thing in common: they all drop their targets in this world. Given that, maybe someone (again, or somepony) should start looking for a machine/ritual/ley line whatever that could be causing these storms. If they do find that, that's their ticket home.
5887761
Eeyup. And don't miss the Mor-tax G'drix's scans showing that the storms are clearly artificial. Once Twilight gets ahold of that data all bets are off on how quickly she'll be able to figure out what's really going on. Stay tuned...
5887780 Assuming the 'martian' is in a talking mood, sure.
But hey, you're the author. Oo-laaaa!
Love the story so far.
Also... Malacandra?
If only it was the Sorn, and not H.G. Wells' sushi nightmare makers, then the portrait would be complete for an "out of the Silent Planet" crossover...
Oh... I think you just gave me an idea... Thank you in advanced.
*looks at picture of mor-tax* welp, im not sleeping tonight, thanks...
seems like its going to be a cluster buck of new interactions and probable outcomes, i cant wait to see what happens. but i must ask, wont the inclusion of these new potential perspective increase the number of chapters required to cover them all and progress the story?
What I want to see is when the humans realize that some of the new neighbors are from their works of fiction (hopefully they are). I would love to see some people from Krypton show up, especially from the house of El.
With all these new beings it looks like the real fun is just beginning!
If the CMC figure out how to send everyone home by accident (cept for those poor souls that were just saved by the Storms) I will literaly. Flip. My. $#!t.
5892343
I think that would complicate the work more than it needs to be; I mean, obviously all of them are from works of fiction, but it really saves time trying to come up with unique settings to pull from. I mean, if MLP:FiM wasn't a thing in the human world I doubt anything else is, as it'd be recognized really quickly otherwise.
5887780
I'm rather curious how this entire thing will go once it's resolved. I mean, the mechanism that is bringing places to Planet will have to be disabled or someone else will fall prey to it even if people are able to return home. But once that is taken care of... will everyone just jump back home?
Ponyville is already altered drastically from how it was before, and Unity is being transformed from a rural American town into a small city state, surrounded by immediate projects and farmland and a wall. At this rate even if portals could be opened back to various homeworlds, the towns would have to be reconstructed from scratch from the most part. Assuming that everyone decides to split of course. I'd be surprised if there was no attempt at cross world immigration, and I imagine that the parties involved would try for permanent portals between worlds if possible.
I wouldn't be surprised that even if portals back to various homeworlds could be constructed, that Unity would continue to exist in some fashion as a world border location (and it'd probably grow into a boom town if the portals were permanent), unless Planet becomes inhospitable.
If I recall (what little I can remember), I read a novelization of the TV series in that the Martians were tri-sexed. They had some kind of male-female-other arrangement. This idea is based off the fact they seemed to have triple or three of everything else.
5898606
In the tv series, yes. Again though, the only aspect of the series I'm using is their name for themselves. Everything else is from the original novel in which they had no gender at all and reproduced asexually by budding off of each other.
I want to see a storm bring in a bunch of Klingons, maybe some Romulans... that'd be so cool!^_^
5906727 Hopefuly non tal shiar Rommies. (I blame STO for my Tal hate) Klingon would be a lot of fun. (oo or Crash land the Enterprise Twi would freak over Data)
This is starting to get out of hand.
Okay, so right now it seems like we've had six storms (which seem to come in pairs) - two hitting Ponyville and Indiana, one hitting Raincatcher Gully (on yet a third world) and one hitting New Mexico. Wonder what the other two have brought...
Terribly sorry, but the story just lost my interest. I'm sure that it'll maintain its level of quality, but I'm just not invested in reading it anymore.
I think you just introduced way too many elements to the story, when you still have tons of unresolved stuff to work with.
Guh, the Mor-tax have that Bryan Peppers look about them. Heh, Bryan Peppers, bringing back the sexy. Search him up on google image, you'll get the gist.
5887084
I know, right? And imagine if the storms spread across not just space, but time too? Man, I could go for having an Irish city getting sucked up during one of the many Irish Rebellions. The IRA would kick ass. Or do you know how scary it would be to see a German town from 1944? Just saying man, possibilities are endless with this. And on a side note, organisms being dragged along could be more than Carbon Based (Thank you Popular Science subscription!). Organisms could be Nitrogen based, Ammonia based, or even Silicon Based. Can you imagine a bunch of sentient Rock Giants that drink sulfuric acid, breathe Carbon Monoxide, and eat granite? And oh goodness it's beautiful. Alright, I'll just shut off my inner science freak before it gets worse... unless you would prefer more?
Of course Scootaloo didn't get her princess-saving cutie mark. The princess is in another castle.
Seems like a lot of stuff is being throw into this...
I wanna see some more crazy shit thrown into this! :D
heeheehee, ncie job!
recaption.com/uploads/284374f558f572ff33.jpg
That's the explanation, I'm calling it right now. Some god-tier alien race is forcing these seemingly random groups of species together for some universe-spanning science experiment.
Someone is setting up a real life game of Civilisation.
6126256 ... I hate you.
Take your upvote and be happy :<
The Mor-tax look like Kraang...
I don't know about the Mor-Tax but they're advanced enough to get a reading of the storm-transporter wormhole. I hope they're friendly since they'll be transferred from a dead world to a life-rich world.
Onward to the next chapter!
the Mor-tax.... if they are friendly, then maybe Unity and all the one's trapped in this land can get a better understanding of just what's done this to them, and what they're facing.
Is this planet Discord's dumping ground?
Are you bucking kidding me?! War of the Worlds and Final Fantasy!? You have managed to get me intrigued by this story, 5 out of 5 mustaches for you!
Heh, I assumed FF11 goblins, just remembering the names. I still remember chanting, while delirious from lack of sleep, 'Mysticmaker Profblix'.... while camping that little Sh#& for a couple days straight. Speaking of FF11... that funguar scares me more than those predatory creatures... those things could get mean.
Anyway, really great so far, wanted to stop and leave a comment before things start to get complicated as all these new players enter the field. Strong characters all around, but in particular I'm impressed with Carl... I expected flat character token xenophobe, but he's got more to him than that. He's still a paranoid nut, but he's got depth. Onward I go, but have an upvote and fave because I already feel like this one's going to get reread down the line.
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Like someone maybe playing the Game of Rasilon--with or without timetravel involved?
Also, what about the existing forest where the towns are being dropped. Are those patches simply vaporized by the incoming players? Or could those sections of forests be getting swapped with the towns on those other worlds? ---maybe including a few samples of fauna---?
Good up to this chapter.
Likely not gonna read the rest.
You know, I'd have never expected "War Of The Worlds" to pop up here. Nice nod toi classic literature. Also, probably good that you didn't grab something cliche like Vulcans or something from Star Wars next.
You do realize in the actual show there was video games. Hearts and Hooves Day. So they would know retro games.
Whoa whoa whoa whoa...Nobody told me that the Martians from The War of the Worlds were gonna get involved!
This is gonna be interesting...
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Worst case scenario, it still wouldn't be enough for a sustainable population for any megafauna, and probably not for most others besides insect life. And that's if the homeworlds don't immediately hunt down and exterminate any alien species.
I'd say the flora would be a bigger threat, since they could destabilize the ecosystem where they're dropped off, a la kudzu.
I know it's unlikely, but I've got my fingers crossed for an appearance by The Race from Harry Turtledove's Worldwar tetralogy.
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When was Super Mario Bros. ever in arcades? I know Mario Bros. was.
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That's a good question. I don't know if the game was actually in arcades in the 80's or not. What I do know, though, is that arcade machines of the game (Again, dunno if they were actually in arcades or are just reproductions) absolutely exist. A cousin of mine has one in his rec room. Considering what a popular game it was, it's not unreasonable that a modern era arcade operator would have one even if it's not 100% '80's arcade authentic.'
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10421946
I can confirm it was in arcade cabinets officially.
I swear, if they screw this up...
Edit:
They didn’t. My sanity is saved.
And Malacandra is name of Mars from Silent Planet, while Barsoom is name of Mars from another series.
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I’m re-reading and happened to notice this. I can say that there was an arcade version of Super Mario Bros. because that was how I first encountered the game as a kid at our local convenience store. My parents got me an NES after I started spending so much time (and quarters) playing the arcade game. The arcade version was called “Vs. Super Mario Bros.” and was somewhat harder than the NES version, with some different and altered levels. https://www.mariowiki.com/VS._Super_Mario_Bros.