The Barrier: a naturally-occurring wave of magic that formed soon after the portal to Equestria appeared somewhere in the South Pacific, enveloping Earth with an inevitable tide that has destroyed all life on the planet, all despite the best efforts of man and pony alike. Now, the ponies are left to pick up the pieces and try to preserve what's left, while averting the vacant gazes of the mindless Newfoals left from one of their failed attempts to save what they could.
But there's one thing that all seem to have forgotten, from the ponies of Equestria to the strange multitudes of species in the universe with their sights set on Earth: and it's that you can't keep a good apex predator down. You can only hold them up a little while...
Special thanks to The Footsoldier for the OC, Elisa!
Bland characters are blank slates. Plenty of room for some actual development. People would only complain more if there was less room to write them how they wanted.
5674405 And that's how I see Flash! We have all the space we want here, why do we want to fill that space with crap?
I have never seen a fic with both random and tragedy tags before. How does that even work?
5674468
For allot of people... my guess is 'flash is not them' and cannon pairings make their self insert ship fics seem all the more narcissistic...
5674487
Random doesn't imply being lighthearted. Chaos is random, but in the two episodes that introduced Discord, did you ever see any of the ponies happy until a few minutes before his in-stonification? And I mean happy by themselves, not from obeying Discord's mind tricks (Fluttermean knocking someone onto the ground and smiling.)
I can't help but think that Flash's only real purpose in this story is to deliver an HFY speech.
EDIT: why is this even tagged Random?
I like this story
It's nice to read a TCB story that doesn't have that 'over the top' grimdark feel to it and paints the ponies in a positive light for once.
The interaction between Elisa and Celestia was both touching and heart-breaking. The same with Twilight and Flash.
I like it!
The opening was powerful and dark. Celestia's breakdown sent a shiver down my spine. When something makes a millenia old ruler break down, it's serious!
Maybe we could see the Newfoals?
5674487 Well, this was just a random idea that came to me at one point.
5674491 Probably hit the nail on the head right there :)
5674570 I refer you to Commentstator's comment.
5674587
5674589 Thank you both! I figured this would be a nice twist on the genre.
Well, I guess it's sad that the Mona Lisa's gone, but it's nothing but sentimental value that it's the original. The information behind it is what's important, and the idea that every copy of the Mona Lisa is gone is ridiculous.
Also, magical Barrier advancing on your planet? Why not space?
... in fact, why doesn't the Barrier expand through space? Maybe it needs an atmosphere?
Good fic. A bit hammy with Flash's speech, but good.
I was so hoping "Sunbutt" would wear Elisa's uniform (or at least part of it) when meeting Twilight and Flash, it would just add to the
-factor in my opinion.
Still, I like the first chapter and am hoping for a second one to equal this one.
5674782
Copies don't really carry the same value as the original. Sure, the Mona Lisa smile may not be gone forever, but the work that took hours to make it is gone and that's perhaps the real tragedy.
5674812 Like I said: Sentimental value.
Long live humanity
Long live creation
Long live justice
OK I've read it a few times and I couldn't help but be reminded of something.
'Friendship is magic…'
'Magic' killed them….
It's like guilt-ception.
5675016 Awww....I didn't think of it that way...
5674782 Thanks!
5674788 God, me too
5674836 LONG LIVE HUMANITY!
5675270 LONG LIVE HUMANITY!
Heil der Menschheit
5674782 I was thinking the same thing. I feel like humans retreating out into space wouldn't be that ridiculous of a notion, especially with all of the space-centered initiatives going on right now.
Anyway, this story is already looking fantastic. There are few TCB stories I can get into, but this already has me hooked. Great job on it! You're writing is excellent.
5675536 Aww shucks...
5675418 Da zdravstvuyet chelovechestvo! (thank you, Google Translate)
This reminds me so much of Grayscale, in a good way.
I wonder how many species were wipe out by the windigos brought by pony kind hate for each other? Like Flash freezing everywhere other species even non pony sentients starving dyeing homes lost xenophobic ponies and desperate monsters big nightmare back then war magic thank God for the princesses guiding them they really could of turn out a mean species otherwise with those powers of there's if not extinct.
I'm just going to take a wild pot shot and guess that Humanity comes back form space. Just guessing.
5676196 Kewl, I should check that one out.
5676353 Bro, that comment could use a comma or five. Just sayin'.
5676520 Not even close
5676975 sorry I'm not a writer so grammar isn't really my thing.
5676996 It's cool, I'm just a grammar nazi.
I admit this beginning was a whole fuckton better than most other Flash stories and both EqG crapbags, but it's still leaving a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth.
So I'm gonna ask you to do as you did with Twilight and Celestia in this and give him one hell of a characterization, more than just "generic guard officer". I know already that you can do that.
5677076 And if he doesn't really pop up again because this is a shorter story than what I usually write?
5677084 It's your call...
... although he'd be a good character to appear in the salvage and relief efforts as Twilight's emissary, since they work together on it. Just don't include Twilight in the scene or he'll likely be tagged by readers as a satellite character and love interest, which is exactly why his EqG self is so widely hated.
5677092 Exactly! That's the only real reason he's hated! He's a waifu stealer, that's all!
5674782
Uh assuming this is in a modern setting, the best we've done is get two people at a time to the moon and build a space station that can house half a dozen or so. I doubt there was time to develop the tech needed for large scale space colonization, let alone time to really impliment it.
5677161 The tech is there, it's just the funding that isn't. And the end of the world could really light a fire under peoples' asses.
5674509 Yes, random does just mean random things and not light hearted.
That said, pulling of a tragedy with lots of randomness is very hard. They either focus on one or the other or have one random arc and one tragedy arc.
5677297 Well, let's see how we do here!
5676975 You...
You haven't read it already?!
But that's the GOD of hopeless, blameless CB stories. It's one of the best stories on the damn site! READ IT NOW.
DEAR GOD, READ IT!!!
Anyway, while Grayscale deals with the lives of those preparing to convert and the ponies forced to watch them die, this looks like it deals with the aftermath. Almost feels like a sequel, though the premise isn't quite the same.
I disagree. Without a mind you're nothing - and you certainly can't get a new one. A heart, however, can be replaced - no matter how broken.
It's OK. I personally thing the Mane 6 are overused. They don't have leading experience (except for Twilight). Shouldn't someone more qualified see to organising the preservation.
Edit: Oh, and I wouldn't have used Flash so much. Especially just to be a Deus ex Machina for arguments.
Well done.
Wow... Here I thought she would go out crying... I underestimated her. That's the type of courage statues get built for.
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/0d/bd/3b/0dbd3b357901fa9753451d923723111c.jpg
Hail humanity.
5677623
Maybe it was meant to be symbolic? Kind of like keeping a comatose patient on life support. In this case however, it is a braindead patient...
5678569 I got the symbolism - I just disagree with what was said.
Oh yeah, this isn't a one-shot. So if they're all dead how will humanity "rise again?"
Oh well, I guess I'll see.
Why the fuck are you saluting?!
5678840 Celestia is royalty. It would've been considered rude not to salute.
5678930 Even if Celestia isn't responsible for the barrier (as she is in many Conversion Bureau fics), I'd expect either thinly veiled resentment or hostility towards the creature that will rule what once belonged to humanity.
5679018 True, but from what I understand in this fic, Equestria fought hard to save humanity. That alone would've earned them some respect from some in the various Earth governments and their military, even if it ended in failure.
As for taking over after humanity, it's not really something they seem to enjoy doing. It may be more as a favor to keep the memory of humanity alive, I think.
5679121 That's the perfectly logical way to look at it. However, people are not logical. It would be far more interesting if the Elisa blamed Celestia for not being able to save Earth.
Eh, the reason people hate Flash can be summed up as:
He took our
jerbswaifu5679679 There is another theory for that. When someone knows they are about to die, they go through five stages; denial, anger, fear, bargaining and acceptance.
In Elisa's case, she had most likely been through all four stages and had by this time accepted her fate. Thus, she saw no reason to be angry at Celestia, even in her final moments.
5677487 Link plz.
5677623 It's more of a "at least we saved something" sorta deal, you know? At least they saved something.
5677696 Thank you
5677742 Naww, let humanity go out with some dignity, you know?
5678569 See above
5679018 Going out with some damn DIGNITY
5679679 DIGNITY!
5680208 Truer words...
5678930 US Military personnel don't salute royalty regardless of nation (though perhaps a bow of respect or something to that effect?). However, saluting high-ranking officers and commanders of a friendly allied nation's military is recommended, if not required. So she wouldn't have saluted Celestia unless she was the official head of the equestrian military, or if, being a UN soldier, she has different regulations than regular US troops.