The world as I knew it ended one year ago.
My name is Tick Tock. My father was a clockmaker, a stallion who loved precision. The idea of regulating the world into tiny ticks of a clock fascinated him, especially given how random and chaotic the world can be. I suppose that I may have inherited my own love of order, of regulation, from him. That said, it is terribly ironic that we should live in the age we had. We had seen the cruelties and depravity of the fiends. We had seen Discord himself run amok. We had seen terrors that dwarf the imagination... and all of that was before the princesses died, and the fiends, all of them, broke free once again.
I am humble pony. I have reason to be: I'm a mousy little unicorn, I admit, with a brown coat and a chestnut mane, along with hazel eyes, so I am utterly unremarkable, save for a pair of spectacles, a rarity on a pony of common birth, and my cutie mark of two interlocked gears. However, while on the outside, I may be unremarkable, I am proud to say I have a spectacular mind.
Not that I thought such a thing mattered in this day and age.
My father's life ended the day the fiends came to my home town. Well, I call it a town, but it was once one of the grandest cities in Equestria. The city walls were one of the wonders of the modern age, having been one of the first efforts of cooperation between the three races of ponykind: Earth pony architecture made those walls structurally solid in spite of their incredible height and thickness, unicorn magic made it magically invulnerable, and pegasus military discipline made the guards who patrolled it the envy of kingdoms the world over. It was often joked that, when the world ended, the last thing standing would be the walls of Baltimare. We were fools. All of us, myself included.
The ponies of the city of my birth were confident in the security of those walls. Less than five miles away, Commander Hurricane and his army were doing battle with the fiends. Equestrian steel and strength, we believed, might fail in pushing the fiends back, but there was no way that we'd be in any danger...
I was watching, with my father and a great many others, atop those walls, as Commander Hurricane's forces were decimated by the power of the fiends, and as the armies of Equestria were routed, three of the fiends turned their attention to our city, and began to advance upon us.
We weren't afraid, at least not then. Why would we be? We had the walls of Baltimare to protect us: Surely even all of the fiends combined could not harm us here. Tirek, Grogar, and Crunch moved towards us with the slow certainty of the tides, and most of us watched with amusement at their advance.
"Stone, enhanced with sorcery," Grogar noted, as the trio reached the wall. "And if I recall, their soldiers are well trained.
"As if magic could ever stop me," Tirek boasted, and opened his mouth, and we watched, in horror, as the magic that helped make our walls so secure was drained away, and his body began to swell and grow larger. Where before, he was little larger than a tall stallion, within moments, he had grown to colossal size. While not yet taller than the walls, he was now tall enough that he might climb over them with minimal effort.
The Stone Wall, the brave pegasus soldiers who defended us, moved to attack the fiends, and Grogar simply laughed, boasting, "As if mortal ponies could ever stop me," and summoned forth a wave of dark magic. As the darkness washed over the guards, we watched in greater terror as, suddenly, they all dropped dead, their bodies striking the ground with a horrifying sound... and then...
...And then they rose up, moaning, and began moving towards the wall. The defenders of our walls had died, and been turned into undead abominations, now laying siege to the city they'd sworn to give their lives to defend.
While some, the more intelligent ponies at least, began to flee, many others, myself included, simply stood and watched in numb shock as Crunch, the massive hound of stone, simply looked at our walls, and boasted, "As if stone walls could ever stop me." He then simply walked through the stone, the mighty bricks crumbling to dust as he advanced through them. Tirek climbed over the walls, crushing ponies in his advance, and Grogar and his new minions followed Crunch through the gap.
I cannot begin to describe the panic of the exodus that followed. The great wall that had once been our greatest defense became our greatest enemy: Half the guards that Grogar had turned into undead abominations blocked the hole behind their master, so that no earth pony or unicorn could hope to escape. The remaining half of our former protectors descended upon those pegasai who tried to flee. Those that were caught by the undead became like them. A few simply jumped from the walls. If any survived the plunge, the undead were certain to catch them before the now crippled ponies made it far.
Our city was now a prison, the walls that were once our pride and joy were now nothing more than a barrier, a pen to keep us from escaping those that would feed upon us.
My father was too slow to escape, and was caught by a dozen undead citizens, ponies unfortunate enough to be caught in the path of one of Grogar's spells. His last words to me, before he became an abomination like them, were to flee, and to not look back.
I ran, and I ran, until finally, I came to the one place that the walls did not block: Baltimare Harbor.. And there...
There I saw that we were being assaulted, not by three fiends, but by four.
Squirk the sea fiend, a massive octopus easily as large as any dreadnaught to ever sail the seas, was snatching up ponies who were trying to flee by water in his tentacles. Once caught, he was wringing them out like dishrags and laughing at the screams of his victims, gleefully showering himself in their gore. Some were able to escape him, myself included, but not many. Perhaps one in twenty made it past him, but I doubt that most who made it past him would would have survived the swim to safety. I very nearly did not, myself...
The waters I swam through were red with the blood of ponykind, and when I crawled out upon a beach miles away, half-dead from my extended submersion in icy water, I was coated in a scarlet that took weeks to fade away. As I recovered there, panting in exhaustion and wondering if I would die, a terrible understanding came to me...
Grogar gained new minions with every pony his magic slew, and Tirek gained more power with every pony he drained. Meanwhile, Crunch hated all things soft or weak, so his assault on unarmed civilians was understandable, as it was no change from his past behavior. But what did Squirk, who had been imprisoned for raiding Equestrian ships for plunder, gain? Our deaths did nothing to empower him or grant him sustenance, so what profit did he make from slaughtering us by the score?
Simple: Equines had sealed Squirk, and the other fiends, away, and we had intended to seal them away forever. Now that the princesses were gone, and the magical seals of Tartarus with them, the fiends were going to make sure that there would not be a single pony left who might be a threat to them. This was not a war of conquest as we had previously thought. Instead, it was a war of annihilation.
This was the world of the fiends now, not ours. Perhaps it never had been ours, perhaps it had been the world of fiends and alicorns only, and we only lived because the alicorns had protected us. Once, the fiends might have tolerated our continued existence. Now, however? Now, we would be wiped off the face of the planet, every mare, every stallion, every colt, every filly, every foal. They would not rest until we were gone, our extinction being the punishment for our arrogance in thinking that they could be contained. We had sealed the fiends away, and then forgot about them, living our lives as though we had the right to rule this land, when the world belonged to the fiends by right of their terrible might. Now, we would be annihilated until not even memories remained of us. Our cities would become ruins, and then ground to dust under the hooves and paws of the fiends.
Diretusk is a fool to think he can control such unimaginable power and rage. Even if he can temporarily control them, sooner or later, the fiends will slip their leash, and they will do to the Boarcs, every last one of them, what they are doing to us, and all because of the actions of one arrogant little piglet.
The only way to fight those monsters is with another monster, an Equine monster. For that reason, I had contributed to King Sombra's resurrection. Until I had seen what he could do to Arabus, I had been disappointed.
...But now...
Our new ruler, the stallion we had thought could only save us because he was more terrifying than any of the fiends, he tells us that we will not be prey to the fiends, but the ones who will hunt them into extinction. Not him, but us. All of us.
My head tells me that I should mock him for his foolishness, to shout to all of my fellow Equines that he is a fool, that we should flee while we have the chance...
And yet my heart, the heart that weeps for the ponies of Baltimare, and who mourns the death of my father, my innocence, and my world, has me shouting as loudly as any other mare. The king's vision is audacious, but he is right: This cannot be just his victory. It must be all of Equestria's victory, or it means nothing. We must all take part in annihilating the fiends and pushing the invaders off of Equestrian soil.
As the din of shouting ponies ends, I find myself pulling a quill, ink pot, and paper out of the mane of that incessant blabbermouth, Babbling Brook. Before I realized what it was I was doing, I was sketching things...
Wonderful, terrible things. In an Equestria at peace, I would be feared for even imagining the weapons I was creating, and possibly even locked away in an asylum. However, as Babbling Brook and others look upon the things on the paper in front of me, I can only see awe, and approval, in their eyes. It would require a great many things before these drawings would come to life: Metals, both common and rare; skilled craftsponies and smiths, to turn those materials into parts, and those parts into their final forms; soldiers, trained to use those forms and fearless enough to fight the fiends, and the boarcs, and either destroy them or push them into the sea. And yet, a mighty oak tree starts as an acorn, and I was planting that seed now.
The fiends laughed at Equestrian walls, at Equestrian spells, and at Equestrian soldiers. They will learn to fear Equestrian courage, Equestrian craftsponyship, Equestrian imagination, and Equestrian ingenuity, and I will laugh as our enemies are ground to dust between my gears.
INTERLUDE UP!!!
YIPPEE!!! Another chapter!
Another interesting mare has arrived. I love it when you make such quick updates. Hope to see more.
*squeee* Another chapter!
Will there be an interlude for all 105 or so other mares? Or will you only focus on the ones important to the main plot?
>and I will laugh as our enemies are ground to dust between my gears.
Looks like someone has all chances to become a mad scientist.
Pony with gear cutie mark... Is this there too?
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I think I know where this is going, And Sombra/Ambrose's personal mech will be wearing triangle shades.
1. Leader who is a bucking insane alicorn.
2. A flying fortress of a base.
3. The ability to form a new Alicorn pantheon from defeated fiends.
4. Inspired troops willing to go forth and use their special talents to the max in a war effort.
5. ?????
6. PROFIT!!!!!
DELICIOUS!!
Badass Harem of Badassery:
1 (one) Knight Commander, Alicorn
+ 1 (one)(?) Pissed Inventor, Unicorn
6042006
Not mad, angry! She's an angry scientist!
6042063
How many rages per day does she have?
On this interlude, I did something that I'd kinda been avoiding up until now. Until now, I've kinda left it to the reader's imagination, in regards to how bad it can be when the fiends hit a city, and shown mostly the aftermath instead. For the first time, I've given you all an idea of just how terrible it can be when the fiends come knocking at your door, and how... hopeless it has been for Equestria up until now. The difference between the fiends and the ponies is vast, and without alicorns, ponies simply have not had an answer to how to make up the difference between the two. This is what the world is like when the fiends are off of their leash, and when there are no alicorns to stop them. This is what Ambrose has to fight, and while he has struck a mighty blow for ponykind, and may soon strike several more, the odds are still against him.
6041964 Pfft, a REAL god doesn't OBEY laws, HE MAKES THEM AND DISPELLS THEM AT WILL!!
THOU KNOWEST NOT TRUE POWER!!!
The power of anime!
6042115 So, like I said, they should totally have summoned Son Goku.
The fiends would be defeated in 10... seconds... flat!
And he'd probably eat Grogar... he does that sometimes to villains who look like food...
6042135
Sadly, Goku has a weakness:
One punch in the nards, and he loses his Super Saiyan powers. To be fair, wouldn't you?
6042006 let's see here... a computer programmer, an engineer, and the living embodiment of the storm (who happens to have a lifetime of combat training) decide to build death machines together...
6042174
GO FOR IT!!!
6042063
First she is angry, next she chops off her hoof and replaces it with magitech augmetic. Why? "Because it has better functional."
Guns?
6042173 Ah, then maybe if they summon Piccolo!
Cuz Namekians ain't got junk!
Wow super epic, this chapter made me question whether or not this fic should be rated teen. when you describe the walls of Baltimare I think everyone knew that it was an attack on Titan reference. I think any reference to that show is almost impossible to keep team rated without losing something. I really like this chick I felt goosebumps with that final quote she has the end of the chapter,
, real goosebumps there.
Loving Tick Tock.
I'm loving all this backstory and bridging you're doing for all these side characters, in general. I know we eventually have to get back to the story, but getting to know these characters better is truly a warming feeling.
6042671
Each of these mares has a story, and it took a year to get from where they were to where they are. Just treating them like background ponies feels... wrong.
If anyone thinks it might be strange that so many strong-willed, exceptional ponies would be gathered together like this, I have to mention that weak-willed, unexceptional ones would not have reached this point.
You have me wanting to see these fiends SUFFER.
6041919 YET ANOTHER STRAIGHT PONY! SHINPACHI THIS ONE IS!
6042690
I refuse to refer to these characters as background characters.
They are support characters, with a whole lot of their own character to back them up.~
Another enjoyable interlude and mare. Well done.
6042210
Chainsaws? Guns that shoot chainsaws? Guns that shoot chainsaws that explode? Guns that shoot chainsaws which then explode into even more chainsaws? The fun is in not knowing!
This chapter was so Attack on Titan.
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6042820
We both know you can do better than that:
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6042837
Of course, but this was the only one with Tirek looking over the wall like you wrote it.
6041993
omg an interlude e for all 105 that would be insane if he could pull it off but it might burn him out
grogars got a little too much aoe, we might want to leave the mares behind when its his turn.
Honestly we should go easy on Diretusk because letting him control his fiends for as long as possible seems like the lesser evil compared to them being free and massacring every pony they find.
This was like some dark, inverted version of the three little pigs story.
It was especially awesome in my opinion. More so now that we finally have a mechanical revolutionary among our motley crew of misfits. I can picture the medieval Star Walkers and War Zeppelins going pew pew at the monstrous fiends already.
On an unrelated note, I do wonder what SombrAmbrose's plan is in dealing with bedding the beautifully black-coated babe he's betrothed to. Despite what he says, I'm sure Ambrose still has his misgivings about "going native", especially since I don't think he has enough time to get used to different standard of sexuality in just under a month.
Though if it were me in his shoe-hooves-whatevers, then I'd probably make myself an aphrodisiac potion or spell or something and then drink it before we do the dirty deed, that way I'd have no memory of ever doing it since by then the aphrodisiac would have made me into nothing more than a mindless, feral, beast of virility driven only by my carnal instincts while I mercilessly pound the amazon mare into a satisfied heap of pleasure. Win-Win for both parties, and bonus points if Sombra's still conscious for that.
And another great interlude.
Will there be one for every single member?
Probably too much, but still!
This story is beautiful *wipes away a single drop of liquid pride*
6042808 Guns that shoot chainsaws which then explode into even more chainsaws mounted on the heads of sharks.
Hey everyone! Here is how the fully updated character list looks right now. If you guys have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment.
Protagonists:
Ambrose- A human inside King Sombra's body. Has a mission to save Equestria from the fiends. Gains lightning powers after defeating Arabus in Chapter 14 but gives it up to Storm Cloud in chapter 21 since he cannot hold the power in his body forever. Turns into an alicorn in chapter 17 after swallowing a star.
King Sombra- A unicorn with dark powers that brought Ambrose to Equestria and into his body. Has the ability to tap into his powers whenever Ambrose needs assistance.
LadyHawke- Crystal pegasus pony and a lieutenant who used to serve under Commander Hurricane.
Sparking Sunset- Crystal unicorn pony and Clover the Clever's student. Helped gather the 108 virgin mares and fillies in order to resurrect Sombra.
The virgins:
Rosy Sunrise- A crystal filly carrying Miss Bubbles, her pegasus doll. Introduced in chapter 7.
Sweet Melody- A yellowish mare with neither wings nor horn, but with a long and flowing mane and tail, and cutie mark that depicted a g-clef surrounded by little pink hearts. Has blue eyes. Introduced in chapter 8.
Radiant Hope- A fluffy pony with dark purple in coloration, but with a splash of light blue where her mane would be. First introduced in chapter 11, she has the ability to pull random objects out of its magical fur, including a violin and a pink surfboard.
Ginger Ale- A filly and a lone survivor in a destroyed village. Introduced in chapter 13.
Acorn- A changeling who disguised herself as an earth pony with dull brown coat, a darker shade for mane and tail, both unstyled and unadorned, but with bright green eyes. Has acorn for cutie mark. Is known as a forester due to the cloak that she is wearing. Introduced in chapter 13. Since she's a changeling, she's quite stealthy and seems to appear out of nowhere on various occasions.
Petite Madeleine- A unicorn pony with a golden coat, pink mane and tail, and blue eyes. Introduced in chapter 15, she is a patisserie and used to bake for the royalty before joining the 108 mares to resurrect King Sombra.
Storm Cloud- A pegasus mare with a lustrous black coat, a long, blonde mane, and bright yellow eyes. Has a tall and muscular build unlike any mares in Equestria. Cutie mark is a storm cloud with three lightning bolts shooting down from it. Introduced in chapter 20, she tried to become a knight, but failed to do so. Her father was killed by the Raptorians. In addition to her wishes being granted in chapter 21, Ambrose gave Arabus's lightning powers to her, which turned her into an alicorn.
Babbling Brook- An earth pony with a bright blue and often unruly mane, and a brownish coat. Introduced in chapter 20. Babbling Brook is iintensely observant, deviously clever, and has a near photographic memory. Is best friends with Storm Cloud.
Tick Tock- A small unicorn mare with a brown coat and a chestnut mane, along with hazel eyes wearing a spectacle. Has a cutie mark of two interlocked gears. Escaped Baltimare from a deadly onslaught of fiends. First appeared in chapter 22, she is sketching weapons that the ponies would make to defeat the fiends laying waste in Equestria.
Antagonists:
Diretusk- Leader of the Boarcs, which are giant boar-like creatures. Has control of several fiends that escaped Tartarus.
Arabus- Cloud fiend. Fought in chapters 11, 12, and 14 and torn to pieces by Ambrose/Sombra's giant shadowy form's essence.
Lavan- Lava demon. Takes control of the Crystal Empire along with King Charlatan.
King Charlatan- Evil penguin tyrant. Takes control of the Crystal Empire along with Lavan. He and Lavan possess an artifact that allows anyone to worship the duo.
Raptorians- Creatures with doglike heads and birdlike bodies.
Crunch- Giant rockdog. Ravaged two cities in Equestria and assisted Grogar in his invasion of Baltimare.
Somnambula- Human witch.
Squirk- Giant octopus. Assisted Grogar in his invasion of Baltimare.
Catrina- Humanoid feline witch.
Tirek- A demon that escaped Tartarus. Is heading to the Crystal Empire to drain enough magic to make himself stronger and defeat the other fiends. Destroyed Baltimare along with Grogar, Crunch, and Squirk.
Grogar- The most powerful fiend that escaped Tartarus. An evil goat fiend and a necromancer from a kingdom named Tambelon. Has the ability to shoot out dark waves that can kill any being and reanimate them into zombies.
Other characters:
Archon- A golden robot-like pony being that guards the Sanctuary, a giant mountain fortress.
Miss Bubbles- Rosy Sunset's pegasus doll. After being repaired by Ambrose/Sombra's magic in chapter 7, it came to life in chapter 12 to save Ambrosa/Sombra from his impending doom thanks to blood magic that was used to revive King Sombra.
Discord- Spirit of chaos and disharmony. Appears in chapter 18. Is watching what Ambrose is doing during his adventures.
Aphelion- A unicorn stallion kidnapped by Sendak, Lord Tirek's master. After escaping Sendak's lair, he worked as an armspony and protected others from bandits or other monsters. Is currently heading towards the Crystal Empire to find Tirek.
This story is quite the read, i eagerly await more.
I wonder if any of the ponies will think to wish "Use all of your might to defeat the fiends." That would make the blood magic empower him.
6041919 Now dear Bucking Nonsense, although you may wish to, nothing can stop. The Smooze.
This immediately made me think of both the Asura and the Charr(specifically the Iron Legion intro) from Guild Wars 2. And that's a delightful image indeed.
6043032
With the help of the human mind in King Sombra's head, they could make the ultimate weapon!
img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130617190951/warhammer40kfanon/images/2/2a/Angry_marine_launcher_by_marshall_Tharidus.jpg
6042808
damn americans...
vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/saintsrow/images/0/05/%27Merica_-_%27Merica_-_Default.png/revision/latest?cb=20131029214837
fuck yeah!
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hilariously, this was the first featured image on Ifunny.
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Hmm... a more fitting name for this would be 'War makes us Strong, Peace makes us Weak'
But you're sticking to these whimsical titles so I won't say anything.
Still it manages to explain the ponies problem with technology, they are at a time of peace, any ideas for defences, for weapons used in order to protect ponies loved ones, it considered unneeded and useless at best, terrifying and warmongering at worst. So when a certain pony like Tick Tock gets her Cutie Mark, she's someone who makes clocks and nothing else.
That would be how she is in a time of peace, wasting her very expansive intuition and understanding of all things mechanical and having them waste away on specific device. She would have made a decent living as a citizen and wasted her years on all things that cookoo and as her name suggests, ticks and tocks.
Now we are at a time of war however, a time of bloody and unforgiving war, they care not for mercy, these monsters now ravaged the green world of harmony with their acts. They have build their thrones and regions from skulls and blood, they have laid their mark in the world because of petty revenge and simply barbaric nature...
Tick Tock has simply adapted to the times, her creations will be useful, not novelty, her creations are not warmongering, they are to take back what was once theirs, they shall stand against the coming storm and seeks to snuff out their existence with the newly adapted talents of theses ponies and show these monsters where they stand.
They stand in a world of magic, and they took away that magic.
So now the age of gears and pistons, of guns and artillery, the age of technology shall show them their mistakes.
... this chapter has a lot of potential for the future you don't even know it, a revolution of such technology in current Equestria? It will mark a very way of warfare from here on out.
I can just imagine Tireks face when we break out the railguns...
Tick Tocks name reminds me of something I said last week.
Tick Tock Tick Tock
Time goes by and by
Tick Tock Tick Tock
Till all of us must DIE
My response to this chapters title and picture:
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I am really likening where this is going, keep it up!
Okay, so having just read my way through everything that is up right now I have some things to say.
Firstly, I was apprehensive about reading this story, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy the premise and only clicked on it because I thought it might be like Who Is This Lord Tirek You Speak Of. I am glad to say I was wrong. This is an excellently crafted world and well written story, which brings me to my second point.
The World. It is an interesting world you are working with here, the timing and inclusion of a large rogues gallery, the removal of many of the beacons of Equestria to replace them only with the villians and citizens. Perhaps the most compelling part of this story, and something I now intend to integrate into my own, seeing how well it can be done is the minor character chapters. They don't always seem to add to the plot, or move it forward very far, but the sense of connection they create is amazing.
And that sense of connection. I was tearing up several times while reading this, I applaud any work that can evoke emotions and this one definitely deserves my ovations. I look forward to seeing the direction this story take, and can't wait for more.
P.S.
Skeletor Memes are excellent way to start each chapter.