Lainey Park sniffed at her dinner, taking in all the grassy smells. There wasn’t much of a smell, not compared to the fresh fruit and vegetables Olive had often prepared for them. As she walked, she was conscious of the canine form of Huan beside her, close enough to reach but never actually close enough to touch.
There were now two full tables instead of just one, though theirs was largely empty. As she usually did, Lainey sat down beside Wanderlust. There was no Lonely Day today, no Whiplash and no Mystic Rune. Not even the disgusting insect. Just her, and Wanderlust.
Rather than keep to their old cliques, several of the newcomers had joined them at their usual table, with plates of their own. Lainey didn’t mind that, since the pair that had taken seats closest to her and Wanderlust were easily her favorites out of all the newcomers.
“How was the reading today?”
“Books,” Kirk said, as though he considered it a perfect answer. The pegasus was several years older than his brother, with dark feathers and a tight bundle of sticks for a cutie mark, the head of an axe or something emerging from the side.
His brother Dean had similar coloration, though it was brown and green instead of brown and blue, though he was a unicorn and too young for a cutie mark of his own. “You’re just mad you can’t learn flying from books as easy as I learn magic.”
“Yep.” He reached over, mussing his brother’s unruly mane with one hoof.
“Yuck, Kirk! You got hay in my hair!”
“I know!” He beamed, though he didn’t meet Lainey’s eyes for very long. “Sorry. Was that what you wanted to know?”
“Yeah.” She nudged Wanderlust with one shoulder. “A few more weeks, and we can all learn to fly together. Isn’t it great you let Olive treat that wing?”
Wanderlust grumbled in response, though he didn’t actually say no. He couldn’t, not without being dishonest, and they both knew it. Even if he showed clear discomfort whenever he was forced to be around Olive for extended periods… he was healthier than ever.
“It’s amazing you figured out how to fly on your own, Sky!” Kirk gestured with one of his wings. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but she wasn’t sure he knew either. “I tried a few times too, and I never got off the ground. The book said we could expect to take weeks building the strength to actually do it. What kept you going that long? Did you ever think that maybe you just couldn’t fly?”
She shook her head. “Not for a second.” No sooner were the words out of her mouth than she wanted them back.
Predictably, the pegasus raised his eyebrows. “Why not?”
She could try to lie, but there really wasn’t any reason. Sky wouldn’t hesitate to lie if she thought it would get her out of something uncomfortable. It wasn’t as though it mattered if she kept Sunset’s secret, did it? The unicorn was gone now, her search completed in Lonely Day. “Because I met one of the Equestrians. Before… Before I met anyone else.”
Maybe it was bad timing. Maybe it was that she had never said anything about it to the newcomers before. Regardless, it felt like the entire meal suddenly fell silent, and every eye fell on her. Even at the other table, where the gigantic Abrams had been talking animatedly with his gryphon second-in-command. All stared.
Well, except for her friends. Wanderlust looked confused, watching the others more than he saw her. Maybe, like her, he was trying to tell what was such a big deal to all these ponies.
“You… actually met a pony from Equestria?” There was an almost reverent tone to his voice, more than she expected. He had only had a few days to read their books!
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “I wasn’t allowed to talk about it before. She said there were bad ponies who might want to stop her. But since she’s already gone… She found me on the street, failing to be a pony. Told me how it was supposed to be like. Said that with wings like mine, I’d make a great flier one day.” Lainey sniffed, fighting back tears. It had been the first kind thing anyone had said to her in her entire life.
Kindness had been the trend with Sunset Shimmer. Even though she had her own mission, she had taken the time for friendship. Lainey had known in that moment that was exactly what she wanted to be. If that meant sacrificing some of what she had been before, that was no terrible loss.
Humans had never shown Lainey kindness. Ponies had. “She’s the one who gave me my name. ‘Cloudy Skies.’” In that moment, Lainey Park had died. But she didn’t tell them that. Some dead were best unmourned. There were a dozen eyes on her. Her voice quavered, but she managed to keep from whimpering this time. She wasn’t sure if they would judge her, and she didn’t want to give them anything to judge with if she could avoid it. “Showed me what magic was like, too. So I always knew we could fly. She never would’ve lied to me. That’s not what friends do.”
Silence. This was more than she had told to anypony, even to her friends. It seemed as good a time to speak as any. “Her name was Sunset Shimmer.” Somewhere, from within the crowd, something made of glass hit the ground and shattered. Sky didn’t see where it was, so she didn’t stop or offer to clean it up. “She was a pretty important pony, I guess. She only stayed with me for a night-” but it had been the best night of Sky’s life. Kindness was wonderful.
When she had left, Sky had despaired of ever finding someone who would treat her like an equal again. Yet after less than a week, she had met Day; who was strong and kind. She had been a pony too.
“Did she say what she was doing?” Another voice spoke from behind her, one she hadn’t noticed until that moment. It was Carol, the pegasus with bat-wings instead of the birdlike ones they normally had. Thestral, batpony, something like that? Sky didn’t remember.
Again, she wasn’t sure if she should answer. Yet she had never seen an expression so curious, so desperate for information. She just had to say something! “Looking for a pony. A leader. I wasn’t one though, so she left. Went north to Oregon. I never saw her again after that.”
The silence ended then, for which she was grateful. There were other questions, and she answered. She ate the rest of her bland dinner, pretending to enjoy it with all her might. She almost did, too.
Wanderlust walked her home again that night. It wasn’t as though there was much reason for it; she didn’t suspect anything would happen to her with such a low population (nor was she worried she couldn’t get away, as the only pony in her world who could fly so far as she knew). Yet the pretext of living right next to her and Day was generally enough for him, and she appreciated it.
Dating Wanderlust wasn’t like her long-distance admiration for Mystic Rune. Wanderlust made no show of ignorance; actually he seemed to understand mares a great deal. He was kind, attentive, and polite. He remembered what she liked to do (build terrariums) and her favorite color (green), and the foods she hated (daisy was disgusting no matter how many different ways Olive cooked it or prepared it raw). He wanted to spend time with her, even if all she had to do was milk the cows and make bread.
They talked about everything, and she listened. Wanderlust spoke of the news he had learned from the other settlements, of the ways other ponies had found to survive the Event. He listened to her recounting the drama in the field today when Patty had insulted Betsy’s selection of grazing spots.
He had his limits, and Sky knew them. Linger too long on one subject, and he’d begin to drift, automatically repeating acknowledgements without actually hearing her. Sometimes he would ask questions he knew she didn’t like the answers to, just to see if asking them different ways might prompt her to be a little more forthcoming. It didn’t, not when he asked about her life before. Lainey Park was dead and buried. In time, Sky would ensure she was forgotten as well as dead.
Yet he didn’t ask about anything like that today. “Did you see the message from our fearless leader?”
She slowed, shaking her head. “I wanted to, but I got distracted helping with dinner.” She suddenly moved closer, close enough to touch. She wouldn’t, though. Never that. “They’re okay, aren’t they? I had heard Whiplash was really nervous about flying.”
He nodded. “They’re fine, yeah. Alex got pretty screwed up. Banged up her head pretty good, but apparently she’s fine. Not even a crack in her skull.”
Sky shivered, fighting back the rush of fear at the mere mention of her friend in such pain and danger. “She’s not hurt? Are they flying back now? There wasn’t a storm, was there? We really have to get better about weather magic, so we’ll be able to stop those one day!”
Wanderlust stopped, resting one hoof softly on her shoulder. “No, Sky. We couldn’t have. That thing moves faster than the speed of sound. I don’t think we could’ve flown with it even if I could fly.” He lowered his voice. “Let’s talk about it when we get inside.” He glanced once around them, then quickened his step, nudging her to follow.
She did, growing increasingly confused. He put on an ordinary face for the rest of the walk, though he didn’t talk about anything meaningful until they were at the RV she shared with Day. Normally he would leave her at the door, but it was easy to see from his expression he expected to come inside this time and it had nothing to do with their painfully slow romance.
Once the door was shut, Wanderlust locked every door, drew every blind, and took Day’s P90 out from where she kept it hidden under the bed. “What… What are you doing, Wanderlust?”
“Checking, and making sure.” He checked the whole RV, top to bottom. “Wouldn’t want anyone to be here and us not realize it.”
“Why not?”
Wanderlust didn’t answer until he had finished. She sat down by the table, wrapping a blanket about herself and feeling more nervous by the second. Wanderlust was many things, but she had never known him to overreact.
“They found something terrible in Philly.” He sat down beside her, making eye contact and speaking very slowly. “Ponies died. They don’t know how many yet, but it’s at least as many as lived here before the new ones arrived.” He glared out the window.
“What happened?” She dreaded the answer, yet curiosity compelled her to ask.
“There was a fire. Big one. They don’t know if it was intentional, or some kind of accident. Alex said the route the immigrants took passed pretty close to Philly. Some or all of them might be from there. Or…” He took a deep breath. “They might’ve been the ones who caused it. Some kind of hostile invaders. They might plan on doing it again here.”
Suddenly, she understood the gun. “W-What… What are we supposed to do?” She shivered, leaning against him without realizing it. “Alex is gone, Whiplash is gone… it’s just you and me! We can’t fight that many ponies!”
“And Riley.” He steadied her, letting her finish before he answered. “We need more information. It seems like the newcomers came in different groups. Alex wants us to learn everything we can about them. I’ve got an idea…” He glanced briefly at the door. “Is it okay if I get Riley?"
Sky’s fear only grew when Wanderlust suggested bringing a changeling into the discussion. Yet what grounds did she have to argue? A little kid frightened her, so what? Day was adamant they needed to accept the insect, strange voice and weird eyes and fangs and all. “Okay. Fine. Get her.” She shivered. “I don’t like it. But if you promise she’ll behave…”
“Yeah. She’ll behave.” He rose, pushing the gun closer to her. Neither of them would’ve stood much chance of firing it, even with Lonely Day’s modifications. “Just one sec, I’ll sneak her in.” He vanished out the door in a rush. She waited by it, watching him through the peephole.
The immigrants couldn’t really have anything to do with what happened in Philadelphia, could they?
Well, we finally find out Sky's real name and apparently she is still trying to get everyone to use pony names. I really hope the the new settlers are not the ones that caused the situation in Philly and that is was maybe an evil pony from Equestria. If not that is a serious flaw in the spell if it did not send the seriously deranged humans far into the future. Also, how did Sky get what appears to be a weather cutie mark when she has never done weather manipulation. Or is it just symbolic of her personality and her past, if so that's a pretty depressing cutie mark.
BATPONE CONFIRMED
CAROL BEST SURVIVOR
ALL HAIL
It's going to take quite some time for Cloudy to get used to Riley. I wonder if Riley has trying out new names. She would have definitely noticed the new names Cloudy gave everyone.
6289300
Nah. The diamond dog dude looks more interesting IMO.
I thought for a second I was reading a different fanfic there. So, Cloudy Skies's real name is Lainey Park? And she calls Oliver Olive, how original. I'm guessing Wanderlust is her name for Adrian?
Edit: I'm pretty miffed how Sky is so enamoured with kindness yet she just doesn't understand that Riley needs that, too. I don't mean to belittle Sky's suffering, but her continued hostility towards Riley just drives me up a tree.
At first I thought "Lainey" and "Wanderlust" were part of the newcomers. You're just doing this on purpose now.
I guess Sunset ran into somepony from this crowd too....
OOoh, her name is Lainey Park. Was, at any rate. And her names for the other ponies... and she doesn't think of herself in terms of Cloudy Skies, but keeps insisting that's who she is. Poor woman's messed up pretty bad.
Or one of them is an Equestrian that knows of her by reputation.
6289334 Actually, she's given Oliver's full pony name before: "Olive Garden." Mystic Rune, we already know is Joseph; Wanderlust is pretty clearly Adrian; and Whiplash must be Moriah, though I'm not really clear on why she gave her that name.
Hmm, if Sky were to master the use of storm clouds, lightning could be an awesome defense for the colony. Also they wouldn't have a water problem for crops or themselves. Sky has the makings of one of the most important ponies in the colony.
As for the bad guys...
The obvious conclusion to jump to is to suspect the non-pony, ex military immigrants, and their band. I doubt that they would be at ease with being told that a civilian would be in charge of restoring the world, oh and that your races weren't the ones chosen to run it.
BUT since this is the obvious conclusion to jump to, I have to look elsewhere, as the author has proven time and again to be amazingly good at the unexpected. Of course as Freud said, 'sometimes a cigar is just a cigar'...
Hmm...
Also, I hope that Alex has kept a few secrets that haven't been revealed yet. One of the things I have worried about from the start is how they were going to protect the colony from being taken over or destroyed. Alex is a mare with the most important mission any person has ever been given, the survival of civilization for the entire planet. I'm sure she has already thought long and hard about these things. I hope she has come up with a solution...
I was so confused while reading the first two paragraphs.
Cloudy/Lainey's coping methods are interesting to say the least. She's struggling to forget a painful past by trying to get everyone around her to pick up on a reality she herself is still fumbling around with. She insists on seeing all the others as ponies, right down to pushing Equestrian names on them, but still can't do it for herself. So many broken people in this first group.
So that's Cloudy's human name! Thanks for the cheat sheet - I'd have been lost otherwise!
Now... I am frowning at the Pegasus with the Fasces as his cutie mark. It's a symbol of the old Roman Empire but is more strongly associated in the modern world with Italian Fascism, a step-brother of the somewhat more horrific Nazism in Germany and Austria. Kirk could be a good pony (the emblem also is a philosophical reference to national unity) but I'd keep an eye on him either way.
Oh, and...
Adrian fancies Cloudy! Adrian fancies Cloudy!
Well, that's about as strong a reason for forcing Cloudy to spend time with Riley as could have happened. I guess during this crisis either she'll get more used to Riley, or whatever the problem really is will get brought out into the open.
Cloudy didn't pick up on it at the time, but I wonder what Adrian's reaction was to that dropped glass and the general reaction to the story of meeting Sunset? I mean, he's taking pretty seriously the idea of some of them possibly being hostile invaders, so I have to imagine that made an impression on him.
Finally, the perspective of the pony who I found most intriguing since the time she first showed up. And I love it!
At first I was also like "part 4: Laney... huh?" Love it how the chapter -only- uses pony names from her perspective; except when describing herself... the poor thing.
The way the Sunset story just spills out of her... sooo Cloudy Skies. And according to Sunset she has the potential to be one of the best fliers in this new world? And she has shown leadership skills, against all odds, in LPoE.
I love this character. Maybe not the person just yet; but definitively the character.
Whiplash: best possible pony name for Moriah.
And suddenly: paranoia. This is going to be good. Hint for Cloudy: Riley can sense emotions - I'm pretty sure she can feel when somebody is secretly hostile or harbours contempt. That's a pretty strong emotion after all, just like she said that Cloudy hates her.
So Sky still calls herself by her human name even when she got everybody else to call her by her pony name.
Damn, girl!
Didn't expect her to purposedly pull an "exact words" on the conversation with Sunset, not after starting talking about her. Then again, this is the pony who took charge of the Herd when Alex was off-world.
Lainey? One of the immigrants, perhaps? Well that's an interesting...
Oh. Well, this should be interesting. Especially given how Lainey still thinks of herself by her human name, despite her efforts to bury who she once was. And that slip on Alex's name shows how artificial her current mode of thinking is.
Heh. "Whiplash" as Moriah's pony name. I like it. Though I doubt Oliver's special talent is unlimited breadsticks.
In any case, interesting how Adrian's paranoia makes itself known. I just hope nothing regrettable and/or stupid happens before cooler heads (read: Alex's) can get back to Alexandria.
6289582 Riley will definitely be handy, but she may have issues seperating the hostility the ponies feel for her from the malice for the colony in general.
6289696
It was the running mystery of the first book.
She acted male, but was hinted at being female, but until the Last chapter of the first story it was not actually confirmed.
Alex was a young man before everything, but was more interested in dealing with the sudden change of species than the sudden loss of his twig and berries.
The conversion magic is apparently a crapshoot as to what you end up as, and the outcome is not affected by preexisting biology.
Flip a coin to determine gender, roll a D20 to determine species. 15 of those 20 are ponies.
6289661 That's unlimited soup, salad, AND breadsticks, buster!
Starscribe, you tease. The first time you show us Sky's old name, you throw it at our face and leave us confused of who you're talking about.
Please, never stop doing this. Thanks.
6289701 Hmm... good point, didn't think of that. She's not an experienced changeling after all. Too much 'noise' so to speak.
6289696 Alex was a mare (gender switched guy, thanks to a glitch in the spell) from the very beginning of LPoE, although it wasn't explicitly stated until the very last. And she didn't really do it herself. Source of a lot of speculation in the comments :)
6289590
Good catch... Cloudy is a real deep character.
6289720
Thank you for the information. With transformation you mean the age spell?
that would make sence, i guess.
btw, i rolled a 5 with my D20
Labpony
I still love how Oliver's pony name is Olive Garden. Never change.
Lainey? Who the schnitzel is Lainey?
...oh. Oh!
I have the feeling this next bunch of chapters is going to answer some questions.
Ooooo, a viewpoint from one of the new characters...and she hates Riley too. Poor Riley.
Wait, scratch that, is this Cloudy Skies? Didn't expect her to be internally monologuing under her original name.
A pair of brothers, interesting. Damn lucky, too, to already have been reunited.
"Let", yeah sure, let's call it that. Also, not sure we've gotten a Cloudy brand name for Adrian before.
40.media.tumblr.com/08e2a75d6eb1c88d28b00efb1aa712f1/tumblr_nsne15Dudd1rsmidfo1_540.png
Oh god the cuteness! *dies*
Wow, this is turning into a regular infodump for the newcomers.
Nice work, A.
Hey, sounds like Adrian has turned out to be pretty good boyfriend material, too. Before too long we might just have more pregnancies than just Moriah's.
Did we just get confirmation that Cloudy has a Fluttershy-esque animal sense, or that the cows have progressed to be fully sapient and capable of speaking English?
Oh, and Whiplash is Moriah? Hahaha, that's great, it's perfect on every level.
Now there's a nasty thought, especially with Cloudy just having spilled the details about Sunset to them. I kind of don't buy it, though, the timing is wrong unless you have a faction that is large enough to be operating in multiple groups and locations.
6289421
Turns out that being transformed into a different species while also being left to fend for yourself in an empty world is bad for your psyche. Abandonment and identity issues make a mean combination! I'll admit, one of the things I really enjoy about this story is the psychological struggles.
I think that Sky's insistence on adopting pony names and norms has also made her more susceptible to the instinctual fear response that plagues so many Equestrians. Keep in mind how the Mane Six (aside from Twilight) reacted to Zecora back in the day. Sky's irrational fear of Riley is quite similar.
... GRG... ACK!
ARRRGRGRGRGRGRGRGRGRGRGRGR!
SHE HAS A FUCKING NAME!
This arc better fix that idiotic part of her pony brain or I swear I will flip out.
... So yeah, interesting to see the different pony names, I was completely surprised at the new name in the chapter, I was like 'who the heck is Lainey?' and then boom, here we are. And then she and Adrian get together... I don't know, Sky (And I will still be calling her that) isn't my favorite character, so this has as much impact as Moriah and Joe getting together.
She seems to worry about Alex a lot... I guess she really is attached to her, not in the way everyone expected or wanted but, eh, friendship is best ship I suppose.
For now, we have intrigue and a lot of crazy things in the future.
Lel he's a fag.
6289759 He meant the transformation that started everything, turned everyone to ponies.
6289759
Alex has gone through several transformations.
First was the initial ponification. Young adult man to Young adult earth pony mare.
Then Moriah's de-aging spell. Young adult mare to teenage earth pony mare.
Lastly the Equestrian Royals did SOMETHING to her. Teenage earth pony mare to teenage (?disguised alicorn?) mare.
Last one is speculation as Alex refused to talk about what they did to aside from declaring her leader of Earth and passing her the How to be a Pony guidebooks.
Who's Lainey? One of the immigrants? Oh shoot that's Sky? Let me back up and reread this now that I know which character to attach this to. Wait, does that mean all these new names are all the pony nicknames she gave everyone? I have to relearn who everyone is! I think I'm catching on though.
Ah, thanks for the key at the end. Somehow managed to figure them all out already though. Fairly proud of that.
6290169 Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha
I'm so glad i'm not the only one who thought that...
Yep. Skies is definitely one broken individual. Not that I can honestly blame her, but still.
I do have to give her credit for not immediately assuming that the HPI was behind the attack in Philly.
6289355
I keep thinking of her as that Vietnamese-American girl who hired thugs to invade her home n kill her parents. Her mom died.
6289582
Sigh, nother ambiguous name. Park.
6290067
It's not instinct it's cultural. Pony privilege.
6290169 Downvotes! Downvotes from ALL the people who don't get it!
And now we get what is bound to be the most Interesting and probably saddening part of the fic..... *puts on helmet*
6291345
6290169
Actually I think it's an a symbol from Ancient Rome......
I'll googled it and it's called the Fasces
6289733
Can't deny that power
6289421
Seriously, did they just roll bad on the wheel of staying behind
6289720
I am so going to use that :P
6291874
D20 Equestrification
1-5 Earth pony
5-10 Pegasus
11-15 Unicorn
16 Diamond Dog
17 Griffon
18 Changeling
19 Batpony
20 Crystal pony/Dragon/Wildcard
Seems to be the current estimated weights.
6291895
I was actually already assuming that XD
But thanks none the less
6289825 I know this is coming from the guy that makes the History Channel "Aliens" guy look normal, but it could also be just a reaction to the idea that Sky met an actual Equestrian. Like the one that might have attacked Philly.
6291843 Thanks for the link to the symbolism of the bundle of sticks and axe. Starscribe's at it again.
Uhm. That's an interesting mark for sure.
6292432
And it was also used by the Italian fascists in World War Two
That's how I knew of it in the first place :P
6289894
I remember that she talks to the chickens too when they first rescued the animals, and no one else seems to be talking to them. So I think Sky has got the talking to animals skill.
Besides in Equestria cows are fully sapient members of society, so perhaps there are former humans that are now cows somewhere?
6292577 Yeah, that's the thing, it could be either, or even both. I'm wondering which.
6292577
If they are, would they even look the same as Earth cows or not? Or would it be the same as comparing humans-turned ponies to Earth's ponies, or humans-turned-zebras to Earth's zebras?
6292722
I'm guessing that they would look like equestrian cows with their bigger eyes and more expressive faces. I really hope they're obviously different because if a diamond dog or Griffin accidentally ate them this fic would need one hec of a tragic tag.
I really need to stop putting off responding to these. I generally like to wait until there's a whole page these days, but... probably shouldn't have with a new perspective chapter coming up.
6285687
Everyone thinks she's an Alicorn!
6285688
I can't promise the story is going to stick with existing villains. Put simply, I feel the show can tell their stories better than I can, and that there are plenty of stories that focus on them. I'm not saying I wouldn't use them, but that I wouldn't restrict myself in that way.
I can promise to be faithful with the lore and "feel" of the universe as a whole. Give me a chance and keep going to the end, and I think you'll find I've picked a direction that's consistent with the spirit of the world, at least as much as is possible in a post-apocalyptic world. give me a chance, and I don't think you'll be disappointed.
6285750
I do! Just like with some other important elements in Lonely Day's life, she doesn't talk about things that make her uncomfortable even when they might be important. I think we'll know better what's going on when we get to her section and we get to see things a little clearer than a journal entry can show us.
6285753
Yeah, it's intended to be a spell, not an actual dragon. An actual dragon couldn't be blown out of existence by an anti-magic shield, but a spell could.
6285775
Yeah, you're not the only one to express this concern. I might end up restructuring the story a little in future chapters. Instead of making each chapter jump ahead a month, I might let the rest of the story fit in on a scene-by-scene basis. Would be less confusing this way, even if we won't get to see as much of the "progress" our little colony makes.
6285780
Odium might be a proper noun, but it's also a word in the English dictionary. It's not simple hatred, it's much deeper than that. It's a shame words like it are falling out of our usage.
6286015
I'm sure those genes would be a wealth of critical new information for the new ponies. Considering a project like that is already out of their technical grasp (I'm sure they could get the machines, but good luck getting enough ponies with the right skills to operate all of them).
6286204
Yes, you're exactly right. There's obviously a finite amount of oil in the ground, that's being depleted as we all burn it. Lonely Day isn't talking about the overall amount on the planet though, she's talking about known reserves. (read the sentence before). I made a slight change to the text to try to make that clearer.
6286439
My favorite of his books is Childhood's End. I've never read a better "bittersweet end of humanity" than that story. Very few stories have left me as changed. I'd be flattered to learn my writing resembled his. I have read most of his work, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was some influence there. I like to think I care about my characters a bit more than he cared about his, though. (when reading Rendezvous with Rama I found myself wondering if I'd notice if he replaced all the human characters with sock puppets)
Still, very interesting!
6286541
He's in for a shock if he ever gets to advanced time magic.
6286563
I think this is my bad and not Alex's. I changed the text a little to make it more clear. She wasn't ever talking about the true, (and obviously finite) amount of oil on the whole planet, but rather the amount known and potentially accessible to humans at any given time. She was only ever talking about the known reserve
kiwiblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/oil.png
6286659
Alex didn't code her diary! She does sometimes leave out important information, however. She's convinced its going to be an important document one day.
6287024
Well, Alex is an auto mechanic writing in her own journal. I think she might fail to coherently express what she actually meant. Or maybe she just has poor taste in examples.
6287678
In point of fact, that's only one of several reasons I suggested that might explain Oliver's attitude. Similarly, if you didn't manage to pick up the details of his character, I would suggest re-reading the original story from the point of his introduction, as we know a hell of a lot more about him than what you've apparently picked up.
Unfortunately, the journal style of the first story and the time-jumping scale of this sequel rely a great deal on subtext (the first one much more than this one), which might not be the style preferred by some readers. Founders of Alextandria gives us just five scenes per character, and each chapter might be as much as a month apart from the previous one (at leas unless I decide to give that up, which I'm tempted to do.
That's also why I've been more forthright in the comments section; FoA, at least so far, has been far more a series of loosely connected vignettes than a single cohesive novel. We're left largely to infer based on things we know about the characters (again, quite a bit more than you apparently picked up), and the way they're acting now. We only get five scenes a character, so it might be better to reverse the direction of your analysis. Instead of thinking "based on what I know, can I justify this interaction in this scene?" it might aid your understanding (and apreciation of the story) to instead think "based on this scene, what can I learn about the way the relationship between these characters has changed/developed?"
It wasn't something you had to do in the last one, since we got to see a journal literally every day. We got to see the relationships evolving and growing, sometimes painfully slowly for some readers. We don't get that luxury this time. Seeking to prove/disprove the reactions of characters based only on what you already know would be a mistake, given so far we've jumped ahead several months over the course of just a few scenes.
I'm not sure I like the style, though. If I've confused you (and I'm guessing the people who have up/downvoted the comment about your confusion), I probably confused other readers too. I might be switching to a more consecutive style for the chapters to come. Guess we'll see what happens.
6287850
That isn't a living Equestrian dragon. That's a spell that made a dragon shape out of fire.
6287905
Lonely Day doesn't want to say! We'll probably have to wait for her chapter to know for sure.
6288116
I think we'll find out!
6289296
I think we'll get to see about Sky's cutie mark this chapter. It's an important part of her character, but she's not been able to fly to explore it until fairly recently in the narrative. To be fair, she has worked hard at it, practicing every day until she could do it. Probably a sign of some importance there yet to come.
6289300
pre09.deviantart.net/b989/th/pre/f/2013/282/5/a/all_hail_the_glow_cloud_by_vinigri-d6pvhgr.jpg
6289389
Me too!
6289421
Things would've been much easier if Alex had ended up with a bunch of stable people, there'd been no TG or anything awful, and no magical accidents. But where would the fun of the story been in that? It's the disasters that make it fun! The drama, the human failings!
6289433
The real question is whether his cutie mark is the ancient Roman meaning, or the one that evil governments in modern times appropriated for themselves.
6289582
I'm really glad people picked up on this other than being confused at why everyone suddenly had different names!
6289590
I think Cloudy's a better pony than we give her credit for. Let's see if she can prove it this chapter.
6289661
You wish!
6289894
I absolutely love writing from Sky's perspective. In many ways she might be the most broken pony in the group. Doesn't mean she's not a ton of fun to write from, though. She hates a lot less than Moriah, so it's more fun to narrate for her. Well... okay, she doesn't not hate. Riley can attest to that. But it's less at least!
6290120
Lainey's an interesting case. She's abandoned her old identity more completely than anyone else, so much so that she won't even tell them her name. She embraces the love and friendship of being a pony, yet she's left with the hypocrisy of hating a child purely for what she had the misfortune to spawn as.
She's got some growing to do.
6290542
I'm glad you didn't need the key! I intended their real identities to be fairly clear from the context, so you could appreciate their identities without the key. That's why I put it at the end, so people could see which they'd figured out.
6291895
Sounds pretty good for the statistical balance you could get from a D20! Though I think it's a regional thing. If I set the story somewhere else on the globe, I expect we'd get a different breakdown of species. But from what little I can tell from the maps and naming and culture of the show, north America seems to correspond to Equestria in their world. As such, we're seeing lots of the pony tribes in the story locations.
6292432
Those who hold the fasces as the symbol of Imperium. Power to command armies. Life and death.
6292733
I'm guessing we'll get to see when I click submit on the next chapter >.>
6292770
Eeeee! Both excited and anxious for the next update now.