A dozen years ago Anon-A-Miss happened. Sunset was driven off, and by the time the truth came out, the damage was done: she was gone and friendships were sundered completely.
Five years ago, they invaded - aliens from beyond. With unknown purpose other than to kill and slaughter, they effortlessly swept aside most of the world's militaries. With 90% of the world's populace killed, humanity united to fight a desperate battle against an unknown, unyielding foe from beyond.
Now, with the world in the balance, a mysterious figure has appeared to fight the aliens. Cloaked and masked, she wields abilities only previously seen in fantasy against the aliens. Wherever she appears, she wins - and the aliens are hellbent on destroying this new foe. This mysterious savior is only known by the populace as The Queen of Knives.
But who is she?
That's what the President of the United States wants to know - and what he has tasked LCDR Applejack Apple, USN, to find out.
cover art by DreamingKitty and Shinzakura
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...I think I'm going to track this because, while AAM was the catalyst, it is not the focus. Merely the springboard for the premise.
Please don't make me reconsider that statement.
9173216
There may be references to it in future chapters, but AAM is no more important to the situation the characters are in any more than something similar might be to a group of real-life former friends meeting a decade-plus after the incident.
That is to say it might affect some more than others, but in the grand scheme of things, it's in the past.
9173227
Yay!
looks really interesting so far, let's see where you are going with this
I know the CMC were suspended but what else happened to them, was AppleBloom kicked out of the house?
9177351
All will be revealed in due time.
9177389 I'm hoping so.
Excellent chapter, btw.
Looking forward, with MUCH anticipation, to the next one.
So...the Storm King is in charge of XCOM?
9177705
What makes you think this is XCOM?
9177752
Paramilitary group fighting aliens at the behest of a Commander shrouded in myth embarking on missions with absurd code names. Sounds like XCOM to me.
9177793
When they put a shotgun right next to the head of an alien, pull the trigger, and the shot goes wide, THEN it's XCOM.
9177793
Um... SEAL Team SIX is a real military unit - not paramilitary. Actual military.
Except that his record (as much of it as legally possible) is for public consumption - hardly shrouded in myth. Like this guy, for example.
http://www.govtech.com/em/safety/How-Pentagon-Names-Military-Operations.html
Oh, more likely, your typical day in the Navy, especially if you use the legal term for alien.
Noun
alien (plural aliens)
Whenever the invaders are referred to as Octos, for some reason these guys are all I think of:
nintendoeverything.com/wp-content/uploads/splatoon-2-octolings.jpg
Equestria Girls vs. Octolings would admittedly be a pretty adorable war in any other story. Also,
This may be the best line of dialogue I've read in a while.
9178020
I was thinking the aliens from Galaxy Quest, personally:
files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/uj55d0d362.jpg
But with the supposed news about octopi having alien DNA, that's more along the lines of what I really meant.
9178047
So then, more like the Hideauze from Gargantia, then?
1.bp.blogspot.com/-wds8Gk0z3kE/UawAKUb_JJI/AAAAAAADIKM/aOpmyUs7L-s/s1600/Suisei+no+Gargantia+-+09+-1.jpg
Those would probably make for some bad-ass opponents, given the fights they put up in Gargantia.
9177389
Ok just curious and love the story.
9178047
Oh I knew the aliens in this story didn’t actually look like Splatoon characters
but a man can dream. The Thermians from Galaxy Quest were more or less what I really pictured9178061
I hadn't thought of those, to be honest, though that is not a bad idea.
Wait wait wait. First were throwing knives made of fire, now a bow made of violet energy? I swear, if she pulls out a dagger or spear of ACTUAL LIGHTNING I'm going to fuckin' squee!
9188614
9188619
1: I missed that.
2: SQUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, assuming the Queen is Sunset, is she going to talk about her horn? Her beautiful, beautiful horn?
9188628
Maybe, but she probably doesn't speak Eliksni.
sorry I had to
9188639
I would've been surprised if someone hadn't done it.
Eta
9188721
ETA when I get it done.
As far as comparison or similarities go, what or who’s outfit does Sunset’s resemble or look like? Also im loving this thing so far! Also, yay for badass Sunset!!!
CADANCE, FLURRY HEART, TWILIGHT, AND HER PARENTS ARE DEAD?!
9189214
I guess you're not worried about Flurry Heart, then?
9189340
Oh my bad I thought I included flurry heart but seriously if any of them made it please tell me Flurry is okay?!
9189547
No, they ded
9189191
?
Is this a crossover?
Very good so far, I like it. Has a very xcom feel to it in a good way nice use of the military jargon, excellent characterization, and a really good story overall so far. Not sure why it has six downvotes, this is a solid war fic in my eyes. Hope to see more soon.
9193444
Not really. It has influences from other things, but it's not a crossover.
...Sunset has both dreamwalking-ish powers and Destiny Hunter powers. This gonna be fun once we actually see her in action, and not just recordings/flashbacks.
Ugh, Sombra.
So, he'd have arrested AJ for fighting magical threats the US government was not at the time equipped to handle?
And Chrysalis and Shining, huh? Guess she's an acceptable runner-up.
Green flame? Is she a Changeling?
9201195
No, the original kindness gem was green, and then Hasbro recolored it pink because girly girl crap. I think that's insulting to girls, so I went with the original color.
9201189
To be fair, I suspect that would be the result in real life as well. The government (any government, really) would probably want you to tell them and then hand over the magic power/artifact/amulet etc. No, not always a good thing, but that's real life, unfortunately.
Yeah. I wanted to do something different with the changeling equivalents on Earth, so I figured CIA. And Chrysalis, as ruthless as she can be, would still be human in this case. And Shining's a guy worth falling for.
9201306
Pink works for Fluttershy, though.
9201315
Ungrateful bastards.
Not the first time I've seen her as head of an intelligence agency. Still good.
9201343
So does green.
9201380 Yeah, I also like the idea of her gem being green.
Emeralds are awesome.
And you know, I always have wondered about that discrepency between that representation of the Elements, and the ones that Twi and the Mane 5 wield/wielded in the past.
So I think I'll start using the emerald one rather than the pink one (which I think is a peridot) in my own stories.
And to hell with anyone who says it's the wrong color!
On another note, the peridot is actually my sister Terry's birthstone, and the amethyst (Rarity's Element gem) is mine.
Question. Why didn’t the girls go to Equestria and ask Twilight why she didn’t reply to Sunset’s messages or tell her what had happened to her.
looks like the two sisters will be reuniting
9218170
How? Twilight was, per the first chapter, angry with them and eventually that anger turned to disgust and disillusionment.
Why do I have the feeling Lightning intended "FAR" to be related to FUBAR?
Wasn't the reason the Government never got involved with Canterlot was because it was declared a lost cause from the beginning?
9235561
My guess: FAR Group comes from the name on the door (FAR PLANNING GROUP, with FAR being short for FIRE AND RAIN). That or FAR (again, referencing the project) and Group (which is an Air Force term for a unit in charge of multiple squadrons).
Limbo, you might want to consider making that glossary you discussed. NAVETS and OSVETS might be able to keep up, but plenty of civilians won’t.
Yes, but now that they know about Sunset Shimmer and the portal to Equestria, recovering it just got a whole lot more important.