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TheEighthDayofNight


"What we wish, we readily believe, and what we ourselves think, we imagine others think also." -Julius Caesar. TCP Discord is available. Please send a DM!

Sequels1

T

Elias Bright is a survivor. He has survived the end of the world. He has survived the deaths of his family. He has survived the death of all that he has built. On the run from a past that haunts him to his core, he finds himself in Equestria, a land of tranquility and peace. Elias now has a choice. Does he give up the only life he has known, that of a survivor, and settle with the ponies of Equestria, or will his past deeds come to drag him back into the dark past he has tried to bury?

Chapters (76)
Comments ( 1587 )

This is really good I like it

Not bad. MC rant about survived literature adds some credibility somehow. One little correction: it's "nocking the arrow", not knocking.

9733587
Thanks for pointing that out! That mistake has been corrected, please let me know if you spot anything else!

Odd, the moment he woke up and it was night my song finished and "last night on earth, speaker of the house remix" started playing the timing is impeccable because he is dying and it could be his last night alive, so lol

Comment posted by 3-tap deleted Jul 16th, 2019

Something is messing with his mind if he loses composure this quickly. Something must be coaxing or forcing these feelings and thoughts out. I just wonder who or what is doing it.

Something is up. That damn itch in the back of my brain won't stop. Something is going on and I just don't know what it is! GAH! :twilightangry2: Still this is a very good tale so far, looking forward to more.

9746671
You'll see their use further in the story, but in sum, a pilla (also referred to as a pillum) is a particular style of javelin (read throwing spear) that had three distinctive styles. In the context of this story, a simple pilla is used.
Here's a link to an article about their function:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilum

Is this a crossover with something? Or did you make all that up?

9749356
The simple answer is that no, it isn't a crossover, it is all original stuff.
The complex answer is still no, but it provides my inspirations for the story. There are two primary inspirations;
First, the images in my head while writing Elias are of the character Marius from Ryse: Son of Rome. (Clearly there are physical differences, but ultimately, the body types and how the armor and weaponry moves is similar to the game). I've been playing it a lot recently, and it helps inspire how Elias fights, a bit scrappy, not really a duelist, but just a nasty fighter that is very good at what he does.
Second, the whole "Roman in a foreign world/land" was inspired by the Clash of Eagles trilogy by Alan Smale. I read the whole trilogy in the span of a month, and it got me really fired up about Roman's and Roman military culture.
The key differences between both of these is the time period from which Elias as a character comes from. In my initial versions of the story I attempted to put an actual Roman in the story (instead of a self-styled wastelander Roman) but I ran into conflicts on how I wanted the character to act, as well as his age. Later in the story Elias' age is significant to a plot point, so he needs to be young, but then he couldn't be a leader, and his traumas would have to be altered. On the other hand, I could have made him older and removed a subplot, but then a (at least I think he is) sympathetic character just became a complete nonredeemable dickhead with no goals. On top of that, the story became far too 'white savior' trope for my tastes. I like throwing a competent individual into a foreign environment filled with other competent individuals. Writing Elias as this old Roman general made him an arrogant ass that I despised.
So, I made my solution, in which Elias is a young wastelander who styled himself after Roman culture (like Caesar's legion in fallout, but without all of the terrible parts like slavery, abandonment of technology and being organized raider dicks.) This allowed me to write the character the right way.
So to sum, no, it's all original, it just takes hints from other media. Hope that answer wasn't to muddy!

9749682
You've read that trilogy, too? You're the first person that I've run into that has actually read the Clash of Eagles trilogy as well. Have to say, though, although being a background character, Akecheta was one of my favorite characters throughout the trilogy.

Does his new armor still look like his segmented armor from before; a darker version?

9755318
Yep! It’s essentially the same type of armor with a paint job. (That and all of the magical enchantments to make it stronger and such)

Looks like he's slowly but surely recovering from his traumatic experiences.

...I'm still confused as to why he attacked that guard in the first place.

From the beginning chapter and the way he treated that legion standard, it seems pretty clear that he not only understands the concept of friendship but has had them at some point, so it's not like he's never had experience with people being kind to him. The ponies were very clearly soldiers, not raiders, and he even commented on how peaceful the nearby settlement looked as well as how healthy and not irradiated the nearby terrain and wildlife were.

Even with the assumption that they were some kind of mutant, he had already noted them to be intelligent, peaceful, and well organized, so why would his first reaction be to attack the one offering him help?

9759285
Crippling paranoia, coupled with fear of the unknown primarily.
Also note, the story opens on a lower point of Elias' life. While he may have had many positive relationships in the past, he is also a scarred individual, mentally, emotionally, and physically. For every up there are a hundred downs, so Elias is more naturally inclined to use his skills (violence and escape) to remain alive on his terms, rather than the terms of others.
He is a mentally damaged individual, so don't expect him to always make rational decisions, no matter how well he seems to disguise his instabilities.

Very good keep it up man!

Ohhhh nooo! I read all the chapters in one sitting!

I'm loving this. It reminds me of some of the older HiEs we used to see around here, but feels more fleshed out.

Keep up the fantastic work, I'm definitely going to keep my eye on this story. It definitely drew me in.

One of these days I'll stop binge reading on going stories but not today. Definitely keeping track of this one.

Hmmm. Interesting. I beleive Ice Blossom is a crappy liar, and the Royal Guard are planning something. I hope Elias choke holds the Royal Guard Captain.

Oh jeez. Book Binder has a thing for Night Flash, but is affectionate towards Elias and Flash is taking it the wrong way.

Hope these guys can communicate and work it out.

Keep it coming! This story is one of those hidden gems that I almost missed if I wasn't paying attention. Good stuff and can't wait for more.

~8chill

i love this story, haha. can't wait for more.

Honestly I can picture raiders reducing themselves to mere bows and arrows, but that means this has gone on long enough to deplete the ammo

38Elias shrugged, the motion exposing some tension in his shoulders. He rubbed at it with his fingers as he tried to ease the strain.

38 doesn't seem like it belongs there

9774770
Thanks for pointing that out. It’s weird because that error doesn’t exist in the word doc version, must have done something when I copied it over.
Fixed now though.

I feel like his name is gonna Harry Potter its way into the drawing. Great story looking forward to more in the future!

OOOOhhhh... Changelings are coming.......

I'm really liking this story so far keep up the great work author. :twilightsmile:

dafuck I feel like this is just to show that the main character isn't an overpowered asshole. Feels weird and forced though. there had better be a good explanation why the royal guard seems to hate his guts and the captain seems to be such a prick. I highly doubt Celestia or Luna would let the big boy guards act in such a manner unless there was reason. Unless there is some sort of hidden xenophobia in which case its just another cliche Celestia is and Idiot fiction. Anyway at least you put in some underlying currents to throw some doubt on that. Still would appreciate good reasonable explanations soon.

9778762
I 100% promise there is a reason (explained by a character) in the next chapter. Should be out Friday.

Sonova- Welp, can't wait for the next chapter now.

While the fights are amazing and the dialogue/Charcters outstanding, I find myself at a little bit of disbelief that the guards can actually hold up to Elias's pure experience in combat. A peace time guard VS a grizzled wasteland ex-militia commander, I'll chalk it up to his blind rage though and continue on.

The story is absolutely great by the way, the charcters flow smoothly and the serious tones (undertones?) Feel flushed out and believable. A bit of a hidden gem in the updated tab that I happened to click on by mistake.

9780481
Essentially, here is how I see it;
Only the best guards (that being the guard captains, as well as the Royal Guards, can actually stand up to Elias in a fight, and even then Elias gives a fair beating to every single one of his opponents. This will be demonstrated more as the story continues, but notice that in both of his fights, neither Nightshade, nor Chaser walk away unscathed. Their magical abilities give them an edge against the above average human, but not so much that Elias can't adapt and over come, hurting them at the same rate they hurt him.
Also, Elias is holding back. He talks big, but due to the influences of certain ponies, Elias is already changing his fighting style when combating ponies (keep this in mind for later when his brutality makes a return). Because Elias is beginning to let them in, and because he does have friends now, Elias' sword arm is being tempered when fighting opponents that are similar to his friends.
Finally (sorry for being long winded), Elias, while experienced, his by no means an expert in single combat. I won't say much about this point, suffice to say that his fighting strength lies elsewhere.

Thanks for the compliments! I hope I can continue to do the characters justice, and continue to make them interesting to read!

9780526
Honestly the long winded answer is usually the better one, I realize now that I might have overlooked the descriptions of the damage Elias was doing to his his opponent. I usually tend to focus on the MC when they are fighting so I most likely overlooked something when I was reading.

No Problem man, the story has been a nice read so far and I can't wait for the results of their little 'duel'.

Amazing job! When I heard that the royal wedding was approaching, I was so excited. It's stories like these that are hidden gems and had it not been for my love of Romans, I never would have found this story. I commend you for creating characters that I actually care about. Keep up the great work. I'll be waiting for your next chapter!

9780526
You've managed to encapsulate my attention fully. I wait with baited breath for the next chapter.

I always hate intros like this. Not hate as in, hate the story or author for writing it. Rather, I hate the outcome, the people that would resort to this kind of thing in a crisis, then get away with it as their target dies, or otherwise "vanishes".

Again, I'm not saying I hate the story, or the author for writing the situation. I'm saying I hate the situation itself. Because, in all honesty, if the backstory of this apocalypse actually happened, this exact situation - or at least similar situations - would be happening. And it sucks.

I always want the bad guys to get their comeuppance, I always hope that sometime in the story - even if it's not fully said - the bad guys get their comeuppance, that they don't truly win even if they think they did. And I don't mean that in the sense that "they though he died but no he's alive" kind of loss, I mean like, they take something only to realise they've lost literally everything else.

So yeah, it's good. Lol.

I've seen only two other stories do this from memory, having Pinkie immediately able to tell where the MC is. It bothers me because Pinkie isn't really shown to be "knowing" like that (she did have to see Twilight before knowing she was there and new, after all).

It is a bit weird that the journal dates changed so fast, as well. A full 24 days having passed since the first one last chapter. This either suggests he wrote this a bit after he woke up and used that date, or he was "falling" unconscious for 24 days. The latter doesn't explain how he'd know time had passed, however.

I also only just thought about this, and it's somewhat unrelated to the story, but. Why do we assume you can't feel pain when you're dead? I mean yeah, it's logical that if the afterlife (Heaven-like afterlives at least) is meant to be a paradise, then you wouldn't feel pain there, but the very idea of an afterlife existing is inherently illogical. So it's pretty weird. I mean, for all we know when we die we do end up waking up in a different world, able to feel pain and living as if it's all normal, or we wake up with the injuries we had before the injury that "killed" us. So in this case, he woke up with arrow wounds because those were the injuries he had before he got burned alive, vaporised or however he would've died.

I find myself lacking new, interesting, stories to read, so I'm hoping this one can be added to my tracking collection and I don't catch up too fast. Also hope the update schedule isn't few and far between.

Ohhh, ok, I get it. The journal entries at the top are separate from the story below the italics. Admittedly I should’ve guessed that.

That’s twice now he’s gone off a cliff. Bad luck. Very nice description of the events though, showing that he was dying even before he noticed, very nice attention to detail.

Hope he gets his ruck back, and his shield. In times like these, where you’re alone or somewhere you don’t recognise, it’s best to take comfort in what little you have. It helps. Even if it’s a sword, or a shield, or a simple stopwatch.

It feels sort of like he didn’t come from a modern world. As if this isn’t the first time he’s been thrown into an unfamiliar place. Who, or better yet, what, is Elias?

Ok so I was wrong, he hasn’t been through this before. He has simply rebuilt that which was lost, only for it to be lost again.

9739924
While there could be mental manipulation at play, given magic is present and Celestia was already doing it, it’s not the reason for his outburst. You must remember that he supposedly hasn’t spoken for months, that he’s kept his emotions bottled up for years. There’s a reason it’s unhealthy, it affects your mental state and eventually with even the slightest slip it all comes out at once.

He’s lived a horrible life, having to stay on his toes constantly with no time to stop, think, talk or otherwise let his emotions catch up. Now, however, he’s thrust into a world and situation where he’s not in fight or flight. Nor in immediate danger, and he’s actually talking, particularly about his past. All the emotions he’s kept bottled up are gushing out, he’s mentally incapable of keeping calm because there’s too much to hold back. Once he’s started, he can’t stop until he lets it all out.

It’s just how humans work, psychologically. You can’t keep your emotions bottled up. You can’t bury painful memories.

I hope this doesn’t go the cliche direction of him turning all evil because something a la Nightmare Moon “lets out the monster in his mind”. It’s such an overused way to have a character open up and accept things.

It honestly seems like it’s being set up for that. He’s a human, no magic, but his mind is super fortified and is really weird. He’s psychologically unstable, and has a “dark” version of himself in his mind. All you need now is the trigger for that dark version to be released and you have a cliche.

Damn, and here I thought 19 was young, even when I thought the ages were similar to Human standards. I hope his age brings a few more reactions in the future, 19 years old in a land where the equivalent would be close to 30.

Elias handled that perfectly I think, while quick to anger and relatively young, he has a good head on his shoulders.

Great chapter all around, although I did find the maternal thing kinda weird, the age thing does take a bit of that away.

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