This story is a sequel to Good Trooper Gilda
Gilda has been a fugitive, a refugee, a prisoner of war, and a bat-hen to Equestria's fussiest unicorn. But it wasn't until she took 'the Princess's bit', that she began to know something about what it meant to be responsible for the welfare of others, even if the others in question happened to be the pack of imbeciles, blackguards, con-ponies, and bat-ponies who had been fool enough to answer her captain's call to the standard.
A crystalline standard which had not been seen in the living world for over a thousand years.
And although Captain Gleaming Shield and her motley band of raw recruits and shifty bat-ponies aimed to do nothing more exotic and dangerous than put a foreign princess on her proper throne, there are other things stirring in the shadows.
Like calls to like, and the revival of ancient battle-colors may lead to the revival of other, darker memories upon which the rays of Celestia's sun lay lightly and infrequently.
Oooh more snarky!
I had missed this one on release. Glad I found it! The sequel to one of my favorite AUs... yay!
And so far, shaping up quite interestingly.
I’m in. Let’s go.
Oh I am glad to see this. Mitch, I missed your stories a lot and it was something that was lacking in my weekly bookshelf.
Look like super-genius planer Pinkie Pie, the mad commander was 50 steps ahead again with sleepers agents. Man that will be a byzantine plan to unravel!
And Gustave is back! Yay! He and Gilda have such good interaction.
I hope we will see a lot of different species in the Crystal Guards because one, that would be interesting and somewhat original. And two, I find that one of your strength as a writer is that you are good at using characters with varied backgrounds and you play off well the interaction between multiple species and the various clashes it can cause. And on top of it, MLP has such a great advantage when it come to multiple creatures having to live in the same world.
Fantastic stuff! I love the character to these stories.
Well, off to an excellent start. :)
I thinkit's a good idea to re-use already established characters like that, especially those that left impression like Pink and Gustave. Now... if you could had a few canon MLP characters to round things up, let's say... I don't know... Trixie to completely infuriate Twilight, it would be perfect
I wonder if there is some truth behind this. Or it's simply something that is left over from Nightmare Moon rebellion. But it's good to have Ping on board, the regiment will benefit from good organization. And he will either love or hate Twilight compulsive-obsessive behavior towards organisation.
Oh oh, the mare dominant oriented culture seems present in the bat ponies too. Not surprising but worth noticing I think. And a Dreams Walkers too! That's bound to become useful later. But what is his cutie mark? I didn't manage to figure out his talent... something clerk related I guess.
But with him in the regiment, it seems like we are going to see the struggle of the paper soldiers, those who make the army machine well oiled. I am actually very eager for this. Good job.
Ooooh. Missed an opportunity for an SM joke here even if it get me curious about that old mission.
Before I forget, will Gustave get a new prosthetic wing to replace his lost one?
A sequel to Good Trooper Gilda? You have my rapt attention. One of the things I loved about GTG was the well-executed theme of inexperienced characters fumbling their way through trying to meet big responsibilities, including but not limited to Gilda, Twilight, Cadence and Pinkie Pie. I see every sign of that continuing to be a thing and a thing you do very well.
Also, Twilight and Gilda really came to life as characters for me in GTG, and I am a rotten shipper, so anything that continues their story is of interest to me even if they never get together
I've been watching for nine seasons, and you're not alone.
Gilda found some dirt on Hawk Eye? Nice. Blackmail recruiting incoming! And I guess Fish Eye will be the division War Correspondent?
And about Diamond Dogs, I wouldn't be surprised if the got some easily. It's an Island, so it come with limited territory so that mean any group of Diamond Dogs can't grow too much without facing overpopulation in the mines or the hunting ground without ending on ponies territory. So young and eager dogs that wouldn't find work or have to find a way to move to other colonies around the world would probably jump at the opportunity to earn bits for their families. That way, the DD clan earn currency that they can use to trade with the ponies for stuff they need without having to part with their precious jewels.
Or they are a war band that is looking for more stable work.
And don't forget Parrots, Abyssian, Dragons, Dear, Kirin, Zebra and Minotaur! Let's freak Trottingham population some more. 😈
Oh that's nice. An Hippogriff that wasn't in the country when it has fallen so she doesn't know that they went into hiding under the sea. That's a good idea for a character.
Confused boner?
Ohhh this is going to be good
Now I only hope she actually finds some Diamond dogs and maybe a dragon or 2 to round out the firepower for the sake of that joke.
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Right no?! There are not engough good story with good boys around.
Also opposable tumb so can wield a shield and almost any kind of weapon unlike ponies, very good nose and ears and probably great diggers and tunnel fighters. Pack mentality and loyalty. They can fit in pratically all sector of the army beside flyers. And there is so many spiecies of dogs that it's easy to make distinctive characters when needed.
As for Dragon, maybe Garble and his cronies would be interested for the pay.
And I find the picture of a Minotaur throwing liitle ponies around like they weight nothing funny.
And I forgot to mention Bison and Yaks in my previous comment too.
And what is fun in MLP is that almost all the creatures have their own type of magics too.
Yooooo! A sequel to GTG? Count me the fuck in! Lookin good already. Nice pun btw
Damn it all, Pinkie is playing games again, but her games often come with corpses made out of civilians and her own damn side!
Maybe I'll get lucky and we'll see the miserable nag get executed as she deserves.
I wonder what Gleaming is up to with her "all tribes" recruitment ... and does it have anything to do with the mysterious obligation the newly-minted Sixth Guard has?
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Hey, hey, let's be a little kinder to the schizophrenic party pony who sees reality as it could've been, i.e. canon.
Like, I don't think she was planning on blowing up the cathedral, but having everyone else think she was, and plan around their plan.
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You say "again", but the scene with Pinkie is a flashback to the Crab Bucket incident in the original story.
It's always such a pleasure to go back into this crazy world of yours, Mitch.
I do indeed hope glinda does find some diamond dogs to round out the roster, that would be endlessly amusing
This absolutely slew me!
So, I've got this rule: Never read a fic until its finished. Of course, when the rules are inconvenient...
Thoroughly enjoyable so far!
Lovely to see more of this world beyond a certain plane-shifting watering hole. Eagerly looking forward to low cunning and high adventure (if only in altitude.)
Also, a harrowing state of affairs for hippogriffs. I do wonder what became of Tempest...
Mitch, I love your stories and the worlds you concoct, and hell if I'm not loving this one, but I can't stop wishing you'd continue Those Who Ride.
Well, until you do it's more military shenanigans, old prophecies and airships ahoy!
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With everything out of place, it could be possible that she isn't in the Storm King Army but her horn broke when she was very young and her subsequent departure was also when she was very young. She is older than Twilight I think so it's still plausible that she left Equestria before the war began so she could still end up serving in his army.
But I am thinking that while we got a glimpse of what happened at Mount Aeris, it was only a teaser for what's to come in a future arc and SK won't be the main villain in this story.
But if my guessis right, from the previous story we can deduces that the goal of the new Six Guard Regiment will be to put the Turul Queen back on her throne so the rest of the world won't have to suffer waves after waves of feral Rocs.
So. Pinkie's old tricks aren't down and out just yet, I see.
Aw, but it's good to see the sequel finally. I'd quite enjoyed its predecessor and have been missing seeing new updates for it, so this will hopefully fill that void nicely.
Bat ponies! Bat ponies everywhere!
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What I am afraid is Pinkie having used the Mirror Pool to have a whole bunch of hers all over the world putting in place many schemes and complicated plots.
Ah, I've missed reading Gilda's usual blunt snark and deliberate lack of tact.
She's like a slightly more mature Silverstream with the accent of nobility.
I like this pedigree of character traits. Please continue.
9846908 She's already responsible for all the deaths in the Crab Bucket incident, as well as causing witnesses to her crimes to have "accidents" until they are too afraid to testify, saying that Pinkie "preemptively rigging a cathedral she expects to be full of civilians to explode just to mess with everyone else's plans, but she wouldn't really follow through on it" is more benefit of the doubt than I'm willing to extend.
9846935 Yes it is, but as this is a sequel to Good Trooper, I'm counting this in with Pinkie's other plans from that story, which seemed to be heavy on the theft of military materiel, misappropriation of military resources, conspiracy, treason and murder.
Poor Gilda. Maybe now she'll hit on Twilight.
I shipped it, I ship it and I will still ship it as long as there isn't a better ship for those two abound. Twiggles would make for a helluva cute empress consort after all
I noticed that you went from "gunne" being a newish, unfamiar term for smaller firearms to Gilda casually using "gun deck" and "gun" for artillery.
Gilda has an admirer, my oh my this just got a lot more interesting, and hilarious to boot!
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Gonne and 'gun' are two different words in Equish, and the latter is a naval term for weapons larger than canonades.
(The site needs a 'whistling innocently' emoji.
)
Always nice to see someone remember the other four boroughs of New Yoke City. (And Barklyn, the burrow of New Yoke, but nopony ever seems to talk about them. Still, who do you think dug the Howlin' Tunnel?)
In any case, Purse seems like he'll fit right in with the castoffs, misfits, ne'er-do-wells, and bat ponies. I think this is the start of a beautiful partnership.
Best quartermasters are the ones you can count on to steal shit for you... The worst are the ones who say that all the gear is out for cleaning, despite the fact that there is a war on.
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To catch a thief...
Talent snatching right under others nose. Noice.
A good quartermaster will save them tons of money and will find great deals for them.
But now they need people's to fill the jobs Purse was filling on their future new warship.
But what others position in the new regiment need to be filled?
On the medical side there could be a Doctor, a surgeon, some nurses, combat medics.
After that they probably need a blacksmith or two for maintenance. An engineer and some mecanic for the ship.
Dedicated magic users. Of as magic different kind and schools as possible.
At the end of the previous story, I made a comment about "Gleaming Shield". I deign to repeat it here, because damn my eyes, that's how it's shaping up to me...
Oh dear, has Gilda taken over from Cadance as the stupid sexy pony princess? The Sixth Guards accept all races after all, so her catbirdhood is no true obstacle.
Sounds legit!
Calling it a light carrier makes me involuntarily think how air combat even works in this time period in this world. It's weird and different because all the fliers aren't like fighters, bombers or marines, but they're a little like all of them, and ranged combat is present but not nearly as useful as at any time in RL history when aircraft were also a thing. And ships can only go in water, whereas airships can do some of the work of motorized infantry, and the fliers are similarly cheap and numerous as infantry, etc etc.
Cool chapter, I love Twilight and Gilda as ever. Cynical pragmatic making it up as they go along types never get old for me, among many reasons.
Great stuff! Just the title of the chapter got a laugh out of me! Also: Woo-hoo! I'm inspiring!
In all seriousness? With the right muscles located on the sides of the beaks stretching in the right ways (e.g. the same way similar muscles stretch with a human smile), you could probably create the illusion of a smile without actually making the beak itself "smile."
You had one job, Purse Strings. No big paycheck for you.
In all honesty, though, I'm glad he's chosen to be honest instead, even if it was all just on gut instinct.
Well...mostly honest, at least.
Who also has the hots for you, apparently, so...that's a thing. Actually, if I'm honest, I think it's adorable. Sort of like the Sparity ship. Deep down, you kind of know it's never really going to happen, but you can't help but want to see it score gold anyway.
Oh yes, special thanks indeed, because I'm always game for some good airshippery stuff.
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This site needs a lot of emojis, honestly. Like a good 'eyeroll' emoji. Can't tell you how many times I could've used that during my time on this site.
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That sounds a heck of a lot like a pegasus romance fetish.
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It does, now that you mention it...sorry/not sorry?
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The only outside perspectives on Gilda we've had have been this guy Giles:
and Purse Strings. And in Good Trooper she got her command sergeant not-really-a-rank basically by knowing what to do and browbeating corporals until whatever she wanted done happened.
I think in person she comes off as charismatic and something between beautiful and intimidating, depending on mood, and basically hijacks peoples' reflexive deference to authority if they have any such thing. I was glib about it, but Gilda acts a little bit like an alicorn in that respect, and I'm wondering if the ponies in particular are partly responding to that as well, being that she's substantially larger but built to a similar body plan as them.
So I think Purse Strings told the truth more or less accidentally because either he was distracted by the sexy, or you just don't lie to a princess, or a bit of both.
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Wouldn't you be mad if you could turn your head just so and see all the other better, tonally/theme/etc not writing critique, stories you could have been a part of? Like she said, she didn't choose to be the one that existed
As funny as Purse Strings' crush is/will be, I must admit that I'm still a crewman of HHS Gleaming-Gilda.
9851752 Mad? Oh yes, I'd be mad. But there is a massive difference at being mad that you got stuck in a crapsack reality (and know it) and deciding to go on an obviously futile quest to make your reality more like the "good" ones through conspiracy, theft, treason and murder, and not caring about the resulting body count because "they're not real" and "the ends justify the means".
And none of Pinkie's victims chose to be the ones who don't exist. And considering they had their own hopes, dreams, and lives when Pinkie wasn't around, I'd say her claim of being the only "real one" is pure sopholism and nothing more than an excuse for her actions.
A number of people have defended Pinkie's actions (both here and back in Good Trooper), but I still don't think there would be anywhere near as many supporters of the "Pinkie Plan" (or possibly any supporters) if the exact same things were done, with the exact same reasons/excuses, but the perpetrator was named Sombra or Tirek.