This story is a sequel to Sunspots
This story continues directly after Sunspots and contains spoilers for that story and Timeless.
When a mysterious group attacks a chemical lab, there was only one pony who Celestia and Luna knew could survive the ensuing challenge that lurked beneath earth and concrete.
Called into action against a threat that seeks to destroy both him and his new friends, Toxic Shield is pulled into the remnants of a conflict that all thought was burned away by the wrath of a Solar Empress. Many remember him as the pony with an odd voice, others, as the sole survivor of the Oakbark incident. Many call him the Iceberg. Cold, unfeeling, and without empathy, immune to both chemical agents and emotions it would seem. Very few care to explore the truth of such stories, at least until a gryphoness befriends the odd stallion.
And as a poison in many shapes and forms seeks to spread across Equestria, a reformed Windigo and Shadow Pony from the Limbo realm struggle to find their place in a world that once loathed everything they represented.
Many still do.
Onyx is going to be an amusingly odd one, "of course you should be afraid of me, I have absolutely no guarantee that I won't suddenly try to murder you tomorrow."
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I mean, you're not wrong. He IS trying to turn over a new leaf...he thinks.
....
HE'S TRYING, OK!?
And I've seen curses disguised as blessings. They were, one and all, remarkably cruel.
Ah, playing around with alternative methods of death-evasion? Certainly a useful thing to have, though many of the more, primitive, methods come with certain drawbacks. But I can't deny, Toxic would be even more effective as a lich. And who knows? The creeping psychopathy of undeath might help his PTSD.
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It's a tricky thing indeed....
And what I wanted to show there was that surely, in her thousand years of rule, Celestia (and Luna prior,) must have at least thought about trying to keep a creature ageless for some purpose or another. And now with numerous artifacts available, "shrug" The name 'unholy' is also a warning per say- not necessarily indicating necromancy.
....No, Toxic is not going to be the next lich king.
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Oh my friend, necromancy only occupies the middle-most tier! There are far worse ways to live forever!
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.....fair point.
poor Toxic. I hope he gets someone to lean on soon, he will need it.
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Poor guy indeed
Toxic is different from others; I've had characters who have dealt with their extreme challenges over a long period of time, and the issues that come with it (ageless) such as the Princesses, Shifting/Nacreous. But in this case, we have a normal pony who has to confront the worst of the worst because he's the only one who can. If he refuses, creatures die.
How's that for pressure?
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Yeah... I do imagine that whenever he does save lives he takes some solace in the happy faces he has saved.
His origin story reminds me of the gas attacks in WW1, just absolute suffering and yet they continue to push through.
Just a confirmation question, how many survived the Oakbark (was it?) incident, from the sounds of it it was a class and him yet I remember in sunspots it was only 2.
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And yet the mind can be a cruel thing, focusing on what is lost vs saved.
And I'll try to clear that up. As stated in Sunspots and the intro, over half of his class survived to varying extents for years (ranging from 1-20 years or so)...until a month ago.
Now it's just him.
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thanks, the lost vs saved thing could actually be something someone could point out for Toxic and it could really help his outlook
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Oh, Shifting may have a few words to say about that.
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Pffft~ XD XD XD XD
This story is very intriguing so far. I’m also happy you are including Celestia/Narcreous and Luna/Shifting still cuz I love them. Still hoping for another story focused on those four in the future about their weddings and married lives
lol. Will you be updating this every week like these last few weeks or every 2 weeks like it was originally?
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2 weeks is the original plan, but we'll see!
I tend to shy away from writing the weddings/after that for a few reasons, one being because I like leaving it to the reader to imagine their own version. In this case, I've stated that portion of C/L's live is (grudgingly) on hold for now
Poor Princesses can't get a break!
Oh man, that’s quite the Chekhov’s gun you’ve thrown out there
Reminds me of a certain quote I read before:
We get dirty, and the world stays clean. That's the mission.
- Captain Price, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
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Nah, he's just a classic tsundere
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Essentially. The Equestria I've portrayed is still in line with the canon material (for the most part,) but delved into the aspects most citizens aren't aware of. As we've seen...ponies could be incapacitated by the shock brought on by a rush order of flowers from a store, let alone a chemical plant explosion.
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Mmm. Perhaps...Obviously the Project has never been used, and likely for good reason.
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To be fair, friends don't exist in limbo...he's doing his best!
Ah of course... how troublesome
Oh yeah that's who she was
Because she managed to forgive her sister, forgiving you is not all that different
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Poor innocent Icait. She honestly had no idea what they meant.
Like, she's not faking. She's the person in the room who just blurted out the solution to the escape room everyone was trying to crack, and is just 'Oh, is that an important thing? I got the idea from a fortune cookie!"
And yep! Knife Twist is back! How's that for a callback to the first chapter of Timeless? She'll have a small roll that will make an occasional appearance at least. I'm liking her character more and more.
And that's true, but sometimes you find it hardest to forgive yourself....Knife Twist case in point.
Oh oh, throw in a massage too
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expended is the word you want
Damnit! I ran out of chapters again
What else do you have in that library of yours... *Jumps in and starts moving things about*
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....dangit. Thanks for that catch.
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I'll see about updating this one weekly- so just have to wait until saturday/sunday!
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*A few crashes are heard and at least one call of " I'm ok! " can be heard*
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Don't....don't break anything? I hope?
But I do want to update this one more often, because I'm having a blast writing it. I aim to stay a chapter or two ahead of publishing so I have leeway if something come up.
....Quite a bit more ahead. So I'm thinking weekly is doable!
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Hey uh... you need a new typewriter... damn thing just burst into flames...
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whoowee nice chapter, but now I have Dilemma, Who to ship Toxic with, Icait or Gelliana.
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I think Onyx would take issue with Icait spending more time with somepony else! But we'll see how things go...
Man I love both Icait and Gelliana
Icait for being like super bubbly and somehow at the same time super skiddish
Gelliana for being a griffon that I love, besides just being a griffon, she also works a bunch with plants ans such and that is my jam.
Anyway cant wait for more
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She's an odd one but so much fun.
They're increasingly fun to write. I don't think I've written a character like either of them before- especially Gelliana.
WORK FASTER
Probably
It sounds like it's a bit like reading a book in a language you don't know, until you learn what the words mean you won't understand what's actually written
Technically that was only one possible outcome
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That's a fantastic analogy, actually. A book in another language.
True. One of many unsavory ones indeed!
This is an amazing story and can't wait for more!
On a side note would you consider the next crises and possibly help coming from another dimension continent(zebrabwe) or outer space?
Also are you going to do some shipping? (A toxicly shielded Griffin by chance?)
Dang, that was a pretty gnarly dream, dude's in a seriously bad way.
All in all, this looks to be a fantastic cast of characters, I'm looking forward to what they get up to.
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Yeah, poor Toxic...a mortal dealing with the impossibility of a task that would strain even ageless creatures. It's an interesting group indeed! Quite fun to write
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No extra-terrestrial stuff is going to be in this fic- it's sticking loosely within the realms of what we know canonically. As for shipping, just going to have to see! I mean...there is that romance tag....
Interesting chapter. I liked how you did some more character building with Gelliana, Icait, and Toxic shield. Can’t wait for the next chapter!
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it’s just that it’s so hard to find a good and well written story about Celestia and Luna in relationships that I want to just read everything that could possibly happen regarding their relationships when I do find a good one. That being said I am very intrigued by your new story and am very excited to see where it goes!
Totally understand your position on that. Well I guess I’ll just hope you change your mind lol
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They are still very present in the new story for sure, even if it's not in a central capacity.
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These four are turning out quite fun to write. They're all so very different, probably some of the most diverse characters I've had!
Eeeeeeeee!!!!!
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The EEEEEEEEEEEE of approval?
Gelly is adorable.
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So much burrrrrrrb!!!!
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She's here to stay.
Oh goodness Gelly is fun. And actually, she's one of the most 'fluffy' / romantically-inclined characters I've ever written.
Ah shit things went from 0 to 100 and then ever farther real quick.