Guest Ending: Rejection (Written by zelkova48)
Fluttershy is forced to utilize the Elements of Harmony against her will. Unfortunately for everyone else, they work.
Fluttershy hung her head in defeat.
Celestia had successfully coerced her into utilizing the Element of Harmony and the fruits of her labor were coming into play. The Harmony Pylon that Twilight built pulsed with an immeasurable ancient power as a result of the arcane ritual, and the crowd of ponies that had gathered in Canterlot Stadium cheered with an overwhelming sense of euphoria knowing that Equestria's doom had been averted. They cheered for the loyal bearers unwavering dedication to their country and verbally abused Fluttershy for her betrayal.
For the first time since the destruction of the Crystal Empire, hope had been rekindled once more. And while the war had not gone the way they had expected it to, with Equestria triumphant over the scourge of humanity, what mattered most was that Equestria and her people were safe.
Safe from devastation, safe from the corruption of human taint, safe from the wild world beyond their borders.
Soon, a stronger, more powerful barrier will envelop the whole of the country and the world as they know it shall be like a ship in a bottle. Isolated, contained, completely cut off from the outside world.
At least, that was the intention.
Officially, the masses were told that the new barrier would be used to bargain a ceasefire on equal terms. Humans and ponies will still live together on Earth, but as segregated neighbors. Everything after was up in the air when determining the fate of the world's inhabitants.
The best case scenario was that the humans will go back to killing themselves, preferably wiping themselves out in the inevitable third world war they'd incur and Equestria moving in and converting the survivors of the cataclysm.
But Princess Celestia had no intent of using the elements to simply shield the country.
There will be no negotiations, no talks of a ceasefire or even an attempt at a facade of amicability. The only thing that awaited the human race was its imminent destruction, crushed beneath the unyielding magical might of the Elements of Harmony.
"Don't think you've all won yet," Fluttershy finally spoke, earning glares from the others. "Do you honestly think this changes anything? Equestria will still lose the war."
"You still cling to that foolish notion even as the evidence against it is right before you. Such impertinence," Celestia sneered. "We will not be losing anything, not anymore. The Elements have been activated, the barrier will soon save Equestria, and we have you to thank for it, Fluttershy. Now, this doesn't make up for your treachery, but your cooperation has earned you a measure of leniency in spite of those crying out for a more severe punishment. Maybe I agree with them, maybe I don't. But, never let it be said that I am not fair and accommodating even to dissidents."
"Don't patronize me, you unrepentant monster," Fluttershy hissed. "I see you for what you truly are now, Celestia. I don't know what you're planning to do after shielding Equestria, but whatever you have in mind is nothing more than a pipe dream." She concluded and promptly received a swift buck to the side from Applejack that sent her sliding across the ground.
"Where do you get the gall to talk like that to the princess even after everything that's happened." Applejack spat, looking down on Fluttershy. "All that time you spent cavorting with the monkeys while they were busy slaughtering your kind have twisted you into something wicked, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy hacked up a glob of blood and forced herself back onto all fours as she leveled a weary glare upon the girls. She wished she could tell the truth about everything, the death of Equus and all its inhabitants, but couldn't risk Martin's life for her own selfishness. At the very least, she wasn't going to just take Celestia's victory lying down.
"I know the truth," Fluttershy started. "Maybe not all of it, but enough to know that you're all fools for going through with this insane ploy. And even if there wasn't some ulterior motive, are you all honestly content to live like this?" She paused, gauging her former friend's reactions.
Applejack was unimpressed, so was Rainbow Dash. They wanted nothing to do with her or whatever logic she was going to throw at them. Right or wrong, the security of Equestria was absolute even in the face of doubt. Pinkie Pie and Rarity couldn't look her in the eye, there was already too much on their conscience to receive another assault on the mind. But Twilight, mind wiped and fiercely loyal as she was, could never pass up a moment for debate. If only to prove Fluttershy wrong.
"Speak, then, if you think you know better," Twilight goaded, putting on airs. "What's wrong with wanting to live?"
Fluttershy chuckled humorlessly. "You call this living, Twilight?" The response caused Twilight's smirk to fade. She clearly wasn't expecting it. "Look at you!" she looked up and addressed the entire stadium, "look at all of you! You call this living?!" The crowds grew silent, more angry than shocked at Fluttershy's outburst. The hurled more vitriol at her but she remained unfazed. "You're not ponies! You're all fish! Fish living in one gigantic bowl! That's what you all are!"
"You need Celestia in your life! You can't function without her! It's all Princess Celestia this! Princess Celestia that! Hail Princess Celestia! Venerable Celestia! Celestia, changer of diapers, tucker of beds!"
Celestia remained impassive, bit inside she was furious at Fluttershy's continued resistance. "Make your point, before you are dragged away to a cell along with that pitiful primate you little freak." Her voice was low and full of thinly veiled malice.
Fluttershy turned her gaze at Celestia, eyes full of fury.
"You! This is what you want! For everyone to live under your rule! If you can't win over humanity you could still consolidate your power over every single brainless individual in this entire Tartarus damned country! They can't live without you! They can't do a damn thing without you looking over their shoulders and you prefer it that way! With the barrier, all their lives will be put under a microscope for you to probe and dissect and exploit as you please! It'll be one giant bubble with your hoof on the surface!"
"I am their princess!" Celestia retorted. "I am the rock of which Equestria's is lain upon! Were it not for my wisdom and guidance they would all be lost! Your pointless gibbering are the words of a mad pony!"
"If you were half the princess you claim to be Equestria wouldn't even be in this situation! Broken, demoralized, teetering on the brink of destruction! None of this would be happening!" Fluttershy roared. "No one had to die! No one! But you made the decision to start the war! You convinced everypony to convert the human race! You rallied the masses into a war we had no business in all over your petty grudge!"
"Fluttershy, if you don't shut your damn mouth in the next two seconds I'm gonn-" Rainbow Dash huffed furiously but was cut off at the last second.
"You'll what!" Fluttershy snapped, causing Rainbow Dash to reel back in surprise. She swept an accusing glare across the girls. The sheer rage she carried in her eyes was palpable. "I've seen horror! I've experienced it! But that's not the worst of it! It's the fact that you've all done everything you could in your power to convince me to use my element! You preyed on my kindness! You threatened me! You groveled! All of it was done with selfish intentions, to placate Celestia!"
"W-we did it for Equestria!" Rarity argue. "We did it for our home and our people! How can you accuse us of being selfish!"
"Equestria! Celestia! They're one and the same!" Fluttershy retorted. "She built everything! She controls everything! We live under the shadow of a megalomaniacal ruler who can't let the past go!"
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Celestia boomed, causing the very foundation of the stadium to rumble. There was a moment of silence and it felt as if the whole world had stopped turning. Regaining her composure, Celestia narrowed her eyes upon Fluttershy, eyes brimming with barely repressed rage. it was a miracle the pegasus didn't burst into flames when she did. "I have been nothing but patient with you. I have stayed my hoof throughout this entire ordeal and turned the other cheek, but it appears that you must be taught a lesson."
Celestia turned to face Twilight, her expression was professional but equally full of spite. "Twilight, perhaps a demonstration is in order."
"A demonstration, princess?" asked Twilight.
"Put up a small barrier around the stadium," replied Celestia. "Show Fluttershy the pointlessness of her caterwauling. Show us the fruits of your labor and raise your people's spirit, remind them all of Equestria's unyielding resolve."
"Twilight, don't," Fluttershy pleaded. "This is not the way. You're smarter than this. You're the Princess of Friendship. Isolation is not the way, it will only prolong Equestria's suffering. Think about your lessons. The things you learned, the things you taught others."
"I don't know why you're talking to me like I would listen to what comes out of your mouth," Twilight coldly rebuked. "And even if I did, what makes you think there's any chance at coexistence? We tried before, we failed. And the war destroyed whatever we could've had."
"We failed only because Celestia forcibly put the brakes on everything," Fluttershy argued. "She did everything she could in her power to make sure humans and ponies would never integrate, not unless they were all converted into newfoals. She manipulated you, Cadence and Luna into carrying out her will. Everything you've helped to do was explicitly meant to drive a wedge between pony human relations. Didn't you question the bans? The crackdown on human contraband? You didn't want to, but you willingly gave up all your human literature simply because Celestia told you to. I remember you being all broken up about it, but you claimed it was for the best."
"Because it was!" Twilight shouted. "H-humanity is a poison that's slowly killing the Earth! T-they're wild and reckless, unpredictable to the point of madness! Conversion was the only way!"
"....Twilight, deep down, you know that's not true," Fluttershy spoke sincerely. "There was a way. We had the time. We always did."
Growling, Twilight turned away with her eyes squeezed shut. "I've heard enough!" She snapped in front of Fluttershy's face before circling over and pouring magic into the pylon. "I'll show you! This is the way to make it all right!"
Sighing heavily, Fluttershy backed down and let it all play out, however it may go. "...You fool."
As Twilight imbued the Harmony Pylon with her own magic, the magic of the element within began behaving strangely. Crackling sparks danced across the surface of the pylon as the runes and other cryptic carvings glowed with luminescent polychromatic light, culminating in a beam of pure energy into the sky. It reached a certain point above and then dispersed, spreading out above and around the stadium and enveloping it beneath a shimmering bubble of an impregnable shield. This new barrier, while small, was indeed far stronger than the previous one.
As the spell finished an uproarious applause filled the air. Twilight let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding in as she and many other looked up at Equestria's salvation. But just as things were finally starting to look up, the barrier began to lose its shine. It starting flickering like a candlelight in the wind. Whispers of panic and fear replaced the raucous cheering moments earlier which grew louder and louder everypony looked on concernedly.
"Something's wrong," Celestia muttered in disbelief.
"W-what's going on?" Pinkie stammered. "Twilight! Do something!"
"I'm trying!" Twilight hopped to and started utilizing the pylon again, but felt her control over it slip away almost immediately. "I... I can't control it! Princess Celestia, help me!"
Almost immediately, Princess Celestia turned to aid Twilight as the barrier's power steadily faded away. Small, imperceptible cracks began webbing out from the source of the beam, widening with each second as despair overtook hope once more. Twilight and Celestia strained with all their might but little did they know their efforts were futile.
Snarling, Applejack grabbed Fluttershy and pulled her close to the point their noses were touching one another. "Grr... What did you do?!" She roared.
"I-I didn't do anything!" Fluttershy replied and subsequently received a punch to the face. Fluttershy yelped, blood pouring from her nose, but remained steadfast even as the situation went from bad to worse.
"Lies!" Applejack cried, tightening her grip. "You did something, didn't you?! Tell us, before I mangle those wings of yours!"
"You tainted the Elements of Harmony with your corruption!" Rainbow Dash accused. "That's what you did!"
"Everypony, look!" Rarity pointed towards the barrier. The cracks that showed had begun breaking away like frail flecks of eggshell. There was a sound of shattering glass that reverberated across the air and bigger chunks of the barrier broke apart and dissipated into glittering nothingness. The sounds of panic had increased ten fold that moment forward.
"No! NO!" Celestia screamed, her face contorted into one of desperate rage. She halted her magic and angrily stomped towards Fluttershy, demanding answers. "STOP THIS AT ONCE! STOP IT BEFORE YOU RUIN EVERYTHING!"
"I'm telling you, I don't know what's happening!" Fluttershy grunted through gritted teeth. "Maybe they rejected you all! Maybe the powers of Elements of Harmony decided you weren't worth the trouble of protecting! Huack!" A swift blow to the gut from Applejack knocked all the air out from her lungs.
"S-shut up! Just shut up!" Applejack snapped, a tone of fear laced in her voice in spite of her seemingly unshakable stoicism. "Th-this is wrong! This i-is all wrong! We're Equestria! We're in the right! W-we're in control of the elements! We're just trying to survive!"
"News flash, Applejack! I don't think the elements care for ponies who're guilty of committing genocide!" Fluttershy huffed. "You've the blood of innocent billions on your hooves, and now you're all paying for it! This is judgement, plain and simple!"
With that defiant shout, the last of the barrier crumbled away, leaving the stadium bare and defenseless. But that was not the end of it. The beam that created the barrier descended back down onto the pylon and began overloading it with more power than it could hold.
The runes of the pylon blinked and flickered at a psychopathic pace before glowing with a light so blinding it looked like a miniature star. A cacophonous explosion rocked the stadium as the pylon erupted in plume of dust and loose stone fragments, forcing those near it to shield themselves from the blast.
The resulting magical backlash from the pylon's destruction echoed out and resonated with the Elements of Harmony. One by one, save for Fluttershy's own, the jewelry that once housed such an awesome power began to blacken and corrode with unnatural haste. As if age had finally caught up to them, the jewelry rusted right before the baffled bearers, who silently watch with incredulity as the very power they commanded rotted away like ordinary fruit.
"No..." Twilight whispered brokenly, clutching onto her tiara as it grew rusted and brittle. "No... This can't be."
Pinkie Pie said nothing. Her hair had completely deflated and all she did was sit on her haunches and tried in vain to fit broken ill fitted pieces of her necklace back together in silence like a child attempting to fit a square peg into a round hole.
Rarity broke down completely. She couldn't take it anymore. The strain of living through this increasingly nightmarish life had destroyed her inhibitions and all of the emotions she bottled up since the death of her husband came crashing through like a tsunami as she wailed in despair. She tore the necklace off her neck and furiously threw in upon the ground where it shattered into dusty remnants.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash were in denial about the whole thing. They played off their entire predicament as a joke. A sick twisted joke that had gone on for far longer than it had any right to be. They began laughing. It started off as a hollow chuckle, then steadily it devolved into wild hysterics as their laughter became hard to distinguish from sobbing or angry bellowing.
As for Fluttershy, even after everything, there was still a twinge of pity in her heart from seeing all her former friends so crazed and broken because of the war. She tried to speak, but a rainbow streak blindsided her and she was tackled to the ground. Rainbow Dash had her hooves around her throat and murder in her eyes.
"Gah! Rain... Rain-bow!" Fluttershy strained through a strangled windpipe. "S-stop!"
"This is all your fault! All of it!" Rainbow raged, tears streaming down her face. "You've killed us! Are you happy?! Equestria is doomed!"
"Y-ou..." she gasped, "don't k-now that! It... I-it doesn't have to end... in b-bloodshed!"
"We will not surrender!" Rainbow tightened her grip. "Equestria cannot! We'll lose everything if we give ourselves up to humanity!"
"S-so, you'd ra-rather die?!" Fluttershy's rasped as her eyes widened incredulously. "A-are you so afraid of being w-wrong about e-everything that'd y-you sooner die than accept your m-mistakes?! You're t-the one always t-telling me that life i-isn't fair! Th-that you've just gotta r-roll with the pun-"
"I know what I fucking said!" Rainbow screamed, straddling the line between denial, sorrow and anger. "But this is different! It just doesn't make sense! Nothing makes sense anymore! The humans are close to defeating us! The elements have rejected us! This isn't our destiny! This isn't how it was supposed to be! Well if that's how it's going to be then I don't want to live this life anymore! I want to be in Elysium! I want to see my parents again! I want everything to go back to the way they were before this madness started!"
Fluttershy's vision starts to go dark as she was slowly being choked to death. From out the corner of her eyes she could see Celestia loom over her just behind Rainbow. She had dropped all pretense of being centered and focused, now that the mask of calm had slipped off as a result of the plan's failure her true face was revealed for all to see.
"Hmph. Our deal is void, Fluttershy," Celestia coldly stated, staring down upon the pegasus with a terrifying expectant gleam flashing behind her eyes. "Because of this sudden turn of events whatever safety I guaranteed for you and your pet monkey is forfeit. Rainbow Dash, do as you please with her."
"It... It should've never came down to this, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash cried. "...Maybe we can be friends again when we meet in Elysium."
Fluttershy tried to retort but couldn't as her consciousness had finally begun to slip away. She maintained her struggle, but Rainbow was too strong and she was too weak after being mistreated for so long. There was no way out, no way to escape. This was it, this was the end for her and Martin. She'd weep if she could. Closing her eyes she accepted her fate as her mind drifted to comforting thoughts.
She thought of Martin, the man who had won her heart, of the happiness they shared and of life they were going to start together.
She thought of Angel Bunny, that grumpy old rabbit had been more loyal to her than Rainbow Dash. Despite being cantankerous and unreasonable at times, Angel truly cared for her in the end.
She thought of Lyra and everyone else in the Resistance, they were all great friends and even greater supporters of the true Equestrian ideal, of friendship and harmony. Were if not for them Celestia's insane plan might've actually succeeded.
And lastly... She thought of Discord.
Fluttershy never could've imagine in her life that she would be the best friend of the spirit of chaos. But the day they reformed him was the day he started living. He was the black sheep of the group, but it fitted him. Discord lived life in his own way free of care or troubles and she loved that about him. Despite being complete opposites, they're lives had became intertwined the likes of which could only be best described as a fairy tale.
She missed him dearly.
"...He loved me," Fluttershy whispered beneath her breath right on the cusp of death.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...I still do."
Right as Fluttershy was about to breath her last, a strong gust of wind forced the two apart, knocking Rainbow Dash away and reinvigorating Fluttershy. With a hearty gasp, Fluttershy regained consciousness and felt herself refreshed and more energetic than she had been in the past few days.
"Whauh?!" Rainbow Dash cried. "What is this?!"
Twilight gasped, dropping her tiara and pointing to the shattered remains of the pylon. "The Elements of Harmony! Their magic is still here!"
True to her words, the ruined remnants of the pylon pulsed with latent powers. The crowd of ponies began to mutter among themselves in panicked confusion as the smoke that bellowed from it's foundation danced and changed shape as it was charged with harmonious energies. The two began mixing together, intermingling into a tangible force of polychromatic light that vaguely resembled a long majestic serpentine creature.
It's appearance cowed those in attendance, forcing them to tremble in fear before its immeasurable might. Even Celestia was given pause to the raw power displayed before her.
The serpent creature danced and twirled in the air like a kite before returning to the ground and circling Fluttershy. As it did, she felt relaxed by its gentle caress and she could've sworn she heard it giggle mischievously as it passes her ear.
"How?! How can this be?!" Celestia's eyes widen and a scowl formed on her lips. "YOU ARE EQUESTRIA'S POWER! YOU EXIST TO SERVE US! YET YOU DARE TO SIDE WITH THE BETRAYER?!" Flaring her wings and her nostrils, Celestia impetuously took flight and charged straight for Fluttershy, horn alight and ready to deliver a powerful magic blast. "IF I CAN'T HAVE THIS POWER, NO ONE CAN!" She lets loose a massive fiery bolt that resembled flaming meteor directly at Fluttershy and the serpent. "I WILL UNMAKE YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO, FLUTTERSHY! SUFFER FOR YOUR CRIMES!"
Frightened, Fluttershy turned away and closed her eyes, completely oblivious to the casual swipe of the tail the harmony serpent delivered that deflects the meteor back like a baseball star hitting a home run.
The meteor flew straight back towards Princess Celestia in the blink of an eye, she could barely even open her mouth to curse right as her own spell collided with her. The result blast caused an earsplitting boom to thunder throughout the stadium, rattling the seats and stone as Celestia was sent flying through several brick walls and tearing a deep trench into the ground at least four feet deep and half a mile long outside of the stadium. The ponies watching paled from the sight and began fleeing the building in a literal stampede, injuring many unfortunate enough to be trampled underneath underhoof.
As for Fluttershy, the serpent began to whirl around her a high speeds, flying as if it were swimming and cloaking her in a veil of glimmering light. The light enveloped her in a warm bright cocoon and she felt herself slowly rise from the stadium floor. She floated in mid-air, curious as to what might happen all the while her former friends threatened to stop her from escaping.
"Oh, no you don't!" Applejack snarled and took off alongside Rainbow Dash in an extreme frenzy. They both charged at Fluttershy headfirst, hoping to get revenge for her perceived sabotage of their last ditch effort at saving Equestria. "I should've killed you when you were still locked up in that cell you traitorous bitch!"
"You've ruined everything!" Rainbow Dash screeched. "You've doomed us all!"
But they never got their chance at revenge. Fluttershy vanished in a brilliant flash of white light, leaving behind little more than a perfect ring of freshly grown wildflowers. The vengeful mares collided with the ground, cursing their own failure as they were left to wallow in the wake of Equestria's inevitable destruction. Before they could do anything drastic, however, a searing ball of fire descended from the sky and erupted in the center of the stadium, bathing everything in a blinding red glow and sweltering heat.
Princess Celestia's disheveled form emerged from that ball, and judging from the enraged expression plastered across her face she was not at all pleased to be made a mockery of in her own city. She looked like a wild animal ready to lash out at anything unfortunate to provoke her wrath, with her wings flared, her mane set ablaze and her chest heaving up and down with each strenuous lungful of air. She scanned the floor, wide redden eyes frantically searching for her target.
"WHERE IS SHE?!" She seethed hatefully. "WHERE IS FLUTTERSHY?! I WILL IMMOLATE HER WITH THE UNQUENCHABLE FIRES OF THE SUN UNTIL SHE TURNS INTO GLASS! I WILL IMPOSE HER REMAINS UPON THE STAINED GLASS WINDOW WITHIN MY THRONE ROOM AS MY TROPHY FOR ALL TO SEE!"
"...She's not here," Twilight began, causing Celestia to simmer down. "The elements, they must've teleported her somewhere... I can't believe it, the elements betrayed us. The whole world's gone mad."
"This isn't our world," Rarity grumbled, her face stained with mascara.
"...I want to go home," Pinkie muttered. "I want to go home. I want to go home. I want to go home! I WANT TO GO HOME! I WANT TO GO HOME!"
"Ignore her, she's useless," Rainbow callously brushed Pinkie aside. "...So, now what?"
"..." Celestia turned away from the group, her flames settled but not fully smoted. "...Rally the populace." She began lowly. "I want every able bodied mare and stallion to grab the nearest weapon they can reach and have them march to the north. We will make our stand there and fight to the last. We will show humanity that we will not go quietly and that Equestria's final cry of defiance will ring out in their deafened ears for eons to come! They will know that good will always stand against evil no matter what!"
Twilight visibly balked at the order. Celestia was, in no uncertain terms, effectively calling for a suicide run. There was no strategy or plan. She was expecting everypony to listen to her and fight to the death against overwhelming odds with absolutely no chance for victory.
"E-everypony?" Twilight stammered hesistant. "Everypony, i-including the fo-"
Celestia immediately snapped her head over to Twilight and screamed right at her face. "EVERYPONY! THIS IS HOW IT MUST BE! IF WE ARE TO FALL AND BE REUNITED AT THE FIELDS OF ELYSIUM THEN WE MUST MAKE OURSELVES BE KNOWN IN MIND, BODY AND SOUL BY SACRIFICING IT ALL IN THE NAME OF HARMONY!"
Twilight's pupils shrank to pinpricks. Celestia was going to do it. She was really about to have everypony march to their deaths just like that. "B-but, Princess Celestia. There are still tactics we can fall back on, w-weapons we've yet to utilize! There is a wealth of-"
"I'll leave that all to you, my faithful student," Celestia replied, but it was clear from her flippant tone of voice that she could care less about whatever Twilight had planned. It was all going to end the same way: with Equestria and it's loyal citizens annihilated in a hail of heavy ordinance.
"Your highness!" A gruff voice shouted in the distance, drawing their attention. A couple members of the Royal Guard sprinted towards the group, panic their eyes. "The prisoner, he's escaped!"
Celestia narrowed her eyes upon the guard, who could've sworn he saw his life flash right in front of his eyes the moment her's met his.
"Which. Prisoner."
Lyra couldn't sleep, hasn't been able to for a couple days now. She laid awake in her bed at the Equestrian embassy in the United Kingdoms, one of the few that wasn't burned down or razed to the ground during the initial outbreak of the war, her mind aflutter with worry and stress.
Fluttershy and Martin's capture had really rattled her. It rattled a lot of people honestly, probably not as much as Discord's death did but while his heinous murder was tragic there was plenty of reason to be worried about Fluttershy and Martin's being taken by Equestrian forces.
She knew one of them: Celestia was trying to coax her into activating the Elements of Harmony and planned on using her lover Martin as a bargaining chip.
Now, she didn't know if this insane plan would work or not or what would come of their use, she just knew . The elements had been inert since they jumped dimensions, but the possibility of them being reactivated for Celestia's schemes were very real and very likely. Magic was finicky like that sometimes.
It was killing her inside. Fluttershy was the nicest, most gentle pony you could come across, and Martin was a doctor with a heart of figurative gold. Buddha knows how much they were suffering at the hooves of her kinfolk. And for what, to win and unwinnable war? Lyra wished more ponies listened to her when she broke the truth of the royal's deliberate attempts at sabotaging pony human relations.
And now, countless innocents were dead on both sides.
...There was going to be no rescue.
The UN had made it clear that planning the full scale invasion of Equestria was paramount to total victory. They could not spare any additional resources to save them, assuring her that they knew the risk when they were involved with the war and that they can only hope for a miracle to bring them back alive.
Lyra, reluctantly agree with the council's assessment of the situation, even their assessment of the elements. If Celestia and the bearers couldn't get them to work before, what are the odds of them activating them now?
Growling, Lyra cursed her worrying and got out of bed to use the bathroom. Maybe a hot bath would calm her down, she'll try anything short of knockout drops just to get some shut eye. Putting on her robe, she trotted over the bathtub and started drawing some hot water.
"Fluttershy, Martin," Lyra sighed beneath her breath. "I wish you guys were here right now."
As if on cue, her attention was immediately turned to the sudden draft that entered her room. It was strange. This was the UK, who in their right mind would open a window during the rainy seasons? Turning the water off, she trotted back to her room and was immediately assaulted by a flash of bright light.
Falling onto her haunches, she blinked away the spots dancing about in her sight and beheld the shocking appearance of Fluttershy and Martin laying in the center of her room. Fluttershy and Martin looks surprisingly well for someone she assumed would be tortured or mistreated, although the latter was unconscious.
"Oh my gosh. My wish came true!" Lyra smiled and pumped her hoof in the air. "Yes! Er, uh, I mean, Fluttershy, Martin! What happened?! H-how are you here? You got captured and er, wait, is that your element, Fluttershy? Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on-?!
Fluttershy quickly brought her hoove up and quieted Lyra. In spite of her healthy condition her mind was frayed like old rope. "Lyra, please get Martin some help."
"Uh, what? I mean, right! Right! I'll call up some help right now," Lyra immediately ran over to the telephone as started making some calls. She didn't know who exactly to call, so she just called everyone important. The receptionist, security, the hospital, the UN, the president of the United States.
After making almost a dozen phone calls she ran back to Fluttershy and Martin, and came across her holding him in her gentle caress. It was a touching scene, and Lyra couldn't help but smile at it.
"...I called, well, everybody," said Lyra, catching Fluttershy's attention. "They'll be over in a jiffy, get this whole thing squared away. I, er... I noticed the, um," she gesture around her own neck. Fortunately, Fluttershy understood what Lyra was implying.
"I guess there's a lot for me to explain, don't I?" replied Fluttershy, stroking Martin's cheek.
"You don't have too right now," said Lyra, seating herself at the bed. "I don't know what they did to you or Martin over there. The wound's too fresh to start picking at it so soon."
"No, no," Fluttershy interrupted, placing her hoof at her side. "It's just..." tears began welling up at the corner of her eyes. "I tried, Lyra... I t-tried so hard to prevent the invasion, to make the others see differently. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, all of them! But then, I learned something I probably shouldn't have and... a-and, then I saw Martin and then I had to u-use my element and, and..." She began weeping openly, clutching onto her necklace. "Lyra, I've learned things. Things I-I still haven't been able to process o-or speak about since... What I know destroyed me... And it will destroy you too."
Lyra was taken aback by the seriousness in Fluttershy's voice.
If she meant what she meant, then Lyra was terrified to ask.
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[Ten years ago, during the final year of the Conversion War, the united army of humanity invaded Equestria in what is still regarded to be the greatest military assault throughout Earth's history.
With a force of over forty million strong Equestria's shoddy coastal defenses were immediately overwhelmed in a matter of days with the opposing force suffering grievous casualties of upwards to six hundred thousand ponies, the number of which is still being disputed, in the first twenty four hours alone. Within forty eight hours the casualties increased to over one and a half million. Within a week, Equestria's remaining princess, Princess Twilight Sparkle, surrendered after having lost just under three-quarters of their entire populace.
The cause of such terrible losses were the result of Princess Celestia's final stand, which was coined the March of Fools by historians as it was her disastrous attempt to counter the invasion by utilizing wave tactics and suicide attacks. Collected statements had confirmed that this reckless strategy and pointless loss of life was a result of Celestia's growing madness and fear of losing control of the country, which many had agreed peaked by the sixth year of the Conversion War, shortly after the tides of war turned.
As for Princess Celestia herself, she was killed in action along with several thousands of her fanatical subjects after charging headlong into a small fleet of Leviathan-Class omni-directional battleships and was promptly decimated within a matter of minutes, resulting in Twilight Sparkle stepping up as leader and calling for a momentous surrender.]
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[Fluttershy retired from active duty as a combat medic shortly after the end of the war where she married Dr. Martin and adopted three children who were orphans as a result of the war. Fluttershy has since become an author and has published several books, the most famous of which is her autobiography which details key events from the Conversion war as well as her time spent as a prisoner of wa-]
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[Ambassador Twilight Sparkle of Equestria retained the throne after the end of the war and strove as its leader to undo the crimes of her predecessor, Princess Celestia, with the help of her partner Spike. The driving force behind her tireless crusade to restore her home's reputation stemmed from the horrible revelation of what happened to the former Equestrian homeworld: Equus. She is currently in the process of stepping down as leader in order to consolidate Equestria's transition into a democratic state while she dedicates the majority of her time to find the cure to the the conversion po-]
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[Rarity was killed during the March of Fools along with her family. Collected statements revealed that Rarity suffered depression as a result of her husband, Valiant Wing, being killed in action and her foal being a stillborn. She joined the masses during the day of the invasion and was killed during the first twenty fo-]
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[Pinkie Pie vanished after Equestria surrendered. It is unclear whether or not she died during the March of Fools or if she is in hiding as the body was never found. Rumors say that you can hear jovial giggling around the spot in New Ponyville where Sugarcube Corner used to be. Popular theory suggests she died and is haunting the spot where Sugarcube Corner used to be leaving treats in random spots and trying to brighten people's moo-]
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[Applejack was assumed dead during the March of Fools along with her sister Apple Bloom but it was later revealed that she had survived, albeit with crippling injuries. Wheelchair bound and half blind, she reemerged in the public eye two years after the surrender as a hard-line member of the Equestrian Reclamation Movement which actively protests the cultural integration of ponies and humans. She still claims to be a devout follower of the True Princess Celestia and is adamant that she will return one day to set things right.
Currently she is still with the ERM but in the time since the movement has largely been discredited by the public as a radical if incompetent group of extremist seeking to restore a defunct order. There are rumors floating around that she was connected to the ESS before they were dissolved, though she has denied any form of involvement whatsoev-]
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[Rainbow Dash survived the March of Fools but disappeared from the public eye shortly after the surrender. She was found dead several years later during a failed assassination attempt on Equestrian politician Fancy and was unceremoniously gunned down by his bodyguards. Gathered evidence revealed that Rainbow Dash was the Blue Bolt, a serial killer infamous for murdering high ranking politicians and officials who actively supported the reconstruction of Equestri-]
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I don't know about you guys but I enjoy the hopes of ponies getting destroyed.
Is that a bad thing?
10916341
media1.tenor.com/images/e50e8b3a37c33303de88248aef8020e2/tenor.gif?itemid=14341669
10916344
Okay. Time to continue browsing r/cursedcomments because I want to laugh.
Gotta say, I like this ending way more than the Harmony one. I'm all for some poetic justice, and it's satisfying to see Harmony turn its back on those who betrayed it, but the deus ex machina in the previous chapter was too literal for my tastes.
Good chapter. And crazy Sunbutt sure got a hard lesson about the elements there. Sure they are said to be "greatest power known to ponykind" and all that (including their origin etc...), but I think there's nothing about them being exclusively for pony use. They just kinda hogged them for themselves and thought that they are "chosen ones" here, not considering that Magic might see them as unworthy eventually and bite back HARD. But that's just me.
Liking Lyras reaction for her wish there.
I liked both endings. But the computer thing is interesting.
i like both endings but am curious what would happen if the elements backfired and made it so that ponys lost their magic and it was given to the humans and the ponys who saw through what was happening
10916388
Ha, that would be funny to see.
After this one I really want a "The Elements turn Fluttershy into an alicorn and she gets to lay some righteous smackdown," ending.
10916393
There was plans for Harmony to make Fluttershy into an Alicorn and the new ruler of Equestria in Ending 1, but I felt that was too cliche and didn't make sense so I scraped it.
10916389
there is another backfire ending where the elements redirect their blast, turning AJ, Dash and Celestia to stone. As the other 3 could still be 'redeemed' The blast go and turn all newfoals back to human and some ponies will also get turned into stones or lose their magic as punishment
10916395
Eh, don't really care if she takes the throne or not, just, with all the abuse Flutters has taken in this one, it'd be nice to see her put Celestia(and maybe Dash and AJ) through a wall herself.
I have an idea that the Elements sends the ponies back to their dead homeworld before they vanish completely. Celestia is also stripped of her power as are all ponies.
... You know, I gotta be honest. I actually anticipated this behavior from Celestia days ago and was wondering when it was going to happen. 😁 Really nice!
So Discord is alive?
It kind of makes sense for Elements to restore him
So this is a little better ending for Pinkie Pie...kind of
10916429
Maybe Rated Ponystar will see this and will do this as another ending
10916389
Will there be an ending with Discord returning?
What if elements bring him back and he will be supercharged and will go Bill Cipher on ponies.
Discord unlocking his powers from being PG 13 to +18 would be interesting
64.media.tumblr.com/99d59f190fb48111cab47577d1090cae/91d1bfbd71c93d4c-c3/s2048x3072/2ab6bfc93552aa4e747c07163cca4235defb492e.gif
10916393
10916395
I was expecting this to happen in that moment because how it looked similar to how Twilight become an alicorn
i.makeagif.com/media/6-12-2015/gAMaAA.gif
10916429
Does Fluttershy go with them?
10916519
Unless she is the one that pulls the trigger,button to send herself with them to punish them it wouldn't make sense for her to be sent by elements
10916519
I guess I should clarify. All anti-human ponies are sent back to a dead world and without their magic.
10916395
For when ending 3, Equestria gets banished to Ravenloft?
Strahd and Azalin are going to have a lot of fun with the "newbie" Dark Lord.
Does seem like something she would do to be honest. God is that depressing.
10916429
Yo that's a good one. And to add insult to injury, all the remaining races on Equis banded together while the ponies were gone and found a way to save the sun and moon. Effectively leaving Celestia's hold over the world void
Mmm, tbh I think I like this ending more than the previous one, I know everything involving the EoH are bound to be deus-ex-machina by definition, but this one feels less in-your-face and was more in line of what I was expecting.
Discord...
.
I'm more in favour of Ending One. I love having a "Harmony" God himself to directly interfere, and punished them for their unforgivable sins!!!!!!
I don't know exactly why a lot of of you are not into that? I thought Celestia, and the others DESERVE to have divine justice and punishment?!
And I'm confused on why some of you thinks that the Harmony God himself/itself is the "evil" one in here?! Which sounds a bit stupid, because he/it is no satan or a devil deity??!!
And he/it did rightly punished Celestia, the Mane Five, cured the "newfoals" back to humans again. And reward Fluttershy for staying true to her virtue, and doing the right thing!!!
Shame Rarity seems to die in these stories. Honestly I always figured that she would eventually bounce back after a time but appearantly fate just seems to require her to die.
10916393
You too? I was like this lady is what a Alicorn should be.
10916807
There is deus ex machina, and then there is deus ex machina. Everything involving the EoH is going to be close to it by necessity, these things are designed to be a plot device used to reward characters for completing a task. It's a bit hard to define and discuss tropes and vague concepts like this, but the way I see it, having literal God step into the story seemingly at random and chastise the villains seems too much on the nose for me. Especially given the fact the way Harmony was written hardly feels like the protagonists earned the ending, and begs the question of why didn't Harmony intervene sooner if it had the power to literally create this world. In this ending, Harmony seems less like an omnipotent deity, and more like a force trapped within the Elements, that had to be let out first in order to act.
Sure, but how the punishment is handed out matters just as much if not more than the act itself. Poetic justice is a powerful thing. It feels great to read about villains being defeated by the heroes, and receiving just consequences. It's significantly less satisfying to have a third party, for no legitimate reason absent until now, step into the story and solve everyone's problems with a snap of a finger.
Because Harmony by its own admission created all the worlds in existence, and directly demonstrated the capability to solve the whole conflict instantly. Why didn't it do that earlier? Why didn't it stop Celestia from bringing Equestria to Earth? Why didn't it save life in Equus after or before Celestia left? The story gives us no reasoning for any of it, while demonstrating that it would be within the limits of Harmony's abilities. The self-proclaimed universal force of good just couldn't be arsed to save the very life it created.
Neither was Voldemort, Palpatine, Celestia or Hitler. One doesn't need to be literally Satan to be considered evil.
Sure, but why now? Harmony literally stepped in at the last possible second. It could have intervened earlier, saved countless lives on Equus and Earth, but explicitly chose not to.
10916956
Very Touche! I see your point exactly. It's just I did read on why a lot of you didn't like the first ending. It's just there are so many different people with their own opinions on why they dislike the "Harmony God interfering" ending. It's gets confusing, and I regrettably was a little lazy to do in depth.
And I know the concept of deus ex machina. And show that their is a difference between a very good written, and understandable deus ex machina. And their is a little bad written, lazy, cliche, confusing, and out of nowhere one.
And now that I think about it??!! It makes much more sense if he interfere BEFORE Celestia and the Ponies even declared war against Humanity/Earth. Or fix Equestria, or even REVIVE the Young Six???!!!
Because IF I remember, his original plan is for the Young Six to save the day, right? But, the plan got ruined by Celestia's actions. and only Sandbar sadly survives, but is mentally broken.
BUT, if he is "God"?! Why can't he pull out a miracle like Jesus, and bring Yona, Smolder, Gallus, Sliverstream, and Ocellus?! And convinced Sandbar to be friends with them??!!
Problem solved!!!!!!
Heck, someone should put that good, more common sense idea that I just have suggested into another ending??!!!
“The March of Fools” actually makes sense, since during the final days in the canon timeline Celestia was determined to make Canterlot her tomb, with every pony trapped inside. In this case, she was pushed into fury, as the ultimate power she believed they controlled turned its back on them. Seeing her last hope of maintaining power slip through her hooves she’d rather them all die then live on without her. A constant for her character in this universe, the difference is that in the first case knowing she was powerless and doomed she crafted a narrative for her self to be a martyr, at least in her own mind. If only to prevent herself from breaking down at the execution block for all the world to see.
AJ and Rainbow kinda remind me of Eren from attack on titan in some ways. They are so dedicated to fighting their “oppressors” they can’t move on from it. Neither one can accept integration or earths help, because it goes against what they believed in for years. Humans aren’t good, their corrupted monsters, but integration and reconstruction shows that they were mistaken. Which neither one can handle. Rainbow likely would have rather have Equestria left a dystopian wasteland as Celestia planned then consider maybe loyalty is more complicated then sticking with a nations leaders. Still… some part of her still cared for Fluttershy, wanting to see her in the afterlife, but she was too mentally broken from tje war at that point. Honestly even if she didn’t become a serial killer I doubt she would have lasted long, likely suffering from PTSD and too proud to seek treatment. Still Rainbow having no plan for the future beyond some vague dreams of a utopia fit her character. As she’s shown in the show to have rather lack luster organizational skills.
Rarity and Pinkie dying is sad, but at that point they likely had lost too much, part of me hopes they found some peace in the end. Pinkie hurt the most because she likely always needed psychiatric help, but with Equestrias questionable healthcare likely wasn’t treated. So she developed a dependence on others to function properly. Once the war started to break up those supports she was increasingly left on her own to deal with her issues. As she could no longer distract herself from her personal illness. Which overtime caused larger and larger cracks eventually leading to her final breakdown. Rarity is fairly straightforward, losing ones husband and child would be traumatizing in the best of circumstances. But in this case I’m willing to bet Celestia twisted her into blaming Fluttershy and Humans. Which might have directed her emotions, but certainly didn’t help her in the long run, especially as their war effort collapsed.
Twilight I’m glad at least tries to make up for what she did, but it’s too little too late. From the sounds of it Equestria is far worse off then in the past timeline. As most of their remaining population has been wiped out. With much of their culture and artifacts lost on the chaos of the war. Which might explain the ERM, likely they are made up of ponies who are scared of losing what little culture they have left.
March of Fools. How fitting. It's disturbing, that so many are willing to (figuratively) jump off a cliff if Celestia tells them to.
10916986
It creating entire universes from scratch implies that Harmony should be able do it. Or even better, prevent it from happening in the first place. But it doesn't. Why, we can only guess. Was it laziness? Negligence? Was it letting Celestia act on purpose? Whatever the explanation, anything that wouldn't require a major rewrite inevitably paints Harmony as at best negligent, and at worst actively malicious.
10916966
Mostly the fact that we came here to read an AU story for the Negotiations-verse, not a poor Warhammer wankfest.
Funnily enough, a ground war against the Imperium would actually be better for Celestia than against a real military. Thanks to poor research and rule of cool, things like Leman Russ would be considered garbage by WW2 standards, and melee weapons are still prevalent in 40k.
10917001
Well, I hope that both Rainbow Dash and Applejack should BURN in Hell for their egotistical, zealous, racist/xenophobic/missanthrope, and heartless actions.
Plus, it will be Karma for Rainbow Dash to NEVER see her love ones again in Heaven. Due to her evil actions.
Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and probably Twilight should go to Purgatory to clean their dirty sins. Because at least these three are very remorseful for their actions. But I have a feeling that Twilight will be in their for a LONG, LONG ass time than those two.
And Fluttershy will deserve to go to Heaven for staying to her element virtue, and doing the right thing. Despite the odds.
As for Celestia? F******* her!!!!!! Hope she goes to the deepest, and most darkest pit of Hell. And be touted or even raped for eternally!!!!! Heck, maybe the Doom Slayer himself will drop by, and RIP AND TEAR her apart for a Hundred Million Years!!!!!!
Huh... I didn't know Rainbow Dash would hold a similar name. But oh well, seems she got what was coming to her.
That was a good Chaptar. Zelkova is a good writer keep up the good work mate.
10917014
Yeah, too true if you think on the bigger picture. But, at least he/it finally does something, and punish Celestia and the other Ponies.
I guess he/it wants to make a "Better late than never" excuse??!! He/It STILL should have revived the rest of the Young Six. Their one of my favorite MLP "friend groups".
Plus, why couldn't he/it also revive the Humans deaths or even the Non-Pony deaths in Equestria in here as well??!! Like revive Luna, Shining Armor, Cadence, Flurry Heart, Gilda, Little Strongheart, Ember, Thorax/Pharynx, etc..
Sure, he cured the newfoals, but what about the other innocent human, Non-Pony, or even innocent Pony deaths???!!!
I guess the Author sadly haven't thought this though of having a LITERAL GOD to use his powers to revive the innocent. Like the Original Earth Dragon Balls, Namekian Dragon Balls, or the Super Dragon Balls from DBZ.
No offense, Rated Ponystar.
"Poor" and a "Wankfeat"??????!!!!!!!
So hypocritical to say, considering that a lot of other Authors put in Crossovers with other Fictional Universes.
Like Crossovers with Convention Bureau-Verse, Negotiations-Verse, Fall of Equestria-Verse, Twilight Assassination-Verse, That Zebra Conquering-Verse ( That replaced the Caribou with Zebras?! ) etc.. And several of them has POSITIVE Reception.
And if you don't remember, I'm not the only one that suggested to have Equestria be teleported in another different fictional universe ( Hint: Dungeons and Dragons ) to be punished. And I liked their idea.
So, why can't we have a Most OP Human Space Faring Empire ( Imperium of Man ) come over to kick their asses??!!
Plus, what's wrong with WH40K?! Your not a fan?
Besides, the Imperium of Man have more powerful Tanks, Soldiers, has Space Marines ( "Regular"/Primaris ), Special Forces, Assassins, Space Warship Navy's, a vast empire of multiple Planets and Solar Systems, and huge frickin IMPERIAL KNIGHTS, and TITANS!!!!!
https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/thumb/e/ed/KnightArt.jpg/350px-KnightArt.jpg
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/8/88/UFFSr35.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20161116031526
P.S. When you say "Leman Russ"? I know you mean the Imperial Guard's Main Tank. But, they also got the Baneblade, and other Heavy Tanks!!!! So what's your point?!
BUT, Lemon Russ: Primarch of the Space Wolves??!!
https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/thumb/1/1c/Leman_Russ_with_Sisters_of_Silence.jpg/300px-Leman_Russ_with_Sisters_of_Silence.jpg
He can just trashed Celestia's pathetic ass!!!!
And another thing? What's does the Ponies have???!! For stopping the Imperium by just Exterminatus them all to dust??!!
( I know that the Ponies are still on Earth, I'm not stupid or forgetful!!! But, the Imperial Navy can just fire the island where the Ponies live??!!
I doubt their own Magic Shields can SURVIVE a bombardment of Hundreds of Imperial Navy, Space Marine, and Adeptus Mechanicus Warships in space ?????!!!!!
So, no hard feelings.
10916966
It sounds dumb as shit and we do not need a crossover
10917252
Well, everyone else is pointing out ending suggestions. And I thought making a what-if crossover ending would be fun?!
But, haters gonna hate!
And I guess your not into Warhammer as well?
This was......ok? Notice a few grammar errors here and there but this was an ok, low mid but still a ok.
10917260
No because you wrote a whole ass 4 paragraph description about a character that has nothing to with the story. If you have a idea please make sure it's relevant to the story.
not hating just pointing what's wrong your idea
10916395
I don't know man, that seems like a logical choice. Seeing that the overall harmony in Equestria was completely imbalance. A new Alicorn Princess would be needed to undue the damage and corruption caused by Celestia and the others. Because what they have done so far is an utter insult and slap in the face of the very core values that all ponies live by and to Harmony itself. Because at this point they're no better than the human terrorists or dictators who misused religion or whatever to commit all sorts of unspeakable atrocities. So basically there needs to be a new ruler to put Equestria back on the true right path of good.
10916635
And I'm guessing all the races of Equis will wage war on Equestria as righteous vengeance for leaving them to die. Because Equestria gets what they fucking deserve.
10917013
Because Fluttershy was right. They have been under the ruled of Celestia for over thousands of years. They have essentially become brainwashed puppets without even knowing it. If Celestia tells them to die for her and Equestria they will do it without questions.
gotta admit, when that all kicked off, i thought it was Discord using the magic from the elements of harmony to return from the dead and save her. maybe it was that, it's hard to tell.
10917260
Good grief man... As much as I like Warhammer 40k. What you suggested for another alt ending is too out of nowhere and nonsensical for this most recent story of the Negotiatorverse. If anything that an even bigger WTF moment than the first ending. This is not a crossover story. If you want something like that to happen than create your own Warhammer 40k/Negotiatiorverse crossover story or whatever. End of discussion.
10917530
Sorry, geez!!!!
And what do you want me to suggest for a alternate ending then? Have the Elements empower humanity, and we now BOTH have Technology and Magic or something????!!!!
10917534
Seriously dude, Just drop it already. I'm not saying this to be an ass or anything. But this is getting asinine. You're not only digging a deeper rabbit hole for yourself, you're making yourself look like a damn fool.
Just let the author and the other commentators come up with better ideas for alt endings. That is more relevant to this story and doesn't bring in characters from other intellectual properties for no damn sense or reason.
Especially those from the grim dark far future where there is only war.
That's all I'm going to say on the matter, I'm not going to continue this any further. I couldn't care less, if you down voted this or not. Because quite frankly I don't give a damn.... So end of discussion.
I think I like this alt ending more than the first one. The last one was way too deus ex machina for my taste.
10917035
Yeah, I agree here. You've said the exact same thing before though.
Not really. Not every crossover has to be a wankfest. It's entirely possible to write one where the contacting universes are equally matched, or don't come to blows at all. But it was painfully obvious from the now-deleted comment that your only intention with the Warmallet idea was to have the Imperium curbstomp Equestria. I don't know about others, but personally, the only reason I still read Negotiations-verse after dumping TCB as a whole is the fact that it focuses more on individual characters and the impact war had on them, rather than wanking technology or magic constantly.
Most OP? Why? The Imperium is a sad shell of a nation that can't even keep track of its own planets, has no clue how their own bargain bin technology works and does everything in their power to murder potential allies while being devoured like a carcass. Big scary numbers don't make up for all that, and that's already giving 40k more credit that it deserves, considering that the numbers given are often very poor.
Used to be. Now, not really. I guess the constant assault of grimdark and suffering started grating on me. Tau were my favourite faction back then for a reason.
The fandom was another big reason. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that most of Warhammer fans are very reasonable people who just want to enjoy the hobby, and I have no problems with them. But every fandom has the bunch of people who take things way too far. In Warhammer's case, that segment seems to be abnormally large and active. The turning point for me I believe was the release of XCOM: Chimera Squad. It has nothing to do with Warhammer, but for a long time, half the posts on the forums were complaining that the aliens were trying to integrate into the society now. Of these, a worrying amount seemed to project the Imperium's xenophobia onto themselves, considering their usage of terms like "xenos", "heresy" and "purge".
Now that's just not true. Let's take a look at the Leman Russ, and compare it to the M1A2 Abrams. For future reference, I'm sourcing most of what I said here off of Lexicanum's page for the Russ, and Wikipedia for the M1.
Starting with mobility, Leman Russ is cited to be able to go 35 kph max road speed, and 21 kph offroad. Comparing that to the Abrams, which can achieve 72 kph on- and 48 kph offroad, the Russ does not come out favourably. It gets even worse when you consider other design aspects. Look at the tracks on the Leman Russ. They are unnecessarily huge, have no visible suspension (meaning the crew gets bounced around like ping-pong balls whenever the tank drives over something more uneven than a paved road) and seem very narrow (which results in a larger ground pressure, making it easy to get bogged down in difficult terrain).
What about armour? Surely the Russ has to be better in that department? Well no. Not at all. As per Lexicanum, Leman Russ' turret has a thickness of 200mm. The wiki sadly does not say if it's effective armour thickness or not. But I'm going to be very generous here, and assume it's not. Thanks to the fragment of Imperial Armour cited in this graphic, we know a land raiders's composite armour almost triples its effectiveness, turning almost 100mm of plating into 300mm steel equivalent. Assuming the Russ is made of similar compounds (which I doubt, but let's give you that), it would have around 600mm RHA armour on turret front. Which is kinda pathetic, considering the composites used in M1A2 and M1A1HA give it an impressive 800mm thickness against APFSDS, and 1300mm against HEAT. These are of course estimates, because that shit is still classified to hell and back as far as I know, but it's the best we have at the moment. Not to mention that the Russ' armour is riveted. We stopped using that during WW2, because when struck by enough non-penetrating enemy fire, the rivets would just pop off inside the crew compartment. Welding and casting is flat out superior. There is also no APS ever mentioned for the Leman Russ, while US has started equipping its Abrams fleet with the Israeli Trophy system.
Firepower comparison does not go in the Leman's favour either. Russ' battle cannon is cited as being a 120mm gun. Which is the same as late model Abrams, most contemporary western MBTs, and smaller than the 125mm gun Russians prefer. Of course, the shorter barrel doesn't help much, probably resulting in lower muzzle velocities than our weaponry. Which makes sense, considering that Russ' objectively shitty protection is deemed adequate by Imperium's standards. Which paints a rather bleak picture of their anti-armour capabilities. Also, there is no coaxial or standard commander's MG. There is however a hull gun, and a pair of sponson weapons. Why it is the case I cannot fathom, because such a setup is considered to be rather outdated.
I won't ever get into how the gun breech is positioned in such a way as to take out the commander's kneecaps when he looks out the hatch, there is no space for the loader or the gunner inside the actual turret, and the crew has to be packed like sardines.
Why do you think I specifically stated the proposed conflict as a ground war?
Anyways, I think it's gone on long enough. We haven't really said anything new about the Negotiations-verse in a post or two, and this comment section is not a place to discuss Warhammer. If you really feel inclined to discuss Warhammer with me, I guess you can shoot me a PM. Though admittedly, I'm not terribly interested in continuing this.