This story is a sequel to And Hell Followed
A plague ravaged Equestria, turning all of the unicorns and alicorns into bloodthirsty monsters bent on killing all the other races in a genocidal rage. A small cadre lead by the Elements of Harmony survived and persisted in Ponyville, and even managed to reverse it all at the cost of their lives.
Now Equestria must rebuild.
In Manehattan, Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna must find a way to ease racial tensions while keeping the teetering nation safe and also rebuilding the lost trust of the little ponies of Equestria. Elsewhere, Cheerilee and Scootaloo must find their way in this new world.
There are only two options left. Rebuild Equestria stronger than ever, or be scattered to the winds of history.
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Updates every Wednesday
Edited by Silver Mint
Cover art by MirAmore
HERE WE GO!
and already, looks like it'll be a long road to recovery for Equestria.
Fuck yes, I'm here for the emotional roller coaster!
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Buckle up and keep your hands and feet inside the ride car at all times. This one's gonna be a doozy.
And this, ladies and germs, is how Equestria dies and G5 rises from its ashes. If I'm the only one who sees it, then everyone else is a big dumb dumb.
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You are not prepared.
Now, we all shall enjoy thy art. Finally a continuation!
I can't wait to see how these poor ponies are going to be done for, this time. It's already off to a great start, showing how deep these scars (physical or not) runs.
!
Once more into the breach
*sees that card*
*has Escaflowne ptsd* D:
Yesssssssssss The previous entry has been eating away at my brain since I read it all, I'm so glad you're gonna continue it.
Ooh! So the physical transformation is permanent huh? I'm super excited for this story, the same world but with more character exploration is just, mmh, so good!
I assume the transformations are permanent but not all of them? Trixie has fangs but the story doesn't mention a sharp horn or extra size.
Would be interesting to see if Cheerlie could interact at all with Trixie, but it doesn't seem to be the case. Though Trixie apparently remembers.
Also very nice to show they are addressing the repopulation question, the Event obviously destroyed the balance in population numbers, and it's no wonder there are food riots with so many farmers and weather experts gone, and of course the crops cooked by the sun.
Instant like and follow
That doesn't happen often, I am ready though
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Yeah so I did address this in a little side fic I wrote for the Rainbow Factory contest that's set within this universe. I was operating off of that here but probably should've explained it at some point, sorry. Here's a little excerpt.
Don't mind me, just using the story title as an excuse to drop one of my favorite Elton John deep cuts:
YES I've been waiting for this
WOOOOOOO-
wait crap angst
Good to see this universe back! I’m very excited to see what’s coming up next
Did anyone notice the equestrian repopulation bureau stands as E.R.P
This is what I can see happening if a country barely survives a nuclear war
Ooooh, I see. News of Elytra's recovery has reached Luna's ears. And, by the looks of it, it seems like Ember is catching on too and wants to be with her friend.
I wonder how everything would break down if the truth was revealed. That it wasn't some god or demon that caused this mess, but a single pony, one unicorn who was able to ruin everything. Of course, the facts aren't that cut and dry, but who cares about facts when you can summarize it so quickly?
Dang.
Looks like Celestia's in a very bad way after what she did, and Luna's barely holding on under the weight of responsibilities.
at least Cadance seems to be recovering well, if she's taking Flurry back up to the Crystal Empire, although maybe she just wants the space.
Still no sign of Twilight, though. Even if Spike's there this can't be a good time for her, having to look after a traumatized Celestia on top of everything that's already happened.
Also, Caldera sucks. She's like the anti-elytra
Alright, so... it's somehow even better and worse than I had hoped/feared for Celestia. Certainly alive, and, well, still going on... but going on in circles about what happened. And while Luna still have a good head on her shoulders, it's obvious she's laking some experience (like, a thousand years or so), and that all isn't quite well right now.
I can only imagine how it'll be later on. And I wish I could see it already
You know I just realized, given that Changelings don't "eat" regular food and Equestria is currently understaffed for most things, couldn't they hire temporary changeling workers who get paid in love to help in farming and supplies and other things? Given the sheer trauma that Equestria just went through the changelings will end up looking downright harmless.
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Wonder what Luna is going to talk with Thorax about
The portraits...damn. If there had only been a couple dozen or so, this might be a healthy exercise. Thousands though? By the time she's halfway done she'll have forgotten most of the rest, and that'll only send her deeper into guilt. And yet, what else can she do in such a broken state? It's just tragic.
On a less serious note, imagine somepony watching from Pony Heaven and being honored that they were the first to be painted...and then annoyed as time goes on and all those other portraits see the benefits of practice.
Hell yeah! Been waiting for this. :D
This is where the emotionally distraught fun begins
Oh, dear. I'm kind of scared of how Cadence is dealing with all of this.
I really shouldn't be reading this... ugh. Stupid morbid curiosity.
Hey I just thought of something does that mean sunset one of the last pure unicorn? A unicorn that was not mutated in any way since she was literally quarantined in another world.
Uhhh... So, wouldn't that mean that the spells on say, random example, Tirek's prison, are gone? Or that the Crystal Heart wouldn't be able to create a shield around the Empire, causing all of the crystal ponies to forcibly migrate south? Or that the shield over Grogar's Bell is gone too?! Imagine a traumatized Cozy Glow with that in her hooves.
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I think the author said that EQG isn't canon in this story.
The elements are spread across the continent. Well, I hate to say it Twilight but maybe there’s some intention behind why they aren’t concentrated in Equestria.
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I think its actually the Pillar's artifacts.
One final friendshio quest for Twilight huh? Good luxk to her.
I really like this chapter. The first real ray of hope in this ruined world.
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I don't think it's that. Pretty sure she's looking for new bearers who can take on the mantle of the Elements.
Hum. Six marks, and just as much leads to... save the world ? Protect Equestria ? I can't help but be apprehensive of this all. Is Twilight searching the new elements of harmony ? Other people of great talent ? Something else ?
I'm curious to know the answers to those questions. And I'm not sure the characters will like them all.
Yoooooo. A sequel already!
Should be ‘of’, I believe.
Story is going very well, I’m super excited to see more!
I love the sense of dread and darkness this series has. All the unicorns have survivor's guilt, combined with the memory of what they did under the effects of the tainted magic. And even so... everyone's still moving, because that's all you can do. Entertainers like Trixie are going to have the hardest time of recovery. It might be a generation or two before magic itself is really trusted again.
Hope the sequel is still alive would love to see the aftermath
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Yeah it is, I was just working on something big coming out on the 28th and then I'm taking November off to write some non-pony for NaNo
Just read through the first fic, and the start of this one. Very good work! Hope to see more soon.
Where's that group of thestral cultists when you need them?!?!
Oh boï, it's still going on ! And interesting as always. Discord turning a new(er) leaf for Fluttershy is a kind gesture, the kind this Equestria need right now to bring back hope, unity and all that. The fact he could even restore Starlight's face is just icing on the cake... tho we still don't know what Twilight's up to. And depending on what it is, chaos magic might just be oil on the fire.
On the other side... well, things might get rough between the cities and the outskirts. Food problems really are something dangerous to deal with, and politeness tend to run dry once there's nothing left to eat. It might lead to a conflict, and given unicorns and alicorns where still monsters not a long time ago... might be the war to end all wars, sadly.
And on Cherilee's side, we see that those scars, those damned scars are still there, painful as they there the first day. I wonder if there's truth to this pendant charm. Magic was compromised once. I hope it doesn't bring some untold suffering to our dear (ex)teacher !
It's great to see this story continue. Answers will come, and I'm eager to see what you have in store. Be it good or bad for these lovely characters... I know I will have a great time !
I'm so proud of Discord. Almost cried.
Not Dead. It's nice to read such uplifting words from such a horror-filled story. I do think Glimmer's reaction should have been expanded on, but perhaps for later?
Spent yesterday puking my guts out, so seeing this updated today was a nice treat after that.