"Hey, Kieran!" The accompanying voice was met with a knock on my door as my visitor opened it fully.
My eyes brightened largely at the sight of my taller older brother. Dressed in half-torn clothes and wearing a red beanie that covered his unkempt, long brown hair. I nearly jumped out of bed, where I was reading a comic book. "Damon!" I shouted excitedly.
I ran over and threw my arms around him. He was always much taller than me, and my head only reached his chest. He laughed jovially and ruffled my hair with one hand, "Hey kiddo, happy birthday."
I looked up and laughed. "You remembered!"
He nodded, "Mhm… and-"
"Wait, does that mean!?" I asked with unbridled excitement.
My brother nodded once again, "Yep." He said this before revealing the hand he’d been keeping behind his back. He revealed two tickets to the demolition derby they were having in town today. I reached out excitedly, and he pulled them away and held them above my head with a smug grin. "You know, these weren’t easy to come by."
I laughed as I jumped to reach for them, and he kept pulling them away. "I know, how’d you do it?"
"I have my ways." He bemoaned cryptically as he finally relinquished a ticket to me. "So what do ya say? Are you up to it? It starts in two hours."
"Is that even a question?" I said with a raised brow as I ran over to my closet and began to throw on some more suitable clothes.
As I was searching around through the mess of drawers for something, my brother walked around my room while looking at everything with an exasperated sigh. "You really need to clean your room, lil bro."
I shrugged and said, "I do; it just doesn’t look very clean when I do it anyway. What’s the point?"
It was true—the room I was in was a mess. The paint on the walls had long since peeled, and there were many holes in the drywall that encompassed almost the entire wall. The floorboards creaked like crazy, and the less safe parts of the floor were where I threw my items to keep myself from falling through. The only real things in my room were the bed, a desk, and a bunch of other things that mostly related to school.
"Still…" My brother sighed, giving me his own shrug afterward. "Have you done anything else for your birthday today?" He asked while changing the subject.
I stopped searching through my drawers for a minute as my shoulders sagged. "No, Jane and Eric are out of town this week." I said, referring to our foster parents.
My brother gritted his teeth, "Oof, that’s rough…" He said sympathetically, well for him anyway. "But to be expected." He followed up.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" I grumbled as I returned to rummaging through my mess of a drawer.
He sighed dramatically, "Oh well, when your big bro can just walk through the front door with no locks, it becomes a bit obvious."
I hummed dissmisively, "I’m old enough to take care of myself anyway. What's the big deal?"
He huffed a short laugh as I finally found my favorite shirt and began throwing it over myself. "That’s all we’ve ever done. Jane and Eric sure didn’t."
I knew that my brother had disdain for our foster parents. He made it readily apparent when he cut ties with them when he turned eighteen. A year later, they only begrudgingly allowed him to see me on occasion.
But still, they hadn’t abused me in any way and had given me a home when I most needed it. I still felt a large amount of appreciation, even if they felt distant from me at times. "I don’t know about that, Damon. I’d still be scraping around dumpsters and shoplifting without ‘em." I said this while grabbing my phone from the desk.
Damon shrugged and moved out of the doorway as he gestured with his hand in a mockingly fancy way. "Ladies first."
I punched him lightly as I walked by, "Don’t get any funny ideas about today just because you can’t land a date." I teased him.
"Alright! Alright." He said with another short laugh.
Exiting our short, run-down house in the middle of the city, we began the rather long walk towards our destination. Evidently, my brother couldn’t afford a car. We lived in the city of St. Louis. Overall, it was a rather fine city. Just make sure you know where you’re going and walk with purpose. Don’t look anybody in the eyes unless you’re looking for a fight or otherwise. It was easy.
As we walked the rather dull and emptier parts of the city sidewalks, I couldn’t shake what my brother said from my head. I’d felt upset when they left me money and said they’d be gone for the week. But it wasn’t malicious; my sixteenth birthday wasn’t the most important thing in the world, after all.
"Why’d you say that?" I hummed quietly to myself as I watched my feet. "About our parents."
My brother sighed and put his arms in his pockets as well. "Calling them parents is a bold term, Kieran."
"You haven’t explained why." I countered bitterly.
"Because they don’t care." Damon said in a very matter-of-fact way. He sighed loudly. "I mean, they didn’t even stay in town for your birthday."
"They must’ve had something important to do, Damon. I don’t get why you always see them as bad people." I muttered.
"Well, for starters," Damon began, "I’m not one to judge morality."
"You’re a good guy, Damon." I glanced up at him.
He eyed me for a moment before averting his gaze, "Alright, you’re sixteen now. I’ll play it to you straight if you want."
He waited for an objection that never came as I listened intently. "Listen, Kieran… You know how the foster system works, right?"
"Yeah?" I voiced my confusion.
He nodded. "Then you should know our foster parents get a specific amount of money every month to take care of us."
I nodded my head even though he wasn’t looking at me. He took another sigh as he rubbed his temple annoyedly, "And some foster parents… You know what? I’ll just say it." He grunted. "Jane and Eric literally only took us in for the money."
"W-What?" I asked with a growing look of many emotions.
He nodded as he looked at me directly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "They don't use all that money to take care of us. They’ve been using it to go on extravagant vacations and treat themselves. That’s why they only ever took in you and me. I was sixteen, and you were fourteen. We were old enough to not die without supervision."
"T-That’s not true." I denied with a shake of my head.
"Believe it if you want. Might hurt less to pretend otherwise, I guess." My brother grumbled.
"But you know, every time they sent us to school with barely any supplies. Every Christmas, when they'd suspiciously buy themselves some extravagant vacation or other thing they wanted while we barely got another shirt when all of our stuff is falling apart?" He paused. "At least you know why now."
They'd always just told me that when I got a job, I'd be able to buy myself those things. I did find it kind of odd how they acted when I told them I needed things for school. Did they really only take me in to use the money? That was… no, they couldn’t have. My brother was just overreacting. They were nice people, and they genuinely cared about seeing us make our way in the world.
He kicked a rock slightly angrily, "That's why I always tell you not to rely on people. Because at the end of the day you're the only one living your life. Nobody is going to live it for you."
After a long bout of silence, my brother elbowed my side and laughed, "Hey, don’t be so down; today’s going to be great."
I just nodded and smiled back at him, "Of course!"
My brother suddenly got a text message as the ringtone came, and he pulled out his phone. I watched as a few emotions spread across his face, and eventually he smirked and looked down at me. "Mind if we make a detour?"
"Sure… but what for?" I asked while trying to get a look at his phone.
He held it firmly away from me as he held my head back. "I’ve got to meet up with someone. They’re supposed to be paying me."
"What for?" I hummed with raised brows.
"For things your tiny child brain couldn’t understand at this time." He teased as we changed directions, and he ran ahead.
"Not true!" I yelled back as I ran to catch up.
We made our way through a part of the town I’d never been through before. It was thoroughly descending into what most people would consider "unsafe" as the number of shady-looking individuals increased. We kept taking back alley after alley, each one seeming like more and more of a place I shouldn’t be in.
My brother walked carefully and would often glance back to make sure I was following. He would also put a hand on my chest every once in a while to stop me. "Uh, Damon…" I asked carefully.
"Shush," he commanded me.
I stayed quiet after that, choosing to trust my brother. We made a couple more turns in alleyways before we stopped in one. The alley we were in was quite empty but full of garbage, broken fences, and pallets.
My brother brought his phone out and began rapidly texting off some words, tapping his foot on the ground incessantly with growing impatience. Or was it anxiety? Because that was surely what I was feeling right now. I was practically clinging to the back of Damon’s hoodie.
After a few tense minutes of silence and waiting, somebody walked around the corner up ahead. Black hoodie pulled over his head, sunglasses, and hands in his pocket. He glanced up at us before heading our way.
My brother outstretched his arms widely and practically changed into a different person. "Ah, there you are, my friend. I was afraid you’d gotten lost."
The man in the hoodie stopped a few feet away and took his glasses off. I was surprised by the large scar that adorned his face across the bridge of his nose. It was his most defining feature. He looked ragged and older than my brother by a large margin. He smirked at my brother and said, "I’ve been around here longer than you, kid."
My brother nodded his head, "Of course, of course." Then he clasped his hands together with a serious look. "You said you finally met my payment due, correct?"
The man gave a slow nod and took a few steps forward. "Of course I did."
When the man was close enough, he reached into his pocket. A look of annoyance crossed his face as he clicked his tongue. "Oh… I think I forgot something."
My brother was so caught up in anticipation that he had no time to react to the right hook he took directly to his face. I let go in shock as my brother stumbled to the side and fell into a stack of pallets. "Damon!" I shouted.
The older man glared at me sharply, "Shut up, kid."
He took steps towards my brother, who was only barely recovering off the ground. The man grabbed him by the front of his hoodie and pulled him up to his face. "Ah, you think you can just raise prices on me and expect immediate payment?" He spit in Damon’s face.
My brother grabbed his shirt back, "You don’t want to do this." Damon spat with a look of intense anger.
"Oh, and why not?" The man asked mockingly.
My brother reached into his pocket and quickly flipped open some sort of knife. The man dropped him quickly back onto the pallet. And took a few steps back. "Damon, don’t!" I yelled as I began rushing towards him.
I felt myself choke as the back of my shirt was grabbed, and the mysterious man quickly pulled me over to himself and locked his arm around my head. I struggled desperately to remove it while kicking.
Damon stood up and grunted, "Let him go." He yelled as he rushed forward with his knife.
I heard a clicking sound, and my brother’s face fell as he stopped in his tracks. His entire face went white. I felt the cold sensation of something metal being held to the side of my head. "One. More. Step." The hooded man said.
Damon stuttered as he stood frozen in his place: "H-Hey man, I’ll drop the charge for the month." Damon chuckled nervously. "It’s a good joke, man; hey, let’s negotiate."
I heard the sound of it clicking again as it was pressed harder against my head. I was frozen in fear and didn't know what to do. "Just the month?" He asked.
My brother slowly shook his head, "Hey, how about I give you a… permanent discount? Let’s say… twenty percent less?"
The man slowly began taking the weapon from my head, "Make it thirty."
Damon held his hands up, "Thirty! Thirty is great!"
The man lowered his gun, and my brother took a few careful steps forward. "And forget about the payment today; we’ll call it off this month. Sound good?"
The man holding me nodded as he released a breath himself. The moment the man’s gun lowered, my brother's face contorted in anger. And he rushed him, knife held up.
A bunch of things happened at once: the man slowly aimed his gun upward, and my brother realized the mistake he was making. I also made the worst decision of my life.
I elbowed the man behind me and pushed his arm that was holding the gun away from my brother just as he went to pull the trigger. And somehow, in this mess of confusion, a resounding bang was uttered.
Both of them stopped, and I felt a rather warm sensation rise up from my chest. Looking down, all I could see was red, spreading quickly. I fell to the ground and began coughing, which was red as well.
Red started splattering the ground below me as my head started ringing and my body went numb.
In the aftermath of this, the man still had his gun and was now holding it upward, firmly pointed at my brother, while making his retreat.
My brother had dropped his knife and was now slowly backing away, looking down at me with conflicting emotions.
My vision was blurry and growing worse by the second. I reached my hand out from the ground. "Damon… Help." I gasped loudly.
Damon released an uncharacteristic yelp as he continued to take steps back. I felt tears welling up in my eyes as my body grew colder. I didn’t want to die. "Damon!.." I shouted one last time with the last ounce of my strength.
The scarred man in the alley was completely gone at this point. And I could hear sirens blaring from somewhere nearby. I watched with horror as my brother shook his head and gave me one last glance before adorning his own hood and turning his back on me. Hands in pockets.
"Damon?" I said as tears started pouring from my eyes, "Brother?"
Jane had never cared.
Neither had Eric.
And Damon?..
I watched as the form of my brother disappeared around another alleyway corner, and my final heaving breaths were uttered into this life, completely and utterly alone.
Damon never cared…
…
…
Cadance was desperately holding onto the small alicorn filly in her forelegs while laying on a large pillow. Sitting next to the fire, with a thick, warm blanket wrapped around her. The nurse, a purple mare with white hair and pink streaks, was checking every inch of the filly with care. After checking her last hoof, the nurse stepped back and said, "She’s definitely going to need to be on bed rest for a few days. Thankfully, hypothermia didn’t cause any permanent damage." Cadance and Shining Armor, who was sitting right next to her, sighed in relief.
The nurse continued, "However, she’s malnourished. And her temperature is higher than it should be; she likely has a fever."
Cadance nodded eagerly. "Of course, Moon Petal, I’ll make sure they eat three times a day and get plenty of sleep." Moon bowed her head before swiftly exiting the room. Cadance pulled the filly tighter and nuzzled her carefully.
Flurry got up from her spot and walked over to look down at the filly. "Momma, isn't Kieran just going to run away again?"
Cadance shook her head, "I’ve placed a tracking spell this time. Unless they know how to dispel my magic, they won’t be hiding any time soon."
Flurry seemed happy for a moment, but her face slowly fell into a small frown. "But… Kieran doesn’t want to stay here, momma."
Cadance sighed and shifted Kieran in her forelegs. "Kieran thinks I’m going to get rid of them or otherwise. I’m sure when they realize I don’t intend to, they’ll be willing to stay."
"Speaking of… them. Is there anything we can do about that particular problem? Kieran said that they used to be male, right, Flurry?" Shining Armor asked wearily.
Flurry nodded as Cadance released a low hum. "Possibly. But it would far exceed my own magic knowledge."
Shining nodded with an understanding huff, "I don’t think he’ll be happy when he wakes up."
Cadance hummed as she watched the troubling emotions dance across the young filly’s face. "No, probably not." She agreed with a short sigh.
Shining watched as well, then looked towards Flurry with a smirk. "Alright, missy, it’s far past your bedtime."
"Okay daddy…" Flurry spoke a bit sadly as she led the way back to her room.
Cadance and Shining shared a kiss as Cadance looked down at the filly, who was loudly sleeping and snoring, and released a short giggle. "I’ll be taking this one to bed as well, then."
The family exited the large living space and returned to their quarters after an emotionally exhausting night.
I felt awful. I had a headache. My body felt weak and hot. My mouth was dry, and I was starving. I could barely even register what had happened. I just remembered the cold and running, and then everything went blank.
I slowly forced my eyes to open, and they did so begrudgingly as I looked around me. It was dark, and I actually felt somewhat comfortable. Fear shot through me as I realized somebody was wrapped around me. I struggled to calm my growing panic and not run. My body tensed as my mind raced, and memories flooded back into my brain. ‘Did she actually take me back with her?’
Try as I might, my inability to control my fear worked against me. And I felt the pony wrapped around me slowly stir. I had to get out before she grabbed me and before she woke up. I quickly stood on my hooves and took a few steps back. "Kieran." The voice of Cadance chimed worriedly.
The candle next to the bedside flickered on, and then Shining began to stir in the bed next to her. My worst fears were coming to fruition as I helplessly backed away from the large pink witch. Cadance sat up in bed but made no immediate attempts to control me. "Kieran, no, honey, please don’t be scared." She pleaded with me.
I tripped over the bedsheets, ending up upside down and unable to escape. Cadance sighed before she hesitantly enveloped me with her magic and brought me into her forelegs. I felt far too weak to even protest the action as chills racked my body. She gingerly nuzzled my face as I stared at her in confusion. "It’s okay," she told me worriedly. "You’re safe now."
I wanted to kick and wrestle my way out of her grasp, but my body still felt like it’d been hit by a train. I groaned as I relented to the pain and put a hoof against my head. I sniffed to try and clear my nose, which felt stuffy. Cadance began rocking me. "Shh…"
Trying to escape could wait; I’d just die if I managed to get back out onto the street in this condition. I felt tears filling my vision as I whined, "My head."
"I know, little one," Cadance cooed. "I can get you more medicine."
I tried to block out my vision; everything was too much, and my mind was reeling from it all. At some point, I buried my head in her chest fur; it felt more instinctual than purposeful. "I’m hungry and thirsty." I moaned with a whimper.
Cadance nodded as she rocked me still, "Of course, honey."
Cadance looked over to Shining, who was already standing up as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. "I’ve got it, dear; hang tight, little one." He told me with a sympathetic smile as he left the room.
"Why?" I asked exasperatedly, glancing up at the intensely worried alicorn. "Why are you doing this?"
She must’ve known exactly what I meant because she immediately replied. "Because we care about you."
I shook my head, which caused more head pain as tears streamed down my face. "I told you to leave me alone. I don’t need your help."
Cadance hugged me tighter, "Kieran, you do need our help." She said with a small huff, "And no amount of wishing that fact away will make this any easier for you. But I promise, helping is all we want to do. Nothing more."
I looked away with a sigh of defeat and mumbled, "It just... doesn't make sense…"
She nuzzled me again, "If I had let you die, I’d have felt so terrible. I'm sorry Kieran. I know I gave you the wrong impression; I was being selfish the first time we met. But I do truly love and care for you, as I do for many ponies."
I groaned as another wave of pain washed through my head. "I don't get you ponies and your obsession with affection." I huffed, "I’m not that gullible. When morning comes, I know you're just going to get rid of me so that you and Flurry can have your perfect princess. And I don't care in what way anymore. Just make sure what's left of the old me is gone when you wipe my memory or whatever." I said bitterly.
Cadance sighed sadder than I'd heard her do yet. "Can you please understand that I’m not going to get rid of you in any sense, Kieran?"
I shook my head, "No, I do understand; I've gotten over it already. Nobody just helps someone like me for no reason. You want something out of me. Because otherwise, why else would anyone care? Especially when you can just start over with a brand new daughter after getting rid of me, you have the power to do it."
Cadance began to let a few tears fall from her eyes. "I want you to be safe and happy! I don’t know who hurt you before, little one, but I’m not like them. I promise!"
I felt a slight bit of anger as I released a huff and argued louder than before, "Who said anybody hurt me? Nobody hurt me." I felt another wave of pain and covered my head with both hooves. I released a slight whimper at the feeling.
A few minutes passed, and Shining came in wheeling a small cart. He stopped at the bedside and levitated a small capsule over to my face. "It’ll help with the pain and fever," he reassured me. I relented and opened my mouth as he levitated a glass of water up to my mouth. I swallowed the pill and began drinking as the sweet, cold water began to wash down my throat. I grabbed the glass just to make sure he wouldn’t pull it away as I nearly drank the entire thing.
All the while, Cadance was petting the back of my head. After I drank that, Shining levitated a sandwich over to me. I looked at the contents, which were spilling out, with disdain. Flowers, lettuce, and other greens. It looked wholly unappetizing, but my stomach growled at the prospect of eating it. Cadance stroked my mane, "It’s good, I promise. You have pony tastebuds now."
I relented and allowed Shining to feed me a bite of the sandwich. It tasted just as good as any old sandwich from my world, but to my starving body, it tasted like the best thing alive. Shining could barely keep up with my hunger. I ravenously finished the sandwich and looked a bit disappointed. Shining released a quiet laugh, "Don’t worry, I've got two just in case. Here you are, little one." He smirked, "That last one was Cadance’s favorite; this one is my favorite. I’m somewhat of a sandwich connoisseur, so tell me what ya think."
I looked up with some appreciation as he fed me the new sandwich. A different kind of flower, and it had what tasted like cucumbers and carrots. I couldn’t really pick a favorite between the two since I was so hungry that garbage would probably taste appetizing.
After finishing, I’d eaten more than I probably had in the whole month I’d been here. And I released a satisfying hum as Shining gave me another drink of the glass of water. I attempted to process what I was allowing these two ponies to do with me, but nothing was working up there. It felt blank, but I could tell it was due to exhaustion.
Cadance smiled sweetly, "Is that better?"
I released a large yawn as I nodded my head. "Thank you." I muttered begrudgingly under my breath, I was raised with manners after all.
Shining hummed, "No problem, get some rest." He told me before laying down in bed next to Cadance.
I reached up to rub my eyes, and Cadance pulled me in. Lying down and wrapping her wings around me in what felt like a way to prevent escape. I felt wholly uninterested in arguing against her act. "Sleep, Kieran. You’re safe now." She whispered.
I knew all of this was only temporary. But I had to admit that for a few moments, I did feel a small sense of happiness. It's too bad that the world and it's people doesn't care about your happiness or feelings in the end. If I were to let my guard down at any point, I'd have what little is left of myself ripped away coldly and uncaringly. And I wouldn't let that happen. I would never be safe.
My body relented to her request, and without much trouble, I slept once again.
Poor Kieran...
It's going to take a lot of time and patience just to get the kid to open up about their pat.
To have your entire world shattered and dying in the process, all in a single day, I can totally understand Kieran's pessimistic and untrusting nature.
Oof... I had a feeling that Kieran was abused in some form, but I didn't guess it would be neglectful foster parents and being abandoned by their brother. I hope the little dude sees that the ponies truly do care for them
good chapter
Well i was half right. He did get murdered, and he died protecting a lowlife who proceed to abandon him to die.
Well, that certainly helps explain Kieran's thought process, though not why he fears being 'replaced' as he puts it. Might've made some sense if his foster parents were overly controlling as opposed to neglectful, but that might've been an artifact of his original parents before he and Damon were put into the foster system.
I wonder if Flurry will declare herself his big sister to replace Damon and show him what it means to be a better elder sibling. I hope to see more interactions like this in the coming chapters, these two really do seem like good parents.
Good chapter as always, and I look forward to the next installment! Keep up the great work!
And so…. As he recovered, Kyloren realized the answer of his life, the path towards his destiny.
One day, a portal opened above a human city, emerged from inside is the hardboiled of the pegasi crystal empire has to offered, the crystal airforce!
Green gas spread over city, the synthesis chemical nicknamed pon-e by the unicorn scholars.
One by one, bipedal denizens mutated into quadruple furred creatures.
Kyloren has realized the true reason of his suffering, the reason why the world was the way it was.
“Rejoiced, my former brethren.” The voice of god emperor of the crystal throne resounded. “No longer will you be neglected or suffered”
Flown by his side, his twin smiled, prouded at how far her siblings has grown.
“For I will be the one who correct that mistake” Smiled the crossdressing alicorn, the holy emperor of crystal imperium.
TBC: Rising of the Meth Empire
I never properly read a TCB btw, I hope this is accurate enough.
11610495
Kieran doesn't think he's wanted. So, when a magical pony princess says they wanted another daughter when he thinks of himself as a he, that might lead someone to think said magic pony might try and turn him into their perfect version of a daughter instead of listening to his wishes. An irrational fear, but considering Kieran has only ever been betrayed by the ones he thought loved him, a teenager might jump to conclusions. Especially one that only thinks the worst of everyone.
Ain't nasturtiums, I tell you that.
11610582
Fair point well made, but it doesn't taste quite right to me. I feel like there might be more to that story that we're not currently aware of.
And getting magically reincarnated into another world does?
No words were needed little one
This chapter explains a lot actually. They will need a lot of time and effort to fix the mental trauma.
Overall greatly written…
11610552
3 important notes when trying to take over earth.
Oh that poor kid. I hope that Cadance and Shining can give him/her the love and care that they have always deserved
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I think you’re right, perception is everything, and it can often cause you to make the wrong conclusions. His emotions were running high at the moment after learning his foster parents were… not good people. So when he saw his brother panicking he might have taken it as once again being betrayed. When just as easily he could have been running to desperately to find help, I doubt he was thinking clearly…
11607836
Considering how long lived Alicorns are there’s a chance their fertility is “much” lower than other pony races. Cadence might have gotten lucky having Flurry at such a “relatively” young age compared to her aunts.
11610582
This, so much this. While Cadences first instinct is to smother him with love and affection, I’m worried this might backfire. As he could perceive it as her trying to manipulate him into being her perfect daughter. Instead she needs to show she and Shining are there for him. Let him come out of his shell and get a little more comfortable, a little structure goes a long way. Things like family meals, thoughtful (but not just “expensive”!) gifts, outings, allowing him to explore under their supervision. It will allow them to learn about him indirectly and make it easier to start building a bridge with common interests.
It's curious. If he thinks they could just brainwash him away, then why would they spend so much effort not doing so for weeks? They've had multiple opportunities, and it would be so much easier. How long until he stops to think critically?
Wow, I don't even know what to say for this. Kieren did not have a good life, and I now see why he refused so harshly to be helped...
Wow.
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He been hurt to much to think logically about it considering his brother abandoned him. His foster parents didn't care in the first place. He never known anyone who truly cares about him so its hard for him to trust.
11610682
It's not about trust. It's motivational fallacy. But we agree that trauma is likely overriding logical thought.
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The thing is that most pony-invade-hoomin go about it in the wrong way. Our civilization is very fragile and easy to collapse if you attack at the weak points.
The best option is the risk-free option. Just wait for about a half of a century or so and we will collapse ourself.
If they want to to make it quicker, then use their magic, cut off world's commodities while disrupted geopolitic is also a good option. "all of the oil deposited in the world except russia's turned into water" or "lithium deposited in the world somehow turned into salt, except latin america's"
But it's not fun, isn't it?
And you can't compare current US army to cold war era. US no longer has big manufacturing industry, it no longer has the same stamina as it were. It's just that the rest of the world also like them. Europe spend too little on defense. Russia and Chiana are filled with corruption.
Not that equestia can won against them in direct confrontation, mind you.
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Humanity will survive. We stumbled countless times, but we always got back up, and continued. I can say with certainty that one day we will unite and reach for the stars…
Help is nice, but we will have to go our own way, or not at all. Compare today to 100 years ago. We have achieved so much, and it only continues. Space travel, medicine, technology, the reach of the internet and the science of quantum systems.
I trust in technology, cooperation and intelligence, for it has always outlasted greed and violence and makes up the foundation of our species.
Edit: Why the hell am I rambling about this? 😅
11610716
It just feel like a hopium koolaid. Global warming. Slavery trade. Possibility of nuclear war. Rise of facism. Overall global dept. Failed resource allocations.
Damn, this was heavy. But a good read nonetheless.
Honestly, I am surprised that Luna didn't show up to either question or comfort him about these events. Probably the later.
I do not know what to write, so I will say one thing. This chapter, according to my criteria, is close to ideal. From naivety to hurt to comfort.
What a shitty family holy f*ck.
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You have a common problem, many people have. You fail to look at the positive.
I’m not gonna blame you, the media is an expert at turning us depressed by showering us with bad news, but if you can look deeper, you will quickly find the little things in life, which may help you regain hope in humanity. There are only so many bad people, everyone else is good. They simply prefer to remain silent, good people are to humble to brag their achievements to the world.
Give it a try, I’m sure you can see the world more positive if you look at it from a better angle, simply widen your horizon… 🙂
11610656
I was just thinking that the author is setting things up so that Kieran bonds more with Shining. Cadance is too clingy and he just doesn't get the idea of unconditional love for a child. But a "tough but fair military dad" character might be something that he can understand, and maybe even what he needs.
I hope Flurry will have a better relationship with their brother.
11611027
I hear…. Dorky Dad Camping Trip! I like that idea honestly, Shinging might be more understanding of his aversion to “unconditional love” thus more willing to let him make the first move. I feel that he really needs that bit of control to feel safe and confident in any sort of relationship.
Okay i know cps can screw up in foster caring bit to allow a couple that live in a condemned building is a huge stretch
11611240
…. I wish I could say it was that much of a stretch, considering CPS got in hot water in my hometown for something similar. Among other messed up stuff that the agents didn’t pick up until AFTER the foster parents were being dragged off to prison.
Thanks for the chapter.
11611249
Yes some of those are nice and hidden but again a house that should be condemend and that wasn't a flag?
yay! there is the Trama! :D
11611316
It should be a red flag. But CPS agents aren't paid enough to actually care about the welfare of the kids. Nor is their job future and security actually contingent upon them doing their job properly. They and their agents have been busted breaking up good families simply because they were in a bad mood, and nothing of significance ever happened to the guilty parties.
11611362
Again they can be stupid but this
11610798
No, sorry but no.
I can't look at humanity and say it's good
The human being is egocentric by nature, the whole life is, always thinking of himself, thinking that he is the center of everything and without worrying about others. You're still innocent, believing that we can live in a better world, but then you grow up to find out that the world is cruel, ruthless, and has a sick sense of humor, that people love lies, adore them, what they don't like it's find out that they were actually lies, that's why we can only look for a better world but not find it, and to make matters worse we are nothing more than puppets obeying blindly the orders from above, freedom is just an illusion, we only live in a better jail
So no, I can't believe that one day we will achieve world peace, before then, we will end up extinct, I am the first to admit that i wish i was wrong, but I see reality and apparently everything is just an unfair game that we play without our consent.
And sit we will, till the stars fly, forever.
(The popularity isn't too surprising personally, quality is good, timing of release was good, story idea and the way the early chapters spur ones imagination are good, and that creates discussion too.)
11610716
I agree. It may take years before we get rid of the hate for different people and able to being reaching for the stars but I believe as much as we dream of going beyond the moon it has happen someday. Hopefully when we do we can be one people instead worrying about where someone family tree comes from.
11611809
I simply look at the people, not humanity as a whole. Life is improving, slowly, but constantly for everyone. I’ve seen how ugly people can be, and I know how many liers there are, but I constantly run into amazing people regularly enough to preserve my hope in humanity.
A few people can change the world with enough persistence, you lose once you give up.
Well, looks like the comment section turned into Kieran's vs Cadance's worldview
I personally think that the fact that humans have the drive to make the world a better place is evidence enough that we are not completely horrible. You simply can not deny there are good people out there after all, and I think everyone deserves a good person in their life, so they could become good people too, after all, positivity is what drives most people into ponies in the first place (at least I think)
Onto the story itself, out of all the scenarios that I thought up in my head, getting shot by a drug addict and then abandoned by his only brother certainly was not one of them. It's ironic too, you can say that Dameon was just describing his own philosophy on others to Kieran, since others abandoned him he will abandon others, and therefore he left Kieran to die to avoid jail time. The saying goes "Those who don't trust can't be trusted," although I prefer "Those who don't trust need love and support."
Anyways that was my comment, I hope you have a wonderful day
11611837
Hate is integral to human nature itself. It's as much a facet of our species as our two arms and two legs design is ingrained into our DNA. It's not something that we can get rid of.
We as a species have devoted our entire existence to looking for bigger and better way to kill ourselves off from the very beginning. Every technological advancement we've made has been to make our work easier, and to facilitate killing off people we deem as the enemy under any criteria we can justify.
If we didn't have distinctions like race or religion to use as justifications for wanting to kill people off, we'd be resorting to height and eye color as an excuse. Hell, Twitter is filled to the brim with people who'll murder you for a difference of opinion. If you ship two characters they don't like together, you're on their shit list and will bombard you with death threats until you delete your account. Just a few days ago one dude drove over 700 miles across country, just to torch a woman's car for what she said online that he didn't like.
Hate is never, ever going to go away, anymore than our need for oxygen will. It's just not possible.
11612679
Got to have hope that we will get rid of it considering we come pretty far compared to where we were. Women weren't slightly equal once and people with colored skin were slaves and second class citizens once but we were forced to see the light and for the most part we have become better. Sure we still have some work to do but bit by bit we will get there though it might take a long time before we see a major difference.
I declare this story to be entertaining and fun to read.
i love this so much convert for the next chapter
11610660
Not all brainwashing is magical. There's the mundane type too.
11615157
Sure, but magical is one of the very few available techniques that can do so in such massively short time spans.