Re: [GRIMDARK] Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons Discussion

[Sindri]

I can't help but feel that Unity is going to have a role in how this one plays out...one way or another.

Point. Is she going to get a new alicorn body? We're headed into a new volume... and V3 started when she became a cyberzombie and ended when that body died, maybe that's how they're separated? V1 is Blackjack as a pony, V2 is Blackjack as a mutant, V3 is Blackjack as a cyborg, V4 is Blackjack as an alicorn? (V5 is Blackjack as a goddess or as a city, but that's a ways off)

If so it should be a lot of fun. Fresh wings, great big horn... might be a bit uncomfortable for Glory, but then maybe they'll bond further on both being stuck in the wrong body.

A few things I have to say: Personally I'm not a huge fan of the endless action. I know it has to be there but sometimes I feel it runs a little too long, not a big deal but personally I'm more of a fan of the plot development and interactions of the characters.

Endless action is boring. That's one of the reasons I like PH; it's about people, and relationships, and mysteries, and conspiracies, and morality, not fighting. There's a lot of fighting sure, but it's there to serve everything else. Hightower was action heavy, yes, but I don't think it went too far and it was interspersed with a lot of clues to the past, developments of and between characters (and so much teasing of the shippers)... it was definitely better than, say, the Everfree Forest in Kkat's story. More action than this would probably be too far, and it should not have gone on much longer than it did, but I think this was good.

can we assume that Blackjack is related to Rarity considering the out of nowhere flashback memories and possibly her ability to play Octavia's contrabass well (considering P-21 and others couldn't really do jack with it) because of her presence during the soul-split? Other hints seem to conclude the putting of friends before themselves. I guess this is a little obvious but whatever.

Those weren't memories, they were recordings. The first was from a camera that Rarity told Angel not to smash, the second and third were from the documentation of her necromantic experiments. I don't know yet how specifically Blackjack got them or why they were playing now, but they aren't a direct link to her. And there's still no evidence that Rarity ever reproduced, and a lot in favor of the theory that Tarot was genetically Twilight's.

can someone explain Rampage's "Pinks" nickname for Blackjack? I know it was stated somewhere but I can't remember the context.

Razorwire calls her that, because to her "security" means "Pinkie Pie's thugs".

So far, a kiss from Blackjack is a sure sign you will not die. Next time she needs to line up all her friends Patton style and plant a wet one on each before going into certain death.

New standard procedure: prior to any risky engagement all allies are to fire one (1) round into Blackjack and receive one (1) kiss, preferably of a sloppy variety. Casualty rates are expected to reduce at least 70%.

So it won't be long before she starts beating people to death with their own skull?

That doesn't seem physically possible!

If you get this I love you

>Cell 712! Shady Legs is supposed to be in there!

hmm, so Ahulizotl was a prisoner here, and a special one at that,

Shit you're right. I'm betting he was in there for zebra sympathies and/or conspiracy. Which then answers the question of how he knew about Kingpin and raises the one of how he got out...

since when did ammunition have a flavors?

Since she started eating it. Get with the program!

"More ‘Hoofington sucks dock’ reminders."
Well, I guess a city would be large enough to suck on docks.

Look up equine anatomy.

I wonder how she will mold the pieces of her soul to those akin to the other 5?

That was answered in Littlepip's story. Rarity had a spell that would take a "picture" or imprint of the soul of another when they touched it (prototype was on the funhouse mirror in Red Eye's city, final model was in the carpet at Dash's big reveal of the shadowbolt power armor IIRC), and she used the imprints of her friends collected from that and another spell out of the Black Book to make the fragments cut off her own soul functionally identical to the souls of the other five.

And the assault rifles were mentioned before; they raided the armory and got a lot of rifles, shotguns, and one missile launcher. BJ took the launcher and left the rest with the ten friendly guards.

[SilentCarto]

That's right! Éirinn go Brách! The motto of the language is "At least it's not Welsh."

That made me laugh out loud.

Also I agree, BJ needs another break. Hightower seemed almost as brutal as Hippocratic. I can only imagine what Shadowbolt Tower would be like.

Three words: Occupied by Thunderhead.

I wonder why Shifty having done dealings with zebras is of interest to Blackjack, though the aswer is probably simple enough.

Shifty -- Ahuizotl -- was the one fencing supplies for the director of Yellow River before the bombs fell, and was also the one who told the Remnant about Shujaa's body being shipped there if they wanted to find the Phoenix talisman.

That doesn't seem physically possible!
If you get this I love you

That's exactly what Jimmy kept screaming!

Heh, BJ and Co. pretending to be a SWAT team was awesome. Just pure awesome. she really needs to stop lying to delusional ghoul's though, it's probably going to come back and bite her later.

There's something to be said for using the path of least resistance to get them out of there before you start psychological counseling.

>Cell 712! Shady Legs is supposed to be in there!
hmm, so Ahulizotl was a prisoner here, and a special one at that,

Ahuizotl is Shifty, not Shady Legs.

Ah, thank you. The last one, however, is not a mistake but a reference to Goliath, the train-pulling pony from Chapter 36.

Ohhhh. Well, "Goliathian" is still pretty awkward. Maybe "Goliath's proportions"?

"More ‘Hoofington sucks dock’ reminders."
Well, I guess a city would be large enough to suck on docks.

The dock is the fleshy part of a horse's tail.

Also, the mental effects seem to be showing; Xanthe’s accent is bad enough that I suspect her default mutterings would not be in the zebra tongue otherwise.

Her accent is bad because she's 200 years isolated from the original culture. The Remnant is now a fully bilingual society, out of simple necessity, which quickly corrupted their pronunciation compared to a native speaker from before the war like Shujaa.

Point. Is she going to get a new alicorn body? We're headed into a new volume... and V3 started when she became a cyberzombie and ended when that body died, maybe that's how they're separated? V1 is Blackjack as a pony, V2 is Blackjack as a mutant, V3 is Blackjack as a cyborg, V4 is Blackjack as an alicorn?

Fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff... That... makes more sense than I'd prefer it to... (But I LIKE her cyborg body! And she's only had it for like three days!)

Actually, if we're going with the whole "blend of souls" view of the Unity, I'll bet BJ could borrow Lacunae's body for a few minutes when they get back to Star House.
"Hi, Glory." *SMOOOOOOOOCH*

[Ketchup]

I wonder how she will mold the pieces of her soul to those akin to the other 5?

That was answered in Littlepip's story. Rarity had a spell that would take a "picture" or imprint of the soul of another when they touched it (prototype was on the funhouse mirror in Red Eye's city, final model was in the carpet at Dash's big reveal of the shadowbolt power armor IIRC), and she used the imprints of her friends collected from that and another spell out of the Black Book to make the fragments cut off her own soul functionally identical to the souls of the other five.

And the assault rifles were mentioned before; they raided the armory and got a lot of rifles, shotguns, and one missile launcher. BJ took the launcher and left the rest with the ten friendly guards.

Now that you mention it, I remember the part when they cut Rarity's soul in a memory orb.

They had quite a haul on their backs: shotguns, pistols, even a missile launcher!

They didn't mention any assault rifles.

I wonder why Shifty having done dealings with zebras is of interest to Blackjack, though the aswer is probably simple enough.

Shifty -- Ahuizotl -- was the one fencing supplies for the director of Yellow River before the bombs fell, and was also the one who told the Remnant about Shujaa's body being shipped there if they wanted to find the Phoenix talisman.

Okay, thanks.

That doesn't seem physically possible!
If you get this I love you

That's exactly what Jimmy kept screaming!

...While Tex(?) was beating him to death with his own skull.

[Caoimhe]

V4 is Blackjack as an alicorn? (V5 is Blackjack as a goddess or as a city, but that's a ways off)

Wherein I get critical:

I hope the latter doesn't happen. One of my biggest disappointments with KKat's story was the inevitable and predicted conclusion of some sort of assent to godliness. I said it before elsewhere but it seemed to me that after living a life of pain and struggle that for Littlepip, being isolated from her friends (for the most part) to save the world was slightly cliched and too bittersweet for the struggle she had to go through. Celestia's suggestions of "other ways" to accomplish the task seemed to drive it in hard, too. I felt really REALLY bad for Homage too. She never even got to see LP first hand before everything went down. It also makes her sadness in PH's dinner party feel all the more worse. Despite data given about LP's injuries, the slight mention in the Epilogue about her seeing LP on birthdays seemed like a copout too.

One of the themes of PH is Blackjack struggling to maintain her "humanity" for lack of a better word and an assent to godliness at the end would go against that. I'd be happy to see BJ end up as some ruler of the Hoof at peace somewhere. Even keeping more in line with her personality and bookendy would be to help set up a form of government and set herself up in a quiet life as a head of security just like her mom (but in a peacekeeper manner completely opposite of 99 of course).

Another thing is, although having Carrion/Styggy/Psycho and all the new characters are cool, I hope that later on they go off somewhere because Blackjack's party is getting pretty damn huge. Already in Hightower, while necessary to have a big group, some characters such as Stygius were for the most part reduced to only a scant few lines of mention (he only had one real line of "dialogue" in the last chapter, too). For such a new character significant to BJ's development in the story. I feel this didn't do him well. This is why I hope at least a few of the new guys are separated/killed off or otherwise leave in some capacity.

This leads to one of the biggest problems with KKat's climax I had (in addition to being told in media res). Being that gathering pretty much everyone loyal to Littlepip reduced the amount of time spent with her longtime loyal friends for "last words." It just felt very wrong.

However it all happens, I know Somber will do it right!

Me being a fangirl for romance, I also hope Glory and BJ get it on more soon, too. This could me projecting, being lesbian and coincidentally having the same hair color as Blackjack, though. :P Glory's just too cute and "evil!"

[Valikdu]

great big horn... might be a bit uncomfortable for Glory

Did you put these two sentences next to each other on purpose?

I heard that Curtis!

PHANTASMAGORIA!!!

[Sindri]

There are four big ways I can see Blackjack's story ending.

First is she dies. Probably a heroic sacrifice, since a failure against the kinds of things she's fighting would prevent the happy peaceful ten years later that we heard from Fluttershy. But if there's one big theme to the story, it's that light doesn't always prevail, anyone can die, and nobody can save everyone. It isn't what she deserves, but there's a good chance it's what she'll get.

Second option is ascension, to god or devil. She's marked by the stars since before birth, fighting something bigger than the whole population of the planet, and she's already been... changing. As important as it is that she stay who she is, it's more important that she not fail at the big things, because if she does every soul on this planet if not beyond will be devoured.

Third option she's left in control of the Hoof as Queen Whiskey. After taking down whoever is currently in control of the Core she uses EC-1101 to become its ruler, either after defeating the eater or in order to prevent it from rising. She turns the worst part of the Wasteland into one of the safest, lets Glory and P-21 deal with all the administrative crap, and lives to a ripe, drunk old age.

And finally, the most pleasant and least likely possibility, she solves all the big problems sufficiently that she can retire. Live a quiet life with her friends and leave everything important to some cleverer pony.


As for party size, yes the current number is unwieldy, but it won't last long. Several will drop off at Meatlocker if it's still around, others will settle at Chapel... Rampage and Lacunae are in it for the duration, SSXanthe is almost certainly following her Mistress for the foreseeable future, Glory and Blackjack will be and stay together as soon and as long as circumstances allow, but other than them it's almost entirely unknown. P-21 has a daughter to raise and is probably still detoxing, so he's unsuited to adventure. Psychoshy and Stygius might stay in the party or might settle down as defenders of one settlement or another. Cerberus and Carrion would almost certainly prefer to follow Blackjack into combat, but their respective masters are unlikely to allow it. Snails and Silver Spoon are staying at Meatlocker.

Did you put these two sentences next to each other on purpose?

...Sure, why not? That was totally intentional, and for purposes of humor!

[Caoimhe]

Those are all good points, not really sure why I jumped to some sort of super happy ending considering what attracts me to PH the most is how unconventional a lot of it is.

I'm not sure what Somber's long term plans are with it but it would be interesting to see it continue after Littlepip's big sleep as the original epilogue alludes to nation building and such and everyone knows peace doesn't happen overnight. Hoofington is just too mysterious for LP's sacrifice to solve literally everything in the world at once.

As part of my research I've looked a bunch at a Fallout wiki information as I've never played the games and the post-main game content would seem to keep in line with this type of progression.

I would honestly start my own side story in this universe if I had time. :P

[Kippershy]

Well just so you know; my story setting begins just a couple of days before the big fight and plans to

super heavy spoiler:

[Mikas]

Well I'm off to visit family in locales where any internet connection is elusive, does not like my laptop, and is generally far too slow (just in case I don't pop up for a month). Here's my post for all the little things I've found rereading PH.

Typos, Errors, or Clarifications:

Stuff that I found interesting:

I wish I had written up a nice big review/commentary for Inferno but I got a little too caught up in reading the story when I did have the chance. I will say that it was amazing and that it certainly holds up to its predecessors. I think I detected some Conservation of Ninjutsu regarding the Flame Ghouls hehe. The only error I noticed was a missing quotation mark but I figure someone else has that covered.
Sorry for any weird formatting.

[Admiral Stoic Rum]

Whoa awesome chapter somber!

[Caoimhe]

Well,
that sounds like there’s something here needs judging.


Should be a “that” after here

Not really, that'd be a little wordy. Could be reworded as "Well, sounds like there's something here that needs judging." or "Well, sounds like something here needs judging."

Chapter 31


“Something wrong here…” I muttered as I
checked the twentieth desk.


Should be “something's” since otherwise it's a question
rather than the statement which is implied

This seems more of a lazy dialect choice since it's a muttering.

[O. Hinds]

Point. Is she going to get a new alicorn body? We're headed into a new volume... and V3 started when she became a cyberzombie and ended when that body died, maybe that's how they're separated? V1 is Blackjack as a pony, V2 is Blackjack as a mutant, V3 is Blackjack as a cyborg, V4 is Blackjack as an alicorn? (V5 is Blackjack as a goddess or as a city, but that's a ways off)

If so it should be a lot of fun. Fresh wings, great big horn... might be a bit uncomfortable for Glory, but then maybe they'll bond further on both being stuck in the wrong body.

Also, despite what happened in Hightower (…or maybe in part because of it, actually. After all, yes, Blackjack avoided falling of the edge, but she gave a good display of just how close she is), I bet that alicorn!Blackjack would be really reassuring to Xanthe.

Well, "Goliathian" is still pretty awkward. Maybe "Goliath's proportions"?

Hm… Sorry, but I think that the current version is fine.

This could me projecting, being lesbian and coincidentally having the same hair color as Blackjack, though.

…How does one happen to get black-and-red-striped hair?

Well I'm off to visit family in locales where any internet connection is elusive, does not like my laptop, and is generally far too slow (just in case I don't pop up for a month). Here's my post for all the little things I've found rereading PH.

Typos, Errors, or Clarifications:

Stuff that I found interesting:

I wish I had written up a nice big review/commentary for Inferno but I got a little too caught up in reading the story when I did have the chance. I will say that it was amazing and that it certainly holds up to its predecessors. I think I detected some Conservation of Ninjutsu regarding the Flame Ghouls hehe. The only error I noticed was a missing quotation mark but I figure someone else has that covered.
Sorry for any weird formatting.

Ah, thank you.

Chapter 36


Rooms
was on fire still, and from the four dead manticores it was clear that at least
one monsterpony had been here as well.


Unless Rooms is a name for something the “was” should be
“were”

Rooms is the hotel in Flank.

[Icy Shake]

"More ‘Hoofington sucks dock’ reminders."
Well, I guess a city would be large enough to suck on docks.

The dock is the fleshy part of a horse's tail.

Figured I was missing something like that (hence it being in commentary, not edits), but it's always nice to learn something new.
That said, at this point I can't stop thinking about a bunch of buildings folding up Inception-style and sucking on some transportation infrastructure, and finding it pretty funny. And if any city could do it, it would be Hoofington, right?

Also, since I forgot in the last post: my congratulations and thanks go out to Somber and editors on finishing another wonderful part of the story. Your story and the community that coalesced around it are two of the most fun and engaging parts of my life right now. Somber, I wish you the best of luck in your coming job search, and hope your move goes well generally.

[Sindri]

I bet that alicorn!Blackjack would be really reassuring to Xanthe.

What? She's just a great huge midnight-blue pony with a star-touched mane occasionally referring to herself as a Goddess, flying about on wings that blot out the sun, and spewing death magic from her massive pointy horn. I don't know what everypony's getting so excited about. She's not even stabbing somebody with their own bones.

[Somber]

Thank you everypony. I'm really glad that chapter 48 worked. I was hoping for a 'Dante's inferno' vibe at the end. There was a LOT of stuff in this high tower arc... stuff for marauders, ministry mare stuff, and Rarity's soul jars. While a lot of it seems like fluff, really I was struggling just to keep things on track. Now we know what Rarity did to create armor and to lead to Rampage. And the figurines.

Something that I often do is I like to ask 'where did the idea for that come from?' I mean I absolutely ADORE how Kkat took something as insignificiant as Vault-tec bobbleheads and gave them so much more meaning and impact, but it made me as 'why did Rarity feel she had to rip her soul into 43 pieces to save her friends' rather than simply... well... spending more time with them? Quitting? Something like that.' I could only surmise that it stemmed from some sort of great, personal guilt. And since FoE is a study in how ministry mares mess up, I thought about how Rarity just dropped the 'soul armor' in FoE. Just dropped? Rarity? Rarity doesn't just drop anything. Something else had to happen, like the soul armor were failures. Of course, then it gave me the excuse to make Rampage, but then if begged why did Rarity stop that project as well? Answer: Fluttershy. And so, faced with the enormity of what she'd done, she realized to things: she'd committed a great wrong, and if she was going to help others, she'd need to actually help them.

There were a few things that probably count as 'Fluff'... The battle with the gangs against the Harbingers... Yellow River... even all of Happy Horn. And of course what happened in Goldenblood's house too. When I asked at the end of 41 if people wanted it quick or not, I was basically deciding whether or not to have those chapters. It meant fudging thing and not really answering some threads, but those chapters were very well recieved so I'm glad.

If there is something else I'd have changed... going in to Hightower with 11 ponies was nuts. Trying to keep the focus on that many characters was crazy. More than once I was asking myself 'why is she even there!?' Really, I should have gone in with five: BJ, Rampage, Xanthe, Carrion, and Snips. But I wanted to go for an oceans 11 vibe and it made for a REALLY crowded cast. My editors constantly were asking 'where is So and So, what is she doing?' There's a reason why most active cast members top out at five or six: it's really tough to give them the screen time they deserve.

Anyway, thank you so very much to everypony who gave me feedback. It means so much to me. I hope that we get back on track with the story soon. I really want P-21, Glory, and Scotch back with the group... not to mention Boo! It's been too long without her! The next arc is Thunderhead. BJ has to deal with the Society, then the Goddess, and then Getting into Shadowbolt Tower to not only find out what EC-1101 is, but to deal with Lighthooves as well, once and for all.

Oh. I'm also curious: what sort of things do you WANT to see in the comming chapters? Aside from what Project Horizons is... that's coming! I promise!

[Vergil]

Eleven party members may have been a bit much and I'll admit I had a bit of difficulty tracking where everyone was the entire time, but in retrospect I don't think I would have liked the chapter more without any of them.

That, and I'll be honest: Lacunae has really grown on me in the last few chapters. She's easily my second favorite character now, so I just like having her around.

As for what I want to see...not much has changed for me there since I began reading this story months ago: the death of the Goddess and the sonic radboom. Maybe the latter of those two won't be that big of a deal here, but hey I can dream.

[Sindri]

Oh. I'm also curious: what sort of things do you WANT to see in the coming chapters?

I'll hold off on asking about mysteries for now (official reason? You'll get to them when it's most appropriate and you have a way better sense of pacing than I do. Real reason? Soo many mysteries. I'd need a half hour with my notes to even figure out what to ask, which is a problem since I haven't been taking notes). Likewise I can't really ask for anything relating too closely to Blackjack and Lacunae and the Goddess since I have no idea what's next with that whole soul-torn-out thing.


Let's see... more insight into Stygius. He's done kind of a lot of awesome stuff as a member of the party so far, but we still know very little about him as a person. Linked to this would be advancement of his and Psychoshy's relationship, and her development as she figured out how to live without Sanguine (and maybe even gets a real name).

Reunion with Glory, and subsequent Glory never leaving the party again. Um, if that's alright with you and your story plans. It has been far too long.

Xanthe. Lots more Xanthe. I doubt we could have too much adorable cursed zebra ninja engineer.

P-21 getting better.

Charity being awesome and coming into possession of all the caps. Exhaustive possession. Monopolization, in fact.

Lacunae x Stronghoof. Also preferably an arrangement between the Reapers and the good Rangers for the good of the Hoof, but I don't know what your plans are there.

Most of all? Downtime. This was a lot of action. Not too much, but enough than more might be. Whatever happens to Blackjack she needs rest, everybody needs a chance to calm down and talk things out, and we need a chance to delve into interpersonal relations and slap some more duct tape on all the fragmented psyches while nobody's shooting at them. At this point I don't recall any specific deadlines, though the threats of the Harbingers and the Eater of Souls are gradually growing, so there isn't much pressure to keep going right now. I for one would not be at all disappointed by a chapter completely free of combat after Hightower, and unless something bad comes up I don't see much reason to start running again before, say, the death of the Goddess. Unless of course you have more that needs to happen by then.

[Mister Nikel]

My god. This chapter. I don't know what was the deal with it, maybe Smber feeling sorry that he won't update after this for a while? I won't even talk about the rest of the chapter. The warden battle was simply the most brilliant fight related piece of media I've ever seen. The war of mordor? Crap. Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader? Boring. Everything fails in comparison. I literaly sat with my mouth wide open and just slowly whispering holy shit over and over again as I nearly broke my mouse from grasping it so hard. Somber manages to break quality checks every damn time. Until this point Somber was my favorite fanfiction author. He is my favorite author period now. This single climax that we've been waiting for a month is worth so freaking much. I don't even know where to begin, the setting, the descriptions, the emotions, the charcters, my god. Would it be weird to say that the greatets boss battle I've ever seen is from a recursive fallout/mlp fan fiction? I mean, Vs Deus was great. Vs Appocratic research was amazing, but this....my god. Somber I would kiss you if I could. You are the best. I love you.

[Scootayay]

My previous measly little comment about the chapter was a little unsatisfactory since I only pointed out some errors and didn't say anything about the chapter itself, so here you go.


Overall a fantastic chapter, even if it's not one of my favorites. A little bit too much action for my taste, but typical for Project Horizons all the action scenes were interspersed with a lot of new information and character development. That's what I really love about Project Horizons: the intricate back-story and the complex characters.

Lacunae's "death" was quite touching and I really wasn't sure if she really died at that moment or not, even though I already somewhat knew that she'd survive because I, against better judgment, opened one of the spoiler tags here(I'm really stupid, I know).

Doof's "humanization"(is there really no pony word for that?) was another thing I really liked. There is no black and white, only shades of grey. Now I really wonder what Rampage's/Twist's reaction would be if they/she saw that recording. (Did she? she was right next to Blackjack)

The warden was somewhat worthy of a mustache twirl, but I'll attribute that to him being a giant asshole already before the bombs, ghoulification and my own inability to pick up on even the simplest clues. I really wonder though why he is the only one that was turned into a giant fiery monstrosity when there were plenty of other ponies in a similar situation and even closer to the warhead. Next thing, why is he a balefire ghoul? As far as I understand it balefire ghouls are created when ponies get soaked in the radioactive fire the faulty missile leaked, but the warden was nowhere near the fire, the warhead was below him.(was it?)
About the ending; 2/3 volumes end with Blackjack dying. It's really becoming a habit now isn't it? One Blackjack should probably loose, death's bad for your health
I'm very curious how Blackjack will get out of her current situation("misplaced" soul, death and everything), I have no idea how she'll survive that. (Oh hello Goddess, almost didn't see you there)
Also I'm really interested what will happen to Blackjack and Lacuae once/when LittlePip nukes the Goddess, especially if the Goddess has something to to/is responsible with Blackjack's survival.
I really hope Blackjack doesn't become an alicorn or worse, a goddess. Overpowered main characters? Cliché ending? No thank you!

Thank you Somber for regularly bringing us this gift of awesomeness. I really hope everything goes well with your move, I wish you the best of luck. Take all the time you need, your personal life always comes first. No one will mind a little waiting.
Thank you O. Hinds. Thank you Bronode. Thank you Snipehamster. I can only marvel at such dedication. *applauds*

[Scootayay]

What I want to see in the coming chapters? Basically what Sindri said, but most importantly rest, Blackjack and Glory reuniting and a whole lot of psyche mending for both Blackjack and Rampage. Oh and then there's the matter of Blackjack currently having no soul, but I guess that is coming in any case.

[222222]

@Scootayay: The warden was super big and stuff because the bomb had a direct column of unobstructed space pointing straight at him. Also Snails cast some spells on him, but I think that mostly had to do with controlling the computers and robots.
@Somber: What would I like to see? 50 Shades of Blackjack. Or I guess lots of shipping and character developement without much action. For a little while at least. But honestly, you have gone 48 chapters without any big mistakes, so whatever you think is best is probably better than my ideas.

[Scootayay]

@Scootayay: The warden was super big and stuff because the bomb had a direct column of unobstructed space pointing straight at him. Also Snails cast some spells on him, but I think that mostly had to do with controlling the computers and robots.

Yes, but I doubt he was the only one to be that exposed to the bomb, there had to be others as well. Could be that the others were not constantly exposed because they could still move to less exposed areas, which the warden couldn't because he was stuck. But then again, there were other ponies stuck, directly exposed to the bomb. Still doesn't explain why he's a fire-ghoul though.

[Cptadder]

Oh. I'm also curious: what sort of things do you WANT to see in the comming chapters? Aside from what Project Horizons is... that's coming! I promise!

I want three things because rule of three and all that.

One, The Goddess and Blackjack's various mental voices gets more screen time. Because I like how human... err pony you made the Goddess in PH VS how The Great and Powerful Goddess was in Fallout Equestra where she was just an antagonist until Canterlot. She's in Blackjack's head and she's been shut down due to the Enervation fields but now... now I'd like to see how she deals with Blackjack being in her tank of goo just as she is in Blackjack's head. I just picture Blackjack recovering at the Star House and....

Goodnight Blackjack:

So yeah, more time for the various voices and tiny felt creatures in Blackjack's head time to sit down and have tea.

Second I'd another good look at Rampage post Tower, maybe her starting to take advantage of her nature, like dragging Twist to the front to start using firearms, or the Zebra who's name slips my mind to get some Zebra-fu boost mid battle. I want to see if Rampage is a collective or a operator. Will Rampage start trying to pull up her personalities and by trying tin envoce them perhaps she can gain control over the Angel? I like the idea of a possession battle forming in Rampages head with the various personalities forming sides in her own mind, Twist, Doc Oc and the Zebra on one side, the Angel and Razorwire on the other maybe with the Officer refusing to come out because of the Angel, maybe a new personality breaking to the front. It seems Twist was the last piece but what about all the pieces between?


And third I want to second Sindri Downtime

Oh. I'm also curious: what sort of things do you WANT to see in the coming chapters?

Most of all? Downtime. This was a lot of action. Not too much, but enough than more might be. Whatever happens to Blackjack she needs rest, everybody needs a chance to calm down and talk things out, and we need a chance to delve into interpersonal relations and slap some more duct tape on all the fragmented psyches while nobody's shooting at them.

They need some, a look back at where they have been, what they are doing and time to fully heal up, maybe time to do some scouting and intel work and check in with the power players before meeting the Society.

[222222]

@Scootayay: well initially(for 200 hundred years) the bomb was at least part way up Hightower, and fell a pretty considerable distance to the bottom when they tried to cut it loose. So potentially, it could have been at most halfway up the tower, and if bale fire sticks to surfaces like napalm or phosphorous, it could have burst from the rocket and stuck to the walls near/ on the warden. I don't really know, but that at least seems plausible to me.

[Caoimhe]

This could me projecting, being lesbian and coincidentally having the same hair color as Blackjack, though.

…How does one happen to get black-and-red-striped hair?

A competent and impressively talented hair stylist! Normally I radically change it up monthly and it felt like kismet that I went black/red three days before I started PH!

Somber: re: suggestions:

I agree with everyone that says BJ needs a break. I'm hoping something sort of like the chapters that introduced the last 'book,' not with Littlepip but BJ just sort of having time to relax after such a huge event. More time with Glory and the rest of her friends just piecing things together, maybe even a side trip solving a "simple" problem - possibly something to do with P-21 and Scotch where she can work on her maternial instincts. P-21 doesn't really know how to be a dad but Glory grew up in an almost 'normal' family environment. They can work off each other possibly. Maybe this can correlate with BJ's resolution with Glory to the elephant in the room regarding her sexytime Stygius.

Stygius and Psychoshy could use a little more character development, Stygs especially with regards to backstory and motivation. I've seen some idiots elsewhere saying he's nothing more than an out of place Mary Sue archetype so it's a good time to expand him.

A little more Rampage and BJ time outside of battle could be cute as well, particularly since Rampage has been coming to a boil with her identity. I love slice of life stuff.

Overall I'm looking at a new "book" like a new season of a television show. There's a good opportunity to shake things up a bit with regards to character development and motivation. As excellent shows like Breaking Bad have proven, a well written first episode of a new season can act as an epilogue of sorts to the past season with loose ends tied up and some comedic downtime before the direction of the rest of the plot comes to fruition.

Though you probably have something in mind for it, one of the big loose ends is Glory's transformation. We haven't seen her in quite a while and with BJ being away I think there's a prime opportunity to address or resolve it. Maybe you could work some of the mystery of Rainbow Dash's disappearance plot into it if KKat is okay with it.

Comedic option: BJ and friends start a jazz band/children's choir with the Crusaders or puts on a Security variety hour for supply money for the eventual Shadowbolt Tower fight.

I hope this all makes sense. We had a rather long liquid lunch at work today.

[Scootayay]

@Scootayay: well initially(for 200 hundred years) the bomb was at least part way up Hightower, and fell a pretty considerable distance to the bottom when they tried to cut it loose. So potentially, it could have been at most halfway up the tower, and if bale fire sticks to surfaces like napalm or phosphorous, it could have burst from the rocket and stuck to the walls near/ on the warden. I don't really know, but that at least seems plausible to me.

I guess it all comes down to how high up the rocket was stuck in the wall.

The vast central shaft of Hightower rose ten stories above me. Midway up, like a fiery dagger plunged into the heart of the structure, the missile jutted out into the middle of the space. Blue fire flew off the tip in volcanic eruptions that sprayed the sticky blue flame in glowing arcs. The unnatural blaze continued burning, no matter what it landed on, and the middle of the shaft was awash in a ring of radioactive fire.

Could mean anything, if the warden was inside the spray radius, wouldn't the underside of the glass floor in his office be on fire too? Maybe the spray lessened over time?

[Sindri]

Could mean anything, if the warden was inside the spray radius, wouldn't the underside of the glass floor in his office be on fire too? Maybe the spray lessened over time?

I was under the impression that the glass floor of his office was partly melted from proximity to the flame. That's why he couldn't move; his rear legs were in the glass.

[222222]

@Scootayay: or possibly after the rocket fell and the warden was out of the range, the fire was doused by molten glass. Or the warden seized his opportunity to put out the fire burning his underside for the last 200 years

[Ketchup]

Ooo. We love fluff. But I don't think I'd call it fluff in this case. It effects the main protagonist rather deeply. Fluff to me is stuff in extended canon for games, virtually everything else isn't fluff to me.

All I really want to see is the old cast back together. Sure, the new group is fun and all, but I miss them, if you understand what I mean. You write totally different and deep characters with finesse, which makes the story all the better. They are quite easy to attach to, for me.

Oh yeah. If you want, I'd like to finally find out what happened to Dash.

[Caoimhe]

I forgot to mention, the one thing that was constantly going through my mind reading the chapter was how awful the smell of everyone must be. Sweaty barding, incredibly hot temperatures, vomit (I assume), drying blood, rotting corpses, ghouls and repurposed Rad-X. Yeecccck!

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