In which I recover from porn-induced trauma
Chapter 21
- I guess Mr. Topaz was a pretty young dragon. I would imagine that they would grow slower than that, but that's not the case here.
- Does Spike not like Ghouls, or Steel Rangers?
- Steel Rangers, then.
- Exposition time. Don't let me down, Spike.
- "Good ideas" Sure, Spike, you keep telling yourself that.
- And that is why you put people who are capable of taking charge in charge. Leaders need to lead. Bad ideas, all around.
- And so here's where the more typical plot comes in: Gather the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, save the world.
- How does Spike even know that they aren't able to be the bearers of the elements? I know SteelHoves would make one hell of bearer of Loyalty.
- I still don't like Earth Ponies being naturally more innovative. There should be nothing stopping pegasi or unicorns from being competent inventors.
- Those Pegasi aren't going to try and take Spike, are they?
- Just how many things can those towers do?
- Looks like Silver Bell isn't nearly as creepy as she used to be.
- They sent Gilda to kill Rainbow Dash? The fact that the even decided to leave and call her a traitor in the first place is still incredibly angering.
Thoughts on Chapter 21
This chapter was more or less all exposition, and as usual, it's full of Fridge Logic. They still haven't explained the logic that led to the war in the first place, not to mention what led to putting the wrong ponies in charge of the ministries. As of right now, it all seems stupid and contrived. It had better make sense when it's all explained, or there'll be hell to pay.
Chapter 22
- Industry had been the heart of Equestria? What Equestria were you looking at, exactly?
- How do you get high quality goods without massive industries? Magic. Hey, that answer actually works here.
- Gotta love the stereotypical charismatic dictator.
- Gotta love how a cocktail of toxins and radiation can somehow make things ''stronger'.
- That's not how Telekinesis works, though I guess we didn't get any examples of it working any other way until Season 2.
- Wait, so only pegasi and unicorns had any problem with polution? Earth Ponies didn't have any problems with destroying the very thing that gave them strength? I really do not like this interpretation of the races, at all.
- Ponies that don't start wars with their neighbors, or give their neighbors reasons to start a war with them. That's who relies on a foreign power source.
- Removing cutie marks again? It's not "trapping" you in anything if it's what you've always wanted to do. Unless you're Velvet. She's special.
- Velvet has a plan?
- Damn, those things are smart.
- What the hell was that, Velvet? Too many more spells, and you might as well be Twilight!
- Well, at least the spell has something to do with medical stuff. More than glowing letters anyway.
- That still doesn't explain how you can have two talents and that glow spell. Are we just going to ignore that forever?
- You know, Red Eye? I actually agree for once. Incompetence was the problem. Not because they were actually incompetent, mind you. This story simply twisted the situation to make them incompetent.
- Memory orb time again!
- No, Ministry of Propaganda sounds about right.
- You see, there's a perfect example of this fic twisting reality to make the canon characters far stupider. Applejack made the assumption that ponies were generally good natured. In a normal fic, that would have been almost completely true. In this reality, though? Evil ponies sprang out of the woodwork just to prove her wrong.
Thoughts on Chapter 22:
Another exposition heavy chapter, but the main draw here are Red Eye's broadcasts. He expounds free choice one second, and condemns it the next, bending the populace to his will, as well as what he believes The Goddess's to be.Of course, as the a charismatic dictator, it's nearly impossible to tell how much he believes his own words, and how much he's just manipulating his "subjects".
Comments
Sereg
Since: Dec, 1969
May 16th 2012 at 2:08:22 AM
"•Wait, so only pegasi and unicorns had any problem with polution? Earth Ponies didn't have any problems with destroying the very thing that gave them strength? I really do not like this interpretation of the races, at all. "
I don't recall this. Maybe I should go back and check.
I missed your last update so I'll just say that Fluttershy was utterly furious when she realised how her research had been used.
Spike will eventually explain his comments about who the bearers can be but as you said, he really hates steel rangers, thinking of them as defiling Applejack's memory.
The war will eventualy be explained and the reasons for it are parrellel to real world conflicts at least.
Oh, and Velvet starts becoming much more intellegint as she learns from her experiences in the waste.
Of course, as you said, we finally have the plot to save the world now, so that at least helps and adds another dimension to the fic.
Velvet's pretty good with magic, but there are others better than her.
Seraphem
Since: Dec, 1969
May 16th 2012 at 4:29:40 AM
and as I said already, both the singing and medical abilities make sense with only one talent if said talent is the ability to soothe other ponies. And again nopony is denying that the ministries were a bad idea overall, hindsight's always 20/20, after a decade or so of constant war, which it feels like your side is losing ATM, even bad ideas start seeming like something worth trying.
Is it smart, no. Is it realistic, yes.
stevebat
Since: Dec, 1969
May 16th 2012 at 8:31:55 AM
On the WMD argument think about how Einstein was related to the nuke. Fluttershy did (and reacted just as poorly to) something similar.
