And we get some more rather gory and just plain disturbing images right off, lasting just long enough to trigger a WTF! before finding out it was a nightmare Lil'pip was having, of a town full of dead ponies, all after her, all dead because of her...
She wakes up to Velvet using her magic to heal Lil'pip. Okay time for another little tangent about one of the big debates over her, the fact that she can cast healing magic when her special talent is singing. To which my replay is, at what point was it proven a unicorn can ONLY cast spells associated with their special talent. We see plenty of hints that she is not alone, and i'll expand more on this as they happen, but the crux of the argument is, is a ponies special talent, with regards to their magic, inclusive, or exclusive. Does their special talent give them the innate ability to cast spells related to it, or does it exclude them from casting spells not related to it. And everything in both show and story point to the former. It's simply that most unicorns don't put in the effort to learn spells not related to their talent just because of how much effort it takes. And no not saying every unicorn could learn every spell in theory, there are limits, some spells a unicorn just can't understand well enough, or isn't powerful enough, to cast.
Also word of Kkat, which agrees with what I assumed for myself before hearing it officially, IS that Velvet's special talent is singing, while her medical abilities are simply the result of hard work and dedication to learning and perfecting them. And keep in mind, she tries to pattern herself off of Fluttershy, who became essentially Equestria's head medic and the mare in charge of all the field medics and hospitals in the country, and her special talent was talking to animals. While a special talent IS something the pony loves to do, truly enjoys, and is good at. It is by no means the ONLY thing they are able to enjoy and be good at.
She wakes up in the train back to New Appleloosa, Apparently seeing their invulnerable and uber-powerful new boss turned into a pancake took the fight out of the rest of the slavers and they fled...assuming there were any alive...letting Velvet and Calamity rescue the rest of the slaves and get them to the waiting train. Which Lil'pip now learns, is being followed by something.
And we get a bit of insight into Velvet. Detailing most of what I went over above regarding her special talent And we get why she left the stable, she wanted to heal ponies, to help them, and she wasn't allowed to do that in the Stable, she was basically forced to perform for everypony, to come up with new songs to keep them entertained and happy, or at least distracted from the monotony of life in the Stable. Eventually it was to much and she left. Also, I do like how her cutie mark is specifically referenced as a nightingale, something like that pretty much has to be a nod to a certain other Combat Medic associated with that bird.
And then Lil'pip, becomes concerned that Velvet might get lost without her Pip-Buck, while on a train, a single, unbroken, straight line train. As much as she might have issues with trying to will reality to conform to her ideals, she's not Black Belt. As to her refusing to wear it again, okay I understand her line of reasoning at least but, goddess damn you're being stupid. As much as you might see it as some symbolic representation of your life in a cage in the Stable, it is probably the single most useful device for keeping your plot alive in the entire wastes bar a full suit of power armor. Take the damn thing
And suddenly they are under attack. And offering Velvet the least lethal weapon in her inventory (A needler gun, though unabel to till what the needles were tipped with.) Velvet still balks at the thought of using it, while Lil'pip tries to make her see, either she fires, or she and every foal she wants to save dies. Eventually simply leaving it with
“Learn to.” It was a harsh, even brutal, thing to say. But that was the Equestrian Wasteland.
Like she said, harsh, but necessary. And again at no point is violence glorified, the fact that the Waste are such a place where you have to be willing to kill to live, is never treated as anything but WRONG. Violence isn't something good, but it is something necessary to survive.
Part of me wanted to attempt parley, if only to avoid the growing pain in my conscience. But that was out of the question. No, any pony attacking the train went down.
And yet more proof that she does NOT like to hurt ponies. but is practical enough to know that in the Wastes, 9 times out of 10, if you wait to try and talk to an attacker, you die.
And another one of Lil'pip's growing list of colorful vulgarities as she realizes that while she was standing on the train roof, a unicorn was using magic to let the attackers up up the sides of the cars. A bit of rather great flying by Calamity saving Pips flank.
As I did so, a frightened voice in my head asked me what my life had become, what I was becoming, that there were so many ponies who wanted to take my life, and that I was charging towards them?
Because you feel it is the right thing to do Pip, because in doing so you know there is a chance, any chance, you can save even a single other pony's life.
And now we get to one of the things that just felt off to me about the story, the way magical energy weapons work. Yes in the games getting hit by an energy weapon could reduce an enemy to a pile of ash, but it was a rare chance, not something that happened every time you were just barely grazed by one. It just seems, odd, and a bit, I really don't know how to describe it, it just never felt right. And why would they be so rare if one little near miss could kill your target instantly. Again just a minor thing I really get thrown off by for some reason. They just seem overpowered for something there is that many of.
The fight ends rather well (from an action POV) Lil'pip nearly getting smashed to bits, only saved by Ditzy's upgrades to her armor, Velvet shows she is capable of keeping her head in a fight and thinking quick, and during the fight does end up having to kill a pony, and unlike Lil'pip's fist kill, this one wasn't on accident. And finally, yet another good use for skilled TK users, turn a melee attacker, into an equine shield.
And after healing up a bit, they and the reader begin to realize just how well Calamity earns his name, and the running theme for any plan he creates on the fly. During the fight he had detached the caboose with all the freed slaves and the surviving train ponies to keep the slavers from them, without realizing they were on a train, coasting down a mountain, without ponies in front, and the breaks to control their speed, were located in the car he kicked free. Oops.
Calamity flies Velvet off, and swoops back just in time to catch Lil'pip as she telekineticly throws her self from the train as it shoots of a cliff. Leaving the three stranded in an arid wasteland, days from the nearest town they know of and low on supplies.
A Sprite-bot wanders by and Lil'pip yells at it till Watcher takes over, at which point she browbeats him into getting word to New Appleloosa about the train car full of ponies in need of pickup, though her rather abrupt manor gets a few comments and looks from Calamity and Velvet. And I'm not with either side, they both have points. Lil'pip shouldn't be so demanding and short, and from Lil'pips POV Watcher hasn't really proven he is a real ally, was wavering and vacillating on whether he would do anything to help the ponies, and Lil'pip was damn tired and exhausted, not in a good mood to debate. Though it does showcase another one of flaws, that yes she can get rather short and bossy when she believes something needs to happen NOW to save other ponies, and does tend to be a bit controlling of her friends, though there are reasons for this, and why it'll get worse, which really, add something really important and just plain amazingly well done to the story.
Perk Time, no long trigger mines and other floor traps, always a nice perk.
Thoughts, not much beyond what was in the above, decent chapter, some good development, and a fairly good action scene that did have a few jumps, but on the whole felt much much more coherent and solid then the past ones.
Next time, another "The X of the Y" chapters, so, this'll take awhile
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