And we open to Li'lpip having been told Calamity's plan, and reacting like anyone would to one of Calamity's plans.
We were all going to die.
Even though it wasn't even a plan, just a series of hopes and ideas, relaying on luck and some other undefined stuff to happen, and needing ponies and abilities the two of them simply did not have, Li'lpip can't bring herself to say no to it. Both because of just how badly he needed it to work, and also due to simply not having anything better in mind. Watcher asking if there was anything he could do to help, Li'lpip telling him yes, but she had to talk to Gawd first.
Heading back into the store they find Railright waiting outside. Li'lpip immediately asking about the three pegasi that had come down, learning that two of them had agreed to stay in town and help rebuild it in exchange for a place to stay. The other one had responded to a broadcast from the Enclave offering to help anypony that had fallen below the clouds the chance to come home, completely without any nasty stuff, and that they were really super totally no takebacks serious about not shooting them on sight.
Yeah that one was an idiot, the other two were smart enough to know it was a trap at once. The three keep talking, neither of the two being exactly friendly with Railright, but simply cordial, not being openly hostile. Li'lpip finding out about something I DO like about pre-war Equestria's increased tech and power needs. That there is a nearby solar array. Solar power simply seems like such a perfect fit for them. Li'lpip seeing it making perfect sense, given she already knew about the Celestia One megaspell. And adding the array to one more bit of hope for the Wastes becoming Equestria again. A usable power source, and all it would require was removing the clouds blocking the sun from it.
And after a bit of an embarrassing turn of the conversation, Li'lpip steers it away from her and to why The Wonderbolts hadn't attacked yet. Figuring as fast as they were supposed to be, they should have been here by now. Calamity saying they were likely caught up in committee. Explaining that due to, well exactly what we just saw happen, the Enclave considers Rainboom's to be WMD's and keeps very very close tabs on anypony that might be able to do one.
Also explaining that while when they sealed of the skies, the pegasi had all of their cities, sans Cloudsdale, intact. And as such had all the old world tech and power, they had no resources. They couldn't replace anything that was lost. And, okay, this explains one of my issues earlier, they CAN'T make stuff magically enchanted not to sink into clouds. Everything they have like that is what was left over from before. The few mountains that rose above the cloud cover were either inaccessible due to things they couldn't fight living in them, like Spike, or had been stripped of any useful minerals decades ago. And that they had already lost a good portion of the military equipment they had started with during a failed attempt at invading gryphon territory to claim some of their resources.
Short version, before heading under the clouds, the Enclave had about 50 raptors and 4 thunderheads. And they had already lost at least a dozen of the raptors they had left in the invasion, plus all the armor and weapons lost by individual soldiers brought down and not recovered. And now being confronted with the possibility that ANY ghoul pegasus could potentially wipe out any force they send out quite easily. And having no clue how many that could be. And so called The Wonderbolts off the hunt to help work out a strategy to deal with it, since they are the ponies that either could, or could possibly perform, a Rainboom and knew the most about them.
Add in losing one of the SPP towers, and, yeah Li'lpip is probably exactly right.
Yes. The Enclave really must be pissing themselves.
Well, it's what they get for coming down and thinking they could just steamroll over the ponies below
She slips into the store, interrupting a conversation between Ditzy and Gawd, trying to work out how to word what she wanted from the griffon. Though her first attempt at it simply ends with Gawd letting her know, Li'lpip simply isn't her type... and after the required bit of embarrassed Li'lpip reactions to both her saying that, and her assuming that was what she meant, we get to the real issue. Having Gawd give Ditzy and Silver Bell an escort to Spike's cave. Gawd only relenting after being assured that the dragon she was taking Ditzy to wasn't hostile, and after Li'lpip adds in a pile of caps.
Their negotiations were interrupted by Railright's body guard bursting into the shop, telling Ditzy the Silver Bell needed her in the mayors office right away. The ghoul flying out before he even finished talking, Li'lpip rushing right behind her, fearing something bad had happened, and cursing herself for not having gotten the two out of town and to safety earlier. The building was dark, Li'lpip drawing her gun as Ditzy bucked down the door, the two rushing in ready to deal with whatever trap was waiting, only for the lights to flick on and everypony yell SURPRISE! Which, as Li'lpip nearly demonstrates, is a very bad idea when dealing with a high strung pony who is normally armed to the teeth.
I nearly shot a balloon.
Yeah... I like the sentiment, but doing that to a pony a stressed out and with such a hair trigger.. not a good idea. Of course it was for Ditzy not her, but still. Slight miracle no pony did actually get shot.
Silver Bell comes out of the crowd, asking slightly worriedly if Ditzy liked the party, the mare responding by rushing over to the foal and picking her up and covering her in kiss, Spinning in the air till she was dizzy. As the party got started, Li'lpip ended up talking to Crane, swapping stories about their feats in telekinesis, feeling a bit sad that she wasn't the first pony to self levitate. At the mention of Li'lpip's rather frequent magic burn outs, Crane mentions there's a remedy for it. (Guess somepony learned how to make Ethers) But that since it required a plant from the Everfree, odds are the source was being burnt up. But he would exchange one or two of his bottles of it, for a quest. Li'lpip cautiously asking what, remembering that his last one involved a vault full of some rather nasty monsters.
Though this one was, hopefully, safer and he makes sure to tell her no rush. Since the only reason Li'lpip even agreed to listen was in case some ponies were in danger. He just wants her to check out a farm that had been set up near he edge of the Everfree, close enough to be on arable land. So far any pony that tried to settle there had disappeared, and the town could use the crops they could grow on it. Li'lpip agreeing to stop by and check out the area if she had time and happened to be in the area. (Which knowing this story is a guarantee that it'll happen sometime soon.)
Ditzy Doo wanders over, telling Li'lpip not to worry, ghosts don't exist. (And given a recent Word of God on that topic, hehehehehehehehehe) Saying she figured it was just landmines, Crane filling in the "oh yeah by the way" detail, that the ponies didn't exactly disappear, just, all they could find was a few tiny pieces and body parts scattered around small craters. Ditzy offering to pay for any landmines Li'lpip brings back to her intact. Silver Bell interrupting the talk to get Ditzy to come play Pin the Tail on the Pony with her and Xenith, Li'lpip amazed at the Zebra agreeing to play, though on thinking about it.
Then, on second thought, regaining orientation and maintaining accuracy while blinded did sound like an exercise the zebra would be familiar with.
Just found that kind of nice, not sure why. And we also get to see a drunken phoenix as well. The thought of the bird having gotten into the spiked punch making Li'lpip remember she had left a call on hold, and rushing out, though stopping as she passes Gawd. The griffon agreeing to the job of escorting Ditzy and setting the sum. Then adding that those two deserved a good life, and she hoped Li'lpip knew what she were doing. And then out of curiosity, Li'lpip asks just what he type is.
"Unattached,”
I just kind of like that, and hell I just like Gawd's whole character arc and just who she is. Li'lpip points out just how much that makes sense for her, considering a relationship to be like a contract. And though she still remains fully loyal to any deal she makes, it's clear that she also does want to do the right thing... as long as she can feel she's getting paid in some way. And you can see the development she's had since first meeting Li'lpip, though she hides it, she does want to help, she honestly wants Ditzy and Silver Bell to be safe and happy, at this point payment and contracts are more of a formality to her with regards to what's right. Yeah, one of the many many little things I love about the story, just how big an impact Li'lpip, simply being Li'lpip has on the people she meets. Drives them to become better then they were.
After (I'm assuming) an off screen conversation with Spike, (Yeah kind of odd here, she goes out specifically to talk to Spike, gets distracted talking to Gawd, and then we jump back to the party. I mean didn't really need to hear the actual conversation, but a line or two that she actually had one or not would have been nice.) She enjoys herself dancing with Silver Bell till the foal passes out and is brought upstairs to rest. Then having a little talk with Xenith, trying to get the Zebra to stop being so down and hard on herself. That she is better then she thinks she is. (Wow there's something you ned to talk to yourself about Pip.)
She overhears the three young ponies from the cottage discussing possible names for their group, sliding over and suggesting "Crusaders" a name they quickly agree on, "The Wasteland Crusaders" (Okay I thought this was pretty damn cute, and rather touching of her.)
As she's beaming over that, Calamity and Gawd's daughter come over, the griffon teasing Li'lpip a bit a bit about her checking out Reggie's mother, the embarrassed mare derailing the conversation to the attempted Enclave attack on Shattered Hoof. Turns out when they first came down, The Enclave leaders, or at least somepony up there, actually had a smart idea, try to wipe out raider nests, trouble spots, things like that first. Both as good PR, to try and support their claims to keep the majority in line, and also to harden their troops, show them just how evil the ground ponies are, try and get them to not balk when they are then told to exterminate innocent ponies and foals. Of course neither part actually worked, and again I simply LOVE that about the Enclave, that right from the very start it's clear that a good deal of the pegasi are still ponies, that they will look at something like this and know it's wrong, refuse to go through with it. And then Reggie pretty much entirely sums up the Enclaves biggest issue and weakness.
" All that fancy armor and firepower ain’t worth a shit in the sky if you don’t have the experience t’ back ‘em up.”
And that is the biggest problem the Enclave has. Well militarily anyway, they have no experience. They pretty much just relay on overwhelming force, and leave it at that. They haven't actually created any new tech or strategies since the war, the one time in 200 years they actually fought more then a minor skirmish, they got their flanks kicked by the griffons. Combine that with the internal descent and unrest, plus the utter shit storm they'd be dealing with if the civilian pegasi ever found out what they were doing. Yeah The Enclave is not as big and powerful as they think. But at no point do they cease being a credible threat. Those that are loyal still have the most advanced tech in the wastes. And eventually the command will winnow out those unwilling to slaughter innocent foals. If anything it makes hem even more dangerous to me, since everything going on will make them desperate, more likely to do something worse, go even further to win.
That said, yes I know there are a lot of criticisms about how the Enclave were handled, but like I just said I really have no issues. The infighting, the rebellion, from the very start, that is possibly my single favorite thing, making clear from the very first mention and sight of The Enclave, that pegasus == enemy. I simply can't see how that is a bad thing. But, some of the other stuff, okay I can see how people could feel that way, and maybe it could have been better. Stuff like It was to rushed, spending more time developing them and building them up (though still works for me), not giving them a single face or leader till the end and then him just popping in out of nowhere. Yes there are ways it could be improved, but as it is, still damn good. And pretty much all the criticisms are about things that make sense to happen that way in the larger context of the story. That is probably why none of it bothers me, everything fits, it all makes sense and flows perfectly with everything else. The actions of The Enclave are all logical and make sense from their POV. Nothing feels out of place when compared to the rest of the story. So yeah I will vehemently fight that showing the breaks in the ranks and the soldiers balking at their mission from the start was a bad idea. The rest, it's all up to YMMV.
Anyway, back to the nearly over party, Reggie tells Li'lpip that her and her brother would be joining her when she leaves. Stopping her objections to explain why. She admits something her mother never would, that they are thankful for what Li'lpip did for them. Explaining that it was pretty clear to all griffons that The Goddesses plan for them was for them to cease to exist. That that was the reason Redeye had so many of their kind working for him, they knew he was working against her. And that quite frankly she needed them, she was down two companions, including her "heavy gunner" and she needed the firepower against the Enclave. Li'lpip pretty much had to agree, feeling a small bit of hope that just maybe they might survive Calamity's plan after all.
And the next morning, she gets to wake up to a near heart attack, as she sees a small flock of Enclave troops flying towards the town, only to realize after the initial panic that they were simply empty suits of armor Crane was levitating into town from the the wrecked raptors outside the walls. And once he gets in, she gets another shock. Another pony had followed the beacon of hope Ditzy had sent up. Velvet Remedy had come back.
If I had to pick one particular part in the story that I liked best about Velvet's character, it would be the part here. Well from her leaving to coming back. No not because she's gone, but just because of how much she grows during it. The final shards of her naivete fall, she no longer tries to hide, to ignore reality and force it to be what she wants. but neither does she let it break her. She came damn close to that point, but seeing the Rainboom reminded her of what was important, of what was worth fighting for, bringing her back to herself. That said, the single greatest moment for her is still about to happen. But like Littlepip with Arbu, Velvet had reached rock bottom, had nearly succumb to despair, simply given up, but like her she fought through it, defied despair thanks to having her friends their to support her, to give her something reason to keep going. Even if she forgot that for a little while. And thanks to that, she is now stronger then she was.
They get a rather touching reunion, both of them trying to absolve the other of any guilt or suffering they might be feeling. Li'lpip eventually getting through to Velvet that nopony blames her, that they understood why she did what she did. Velvet acknowledging she had to be stronger then the wastelands, not let them get to her, beat her. Li'lpip reminding her that true heroes aren't defined by never falling, but by never refusing to stay down when they do. Begging Velvet to rejoin them, though her answer was cut off by Calamity's high speed tackle. Then compounding his over enthusiastic missteps by helping her up out of the mud, and dumping a barrel of rainwater on her to help clean her off.
Watching the two, Li'lpip has another small epiphany, something that everyone reading had seen a long LONG way away, despite the story trying to say earlier it wasn't true, Li'lpip realizes just who his friends are, what it is the most defines them.
Suddenly, looking at Velvet Remedy and Calamity, I knew. The very last of the pieces fell into place. Kindness and Loyalty.
Was there ever any doubt?
Well, yeah, but only because Spike flat out said that they weren't, though as pointed out by many, it's not like he had some magic sense of who was and wasn't an Element. He didn't know Velvet and Calamity as well as Li'lpip did. When he said 'Nope, none of you are Elements of Harmony worthy' I really don't think he thought of them on an individual basis. He simply didn't see the group, as a whole, as being the right six ponies. I don't think it occurred to him that some of them might be, while others weren't.
Thoughts- So far just a good chapter. some slower pacing and a bit of planning, talking, exposition, and just giving everypony a chance to rest and recover from the non-stop fighting and running. Pieces falling into place for the finale, plus Velvet returning, everywhere there are still small signs of hope, and really, the chapters title is just perfect. That's what this is, the characters starting and planning their final journey towards the greatest hope of ending the pain and suffering of The Wastes.
