The penultimate chapter opens with Li'lpip talking about faith. How important it is. Not faith in any one thing, but faith in something be it The Goddesses, ponykind as a whole, heroes, or even just yourself. How it is faith above all that the Wasteland seeks to remove, to strip away. (Okay, that I don't agree with, I'd say it's hope more then anything, though I think I see where she's coming from.)
Ending by saying that sometimes faith requires you to take risks, even, or especially, when the cost of failure is high. In short, sometimes you simply have to take a leap of faith.
I am, almost certainly, about to die.
This is my leap of faith.
Okay, this opening. The first time through, WTF!? Holy shit what's going on? the second time, it's a bit odd. I know what she is referring to, and yes it is just like she described, a leap of faith which she thought she might not survive. The issue is the way it's worded and placed. This is Li'lpip's testimonial, her story, being told before she does something that the rest of Equestria deserved to know why she was doing. The thing is, her leap of faith takes place before she gets a chance to make the recording. Why would she say she was likely going to die, if she was talking about a leap of faith she already took?
Yes it works for suspense and drama, and it really does tie into the ending of the chapter well, it's just odd that she would word it like this when talking after the fact. Granted, this COULD mean something else, not what she does at the end of the chapter, but what she was about to do. Take a leap of faith that her plan would work, that it would end the fighting, save ponies, and not devolve into the kind of warring and fighting some people say simply had to have happened. In this case, her faith would be in ponykind. And yes I could easily see that working. Though if it was that which she was talking about, not the events in this chapter which already happened from her point of view, then her claims of being "about to die" were being a little metaphorical or symbolic. Which would fit in with the whole martyr theme she has.
And yes I am way way overthinking this, but it is interesting where doing so can lead.
And we get back to the story with a message that this was "two days ago" and yet clearly takes place after the events of the last chapter. This, only makes sense when you stop to remember what this story is, Li'lpip telling her tale and this is her telling where the story is in relation to where she is right now. This is two days before she makes these recordings. I'll get into something we all know should be addressed later.
The group was back in Zecora's hut, the ponies they had rescued staying outside, mostly due to the hellhound, for reasons Li'lpip couldn't figure out, still being with them. Inside she tells them it's time to end this, Calamity getting excited, letting the rest know Li'lpip had promised she had a plan to make all the death and destruction mean something. Meanwhile she had fished out the Sparkle Cola Rad she had been keeping since just after Old Appleloosa, wondering why she'd kept it so long, and figuring she might as well drink it now, not like she'll have a chance later. The Hellhound asking her if she really was going to drink it, saying it made a better explosive then a beverage. Offering to show Calamity how if Li'lpip doesn't drink it.
She finally reveals her plan to the group, well half of it anyway. Take control of the SPP, remove the cloud cover, and break the Enclave's hold on the pegasi. Her friends instantly see the problems with that, without the clouds, the pegasi will lose their crops, be forced to fend just like the rest of the Wastes, and they weren't used to that. It would be a mess. Something Li'lpip agrees to, and points out they aren't Redeye. As I said before, Redye would simply blast all the clouds away and leave the strong to win and weak to perish. Li'lpip instead will go in, and remove just enough clouds to break the Enclave's hold, while leaving enough farmland for the pegasi to sustain themselves for a time.
When pointed out his will only delay things, she lets them know she has a plan for that too, but she can't tell them yet. She would tell it to them tomorrow, when they meet the rest of the group she had had Spike assembling. Everypony was ecstatic at the idea of having the sun returned to them, no longer sealed away from it by the clouds. Though Calamity still points out issues. Namely that to even TRY getting through the shield around the SPP, something nopony has managed to do despite two centuries of trying, she had to get past the Enclave's biggest military base first. And that around it was another shield the Enclave had set up. Li'lpip dismissing the idea of a stealth mission and saying she was planning a full frontal assault.
Dead, stunned silence. Broken first by the hellhound. “Und you let her make the plans?” He leveled a wry stare at Calamity and Velvet. “Un purpose?”
Hey, it still should better then any of Calamity's plans at least.
She explains her reasoning to the group. The instant the Enclave knows they are there, they will move to crush them, overwhelming them quickly. So either they would need to pull off the perfect stealth mission, and if they made one mistake, got unlucky once, they would be toast. Or they stage a large assault, rush in and get to the objective as fast as they can before the Enclave has time to react and bring it's might to bear. Calamity admitting it might work as long as she has a way passed the shields.
The Hellhound is the only one to not agree to the mission, pointing out it's a long way to fall. He does however let Li'lpip know that there might be a Hellhound that could help, if she was still alive. A while ago the Enclave had abducted one of the leaders of their tribe, Fluffykins....... seriously? Wait wasn't that the password for the detention cells back on the Thunderhead? Ooooookay..... Anyway, she was one of the tribes best fighters. The ponies figuring they took her as a test subject for their mind control experiments.
Even Reggie agrees to come, though Life Bloom veto's that, telling her she needed quite a bit of time before she would be fit to fight again. Li'lpip going on to ask Calamity if he could fix the sky tank, wanting to get the rescued ponies to safety first. He says he can, though he wouldn't be able to fly it with his injured wing. Li'lpip hoping one of the rescued pegasi would be wiling and able to do so.
Velvet asks Li'lpip to talk to her privately, but as they move off the Hellhound stop Li'lpip, wanting to talk to her as well. Telling Li'lpip that if she restores the night sky to his people, they might just forgive her, a little. Making Li'lpip realize two things, first that she was so focused on returning the sun, she had forgotten she would also be restring the moon and stars to ponies.
Goddess Luna, I thought, must be so very disappointed in me.
Second, the he knew she was the one who detonated the megaspell which killed so many Hellhounds. She tries to apologize to him, but he cuts her off, saying those tribes had declared war on ponies and were fair game. He was talking about leaving the Hellhounds at the Citadel to die while saving the ponies. Li'lpip trying to explain why, talking as much to herself as him. She couldn't have saved them, they were hostile, under the Enclave's control. All it would take was one of them to slip out of her grip and it would slaughter them all.
Granted she was right, it doesn't change the fact she never stopped to even think about doing so at the time. Even if she would have reached the same conclusion, she never bothered to think of them as anything but monsters, enemies. Again, she isn't perfect. While she does feel guilty about it, she stands firm that there was no way she could have saved them, and that even if she could...
Because if I had rescued them knowing that they would slaughter more ponies, just like if I had let Autumn Leaf go, then wouldn’t I be at least partially responsible for everyone they killed afterwards?
That there pretty much sums up why she is so ready to kill ponies, despite hating it. No she is not some bloodthirsty murder pony. Or some callous jerk that claims to value life and want to save ponies while killing any she disagrees with. She truly wants everypony to live and be happy. But she knows that some ponies simply won't let that happen. That some will go on to kill or enslave others, and that in the Wastes, there is no other option to stop them other then killing them. Yes she hates having to do so, but even more so, she couldn't live with the thought of all the ponies, innocent ponies, who die because she let a murderer go on to continue killing.
Another thought occurred to me. “After this, the pegasi will have plenty of reason to hate me too.” I felt sudden empathy for Scootaloo. “To save Equestria, I’ve become the villain of the piece.”
Not that she considers herself a villain, or evil, or even wrong. But simply that she accepts that while she knows she is doing the right thing, there are those who will not see that. Who will see her as a villain for what she was going to do. This entire story is simply her trying to explain to those ponies why she is doing this, why she made the choices she did. Hoping that even if they can't forgive her, they can at least understand why she had to do it. What matters is that she knows what she is doing is right. That it is the best thing she can do for Equestria, and while she knows some ponies will suffer, some will will face hardships because of this, on the whole it is the best way to go for nearly everypony. Unlike Redeye, she will do everything she can to minimize the suffering from her decision. Never simply accept it and let it happen, but strive to prevent it. But even so, she hates herself for doing anything which causes even a single innocent pony any grief pain or hardship, no matter how unavoidable it is, or how much her actions benefit everypony in the long run. That is why, despite what even she things, she is not a bad pony, and not a villain. But rather possibly the only pony for this job. The only one able to do what needs to be done, without becoming callous or careless about it.
The albino Hellhound offers to send another of his pack to help with the assault, Li'lpip unsure about telling him where they were meeting, unsure why a Hellhound would help a pony after all that they had done to their race.
I looked at the albino hellhound, my eyes drifting to his shiny new cyberleg, and I knew the answer.
Because of Velvet Remedy.
So she does agree to give him a chance, but still playing it safe she gives him another spot then the actual meeting, intending to see who shows up before bringing them to the meeting.
Then we flash to "Today" which in the context of the story, means the day Li'lpip was making telling her story from.
Okay the way this chapter jumps around, between past and present and what not... is odd. I know some people didn't like it, and personally.. I found it odd. I can see most of the issues people have with it, but also I can see why it was done this way. I do think it works, it just.. feels a bit odd. Really I'm pretty much neutral on it. It does work for me, but I also agree there might have been better ways to do it, though I don't really know how. This is simply yet another YMMV issue.
The "present" is showing us the start of the Battle of Fillydelphia. The first shots being fired a few hours after dawn, nopony knowing which side fired first, but both Enclave and Redeye's forces swarming up against each other. Even the cyberdragon having survived the fight at the citadel and entering the fray.
Back in the past Li'lpip had joined Velvet away from the other ponies. The medical pony asking her if she killed Calamity's brother, Li'lpip thinking for a moment if she should lie before telling the truth, admitting she did. And instantly going of on a semi rant trying to defend her decision. Pointing out how Autumn didn't give a buck about anypony, how letting him go would only have let him go on slaughtering ponies. Wondering just what Velvet would have wanted her to do instead. Keep him unconscious, use memory magic to try and recondition him, make him a good pony.
Stopping once she realized that Velvet hadn't said anything at all about it, hadn't even hinted one way or the other if she disapproved of what Li'lpip had done or thought she should have done it differently. It had been her own guilt at it that was making her think like that. Velvet finally commenting that she simply wanted to see how Li'lpip was dealing with it, not pass judgment on her for doing it. And her little rant had more then shown how she was dealing with it.
Desperate to change the subject, Li'lpip asks Velvet why she let herself be captured to try and help the Hellhound. The mare saying she simply put herself in his position, and did what she would have wanted someone else to do for her. Li'lpip pointing out that the Hellhound wouldn't have done that, to which Velvet simply asks, "Does it matter". After a brief thought about how she had braved The Everfree Forest, The Enclave, and snuck into the depths or Redeye's Cathedral to save a bunch of unicorns who were mostly willing followers of Redeye, many of whom resented Li'lpip for doing what she did. No, it didn't matter, it didn't matter at all.
Back to the present. Gawd, Reggie and another griffon were in the skies over Manehatten, trying to clear the cloud cover away from the city. Reggie lamenting how boring this was when there was a real battle going on. No, that's a bad griffon, bad bad griffon.... Of course her taunting the universe pays off with an Enclave patrol ambushing them, taking out the third Griffon, the one with 'Lil Gilda', and wounding Gawd and Reggie before they can take them all out. Reggie severely so making her fall below the clouds.
In the past, The two mares were walking back to the hut when a group of alicorns drops from the sky in front of them, Li'lpip getting ready to fight, planning on leading them as far from the hut and the ponies inside as she can. But instead of fighting they address Velvet, telling her they want her to help them, to find a way to make them able to breed. That they remember her from Maripony as "The One Who Helps". Their leader digs out a bunch of cybernetic components from her saddle bag, still stained with blood and gore. Components that Li'lpip recognizes as having once belonged to Redeye.
He had recorded all his findings and plans, both in the Pipbuck and cybernetics, as well as in mainframes throughout his reach. Li'lpip knowing that the alicorns want Velvet to pick up where Redeye left off, use his research to find a way to help them. The alicorns reveal that Redeye did indeed have an escape route planned from the IMP chamber, and had managed to make it most of the way down it before the wounds he took overcame him. The alicorns finding the body and, well doing something that made Li'lpip sick to think about.
While Calamity and Life Bloom hurry to help the other two, Velvet says no, she won't do what the alicorns want. She WILL help them, try to find a way to give them what they want, but not like that, not the way they are asking her to. But they will find a way. Calamity reaching the group and asking Li'lpip if they were going to attack them or not.
“We have learned,” she admonished Calamity. “Siding with those who oppose The Destroyer and her friends leads to failure.”
I blinked. My own previous thoughts about the alicorns resurfaced in my mind: they never fell for the same trap twice.
I do like this, the way the alicorns act. They aren't evil, while under the control of The Goddess, they were simply extensions of her will. But once they had been freed, they were, well free. And since then, everything they had done was for one purpose, to find a way to ensure their survival as a species. They allied with Redeye because he was their best hope to do so. Now with him gone, they turn to their next hope, somepony they know will help them. While also making sure to avoid pissing off "The Destroyer". They don't really fear Li'lpip, as much as they are cautious. They see what has happened to everypony that has opposed her, and don't wish to give her reason to turn on them even more then she has. All they want is to be able to live and continue as a species.
Back to the present. A Steel Ranger is leading is squad against the Enclave, trying to keep them from reaching the main Stable Tec building. His rangers slowly being overwhelmed by shear numbers. A squad of pegasi descending on him, knowing he couldn't take them all he does his best, trying to take as many as he can with him before being saved by another armored pony, this one in red with three apples on his flanks.
Without a word, the Steel Ranger turned away from the Applejack’s Ranger, focusing on the enemy. The Applejack’s Ranger galloped in, shifting to cover his blind spots.
The two of them fought together, side-by-side, until the ground ripped open beneath them, pouring forth Enclave-helmeted hellhounds.
This, this is the start of by far my favorite part of the story. The entire Battle of Fillydelphia. This is where it starts. Applejack rangers and Steel rangers fighting side by side. Their past issues forgotten as they take on a bigger foe. uniting in a common goal, taking back Equestria from the Enclave.
In the past, the alicorns had left, the group heading back to the hut, Life Bloom pulling Li'lpip aside to speak privately, having pierced together enough information to have a clue what Li'lpip's bigger plan was. He had worked out that Li'lpip had some sort of food growing, or poison clearing megaspell ready. Li'lpip realizing that of course he would know, the Twilight Society controlled the place where the spells that make up The Gardens of Equestria were made. She says yes, there is a megaspell like that ready, but she cant say more, that it isn't up to her to reveal anything else.
He also surprises her by working out that she means to stay inside the SPP. Trapped between letting her, and knocking her out till Homage can buck some sense into her. Li'lpip wishing he would. He was concerned for how Homage would take it, losing Li'lpip. But Li'lpip points out that putting herself, her and Homage, before the rest of the ponies would be an even worse betrayal of everything Homage stood for. She knows how bad this will hurt Homage, but not doing it would hurt them both even more.
Life Bloom finally admitting she was right, then adding that they, the Twilight Society, needs to do better. They had spent centuries simply sitting on the old world magic and tech hidden inside Tenpony. Doing nothing but hoarding it while ponies could have been helped by it. Li'lpip simply nodding, adding to herself that she was glad he was thinking that way. That her planned needed him to convince the Twilight Society to go along with it.
Already went over Li'lpip's feelings about this last chapter a bit. How much she'll miss Homage. But she has her reasons, she knows this is the only hope for Equestria, and is willing to sacrifice anything she has to make it happen. It's also nice to see Life Bloom come to his realization, that the Society should have been doing more. They fell into the same trap most ponies had in The Wastes. Simply believing that they can't help, that things can't change. Looking out for themselves alone, fearing giving aid, in case it comes back to bite them. Not being actively malicious, not hurting ponies to taking from them. But letting apathy rule. A state that had existed so long, that it felt normal, that no pony thought anything about it. Until one pony came along and showed them how wrong it was, reminded them that they are ponies, and what that meant.
And back in the present we see just what that plan for The Twilight Society was. With Gawd's griffon's clearing the skies above Manehatten to let the sun shine down on Tenpony Tower. The Society takes their place in the ritual chamber, preparing to bring the Celestia One megaspell to life once more in defense of Equestria.
In the past Li'lpip was levitating herself and Calamity over the forest, searching for the crashed sky tank so they can repair it and fly all the ponies out of there.
The way my morning was going, any minute now either Calamity and I were going to have a painful heart-to-heart, or we would be intercepted by a monster. Probably a chatty one.
I almost groaned when Calamity’s muzzle opened. I had so called it.
“Incoming!” he warned, eyes narrowing.
Oh. It’s the second option. Yay.
Given her morning, yeah I would probably prefer an attack at this point as well.
But it's not an attack, rather it is a bat winged, ghoulified pegasus in armor. Somepony that Li'lpip thinks at first is a reaper pony, but soon learns is a Canterlot ghoul who was one of Luna's personal guards. Trapped in armor that is enchanted to make him always speak in The Royal Canterlot Voice He says his name is Lionheart, making Li'lpip remember Homage having mentioned him and another pony name Mouse a few times in her last few broadcasts. Also realizing that he was the one who took over the Enclaves radios with Broadcaster death during the battle.
Okay, Lionheart here is another one of the issues people have, claiming it's just Kkat trying to force as many season 2 memes into the story as possible before the end. Lionheart and Mouse themselves, I kind of like the idea of them both, and do like having one of Luna's Night Guards show up, it just makes sense. That said, I will admit the RCV enchantment on the armor is a bit much.
To prove the he is a friend of Homage sent to help he pulls out a small bag with #8 written on it, inside is a single memory orb.
Holy hot sex with Celestia!
It's kind of nice seeing Li'lpip's rather blasphemous obscenities return, even if she had a good reason for stopping them, and this one was only thought not said.
He also introduces Mouse, who is an actual mouse. Li'lpip putting things together quicker then Calamity, who only figures out who/what the mouse really is when it lets out a small jet of Pink Cloud from it's mouth.
Back in the present we see Lionheart and Mouse taking over another raptor, doing the exact same trick as before, flooding the Enclaves comm channels with death. Oh and we also learn from the comm officers just before hey die that Redeye's forces had hidden snipers amongst the slave pens, and the Enclave was about to order it's bombers to start targeting the pens. Not sure who to hate or find more vile there. Both sides here a just plain evil at this point.
Oh and about them not learning and anticipating something like this. How could they? Yes it was used before, three days ago, in a fight that pretty much all the forces were wiped out in. All the Enclave vessels save maybe a few raptors were destroyed, and while there were most likely plenty of survivors, it would take time for them to be gathered up/return home, get debriefed, their statements to be analyzed, and something devised to thwart this happening again. There simply wasn't time for something as massive as The Enclave to adapt to something like this yet. They aren't like the Alicorns where all of them instantly know every trick ever used to defeat one of them.
Lionheart's introduction to the group goes less then perfectly, his voice hurting the Hellhound's ears, and the rest of the group quite concerned about being in an enclosed space with a mouse that breathes Pink Cloud. Though Velvet was to distracted by an idea on how to solve the alicorn's problem, thanks to an offhand comment from the Hellhound about just throwing them at Killing Joke till one gets transformed, citing how it had turned a male Hellhound into a female pony.
Calamity finally directly asking Li'lpip to explain more of her plan, and the small mare torn between answering, or needling her friends about the rather odd choice of words he use to ask it. Finally telling them a bit more, though not really anything the reader hadn't figured out. She has a plan, it involves most of the allies they've met so far in the Wastes. Spike had been spending the last few days rounding them up and bringing them to his cave. There was more, but she couldn't tell them yet, promising to reveal everything at the meeting tomorrow. Only saying that next on their list of things to do, was piss off a dragon.
“Ugain, you let ‘er make your plans? Un purpose?”
Any reply to this was cut off by Xenith waking up, everypony rushing over to hug her.
“Uh, should they be doin’ that?” the albino cyberhound asked, looking at Life Bloom with a disturbed expression,
“Oh yes,” he responded with a bright smile. “As a medical pony, I can definitely attest to the healing power of group hugs.”
Given the setting, I can't actually be 100% sure there isn't some magical healing that group hugs can help with.
Back to a short bit in the present. A rather poetic description of something small and glowing greenish gold flying up into the sky from the Fillydelphia Crater, unnoticed by anyone in the confusion of the battle.
(Okay I know what that is now, and it should have been fairly obvious, but the first time through, I thought it was Pyrelight.)
Back in the hut Xenith was starting at the chunk of star metal, amazed at so much death, pain misery. Centuries of fear and hatred. All of it caused by what in the end, was just a dumb rock. She crushes the rock to powder under her hooves, Life Bloom trying to get her back into bed, telling her she shouldn't be exerting herself like this.
“Celestia have mercy!” Life Bloom ranted as he moved quickly to Xenith’s side. “Do you people ever listen to your medics?”
Velvet Remedy answered succinctly. “No.”
Yeah by now she's just learned to deal with it. Though while Life Bloom says he doesn't know any magic that will get Xenith and Reggie healed quicker, Xenith says that there is enough stuff in the hut that she can do it.
“This hut… this was clearly once the home of a great zebra alchemist,” Xenith informed us. “The wonders that these receptacles contain…” She trailed off.
Reggie ecstatic over not having to miss the fight.
I don't know why, but, the thought of Zecora being able to help them like that. Her hut being both the place of safety, and containing what they need, giving them more allies to fight by their side... I just really really love that.
Back in the battle, Stern watches as the cyberdragon is finally overwhelmed, falling to it's death, taking out one last raptor as it dies. Turning as she hears someone climbing up onto the roof with her. Stern instantly recognizing Xenith, if not by name, correctly guessing she was here to settle a score for what Stern did to her village. But rather then deal with that the griffon simply flies off, giving Xenith a dismissive wave. Xenith pulling a talisman out of her pack and putting it on, growing a large set of bat like wings to follow her quarry.
After Xenith brews her potions, both healing and augmentation ones, the group heads out, Li'lpip drifting in and out of consciousness as her exhausted body forces her to rest. They drop off the ponies they had rescued at Junction R-7, Li'lpip happy to see the Stable 2 overmare there, delivering some supplies as promised to Shattered Hoof. Li'lpip glad to see something at least going the way it was planned.
Oh and we also get a little bit about how they can safely travel in an enclosed space with a Pink Cloud breathing mouse. She rides inside a small, glass, air tight hamster ball. Li'lpip confused as to how she gets in and out of the sealed sphere, which Lionheart simply attributes to dragon magic. She may have been transformed into a mouse, but some of her innate draconic traits remained. Velvet more worried about how she breathes before remembering, oh right, ghoul.
And even THIS close to the end, the story is still adding in tiny little bits of foreshadowing and preparing the way for something bigger, all in subtle ways you don't even notice the first time through.
They land outside Stable 29. but before they can head down Li'lpip goes to see if the help the Hellhound had promised to send had arrived, and it had.
Barkin’ Saw. Our albino “friend” had indeed sent someone who might be interested in helping us. The hellhound who had seen the Enclave enslave his whole town. The deaf and senile one.
Yay?
The Hellhound was talking to a traveling salespony, one specializing it seems in medical and, ahem, recreational, supplies. Li'lpip interrupting and asking to see what the salepony has, figuring she might as well use what caps she has while she can.
Back in the present Gawd tries to come to terms with losing her daughter, having seen her fall below the clouds after the last pegasus wounded her. It was just her and Blackwing left to try and keep the sky open over Tenpony, but another patrol of Enclave troops come sup behind them, ordering them not to move. Both griffons preferring to go out fighting turn to do just that. But before anyone can react Reggie comes flying back up through the clouds, Lil Gilda clutched in her talons, taking out half the patrol, Gawd and Blackwing dealing with the rest, though not before Blackwing is wounded. Reggie answering their stunned questions at how she could survive her last wound.
“What?” Reggie teased as she fretfully dug into her bags, ignoring the looks her mother was giving her. “Never seen a zebra-augmented griffin before?”
Oh hell yes Xenith! After pouring a few healing potions down Blackwings beak they get back to work keeping the sky clear for the Celestia One megaspell to fire.
While Li'lpip was dealing with the Hellhound, mostly convincing him that she was the pony he was sent to meet, not the traveling salespony, Velvet had been talking to the leader of the Applejack Rangers. She was trying to get him to give her all of their data on transformation spells, hoping to use those to find an answer for the alicorn's issues. the Elder was hesitant, not wanting to help the alicorns, seeing them as threats and monsters. Li'lpip arriving just in time to try and help, seeing the Elder was having the same thoughts about alicorns that she had just gotten over about Hellhounds. The two at least partially convince the Elder that the alicorns were not threats in and of themselves, they had simply been tools, victims, of The Goddess and Redeye. Finally compromising, agreeing to give her access if she can convince the pony who had done most of the research to give them access, Grandpa Rattle, who had survived Friendship City and was now in Tenpony Tower.
Once that was dealt with Li'lpip goes into their real reason for stopping by, she needed every Ranger they had.
The Elder lifted an eyebrow. “Battle coming?”
I nodded. “The big one.”
Back in the Battle Xenith is knocked from the sky. Though she had managed to injure Stern rather severely, crippling one of her arms, and Stern admits she was the better fighter, the griffon as the better flier, able to take advantage of her better maneuverability in the air to win. As she moves in to finish off the wounded Zebra, she asks just what made Xenith think she could take her.
“Because…” Xenith coughed again, moaning in pain as she tried to move, tried to get back up. “…I am not alone.”
Her daughter coming down from the sky, stealth cloak being pulled away by the force of her dive as she lands on Stern's back with bone crushing force.
“Don’t. Touch. My. MOTHER!”
Li'lpip and her group leave Stable 29 with an extra dozen powered armor clad ponies in tow. The leader of the squad Strawberry Lemonade. Eager for a fight. While they travel, she gives Li'lpip details on how things have been going. The Enclave invasion had pretty much ended conflict between the two Ranger factions, with the Steel Rangers retreating to their bases and securing what they have.
As they prepare to raise above the clouds Li'lpip takes one last look at the blasted mess of the Wastes, knowing this might be the last time she ever looks at it with her own eyes. Seeing the broken, batter husk that used to be Equestria, knowing how much evil and wrongness still existed within it, but undaunted. She has fought and won against everything the Wastes could throw at her, and she wasn't done yet.
“I am Littlepip,” I declared softly, the conversation just between the Wasteland and me. “Damaged, but not defeated…” I looked for something else to say, but only one thing came from my heart. “You don’t win.”
During the battle, that tiny light of hope that had soared up out of crater unseen, returns. Hurtling towards the ground, flashes of sickly light pulsing from it till finally the light explodes. A Sonic Rainboom tearing through the Enclave forces, demolishing raptors, tearing apart the Thunderhead. Spreading it's glow over the beleaguered city. While above a massive rift is torn in the clouds, letting Celestia's sun shine down on the ponies below.
And as the once more exhausted ghoul pony falls to the ground, spent from once more doing the impossible, a bat winged form flies out of the crashing Enclave vessels and catches her.
Thoughts- Well good place to stop this part, with the shear epicness of Ditzy Doo kicking the Enclaves flank yet again. I'll get more into the overall thoughts on the battle after the end of the chapter, for now, the entirety of The Battle of Fillydelphia is far and away my favorite part of the whole story. And while I did say that the way it was structured was odd, for the battle itself, it does work. It gives us just the tiny snippets, the highlights, he best moments. And the reason for that makes sense as well once we see it. Again this is one of the only times the story breaks from what Li'lpip is seeing, doing, or thinking and shows things she wasn't around to see. And waiting till she does see these things and learn about them, that wouldn't really have worked for the story.
What does kind of suffer is the "Two days later" parts, those feel far more disjointed and odd because of the way things are written. That said, while I will say there might be a better way to have done it, the way it was written does work. It wouldn't have been nearly as powerful if we had listened to their plans before this, known everything that was coming before it happens. Again, one of the major criticisms is how the story got rushed feeling at the end, and again I can understand that one. It is far more rushed feeling then the rest of the story, but it makes sense in verse for to be so, and how much that effects you is YMMV. Once more, for me, it's noticeable, but not really an issue.
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