We get our first description of the Ministry of Image building, and, well... It sounds just like a building Rarity would design. Gem studded, overly fancy and just plain ostentatious. Complete with a statue of herself outside the door. A statue, that now has a whole bunch of proximity mines sitting behind it that the group nearly run into as they run for the door. Li'lpip trying to TK them away, only for a pair of greens to come and erect a shield over them. But she had actually decided to be a clever pony... kind of...and had hooked a broadcaster onto her Pipbuck, using it to disrupt the alicorns concentration and blow them up with the mines.
Inside they deal with a few security turrets, then notice that the lobby is filled with the corpses of several Steel rangers. The ones Cottage Cheese had sent to retrieve the Black Book. Though the group is made quite nervous about just what killed them, and why/how they were all gathered into this one spot. Searching a map of the place, they find an elevator leading right to Rarity's office, though their hopes of a quick in and out are dashed by the corpses inside it, and the broadcaster static filling it.
As they work their way through the building, Li'lpip is struck by the near total absence of corpses in the Ministry buildings. Except for the MWT, and the Steel Rangers in the Ministry of Image, there were no signs of the ponies that must have died. (Though just noticing, she forgot about Rarity) and that is a good question. The MAS could be explained by some sort of automatic process of the building to keep itself clean. The other ones?
Li'lpip stops to hack a terminal, just because, and we get some internal memos from the MOI. Talking about how pictures published should all have the right colors, be bright, vibrant, only have clear sunny skies in them, the normal propaganda stuff. Though they do mention training some of the staff to use a new system being installed to interrupt radio's across Equestria for emergency information. The same system DJ-PON-3 uses to broadcast. And a fun little memo from Rarity reminding the pony that said "Sunny days only" that, Hey Luna's in charge, lets not slight the Princess of the Night.
While looking around, they find somepony had scrawled THEY EAT YOUR SOUL on one of the monitors, making the group nervous as they head on cautiously. While they move through the room where the MOI 'corrected' books, Calamity fills the rest in on the Pink Cloud Dragon.
“That makes this much more difficult,” Steel Hooves commented. “I do not believe we have the firepower to kill a dragon of that age.”
And this from mister overkill himself. Though apparently the Dog/God alicorn had already come up with a way to deal with it. Setting up a spell that would be triggered by a certain event, and turn the dragon into a field mouse. Getting one of the ghoul dragons to bring the box with the spell down to the mother dragon. Explaining why she didn't simply cast it herself. Though the trigger for the spell makes the group halt to try and get a grip on how convoluted it was. The box was set to open and spring the spell, when the fireworks display that had been set up to start the opening of the Grand Galloping Gala was triggered. And the trigger was inside Princess Luna's private quarters in Canterlot Castle.
Okay yes it's a direct homage to how you open the Sierra Madre in Dead Money, and really makes no sense logically in any way, but, as Calamity points out.
“What part o’ what ya saw down in that basement screamed sanity t’ ya?”
The pony that set things up WAS friggen nuts, so there's a reason it makes no logical sense. He also pulls out a small gem he'd stolen from the alicorn on the way out. One that would glow once the spell had been triggered, so they'd know it went off.
And while searching, they come across a cage designed for dealing with "Extremely seditious material" which at the time, was filled with parasprites that had been altered to only eat the words off pages. Leaving the book clean, blank and 100% sedition free. (And another reference I didn't catch at the time, to the Book Chute in Old World Blues.) Oh, and turns out Equestria may have just been saved from an even more terrible fate, or at least Canterlot. Since a few days after the bombs fell, Pinkie was due to host the Grand Galloping Gala. Having gotten Luna's permission to run it for once. So Equestria/Canterlot was either spared a massive disaster by a different massive disaster, or was deprived of the most epic party in history. Either way, It most likely would have ended up in ruins no matter what.
We get a short bit where the group is attacked by 'necrosprites' and, that whole scene just makes no sense to me. At all. They are immaterial, yet can kill, even though they pass through anything. They, they really just make no sense, come out of nowhere, and don't do anything, beyond making Velvet stay back to keep them pined behind her shield while the rest go on. The whole scene could be cut, and nothing I can see would be effected, beyond Velvet being with them in the office, which wouldn't affect anything. On the whole Canterlot is AMAZING, this one part, is the only one that really just falls flat for me.
The rest of the group get to her office. Li'lpip noticing a chest with a note attached, listing Rarity's thoughts on her newest creation. A dress for the Grand Galloping Gala, that also doubles as decent lightweight armor, while being the height of fashion. Mentioning she hopes the rest of her friends will be coming to the event this year, and that she could make them all such outfits. We also get a rather ominous bit about her joking about making the dress indestructible, but she had promised AJ not to use those spells. Then giving another reason, she didn't know if "after what she'd done" she'd have enough soul to spare to do that........ DAMN! granted we find out what she meant by the end of the chapter, but still, the shear WHAT!? of that... so great.
This peeks her curiosity enough to make her open th.... okay okay this is Li'lpip, the simple fact it was locked is enough to drive her to open it. Inside she finds the armored dress, Calamity asking if he could have it.....To give to Velvet of course. After that, Li'lpip heads to the desk, using what he saw in a memory orb to open it, securing the Black Book
I reached out with my magic. I felt a cold shock as I touched it with my meager ability, the book promising to unlock greater powers and mysteries than I ever dreamed of. I didn’t have to be a one-trick unicorn anymore. With this Book, I could be Magic if I wanted to, powerful enough that I was worthy of being a Bearer of that Element.
It was mine!
No, that's not ominous at all...
They make their way back to the entrance, working out the plan before setting hoof back outside. Li'lpip will go to the castle and trigger the opening of the Gala to activate the spell while the rest take care of what they have to in the Ministry of Awesome building. Calamity protests, wanting to do it himself, though Li'lpip manages to talk him out of it. Since she has the mk II Stealthbuck and can get in on her own. Offering to him the rune stone so he'll know that it's been done. Though he tells her to keep it. (wait, she says it has to be her because she's the only one with a Pipbuck to use the Stealthbuck, yet back in Fillydelphia, Calamity was given a Stealthbuck to use to come rescue Li'lpip and would have been able to use it without a pipbuck... )
Okay, kind of odd none of them brought up the single best reason for Calamity to not do it. The fact that whatever it is they need out of the MAW building requires a pegasus to reach. Him and Velvet are the two that are needed to secure the information, not Li'lpip. So it would have to be either her, Steelhooves or both that head into the Castle, while the other two do their thing in the Ministry.
There is also a rather..... hard to describe the feeling of...bit where they discuss the possibility of finding the skeletons of Celestia and Luna. Li'lpip feeling uneasy, but saying that even if they do, it was only there bodies, there spirits having ascended. Not really vital, just a good look at her views regarding faith and the Princesses.
As they make their way out, Li'lpip finds her thoughts going back to the Black Book, wondering if there was something in there that could alter her plan. Maybe defeat Trixie on it's own, and given it's power to alter souls, maybe even save Twilight Sparkle from the Goddess gestalt. As she sneaks though the castle, her curiosity gets the better of her and she brings out the book to look at it. Coming up with numerous BS reasons to justify it. Though getting pissed when she couldn't understand the Zebra runes and screaming, alerting some alicorns, though the stealthbuck hides her from them.
She finds Luna's chambers, opening the door and seeing a wall of Pink. She dashes in, but the cloud was to thick for her to find anything, rushing out to down some healing potions, realizing she was down to only two left. As she gets ready to dash in again a voice calls for her to come out. A large alicorn coming up the stairs. Dark green and with a mane like the Princesses. Clad in armor made of bones, wearing a skull around her neck like a talisman, a skull that Li'lpip recognizes from the size and shape of the horn, as belonging to Luna....
The alicorn pulls out a small knife, cutting herself, the using the blood to create two large swords, sending both hurtling at Li'lpip, mocking her for thinking she could hide from her. Li'lpip pulling out the Book and using it like a shield, any sword hitting it exploding into a red mist. Though suffering a few vicious cuts as well. Her attention focused on the bones Nightseer was wearing, filled with rage at her for desecrating the Princesses remains like that. As Nightseer reaches out to take the Book out of Li'lpip's magical grasp, the unicorn focuses on the skull. Just as the alicorn sends a bunch of knives made out of pure magic hurtling towards her, Li'lpip takes hold of the skull around her neck, and drives it up, impaling Nightseer on Luna's horn, taking a few hits from the knives before they vanished.
The fight leaves her out of healing potions, and using the last of her bandages to try and survive, though still having to go through the pink filled room to trigger the Gala switch. behind her the remains of Luna were being burnt. A pyre being the only thing Li'lpip could think of to honor her. And while trying to work out how to survive long enough to find the switch, doing so pays off. The fire sets off the magical fire sprinklers in Luna's room. (And, I really love the way those worked, so awesomely hilarious.) washing the Pink out of the room. Li'lpip easily finding the plate and hitting it, setting off the fireworks and the spell. On her way out, she sees that Luna had kept her entire set of figurines together. Taking the entire case to give to Velvet.
She meets back up with the rest of them in the MAW building, seeing that when Spike said it had been converted into a warehouse, he meant it literally. The entire place a massive hollowed out structure full of cartons. Calamity of course trying to work out some way to fit everything into his saddlebags, no matter how much the rest tell him not to bother. As they move off, after a little teasing and a Freudian slip on her part, Li'lpip gives Velvet the case of Figurines she had found in Luna's room. Velvet taking them, the statuettes having the same effect on her that they had had on Li'lpip the first time she found each one.
And then jump cut to the group surrounded by extremely deadly robots, how they were set off, what happened, no clue, and really no reason for Li'lpip to not remember. Though thinking about it, could be that she simply decided this part of the story was long enough so was trying to get it over with. The fight goes bad, the group out numbered and outgunned. Li'lpip and Steelhooves being taken out of the fight, one of the tanks ready to finish her off when Calamity finally finds the master control and shuts them down.
They make it down to the lowest level, Velvet bypassing the shield and turning it off with help from Li'lpip's instructions. Though before the group can all go in and see what the big secret was Li'lpip tells Calamity not to. That she needs him to go back and get the sky bandit. Steelhooves armor was offline, making the ghoul unable to move himself, and the same EMP had knocked out her Pipbuck, so she couldn't simply reboot him like last time. Between what they killed, and the confusion over killing Nightseer the alicorns were scattered and few, but might be back at anytime. Calamity doesn't like it, but agrees. Giving one last set of parting words that..... holy fuck Kkat, damn it that's good. Yet another thing that seems like just a throw away line, but turns out to be a MAJOR bit of foreshadowing.
“Ah hope sacrifice is a virtue.”
Inside the shield area, the first thing Li'lpip sees is a memory orb box, a burning hoof emblazoned on it. (Burning hoof was the Pinkie Sense for being watched by Li'lpip.) Opening it up to find the Six Orbs we've been seeing throughout, stopping to view them, taking us into...
The Lightning Orb
She's in what can be assumed to be a Ministry Mare. Sitting at a table that seems to be a war room of some type. A massive table, with places dedicated to each of the Mane 6 and Luna. A map of Equestria laid out, showing us that, at least at this point, though some of Equestria is under Zebra control, the majority of the battle is going in the pony's favor. With the lines mostly deep into Zebra territory. The map is dotted with odd structures that Li'lpip eventually realizes are the SPP Towers.
Her host is revealed to not be a Ministry Mare, but rather Applebloom. The only other pony in the room being Rainbow Dash, though the two are soon joined by Princess Luna. Seeing her, if only in memory, alive so soon after the Castle unsettling Li'lpip greatly. She takes her seat, and we find out just what this meeting is about. Rainbow Dash is pitching her plan to the Princess for the Single Pony Project. Her plan to help build Equestria's Skyguard. Which in her own words is..
“In a word: weather control!”
Luna instantly asking if the idea was to use massive weather storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc... to help destroy enemy lines, RD simply looking stunned at the thought. She quickly recovers and admits she never thought of that, but that it was awesome, and of course her idea was awesome enough to do that too. RD's idea, was something just as amazing. The SPP would allow a single pony to be hooked up to the system in the "Rainbow Dash Hub of Pure Awesome!" (name not final in anything other then RD's head) and via the third Crusader mainframe, use the towers to control all weather in Equestria.
DAMN! Out of all the projects all the Ministries worked on, only the Gardens of Equestria is more grand and amazing. At least far as I'm concerned.
The idea is that doing this will free up more pegasi to help in the fighting, giving the ponies total and utter air supremacy. Even getting a very nice bit about how RD goes back to help Ponyville with Winter Wrap Up every year.
“Not a chance. They need me. I won’t leave Ponyville hanging.”
And while the way RD describes it gets her usual spin of "awesome" it really is an amazing idea. And she even admits that though she prefers to call it the Single Pegasus Project, any pony would be able to run it, not just a pegasus. And also making a point that she made sure the Crusader AI was totally removed from the equation, wanting this to be a flesh and blood pony running it at all times.
And Luna agrees completely with the idea, though recommends that RD talk to the other mane 6 about ideas they have which could utilize the towers as well, or to help make sure the main hub is as defended as it could be. RD agreeing only after getting it confirmed that this will still be her project, and her Ministry taking point.
Thoughts. Present. Amazing. The stuff with Nightseer was just, well amazing. A few minor issues which I've already listed, but on the whole, probably my favorite part of the chapter. (though as just Ministries go, still like the MAS building the best.). Admittedly the MAW building is rather anticlimactic and, well dull. It does kind of feel like a fight was simply added just for the sake of having some sort of challenge. Same with the necrospites. Those parts could really be cut out and nothing major lost. But, the Nightseer fight more then made up for that.
Past- I have no words to adequately explain the holy shit that went on in my head upon finding that out. The Orbs have been building to be grander and grander every time. Though will get more into that after the last bit. On the whole, the SPP, like I said, is second only to The Gardens in my favorite parts of this fic, and the pieces left by the mane 6 that hold the key to Equestria's future. And, even in that orb, amidst so so much info, there is still so many little hints, and foreshadowing that you simply do not see or notice the importance of the first time through.
