We open to Li'lpip musing about souls. How she had seen proof that they do exist. Though admitting her belief in an afterlife where pony souls go is still just that, a belief. But one in which she had absolute faith. Her musing going towards the Black Book. Even if the soul inside it was strong enough to keep it from being destroyed in the explosion, it was at least now buried under tons of irradiated rubble.
Then continuing on about it, that it didn't need to be some Tome of Eldritch Lore, or contain such evil, yet potent magic to tempt and corrupt ponies. All it needed was to house such a powerful and evil soul as it did. Reflecting how it was able to reach out and tempt ponies who had never even found it, give them a taste of it's power. Such as Nightseer. And yet it didn't do it to everypony, just those it felt it could influence.
I was vulnerable to it. My weaknesses — addiction, curiosity and the shame of having only a single spell — played to its strengths.
And those are all valid points, weaknesses that could be exploited, and yet having them does not make Li'lpip weak. Even with all the flaws and ways the book could play on her, she still held back, though with help from the Mane 6.
Which leads her to consider the Statuettes, and how, without her even knowing, they had helped and guided her from the first time she found one. Lending her their strength. Only able to do so openly, and in a way she would notice after being reunited. Li'lpip acknowledging that like I said last chapter, they weren't actually the souls of the mane 6. (well except for Rarity's) Merely reflections of their true selves, powered by a tiny part of Rarity's soul. And yet, they had been powerful enough in their unity to give her the inner strength to defy the Black Book, to not give into temptation.
She then considers her own soul, still worried that it was dark, black; that she had gone to far down the path to becoming Redeye to ever be "good". Though again it's utter crap, and just her always looking only at the worst in herself. Knowing that the timer on the bomb had been chosen by her, to give enough time for Calamity and Xenith to escape, but not for her. She knows that when she made the plan, she had intended to die in the explosion.
She finally wakes up, where ever she was it was pitch black. Feeling even more sick and sore then when she woke up in Glyphmark. Sensations slowly coming back to her as she remembers where she was. Checking her Pipbucks readings, she measures a constant low level amount of radiation leaking into the safe room. Though for being point blank to a megaspell, the amount was minor, though still enough to kill her soon if she ran out of rad-aways.
She turns on the light of her Pipbuck, looking around the room. Her lower body was pinned beneath a chunk of concrete, but nothing felt broken. The room was tilted, and the lower half filled with discolored water from the rooms tainted water talisman. The bloated deformed body of the pegasus that had followed her in floating in it, as well as one of her own legs. Except, she still had all of them, only, one looked new, fresh, barely covered in fur. She had regrown a leg. The thought of the changes that must have happened to her body to make that possible nearly making her black out again. Wondering if it was from radiation or taint exposure, and which would kill her first, the radiation, or drowning once the water filled the room. She turns off her light, laying down to wait for the end.
Just, oh goddesses I wanted to reach through and hug Li'lpip here. Just the resigned way she lets it all go, just laying down and waiting for the inevitable... And yet, you can't really blame her. There is no real way to escape. Sure she could move the rubble off herself, but she can't leave the room. Even if she could break a hole in it, the radiation outside would kill her in seconds. It's just, the way she simply accepts it, almost welcomes it.....
Only to be awakened as the entire safe room lurched and straightened. Some force ripping open a hole in the side. Li'lpip seeing a glowing pegasus pulling a wagon nearby, wondering just what her friends had done to themselves trying to find her. She is pulled out of the room by a super alicorn, one of the Purple ones, and gets a better look at the pegasus, seeing it was Ditzy.
Ditzy Doo had come into Splendid Valley looking for me. She had saved me
Have I mentioned how much I freaking love Ditzy in this fic?
The alicorn deposits her on the wagon. Li'lpip noting that between the radiation from the crater below them, and what was coming of off Ditzy herself, this would be a very short rescue. Ditzy seeming to read her mind and point into the bed of the wagon, which was full of rad-away, Li'lpip pulling out and downing several of them.
And thanks to some fanart, I now see Radaway coming in juicebox form. Leading to the mental image of Li'lpip, sitting on a wagon being pulled by Derpy, with a juicebox held in her forehooves as she sips on the straw... HHHHHNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!
As she was sipping her juicebox, she notices that the super alicorn had a cutie mark. Twilight's cutie mark. And it was staring at the saddlebag where the Ministry Mare figures were stashed. Li'lpip quickly brings up her Pipbuck, playing Pinkie's last message. Letting Twilight hear, after two centuries, Pinkie's last wish, that she HAD seen the light, had been willing to change, and wanted her friends back.
And, we go from the incredible cuteness, to, to, such pure, heartwrenching feels... I, I have no words..... though, it's only the start of the heart-rending sadness in this chapter.
Ditzy flies back to the ruined camp, the group coming out to see if she had found anything, overjoyed at seeing Li'lpip, while she contemplates her next moves. Needing to head to Tenpony and get cured of the taint exposure, recover from her injuries a bit, and reunite with Homage. Though, only briefly, knowing that with The Goddess out of the way, Redeye would be putting his own plan for ascension into play, and she was the only pony that could stop him.
The reunion is cut short by a sudden Hellhound attack, leading to, to.... DAMNIT KKAT!!!!! Just start recovering from the Twilight thing and then, and then, THIS!
In an utterly thorough aversion of Death Is Dramatic, Steelhooves gets beheaded by a random hellhound. Something not even a Canterlot Ghoul could survive.... And, and, I really have no idea how I feel about this, at all. It doesn't come off as gratuitous, it wasn't just a shock death just for the hell of it. And yet, it was still shocking, still not what anyone would expect. It works for the story. It has lasting impact, and yet on some level I hate it. Mostly just because of how awesome Steelhooves was. I don't hate it because he didn't go out some huge over the top Heroic Sacrifice or something, I just hate that he went out at all. Yeah this is one of the three chapters Kkat considers exceptionally dark, and, this isn't even the worst of what happens...
The site makes Li'lpip snap. Her horn bursting into light, taking every hellhound on the field and tossing them so high into the air they are lost from site, before letting them crash back to the ground.
The group head away, having to stay low, Calamity explaining that there were Enclave patrols below the clouds now, targeting anything that flew. And that by all accounts, they had just killed one of their high command, and declared war on them. Though Li'lpip hopes that they, not all that wrongly, believe that it was Redeye who was responsible. And well yes, they do, it won't stop them from killing anypony they can put in their crosshairs.
She also starts to remember some of what happened after sealing her and the random pegasus in the safe room. Getting a rather frantic lecture from her over just what balefire is. Not just magical, necromantic fire. But magical, necromancy laced, dragonfire. the pegasus believing that it sends anyone caught in it straight to hell. And while Li'lpip doubts that since stuff does survive, it does, well..
I remembered thinking of Spike roasting an Enclave pony inside her armor. It was horrid and sickening to witness, but I felt a little better about it if I could imagine he was sending her soul straight to Celestia.
And, and, okay at the time, interesting little tidbit. Now? HOLY *(%^&*)%(&$ yet again, slip in tiny little lines that seem wholly innocuous, and yet turn out to be things on which the entire story hinges. Even this close to the end.
The group lands outside New Appleloosa, though remarking that none of them can actually enter it. The group because Railright is a pathetic, sniveling, bastard. And Ditzy because she's throwing off massive amounts of radiation. Though the group assures her that it should bleed off, though that it might take weeks after the amount she'd absorbed. Xenith asking just why they were bared from town, and making them realize, she wasn't with the group when they were banned, so could go in.
While she heads in to see what was going on, Calamity mentions hearing about a pony in Friendship City that was working on radiation and ways of dealing with it, asking Ditzy if she'd like to come along with them at least that far, to which she eagerly agrees. Li'lpip mentioning they need to stop off at Tenpony first, and also at Stable 29, to deliver Steelhooves....
The gate to town opens, Silver bell running out, trying to reach Ditzy, though Xenith holds her back, Ditzy writing a note to pass to her.
“Stay away, love. Mommy’s poison.”
And, DAMNIT Can't go ONE scene without ripping out another chunk of the readers heart, can you? Though, as bad as it is, and it is rather heartwrenching, it's not THAT bad, since we know it's only temporary.
The group heads off for Manehatten, seeing more and more Enclave troops and airships descending all the time. And it is rather cool how they are designed, half thunder cloud, half actual ship. Though this does bring up the question of how they could enchant all the non-cloud parts to not just pass through the cloud base. I'm sure there are spells that could do that, but how do they cast them without unicorns?
During a rest stop, Li'lpip tunes into the Enclave's broadcast, which had taken over the air. Only listening to a bit before shutting it off, noting how bad they are at propaganda, especially when ponies were used to Redeye's usual skill at it already. And yeah, they ARE horrible at it, though for good reason, they have no clue what the hell they are doing down here. Well they do have a goal, but aside from that, they really do have no clue how to deal with the ponies of the Wastes.
Also during the stop, when nopony was really in the mood to eat, we get this from Ditzy.
Your poor beans are getting all lonely. They want to be with their stomach friends.”
They reach Stable 29, the Applejack's Rangers already having been informed about their leaders fate, and letting the group know everything was ready for the funeral to happen the next day. And asking if the group would be attending.
“Wild manticores couldn’t drag us away,” Calamity said. I quickly offered a prayer to Luna that Calamity’s words didn’t beg prophesy.
And for once, this WASN'T some prophetic foreshadowing of how things will go wrong for our heroes. Though Li'lpip does end up passing out shortly after. And it's followed by something that IS such.
“She keeps breakin’ all the rules an’ survivin’ the impossible, an’ Ah think reality is kickin’ her tail fer it.”
The funeral goes off fine, and is yet anther chance to try and twist the readers heart into knots. And while nothing comes in to attack the mourners, the Enclave still manages to add an extra level of sadness to the event, by choosing now to destroy Canterlot. Blasting the city off the mountain side. And possibly killing every ghoul in Stable City, including Twilight's mother, making it impossible for Li'lpip to uphold his final promise to Steelhooves. (Though, given just how damn HARD it is to kill a Canterlot ghoul, I would think it would be quite possible that many of them survived.)
And then, things get even worse. Velvet, tired of all the hints, of knowing the group was keeping something secret from her, raids Li'lpip's stash of memory orbs, learning about Fluttershy creating the Megaspells and giving them to both sides. And the last remaining wall around her idealism crumbles. Her entire outlook flipping from "Everypony is inherently good" to basically ponies are bastards. Though, Li'lpip does hope, rightfully so, that that was mostly the initial outburst of her pain. But in the end, she says she can't stay with the group anymore. She can't help save the ponies of the wastes, because she can no longer believe they are worth saving.
So, so much about Velvet to talk about here. As I said, this was the final bit of her idealism crumbling. She'd always maintained a firm belief that everything was inherently good, that there must always be a better way then fighting. And yes, she did have a point that some, SOME, of the encounters the group ended up fighting over could have been done without the fighting. But far from as many as she thought. She always did her best to twist reality to fit her ideals, trying to see things as she thought they should be. And that is really the best way to contrast her with Li'lpip. Both believe that the world should be a certain way, better, nicer, safer. But Velvet simply believes that's how things inherently are, and goes through mental gymnastics to keep seeing things that way, slowly admitting things aren't as perfect as they should be, but still trying to believe they aren't as bad as they really are. Li'lpip meanwhile, fully accepts that things ARE that bad, doesn't try to twist her perception of reality. Rather, simply believes that things should be better, but knowing that they will only be so if ponies make them better, not simply because they "are" and tries her best to make them so.
The part that really makes Velvet lose it, and also nearly sends Li'lpip herself over the DEH, is that when Li'lpip blew up Maripony, she not only killed the Goddess, but also the homes of the hellhounds. They lived in the mines under the base. Velvet knows Li'lpip didn't even stop to think about them. Thinking them only monsters. And yet, as hideous as it was, as much as Velvet finds it wrong. She also can' escape admitting it was still the right call. Even though it led to Steelhooves death as well, taking The Goddess was still more important. And that she can't escape that fact is tearing her apart.
While Arbu was Li'lpip's personal darkest hour, the point where she came closet to losing herself, this is Velvet's. And she is doing exactly the wrong thing. Turning away from her friends, isolating herself. Though why is understandable.
I'll admit, out of all the main characters in the story, Velvet is my least favorite. At first she was a whiny, deluded idealist who put the group in danger by twisting reality to fit her ideals, and not seeing how her ideals aren't as perfect as she thought. But she was never meant to be a morale paragon. She could be petty, underhanded (underhoofed?), duplicitous. She was always far from being perfect. Most of the "Velvet Remedy is amazing" stuff from early on, was simply Li'lpip fangirling over her idol/crush. And she quickly learns that her ideal of Velvet is far from the real thing. Also, she never came off as a strawman, she wasn't there just to show how pacifism was wrong. Her belief in not hurting others was never shown to be wrong in and of itself. But that she clung to them so rigidly was. Had such a hard time accepting that sometimes, violence was the only option. It wasn't her belief that was wrong, it was the world that was wrong for being a place where such beliefs could get you killed so easily. A place where killing a pony was often the only way to save many many others from pain and death at their hooves. It was her inflexibility that was her biggest issue, not her beliefs. And though the weeks in the wastes, that rigidness was bent, twisted, chipped away at, till now, finally, she snapped.
Calamity finds Li'lpip curled up on the floor outside Homage's room, weeping. The pegasus tries to comfort his friend as best he could, telling her they needed to get her to Tenpony and Homage, Li'lpip taking a moment to realize that he was staying with her. He admits he want's to stay and help Velvet, but that she doesn't want it, and Li'lpip needs him. Also noting that the best thing any of them could have done for her, Li'lpip already did. Giving her the Ministry Mare set.
The three ponies left of the group head into Manehatten, using Ditzy's wagon instead of their sky bandit to try and keep a lower profile, but they still run into an Enclave patrol, which starts shooting the instant they see Ditzy. Li'lpip and Calamity taking them out, though Calamity only shooting to wound the soldiers and take them out of the fight, not kill. Admitting to Li'lpip that while he didn't want to talk about his issues fighting Enclave right now, he knew he would have to soon.
And there luck continues to be horrible. There is an Enclave encampment on top of Tenpony, blocking their usual route in. Lil'pip telling the other two to hide while she goes in on hoof and tries to find out what's going on. She walks to the tower, flipping on her stealthbuck as soon as she saw Enclave patrolling the outside of the building and slipping into the tower.
And even MORE bad news for Li'lpip. Homage wasn't in the tower anymore. After the Enclave overrode her signal, she took some equipment and left, telling Life Bloom that she had an idea on how to get control again. She stays in the tower just long enough to get the taint purged from her, before heading out to rejoin her friends. The trio heading off to Friendship City to see about getting Ditzy purged of her radiation.
The guards at the entrance to the city were rather cold, till Calamity showed them his brand, proving he wasn't Enclave, then they welcomed the group, pointing them in the direction of the doctor they had come to see about Ditzy. Who the guards even recognized as the writer of The Wasteland Survival Guide. And warning the group about one of the major business ponies in the city, Ditzy agreeing that she was a bad pony to do business with. They also learn that the town held another Dashite, much to Calamity's shock. (He knew about the Dashite in question, but was just amazed that he was still alive.)
The doctor met them at the door as he group was turning in their weapons. Barely acknowledging the other two as she focused on Ditzy, all but dragging her off to her lab, eager to help. Li'lpip feeling a bit uneasy about her and what she might be doing with Ditzy. (thankfully this time it's wholly unfounded.) While the doc starts work on getting Ditzy safe to be around, the other two head out to meet Radar, the other Dashite.
He's a crotchety old pony, though still quite active, and a bit grateful that he's not the only pony that doesn't believe a word of what The Enclave was talking about. The three of them figuring that most likely, the reason they were down here was because of Redeye's plan for the towers. Wanting to control the SPP and use it for it's intended purpose, which would both remove the cloud cover the pegasi had kept up for the last two centuries, and destroy their ability to use the SPP to grow food for themselves. Li'lpip kicking herself for not having seen a conflict between the two coming sooner.
And then Radar recalls something else, remembering having heard Li'lpip's name before, asking if she'd been to the MAW building before Canterlot was destroyed. Saying he'd been there as well, just after he'd been banished below the clouds, and showing her a recording he had found. It was from the MAW basement, showing the shielded room, though it was empty. The time stamp showing this to be shortly after the war. As they wait for something to happen, Radar and Calamity inform Li'lpip that the main hub for the SPP was protected by a shield so powerful, nopony had been able to get past it. So Redeye was SOL if he thought he could. They theorize that it was keyed to only allow RD through, and since she had no decedents, when she died, so to did any chance of getting into it.
Finally RD shows up on screen. As she talks to herself, Li'lpip learns that Pinkie had asked her to come here, and to bring certain memory orbs. Explaining how they had gotten there. Even telling RD that it was for Littlepip. RD wondering just who his pony was, but trusting Pinkie enough to set the orbs in their place. Though altering something slightly. She rigged up the box, so that as soon as somepony touched it, it would send an alarm to every MAW hub, letting her know Littlepip was there, so she could come meet her.
This is the closest we come to learning RD's fate. Trapped in Canterlot, weakened by the Cloud, and with Gilda waiting outside the city to finish her off. Though there is Word of God for what happened to her, it's not official per the story so won't go into it.
Thoughts so far- DAMN YOU KKAT!! Of the three "dark" chapters, this one goes all out in making the readers need to stop and try to get their emotions under control. Just one scene after another of pain, sadness, and heartbreak. And it's not over yet. Steelhooves death being the worst part. Going into the final part, it does make you worry about if anypony will survive, and at the same time, doesn't simply feel like a shock death simply to set up that feeling. All while averting Death Is Dramatic. And the sadness just keeps building. And yet, even though this part is very very dark and sad, it still shows a few tiny rays of hope. There is still the feeling that things can still get better
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