Characters / The Other Side of The Spectrum - People and Ponies on Earth

Click here to return to the main character page.

Government Officials

United States of America

President Jack Davis

Jack Davis

The current President of the USA.

• Beware the Nice Ones: He's stated to be usually a pretty jovial fellow, but the stress of the war and lack of options drives him to give E.U. Military General Delon an earful.
• Big Good: To the human forces on Earth.
• The Chains of Commanding: Being the Commander-In-Chief during a near Hopeless War will inevitably wear a man down. King William notes that he's been aging prematurely.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Will have more than a few on the rare times he gets to relax, though it's hard not to see why.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With King William V of Great Britain.
• Our Presidents Are Different: A President Personable on a good day, which there haven't been many of lately.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Is the first of the world leaders willing to accept help from Prime Equestria, if only because there are just no other options left at this point.
• Rousing Speech: Naturally.

Sen. Patrick Goleman

A U.S. Senator who fell from grace due to his staunch anti-Equestrian stance.

Patrick Goleman

• All There in the Manual: This character's story is mostly told in bits throughout Case Files.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: His pandering to fear of "the other" and cooperation with the HLF is eerily reminiscent of historical politicians with less than savory views.
• Jerkass
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: Refused to collaborate with or acknowledge the PHL.
• With Us or Against Us: Considered human members of the PHL to be a joke and halfway to becoming newfoals.

United Kingdom

King William V

HM William Windsor

The monarch of the former United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, crowned after his father Charles was killed during the destruction of Britain by the barrier.

• Benevolent Boss: When one of his soldiers is ponified and subsequently fatally shot, William calls for a medic to treat the injured newfoal. When another human soldier protests this on the grounds that the newfoal is now their enemy, William refuses to hear it.
• Big Good: Like President Davis, most particularly to the surviving members of the Commonwealth.
• The Chains of Commanding: He does feel he's still got it pretty easy compared to President Davis though.
• The Good King: Tries to be, even though his kingdom is destroyed and subjects scattered. President Davis believes he's done a good job.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With President Davis.
• Nice Guy: Pampered and privileged upbringing aside, he's a very down-to-earth and personable fellow, even inviting True Quill to dinner with the royal family.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Averted. In real life, as of this writing, he's still a prince.
• Rousing Speech: Gives one in The King's Speech. And what a speech it is!
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: He often performs scouting missions alongside military troops.
• You Are in Command Now: After receiving news of his father's conversion, he's immediately declared the new king of the UK.

King Charles III

HM Charles Windsor

William's father and predecessor, ponified during the Fall of Britain. Reigned for several months, but made the best of it, as his reign oversaw the PHL's rise as a credible counterpoint to the PER - and later on, the Solar Empire itself.

• Ascended Extra: Makes an appearance in Once More Unto The Breach prior to his ponification.
• A Day in the Limelight: We get to see him directly in Once More Unto The Breach. Here, we see him entrusting the safety of his sons with the Umbrella Man.
• Big Good: For the (short) duration of his reign. Even the Umbrella Man answers to him, and defers his judgement to Charles.
• Fate Worse than Death: Ponified during the evacuation of Great Britain.
• Posthumous Character: Technically still alive, but he's as good as dead considering his fate.

"The Umbrella Man"

'''The Umbrella Man (Real Name: Mycroft Holmes)

A mysterious Englishman who interviews Stellar Wind in Adrift. He works for the PHL and the former British Government in some unknown capacity. As his database profile name implies, he's actually Mycroft Holmes.

• Almighty Janitor: His dialogue suggests that he holds a much higher office/position than just being an interviewer. All but confirmed by his appearance in Once More Unto The Breach, as he appears to answer directly to Charles, and Lyra is familiar with him.
• Anti-Villain: Literally referred to as this by a commenter on "In The Pale Moonlight, Part Two", and given how he is one of the main instigators of the scapegoating of Prime Trixie Lulamoon, in order to help preserve the Alliance, one can see the commenter's point.
• Big Good: It's only hinted at, but he presumably serves as this for the Adrift storyline.
• The Cameo: Makes an appearance alongside King Charles in Once More Unto The Breach.
• Celebrity Paradox: An odd variant is played out, due to the nature of alternate universes; the existence of Sherclop Pones baffles him, implying that Sherlock Holmes exists in Spectrum. Actually played straight. The real reason why is because he's the older brother of Sherlock Holmes himself.
• The Chains of Commanding: Apparently, he's had his hands full at the war's start. As Charles notes, he's prematurely aging by the time the PHL is established and ongoing.
• The Comically Serious: He's much more grounded and serious than many other characters in the Spectrumverse. That being said, he's often bewildered by the absurdities in Adrift, and initially fails to understand why Prince Harry would personally fund Lyra Heartstring's PHL given their prior animosity.
• Deadpan Snarker: He gives jabs at the notion of Stellar failing to identify a foreign head of state.
• Good Cop/Bad Cop: Downplayed. Compared to the warm and kind Molly, he's much more distant and professional in his interview sessions.
• Let Us Never Speak of This Again: See Noodle Incident below.
• Manipulative Bastard: The Umbrella Man is apparently content with threatening Doctor Bowman and his friends, sacrificing Prime Trixie and generally performing all kinds of underhanded deeds if the result will be favorable for the PHL and humanity's continued survival.
• The Men in Black: Stellar speculates he is one of these.
• The Needs of the Many: Would go to great lengths to ensue humanity's survival, at Prime Trixie's expense.
• Noodle Incident: Given the lack of information surrounding his identity, it's a given.
  • He's had a run-in with Aegis before. He doesn't want to talk about it.
  • He also had an encounter with a Newfoal that he's had the "misfortune to witness", an oddly specific reference.
  • He mentions a " NATO debacle" the media had a field day with. Judging by the way Charles and he discusses it, it's a major lowpoint for him.
  • Finally, there are mentions of unpaid debts with Lyra Heartstrings. The ambassador instantly dropped everything she was doing for an impromptu meeting with him.
• Not So Above It All: For all his professionalism, he just rolls with Stellar nicknaming him the Umbrella Man.
• Only Sane Man: He's pretty stumped by some of the sillier aspects of the story and universe in general.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Never seen without a clean pressed suit.
• The Spook: We know barely anything about who he is or what his role really is. It's hinted that he's one of the highest ranking people in the United Kingdom's government, though.

Indonesia

President Jokowi

Joko Widodo

The recently re-elected President of Indonesia. His tendency to blend in with civilians gets him stuck with a group of smugglers and civilians on board the Mamayev Kurgan.

• Celebrity Survivor: Inverted; Jokowi is so inconspicuous even as a president that nobody except his bodyguards and Michael know his identity.
• Distressed Dude: Grigori snaps and takes him hostage after his identity is revealed.
• Our Presidents Are Different: President Personable, from Stellar's descriptions of him. So much, that the Mamayev Kurgan escorts fail to realize his identity as a foreign president. Truth in Television; the real Joko Widodo takes a hands-on and friendly approach to political and civilian matters.

---

Human Civilians

United States of America

Megan Renee

Megan Renee (Née Williams)

Marcus's late mother. She was the very same Megan who traveled to the ponies' world many years ago, and vanquished Tirek.

• All Girls Like Ponies: Justified, as she worked on and eventually inherited her family's ranch.
• Cannot Spit It Out: In the "Final Words" mini-chapter, Marcus realizes in retrospect that his mother did want to tell him and Jacob about her adventures when TCB Equestria manifested on earth and her suspicions about the conversion bureaus, but was scared that they wouldn't take her seriously.
• Dark Secret: Not exactly a "dark" one, but she, Molly, and Danny never told anyone about their adventures in Dream Valley. Not even as a bedtime story to Marcus and Jacob. It's possible that this was out of habit, given that she was afraid their parents would throw them into the crazy house if they ever uttered a word about their adventures. Also counts as Let Us Never Speak of This Again.
• Death by Despair: Seeing Jacob's ponification caused her to have a stress-induced heart attack.
• Dropped a Bridge on Her: A short bit of exposition revealed she died in the beginning days of the war due a stress-induced heart attack brought on by finding out her second son Jacob was ponified. On that same note, her siblings Molly and Danny were also killed a year into the war during a crossfire between the PER and the police.
• Generation Xerox: Her legacy of dealing with ponies (and her brave Determinator streak) have been passed down to Marcus. Lampshaded by Prime Applejack.
  Applejack: (while watching a clip of Megan fighting against Tirek) "And suddenly, a lot of [Marcus'] antics make sense. Gotta be something In the Blood an' bone."
• Good Parents: Is remembered fondly by Marcus, and by many others who knew her.
• Honorary Aunt: Was this towards Porter as a kid.
• Kid Hero: Was one in her youth.
• Mis-blamed: In-Universe... Kinda. Turns out that she visited Prime Equestria in the past, so the Bag of Tirek in TCB Equestria basically is taking revenge on the "wrong" Megan.
• Posthumous Character: As she died in the beginning days of the war.
• Walking Spoiler: Thanks to The Reveal that she is the very same Megan that ventured through Dream Valley and defeated Tirek.

Brazil

Thaddeus Crowe

Thaddeus Crowe

A prominent industrialist operating from Rio de Janeiro, whose company specializes in the majority of the Magitek products made on Earth.

• Adult Child: Has various moments of questionable maturity.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Though it's more of a tendency to go off on tangents while still remembering the original subject.
• Benevolent Boss: Cares very much for the well-being of all of his employees.
• Dumbass Has a Point: He's one of the very few characters that points out the utter absurdity of the situation:
  "Sum, you're technically an alien to us. You're a magical unicorn from another universe, the leader of which is currently trying to turn us all into horse zombies. What's so silly about aliens from beyond our solar system?"
• Honest Corporate Executive: Though no David Sarif, he's far more scrupulous than the average tycoon in a Cyberpunk setting. On top of that, he seems to genuinely want to help the PHL and holds a moral compass, having kept information about harvesting alicornal tissue from Newfoals private to keep people from going crazy with it. And there's this quote:
  Crowe: "Yeah, continued survival is better than cash in this case. I am NOT extorting the guys that are saving the human race."
• Interspecies Romance: Crowe isn't mentioned to have a steady partner, but he is open to inviting his pony subordinates for dinner.
• In-Universe Nickname: "Rusty".
• I Own This Town: Prior to the war, he apparently was making some headway in improving Rio's general quality of life; this went south very quickly after the war began and refugees began flooding into Rio.
• Office Romance: "Romance" may not be the right term, yet he does inwardly mention that he found Isaac Acevedo to be good in bed.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers one to a concept rather than a person when he lays out in detail why trying to flee the planet from an enemy that can hop between dimensions would be a fool's errand.
• Straight Gay: Has had hook-ups with other men, but doesn't act flamboyant and his sexuality is only revealed in a brief blurb.

Isaac Acevedo

Isaac Acevedo

The protagonist of the Starvation side story. Works as a guard for Crowe Labs in Rio de Janeiro. Was an avid artist before the war broke out, judging from the various hobbies mentioned.

• The Atoner: Although he did what he had to do to survive, he feels sick over the fact that he had to resort to cannibalism at one point to stave off his hunger.
• Gun Nut: Really likes his guns, if the story is any indication.
• Gun Porn: He tries to go in-depth about his Taurus revolver before Button Mash cuts him off.
• Icy Blue Eyes: He says they look like a husky dog's eyes.
• I Gave My Word: He promises Autumn that he'll never cannibalize another newfoal again.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Button Mash.
• In-Universe Nickname: "The Butcher". And he isn't proud of it...
• My God, What Have I Done?: Surviving in his universe means doing things one will regret.
• No Party Like a Donner Party: His hunger drives him to eat a dead Newfoal which had tried to kill him.
• Parental Substitute: Adopts a pegasus filly named Autumn Showers. It's part of his atonement for cannibalizing a Newfoal.
• Pop-Cultured Badass: He loves Attack on Titan and Pacific Rim, and throws many other Shout Outs through his monologue. Also, he's a fan of Alternate History novels, specifically 1632, and plans to use his knowledge of Alternate History tropes to find out where TCB Equestria went wrong. Needless to say, he doesn't like the answers, but it doesn't change his opinions on TCB Lyra.
• Purple Prose: The entire story is a rambling monologue by him. Possibly justified in that he's in shock and trying to rationalize a horrible situation.
• Real Men Love Jesus: Is a Catholic.
• Sleeping with the Boss: Thaddeus Crowe mentions that Isaac is very good in bed, though it's unclear if they're an actual couple or just Friends with Benefits.
• White Male Lead: Zigzagged - he's Brazilian but has Caucasian features, the extent of which includes dark brown hair and Icy Blue Eyes. Not much else is known, other than the fact that he has a mustache.

Dr. Isaac Dan Der Grimnebulin

Isaac Dan Der Grimnebulin (Real Name: Mehmet)

A doctor also living in Rio, Acevedo's roommate, who specializes in fixing pegasus wings.

• Ambiguously Brown: Has deep tan skin, but his exact ethnicity is unknown. Though since his real name is apparently Muhammet and he makes mention of living in Turkey for some time, he's likely to be of Middle Eastern origins.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Has a minor problem with that... at least in casual conversation. It doesn't seem to affect his medical prowess though.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: He has no bedside manner whatsoever, frequently going off on only slightly related tangents.
• Deadpan Snarker: Upon Icewind's betrayal:
  "Well, this won't bite us in the ass later."
• Insufferable Genius: Rather condescending towards Twilight Sparkle in their talk.
• The Medic: Works in healing pegasus wings and analyzes alicornal tissue, helping him to understand how Marcus' rune affected his physiology following the battle with Sombra.
• Motor Mouth: He does not stop talking.
• Mysterious Past: For starters, "Isaac Dan Der Grimnebulin" is not his real name, he's implied to be Turkish, and he's gone through multiple locations across various points across the world over the war. He also mentions treating an HLF soldier at least once.
• No Social Skills: While rather affable most of the time, he's condescending towards Twilight during their talk, repeatedly interrupting and shutting her down.
• Omnidisciplinary Scientist: He's well-versed in magic, equine and human biology, among several other subjects.
• One-Steve Limit: Averted. He and Acevedo live in an apartment with "The Two Isaacs of Rio" written on the door. Although Isaac isn't his birth name.
• Shout-Out: His name is one to Perdido Street Station. Not only that, but it's mentioned that he knows how to treat pegasus wings, which is similar to the project that the protagonist of Perdido Street Station undertakes at the beginning of the novel.

---

Pony Refugees

Brazil

Button Mash (TCB)

Button Mash

An earth pony colt refugee from Queen Celestia's regime who lives in Rio. Friends with Isaac Acevedo.

• Fanboy: Of video games, naturally.
• He Is All Grown Up: He's older than his prime universe counterpart and Prime Rarity and Prime Octavia comment he grew up into quite a handsome stallion.
• Intergenerational Friendship: His and Acevedo's friendship.
• Mouthy Kid: Has his moments.
• Ship Tease: With TCB Sweetie Belle, whom he intends to see again once the war is over.
• The Smart Guy: Knows how a railgun works. In great detail too.
• Vague Age: Octavia thinks his prime counterpart is either nine or eleven, claiming that it's so hard to tell how old colts and fillies in Ponyville are. TCB Button's most definitely a teenager at this point, though.
  • What's odd about this is that one of Button's first lines on Button's Adventures is that he's eight years old.
• War Refugees: He and his mother were able to escape Equestria and took shelter in Rio de Janeiro.

Button's Mom (TCB)

Button's Mom

Mother of Button Mash and a refugee living and working in Brazil.

• Everyone Has Standards: She had more patience for raising Button than for trying to rehabilitate ponified children.
• The Ghost: She doesn't appear physically, often being at work.
• Unnamed Parent: Is only referred to as Button's mother in some way.

Autumn Showers (TCB)

Autumn Showers

An orphaned pegasus filly Acevedo takes in.

• Creepy Child: Of the Dissonant Serenity kind. It's implied that she's been forced to mature more quickly due to losing her parents. On the other hand, she's still generally a sweet kid even after everything she's gone through, and while she's disgusted that Acevedo resorted to cannibalizing a newfoal, she doesn't hold it against him.
• Deadpan Snarker: She can hold her own against Button Mash, especially when they argue over their voice pitches.
• Harmful to Minors: She's undoubtedly seen things that would traumatize adults.
• Heartwarming Orphan: She's been separated from her parents for some time before she meets Acevedo, and she's an overall gentle and innocent character.
• Morality Pet: Serves as one to Acevedo, who serves as her Parental Substitute.
• Vague Age: Her age is never specified. She's at least 12/13, given she has a cutie mark.
• War Refugees: She and her parents had set up some roots in Brazil before the war broke out, leading to them being separated when her parents were dragged back to Equestria by Solar Empire forces. She has no way of knowing whether they're still alive and can only barely survive in the utter hellhole Rio has become. Thankfully, Acevedo taking her in helps her out greatly.
• What Beautiful Eyes!: A sadder example. Ponies are known to have big and expressive eyes and Acevedo describes looking into her eyes as the total summation of all the pain and horror the war has caused.

China

Coal Embers

Coal Embers

"I've seen shit you would not believe. I've caught rides on trains, I've outrun Wonderbolts, I've met the Dragons of the East. I ran away from my parents when the war started."

—Coal Embers herself, explaining what she's been through.

A young unicorn defector from TCB Equestria, who records her exploits for Crowe Labs.

• Ax-Crazy: She's a bit too enthusiastic about lighting Newfoals and PER agents on fire.
• Been There, Shaped History: She was rescued by the Dragons of the East from the Blood Tigers' clutches.
• Berserk Button: Being called a filly.
• Big Eater: Really loves her pasta.
• Defector from Decadence
• Energy Weapon: Yeah, she can shoot lasers.
• Expy: Her color scheme is lifted from Ryuko Matoi.
• First-Person Smartass: Gives off this vibe in her accu-vox.
• Kill It with Fire: How she fights off the PER and Newfoals.
• Little Miss Badass: Is barely a teenager, but she's more than capable of kicking PER and Newfoal tail.
• Mundane Object Amazement: She loves human cars.
• Mysterious Past: She made her way across Europe, then Asia, then the Pacific all by herself as a teenager. There's a lot we don't know about her.
• Pintsized Powerhouse: Is noted to be quite small, and is sometimes mistaken for being much younger due to her size. This causes her opponents to frequently underestimate her.
• Purple Prose: Her record logs are like rambling monologues. Justified in that she has to go into as much detail as possible – there's a mention of the accu-vox manual stating she needs to be descriptive.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: As a teenager.
• Tired of Running: Her motivation for joining the PHL.
• Training from Hell: She suggests that Cheerilee put herself through this to become more proficient with her runic magic.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: This quote says it all:
  "No, let the fucker burn!"
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: If Other Side Of The Mirror is anything to go by.
• Vague Age: She's fairly young but doesn't take kindly to being treated like a little kid. Most possibly she's around her young teenage years.
• War Refugees: Escaped the Solar Empire and is likely an orphan on top of that.
• Wise Beyond Her Years: She does not read like a teenager.

---

Stampede Fleet

Capt. Rebecca Kleiner

Rebecca Kleiner

"The Pacific Queen."

A U.S. Navy Captain working to eradicate the PER all across the Southern Pacific Ocean.

• Action Girl: A more subdued example in that while she doesn't directly fight (as far as we've seen so far), she is a skilled and level-headed tactician.
• Battle Couple: With Thunderwing.
• The Captain: Of the Stampede Fleet.
• The Dreaded: To the PER forces stationed in the Pacific.
• Expy: Doctor Fluffy states he based her looks off of Motoko Kusanagi.
• Interspecies Romance: With a pegasus stallion named Thunderwing.
• Military Brat: Stated as such in her biography.
• Red Baron: Over the course of the war, she earned the nickname "The Pacific Queen".
• Take Our Word for It: Most of her and her crew's exploits are relegated to exposition, but they are credited for striking fear into the hearts of the PER that took up strongholds in the Southeastern Asian Islands and giving hope to the local refugees.
  • We get to see the fleet in action in Calm Before the Storm.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: For Thunderwing. Justified, as he was a target of HLF sympathizers on account of being a pony, and the PER and other Solar Empire loyalists would love nothing more than to punish him for his "betrayal". Thunderwing remembers her having threatened to throw people into boat propellers if they threatened him. She claims that she didn't, as that'd be a terrible way to do things.

Lt. Com. Thunderwing

Thunderwing

A pegasus stallion, lover of Rebecca Kleiner and one of the leaders of the Stampede Fleet

• All Men Are Perverts: With regards to his girlfriend at least.
• Battle Couple: With Rebecca.
• Blow You Away: His cutie mark is of a tornado with a lightning bolt.
• Genius Bruiser: His biography states he was a meteorologist before the war broke out.
• Interspecies Romance: With Rebecca.
• Red Baron: He's known as "Storm Bringer".
• Take Our Word for It: His and Rebecca's exploits are mostly exposition from the Case Files side-story. We get to see them in action during Calm however.

---

Crew of the Mamayev Kurgan

In General

• Badass Crew: Subverted. While they are armed and dangerous, they consist of a bunch of misfits given control of an aging Russian ship.
• The Ghost: Their oft-mentioned, unseen boss.

Stellar Wind

Stellar Wind

The main character of Adrift, he's a unicorn who left Equestria in order to pursue a life on Earth, only to be dragged into a smuggler group.

• Audience Surrogate: He serves as this.
• Been There, Shaped History: He witnessed the aftermath of the car bomb meant to kill Lyra.
• Blood-Splattered Innocents: Had three crewmembers shot right in front of him, and he gets forced to hide beneath their corpses.
• Break the Cutie: The events he experienced in London and on board the Mamayev Kurgan is slowly doing this to him.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Has some shades of this; he claims to have witnessed humanoid robots in St. Paul's Cathedral.
• Defector from Decadence: Subverted. While he did leave TCB Equestria, it wasn't because of a sense of growing wrongness. He's simply interested in humans.
• The Everyman: Compared to the other protagonists, as he's not a fighter and is more of a survivor.
• I Have No Son!: His father disowned him soon after he left Equestria. Not that Stellar minds.
• Mr. Exposition: Considering that the entirety of Adrift is told from his narration...
  • He drops in a huge Info Dump at the end of the first chapter.
• Nice Guy: He really doesn't like to get in anyone's way or hurt others.
• Oblivious to Love: Ana is strongly hinted to have feelings for him. Naturally, Stellar doesn't notice this.
• The Pollyanna: In spite of Earth's impending doom, and the implication that he's one of the last surviving crewmembers of the Mamayev Kurgan, he's surprisingly cheerful. Justified, as he spent most of the war in an Antarctic base.
• Suddenly Shouting: Tends to do this at times, most notably when talking about Viktor Kraber.
• Stepford Smiler: It's clear that he's in a lot of pain over leaving Equestria and seeing all the horrible things his fellow ponies have been doing to the humans. He also noticeably breaks his laidback demeanor when talking about the Newfoals beating up the bomber's corpse as well as when reminiscing about his old life in Equestria, knowing well that there's really no home for him to go back to there.
• Token Good Teammate: While the other members of the crew are experienced with illegal activities, Stellar is an all-around Nice Guy who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
• Unfazed Everyman: In spite of all the weirdness surrounding TCB Earth and Equestria, he takes it all with stride.

Ana Bjorgman

Anastasia Bjorgman

A young Norwegian woman, skilled with a rifle. Part of the escorts on board the Mamayev Kurgan, and the only female among the smugglers.

See The Other Side of The Spectrum - Equus Prime.

---

Crew and Passengers of the CPX-9782

Over the course of its journey, the last train to evacuate Halifax is host to a variety of refugees, warriors, madmen and sociopaths.

In General

• Badass Crew: Subverted. Many of them are total strangers that can barely stand each other, and are struggling to get out of this one journey alive.
• Dysfunction Junction: Heh, junction...
• Gratuitous French: Some of the crew are French-speaking Nova Scotians.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Most of them are complete strangers all thrown together and forced to work together to survive.

Tess Jones

Teresa Jones

The Welsh-born conductor of the CPX-9782.

• Action Survivor: As Red Bomber pointed out, Tess can be read as a deconstruction of this. For all that she's survived, for all the levels in badass she's taking, it doesn't mean she isn't traumatized as can be.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Has dark hair and is emotionally closed off from others.
• Anti-Hero: In a story filled with action heroes that fight in unison for humanity and ponykind, Tess stands out as a regular civilian who lacks proper training and skill with weapons, and harbors a strong dislike towards all ponies. And she slips further into darkness as her story progresses.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted. Being a Wrench Wench isn't glamorous to begin with, but lack of facilities has left her unable to shower either.
• Broken Bird: As a result of the Trauma Conga Line she's endured, she's hesitant to become close to anyone.
• Covered in Scars: From weeks of hard labor on the railroad without a rest break.
• Death Seeker: Due to all of the loss and hardship she's suffered, she genuinely feels she has little next to nothing left to live for and tells Lightning as much.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Despite the war having gone on for three long years by this point, the British-born Tess is still far less at ease about using firearms than her North American companions.
• Emotionless Girl: Is very emotionally withdrawn, and the only feeling she seems able to express with any passion is a hatred of the ponies.
• Everyone Has Standards: She hates the PER with every fiber of her being, but she does call Lightning out on cussing at Maddy, a ten year old PER member.
• Failure Knight: Mother of God, poor Tess.
• Fantastic Racism: While she's no HLF fanatic, Tess has seen too many atrocities committed by ponies for her to trust the PHL.
• Trauma Conga Line: Tess is revealed to have faced one in the past – namely, she left her family to die, completely on accident. And there's the fact that she's accidentally killed multiple civilians... twice. Losing Jean and even Firelock just adds even more to the list.
• Wrench Wench: She also helps to maintain the functions of the train. Deconstructed to some degree, as in her own words, it's had a terrible effect on her health.
  Tess: "You do not want to sniff my smalls... I've not had a shower in about two weeks, so my B.O could be used by Kagan Burakgazi as a chemical weapon, and I cut my hair with a pocket-knife. I sleep in boxcars and locomotive cabs. Half the insulation I've got against the cold comes from the grease and loco-grime I've picked up along the way. I wear gloves all the time because my hands are so dried-out from constantly handling paraffin and diesel, that the skin on my knuckles cracks every time I make a fist..."

Jean-Eric Voight

Jean-Eric Voight

CPX-9782's chief engineer.

• Black Dude Dies First: The first of the original crew to kick the bucket.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Tess is forced to Mercy Kill him as he's being converted.
• Nice Guy: Likely the most stable and moral person on the train, for what it's worth.
• Parental Substitute: Acts as one to Tess, though she tries to keep him at a distance for fear of being hurt again.
• Token Minority: He is a black Caribbean-Canadian.

Lightning Dust

Lumina Dust (Alias: Lightning Dust)

The protagonist of Last Train From Oblivion and the Prime Equestrian counterpart of TCB Dash's wingmare, who is mysteriously sent to Earth by the spiritual embodiments of the Elements of Harmony.

• Arrogant Kung-Fu Girl: She gets disabused of the notions. Oh, how she is disabused.
• Break the Haughty: First she gets pulled out of her home and into a hostile alien world where she's mistaken for her alternate universe counterpart who is an infamous war criminal, and her wings got injured in the process. Things only get worse for her quick.
• Cosmic Plaything: As if it weren't enough for Lightning to get pulled out of her home dimension to compensate for Marcus's arrival in Equestria, she also ends up on Earth a week prior to the events of the main story. On top of that, something somehow changed her cutie mark.
• Future Me Scares Me: Seeing the kind of pony she could become serves as a wake-up call for her.
• Jerkass: Though she is becoming slightly nicer as a result of the Break the Haughty routine she goes through.
• Madness Mantra: Earth's sheer difference from Equestria has, to put it lightly, not had the best effect on her sanity. "Work the problem" appears to be one for her.
• Mistaken for Badass: The Solar Empire, HLF, PER, and almost certainly PHL think she's TCB Lightning Dust. If someone finds out who she is, it will probably end in pain.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Having initially been unaware of the full effects of the conversion potion, Lightning ponified several babies. The results are so horrifying and unsettling that she gets hit with a massive Heroic BSoD and then lashes out at Nurse Mercy.
• Naïve Newcomer: A less sympathetic example than most, but few people deserve all the trouble that has befallen her.
• Pride: Wants to beat the fabled exploit of a "young rainbow-maned filly from Cloudsdale" who pulled off a Sonic Rainboom. Since the story's Prime Equestria is based on the show's continuity up until the end of Season 2, this Lightning never met or befriended Rainbow Dash.
• Rage Breaking Point: She finally hits this after getting fed up with Maddy spouting off a bunch of pro-PER/Solar Empire rhetoric, screaming a Big "SHUT UP!" at her and giving her a mild "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Earth has been so disturbing to her that she's actually developed moral standards.
• Trauma Conga Line: Lightning is the very first of the Prime Ponies to arrive on Earth, and it doesn't turn out to be a good day for her. In order, she's been caught in a storm she could barely handle, suffered severe wing injuries, ponified children, and saw a monstrous super-newfoal on a rampage.

Verity Carter

Verity Carter

An earth pony Newfoal, former HLF member and the only known human seemingly not to fully succumb to the effects of Conversion.

• Animorphism: Was turned into a pony, yet still retains her original personality and intellect.
• Anti-Hero: She used to be an operative for the HLF and still shares some of their anti-pony views.
• Closet Geek: Has a love of comic books which stems in no small part from her mother being a comic book artist.
• Color Me Black: She was a member of the HLF, who are so violently anti-pony that they refuse to believe there actually are good ponies out there that really do want to help the humans. Her transformation into a pony (while still retaining her mind) forces her to gain some perspective on this.
• Defector from Decadence: Subverted. The HLF turned on her for becoming "one of the enemy", but she doesn't hold it against them much.
• Gayngst: Back in High School, she had a girlfriend named Astrid who broke up with her, calling their relationship "wrong" (it's implied her father pressured her into the breakup) and she hasn't seen her since. This is just one of the many, many bits of baggage hanging off of her.
• Happily Adopted: The timeline states that she was the result of an unplanned pregnancy and her birth mother put her up for adoption. Verity went on to live a happy life with the Carter family... until things went down the drain.
• It's Personal: Verity's mother, Jazmin, suffered from the early symptoms of Alzheimer's and took the ponification serum at a Boston hospital to cure it. Not only did Jazmin undergo the personality changes that come with being a Newfoal, but she was also Transgender, and was turned into a stallion by the potion, and left the family shortly after getting turned, causing Verity and her father Mike to join the HLF.
• Karmic Transformation: Her transformation into a pony and the resulting hunt the HLF has put out for her.
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much: A Newfoal who neither worships Queen Celestia nor wants to convert humanity.
• Phlebotinum Rebel: For some (currently) unknown reason, she is the only Newfoal in existence that has managed to still retain her original personality and free will.
  • Then again, considering how some people in the PHL stated that Verity is not actually a Newfoal, it's questionable as to how much of a rebel she really is.
• Seeker Archetype: Is searching for Maud Pie; there seems to be little love lost between the two.
• Shadow Archetype: Doctor Fluffy suspects this is true of her and Kraber, the idea being that the reason they hate each other is that they're very similar to each other.
• Spicy Latina: Downplayed. She's of Hispanic descent thanks to her biological family, but she's not exactly a sexual person and any fanservice of her is nonexistent. She's definitely tough, brash and confrontational though.
• Straight Gay: Given her mentions of an ex-girlfriend named Astrid.
• The Unreveal: Has happened so many times that it almost qualifies as a Running Gag. It's nearly revealed, three times in Calm, only for it to be interrupted once by Newfoals attacking, another by an explosion, and the third by the end of the chapter. Kraber and Aegis get in a discussion about whatever it was that caused it in Many Faces, while never actually explaining it, and Light has danced around the issue like a pretty ballerina.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: "Buds" would be stretching it, but she and Kraber do not get along, especially after she gets ponified. However, there are enough moments of understanding between them in Chapter 5 of Light to qualify them as this.

Maddy Liu

Madeleine Liu

A ten-year-old girl that became a member of the PER after her parents were killed. She initially wanted to become a pony like her companions, but gets forced to rethink her position when things start going down the drain.

• Break the Cutie: Losing her parental figures (Mercy and Rio), witnessing the more horrific side of the Newfoals, almost getting turned into a "Pretty Private"? It hasn't been a good week for her.
• Creepy Child: She's a young child who actually looked forward to ponification and genuinely believed it was the right path for her. However, it's also made clear that being raised by the PER has left her brainwashed and she doesn't really know any better.
• Heel Realization: She's slowly but surely starting to realize that ponification is not right.
• Morality Pet: Is becoming one for Prime Lightning Dust.
• Parental Abandonment: Her parents died in the early days the war.

---

Dragons of the East

In General

The Legends themselves. Want a bigger size? It can be found HERE. Humans (from left to right): Khan Aitmatov, Ivan Melnik, Yon-Soo Park, Porter Stanley, Hyong-Jin Kang and Sergei Zaslavski. Ponies (from left to right): Blizzard Flurry, Firebrand, Aquamarine Glimmer and Comet Tail.

The main characters of the Asia Side-Story. By the time of the main story, they are known as one of the greatest symbols of the Asian resistance. Their members include a mixture of humans and ponies who run the spectrum from professional soldiers to civilians who've taken the call to arms. Listed below are the tropes that apply to them as a group.

• Badass Normal: The human members anyway. They might not have runes or magical weapons, but their resourcefulness, skills and teamwork have been valuable to their survival.
• The Dreaded: To any of their enemies, including the PER, HLF, and the Solar Empire's forces, due to the sheer amount of destruction they dish out.
• Family of Choice: Lampshaded by Comet, who considers the others Honorary Uncles in a way.
• Multinational Team: Their roster includes a South Korean, an American, a North Korean, three Russians, and four ponies.
• Red Baron: As a group, they have their Dragons moniker, which Porter's little brother finds rather funny.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In the Asia Side Story's Gainax Ending, they elect to leave their home universe, which is on the verge of collapsing at the seams.
• True Companions: They will stick to each other till the end.

Lt. Porter Stanley

Porter Stanley

An American soldier stationed in South Korea when the war began. He takes on the call to arms for especially personal reasons against the Solar Empire. He saves Yon-Soo's life and takes in Hyong-Jin, helping them train to become better fighters, unknowingly molding a group that would become a symbol of the Asian resistance.

• Big Damn Heroes: Saved Yon-Soo from getting ponified at the DMZ battle, kicking off the plot.
• Childhood Friends: Knew Marcus as a kid, due to their fathers having served in the Gulf War together.
• Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Word of God states his looks are based on Scott Porter's. Though the other fantasy cast lists Stephen Amell for him.
• Crusading Widower: Part of Porter's motivation to go against the TCB Equestrians stems from his girlfriend, Eun-Hee, getting ponified on the day the war broke out.
• Dad the Veteran: His father served alongside Marcus' father in the Gulf War.
• A Day in the Limelight: Has his own segment in Calm Before the Storm, where he and his father discuss their connection to the Renee family.
• Facepalm: Has one when Yon-Soo wastes a bunch of bullets during a training exercise.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: He has hints of this dynamic with his little brother Charlie, who is the more foolish one compared to Porter (though Charlie still does hold a decent job as a paramedic/nurse).
• Hallucinations: He sees a vision of David, Megan, Jacob, TCB Lyra and the Scribe standing next to his family in chapter 5 of Calm Before the Storm.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: He reveals in "The Face of the Enemy" that he convinced Eun-Hee to go to the conference in Berne where she ended up ponified.
• It Gets Easier: Subverted. He admits that as a soldier, one can never truly get used to killing and seeing death on a regular basis. All you can do is get sharper and more adaptive.
• It's All My Fault: He carries a lot of guilt and self-hatred for convincing Eun-Hee to go to that disastrous press conference in Switzerland. He even states that if it wasn't for the support of his family and friends, he'd have just started indulging in Revenge Before Reason like the HLF.
• It's Personal: Wants to get back at Queen Celestia for ponifying his girlfriend (one of the reporters that got forcibly converted at the press conference in Berne).
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Can be a real hardass at times, yet his heart and head are in the right place.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: He states he's a cat person, and apparently has a special spot for Maine Coons.
• Sir Swears Alot: Not quite as extreme as others, but he has his moments.
• The Spock: To Yon-Soo's Kirk and Hyong-Jin's McCoy.
• The Stoic: Is good at controlling himself and not letting emotion cloud his judgment on the battlefield.
  • Not So Stoic: Has an understated version of this reaction to everything that goes on in the story's Gainax Ending, which leaves him throwing his hands up, saying "screw it", elect to leave their universe and state he needs a beer.
• Supporting Leader: He's the one with the most military experience among the main characters of the Asia Side-Story, though Yon-Soo's technically the main character.

Capt. Yon-Soo Park

Yon-Soo Park

The protagonist of the Asia Side-Story. A former celebrity from South Korea who takes the call to arms when Queen Celestia declares war on humanity.

• Action Survivor: Started off as one. Justified, as he did have some military training long before the war (although it didn't really stick).
• Audience Surrogate: Whereas Marcus and Stephan are career soldiers with a lot of previous wartime experience, and most other heroic characters have clearly been fighting a long time, Yon-Soo is a regular civilian (or as regular as an actor/singer/model can be) who takes on the Call to Adventure, and starts off scared and way in over his head, only surviving through sheer luck but he gets more competent over time (though he's still not quite used to the harsher and more visceral aspects of war).
• Celebrity Survivor: Was a pop star, soap opera actor, and a model before the war.
• Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: He's modeled off South Korean actor Lee Min-Ho.
• Defiant to the End: Decided to go out taking down as many PER and Newfoals as he could, and mouthed off at them when he thought he would get ponified.
• Friend to All Children: He helps to teach civilian human children how to defend themselves (and is disgusted at what the Empire is forcing humanity to resort to), and instantly befriends pegasus filly Comet Tail.
• The Hero: Of the Asia Side-Story. Though he could also count as a Supporting Protagonist. He is also technically The Lancer to Porter's Leader.
• Heroic BSoD: Gets a brief but hard one when he is forced to Mercy Kill a fellow soldier that got doused in the potion. He then recovers and channels his anger into fighting Newfoals.
• The Kirk: To Porter's Spock and Hyong-Jin's McCoy.
• My Beloved Smother: His mother has some shades of this.
• Nice Guy: One of the kindest people in this setting.
• Old Shame: In-Universe; apparently, he has some very embarrassing music video floating around somewhere that he hopes no one ever finds out about.
• Stress Vomit: Has this after the evacuation and battle in St. Petersburg from a combination of feeling glad to be alive and just being overwhelmed by the fact that he had to do some brutal things to survive the ordeal.
• Took a Level in Badass: Goes from an Action Survivor to a competent soldier who doesn't hesitate to pull the trigger when he has to.
• Uncle Pennybags: Donated a lot of money to humanitarian causes when he was a celebrity, and he just considers himself one of many soldiers in the brave fight to protect earth. He's even rather flustered when Blizzard Flurry recognizes him and praises his work.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: His parents didn't approve of his first career choice, but allowed him to pursue acting in the end. They also didn't want him risking his life out on the front lines, but that was more out of fear for his safety rather than disappointment on their end.

Sgt. Hyong-Jin Kang

Hyong-Jin Kang

A North Korean soldier that survived his squadron's ponification by running away. He crosses paths with Yon-Soo and Porter, and as time goes on, greatly expands his worldview.

• Conditioned to Accept Horror: His harsh life in North Korea makes him better able to process the harsher aspects of battle than Yon-Soo.
• Dirty Coward: Initially. He gets much better as time goes on.
• Disappeared Dad: His father died of an illness when he was younger, forcing him to take on the role and responsibilities as "the man of the house".
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Has developed this with Firebrand.
• It's Personal: Wants to destroy the PER and the Empire for ponifying his family and being responsible for the nuking of North Korea.
• The McCoy: To Yon-Soo's Kirk and Porter's Spock. Especially prevalent in Chapter Six, when he decries President Davis' decision to nuke Washington DC.
• Took a Level in Badass: Thanks to getting some proper training.
• Took a Level in Kindness: He initially hated all ponies and didn't care if they did sympathize with the humans. Thankfully, an encounter with TCB Lyra, as well as a developing friendship with Firebrand helped him to get over this sentiment.

Stf. Sgt. Firebrand

Firebrand

A pegasus stallion that served as one of TCB Lyra's bodyguards before deciding to stay at the military base in St. Petersburg with Yon-Soo, Porter and Hyong-Jin.

• Bruiser with a Soft Center: He's deadly and dangerous in battle, but a very kind soul off the field.
• Bully Hunter: He got his cutie mark (a pair of swords crossed over a shield) by defending someone from some bullies.
• Despair Event Horizon: He comes very close to crossing this when TCB Lyra was executed. He's also horrified with himself after learning his fire tornado killed thousands of civilians.
  • Not helping matters is that after the latter, Weaver appears in his dreams and proceeds to torment him over it (using words lifted directly from Spec Ops: The Line), claiming that Lyra would be disappointed.
• Expy: Looks-wise, he's a gender-flipped version of Major Firebird from The Conversion Bureau: Conquer the Stars.
• Fiery Redhead: A male example.
• Flying Firepower: Is a pegasus who can control fire.
• It's Personal: Chapter Five of the Asia Side-Story reveals he has quite a deep-seated hatred for some of the Royal Guards. He explains that he got kicked out of the Royal Guards after drunkenly agreeing to do a stunt concerning a fire tornado that destroyed a part of his division's base and injured several soldiers, and the pony that dared him to do the stunt (one of Firebrand's good friends at the training camp) didn't stick up for him, starting his vendetta.
  • TCB Lyra's death is another push in his desire to defeat the Solar Empire.
• Kill It with Fire: His "fire tornado" is this.
• Metalhead: He briefly mentions loving rock music during "A Melody of Flames and Frost", and Word Of Kizuna confirms it more strongly.
• Morality Pet: In the time he gets to know the guys, he serves as a remedy for Hyong-Jin's initial hatred of the ponies. Yon-Soo even lampshades this after a scuffle with some HLF members.
  As they walked in, Yon-Soo noticed Hyong-Jin and Firebrand having a small conversation with each other, and couldn't help but realize that Hyong-Jin could have very easily become like those people they just fought - a rabidly anti-pony warrior consumed by his hatred instead of seeing reason. He had to admit, he was very glad they had Firebrand around, who was not only a valuable teammate but also a good friend, and it was clear that pegasus had a good effect on Hyong-Jin in general.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Has this after discovering the fire tornado he whipped up in Erenhot killed several civilians and refugees. The nightmare and Breaking Lecture Weaver torments him with afterwards don't help either.

Stf. Sgt. Khan Aitmatov

Khan Aitmatov

An older Russian soldier, first seen during the evacuation of St. Petersburg alongside Melnik.

• Action Dad: It's revealed in "A Journey to the East" that he has a daughter who is living in America. He's very worried about her.
• Bash Brothers: With Melnik
• Boisterous Bruiser: He's a little too enthusiastic about killing Newfoals.
  Aitmatov: "Like shooting fish in a barrel, it was. I don't think I've ever gone through a magazine in so little time. Hell, aim for the unicorns while they're casting spells, and they practically explode! I just remember thinking there, 'Oh my God! They explode! My life has new meaning now...'"
• Disappeared Dad: He has one, evidently a Mongolian.
• Friendly Sniper: He's a fairly jovial fellow.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Melnik, to the point that Khan nearly flies into an Unstoppable Rage when Melnik gets injured.
• Hidden Depths: Who would have guessed that he read Cory Doctorow's book For the Win? Or that he liked "The Baker's Dilemma"?
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Manages to shoot an RPG out of the air... with a revolver. Granted, he was very lucky.
• Interspecies Romance: Aitmatov and Blizzard Flurry are in a relationship.
• Old Soldier: Aitmatov is described as being much older than the core group. He states he's forty-three in "The Face of the Enemy".
• Revolvers Are Just Better: Carries an RSH-12 revolver.
• Rousing Speech: Gives a short but effective one to the team after Lyra's execution.
  "The point is, we don't need Lyra to lead us to be the PHL. We don't need her to inspire us to fight, or resist being turned into zombies. We can do that ourselves. Even if she's gone, even if the PHL get downsized into oblivion, we still remember her. We still remember what she wanted us to do, and we can still fight alongside ponies that have decided a hopeless war is still better than the fascist shithole that is their home. Being PHL isn't about Lyra, or anything like that - it's about what she'd want us to do. It's about what she believed in. It's about standing up for that, for ponies and humans alike."
• Shout-Out: Named after Khan Aitmatov from Metro 2033.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: He's pretty enthusiastic about how fragile the Newfoals are.

Corp. Ivan Melnik

Ivan Melnik

Aitmatov's partner in kicking ass, he comes along with the team after the evacuation of St. Petersburg.

• The Alcoholic: With a seemingly inexhaustible supply of booze.
• An Arm and a Leg: Melnik loses his left arm during a skirmish with the PER and HLF in "A Melody of Flames and Frost".
• Ax-Crazy: Downplayed. It's stated that he likes to get up close and personal in combat, and the fact that he specifically asked for a drill arm speaks volumes about his personality.
• Bash Brothers: With Aitmatov.
• Cyborg: Thanks to a new arm from TCB Lyra.
• Divergent Character Evolution: Used to be practically interchangeable with Aitmatov. As of Chapter Eight, this is changing.
• The Eeyore: Granted, he has plenty of happy moments, but he's quite the pessimist. Unfortunately, much of the pessimistic stuff he's said has been completely right.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Aitmatov.
• Old Soldier: Refers to himself as an "old man" in Chapter Seven. Whether or not he is, however, is debatable, as Vague Age is fully in effect.
• Shout-Out: Named after Melnik from Metro2033
• This Is a Drill: His prosthetic arm has a drill in it. He wholeheartedly embraces any potential references that can be made with the thing.

Corp. Blizzard Flurry

Blizzard Flurry

A pegasus mare that fights alongside Aitmatov and Melnik.

• An Ice Person: Along with her name, her cutie mark is of snowflakes blowing in the wind, signifying her talent in snow and ice creation.
• Ax-Crazy: Shows hints of it in "Don't You Worry Child". She's a little unnerved by it.
• Cool Big Sis: Becomes this towards Comet Tail.
• Fangirl: She recognizes Yon-Soo when she first meets him in person and states she finds him very funny in his TV show The Baker's Dilemma.
• Interspecies Romance: With Aitmatov. Also counts as May–December Romance since Aitmatov's older than her.
• Old Shame: In-Universe: She did something in Equestria that made Aquamarine vaguely recognize her, and claims it's a good thing portable video cameras don't exist there.
• Police Brutality: Well, she was the victim of it during a peaceful protest.
• Vague Age: She's stated to be younger than Aitmatov and Melnik, but no exact number is given. Word Of Kizuna states she's in her early twenties.
• War Refugees: Implied, though she's in a better situation than most.

Pvt. Aquamarine Glimmer (TCB)

Aquamarine Glimmer

A unicorn mare who was caught in the clutches of the Russian HLF with her pegasus daughter Comet Tail before getting rescued by Yon-Soo and his teammates.

• Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: Spending well over two years away from her husband (which itself was caused by less-than-ideal circumstances) leads to her heart wandering towards Sergei. Subverted at the end, however, when she and Sergei decide to break up and decide they're Better as Friends.
• Action Mom: In her debut chapter, she summons a shield spell to protect Porter from getting shot. She learns to strengthen it more and get combat training to play this straighter.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: She leaves Comet feeling a tad mortified when she talks about Frost and how much Comet misses him in front of the other Dragons.
• Barrier Warrior: The shield spell is also her signature move. It can even withstand a direct hit from a grenade.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Her husband was a Royal Guard, and he welcomed the Newfoals completely. When Aquamarine brought up her discomfort with them, he accused her of being a traitor to the empire, forcing her to take Comet and escape from Equestria.
• Interspecies Romance: She chooses to pursue one with Sergei.
• It's Personal: She wants to get back at the Empire for how it corrupted her husband and broke her family apart.
• Love Martyr: Averted. She still hopes Gale can be broken out of whatever controls his thoughts, but she decides to pursue a relationship with Sergei. Then it zig-zags at the end when Rick Sanchez states he's also going to rescue Gale and break him out of his brainwashing, causing Aquamarine to realize she has to help him out.
• Mama Bear: She takes down an entire potioneer ship and its Newfoal fleet all by herself when the Newfoals promise to "heal" her and Comet of humanity's influence.
• Shipper on Deck: She's one for her Comet and Frost Wind, much like her counterpart is with hers.
• Soap Punishment: While not literally, she threatens to make Melnik regret swearing around Comet. Porter also makes reference to this as well.
• Team Mom: Is becoming this for the group.
• Took a Level in Badass: After undergoing training, she greatly strengthens her magical and physical prowess.
• Training from Hell: Undergoes this to be of better help to the soldiers.
• True Blue Femininity: It's right there in her name.

Pvt. Comet Tail (TCB)

Comet Tail

A pegasus filly who escaped from the Solar Empire with her unicorn mother Aquamarine Glimmer and was caught in the Russian HLF's clutches before getting rescued by Yon-Soo and his teammates.

• Cheerful Child: Still maintains a sunny attitude despite her experiences. However, that sunniness is getting clouded up as time goes on.
• Child Soldier: Comet actually wants to become one, because she's afraid of what'll happen if she's kept away from her mother. Other Side of the Mirror shows that she has a heart-shaped shield for a cutie mark and becomes quite an effective fighter.
• Corrupt the Cutie: She starts to show signs of this in "The Face of the Enemy", when she gets a sick pleasure out of taunting an injured Newfoal, and disowns her father. Justified in that she's a young kid and she's serving on the front lines of a war, so it's naturally going to have an effect on her mindset.
• Dark and Troubled Past: See above with Aquamarine.
• Harmful to Minors: Being locked up in a prison full of dead and mutilated ponies, forced to witness atrocities and deaths on a daily basis, and coming of age right in the middle of a warzone? Definitely harmful.
• I Have No Son!: Inverted; she disowns her father out of feeling angry and bitter over him abandoning her to serve the Empire. It becomes even more cruelly ironic when it's revealed in Mirror that Prime Comet is quite the Daddy's Girl. In the end, Aquamarine tells her to let go of her anger towards her father, especially since they now know he's been under the control of the Geis, and the story ends on the implication that they'll fix their relationship in time.
• Innocent Swearing: Spending time with a group of soldiers has colored her vocabulary up a bit, much to her mother's embarrassment.
• It's Personal: Her vendetta with the Solar Empire stems from how it corrupted her father (a pegasus in the Royal Guards), split up her family, and took her friends away from her.
• Loose Lips: She lets it slip that she, Yon-Soo and Tatiana saw Sergei and Aquamarine kiss each other.
• The Matchmaker: She does more to get her mother and Sergei together than they do. Needless to say, she's not happy when they break up in the finale.
• Maybe Ever After: Like her counterpart, she'd struck up a friendship with Frost Wind that had some hints of a crush underneath. When Rick Sanchez states he's going to be picking Frost up to escape the collapse of their universe, Aquamarine notes that she knows Comet misses him and suggests that she reconnect with him. As Kizuna and Sledge had Ship Teased them in Mirror, this is the closest that they'll get to becoming an Official Couple.
• Precision F-Strike: In general, her vocabulary is appropriate for a kid her age, but if a situation calls for it, she'll let one slip.
• Pink Means Feminine: Her coat is pink.
• Tagalong Kid: Though she refuses to be The Load.
• Token Mini-Moe: Yon-Soo even lampshades how tooth-rottingly cute the filly is.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: She begins exhibiting shades of this in "The Face of the Enemy", when she stumbles upon an injured Newfoal and takes an especially disturbing amount of delight in taunting it and insulting Queen Celestia to its face. Not to mention her dropping a Cluster F-Bomb throughout...

Pvt. Sergei Zaslavski

Sergei Zaslavski

A Russian soldier that joins with the main group during and after the St. Petersburg evacuation and battle.

• Berserk Button: Hurting innocent civilians (especially women and children).
• Better as Friends: Him and Aquamarine realize this in the finale.
• Big Brother Instinct: Towards Comet.
• Demolitions Expert: As a result of his knowledge of explosives.
• Interspecies Romance: With Aquamarine. Then they break up.
• Older Than They Look: He's described as a bit short and youthful looking, but Vague Age is in effect here.
• Parental Substitute: Becomes a surrogate father figure towards Comet in "The Face of the Enemy". He's still trying to get used to it though.
• Promotion to Parent: To Comet as of "The Face of the Enemy".
• Sixth Ranger: He's the fifth member to be added on the team, but it still fits.
• Stuff Blowing Up: His specialty.

Cpt. Tatiana Barisov

Tatiana Barisov

A refugee from Ukraine and a high-ranking member of the Bridle Path Underground. She joins the Dragons of the East.

• Action Girl: It's hinted she helped teach many members of The Underground how to fight.
• Amazonian Beauty: While she's of a more average height, she's noted to be toned and muscular.
• Dark and Troubled Past: She lost her whole family to the Solar Empire. In particular, her brother Nicholas (who had cerebral palsy as a result of their mother being exposed to chemicals and pollution) joined the PER and tried to leave when he realized what they were truly up to, but this was right around the time that the Three Weeks of Blood was in full swing. The HLF came in and brutally murdered him and the rest of them. Since then, Tatiana's been trying to keep going on and doing good in his memory.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Has blonde hair and is a kind person.
• It's Personal: She hates both the PER and the HLF for being responsible for her brother's death.
• Mysterious Past: It's implied she has quite a few stories to tell.
• Sixth Ranger: Numerically, she's the eighth member of the group, but she fits this.

---

Ponification for Earth's Rebirth

The PER is a group of human collaborators that denounced their humanity in support of the Solar Empire. They wish to speed up the process of humanity's "salvation" by ponifying everyone, regardless of whether they want it or not.

In General

• Anti-Human Alliance: A group of humans dedicated to helping the Solar Empire conquer Earth.
• Asshole Victim: No one in-universe really has a tear to shed over their deaths, no matter how brutal it can be. Kraber himself barely carries any guilt over the way he tortured and killed the PER members he targeted, which has to say something. One soldier even states that he can torture a PER member he captured and absolutely no one is going to raise a stink over it.
• Boomerang Bigot: They're humans who hate being human and hate their own kind.
• Brainwashing for the Greater Good: They are completely convinced ponification will solve all of humanity's problems, regardless of any trade-offs.
• Category Traitor: Needless to say, everyone that's against the Solar Empire hates the PER. The HLF especially have been known to post videos of themselves on the Internet, viciously torturing members.
• Les Collaborateurs: They're humans who are working with the Solar Empire.
• Cult: Some branches practically worship Queen Celestia as a goddess meant to deliver humanity from its vices. One defector, Ernst Kasparek, describes the group as such.
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: Doesn't matter where on planet Earth you hail from, you're welcome to join them in molding all of humanity into a whole new race.
• Evil Luddite: Many human members are hardcore environmentalists that put humanity down as a virus or a disease while praising ponies for supposedly being one with nature.
• For Your Own Good: They justify forcible conversions as being this.
• Holier Than Thou: According to Marcus, the human PER members see themselves as the only truly good humans.
• Kill the Poor: Or ponify, as homeless people are especially easy targets to get at.
• Knight Templar: They believe that ponification is the right way and they see nothing wrong with forcibly dosing innocent civilians.
• Mad Bomber: Their preferred weapons are glass vials of ponification potion which they throw at their targets.
• Misanthrope Supreme: Many of the human PER operatives loudly and vociferously denounce humanity.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: Since most of them are civilians with little to no actual combat experience, they aren't very effective in a direct fight with armed forces. They are, however, far more dangerous when going undercover to ambush large crowds of civilians with the potion.
• Paranoia Fuel: Are this to civilians In-Universe. Due to their activities, it's generally considered an unwise idea to go outside without wearing armor or a hazmat suit and carrying at least one gun (Acevedo being one of them). Richard Stanley, Porter's father, even noted in an interview that his small-town neighbors all installed security systems into their homes and slept with the lights on during the early days of the war.
• The Quisling: They're all too willing to sell out their own species for their own selfish reasons. The Imperials only value them for adding more Cannon Fodder to their forces.
• Would Hurt a Child: They are known to go after children for being "easy" targets. Calm Before the Storm makes a reference to security camera recordings of PER members breaking into hospitals and ponifying sick children. They even go into maternity wards to convert infant babies!
• Wrong Genre Savvy: They consider themselves the true heroes of the war.

Dr. Jacqueline D. Reitman

Jacqueline Dionna Reitman

The founder of Ponification for Earth's Rebirth. A once respected medical doctor who first pushed the ponification serum as a miracle cure, she became the founder of a terrorist cell dedicated to carrying out the Solar Empire's work. She was captured during a raid in Arizona and is currently awaiting execution.

• 0% Approval Rating: The story states that she'll go down in history as one of the most hated people in the world. Other than Queen Celestia, she's the only representative of the Solar Empire whom everyone and everypony opposing the conversion bureaus truly wants to see dead and buried.
• Adapted Out: Word of God states that she will be cut out of SPECTRUM. Replacing her will be a pair of Decomposite Characters in the form of Dr. Caitlyn North (the founder of the "Ponification for Humanity's Health" organization) and Felix Nichols (a radical environmentalist who rallies more radical members of the PHH to his cause).
• Boomerang Bigot: A human who hates humans.
• Category Traitor: A human who wants to see all of humanity under the Queen's hooves.
• Dark Messiah: She was seen as a "high priestess" by her more fanatical followers.
• Death Row: The penalty she is given.
• Dirty Coward: She had no scruples over forcibly ponifying countless millions against their will. However, for all her talk about the pony species' superiority, she never wanted to take the potion herself (or at least was brainwashed not to take it).
• The Dragon: She was Queen Celestia's top human lackey.
  • She had a Dragon of her own in Catseye, a white unicorn pony with an orange-pink mane and gold-rimmed glasses.
• Dr. Jerk: "Jerk" doesn't quite cover it.
• Evil Counterpart: A species-flipped one to TCB Lyra, right down to the messianic undertones and their similar dreams of believing in something beyond their respective worlds.
• Evil Luddite: Considers technology to be "soulless".
• Evil Redhead: She's described as having auburn colored hair.
• Freudian Excuse: During the first dream Weaver constructs for Catseye, the Reitman apparition claims that, when she was a junior practitioner for Doctors Without Borders, she saw a bunch of children she'd vaccinated had their arms hacked off by the superstitious villagers, and the fact that said adults did this out of love utterly traumatized her. However, the spirit of TCB Lyra doesn't buy it.
  Lyra: "I believe you're making up excuses for yourself, doctor – this sounds more like a terrible event you've appropriated just to have a sob story and justify your nihilistic cynicism."
• Godwin's Law: Some of the other characters explicitly compare her to Adolf Hitler.
• Hate Sink: The Solar Empire might not be slouches in the atrocities department, but it's also made clear that they're all just pawns in Tirek's master plan. Reitman, while she was clearly little more than a pawn for Queen Celestia, was a self-serving opportunist who sold out her species and had a direct hand in starting a nightmarish war of untold suffering just to fulfill her own desires.
• Hypocrite: In several major ways.
  • Loathes humans, human culture, technology and science, all the while glossing over the fact that she herself is human, uses human technology and is a practitioner of human medicine.
  • She also sneeringly refers to Lyra as "the Betrayer", ignoring that she herself is a remorseless Benedict Arnold to all mankind.
  • To top it off, she wouldn't even consider taking the potion herself, while happily forcing it on countless others (though it's stated by the writers that Queen Celestia put a hypnotic suggestion into her mind that prevents her from taking the potion until she outlived her usefulness, since her usefulness would be greatly limited if she had been turned into a Newfoal sooner).
  • She also claims that humans and ponies can't be friends, in spite of the fact that she was friends with plenty of ponies herself, particularly TCB Catseye. TCB Lyra even points this out with an Armor-Piercing Question.
• It's All About Me: She claims that she never wanted to start a war and that everything she did for the Empire was for the betterment of humanity, but at the very bottom of it all, she was purely motivated by her own selfish desires and interests.
• Knight Templar: She claims everything she did was for the greater good of humanity and the right thing.
• Mad Doctor: Responsible for pushing for the ponification serum to be used by the public, and is the founder/leader of a terrorist cell even more hated than Al-Qaeda.
• Misanthrope Supreme: As much of a misanthrope as the Real Life loon she's based on.
• Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Less "morally ambiguous" and more "traitorous".
• More than Mind Control: Word of God states that Queen Celestia placed a mental block in her mind to make her not take the potion until "the time was right" so as to milk every bit of usefulness she could've served.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Dr. Reitman is based off the notorious Conversion Bureau author Chatoyance.
• No True Scotsman: Makes this accusation against TCB Lyra, saying she's not a "true" pony because of her association with humanity.
• Otherkin: Claims that she rejected her own humanity for all her life.
  "I didn't choose to be born human! I had to make my way in the world, and I hated every minute of being human!"
• The Quisling: She has the dubious honor of being the Vidkun Quisling to all of humanity, complete with the inevitable death by execution awaiting her. Also, much like how the real life Quisling wasn't held in the highest regards by the Nazis despite his willing aiding of their takeover of Norway, there's the fact that even though Reitman willingly and remorselessly sold earth and humanity out to them, the Imperials haven't gone out of their way to rescue her from police custody, making it clear she really isn't that important to them.
• Reality Is Unrealistic: Reitman may sound like a Straw Character, except for one thing: Chatoyance really has said stuff like the quote below, word-for-word. According to Doctor Fluffy, he put the comment "Disclaimer: Actual Chatoyance Quote" on the Google Docs draft so no one would alter it.
• The Right of a Superior Species: She firmly believes that the ponies are a perfect species that are inherently morally superior to humanity. When Marcus states that Queen Celestia had no right to pass down judgment on all of humanity, Reitman says this in response:
  "She is a goddess, a superior being! Superior beings – truly superior beings – can do things that if a lesser being, like a human, were to do, it would indeed be evil!"
• Small Name, Big Ego: She was the person to serve Earth to the Tyrant on a platter, but the fact that capturing Reitman does absolutely nothing to slow down the PER also has the flipside of showing she really isn't anywhere near as important to Celestia as she likes to think she is.
• The Sociopath: Shockingly, the good doctor isn't this, given how quickly she breaks under pressure. Rather than being some cold, calculating mastermind, she's merely an opportunist who sold out the human race for her own advancement. Now, it's easy to hate her for what she did, yet how many people can truthfully claim they haven't had moments close to reaching that level of selfishness? In short, the most disturbing thing about Reitman is that however monstrous her crime, at the end of the day, she was just what she hated most – human. And nothing, not even ponification, will ever change that.
• Take That!: A very vicious one directed at Chatoyance. For starters, the doctor's initials are JDR, the exact same initials as Chatoyance's real name. "Jacqueline Dionna Reitman" even sounds phonetically similar to Jennifer Diane Reitz. She also has reddish-auburn hair, much like Chatoyance herself does in real life, and her quote about The Right of a Superior Species is directly lifted from a comment Chatoyance made about Celestia.
• Villainous Breakdown: Goes completely berserk and suffers a seizure after an interrogation with Colonel Renee that involved several Armor Piercing Questions which appear to break her (theorized) Mind Rape.

Nurse Mercy

Merciful Light (Alias: Mercy)

A PER pegasus nurse with plenty of doubt weighing on her mind.

• Broken Bird: She isn't a very happy mare, and it's even literal to a certain extent as she's a pegasus.
• Dropped a Bridge on Her: Lightning Dust would have beaten her to death if the HLF hadn't come in. Then they kill her anyway.
  • Blood from the Mouth: She gurgles her last words out as she's dying.
• The Eeyore: It's clear she's drowning in an ocean of sadness.
• Expy: Word of God states that her appearance is modeled after Morning Glory from Fallout: Equestria - Project Horizons.
• Interspecies Romance: With a human woman named Jacqueline Jophish, who later became a Newfoal against Mercy's objections. (Note: This same Newfoal is the Blackjack Expy amongst the servants who turn against Fancy in the "Empire" chapter of Calm Before the Storm.)
• The Medic: For the Salvation Army.
• Punch-Clock Villain: She doesn't like what she does, but appears to genuinely believe that ponification is better than dying at least.

Reaper

Reaper (Real Name: Sylvia Bray)

A PER woman and an old friend of Nurse Merciful Light, hailing from Portland, Maine. She gets ponified during a battle in a PHL hospital, into what can only be described as a "prototype" of a Pretty Private.

• Cute Clumsy Girl: Seemed to be this. At first.
• Despair Event Horizon: It's implied she crossed it a long time ago.
• Dying as Yourself: She actually manages to regain control of herself after being ponified, begging Kraber to Mercy Kill her.
• Elite Mook: Forced to become one.
• Expy: Owes more than a little to Rio and Merciful Light from Last Train.
• Heel Realization: Has this after her ponification and seeing that it was nowhere near the blessing or gift she thought it would be.
• How Much More Can He Take?: Her and Kraber's battle with each other is a long and brutal one neither backs down from.
• Mysterious Past: Was friends with Rio Deneter, Merciful Light, and Jacqueline Jophish, as revealed towards the end.
• Red Herring: Her introduction mirrors Simon's from Firefly. Explaining why would be a spoiler.
• Tragic Monster: Becomes an early version of a Pretty Private.

Rio Deneter

Rio Deneter

A PER woman who honestly believed in their viewpoint and voluntarily underwent ponification, only to regret her decision when it was too late. She ended up becoming the Pretty Private Nepenthe.

• Be Careful What You Wish For: Rio wanted to be ponified because she thought that it would solve her problems and allow her to move away from her past. Instead, she found out firsthand that it really meant being subjected to severe Mind Rape and enslaved to Queen Celestia's will.
• Broken Bird: Rio had a tragic life, which she hoped to make better by becoming a pony and joining the Solar Empire. She achieved her goal, but this only made things worse.
• Dark and Troubled Past: She was disowned by her family, lost her husband, got raped by someone she considered a friend and got pregnant as a result (though she did love her child), and then her son went missing. After all that, it's not too hard to imagine why she thought the Solar Empire was a perfect paradise where she could live a happy life.
• Fate Worse than Death: Poor Rio finds out too late that ponification is this.
• Fighting from the Inside: She tries' when she's being transformed into Nepenthe, but slowly loses more and more of herself.
• Freedom from Choice: Wanted this. Unfortunately, she didn't know just how far the Solar Empire would take it.
• Meaningful Rename: Not so much the name itself (though there must be some relevance to nepenthe being a "drug of forgetfulness" in Greek mythology) as much as what it isn't - she had wanted her pony name to be 'Nightingale'.
• Rape as Backstory: Rio was raped by someone she trusted at one point, so naturally, she's utterly horrified when she realizes that as a Newfoal, she'll be a Sex Bot for Royal Guards.
• Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: She betrayed humanity by serving in the PER (though she thought she was doing a good thing), and was in turn betrayed by the Solar Empire, who made her into exactly what she didn't want to be.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: Rio never wanted to kill anyone. The Solar Empire disregarded that wish and made her a Pretty Private.
• Token Good Teammate: Compared to the rest of the PER at least. While most of the other PER members were misanthropic Luddites, Rio was only in the organization because she honestly believed ponification would give her (and by extension, her fellow humans) a better life.
• Tragic Monster: Rio exists to demonstrate the horror of the Newfoal transformation.
• Trauma Conga Line: Her life was traumatic enough that she wanted to become a Newfoal.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: She thinks that she's on the right side and that the Solar Empire will make everything better. In the end, she learns they won't, but by then it's too late.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: She believes that the world she lives in is far more black and white than it really is, and that the Solar Empire is white. She believes the Solar Empire is a Utopia, the ponies are Perfect Pacifist People, and that ponification is what it claims to be. She has a very rude awakening when she decides to ponify herself, and realizes that ponification means Getting Smilies Painted on Your Soul and that the Solar Empire will turn her into a soldier and Sex Bot, despite her wishes.

Freddy

Frederick William Holman

A PER potion bomber who joined the organization out of wanting to make the world and humanity better, only to start questioning the righteousness of his cause when Prime Equestria throws in its lot with humanity and the PHL.

• Heel Realization: As much as he tries to ignore it, he starts having a crisis of conscience over the reveal of Prime Equestria's aiding of the PHL.
• Holier Than Thou: Is repeatedly called out on this by Doctor Bowman for thinking he's better than everyone else because he's a PER member.
• I Have No Son!: His mother disowned him for joining the PER.
• Misanthrope Supreme: A slightly milder flavor, but he clearly has very cynical views on humanity and society as a whole, never really cottoning on to the notion that people are inherently good.
• Villain Protagonist: Is the protagonist of the "PERtinent Knowledge" segment of Calm Before the Storm.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: He seems to believe he and the PER are the only true heroes of this war.

---

Human Liberation Front

The HLF is the other major resistance faction on Earth. It actually started off as the Harriet Thomas Foundation (HTF), a support group for people whose friends and family members abandoned them after taking the potion. But when the war began and more and more people became suspicious of the Solar Empire, a multitude of unsavory characters overtook the organization and militarized it. Unlike in many anti-Conversion Bureau fanfics, they're not portrayed as being remotely heroic, amounting to little more than paranoid Right Wing Militia Fanatics, Sociopathic Soldiers, or racist psychopaths. Putting it simply, they're rather useless to the war effort, serving as little more than a hindrance to humanity and Equestria alike.

In General

• Absolute Xenophobe: Towards all ponies, no exceptions. Not even Lyra was exempt.
• Advertised Extra: In the main story; they have a rather more prominent role in the side-stories.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Compared to the PER anyway. Case Files states that the HLF, even at its worst moments, never stooped to the same level of depravity of the PER.
• Antagonist in Mourning: Lyra's execution did evoke sorrow in a few of them.
• Antimagical Faction: Hate the ponies and PHL, who use magic to help them fight. Cheerilee even believes some of the HLF's hatred of the PHL can be attributed to jealousy over the fact that the PHL's willingness to use magic actually works to stop the Empire effectively.
• Armies Are Evil: Well, they certainly are in the HLF's case. They're, for lack of a better term, outright nuts, depicted as just as much of, if not more of a threat to everyone's survival as the Solar Empire.
• Army of Thieves and Whores: They don't exactly have the most reputable people in their ranks.
• Arrested for Heroism: Act just as harshly towards PHL ponies as they are on the PER.
• Better to Die than Be Killed: Suicide is evidently a common death for them.
• Cassandra Truth: We learn in Case Files that one of the factors that led to the Harriet Thomas Foundation turning into the Human Liberation Front was that the HTF's founder failed to get the FDA to take their concerns about the potion seriously.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: A favorite operating method of theirs.
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: One aspect that makes them no different from the PER is that they will accept humans of every race and creed into their ranks, so long as they show no mercy to anyone they consider an enemy.
• Fantastic Racism: Whereas the UN and most remaining nations' military forces aren't afraid to join up with the PHL and use magic to augment their technology, the HLF just want to wipe out ponykind. In fact, they're so violently and viciously anti-pony that an unnamed Brazilian blogger (implied to be one of the characters of the Starvation side-story) claims that the HLF is "giving Celestia all the ammunition she needs!"
• Green-Eyed Monster: TCB Cheerilee suggests this as a reason for the HLF's hatred of the PHL. The HLF want to stop the invasion with human – and only human – ingenuity and lots of guns, even though it's become increasingly obvious that isn't going to work; the PHL/UN Taskforce that our heroes are a part of, on the other hand, use every bit of Equestrian craft and magic they have at their disposal to fight the Empire and slow the Barrier, and much of the taskforce is composed of ponies. Most importantly, the taskforce's methods actually work and accomplish more than senseless deaths.
• Homemade Inventions: Last Train and Calm both show them as using homemade and improvised weaponry, with the most notable ones being open-bolt .50 BMG automatic rifles (which Doctor Fluffy stated in Calm's author's notes were, in fact, real) and the 'Panzerfaust' used by the Thenarder Guards, a "a homemade rocket-launcher welded up from scrap metal and a drainage pipes, covered in graffiti" that shoots a can of baked beans which is full of semtex. Justified, as the HLF would likely be in high need of weaponry.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: The HLF started off as a support group for people whose family members and friends had become Newfoals and left them behind, but the group attracted a multitude of unsavory characters looking for revenge against the Solar Empire. They gradually went further off the deep end, moving from killing Newfoals to killing all ponies on suspicion of them being Equestrian spies and showing a distinct lack of regard for civilian casualties. For the U.S. government, the last straw came when they tried to murder Ambassador Lyra Heartstrings (who was reaching out to the HLF for negotiation) and they further crossed the line by kidnapping and horrifically torturing a PHL pony nurse (in addition to attacking a PHL-owned oil rig). Thankfully, their effectiveness began to decrease in proportion to their amorality.
  • Unfortunately, since Lyra's death, the HLF has been experiencing a renewed surge in popularity amongst the North American public, which has emboldened them sufficiently to attack U.S. Army bases in violent protest of the federal government's cooperation with the PHL.
• Knight Templar: By this stage of the war, posting videos of ponies getting tortured online is standard procedure for them, and they have no qualms about attacking humans who willingly work alongside ponies, the U.S. military included.
• Leave No Survivors: Their modus operandi. Ponies, or any humans that work with them are all fair game.
• Military Moonshiner: There's evidently quite a few in their ranks, judging by the infrequent mentions of 'HLF rotgut.'
• Not Helping Your Case: Sure. Kill every pony outside the Barrier. That won't be used against you by Equestria as propaganda, alienating potential allies. Angus Reid even calls them out on this prior to his defection.
• Redshirt Army: Celestia thinks so little of them that she sends Newfoals to kill them.
• La Résistance: A darker example, in that they're more akin to the KKK than a resistance group at this point, and most reasonable humans are afraid of them and their methods.
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Played very straight. They are just as fanatically racist and single-minded as the Solar Empire.
• Right Hand Versus Left Hand: Last Train From Oblivion reveals they're so poorly organized, with such an inane network of passcodes and code phrases and units that Friendly Fire incidents have broken out over inability to recognize passwords.
• Right-Wing Militia Fanatic: Their members hate the ponies and are completely indiscriminate in killing of every Equestrian they see, including pro-human defectors. An element of Deconstruction is likely involved, showing how unlikely it is that most military forces would fall under their umbrella, and their rigidness makes them remarkably ineffective at opposing Imperial Equestria.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Sort of. They are a threat, and they are dangerous, but they vastly overestimate their effectiveness against the PHL or any imperial forces. It's shown in Last Train that they also have delusions of professionalism. The best example of both of these is Tess' reaction to the barebones circular they made:
  So far as she was aware, the HLF did not have much in the way of secrets, unlike the PHL, who kept tight-lipped about nearly all of their activities. On top of that, the most common cause of death (besides 'shot to death by PHL or civilians', 'death by bad rations', 'death by magic', 'suicide', and 'malnourishment') for HLF was publicly known to be ponification, common enough that it would have been a miracle if they still had any secrets left to keep.
• Sociopathic Soldier: Practically the HLF's hat.
• Villain Forgot to Level Grind: Compare the HLF in the Asia Side-Story (which takes place early in the war) to their portrayal in in the main story chapter, "Trust". The Solar Empire has magic shields that make bullets useless and Newfoal armies to make them more of a threat, to which the PHL/UN Taskforce responds with magically enhanced weaponry. Due to the HLF's Absolute Xenophobe stance, they didn't get any magically enhanced gear, and as a result, the conflict has left them behind. Neither the PHL/UN taskforce nor the Empire seem to take them seriously, with Cheerilee acting more annoyed than threatened by their insanity and claiming that they could easily be taken out with a Newfoal Zerg Rush.
• Would Hurt a Child: Pony foals are just as fair game as adult ponies, and the Asia side story makes references to young women often getting picked off by them.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: While they, like most other people, want Queen Celestia gone and humanity saved, they completely ignore that ponies can work with humans, deriding any pro-human defectors as spies and the PHL as "an affront to humanity". Their desire to defeat the Solar Empire with purely human ingenuity also has its problems, because it's increasingly clear this isn't going to work, unlike the PHL/UN Taskforce's method of combining magic and technology. And yet the HLF still behave like they're in the middle of a heroic last stand, when in fact they are degenerating into violence and paranoia. Basically, while the PHL is getting the job done, the only thing the HLF has achieved is to practically prove the Tyrant right on humans being nothing but violent savages.
  • Thanks to this, they are a recurring threat in the Asia Side-Story, but by the time of the main story they have faded into the background... mostly.

Reverend James Thomas

James Thomas

The founder of the HLF, or rather the group in which the HLF had its roots. When the good reverend's ponified daughter left the family to live in Equestria, he founded a support group called the Harriet Thomas Foundation (HTF) for other people who'd gone through the same, only for things to go Off the Rails as tensions between Earth and the Solar Empire escalated.

• Berserk Button: Jacqueline Reitman's very actions make him viciously curse her name.
• The Cassandra: The FDA wouldn't take his concerns about the potion seriously. In some fairness though, it is stated that Reitman and TCB Catseye used mind modification spells to make them approve wholesale of it.
• It's All My Fault: Blames himself for the creation of the HLF.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Wanting to avert this is what made him allow Harriet to take the ponification potion. Needless to say, he deeply regrets it.
• Two First Names

Michael Carter

Michael Carter

As the HLF had its roots in a simple support group founded by a well-meaning pastor, Michael Carter (father of Verity) can be credited as the man that turned the organization into the blood-thirsty and revenge centered group it's known as today.

• Aggressive Categorism: Absolutely hates all ponies. In his eyes, the only good pony is a dead pony.
• Ax-Crazy: Not to the same extent as say, Kraber, but he's not one to be trifled with.
• Crusading Widower: His vendetta against the Empire stems from how the potion took his wife Jazmin away from him.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Was once a devoted family man, and then went on to be one of the most brutal criminals in the Conversion War.
• Evil Counterpart: Can be read as one for Kraber - both men lost their families to the Solar Empire and went crazy in a vicious crusade to get revenge, but whereas Kraber was able to ultimately see the error of his ways and became The Atoner, Michael continued to descend further into anger and madness.
• I Have No Son!: Disowned his daughter Verity upon seeing her turned into a pony. She still has retained her mind and personality, but he doesn't know this.
• It's Personal: As detailed above, Michael Carter has a very intense grudge against the Solar Empire.

Kagan Burakgazi

Kagan Burakgazi

A former member of the HLF, mentioned a scant few times and only appearing in a flashback in Chapter 3 of Light Despondent, who was especially close to Kraber. We don't know much about him, only that he had a tendency to use chemical weapons, and he's currently somewhere in South America as of December 2022 with his brother.

• All There in the Manual: Most of what's known of his character and his deeds are contained in the Spectrum-Verse Timeline.
• Badass Normal: Has survived the whole war with a mixture of resourcefulness, smarts and bravery.
• Connected All Along: With his brother Dr. Grimnebulin, known to him as Mehmet.
• Birds of a Feather: He and Kraber are both fans of China Mieville, and they met by staging "lone-wolf" bombings of Conversion Bureaus in Turkey... at the same time. They're also both doctors of the morally ambiguous variety.
• Defector from Decadence: Left the HLF at the same time Kraber did, but what exactly he's been up to since then is unknown.
• The Ghost: He's only been mentioned in passing in the side stories. He makes a physical appearance in a flashback in Light.
• Take Our Word for It: During his time in the HLF, he was apparently every bit as ruthless as Kraber and killed as many people and ponies as he did.

The Thenardier Guards

An HLF unit in the middle of Truro, fighting against the PHL, they're supposedly "about the closest thing the deranged, imbecilic bigots have got to a proper special-forces unit," and deadlier than any HLF unit seen thus far. Next to The Barrier, they're likely the largest threat to CPX-9782 in Last Train, obstructing it and attacking the crewmembers.

In General

• Disc-One Final Boss: See Starter Villain. While they're definitely threatening, they go out pretty quick, and their role as main villains seems to have been taken over by the Pretty Privates.
• Internal Reformist: They had one in the form of Redd Flamel, who honestly thought he could create something better than the PHL from the HLF by bringing some organization to their chaos. He's ponified before he even gets the chance.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: Unlike the HLF most other times they've been shown in the series, they're very competent, managing to take over Truro, "pulling off a coronary" as Verity puts it.
  • Starter Villain: And even then, they're taken out pretty quickly, with Galt getting ponified and Birch turned into a Pretty Private.

Col. Atlas Galt

Aaron Grant (Alias: Atlas Galt)

Leader of the Thenardier Guards.

• The Chessmaster: Acts the part in Light Despondent.
• Hypocrite: He negotiated with the PER to steal drugs and medical supplies from a hospital.
• Take That!: His name and viewpoints are a shot against Atlas Shrugged.
• Übermensch: Galt erroneously thinks he's one.

Mast. Sgt. John Birch

Galt's Number Two.

John Birch

• The Cloudcuckoolander Was Right: Birch claims to have seen ponies kidnapping people before Equestria manifested. He might or might not have actually seen this going down, but since it did happen, he's still right.
• Conspiracy Theorist: The other members call him "Batshit Birch". The nickname is appropriate, as he's so completely off his rocker, that one HLF member states that Viktor Kraber is downright sane by comparison.
• General Ripper: Master Sergeant, actually.
• Groin Attack: Suffers this to the extreme at the hooves of Nepenthe.
• Take That!: Named after the infamous John Birch Society.

The Reavers

Another specialized HLF unit, founded in Britain. While the other HLF units seen in the series are little more than paranoid and violent fanatics, the Reavers, headed by Maximilian Yarrow, are notable in that they refuse to attack the PHL and have been far more helpful towards the general public than the others.

In General

• Battle Cry: "Yarrow for Valhalla!"
• Being Good Sucks: The Reavers are universally distrusted.
• Category Traitor: The entire group are seen as this by other HLF.
• Cult: To an extent - Case Files states that Yarrow had an affinity for Norse mythology, and preached the virtue of dying in battle and going to Valhalla.
• Dramatic Irony: When we meet the Reavers in Once More Unto The Breach and The Light Despondent, they seek to redeem the good name of the HLF and become a significant part of the war effort. This doesn't happen.
• Failure Is the Only Option: When we meet the Reavers, they seem determined to change things in the HLF, and to do good. As anyone should know from the main story, and as Case Files makes clear, they don't succeed.
  • The main story has Doctor Bowman reference some Reaver activity that may cast doubt on this.
  "The HLF are being unified and purified to be on our side, thanks to some friends of mine."
• Hypocrite: Trying to be a reformist in the HLF - especially the HLF in Spectrum - almost always makes you one.
• No True Scotsman: Case Files states that, as far as Yarrow and his people were concerned, other HLF (the mostly fanatically homicidal ones) are not "real" HLF.
  "We go into battle to fight the good fight, to be the Human Liberation Front - not the dogs and sadists that others define us by, but the truth of us!"
• Reformed, but Rejected: Technically: as HLF reformists, they desire to do good, but constantly run into mistrust and disdain - and despite being 'good', the PHL have been known to fire on them.
• Token Good Teammate: Compared to the other HLF members and units seen here, they're far more helpful and far more heroic.
• Undying Loyalty: To Yarrow.

Maximilian Yarrow

Maximilian Yarrow

The Reavers' leader and founder.

• A Father to His Men: Any of the Reavers who speak about Yarrow do so in terms full of praise and respect.
• Badass Longcoat: Described in The Light Despondent as wearing a long green military coat.
• Big Good: Seems to be this for the HLF, judging by his rather stringent rules of engagement (especially compared to his counterparts in other HLF units).
• Deadpan Snarker: Delivers a snark-filled response to Kraber's protestation of innocence.
  "And I have a head full of hair."
• Good Is Not Nice: He might be a "good" HLF leader, but he has a habit of Blood Eagling (ancient Norse capital punishment) those who break his rules.

John Idle

John Idle

One of Maxi Yarrow's top men and one of the few he allows to go scouting.

• Canon Immigrant: Of a sort. John Idle of the The Avatar of Albion universe first appeared in the Spectrum/AOA crossover Convergence, in which he's an unpleasant individual. The Spectrum variant appears later.
• Cold Sniper: While not necessarily emotionless, Idle is certainly a cold individual.
• Knight Templar: Believes fanatically in Yarrow's cause. In Once More Unto The Breach, he is the first to coin their "Yarrow for Valhalla!" catchphrase, and he seems to be just as fanatical by the time we meet him in The Light Despondent. While there are religious elements to the Reavers, it seems to be Idle that takes them the furthest.

Preacher

Tom Richardson (Alias: Preacher)

A member of Maximilian Yarrow's Reavers, describing himself as their "Unofficial Chaplain".

• Badass Preacher: He's shown as a genial, kind looking man with half-moon spectacles - and battle armor on.
• Berserk Button: Don't talk to him about his dead friends if he thinks you're not on the level.
  "They fought PER and Empire and they died, while you were off killing children and refugees with Lovikov and his thugs."
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's a "nice guy", and yet is quick to lambaste Kraber for his past actions.
• Good Shepherd: We meet him as he's collecting maple syrup for the children of "Bastion" (whatever Bastion is). He also makes a point of remembering all of his friends, even the dead ones.
  "I knew all the Reavers, living and otherwise. Six hundred and ninety nine come under that second count."

Preston

Howard T Preston

One of Yarrow's "Odinsons", his elite bodyguard.

• Gentle Giant: Though he's big and imposing, he's also friendly and caring, and others feel reassured by his presence.
• The Stoic: Taciturn, not very emotional.

Other Allied HLF

Miscellaneous HLF units affiliated with the Reavers.

A variety of HLF units (such as the Kraken Grenadiers, the Redstripes and Kevin the Mildly Miffed) are listed as being or as having been allies of the Reavers - many of them are also listed as having been destroyed during the intervening years.

• A Day in the Limelight: Once More Unto The Breach grants us insight into these units, during Yarrow's attempt to unify the remaining HLF units, which goes about as well as you'd expect.
• Ascended Extra: These units are mostly relegated to namedrops, but they do appear in Once More Unto The Breach.
• Fluffy the Terrible: One of these leaders is "Kevin the mildly miffed".
• Posthumous Character: Though when we meet them in Once More, they're alive, largely they're already dead by the time most of their namedrops occur.

The Blood Tigers

An elite HLF unit in the middle of China, containing possibly some of the most depraved individuals to be associated with the group thus far.

In General

• Not-So-Harmless Villain: By the time the Dragons of the East encounter them, the HLF at large had been turning into a punchline at best. The Tigers aren't anything to sneeze at though, having killed large numbers of people and ponies alike.

Warlord Zhou

Feng Gui Zhou

The leader of the Blood Tigers.

• Ax-Crazy: A much more subtle example, but he, as Porter points out, clearly enjoys having an excuse to embrace every sick thought he ever had in the war.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: In a way that's Played for Laughs. Zhou gets disposed of quite easily in the Gainax Ending when a random pirate emerges from the portal in the Great Wall and stabs him in the chest.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He genuinely believes the PHL humans secretly hate the ponies and are only working with them for their usefulness.
• Faux Affably Evil: He's soft spoken and polite, but it's a very paper thin mask.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: A nondescript factory worker to one of the most bloodthirsty war criminals of the Conversion War.
• Humans Are Bastards: Believes in this. During his Breaking Speech to Porter about how disingenuous he found Ambassador Heartstrings' love for humans to be, he points out that she sugarcoated many unpleasant realities, using his and a fellow HLF member's pre-war lives as examples. On the other hand, he's also no better, as Porter points out to him with his own "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
  Porter: "No, really. Let me guess... your whole life, you've felt like a nobody. And then this war happened and you could finally be a somebody by volunteering in this war and giving into every sick, inhuman thought you've ever had and get back at the world for not paying you any attention. Am I right so far?"
• Hypocrite: Like Galt, he's seen negotiating with Pineapple Cutter, a pony, for something that will give him an advantage.
• No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine: Gives Porter a drink of plum wine while talking with him. Porter's naturally suspicious, and Zhou's reaction is to take offense at Porter refusing to have a chat with him.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Has more than a few shades of this.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Thinks of himself as a big fish, but if his response to Porter's insults are of any indication, he wouldn't have even been a blip on anyone's radar if not for his brutality.

Lan

Lan

A member of the Blood Tigers.

• Boyish Short Hair: Has this.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Before the war, she worked in a factory making Galaxy Girls dolls under sweatshop conditions. One day, a fire broke out and the doors were locked, preventing the workers from being able to escape in time. She was the Sole Survivor of that disaster.
• Despair Event Horizon: Crossed it a long time ago.
• Emotionless Girl: As a result of the aforementioned despair event horizon she went through.
• The Quiet One: Doesn't utter a peep through her whole appearance.
• The Stoic: Porter notes she is coldly indifferent to everything around her.

---

Resistance Fighters - Other

Nigeria

Enitan Adebayo

Enitan Adebayo

A radio show narrator from Nigeria who tells of stories on the front line of Africa, often broadcasting live.

• Action Girl: Besides her broadcasts, she also fights on the front line.
• Expy: Is a black, female Nigerian expy of Cecil Gershwin Palmer.
• Meaningful Name: Her first name means "person of stories," or "sum total of all the myths, songs, histories and other cultural concepts which make up religion and society" in Yoruban. Ironically, her last name means "(s)he came in a joyful time". At least, not at the moment.
• Ms. Exposition: Aside from stories about the war, she also talks about the people and ponies she's met.
• Not So Stoic: She can deliver passionate and charged speeches when the occasion calls for it.
• Rousing Speech: Comes with her job.
• Shown Their Work: Her full name is in fully accurate Yoruban.
• The Stoic: Has a level headed demeanor and an even tone in her narration.
• Straight Gay: Mentions having a wife. Later bits of exposition about Ambassador Heartstrings reveals that she helped get homosexuality be accepted in several different countries. Nigeria was likely one of them.
• Voice of the Resistance: Runs a radio show broadcasting what happens on the front lines of the conflict and of stories of people she's encountered.

Obayana Adebayo

Enitan brother, a huge Nigerian man in charge of his PHL-allied unit.

Obayana Adebayo

• Action Dad: He doesn't know what happened to his daughter in the evacuation of Lagos. He's still fighting.
• BFG: Carries a "huge" (and made up) NS 2018 shotgun.
• The Big Guy: Physically, he's a large and muscled guy who loves to use big guns.
• Guns Akimbo: Fires a semiautomatic shotgun and a Kalashnikov with a 60-round magazine, Salvador-style.
• Happily Married: To his wife Esosa.
• Mangst: He doesn't know what happened to his daughter, Yekemi, and he's afraid he could end up killing her when fighting Newfoals. Still, he hopes she is still alive.
• Revolvers Are Just Better: Carries a large revolver, presumably a Hand Cannon, that Enitan says he looted from HLF units.
• Shouting Shooter:
  "YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE MY FAMILY?! YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE THESE MEN AND WOMEN?! BRING IT ON! BEND OVER AND TAKE IT, BITCH!"
• Transplant: Shares the name of a character in Doctor Fluffy's deviantart, from another project of his.
• You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!: Don't piss him off.

China

Mei Ling Yeung

Mei Ling Yeung

The leader and founder of the Bridle Path Underground, a group of smugglers that help get human and pony refugees out of China.

• Action Girl: An older example, as she's in her forties.
• Boyish Short Hair: As described by Yon-Soo. Justified, as long hair would be impractical to have in battle situations.
• The Leader: For the Bridle Path.