Update time!!
So for this one, I did it a bit differently than the last. With the last chapter I posted comments as I read moments of interest. This time, I'm writing after having finished the chapter, which will hopefully make this installment more coherent. Actually, I think I'll do it this way from now on, because if I have to keep pausing my reading to take notes every five seconds, then my head will pop,and lot's of pretty colours will fall on the ground, and people will go "What's that on the ground?" and I will go "That's my brain! It ran away because it was scared of me!" Now I want to eat it! Where's a harpoon?" Then my brain will start eating people, and then it will grow a mouth, and then it will say "I'm going to eat the universe!" and then I'll stab it with a harpoon, and then it will eat me, and then I'll come back as an Angel-Made-Of-Fire-With-Lightning-Bolts-For-Hands, and then I'll stab it with a lightning bolt, and then I'll go kick the president, and then I'll have a nap and I'll be fine.
So continuing on from where we left off, we finally get the reason why Blackburn has been so hostile towards Fluttershy and I've gotta say, I didn't see this coming.
Okay! now to be fair to myself, I did estimate that Blackburn had a romantic interest in Lockwood, that much was obvious. But I thought it was merely that, an interest. I didn't expect the two to actually be ENGAGED!
So... my thoughts on this development?
Honestly, I don't actually mind it. It gave me a surprise, no doubt, but it still falls into the realm of plausability, and does add some nice development for Blackburn. And the scene between a guilt ridden Rarity and a heartbroken Fluttershy was rather well done. Besides, Fluttershy needs moments like this, because in the words of brony reviewer Anthony C:
https://www.youtube.com/feed/UCwm59NePcctHtfYanzfyQEQ&t=5m28s
And he's got a point, every single episode Fluttershy has ever appeared in has involved her overcoming her shyness. So it's nice to see her given a different kind of conflict. Even if that conflict is relatively minor. Also, go watch the rest of Reviewing Is Magic, his reviews are HILARIOUS! Especially Number 4. Seriously, go now. I'll wait...
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You done? Exclellant, back to the story!
Ouch! Seraphem and I don't seem to be agreeing on much, do we? At this rate he's probably going to end up trying to stab me with an orange. XD
Still, I can see why some people wouldn't like this and while I don't mind it personally, it does come off as rather pointless to the overall story. I certainly don't consider it to be the "WORST! POSSIBLE! THING!" though. That honour goes to Curacao.
I'M JOKING!! I'M JOKING!! XD
Moving on, we get a really great speech from Briarthorn, which is probably his best moment so far.
- Briarthorn continued to shake his head. “Not my point,” he said weakly, “All these years? Years I’ve spent whiling at you? I spent them trying to make you feel better, with one of the the only ways I’ve ever really known how. So now I find out you were feeling just fine and dandy on a regular basis. I’d have liked to know you were happy at least once in a while, Your Majesty. It is my duty to serve, after all.” He looked dolefully at Gadget, who noticeably didn’t follow up with a comment on his personality.A flicker of guilt passed through Blackburn’s eyes, but with a short breath, she pushed through. “Briar, you understand. No offense meant. Practical decision,” she explained, “Did not think you would be able to follow same request for long. Mouth too big, sometimes says things when too drunk. Still remember confession of attraction to Crossfire.”“Always back to me saying bad things. Not like it wasn’t obvious. Huge surprise, right? What was it you said? ‘I can be subtle if I try’? Something like that, ” Briarthorn grimaced. He let his head drift back and forth between Lockwood and Blackburn for a long moment, the cruisers on the monitors still stock-still. He breathed in, the mannerism distinctly Blackburn’s own, and finally shrugged, with his whole body. “Yeah, Crossfire’s a fine trunk of hunk. But I’ve been searched before when on the job, and you never had a problem with me blabbing there. Those kinds of life and death situations are pretty similar, you know? Smuggling, and trying to get in your bed. I steal and cheat and lie for a living, and you trust me to do that, but stars forbid I know who your sweetie-poo is.”
Anyway, moving down the elevator and Queen Blackburn continues to impress with her Genre Saviness. Still, the best moment comes when we see her Freak Out at her shield failing. It's a very well done scene, and it adds some good characterisation for Blackburn. Plus there's a nice Blackburn/Lockwood moment, which I appreciate because it means the author is actually doing something with their relationship.
The escape from the elevator felt a bit confusing for me, I wasn't quitesure what they were actually doing, but then again, I was rather sleep-deprived. And I must admit, the "cushioning-spell" was a nice little detail, a clever way of subverting Not the Fall That Kills You….
Continuing on through the Hope's Point underground, we get our first introduction to Admiral Hotstreak, and I have to say, I rather like the guy. He strikes me as rather competent and kind of reminds me of Oleg Petrovsky.
They get to the Hangar and it's here I feel the need to comment on what I personally feel is the best part of this chapter, and that is the use of the Fan Submitted Cameos. Most authors would probably give these kinds of characters one or two lines, but Ganon really seems to be going out of his way to make these characters memorable. Voltage Surge's lines were a lot of fun to read, and despite his minimal screentime, his Heroic Sacrifice was actually rather touching. It takes some real talent to make the death of a character we've seen for barely five minutes have an actual effect on the reader. (Or maybe I'm just a pansy, take your pic.)
We finally get out into the skies and after some preparation (Which makes me wonder how the Mane Six are going to readjust to ponyville life now that they've got their nudity taboo.) we get to the major fight scene of this chapter which is rather exciting to read. For the musically inclined among you, I had this song playing during the fight scene. Anyway, Pinkie's Iron Man Shout-Out was nice, and I liked the callback to "Fall Weather Friends" with Twilight learning about combat magic from a book.
Anyway, The Thunder is getting close to the Veil, but despite Briarthorn's best efforts he still can't manage to get the diffusion shield up in time. (This is another great moment for Briarthorn since it demonstrates his loyalty, and the fact that he's willing to put his life on the line to get the job done.) Things seem bad enough as it is, but then we hear
- “Weapons firing, impact in sixty seconds!”
Oh, Crap!! This is not gonna end well.
Whelp! Let's see what happens:
- “We’re trying our best, but we can’t keep all these close-range fighters off!” Rainbow spat into the comm, “Is there anything we can do to get that shield up faster? Maybe if I-”“I haven’t taken any hits, Rainbow, and that’s thanks to you, okay? You’re a better help taking care of as many of those Troopers as you can,” Briarthorn sighed. He grabbed the second flask he’s strapped to his uniform, taking a long swig before tossing it aside, then exhaled. “Whew... besides, the Diffusion system can’t take more than one active pegasus at a time. Magical signatures are unique. Any dissonance? Explosions, not shields. If I go down, no more ‘me’ in the shield, you’re safe to finish. I’m not down, though. This is all on me, unless I go down. And I don’t think I want to go down, Queenie. Means all of you, too. I’ll get my dearest up, I’ve just got to spin like I’ve never spun before. Here’s hoping!”“Don’t worry, darling, you’re not alone out there!”Twilight blurted, “R-Rarity?!”From the entry port at the Thunder’s airlock, a bright glow could be seen. It flashed a bright white as Rarity fired off a stream of magic that struck Briarthorn as he made another pass.Briarthorn blinked and looked about himself, then behind him, where he noticed his white-gold hard-light trail had become wider, brighter, and was slowly beginning to overtake him until he himself began to glow. “Whoa! What’s this afterglow brouhaha? Feels nice!”“Just keep up the good work, Briarthorn dear!” Rarity called into the comm system, “I’ll give you another boost on your next loop around, just keep it up! We’re counting on you here!”
Ummm... guy's? Not to be rude or anything, but aren't you all about to die? This all seems like it would take a lot longer than sixty seconds. In fact, how much time has passed?
- “Thirty seconds,”
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WHAT!?!?!
THIRTY!!! SECONDS!!!???????? You're telling me all of that happened in under half a minute!? I can accept Talking Is a Free Action to an extent, but there's "Talking Is a Free Action", and then there's "Taking the laws of time, putting a cooking pot over it's head, and swatting at it's knackers with a woodsman's axe until it howls itself DEAF!"
In fact, I'm choosing to believe that our beloved Tick Tock spends this entire sequence crying alone in the corner.
- Tick Tock: "Think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... think happy thoughts... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS... THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS!!!"
That image is totally Canon, and no one can deny it. NOT EVEN YOU GANON FLC!!
Anyway, The Thunder finally makes it into the Veil, only to be attacked by Hotstreak himself. We get a nice moment of Hotstreak being a Determinator (Which is always a good quality for a villain to have.) And the chapter ends on a Cliffhanger.
Overall, I rather enjoyed this chapter. Despite my earlier ranting, it had somenice action scenes, and the Character Development was excellant. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next chapter.
Toodles!
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