• Member Since 31st Jul, 2013
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Telgin


A programmer for fun and profit, roleplayer and hardcore brony.

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  • TBecoming a Monster
    To be a draconequus is to be one of the most hated creatures in the world. Reviled. Hunted. Exterminated. A monster. But what someponies might not know is that monsters aren't born. They're made.
    Telgin · 79k words  ·  42  4 · 1.2k views
Comments ( 247 )
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Gideon, if we woke up 10 years sooner, inspecting the Talon operation at Fillydelphia:

And when he meets Red Eye and hears him try to justify what he's doing:

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Gritt, Rosegold, Crimson, and Gideon just being dudes:

Average transaction in the Wasteland

Daisies before Project Phoenix was destroyed.
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Terrifying mutant creature idea: Puppeteers.

Mutant stick bugs that have become highly carnivorous, venomous, and intelligent, adopting a strategy to attract prey to their nests that most consider highly disturbing. They take what that one hellhound did to lure in Kasimir to a new level, physically entering a corpse to control each of its limbs and extremities. They can even mimic speech.

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I can imagine that Chancer's story isn't unique in that regard, and it's unfortunate that the battle cost so many people so much even if they might not have any personal feelings involved initially. It's hard not to hate the enemy when your friends and family are killed in the battle. The best anyone can hope for is to let the feelings fade with Red Eye's death and the end of his empire. Time heals all wounds, as the saying goes.

And that's right for Kaz or Amy, who wouldn't voluntarily bring up the battle or conflicts with the Enclave and who'd be satisfied with talking about Carmelita since there was some common ground there. I can imagine that the conversation might end up going to Fillydelphia or the Cathedral anyway, but it sounds like neither party would really want to talk about it. It's better to talk about where they've gone since then, like talking about Ida or Hot Streak.

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I figured it was pretty typical among Talon leadership and was probably a policy set down by Stern or general expectations. If they just let people go who didn't like what they signed up for, they risked people quitting the moment a bad job came their way, and that's bad for business. Nobody would trust a mercenary group like that. Not to mention that it follows on from how standing armies work (or used to work in FO:E): once you sign on the dotted line you're stuck in the outfit unless you do something worthy of being discharged, which would probably mean prison time.

Did she think she inspired loyalty? Maybe, or maybe not. Most people signing up for Talon Company weren't the kind to really question what they were doing if they got paid, so most of the time it wasn't a problem. The softer ones needed to be broken, at least a little, so that they'd obey orders and get along with the rest of the soldiers. Ultimately it didn't matter if anyone liked her or approved, as long as they did the job. Pushing anyone at the edge was a bit of a gamble, but the officers weren't likely to be the first ones in the line of fire if someone snapped. There were plenty of slaves to take frustrations out on, and she relied on the sergeants below her to watch and police the grunts who might become dangerous. Serge was no doubt wary that Kaz was very unhappy and not taking things well, but didn't consider him to be a danger, while hoping he'd come around eventually.

But she's also not stupid and knows who she can intimidate and who she can't. She'd prefer to never interact with Crimson at all, and definitely wouldn't try to give him orders. She might disagree with him, and believed that a well-oiled machine relied on authority over personal power, though of course she believed authority had to be earned by results.

In any case, she'd consider him a dangerous freak and would know full well that he could break her neck if she made him mad and that there would be little to no consequences for him. Quite different from telling a random infantryman like Kaz to suck it up and get back to work. She'd probably raise any concerns with Freija or Stern and leave it at that.

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That's probably an accurate assessment of the parenting styles between Kaz and Amy. As for whether they'd be more upset about her dating a Talon or a pegasus... that's a tough question. It would probably depend on the person and when it came up, regarding Talon company's reputation. If they'd established themselves as reputable by that point then it would be a bit less of an issue, though I think they'd still prefer she didn't because of the risks her boyfriend would be undertaking. And as I've mentioned before Kaz and Amy try not to be racist about pegasi due to what the Enclave did, but I think they'd have lingering concerns about some cultural differences if nothing else. Also, no grand kids, which they'd probably not push for or even openly admit to wanting, but you know how it is.

If Talon Company had reformed into the standing army of Neo Griffonia like that then they'd definitely be more open to the idea, if it meant that she'd probably have to move to Neo Griffonia and they wouldn't see her much. Dating a soldier is a different prospect, and they'd hope that would mean whoever he was that he was upstanding and disciplined from the experience.

As for conflict between the NCR and Neo Griffonia, I could hope that the NCR government would focus on and be satisfied with restoring old Equestria. Especially if the griffons were well on their way to restoring their old territory. One of the core lessons of FO:E was how badly good intentions can go so I'd hope that they would at least start with good intentions, but in the same vein and as you mentioned the cat's out of the bag when it comes to high tech warfare. Whoever replaces Gawd could be greedy or self-serving. Or they could start out trying to help with Neo Griffonia's recovery only to end up pressuring them into being a vassal by the time it's done, leading to resentment. Lots of things could go wrong.

Despite all of that, would Kaz ever visit? If Ida ended up there, almost certainly. Even if not he'd probably have some interest in it, even if he wasn't much for traveling. Amy would probably have a bit more interest from a historical perspective, so maybe she'd twist his leg into going.

If Heidi's response to Kasimir's request for early dismissal was typical among Talon leadership, it's a wonder that they never had Talon volunteers just snapping, going postal and shooting up their own bases. If Heidi actually thought her methods inspired loyalty, she was an idiot who's lucky she didn't get fragged. She had to have known that mercenary work tends to attract psychos with nothing to lose, and the dangers of potentially provoking one.
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The worst person she could have tried pulling rank on, or discipline, or intimidate in any way is Crimson. He'd respond with "Mind how you speak to me, little raven. I could do anything I want to you and Red Eye wouldn't care."

"...When Captain Stern learns you're threatening her Lieutenants-"

"We both know she isn't in charge."
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Crimson’s general energy towards Talon leadership in Fillydelphia:
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Crim 100% has the Terrifying Presence perk.

He respects power, not authority. They aren't the same thing. Authority ceases to exist the moment you stop recognizing it, while power exists in of itself whether anyone likes it or not.

A significant event for the Daisies is Caretaker's passing. She's the first one to ever die of old age, peacefully. As many Daisies who can manage to do so travel back to Stable 108 for her funeral.

POV Daisy and Masque, and Moonlight and his Daisy, meet up with Soldier Daisy at Sunburn so they can travel there together. Even Chancer comes along, and ends up getting a quite a few freaked-out glares from Daisies who recognize her family resemblance to Helix.

The three Daisies spend a day in Sunburn getting rest before the trek to Splendid Valley, and the residents clearly see that 17's claims of being a clone are true. Kaz and Amy, if they met Chancer, would be able to tell that she's old enough to have been an Enclave soldier, and isn't a Dashite. Though, I highly doubt they'd say anything, especially with her husband and son with her. It's all in the past, after all.

Chancer would pipe up if she overheard Daisy and Kaz catching up, and heard his name. Something like, "Hey, you're Carmelita's friend, right?" She'd spent more than enough time around Lita, becoming buddies with her, that the past doesn't weigh her down anymore. Even knowing she was once on opposite sides of the Battle with Amy and Kaz, she'd be nothing but friendly with them. Chancer would gladly introduce her and Smoke Flare's son, Hot Streak, who'd be quick to try and make friends with Ida.
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Further on the subject of Chancer reconciling with Operation Cauterize; she went through the effort of finding out exactly what happened at Maripony. Her parents were killed there, so she had a personal stake in learning the truth. After Sunshine and Rainbows, she knew not to trust official Enclave reports anymore. She learned of the Lightbringer's involvement... and intentions.

The revelation that the Victorious was not in any way an intended target threw just about everything that justified her anger out the window. Mostly. The little detail that Red Eye is who gave Littlepip the bomb and task of killing the Goddess validated some things. If anyone could have anticipated or planned the Enclave getting caught in that blast, it was him.

Either way, the anger itself was justified at the time. That Thunderhead and its Raptor escort must have had a combined crew of over a thousand. I'd wager that every pegasus in the Enclave knew someone who was killed by that bomb. Cauterize was personal. But it still doesn't excuse the killing of innocents that the Enclave perpetrated.

Chancer has a lot less on her conscience than most ex Enclave. Cathedral and Fillydelphia were the only battles the Raptor Cirrus took part in, and she was just an engineer aboard it.

At the Cathedral, she was proud to be part of taking out Red Eye himself. It was the brief cleanup afterwards that shook her, seeing the death toll on both sides. On the way to Fillydelphia, she hoped that the remaining Talons would simply abandon the city since their client was dead, and it would just be slavers they'd be putting down. Less casualties for everyone that way. Of course, no such luck.

The Cirrus didn't last long in Filly. It was the first Raptor destroyed by the Cyberdragon in that battle. The vast majority of the crew died in dragon fire or in the crash, and most of the rest were picked off while trying to flee the wreckage. Chancer saw her closest friends get incinerated, mangled, or executed, and barely escaped with her own life, flying away as fast as she could for as long as she could before internal bleeding started to get to her, forcing her to find a doctor, leading to her meeting with Daisy and Masque.

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