"Tia, what did it tell you? You know as well as I that the Nightmare speaks only in lies and false promises." Luna rushed Ted and Celestia's position, placing herself between her sister and Ted. "I'll destroy you, you hear me? Never again will you sway me with your honeyed words. I'll-" Her rant was cut short by white forelegs wrapping around her, pulling her into a crushing hug as her sister wept openly for the first time in centuries. Pulled off her stride, the moon princess floundered. "Tia, what's wrong, please tell me. You did this to her, didn't you? It wasn't enough to bring me pain, you have to mmphmrg."
Celestia cut her sisters rant short, holding her muzzle shut with her hooves. "Stop it sister, he has done me no harm." Hugging Luna again, she continued. "He merely brought to light a fact that I somehow missed." At Luna's skeptical look, she clarified. "Twilight, sister, she may have been possessed. In fact I'd bet my last thaum of magic that she is. The shift in personality is so similar to what you went through, so much sharper in fact, I don't know how I didn't suspect such a thing earlier."
"But Tia!" Luna said, almost in a whine. "He's our enemy, he's the reason for our misery!"
Celestia shook her head. "I can not see it. The Nightmare never missed an opportunity to strike at me, nor did it miss a chance to stroke its own ego. Theodore has done neither." Tia nuzzled her sister. "He's also the reason we can finally talk again after so long. Besides, look deeper, sister. What does your magic tell you? Do you see his cutie mark?"
Ted blanched at the term. "Is it ok if I call it an emblem, or at least something less, I don't know, feminine?"
Celestia giggled merrily, wiping away a few stray tears, but Luna seemed less than jovial. Sensing that her younger sister was about to launch into a second rant, the white and pink alicorn pulled her sister close once again "Theodore, would you give us some time? We have much to discuss."
Ted frowned "I came here for a reason, believe it or not, Celestia. I'm not in a good way at the moment, and there's so many questions I need answered, I just..."
As the hybrid attempted to continue, the solar alicorn struck, eyes growing round and watery, her lower lip trembling as she held her sister tightly.
'Oh, god.' Ted thought. "Fine, fine. Do what you need to, I'll be over here." He mumbled, wandering off to the far side of the grassy hill. Laying down in the lush grass and feeling a wonderful breeze, Ted dozed off, barely registering the feminine chatter.
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"Theodore? Theodore, we wish to speak with you." Ted was brought from his dazed state of being by the persistent poking of the pretty pink pony princess. Sitting up and looking to them, he saw Celestia smiling mischievously, while her sister seemed more irritated than angry. Before he could say anything, the white alicorn spoke. "We have come to an agreement. Since our time is short tonight, Luna will answer some of your questions tomorrow night, though she has some question of her own before she will agree." With that, the two turned to Luna, who stared at Ted with a steady frown.
"My questions are simple. First, why did you inflict that nightmare upon a pony you claim to guard?"
Ted smiled. "Shadow Weaver is the only real die-hard cultist there, and insisted that the ponies should have been having nightmares. So I obliged him. He didn't bother me about it after that."
Luna did not seem amused, though Tia was hiding her muzzle behind a hoof at the answer. "Very well. Why did you hug my sister? She said you first entered her dream speaking in the dialect I favored upon my return, and even called her sister. Why is this?"
Ted nervously scratched his arm. "It's honestly one of the reasons I want your help. I've been having memory problems. The Nightmare, it left me with... I'm pretty sure it left me with a shredded mess of your memories when it switched places with me." He explained, uncomfortable with the reveal. How do you tell someone you remember things they did? "I managed to use some of the memories of spell-work to make an improvised barrier, but every now and again I have, uh, leaks."
Celestia giggled openly now, nudging her sister towards Ted. "Do it. Go on, Lulu, it's only proper!"
Luna turned to her, horror written across her face. "Absolutely not! I'd sooner consign myself as Discord's concubine!"
"Luna, it's not nice to leave a colt like this. Besides, it will only work if my guess is right." The alicorn said, her grin getting wider with every moment.
"There is no way in Tartarus, I refuse to-"
"Woona..."
"Tia, I won't simply-"
"Woooooooona"
"FINE!" Turning a blazing glare at Ted, Luna walked up to him and of all things, hugged him. No, it wasn't just a hug, it was like she was grabbing him, searching?
Opening her eyes, she cast one last glare at her sister while holding Ted, followed by a quiet "I will get you for this." before turning to the hybrid with a strange smile on her face. It was odd, not one he expected, and her eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment, before she spoke.
"Dark, Umbral, Aegis, Shroud, Shield..."
What was she doing? Why was she spewing these words?
"Brother, Barrier, Shadow, God, King..."
The more she spoke, the more words she added to her list, the more his heart hammered in his chest. She was doing something to him, looking for something, and he could not for the life of him break eye contact with her.
"Wraith, Justice, Father, Loving, Zeal, Lost, Son, Alien..."
After a while, and after countless words, Luna's eyes lost their glazed appearance, and she stared deeply into Ted's own eyes.
"Cimmerian" She said, before her eyes drifted shut, and she leaned into him limply. Ted held onto the insensate alicorn, casting a confused glance at Celestia, who seemed unable to contain her excitement.
"I knew it! I knew it the moment you came into my dream that you reminded me of Luna! The aura, the speech, the memories you mentioned. You even said that in this world you were an alicorn, and that your old world lacked magic. So your aura is a copy of hers." The alicorn rambled, unable to contain her glee.
"What the hell was that?" Ted almost yelled, bewildered by what had occurred. "What were all those words? What was that whole thing?"
Celestia finally calmed herself down enough to approach the confused man, and spoke softly and kindly. "All creatures on this world are linked to it in a way that is impossible to define." Planting a light kiss on his forehead, she smiled as the dream faded. "Welcome to Equis, Cimmerian. And welcome to our family, nephew."
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Ted woke as the dream fell apart, his body covered in a cold sweat. Even as he looked around his room, he swore he could see the words Luna had spoken the previous night scribbled and scratched all over the walls and furniture. Stumbling over to the sink, he washed his face in the cool water and looked into the mirror when he saw it. Instead of his reflection, all he saw was that last word. It didn't make sense, magic was a world unto itself but this was borderline hallucination. Eventually, the words faded from his sight, though the last one Luna had spoken, the one Celestia had addressed him by, seemed to hang around the longest. Eventually, he trusted himself not to start randomly hallucinating enough to make his way to the dining hall, donning his armor on the way out of the room, and grabbed a simple breakfast for his journey before heading to the entrance.
He needed time to process what he'd seen, what he'd heard the night before, and he had none of that yet. Later. He would set aside some time later, once he'd helped the ponies as much as he could and they would be fine without him for a day or two. Approaching the entrance, he found some of his ponies were already there, and Shadow Weaver had several of the satchels and bags he'd been using on the previous expeditions. It took some patience, and a lot of help from two pegasi and a unicorn to get all the bags situated with his armor, but eventually the expedition was ready to go. Looking over the ponies gathered, he took a quick headcount, pleased that Shadow had set aside the usual number. Seven individuals; two unicorns, four earth ponies and a- oh boy.
"Hello, Blur." Ted said with a tired smile. "How long did you pester Shadow to let you go with this expedition?"
"Hello F-Master, not too long, just about two hours!" The yellow pegasis replied cheerfully.
Chuckling to himself, and giving his usual commands for the expedition, the ponies went out into the jungle. No hoods, pegasus on over-watch, watch each others backs, report strange findings to him. Their destination, the small port town by the ocean. Ted knew better than to hope for an uneventful trip. Instead, he hoped for good luck, and the safety of those he took with him.
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It surprised the alicorn when his group found the old town with little trouble, and set him slightly on edge. Sure some predators were prowling their route, but none got close enough to even stall the march. Calling his ponies into a semi-circle in front of him, he ordered them to search the town for anything of use, from usable furniture to salvageable supplies to signs of inhabitance. The ponies dispersed into the town, though it barely registered as such, having only four buildings besides the storage shed by the dock. Luckily, one seemed to be a primitive smithy, and Ted immediately set about digging through the various rusted implements for anything he could use for his own building once it was built. It wasn't much, and the tools were worn, but he eventually managed to get a few hammers and tongs, shaped to fit pony hooves, oddly enough. He even found a few bits of unused metal throughout the building, and an unfinished blade that seemed to be made of iron. He took a few measured swings with it, holding it in his magic as Luna had so many times before, before sliding it into a strap near his rump. It wouldn't help offensively, but at the very least it would be usable to physically block an attack.
As he was finishing his search, which yielded a few scraps of armor as well, he was signaled by Blur, who rushed inside claiming to have found something. She led the alicorn to a small fire pit, nothing special about it except for one small fact.
The ashes were relatively fresh, and all around the fire pit were paw prints, paw prints that vastly outnumbered the hoof prints near the log that was rolled near the fire pit. And spots. Small black flecks against the log and rocks that filled the dark alicorns mind with dread. Confirming that Blur had not landed near the fire pit, and asking the same of his other gatherers, Ted pulsed his Life detection spell, mentally cursing the fact that he allowed himself to get so caught up in the salvaging that he'd stopped watching his back. The tree line lit up to his senses, revealing at least eight creatures all slinking closer to the village under the cover of the dense foliage. Pulling the cultists behind him with his aura, and flaring his own to visible levels, he challenged the stalkers.
"I know you're there, reveal yourselves or I'll set the entire forest ablaze!"
Slowly, one advancing ahead of the others, all eight came into the clearing. They were brutish looking creatures, hunched over with scraggly fur and smashed faces resembling dogs with their bared canines. Some held clubs, others crude blades, and one merely held out its curled paws, the sharp claws probably more dangerous than some of the weapons used by its fellows. They all wore a hodgepodge of armor and clothing, some with barely enough scraps to cover their vitals. Any confusion over their intention was destroyed the moment the large one opened its mouth.
"Alpha not speak big pony with little ones." Said the largest of the group in broken Eng- no, broken Equestrian. "Wonder if it taste better than others. Get tired of stringy meat after so long."
Ted's face contorted with disgust. Carnivores he could understand, but to consume sapient creatures? That was something he couldn't condone. The thought of the ambushed pony that had been here before them, screaming while tied to a spit was all the motivation he needed. Shrouding his ponies in the shadows of the nearby buildings, he drew the unfinished sword and summoned his shadow blades. Before the largest even had the time to order an attack, the blades reached their line, detonating as they reached the gnolls. Two fell to the initial strike, one nearly bisected by the now-obsidian black blades and the other losing half its arm to the detonation of the blades. With a shout, the gnolls charged, three more falling to the barrage before they reached the alicorn.
Being this close, Ted fell into her memories, leaping back with a powerful flap of her wings and igniting an arcane inferno in her previous position, boiling one attacker that was a second too slow to react. A gnoll managed to sidestep it, and swung its club, only to have the attack parried by the unfinished blade Tedacae had drawn, before striking the creature with a buck that sent it into a nearby building, shattering the wall and possibly the creature with it. Turning to hunt down the last attacker, hir world turned to burning agony, the feeling of burning stakes being dragged across his pelt tearing a scream from his throat. He stumbled, stars in his eyes, before his vision returned to see a screaming yellow pegasus furiously beating his attacker into the ground with her bare hooves.
Recollecting himself, and making certain that all of the other gnolls were dead or no longer a threat, he stumbled over to the screaming mare, pulling her away from the gory mess she was making of her foe, and wrapping her in his wings, even as her screaming anger turned to sobs. As he felt the adrenaline leaving his body and allowed himself to come to terms with what had just happened, he was stopped cold by one word he repeatedly heard in the mare's blubbering.
Father.
Wonder how many people I'll piss off with this chapter
Not me.
6007953
Not me; I loved it! I hope Ted can build a little Kingdom out there with his ponies, and I'm looking forward to seeing how things progress.
I liked it
6007953 ALL OF THE UNIMPORTANT PEOPLE~ On a side note, still liking it soooooo, neat!
Isn't that some sort of fruit? his name I mean. It sounds like a fruit to me.
М̓͑ͣ̓ͭ̈́ͪ͟҉̼͔͍̥̻̟̖̺ͅẵ̢̧̛̗͎͓̟̗̦̤̘̻̭͉̠̺̗̦̮͇̺ͫ̄̐ͧ͑ͣ́̅ͧ̿ͥ͂̽̑̀̚͠ҟ͂͂ͥͤͥͯ̀ͫ̈́̽͏̛͇̳̼͚̬̟̝̟̖͓̗̹͔̩̰̞͉͔͡ͅӠ̶̡͇͎̱̬̳͍̯̬̦̩̬̫̟̊͆̇̒͘͢͡ͅ ̸̷̧̞̭̹͎̣̼̺̱͉̋ͫ̏ͪ͌ͩ͌͑̀͆ͭͧ͑͆̍͋̿̓̆͢͡ͅų̤̬̰̟͔̳̰̜͙̮͍͖͍̼̻̯̰̄̈̔̒̈̑̎ͬ̽ͮ̅͟͝Š̸̡̠̝͔̙͕̣̰͎ͧ̀̀̎̌͜͟ ̴̶̤̠̦̼ͫ̏͗ͥͥͤ͜͡͡ԝ̵͈͚̹̹̗̭͉ͧ̑ͦ̾̅̒ͧ̎̉ͫ̎̌̑͋̿͞͠ʜͬ̉̑̌̑͌̌͏̴̜͓̮̙̫̪̠̣̳̙͢͡ϴ̡͑̔̅ͫ͑́̍͛ͧ̾ͪ͒̔͌҉̷̤̝̙̥͙̟͉̻͟ͅͅḺ̳̩͙̙̙̅̌̈̿̀͡ẻ̸̵̢̻̫̟̜̲̭͚͇̤͎͉̞̦̥͙̥̟͖ͨ̏͆̑ͦ͗͌̄̈́ ̴̨̟̘̪̞͎̳̖̹̦̮̫͖̗̦̜̭͎͛̏̑ͥ̑ͣ̈́͂͂͗ͬ̇ͩ̑̑̇₥̸̢̛̉̃̄̄̐̾̑̉͌̎ͩ͏͖̪̪̥̙͇͔͈̞Ắ̷͊ͪ͊̔̏ͥͬ̇ͭ̓͗̑̈̚̚͘҉̭͕̬͍̞̘͍̳̙̯̩̯̯̣ͅ₭̬̥̯̗͔͓͙̣͔̫̖̮̟̺͖̯̺͕̥ͭ̀͊̿̓͂ͬͪ̅̕̕͢є̡̜͈̭͈̥͎̙̜̝͍̝͕̬̳ͮ̽̂̑͡ ̸̛̛̭̣̯̥̱̩̬̱̗̟ͤ͌̑͡ц̵̡͗͂̔̑ͣ̐̈͊҉͎̰̙͕͇͓̳̦̗̥͜ṧ̨͊͂̎ͫ̍̍̀ͤ̐ͭ҉̩̗̭͎̞̫͖̱͙͖̳͓̻̥̟̱͚̬ͅ ̴̸͇̖̗̤̯̼̋̏ͣͫ̽̓̃̽̒͆̔́͞ẉ̢̉ͥ̓͆͒̐̅͛̓̀̈̐͌ͥͮ́ͧ̄҉̶̺͙̱͙̱͇̳̤̖̺̭̺͕͝ͅῌ̴̡͎̟̩̫͎̬̯̲̯̗̙̙̣̼̆ͣ̋͂̀̈͊͛̐ͨ̔̈́ͣ̃ͭ̾̅̚̚ͅ⍬̸̛̦̘̬̮͔̻̘̗̗̩̲̖͖̹͈̤̍̈ͦ̃͒ͣ̓͂̋̈́ͦ̊́ͅḽͫͪͯ̎ͤ̎ͮ͂͋ͧ̎̃͆̓̓ͥ̏͌̀̚͟͏̻͉̣̘͕̻͖̘̜͙͜Ἑ̷̢̞͉̱͉̣̺̠͔̏̈́ͩ̚ͅ Ť̝̼̣͓͚͎͈̗͕̹̟̳͇͛͆͐ͯ͛͠͠ų̴̛̺͕̣͔͎̤̳̺͓̘̮̺̭́̇̂ͦͯ̄̈̍̈́ͫ̉̚ȑ̨̤̪͓̘̲̟̗̤̻͓̳̟̱͈̿ͣ̉ͣ̓̒̇͒ͯ̿̍ͭ̍ͮ̓͆͐͛ͩ̕͜ͅ₦͑̒͆̉̽̄̊ͨ̕͡͏̧͕̫͎͔̳̬̮̞̳̩̩̣͍ ̢̨̘̫̲̥̟̮͖̜͎̝͓̭̼̣̋͑̊̈͢Ϊ̧̹͍͇̝̱̪̱̜͉̠̜̥̝͚̩ͥ̊ͯ̈̽̆̽̐ͦͭ̋̈́͘Т̷̷̪̪̟̫̫͙̖̩͚̥̩̙͍̼̯ͩͬͨͯ͠͝ͅ ̴̗͚̙̳̼̙̬̦̙̬̩͛̀ͯ̆ͧ̈̕͠о̲͕̘̳̯̝̰͔͈̖̩̺̬͔̬̻̬̖̜̅̓ͪ͑̄̌̂̏ͦ́͟͠͞͝₣̢̲̰̺̜̼̠̘͈͚̺͇̤̼ͩ̏̋̎͛̈́͟ḟ̴̛̥͓͖͎̳͈̜̙͔̣ͦ͂ͮ̔̔̎ͭ̽ͩͯ͐̆̓͑̚̚͡ͅĦ͖̙̙̺͖̺̺̪̭́ͮͧ̽͌̀ͦ̐ͭ̕͡Ӡ͋ͧ̂ͬ̆͆̈́ͩ́̚͘͏͇̞̥̰̘͖̳͕̼̙̻̹̟̖̰͓͈́ͅļ̛̛̭̭̖̩̮͓̭̣͍̫̣̪̯̲̭̱̙̝̫͛̋ͭ̉̓ͅ₱̗̤̖̮͉̭͚͓̝̩̱͉̦͓̫̤̋̀̋̍̆̕͝ ̌͋̊ͮ̑҉̴̱͉͎̙̘̤̜͍̫͇̹̭͈͙͚ṃ̢̛̘̬̘̻̼̙̠͍̻̍̇̂̌̏̐̑̿ͧ͑́͟ͅῈ̨̛̼̙̳̮͙̜͎̘͇̑̈́͛̇ͨ̅͗ͨ͑ͪͮ̀͆͌̅̕͘͞ Ľ̡̦̣̹̜̬̦͔̥͙̥̳̙͍̟̬̻̄̊̚̕͜͡e̝̯̗͓̓̅ͯ͌̇͛̀̓̒͐͛̇̌ͦ̓́́t̸̸̲̥̺͍́̍̈̐ͥ̂̚̕ ̴̧̫̻̘̜͖̫̲͈ͣ̄ͨ̋̉ͥ̇̀̾̃ͦͪ͝u̡͓͓̠͖͇͙̳̮͚̗̍̊̇̒́ͩͯ̀͐ͫ̂͛ͤ̓̚s͓̲͉̹͕̤̺͍̱̩̻͙̗̪̦͈̑̾ͤͪͫ̽ͥͪ̾̎́͘͠͝͡ͅͅ ̸̞͙̻̖͙̱̹̬̻̭̀̈͊͆̓͒̿͌ͭ̽ͤ̚͝s͕̝̯̲͖̬̺̓ͭ̓̉ͬ̑͒ͦ͘ͅp̸̡̝̞͎͕̘͚͉͈̫͖̫͉̜̣͕͚̤̲̂̃ͥ̊ͮ̿ͩ͂̅́͜ě̷͙͍̜̠̬̩̯͈̭̦̯̥͓̥̌͛͆͑̂ͫ̄͛͐̉ͩ͌̈́̂́à̷̵͉̭̘̲̤̖̬̜̙̳̲̟̙̺ͥ̏̄̄̏́̇ͤ̓͂̚͢ḳ̢̰͍̣̟̣̲̮͇̙̲͉̹̋̇̌͊ͩͬͤ͑̅́ ̓̈́̈́̍̓͢͏̡̭̝̗̹̳͉̪̹͞i̡͓̘̘̫ͬ͐̃̒ͩͩ̌ͩ̅͢n̢͙̟͙̜̤̯͕ͣ̾ͫ̋̿ͦ͌ͧ̒͐ͯ͐ͫ͌ͩ̈̏ͬ͟ ̧̋ͧͭ̾̓̇̽ͭ̉͊͆͒́͏̟̳͕̀ś̛ͫͣͪ̈͟҉̛͕͇̟͓͈̘̞̘̱̫̖̣̪̗͞ͅỉ̷̸̛̥̰̖͉̟̼͓͓̰̜͓̿ͮͧ͛͂́̍̅̀̚l̵̸̛̲̜͖̗̣̪̖̱͍̣ͫ̓̅͊̂ͨ̅̑é̵̋̾̃͏̻̰̳͈͓̠͙̳͖͙͍̤̜̩̫̙̗̰n͓̫̳̼̥͈͉̣̝͑̓̈́͗̀̒͗̅ͯ̉̄̈́̍ͦ̔͒̔̇̀̕͢c̸̗̤̪̔͆̑͒̈́̇͒ͩͮͪ͒ͩ̚͟ȩ̷̩̻̮̞̥̭̮̟̥̖̳̲̱̤̟̤̝̤̤̄͐̾̏ͧ͂͂̒̀ͭ͘͘ Ť̝̼̣͓͚͎͈̗͕̹̟̳͇͛͆͐ͯ͛͠͠ų̴̛̺͕̣͔͎̤̳̺͓̘̮̺̭́̇̂ͦͯ̄̈̍̈́ͫ̉̚ȑ̨̤̪͓̘̲̟̗̤̻͓̳̟̱͈̿ͣ̉ͣ̓̒̇͒ͯ̿̍ͭ̍ͮ̓͆͐͛ͩ̕͜ͅ₦͑̒͆̉̽̄̊ͨ̕͡͏̧͕̫͎͔̳̬̮̞̳̩̩̣͍ ̢̨̘̫̲̥̟̮͖̜͎̝͓̭̼̣̋͑̊̈͢Ϊ̧̹͍͇̝̱̪̱̜͉̠̜̥̝͚̩ͥ̊ͯ̈̽̆̽̐ͦͭ̋̈́͘Т̷̷̪̪̟̫̫͙̖̩͚̥̩̙͍̼̯ͩͬͨͯ͠͝ͅ ̴̗͚̙̳̼̙̬̦̙̬̩͛̀ͯ̆ͧ̈̕͠о̲͕̘̳̯̝̰͔͈̖̩̺̬͔̬̻̬̖̜̅̓ͪ͑̄̌̂̏ͦ́͟͠͞͝₣̢̲̰̺̜̼̠̘͈͚̺͇̤̼ͩ̏̋̎͛̈́͟ḟ̴̛̥͓͖͎̳͈̜̙͔̣ͦ͂ͮ̔̔̎ͭ̽ͩͯ͐̆̓͑̚̚͡ͅ М̓͑ͣ̓ͭ̈́ͪ͟҉̼͔͍̥̻̟̖̺ͅẵ̢̧̛̗͎͓̟̗̦̤̘̻̭͉̠̺̗̦̮͇̺ͫ̄̐ͧ͑ͣ́̅ͧ̿ͥ͂̽̑̀̚͠ҟ͂͂ͥͤͥͯ̀ͫ̈́̽͏̛͇̳̼͚̬̟̝̟̖͓̗̹͔̩̰̞͉͔͡ͅӠ̶̡͇͎̱̬̳͍̯̬̦̩̬̫̟̊͆̇̒͘͢͡ͅ ̸̷̧̞̭̹͎̣̼̺̱͉̋ͫ̏ͪ͌ͩ͌͑̀͆ͭͧ͑͆̍͋̿̓̆͢͡ͅų̤̬̰̟͔̳̰̜͙̮͍͖͍̼̻̯̰̄̈̔̒̈̑̎ͬ̽ͮ̅͟͝Š̸̡̠̝͔̙͕̣̰͎ͧ̀̀̎̌͜͟ ̴̶̤̠̦̼ͫ̏͗ͥͥͤ͜͡͡ԝ̵͈͚̹̹̗̭͉ͧ̑ͦ̾̅̒ͧ̎̉ͫ̎̌̑͋̿͞͠ʜͬ̉̑̌̑͌̌͏̴̜͓̮̙̫̪̠̣̳̙͢͡ϴ̡͑̔̅ͫ͑́̍͛ͧ̾ͪ͒̔͌҉̷̤̝̙̥͙̟͉̻͟ͅͅḺ̳̩͙̙̙̅̌̈̿̀͡ẻ̸̵̢̻̫̟̜̲̭͚͇̤͎͉̞̦̥͙̥̟͖ͨ̏͆̑ͦ͗͌̄̈́ ̴̨̟̘̪̞͎̳̖̹̦̮̫͖̗̦̜̭͎͛̏̑ͥ̑ͣ̈́͂͂͗ͬ̇ͩ̑̑̇₥̸̢̛̉̃̄̄̐̾̑̉͌̎ͩ͏͖̪̪̥̙͇͔͈̞Ắ̷͊ͪ͊̔̏ͥͬ̇ͭ̓͗̑̈̚̚͘҉̭͕̬͍̞̘͍̳̙̯̩̯̯̣ͅ₭̬̥̯̗͔͓͙̣͔̫̖̮̟̺͖̯̺͕̥ͭ̀͊̿̓͂ͬͪ̅̕̕͢є̡̜͈̭͈̥͎̙̜̝͍̝͕̬̳ͮ̽̂̑͡ ̸̛̛̭̣̯̥̱̩̬̱̗̟ͤ͌̑͡ц̵̡͗͂̔̑ͣ̐̈͊҉͎̰̙͕͇͓̳̦̗̥͜ṧ̨͊͂̎ͫ̍̍̀ͤ̐ͭ҉̩̗̭͎̞̫͖̱͙͖̳͓̻̥̟̱͚̬ͅ ̴̸͇̖̗̤̯̼̋̏ͣͫ̽̓̃̽̒͆̔́͞ẉ̢̉ͥ̓͆͒̐̅͛̓̀̈̐͌ͥͮ́ͧ̄҉̶̺͙̱͙̱͇̳̤̖̺̭̺͕͝ͅῌ̴̡͎̟̩̫͎̬̯̲̯̗̙̙̣̼̆ͣ̋͂̀̈͊͛̐ͨ̔̈́ͣ̃ͭ̾̅̚̚ͅ⍬̸̛̦̘̬̮͔̻̘̗̗̩̲̖͖̹͈̤̍̈ͦ̃͒ͣ̓͂̋̈́ͦ̊́ͅḽͫͪͯ̎ͤ̎ͮ͂͋ͧ̎̃͆̓̓ͥ̏͌̀̚͟͏̻͉̣̘͕̻͖̘̜͙͜Ἑ̷̢̞͉̱͉̣̺̠͔̏̈́ͩ̚ͅ Ħ͖̙̙̺͖̺̺̪̭́ͮͧ̽͌̀ͦ̐ͭ̕͡Ӡ͋ͧ̂ͬ̆͆̈́ͩ́̚͘͏͇̞̥̰̘͖̳͕̼̙̻̹̟̖̰͓͈́ͅļ̛̛̭̭̖̩̮͓̭̣͍̫̣̪̯̲̭̱̙̝̫͛̋ͭ̉̓ͅ₱̗̤̖̮͉̭͚͓̝̩̱͉̦͓̫̤̋̀̋̍̆̕͝ ̌͋̊ͮ̑҉̴̱͉͎̙̘̤̜͍̫͇̹̭͈͙͚ṃ̢̛̘̬̘̻̼̙̠͍̻̍̇̂̌̏̐̑̿ͧ͑́͟ͅῈ̨̛̼̙̳̮͙̜͎̘͇̑̈́͛̇ͨ̅͗ͨ͑ͪͮ̀͆͌̅̕͘͞ Ť̝̼̣͓͚͎͈̗͕̹̟̳͇͛͆͐ͯ͛͠͠ų̴̛̺͕̣͔͎̤̳̺͓̘̮̺̭́̇̂ͦͯ̄̈̍̈́ͫ̉̚ȑ̨̤̪͓̘̲̟̗̤̻͓̳̟̱͈̿ͣ̉ͣ̓̒̇͒ͯ̿̍ͭ̍ͮ̓͆͐͛ͩ̕͜ͅ₦͑̒͆̉̽̄̊ͨ̕͡͏̧͕̫͎͔̳̬̮̞̳̩̩̣͍ ̢̨̘̫̲̥̟̮͖̜͎̝͓̭̼̣̋͑̊̈͢Ϊ̧̹͍͇̝̱̪̱̜͉̠̜̥̝͚̩ͥ̊ͯ̈̽̆̽̐ͦͭ̋̈́͘Т̷̷̪̪̟̫̫͙̖̩͚̥̩̙͍̼̯ͩͬͨͯ͠͝ͅ ̴̗͚̙̳̼̙̬̦̙̬̩͛̀ͯ̆ͧ̈̕͠о̲͕̘̳̯̝̰͔͈̖̩̺̬͔̬̻̬̖̜̅̓ͪ͑̄̌̂̏ͦ́͟͠͞͝₣̢̲̰̺̜̼̠̘͈͚̺͇̤̼ͩ̏̋̎͛̈́͟ḟ̴̛̥͓͖͎̳͈̜̙͔̣ͦ͂ͮ̔̔̎ͭ̽ͩͯ͐̆̓͑̚̚͡ͅ
6007953
At least one less than you thought, you're writing is fairly descent and the story is rather intriguing. Can't wait for more, keep up the good work!
Not me.
I loved this chapter.
This was great, and really helps to add and build and leads me to wonder just what Luna was doing, and what she has planned to talk to Ted about, as well as just what need to be happening next. I hope they can expell the Nightmare Queen from Twilight's body.
6007953 Well, it made sense to me. Making sense doesn't get me mad. Also, you are barely avoiding the Gary Stu trap. You found a loop hole in it, but the point still stands.
What does it mean?
please explain why you chose that as his name.
other than that, i have enjoyed the story and look forward to another chapter tomorrow, hopefully.
I can get way the pony calls him father
some people call the queen of England mum soooooo
ok that works
6007953
"Not I," said the Cat.
True-Name-reading Luna is best Luna.
Also, you seem to be missing a quotation mark.
Information, magic training, company, family. That's what the princess can do for him.
Also "Ted fell into her memories". Looks like Ted is slipping more and more into thinking of himself as female.
Pissed-Off-Meter: 000.0%
Huh, Would you look at that? I'm not pissed off at all.
Cimmerian, eh? I sure have heard of worse names. I think I like it.
Edit: Googled the name. Now I know I like it. A good choice, as far as I'm concerned.
Keep up the good work.
6008037 I know, and I'm gonna have to watch my ass here, but he's kind of a demi-god with magic armor VS a small, dumb as bricks bandit patrol. He also had the initiative.
Also had an idea for the armor that will show up next chapter, should be fun.
6008019 Persimmon is the fruit your thinking of I believe.
6008039 I agonized over this since Dreamweaver, and only just tonight decided. I think Cimmerian is better than my others, and it's darkness. Sky, Moon, and Darkness in the dream. I think it fits well.
6008021 I actually rewrote that part. It was originally much more hallucigenic, but I felt it was a bit too much when compared against the rest of the story.
6008083 But... But Necromorphs!
vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/deadspace/images/c/c4/DS2_Necromorphs.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20101212220129
Loved it!
The Lunar naming ceremony was awesome. Celestia naming him as nephew makes him their heir to the throne. Everything he does to provide for those in his care is now sanctioned.
Not "pissed off", but still surprised at this type of progression. Also, Cimmerian? Why?
6007953 Not me. Enjoyed the chapter. Name is relevant to his role.
Huh, what "Cimmerian"?
So...
Ted is Conan now, eh?
Great chapter. And now I know that somebody else calls Diamond Dogs Gnolls too!
6008083
"I know, and I'm gonna have to watch my ass here, but he's kind of a demi-god with magic armor VS a small, dumb as bricks bandit patrol. He also had the initiative."
Honestly, I think these days fear of Mary Sueness is a bigger problem in writing than actual Mary Sues. It's OK for your character to be intelligent, and to be powerful, so long as he faces challenges in line with that. A Mary Sue / Gary Stu was made as a parody of a character was perfect and never faced any real problems, not the apparently popular definition on the internet these days of any character who isn't completely incompetent.
6008194
"He is Conan, Cimmerian, he won't cry, so I cry for him."
... In time he became a king by his own.. hoof?
And it is now a moral imperative to ask, what is best in life?
"Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women. "
were dealt with
-or-
were either dead or no longer a threat
It looks like you started to go with the first and then decided to use the wordier choice and forgot to delete.
6008033
Most like answer?
Naming. Notice how pony names tend to suit them freakishly well? The first time a pony mother holds her child that happens and she Sees the child's soul at a fundamental level and Understands their true Name... of course this is just the most logical explanation based on our knowledge of pony names and how Reykan described it.
6008205 Personally I think the biggest real problem with 'Stu's is when other characters start going completely OoC around them. As in throwing virginities at the guy as soon as he walks into town... or this:
Most of the other stuff gets over hyped. If the character isn't unusual or exciting in some way then why would we want to read/hear about them? Nobody will ever read "The Perfectly Normal Accountant With The Average Wife Doing Typical Accounting"... it was voted most like to never be published twelve years in a row now!
Blur is best daughter pony.
How does one doze off in a dream? Anyway, good chapter. Is that thing Luna did something all parents do when they are naming their children in Equestria? List off things until fate tells them to stop?
Three days after birth of her foal, a mother draws a hoof tiredly down a face plagued with bags beneath bloodshot eyes. "Uh, Berry Bunch? No. Fairy Cherry? No. Um, Wishy Washy? Thank goodness no. Jello? Seriosly no!? Come on already!" Standing, she points a hoof at the baby who laughs in return. "Okay, what about Stupid McDumbshit! Will that do Fate!?" A few seconds pass as the name tumbles around in her head before clicking into place. "... There is no God!"
..... Okay I think I only understund half of that chapter, manly the begaining with Luna. What does Cimmerian mean away, and I agree with Ted Luna was acting wierd with all the word things
6008329
Best I could find with Google search:
Cimmerian- Relating to or denoting members of a mythical people who lived in perpetual mist and darkness near the land of the dead.
6008299 I'm pretty sure those weren't possible names but words/titles that represent core facets of his nature leading up to her understanding what name best encapsulates his essence as a whole.
P.s.
I direct your attention to the back story of Deepthroat Cockslut.
6008083 I don't think you're that close to a gary stu character, but it is something to keep in mind when writing a character with god-like abilities. As long as Ted has to struggle somehow, I think you can avoid it. Things like Ted not really knowing how to fly is a perfect example. His merged memories are there, but he doesn't know how to use them. This chapter has another good element - Ted didn't escape the fight unscathed, so he's not uber perfect and awesome. Also, I noticed you change Ted's name when Luna's memories slide in and take over. Calling him 'Tedacae' and 'Tuna' tells me that he has lost himself in Luna's memories, and it's really those memories that have all the fighting skill. Ted is just along for the ride.
I think it would make sense for Ted to lose access to most of his powers once he loses Luna's memories. Or perhaps the memories are locked away, and he can only merge them with his own when he receives specific training from Luna and/or Celestia. To me, this would be an acceptable rationale for an untrained human in an Alicorn body to quickly gain competence in magic. Anything that Luna did not know before the Nightmare, Ted must learn from scratch. It would be even better if all involved characters admit that using Luna's memories is a cheat - but one they need to use to defeat the Mad Queen.
6008299
6008277 Fixed, and yes, the naming thing was from a fic I read a long time ago, author paired his oc with Fluttershy, she gets preggo, and he wanders into the room they were staying in to find hundreds of words written all over the walls as Shy madly writes out every word combination she can until something tells her to stop.
6008218 I actually don't remember that line, though it sounds vaguely familiar. It wasn't why I picked it though. After hours of searching thesaurus.com for other words for dark, umbra, protect, and shroud, I just felt it was the right one. You could say I went through something similar to what Luna did for him.
6008199 I don't know, the diamond dogs seemed to be a pretty specific group from what I've seen and read. I see these guys as closer to the WoW gnolls. Big, dumb, and perfectly willing to fuck up anything they come across that's not on their side.
6008290 She's my go-to for silly cultist feels and daddy-worship. I love the idea of a pony absolutely enamored by the mental image she's created for her leader, one that's closer to the truth than what's generally accepted, but then goes too far in the right direction. I also plan on her being Ted's link to the rest of his followers, though that will show up later.
6008355
Found another error. Let me fix that for ya.
There we go! Because that explanation is very, very, far from what I was saying. Complete opposite actually.
Well now he's officially destined to be king by his own hoof, and bear the jeweled crown of Equestria upon a troubled brow.
Also, he has to complete that sword with metallurgically impractical, but visually awesome forging techniques.
I'm assuming that pronouns like hir are spelled that way on purpose.
6008364 Ha, was saying yes as in it was a Naming, the rest was merely where I first read it.
6008375 They are, a combination of his and her.
6008352 Hearing you say what I've been aiming for just split my face with the biggest grin yet, man.
I tend to write very quickly, and either I get the new chapter done then and there, or I'll be agonizing over it for the next shift at work, throwing around ideas that I can't implement until I get back to my computer. For instance, yesterday I put out three chapters and a new story. Only about half of the first chapter on this story was done when I started writing yesterday, and I jotted down the main idea and a paragraph or two from Blood Seeker.
Speaking of which, I've already started the next chapter for this one as well, and have ideas for Magic's bouncing around already. No luck with Crystal Outlander though, which is odd, because I thought that one would be easier.
That being said, I have to look up Conan, because I had no idea the name was already linked to a king. Oops? Or maybe it's a good oops?
6007953 Just me poking you.
6008342 thank you I was so confused.
I do love the chapter tho
6008383
Back in the 30s, Robert E. Howard helped define the swords and sorcery genre with Conan the Cimmerian. The movie adaptation in the 80s helped launch Arnold Schwarzenegger's career, and made the character a cultural icon.
Anyone who didn't know that can get the hell off my lawn.
6008383
Wait, so what now?? Did you just take the basic concept of a Naming from that fic? And if so then was I right about the significance of the events and words spoken or is there a third thing? Or are you actually sticking with that fic's "throw shit at the wall and see what sticks(literally)"... I've gone from not really confused at all to questioning my own existence...
I looked back at this story after taking a few days off to wait for updates, and i have to say suddenly...
did you go into minecraft and build the fortress from the story?! XD!
6005630
And that explanation couldn't be added to the description because?
Seriously, I'm not the one writing the story. It's not my responsibility to figure out why he used that picture, and I shouldn't have to look at a blog post (which, if you're right, he didn't even link to in the description) to get an answer.
Also, I love how my comment got five down votes for asking a completely valid question, and so far you're the only one to bother actually giving an answer. Thanks for that.
I think the new name sounds good. It's powerful and ancient sounding. It sounds like a roman or,greek God of some sort, which is precisely what you'd want I would think.
Y'know, if nobody asks Ted 'what is best in life?' I am going to be sorely disappointed. Still, an interesting chapter! Looking forward to more.
6008428 *Leaves burning bag of shit at the door
6008451 I took the process itself from the story, but wanted something a bit more, I don't know, intense? than a mare rambling around scribbling names down on every available surface. Sorry, sometimes explanations leave more questions.
6008452 Yes, yes I did.
6008454 I'd swear I put that in an AN... I'll look again.
6008472 You don't really get more intense than peering into the very core of someone else's soul...
You think you might put up the download for the minecraft map?
6008355
The line "He is Conan, Cimmerian, he won't cry, so I cry for him. " is spoken by Subotai during Valeria's funeral pyre [Conan the Barbarian (1982)]. Many of us are bringing up Conan because that is most familiar to us.
Conan was hit #2 when I googled it and this other nice tidbit also popped up.
(...) adjective: Cimmerian
(...) 2. Greek Mythology: relating to or denoting members of a mythical people who lived in perpetual mist and darkness near the land of the dead.
This fits rather well with Ted often protecting his ponies by shrouding them in darkness.
I've done that many times when trying to come up with names for my PnP-RPG characters. I'll often put them through Google Translate and go with something from that. I always have a hard time picking a character name and I'll search through many names/words till I find one that feels right.
Doesn't seem surprising to me at all having female cultists become nuns...there really isn't all that much difference in concept.
As long as he doesn't outright abandon his name, it's fine. That sort of thing just makes me utterly incredulous. People are generally pretty attached to their names (Unless they outright hate them, in which case they attach to their self-given moniker), and don't /completely/ give them up unless they absolutely have to.
This mostly comes off as like a strategy game, like Age of Empires when you're just starting out. That being said, I'm still interested in where this is going. (And it certainly makes it easy to visualize in that context)
Still a bit confused as to how he was hit. Seems like something that should have been assessed right at the end, for the sake of the mental imagery. Also, I'm uncertain if the gnolls were actual tropical species gnolls, or just normal diamond dogs. Something that can be pointed off-handedly next chapter, I assume.
6008277
Clearly(and confirmed) what Reykan was doing here, but in canon it seems more likely that the cutie mark's image just represents their identity as well as their talent. Not necessarily their name, as one's identification with it can vary, hence those that identify themselves as 'apples' will work an apple motif into the cutie mark somehow, and applejack doesn't have bottles of booze on her flanks.
6008542 Name abandonment bothers me. It's who you are, or were at a time. I personally respond to a bunch of names. Matt, Reykan, Phorae/Pho, Thaylon/Thay, and many others besides. Does having more names take away from my true name? Of course not. I feel it adds to my person, that my Self becomes larger than my given name.
*Steps off of soapbox
6008526 Actually, I'm not certain how, as I've never looked into that sort of thing. It's also far from done, as I plan on incorporating all aspects that I add to the map, so I'll likely spend a few hours adding the port town, the spring, and the field to the map as well.
6008537 See, you've Named as well! and yes, I did see that Greek myth thing after I posted the chapter, I thought It was cool.