Cimmerian slowed in his journey. The dream realm was...wrong here, for lack of a better way of saying it. The 'air' was thicker, like he was moving through sludge. He found the dream eventually, but even that was difficult, the dreamer having an odd protection around it, one that he felt brushing against him even as he entered.
The dream itself was simple. An open field, tall grass stretching for as far as he could see. The dreamer much less so. The minotaur was large, a towering creature that would have stood over any thing from griffons to ponies to changelings, even most gnolls. As it was, the creature was just a head taller than Cimmerian was. The bull blinked in confusion for a moment as he took in the surrounding area before focusing on the alicorn standing before him.
"Alicorns. I grow tired of your kind," the minotaur grumbled. "It matters not to me. The time of your kind and those that follow you is coming to an end. Once we push back the pony queen and her hordes, your capital will belong to us."
Cimmerian bit back a retort at the large beings insulting words. "Cairne, correct? Leader of the minotaurs? I am-"
"I do not care who you are. You have no power here, no right to be in my dream. Our ancestors provided a way to fight the dream-walker and it will protect us from your attacks. Now be gone!"
With that, the minotaur lashed out with his fist, punching Cimmerian right in the muzzle. The alicorn was thrown from the dream in both pain and shock.
"Is this guy serious? Does he really think he can just throw me around like that?" Cimmerian muttered to himself. There was no way he was letting that one slide. Pushing back into the sludge-like area of the dream realm, Cimmerian felt a push against him. It was odd, but the source of the force seemed to also be the source of whatever was mucking with the dream realm in this area.
'With Cairne declaring me unwelcome, whatever's messing with the dream realm here has decided I'm unwelcome as well. We'll see about that.'
Cimmerian returned to his body, carefully extracting himself from the dozing queens. He quickly found the Nightmare armor back in the ritual room and slid it on, mentally chuckling at the fact that the armor once more expanded to fit his ever-increasing size.
'That should slow down soon though. I think this is about how big Luna was.'
"Cimmerian? What happened?" Din asked, trotting into the room. "Did the minotaur do something? You're upset."
"He punched me before I could even say who I was or why I was there. He wants to play this game, I'll play. I'll kick his ass at it too. Dreams are part of my domain, where I rule. That son of a bitch thinks he's hot stuff, but he's got another thing coming."
"If he doesn't want to help us, that's fine. We'll deal with it later," Din said in an attempt to calm him.
"I'm not waiting, Din," the dark stallion replied. "We weren't sure what he was doing with the ponies that fled over the border that way, but with his attitude I'd bet slavery at best, death at worst for the refugees. He wants to throw his weight around, he's going to learn there are some out there who are bigger than he is. He's going to talk to me, and he's going to tell me what I want to know. That, or he'll tell me who can give me the information."
The queen uneasily followed him back to his own room this time. Knowing she was likely tasting his anger and worried it would only get worse, he turned to address her.
"I'll be done in a bit, Din. You and Zelus relax in your own room. I don't want you getting burned by my anger and frustration with this. I'll try to keep myself calm during this as well, but this may turn for the worst. If it really goes south, I'll head out on a flight so you guys don't have to deal with it, okay?"
"I will only accept if you allow Zelus to go with you," Pandinus countered. "She can hold her own, and if you'd like I'm certain you two could spar to burn off your anger."
Cimmerian chewed his lip in thought before nodding.
"Fine. Warn her that she'll need to shut me out for the duration or she may get sick. I'll let you all know what I learn later."
Closing the door on the worried queen, Cimmerian went back to the realm of dreams, this time equipped with the Nightmare armor and the increase in power it provided. The sludge-like effect was still there, but much less noticeable this time. Once more Cimmerian entered the minotaur's dream and once more the minotaur, after recovering from the shock of seeing him return, attempted to attack him. Cimmerian was not going to let that happen. With a flap of his wings, the bull was thrown back across the field. A flash of dark power followed, ensuring the dreamer wouldn't wake up until Cimmerian allowed it.
"We're going to have a chat, you and I. I have questions, Cairne, and I will have my answers. I tried asking nicely and introducing myself, but now we do this your way."
The dream twisted, an empty parking lot and desert surrounding the two. Blurry bipedal shadows stood nearby, some holding weapons in their hands, items the minotaur wouldn't likely be able to identify other than the fact that they may have been weapons. With a final flourish, Cimmerian shifted to his winged human form.
"I said before that my name is Cimmerian. I was brought here by the first Nightmare's escape. I was human and now I'm an alicorn. I want to know what you did with-"
The cross-breed's demands were cut off as the bull made a bellowing charge across the field. With a quick flap of his wings, Cimmerian was airborne, while all six of the shadowy guards he'd summoned raised their weapons and fired.
"Rock salt. Doesn't feel very nice does it? It should also prove to you that I'm not fucking around, cow. You want to act like a spoiled child, I'm going to run you over."
Landing and grabbing the minotaur by the chest hair, he lifted the male into the air and shouted in the bulls face.
"What are you doing with the refugees?"
Cimmerian flinched back a second time, barely dodging a clobbering blow from the bulls fist.
"I said your time is over, freak! Not only are you one of them, you claim to be one of the demons of old? I will not be swayed by one wearing the skin of the deceivers!"
"I'll have my answers, worm, even if I have to drag them from your mindless body," Theodore said dangerously.
He squared off against the minotaur, taking a step back when the minotaur drew a large axe from the ether.
"I rule my dream, monster. You are under the effect of my tribes Dreamcatcher. There will be no escape this time."
"Is that what's tainting this part of the dream realm?" the winged man asked curiously. "I'll have to fix that."
His face gaining a small smile, Ted drew a weapon of his own; a small metal cylinder. The large bull bellowed a laugh before charging forward, swinging the axe in a cleave that was meant to overpower his opponent.
Ted spun away from the blow and to the left, bringing his weapon to bear with a snap-hiss that brought a child-like grin to his face even as the minotaur slowed in his charge to stare at the smoking remains of his axe. A moment later and he realized that one of his hands was missing as well.
"What kind of idiot charges a stranger with a strange weapon?" the ruler of Kharazi jungles muttered to himself even as the bull stared at the smoking stump in shock. Under normal circumstances, the minotaur would have woken up at the loss but Cimmerian wasn't letting him off that easily.
"I'm not wasting time with you, Cairne. You're supposed to be the leader of the minotaurs, a warrior and a role model. Xenophobia does not work in a world of so many species.
"I came for answers. You will give them to me, or tell me who I can get them from. Am I clear?"
"I will...never bow to your kind, monster. Neither those you serve nor your own kind, who look like minotaurs but are an unholy mockery of our form!" Cairne shouted, staggering back from Theodore.
"What did you do with the refugees, you son of a bitch? The last I've heard from the griffons they were headed out of Equestria in any direction they could manage. That includes through the plains. What did you do with the ponies fleeing through your territory?" Ted demanded once more.
Cairne snorted in rage.
"Those ponies are paying back what's owed to the minotaur people. Their own pride and ignorance led to their downfall and now the minotaur are left to clean up. We will take back what was once ours, then move onto your lands. I will see my people ruling this world!"
"Slavery is your answer?" Cimmerian asked in disgust. "Slavery and conquest? Haven't you had enough of that from the Nightmare's campaign? Blood begets blood, Cairne. If you were a true leader, you'd know that. Instead you seek to prolong the conflict. Let the blood on the soil dry before you begin another, for pity's sake."
"You and yours are weak! You have no stomach for what must be done. My father thought peace was possible between the races and lies dead because of his foolishness."
The minotaur spat on the ground in contempt. "I will triumph where he failed. I will lead the minotaurs to an age of victory!"
'Somebody has daddy issues...' Cimmerian thought to himself.
To the human/alicorn male's surprise, Cairne didn't immediately throw himself back into the fight. Instead, he took a kneeling position, bowing down on one knee and muttering with his remaining fist over his chest. Cimmerian fought to keep his feet as the dream buckled, the shadows he had created being ripped out of the dream easily. Theodore wouldn't be so easily overcome though.
Bracing himself, the winged man watched as the sky behind the bull slowly came apart, revealing an artifact that resembled a dream catcher. At the sight, Cimmerian actually started laughing. That was Cairne's secret weapon against him? An artifact Luna had given them a thousand years ago as a peace-offering?
The minotaur's triumphant grin slowly fell even as he continued his chanting. Cimmerian just shook his head, the smile still on his face. As the artifact was constructed before the Nightmare separated itself from Luna, its construction was included in the memories. It was a broken memory, a patchwork mess like everything else he'd received from his unwilling benefactors that was missing important chunks that would allow him to recreate it, but he didn't need to know how to make one. He just had to unmake one.
"That's your secret weapon against dream-walkers? An artifact Luna made for your people in years gone by as a peace offering?" the hybrid scoffed. At the minotaur's confused expression, his irritation shifted to mirth.
"You didn't even know, did you? You didn't even know that the artifact you were relying on was made by an alicorn! Oh, this is rich! You know what the best part is though?"
When Cairne failed to reply, Cimmerian moved. Thrusting his hands forward, he surged his power into the artifact, pushing more power through the object than it was ever meant to channel. It began to spark wildly as it overloaded, the ancient spell-work unraveling quickly under his assault. It didn't take much in all truth, as the dream-ward was only ever meant to stop creatures based in the dream-realm.
"What is this? What are you doing?" Cairne asked in panic as the dream-ward began to fall apart. With a final echoing shatter, the artifact and the effect it had left on the dream shattered into so many shards.
"It was only ever made to ensure nothing that lives on the dream-plane enters the dreams of your people, not stop an alicorn from entering. Add to that the fact that it felt like it hadn't been properly cared for in ages, the thing stood no chance."
Cimmerian stepped back from the minotaur, fading from visibility in the dream. He was done fighting with the chieftain for now, but he still needed a name at the very least. Preferably someone who was high-ranked in the minotaur tribe, like a healer or something. Those usually were fairly benign, right? At the very least they might be more willing to talk to him. So he set the minotaur up with a dream based on the camp. He made certain to keep as much detail as possible, listening to the bull as he rushed through the camp. He'd get the name, and then he'd give the fool a good scare for his trouble.
Cairne rushed through the camp, desperately looking for the tribe's seer. The old crone was the last person on his list of people he trusted but only she would know the meaning of the two-formed alicorn. Pushing into her tent, he bowled over the bull that was already in the tent working on some pointless task for the cow. He approached her and roughly grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Crone Ravendraft, I have need of your-"
Cairne stumbled back in shock from the face of the female, terror filling his mind. For the crone's eyes were blazing white voids that seemed to reach for his very soul. He stumbled back, bumping into the bull he'd shoved earlier only to feel the minotaur grab his shoulder. Looking back at the second occupant of the tent, he heard it speak before it lunged.
"Make us whole!"
"Crone Ravendraft huh. I'll likely have to speak with her tomorrow, seeing as the artifact being destroyed likely woke her up," Cimmerian muttered as he floated in the dream-realm. Sure she'd likely be pissed he broke the dream catcher, but from what he could tell it wasn't a tough fix.
He'd allowed the dream to collapse after the jump-scare to keep it from getting to be too much but he still wanted to give the bull a full piece of his mind. Strange as it was he didn't feel particularly angry anymore, just irritated. Cairne was a glory-seeking whelp that wasn't ready for leadership.
'Too bad he's like that. At this rate we're going to be butting heads. Too bad for him mine has a built-in pike.'
He almost took off for the Temple once again but stopped short, remembering Heart had been working to free many of those who had been forcefully inducted into the Nightmare Hive. Seeing as he was in the 'area' and the re-developing queen should be sleeping, he decided to stop by.
The dream hive was different now. Whether it was because she had so many ponies in her hive at the moment or because she had to rebuild her own mind with the help of those around her, the dream-hive was more of an open field than a cave now. Trees dotted the landscape and a throne that likely housed the queen could be seen in the distance. As he made his way through the fields he suppressed a shudder. It wasn't just soldiers here anymore. Stallions, mares, foals, even a few griffons and a minotaur were scattered throughout the dream. The number of changelings he saw in the dream could be counted on his hooves though. From what he saw, there were only two beside Heart.
'Could just be that most changelings get night shift though. Would make sense.'
"Good evening, Heart. How are things going for you and yours?"
The developing queen, about half again the size she'd been when he'd first seen her and now about the size of a grown mare, raised her head from the throne and gazed at him curiously.
"What are you doing here? Is there something that you need?"
"I was attempting to talk to the minotaurs to find out what was happening out there," Cimmerian explained with a frown. "Unfortunately, they don't seem to be very kind at this time. I'll try contacting someone else tomorrow, but for now it seems that Cairne is looking to either kill or enslave any ponies he comes across. Pass it on to the griffons, would you? I'm not certain what Cairne's stance on them will be once he learns we're working so closely together. As for my first question. How are you and those you've freed? No big issues?"
"No, none that I can think of. It's a bit hard remembering how to do this, but it's been nice hearing others again. It was always so quiet in the castle. The drones were mostly hibernating to save energy and Spike slept most of the time. He's doing better as well. The Zebra has given him something that she says may allow him to regrow his eye in a few years."
The queen's muzzle twisted into a tired smile at that thought.
"He has been recovering as well. I believe he enjoys being around others again as much as I enjoy having a hive to oversee. I will ask that you send any and all food you can manage to go without though. Supplies are hard to come by here, and right now the size of our town is passing the population of a city."
"I'll see what I can manage. It's getting a bit cooler, but the farmers are certain we can keep going throughout the winter season as well. Any word on the Nightmare?" the alicorn asked.
"She's not been seen in public, but that can be attributed to the fact that anything that comes near Canterlot is over-run by berserkers. The array's were meant to be used to keep changelings in line, and our species was already capable of being suppressed. The drones were, at least. Ponies are too different, and it's causing trouble with the control arrays. they aren't capable of running anything more advanced than patrols or attack groups.
"Oh, she did manage to patch the control crystals ignoring ponies that were wearing the array on their armor. Three guards had to be restrained for a moment before I was able to disconnect them and take them into my own hive," Heart explained.
"So you don't need anything for the changelings? No love, or other emotions?"
"No, the changeling population here is fine. Between the goodwill from the ponies and griffons we're helping and my own connection with spike, I think we'll be just fine," the growing queen answered, a goofy smile on her muzzle.
At Cimmerian's quirked eyebrow Heart giggled before opening a small dream-window next to herself. It was the view of a changeling that was currently awake and the alicorn burst into laughter at the image that was displayed. The mare was currently barely visible, safely tucked away in the dragon's grip as he slept soundly.
The stallion chuckled at the sight.
"Ah, so that's how it's going to be huh? Well let him know I talked to Twilight Sparkle, the real one, and she's still alive in there. That mare may yet walk away from this with her life."
"I will tell him, sir. And thank you for helping us. All of us." Heart said, making a sweeping gesture with her foreleg to the gathered hive-mates.
"It's no problem, Heart. All you guys needed was some help. I'm happy I was able to provide that help, and I'll be happy to keep helping till everything's settled again. After that you guys get to help me though, got it? I've got my own projects I'd like to work on once the worlds no longer in danger."
"I'm certain you will find no shortage of volunteers for whatever project you may pursue. Go with the shadows, friend."
It took a good portion of Cimmerians willpower to not snark "I am the shadows" as he walked away.
<-(0)->
"You broke their artifact?" Celestia asked in shock as the group ate dinner in the war room. All the usual suspects were gathered to help take on the monster of a mess that had built up over the last month.
Cimmerian was strangely calm as he partook of his meal. He figured he'd be angry at the minotaur for what was implied, but all he felt was irritation.
"I did. He seemed to think it was part of his 'My ancestors support me!' campaign, so I smashed it. I ga- Luna gave it to them years ago, and now he's going to use it against me? I don't think so. Luna and I can rebuild it after this war. In fact I may look into getting those things installed all over the place or maybe even making one to cover the entire planet. Those may be capable of keeping Nightmares away before they even take root. The dream catchers were actually a thing back home, you see. They kept nightmares and evil spirits away. In a world of magic, I would bet my wings the things would do a measurable job of such things, whereas back home we had to just guess as to whether or not the things actually worked. That or have faith. You'd be surprised what could be done with nothing more than a little faith and some hope."
Celestia tittered at that.
"A year ago I'd be asking for examples. Now I have one right before me, Cimmerian. You've given us an opportunity I didn't think possible. You said Heart reported the Nightmare is running into trouble with the control arrays?"
"Yea, they were never intended to hold down the will of hundreds of ponies. The experiments the Nightmare conducted on slaving ponies to them were done after the control crystals were created. Like some of the computer programs back home, sometimes new software just isn't compatible with old hardware. She'd have to re-create the crystals. With how complex they are, possibly from scratch. I don't know if she has the time or the resources. Hearth's Warming is next week, right? We'll do all of our holidays, then I'll likely be going back to Equestria. I'd like to see this end as soon as possible. The faster we can get everyone back to their homes and their lives, the faster the world will stabilize again. I'll also have to be there for Cairne's assault, as even if we take out the Nightmare and her hordes of drones the minotaurs are going to attack Canterlot."
"I see. Cairne's father was a respected stallion. It's sad to know his son hasn't followed in his hoofsteps."
The white mare nodded once more before excusing herself, claiming to be late for a game she was setting up for the various children in the nursery.
"He called you a demon? What's that?" Pandinus asked him, pressed firmly against his side.
"Demons are usually malevolent spirits that either trick mortals into doing evil, or lead them to their death. It's actually kind of surprising to hear they have some mythology on humans. It's even funnier when you know that humans have their own mythos on minotaurs.
"I have to wonder what he'd think of my own species thoughts his people," the alicorn chuckled to himself. "What was the creation story of the minotaur of the maze? A woman having sex with a bull? I think it was something along the lines of a female human going through this long plan to mate with what for our world is a beast. I'm sure mentioning that would go over well. Have to wonder what their legends say about us though to have him call humans demons, though. Damn, now I'm curious."
"I'm certain you will have plenty of time to pick the brains of the minotaurs once they've been pacified," Zelus interrupted, "but for now we still have work to do. While I'm glad you're no longer leaking rage, I'd like to finish this up as soon as possible. Cadance is offering to teach me a few things about pony mating rituals and I hope to find my own source of love, since you find our arrangement uncomfortable."
Cimmerian looked to the armored queen in surprise.
"I appreciate that Zelus, but what brought this about?"
"I, I may have enjoyed my own time with a stallion a bit more than I realized," the mare answered sheepishly. "I'd like to have my own source without straining our most potent source of love as well. That means finding love elsewhere. It also helps that I'm finally mostly clean of whatever it was that I pulled from you earlier. That was...both unpleasant and dangerous. it will definitely cause our idea of the hive-father to be re-defined. I do hope you will still be willing to supply the hatchlings with love though."
"I don't mind doing that, Zel. It's just, you guys were asking to share a little too much. I understand it's a different social concept, but I just can't wrap myself around it."
"You didn't have to, you know," Din responded with a smile. "All you had to do was let us wrap ourselves around you."
Cadance giggled at the remark even as Gleam rolled her eyes.
"At least wait until you get back to your room before you begin molesting him this time, Pandinus," the pink unicorn muttered as she checked off another report on the mine while a sandwich floating in her aura.
"He's my mate, Gleam," Din answered quickly. "It's not molesting; it's foreplay."
"Have you tried those things I taught you, Din?" Cadance said with a dirty grin.
"I want to, but he doesn't like an audience. I can't get him to have fun when Zelus is there and with her addiction, she's been around almost constantly."
Seeing Zelus slump at the accusation, Din gave the other queen a nudge over the link.
"You know as well as I that the addiction incident was an accident. We've never had the opportunity to do this, so we both know this has never come up before."
"Doesn't make me feel better knowing I'm interfering with a good portion of the hives most potent love," the larger queen muttered.
"Actually, from what I've been hearing that may not be holding true for much longer. A few of the herds were looking at accepting a changeling into the group. I can think of at least three that were talking about it.
I'm kind of curious to see what a full herd will supply a changeling with," Gleam said as she tapped a hoof against her chin. "It's just so strange thinking of something like love being a resource."
"Speaking of love..." Cadance said leadingly, her eyes motioning to the unicorn stallion.
"Leave it be, mare," Shadow weaver growled. "I'll not have you jump on this as well. Bad enough I have the queens over there pestering me about my feelings."
Cimmerian shook his head as Cadance practically squee'd at the idea of another couple in the Temple.
Tackling the paper-monster was definitely preferable to being stuck listening to Cadance and her ideas for 'improving one's experience in the bedroom'.
It's alive!
Yaaaaay! Now to read it.
Yay for updates!
Grab the bull by the horns.
Huzzah!
I'm not sure how i feel about Caine Or to be exact, how Cim treats him He goes pretty dam fast to calling him a worm.
Not to mention that he's just expecting him to fork over all intel. He's not treating him as a leader of a sovereign nation, but as a underling.
And instead of just leaving him be after he discovers he doesn't appreciatie him butting into his dreams, he forces the issue. He could just have gone in person, or send a messenger.
And it's not like Caine's viewpoint is unreasonable considering recent events. (not the enslaving part, the part of not liking or trusting alicorns. Especially nightmare moon shaped one's)
Cim also goes fast to threatening mind raping.
This has all kinds of implications on his mental state and how it has evolved.
Huzzah! Welcome back!
New chapter! Huzzah!
Remember kids, never rush the thing with a strange weapon.
Especially if the weapon looks completely innocuous. The less threatening it is, the more dangerous one can assume it to be in effect. (Guns don't look spiky and terrifying because they don't need to.)
Welcome back! I must admit, for the past couple of days I was beginning to wonder when your hiterus might have actually ended and we'd see another chapter popping up.
That being said, it was a really good chapter to read and I really do like the fact the Minotaur seem to have their own legends about humans. I look forward to seeing what you plan to do with such.
Also glad that you are not rushing the ending as I thought you might when you said chapters ago you wanted to wrap things up. I know things are coming to an end but please do keep the same steady pace you have this whole time.
Damn, now I want to know more about the seer
...Cimmerian DOES still realize that it's "Might makes Right" and not "Right makes Might"... does he?
'Cause he seemed preachy as all hell for someone who does...
Can we have his first attempt to dethrone the Nightmare fail?
I'm kinda worried if his streak of success continues, he'll become more snobbish than George Clooney's 78th Academy Awards speech, if his reaction to someone not obeying him was any indication, and I'm pretty sure when your snob-levels go beyond that, you just disappear into the void...
(A South Park and a Jontron reference :3)
I have faith in your judgement dear author . Take as mutch time as you want, you do not rush art after all and if this treasure needs as mutch time or more TLC as this chapter did then who am I to argue? Im not the one taking time from my own Life to write this masterpiece for the masses. So thank you, you beautiful bastard for sharing this treasure with us .
I wish you well and hope you have a good day
7179751
Nope, i'm not seeing it.
Cimmer better be careful, as if Theodore leaks from the Dreams into the Real, with All the Alicorn power and Human miilitery history?
Incoming flight swarm.
Ten by Ten array of short rectangular metal boxes. Each square front face has an array of ten by ten holes. Each box has a name on it.
Metal Storm.
Let's do this. But first: Back in the early chapters the minotaur leader mentioned giving his daughter to the one who gave them that "dontseemeplease" charm. Was he the aforementioned father?
Okay, so back to errors and reactions/questions. Also a few missing commas, but since I am not sure of them, I won't point them out.
hehehuheheue
Being's
Heheue again.
Bull's
Tribe's
Hueuehehehue. I didn't really like Dead Space though. It was more cheesy than scary.
Arrays
Missing capital T. That was a new sentence.
Not sure the ponies would be using this term, it's more of a computer stuff. But whatever.
Wait, wasn't it around Heart's Warming when he visited the batpones? And they just recently arrived? Yet you are only getting into winter season. Is it that skeved or did so much time pass already?
Was floating in her aura.
hive's
It almost makes sense that the minotaurs would be a little, er, bull-headed. Heh. The implications that he can blow up a dream catcher will certainly keep them on their toes. Question is what will this reluctant upstart of a leader try something stupid or listen to his shaman as she communes with the Not-Nightmare, Cimmarian? And what can she bring to the table? Will she be more reasonable and listen to Cimmarian or try to fight until he's forced to wrestle her to the ground as well? Trust will be a big issue. Can they believe Cimmarian to be real and not some trick by the Nightmare? Will he have to physically go over there to prove it? I'm certain they must know who's been supply the runes so it should only be a matter of Cim proving who he is to them.
Oh! And drones with ponies. Do we have hybrids? And will half-lings have furry hooves?
Oh a less punny note, I'd have to say that there would not by hybrids. Otherwise, would we not already have hybrid ponies then? Breeding seems to yield a definitive type rather than a mix of two or more tribes. In other words, there would be pegacorns, everywhere. I don't see why this wouldn't apply to changelings as well. "But what about gryphons?" I counter with; can they also not be a definitive archtype like unicorn or changeling? Same for minotaurs and dragons. Short of mad science or twisted magic, hybrids would not exist.
So, do minotaurs have shamanic traditions? I wonder what their seers and shamans can do by their own.
Nice origin story, there are few things that are screwed as much as the greek mythology.
Good news: Cim is ready for a victory drive.
Bad news: The scene with the Crone may be a sign that Maddy isn't quite done yet.
WHAT THE HELL?! This story keeps on getting more and more complicated ... and good too. Cairne doesn't seem to realise or care that that 'pony queen' is possessed by a REAL demon (a Nightmare), and that the second Nightmare would be delighted to have the minotaurs and Cimmeran's followers fight each other instead of her. A classic case of mostly choosing brawn over brain.
Nice seeing this is back , but if I might add...
MOAAAAARRR!!!
if it's not much trouble, that is
Great chapter, I really liked Ted and Cairne's interaction, especially since it reminds me of Antares vs Purgle. It's also interesting to see that Ted had to fight against a dreamcatcher-enhanced Minotaur and that some herds are considering adding changelings into the mix. Thanks for the amazing chapter as I really missed the story.
7179781 The problem is...If he fail at one little thing...Then the chance that Discord would have to get involved will be...Fucking High....And that is not good at all. And that is not to mention that Discord himself might fail. The stake is the world, not some ity bity life or two.
And who said he hadn't already got his failures? It's just not quite as...sparkly... as his successes...
As for snob-ish.............You haven't met anyone that is truly a snob haven't you?
So Reykan you ever felt like a you were dangling your updates over a tank full of sharks xD aka readers
They pull an axe, you pull a lightsaber. That's the Chicago way.
7180002 Eh, it's just that if he doesn't fail at something major, he might continue acting all high and mighty for the great feat of having been reborn as an alicorn, something he hasn't done anything for, at least as far as we know. And that's just really bad times.
As for him being a snob... I suppose it wasn't the right word, but I wanted to get the reference in there. The correct word would be... bully? "A person who uses strength or influence to harm or intimidate those who are weaker"... Seems about right. After all, it's what he does to the Minotaur.
7179723
7180165 More like he want to deal out punishment for the violation of his personal moral code. It is not even vigilante because he is quite literaly the authorities. That and he want to put the bully that is the minotuar guy in his place.
I like that change better than the original idea, I approve
7179751 I don't really see it. Cairne escalated straight to Full Asshole mode, stated he was going to conquer Equestria, and socked Cimmerian in the face. The guy was flat out asking for a fight.
Cimmerian has neither the time or inclination to humor the egotistic delusions of a warmongering fool, especially not when thousands of innocent lives are on the line. It was also pretty heavily implied that Cairne is enslaving or killing Equestrian refugees, making him a slaver or a murderer or both.
IMHO Cimmerian handled it pretty well.
7180170 So... what? Him having a personal code doesn't make him less of a bully? If some kids personal 'code of honor' is "everyone with glasses should be beaten up", that doesn't make him less of a bully if he lives up to it.
And he is not really the authority over there: That was probably the guy whose dream he invaded, 'cause you know, foreign relations? Not that being the authority in a given area means that you can't be a bully. Our main villain, Nightmare Twi, is a prime example of that.
7180176
And i disagree. Fact is that the minotaurs are at this point a military powerhouse that is able to fight toe to toe with nightmare!twilights army, once the odds where evened a bit by the rune trick. Bullying him like that is only going cause troubles. That's not how you deal with a foreign head of state, no matter how despicable he or she is. Especially when they are one of the things keeping you safe, even if only indirectly and unintentional. Does Cim have the right to be angry about it? Hell yes! But in my mind his reaction was bad too.
Besides, i'm probably more bothered by the fact that Cim thinks he has the right to just barge into somebodies dream after explicitly being denied acces. And at that point he wasn't really a straight up asshole yet. He was dealing with a unknown invader in his own dreams, i think he had every right to sock Cim. I would do the same. And can you blame him for being tired of alicorns?
7180184 He is an Alicorn. The Avatar of ponykind and an aspect of nature.
His ponies are being tortured, being enslaved, being killed. And those are not comparable to beating up kids because they have glasses. Again, those are his ponies (civillians mostly) and they are being harrashed so he respone in kind. In other words...That is an act of War.
Don't compare things that are completely different in scale.
Yay update!
Also, don't worry about taking time to re-write. A story written once with no editing has little value next to a story that's been crafted and polished well.
7180225 You miss the point: The problem is that he uses his power to get what he wants without any consequences for him. It doesn't matter if he wants candy or to save the world, the point is he wants something, he gets it, no matter who will suffer for it.
And an aspect of nature? Since when? Where is that stated? How does it justify anything? Or even matter?
Him being an alicorn doesn't really change much, since he has the "birthright" you give him the same way a Nightmare has the birthright to prey on easily manipulateable Alicorns and Changelings/Windigos/Umbrum to feed on ponies.
What it all comes down to is a matter of power: He has it, he get's his will. End of story.
And with it, he enforces his will on others, and to be brutally honest, it's the natural way things go and nothing to blame him by. It's the fact that he thinks that it's his moral highground rather than his sheer power that allows him to do so that ticks me off.
The minotaur is safe from that pitfall by simply having no moral highground (or any sort of power) in our eyes in the first place. Cimmerian isn't. Which is why he needs to be reminded that the only reason he isn't dead isn't that he has a good heart, but because he's more powerful than those that oppose him.
Last Final exam in my undergrad career and i come home to this woot
Ah, the perks of being human. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
media.riffsy.com/images/58dc8f2efefb8de8a316605cbb96a1fe/raw
Few errors/typo's here and there but nothing even remotely glaring.
I really question Cairne's intelligence after Cimm gave them the means to fight back...poor bastard is getting in over his head. I look forward to what Crone Ravendraft has to say about it all. Methinks she'll be smarter about it.
7180527 Remember, Cairne didn't even get Ted's name; he just saw yet another annoying Alicorn & reacted. I wonder how he'll feel if/when he finds out that's the guy he was looking to hook up one of his daughters with...
With Cairne being such a dick (nice touch, by the way) and that old crone giving Cimmy a jump-scare, I'm wondering where Iron Will is in all this. If there's a minotaur who'd be willing to hear a pony out, it'd be him. And as for the dreamscape security forces, I'm kinda surprised none of them had cattle prods. Those would've been insult to injury, so to speak, to a prideful and arrogant nutjob like Cairne, I think.
Tha' bein' said, Lad... 's great t' see anoth'r bit o' world buildin' here.
Bring on the next chapter!
7180645 Aye, but at this point there is really only one alicorn feasible to see: the nightmare. Celestia/Luna have long been in chains. Ted may look fairly intimidating but I'd imagine someone as involved in the whole affair as Cairne should be able to tell the difference, at the very least enough to make him question it. Common sense {imo} would dictate you not piss of the demi-god that is unlikely to currently be your enemy.
That said, I'm also really looking forward to when the realization of who he snubbed hits him.
7180204
You do realize that Cimmerian is also a head of state? His nation may be smaller than Cairne's, but he's effectively a king. They are equals and Cimmerian tried to approach Cairne in a respectful manner, while the other didn't even bother to pretend to do so.
If that is bad behavior on Cimmerian's part, then Cairne acted like an unmitigated arsehole.
Hahaha, what? You've got that in the wrong order. That happened after Cairne interrupted him mid-introduction in a very rude manner, told him he was going to conquer Equestria and then punched him in the face.
Wow, such diplomacy. Here he tells Cimmerian that his time is over, and that of everyone that follows him, and then he adds that they're going to conquer their capital and most likely loot the shit out of it in the process.
This is followed up by:
Cairne more or less told Cimmerian that he and his followers are going to die or be conquered or exiled, their home country will be taken over and assimilated into the Minotaur empire and then he struck a fellow head of state completely unprovoked. This is dangerously close to a formal declaration of war.
Then there's this:
As far as Cimmerian knows, he isn't dealing with an allied or neutral head of state, but a potential enemy that may be enslaving or murdering innocent refugees en-mass. At this point he's perfectly justified to use force. But wait:
Cimmerian doesn't resort to violence until Cairne tries to attack him again and even then he only pushes Cairne back instead of injuring him. He once more tries to introduce himself and Cairne doesn't give a single shit and tries to charge him. Cimmerian retaliates with rock salt, a painful but largely non-lethal means of attack.
But then, we have the crowning moment of evil:
Cairne admits to slavery and flat out states that he is going to try to conquer the world, completely disproving this:
The minotaurs are keeping Cimmerian's nation safe? Oh yeah, sure, but only until they've crushed their current enemy, then they'll come for Cimmy and company to do the same thing.
He's basically the minotaur version of Sombra, with the difference that he isn't (yet) oppressing his own people. So, no, I don't feel one lick of sympathy for Cairne.
Twilight is possessed by an eldritch horror and isn't even in control of her own body. Cairne, on the other hand, has no such excuse.
Sorry if come across as confrontational, but I honestly can't comprehend your point of view. It makes no sense to me.
And, uh, rant over.
7180849
Oh yes, Cairne is acting like a complete dick of a ruler. That doesn't make it right to sink to his level. Which is exactly what Cim does.
Well yes. And i just reread this entire thing, and Cim never directly said he opposed Twilight, or ruled a independent nation. He was going to, but Cairne interrupted him. And then Cim when straight for the "tell me or else" routine. Now it's sort of implied Cairne eventually got it, considering the "you and yours" line he says later on, but at the point he initially punches him out he had no real proof Cim doesn't work with Twilight, and after fighting a known mind controller i wouldn't be very comfortable letting strange, evil looking alicorn into my head. And what defending army wouldn't try to take out the enemy he's at war with. He doesn't cross the line into "utter basterd that can't be reasoned with" until later on in the chapter, in my opinion.
And i totally agree that he's going to be a problem, and later on in his dialogue warrants being more direct and even threatening.
What bothers me is that Cim is offended somebody dared to react aggressively to a mind invader from the same species as the one he's defending against (and i mean alicorn here, not pony in general. Alicorn who looks like a known evil entity on top of that) and goes straight for the "shut up and do as i say or else" role.
7180410 More like you're missing the point.
He tried to approach diplomatically. And what did he get for it? Disrespect in the form of a punch in the face and an egotistical asshole saying he's going to conquer Equestria.
All while leaving an impression that he may be doing slavery/killing to innocent refugees.
If there was a time where "Might makes right" is excusable. Its right there.
7180931 The problem is that Cairne made it very clear he simply wasn't going to listen to reason and my impression is that Cimmerian understood this. That left one option: force.
I'll admit that Cimmerian's behavior was undoubtedly colored by his anger at Cairne and Celestia likely would not have approved, but Cairne's obvious unwillingness to even pretend to listen to reason made it impossible to resolve the situation peacefully. At least, not in a reasonable timeframe.
And time is the one thing Cimmerian no longer has in ample supply. The queen knows he is out there now, and is gunning for him. He can't afford to mess with an obstinate fool when a psychopathic genocidal monster is going to try her damnedest to exterminate him and everyone under his aegis.
Edit: And, I apologize for the unpleasant tone of my previous post. I blame it on a lack of sleep and the infernal headache I have right now.
7180931 please bear in mind that Cimmerian is trying to discover the fates of the ponies that fled towards the plains.
and who cares about "sinking to the level of being a dick" when there are lives involved? and is "tell me what you did to my people or else" really that bothersome to you? he tried the polite diplomatic approach first, when that failed he went with something harsher and as it turns out, it looks like it was completely warranted.
hitler was a head of state, do you think we should have stuck to a polite non-confrontational approach with him?
Thanks for the update!
Found a typo..
world's
i am really curious as to what humans are to minotaurs. i'll hold myself back from posting 300+ ideas on what we are to them, but i hope that it's not "humans were here before the ponies and minotaurs and such and cim actually got thrown infinity forward in time."
i wonder how cim is going to beat twilight without killing her. some small part of me hopes that he can pick up the tiara for the element of magic and wear it, but only because i think it would be beyond hilarious to see cim running around with a tiara yelling "i'm a pretty pony princess."
something i am wondering about is whether tyrek exists in this universe and whether his ability to strip magic away would be able to strip a nightmare away.