This story is a sequel to Days of Wasp and Spider
Believed dead by their creators, the ponies that will become Celestia and Luna have broken their mental conditioning and escaped into the wilderness. Here they plan the revolution that will free all ponykind, knowing that it is only a matter of time before their ruse is discovered.
Back in their underground arcologies, the ponies' erstwhile masters deal with the consequences of the escape, all the while unaware that something lurking at the bottom of space-time wants them all dead.
A Soot-Covered World, book 2.
Canon species only/no humans.
This story has nothing to do with the Holocaust.
Art by InLucidReverie, used with permission.
Chapters (46)
Off we go again! It's like I never stopped...
3631676 The ride never ends...
Don't need to even start reading it yet, given the track record with the old, but another to enjoy looking forward to reading.
Yay!
Faved with the force of a thermonuclear detonation. On top of an orphanage. On Puppy Day.
Do you intend to keep the same cover art?
And Salrath returns, like a bad penny that's been run over by a steamroller!
Goddammit, Salrath really deserved to stay dead. Vile thing.
3632076
Every great story needs a disgusting villain.
3632078
I'd still rather see her dead sooner rather than later.
Endlösung der Ponifrage.
3632764
What?
3632957
The Final Solution.
That servitor with Ordon (Marlon from the end of last story?) has me intrigued. The way she ignored the doctor makes me wonder if her Blessing has been tweaked such that her ingrained obedience is specific to Security personal only.
And Salrath lives.
On the other hand, more chances for Fusion or Gravity to brutally murder her. Silver lining?
3633121
I can't really can't open Wikipedia on mobile, so....
3633377
Wikipedia has a really good mobile format, what are you talking about.
"When freedom burns
-The Final Solution-
Dreams fade away
And all hope turn to dust."
3633139
I don't know if I recall correctly, since it was quite some time ago that I read that one chapter, but I think that Luna / Celestia took off Random's Blessing, and in the last chapter of the first part, the advisor pony says that she'd make for an excellent Security pony, so possibly Secponies have their Blessings removed after they prove their loyalty.
3633121 It's a pretty obvious connection to make, but I don't think that's what Chaos has in mind. Although ... hmm. My initial thought about his plan may also be wrong; it could be something in between the two.
You're thinking of Nazi-style genocide. I was thinking MAD-style global holocaust. Perhaps a bio-weapon gone out of control is Chaos's true plan. Or it could be something else.
3633789 I suspect it's more that Security ponies have to prove that they can put the overall objectives of the Masters above the orders/welfare of individual Masters. I suppose it's quite a challenge for a pony with the Blessing to do the mental gymnastics required; Random not having one anymore may have made it easier to pass the tests (without having the Blessing hammering her in the back of the skull). Meanwhile, her ingrained obedience keeps her from failing the evaluation in the other way.
3633381
Ah, there it goes.
As to the subject material, I think that is a very strong possibility in the fast future. As for right now, however, they'll have to get their shit together first.
Prediction: Random will be indoctrinated, and will become a Security meatshield. Then Fusion will kill her. And I'm still convinced that Lilac will die by the end of this.
Also, looking forward to the inevitable fight between Gravity and Ordon's bodyguard-pony. I expect positively copious amounts of blood.
God DAMN, I had forgotten how much I love this story.
3633789 I'm not sure about that. (Can't remember either) She's still got the "worm" sitting threateningly at the back of her mind that's causing her to resort to self-mutilation to stay sane. Then again, considering that it was held back by the magic of friendship, it's possible that she's just mentally disturbed with a massive guilt complex.
Thanks for all the comments, folks (now I get to see how many actually finish reading Wasp...)!
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3631892
'By default' would be a better way of putting it -- I keep meaning to track down/commission something epic, but it comes a distant second place to actually writing the thing.
3633789,3634346
One of the downsides of a serial posting, those little details lost to the past. No comments on the other speculation, but Random still has her Blessing -- the 'worm' is her way of thinking of the effects.
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Woo-hoo -- first downvote! I'm impressed that whoever it was managed to get all the way through Wasp only to be disappointed by Final (and all in a day, too!).
3631676 I agree, but I feel forgotten... Meh, if you need me you know where to find me
I hereby claim the one hundredth up vote!
Hurrah!
3633139
Well remember that the blessing isn't clever enough to actually read a pony's mind and punish them objectively; rather, it detects a pony's guilty thoughts and converts them into physical pain.
It's been mentioned that as a pony becomes older, the indoctrination becomes part of their personality, so that while the blessing remains, it wouldn't be strictly necessary for obedience.
Marlon is an interesting character, as from the whole 'outlasting several security directors' description, she is potentially the oldest Servitor we've encountered so far. I'm sure she (and the other security ponies) are still blessed, but given her age and unusual experience, it's possible that her perspective has evolved is such that she is capable of more than might be expected. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen, but I expect her to be a wildcard.
3635390 I actually kind of meant that as a possibility when I made my previous comment, but I guess it wasn't clear from what I wrote. 'Tweaked' is a little vague.
3635435
Sounds like we're in confused agreement, then
I had just taken 'tweaked' to imply some degree of intention
'tis all good.
3634847
You are absolutely right and I do apologize; an oversight caused partly by incompetence and partly by working off a multi chapter doc. Fixed.
3635560 Oh I do mean that that I think it might be intentional, just that it could be accomplished through Security mentally conditioning their servitors rather than through modifying the blessing directly. Or both, I suppose.
You know, I am glad Knighty restored the option for viewing the desktop variant of the site on mobile devices... Cause I just now realized that... I WAS NOT FOLLOWING YOU!
Fixed!
Finally got some time to read the two new chapters. It's hilarious and ironic that Ordon's such an effective Sector Chief in part due to his willingness to ask a servitor for their opinion. And is Lilac still FUBAR and just being a champ about it? I'm unclear on that.
3633121
I prefer The Final Countdown.
[youtube=IliwQImJrYE]
And so it begins.... again!
This is such a great story. Really, I can't think of a single sci-fi MLP fanfic that comes anywhere close (and if you've got some, let me know, because we need more high quality sci-fi stories!). Your worldbuilding, characterization, and descriptive imagery is all wonderful. I love your take on magitechnology, it's perhaps my favorite part of the story besides the plot itself.
This story is Akira's tone and ambiance meets MLP's world meets LotR's epic scope. That's the best way I can think of to describe it.
Seriously, during Gravity's battle in the Beamline chamber, all I could hear in my head was a mix of the Tron, Inception, and Akira soundtrack. And that's one epic freaking vibe.
Extremely well done so far, and I can't wait to see where things go from here.
3633139
I interpret it more as a matter of testing & training. It's similar to questions that come up in connection with Asimov's Three Laws, albeit with a bit more flexibility: What do you when you have conflicting orders from two Masters, one of whom may be confused, panicking or an enemy agent? What if a Master demands that you put him or her in real danger? How do you handle a situation where no matter what you do, at least one Master will die?
Ordinary servitors seem to prioritize protecting Masters over obeying them, e.g. the servitors who evacuated the People from the research center after Gravity's little outburst and refused to let them back in. While they'll take other orders from any Master, they have a concept of their master. They also understand that Masters from other hives might wish their Masters ill, which is why our heroes were able to convince Lilac to restrain Officer Lagorth.
The Security servitors were also protective of their Masters, but apparently understood that letting trained professionals go into danger was for the good of the Hive. They seem to have been trained to have a stronger sense of just who "their Masters" are, letting them ignore orders from unknown People outside the proper chain of command. Restraining panicky or hostile People is really just protecting them or the Hive.
I'd imagine standard Security training would also involve handling ethical edge-cases of the Blessing and staying functional in situations where others would succumb to fugue: the servitors outside the beamline chamber were fighting through it, and coming back around to Marlon, Security wouldn't have weighed her down with life-saving equipment if they thought she couldn't focus enough to use it in an emergency because she was feeling guilty that someone slipped past her. Given her experience and position, I'd expect her to be much better under pressure than the doomed servitor team.
I'd say Marlon ignores the doctor because she knows that The Sector Chief Is Her Master. She's his last line of defense, and if she didn't disregard others' orders -- if she even paused to consider obeying anyone but Orgon -- an enemy infiltrator or domestic terrorist could take advantage of it to harm her Master. Finding a reliable servitor and making sure she recognizes proper command authority is less prone to failure than technomagical controls that can be defeated by a stolen uniform.
Since she's presumably passed the toughest vetting and training that Security has to offer, I'd assume Marlon's indeed completely loyal, but what with her experience and everything she's learned while blending in with the furniture, I wouldn't be surprised if there's more going on under that emotionless façade or if she's later able to entertain the idea of supporting the rebellion. She's certainly in a unique position to give nudges here and there to policy, and I suspect Orgon has some emotional attachment to his #1 assistant.
I'm also interested in this Maker's Path group. They'll probably be important, but I wonder where their philosophy falls between "sapients should be free", "wholesome work makes us strong" and "client races will rise up and overthrow us"? Have I overlooked any earlier clues about them?
Even after editing, this comment / analysis turned out much more long-winded than I'd planned...
Also, every time I see "Security pony", the image that comes to mind is Blackjack from Project Horizons.
...gassing the Jews?
The Final Solution is a good title, I think.
We all know how the story 'ends'. Celestia and Luna are the only servitors who survive, we presume. Therefore, it would be easy to conjecture that the Masters kill all the servitors they can to deny conversions to the enemy. There is still the matter or the 'normal' pony races coming into being. Perhaps the Masters split them up into three types to make them easier to control by decentralizing the powers to different bodies, as it were.
This way you can have your genocide and still have a set of useful (but less threatening) slaves.
I look forward to following the path of this drama, even though I know the Titanic sinks at the end.
Here I thought Lilac had been hit with a laser, and been pretty much told he'd starve to death.
Salrath :O that bit** REALLY needs to die.
3636812
Park your van down the street -- there's space between those from the NSA and GCHQ...
3639954
Thank you -- glad you are enjoying the show!
3640288
That's an excellent bit of analysis; thank you for posting. I won't comment on your speculations, but your interpretation of the conditioning is spot-on.
Hey Luna-tic Scientist, is there a separate name for this series? Or is it just the "Days of Wasp and Spider Trilogy" or something?
3641987 **Crappy car rolls to an incomplete stop and bumps the fender of the NSAmobile.**
Thinks to self... 'Meh, they deserve it. I really need a new car though...'
**Pulls out long range microphone and binoculars and follows Luna-tic Scientist in a totally sciency and not at all creepy way!
3642047
If I could think of one there would be! I normally just call it 'Wasp', or DOWAS.
I'm open to suggestions!
World 2-1
Fusion x1
Fusion Start!
Both sides regrouping for the next big clash. I'm eagerly looking forward to it.
Also, every story description should begin with "all the while unaware that something lurking at the bottom of space-time wants them all dead."
Yay, the story continues!
(Did I miss Lilac healing his own injuries earlier? I remember he was missing most of his guts or something...)
3632076
On the bright side, it means Celestia will have an opportunity to kill her. She seemed a bit disappointed earlier...
3655666
He got some attention from the securitypony medic, enough to stop him dying immediately. He's still missing important bits, but it's the complications that are now the problem, not the blood loss (he's also been working on himself to the best of his abilities).
3655800
Ah, okay then. I hope they can fix that before he starves...
Looks like not much time has passed between the two stories, then again, this is the prologue.
3633771 Hehehe, always nice to see another Sabaton fan around.
just finished everything. started from the the top once more, just finished now. my God, its beautiful. ish.
. my prediction is that after security reviews the tapes and witnesses, and discovering that they might not be dead after all, they will go straight to Lacunae hive, either to wait for Fusion and Gravity, or to kill everyone there. meanwhile, F&G will have already gone back there to see what help they could get (fusion is out an eye, lilac needs medical assistance), to start a rebellion, to see their friends and family before things go haywire, yadda yadda etc. when security gets there they will either find an army of serveitors sans Blessings, not one, but two super-powered ponies to deal with, or they will come just in time to assist the whole of Lacunae in the act of ripping G&F to peices.
. it would make quite a bit of their rebellion become more possible.
lets kill her again! plz?
PaxMano33 want blood.
i get the feeling that the trhings we see the sisters go through now will be on a much larger scale. and the masters now know Gravity can teleport thanks to her showing her hand in the beam camber battle
i also wonder, fusion was able, with normal magic, to overcome the suppression ring on her horn, if only for a short time. could grav and fusion together blow out a thaumic suppressor? i wanna see that
now, Chaos. is he going to be doing any more manipulation in the heads of Fusion and Gravity? i think not, as he is demonstrably worried about what happened when he did. but just thought id pose the question.
Salrath is back!
if i had more time, id guess where she'd fit into this mess. but im about to go out to dinner with the fam. imma cut it off here. ill try to return! love and brohoofs to all!
3695356
To know that this thing is worth rereading gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling, thank you. Keep up with the speculation; I don't do much planning, so it frequently it shows me possibilities I might have missed...