aaah, that finale of fallout equestria. the sun shines at last upon equestria, waking it up for the first time in two hundred years

so many words, so little time.
congrats on breaking a million words!

*Sees 1 new chapter update*

Me: "There's no way it's gonna be Murky Number Seven."

*It's Murky Number Seven*

True story

Ah. The Sonic Radboom. Nice! Now all that's left is the foals, Grindstone and Shackles, blowing up the wall, and whatever epilogue that shows their progress. I'm calling bets that Homage is the one doing the questions at the beginnings of each chapter. I'm also hoping that Murky meets or talks to Littlepip somehow. Regardless, I consider this fic amongst the greatest FOE fics (along with original, Project Horizons, Pink Eyes, and Heroes) and one of my favorites. Good work FuzzyVeeVee! Here's to a FOE fic with a most-to-entirely happy ending for a change!

Perfect.

I'm still trying to figure out what horrors lie in the metro. Are they some kind of Zombie set up by the Zebras to guard that dangerous secret they forced Aurora to build for them... Or something Pinkie's Ministry had built behind her back?

That Minty smell both sounds kind of like Party Mintals and/or Zebra alchemy.

Poor Mr. Peace, hew at least went out doing what he was built for and would have made Fluttershy proud. Maybe there might be enough of him to be rebuilt later. Didn't the Ministry of Arcane sciences have a lot of spare parts he once used to dismantle and rebuild himself and leave the damaged parts as proof of his destruction?

Interesting chapter, even if the discoveries underground were disturbing.

<deep intake of air>

"Murky's back! YaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

"This is so good."

Okay I not sure what to say, but I know for sure that this was an Awesome chapter!

Also well done done on the million mark. I don't know how you want to end this story, I honestly think that you can still pretended it's just the begining given that for Murky it is just the beginning of his life.
(perhaps a sequel would be better, I get the hint that this is the story of how Murky escaped not how he lived his life. Could be wrong.)
But this story is not mine and I'm more than happy to accept the escape as the end chapter, because this is already an epic story.

Excited for more!

this story power is over 1 million

Congrats on reaching one million words friend-o! Boy thi chapter was a hell of a doozy and now at the end, the message comes forth and we get to find out the time where we are now as the Sonic Radboom comes forth. From then on out, I know that things are starting to look up for Murky and his compatriots. Keep it up Murky, you're almost home-free

"The road to dawn is upon us, let us light our darkness towards the light..."

7070002

There is no such thing as a Shoggoth.

7069645 you stole my words.

I don't know how I feel about this chapter.

Certainly I enjoyed it! I don't want you to come away with the impression that I didn't. I loved all the little character moments, the gang talking about what they'd do after they escaped, the visceral look at the memory-destroyed slaves, Weathervane nearly going feral from despair, and all the action and description and dialogue is all great as usual...

...It's just when I finished this chapter, I came away thinking "What was the point?" The gang went on an adventure, failed at everything they attempted to do, and then returned to base in essentially exactly the same state as they were at the end of the last chapter. Even the cliffhanger is the same: last chapter, they got the notice that the sky would clear soon; this chapter, the sky cleared.

The whole chapter kind of felt like filler—entertaining filler, and stuff I would've loved earlier in the story—but now that we're so close to the end it just feels weird.

Eh, sorry. I'm still hyped as shit for the final chapters.

That was certainly something. Much as I wanted this to be the chapter Coral and her foal(s) were finally reunited, alas it was not to be. Instead, we got quite the end to Weathervane's own subplot.

Your attention to detail and Murky's own... word choice and chosen descriptors have always been an incredibly strong point in this story, and that hasn't changed at all. As exciting as everything was, I find myself thinking back on the advance on the Metro, and the environment at play there. Moving through a warzone, I was reminded of the sort of feeling This War of Mine managed to develop, with the characters caught between what might as well have been forces of nature, clashing and fighting. This has always been something I was hoping to see in Murky, as it's THE pivotal battle of the original, even if it does occur mostly off-screen. Managing to elaborate on it without compromising the driving force of your own story is quite admirable, I feel.

Coral, though. The frustration she felt was absolutely tangible, almost a manifestation of the reader's own desire to Get Them Back, depending on outlook. I thought for just a moment there she might actually do it... sadly no.

I'm also still struck, and continually amused, that there seems to be a quasi-named pair of ex-Red Eye soldiers that do almost everything together, this time backing up Protege. I wonder if that's even something to look for, but I've found myself being somewhat invested in hoping they come out alright. That said, I do hope the guy that got dragged under the gate wasn't one of them...

As always, a very enjoyable read, if a little... dissapointing to see them get so close once again. Mr. Peace's time came, though from a narrative perspective, I feel he was a bit of a crutch. Not in a bad way, but I felt he needed to go eventually for the characters to get by on their own merrit.

Lookin forwards to the next, but as always, take your time. Things are coming to a close, and it'll be more than worth the while to do it right, as I'm sure you already know.

Hm...I'd have thought Shackles would have had more protection for his precious foals
Oh well, can't be helped, I guess

Arrogant as always

Also,

mov wen xploshun
I felt oddly proud of working such a big word in there (And getting it spelled right, I was sure!)

FuzzyVeeVee

I love you at times and then I hate you at times...

I hated you when you killed Mister Peace

But then I loved you again when you had Murky save Doctor Weathervane

I will also say you have me scared to death of who will not make it by the end of the story......

This story is just so awesome.

I can't wait for the next chapter!

I knew. Somehow, I knew Weathervane was going to go feral in this chapter. Didn't know how, but I felt it all the same.

But I never expected him to come back from it, much less from Murk telling him the truth.
I almost teared up at that bit.

Kinda also felt we were gonna lose someone as well. Goodbye, Mister Peace. You did your duty well, soldier. Fluttershy would be proud. *salute*

Organic...shapes...

I saw eyes open.

Then I screamed.

...I want to know...
And at the same time, I really don't...

I can see it hurts her to have to destroy it, but she can always try things a new way. This needs stopped.

"This needs to be stopped"?

I have had a troubling thought after reading this.
Shackles doesn't want the foals for slaves he wants them as heritors, with the memory machines he's got the ability to erase a mind and replace it with a copy of his own. His dream can live forever.

Rest in PEACE, Mr. Peace.

I've been waiting for the RadBoom for so, so long. This chapter was amazing. All of it. I don't know what else to say.

i fucking loved it

It has begone

I hope mr peace comes back with the foals but it sounds like he's gone for good... buut i really enjoyed this chapter! Cant wait for the next one i particularly enjoyed the part with murky and the doc

Chills after reading that ending. Chills.

Really enjoyed the Weathervane focus this chapter. Fantastic job foreshadowing the way that situation played out.

Nice to see the return of the terrifying shadow monsters as well. The tension in that scene was incredible--it's not often I find myself swept away in the excitement like that. Always been a fan of the scarier when hidden style their parts bring about.

In all, another wonderful chapter. Out of the FoE fics I've read, there are few that stand on par with the scope, complexity, and execution of the original while still doing their own thing.

Murky Number Seven is one of those few.

Looking forward to the next part.

Aww shit, after reading this for three weeks straight during school hours, I've finally caught up....
Fucking spine chills galore.

This chapter had me in tears most of the way through. I just can't put in words my feeling on this chapter.

You are a truly gifted story teller.

All this time through the story and I've never spent much time pondering just who Murky is speaking to in the openings. As of this chapter I think it may be Homage/DJ Pon3.

Blind faith - presents of the lord.

This song is playing as I'm reading the end of the chapter and ends when I read the last word.

Holy shit dude it's beautiful.

Don't know why.

Maybe if you replace the lord with the sun or something . I don't know.

7015249 What the (beep) b0ss?

7105232 god dude i was fantasizing about that for the last 8 chapters lol

It finally happened. The moment you thought about from the first time you start reading this story. The hole in the clouds. I don't want to jump to assumptions on what happens next

Mister Peace went out leaving me with the impression that on some level he knew Murky wasn't our most introverted ministry mare. I always felt a little bad for him because of the lies but I didn't know Murky did too.

Weathervane... I really thought he was gone. That Murky would try, fail, and have to witness Weathervane being torn apart by Glimmer and the others before Murky's eyes to hit us in the heart even harder (because that's just how it goes in the wasteland life).

Every time I read a chapter it leaves a lingering feeling, In the earlier chapters it was always worry or sadness I think. For a while now it's been a building hope.

D=

Looking up ahead, one of the burning buildings slowly began to collapse and spill its framework onto the street with a shower of sparks and embers. Past it, the market opened out onto a long square.

They passed the market square we were headed for

I thought the market square was ahead of both them and the point the soldiers are coming from. Wouldn't passing it be heading away from them?

Turning back to keep running,

I thought he was already facing the direction he was running

So I took everyone on a long route that used the opposite side of the street's alleyways and back gardens to make my way toward the staff building

They were right above us on the upper floor!

The former quote makes me think they're outdoors, and the latter makes me think they're outside. Do you mean something like "The upper floor of the building next to us"?

The way most of us were going was the one the slaver had pointed to,

Why aren't ALL of them going in that direction?

Time passed achingly slowly.

I remember this line standing out as describing how I felt reading the chapter. It describes Battle of Fillydelphia part one even moreso where it felt like if it were a movie; whole stretches of the story spanning many minutes would've been entirely in slow motion

the brief slip of my hooves on something gooey on the ground delaying me for what felt like years before I could get running again.

Those were the most terrifying Hearth's Warming Eves ever

Mister Peace did.

I was kinda hoping he would just start throwing handful of ponies up to the top of the slope like bowling balls

Weathervane, what is it about you that seems to stir this willpower in others to find something else?”
“I don't do it on purpose...” I muttered, looking away.

Have you seen how big your eyes are? You have no idea how adorable you are, do you . . .

That ending with Weathervane was awesome. You spend so long fearing what will happen if Weathervane hears Sundial's diary. I actually momentarily stopped reading when it started playing full volume earlier in the chapter because I felt tense worrying Weathervane had overheard it. And than that diary entry turns out to be the very thing that saves him.

I actually put off reading this chapter because I was feeling I wanted to get into more horror themed stuff for it being the month of October. But then I decided to just push through it and what do you know . . . the metro monsters are back. There is no escape from Horror!

I listened to this during part of that sequence; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEVY_lonKf4

That Weathervane scene...

I also have the feeling that there were hints Mister Peace was sentient and knew more than he let on. Hopefully, I will the answers to that in some form later on.

I AM NOT CRYING, I AM BLEEDING WATER FROM MY EYES.
YES, DEFINITELY NOT CRYING. Shit... at first Peace, but then Weathervane...

Mr. Peace...
I still hope...

I'm not entirely sure, maybe I remember wrong but... wasn't the cyberdragon present in the battle for Filly as well?

I've commented on this story as a whole, being lucky to come across it finished, but I had to come back to this chapter in particular. It struck me, like watching Schindler list or band of brothers or visiting the holocaust museum in DC. Somehow you took the worst atrocities that people are capable of and applied that to ponies... and yet, even in this darkest of dark chapters, you show the beauty of hope and sacrifice and empathy. I congratulate you; this one hurt so much.

8003900
That may be the second battle, as im pretty sure the enclave retreat after the sonic radboom. It was after the day of sunshine and rainbows (again i think its heen a while since i read the original) where the wasteland as a whole attacked filly to finaaly end its reign of terror and thats when the cyberdragon died

The end of this chapter broke me.
You've written a compelling story and as soon as the even happened I felt like I saw it myself after a life of struggle and hardship, the gloom of Phillydelphia, the masters, everything you've made into something I became a part of, I actually started crying. A rare feat to accomplish, I must say.

This chapter is one hell of an emotional roller coaster. It goes from happy to disturbing to frustrating to terrifying to sad all in a row. And even a dash of hope at the end. The whiplash is practically going to injure me.

Rest in Peace, Mister Peace, you did good. I always suspected he knew deep down that Murky wasn't really Fluttershy, it is a little far-fetched. I think he just found someone so similar to what re remembered of Fluttershy that he had no problem helping them.

The visit to the metro in chapter 14 was horrific, but this is on another level. I'm kind of glad Murky didn't make us throw up with a description of what remained of  Shackle's personal slaves, but that curiosity is still eating away at me... My feelings on Chainlink Shackles at this point are about the same as I feel about Adolf Hitler. It's rare I find a villain I can honestly say is as bad as Hitler, but Shackles is sure getting there. Not in terms of death toll. but in terms of sheer evil on display. It's disturbing enough that it easily brings to mind many real life atrocities, like the crimes of the  Congo Free State. The testimony  of the mare  that Murky carried back was heartwrenching. To do that to a person, to mess their memories and sense of self like Shackles is doing; it's easily on par, if not much worse than the worst tortures we've ever seen.

I am hereby bestowing the "Mother of the Year Award" to Coral Eve, because she deserves it. She has a very particular set of skills, skills she has acquired over a very long career, skills that make her a nightmare for people like Grindstone. I thought we had seen the limit of her magic last chapter, but those raiders weren't threatening her child. When that happens, the mama bear is fully unleashed and it is a sight to behold. Hell she could probably tear apart a mint monster if she could get a hold of one. And finally she's finally on good terms with Glimmer again, she was honestly incredibly mean last chapter. At least that fight with Wildcard had one huge positive effect for Glimmer, even if she's still hospitalized. With their past now behind them and the one led the attack on Creaky Hollow dead, she can finally let go. 

Her and Glimmer's flaws contrasted with each other a lot, Glimmer tried to make herself forget about things she was uncomfortable with and couldn't face her own past, while Coral stubbornly held onto the past and old grudges and wouldn't move on. Their development alongside each other has been great, but Coral is even better when around other characters. From her saving Murky from suicide and helping Lilac Rose, screaming at Brim in The Pit, punching Protege for for how her son was indoctrinated, and now delivering promises of vengeance to Grindstone that I have no doubt she will fully deliver on, she always finds a way to stand out. The horrors of Fillydelphia made her into a bitter and sometimes angry and violent mare, but her caring nature is always there. She was willing to overlook her very justified anger with Brimstone in order to make Murky happier, and her rampage was all because they took her own son and other innocent children into this den of horrors.

The final scene with Weathervane got me teary-eyed, again. I had a bad feeling Weathervane's friends wouldn't make it. The first time through, I thought we were actually going to lose him for good. This whole time, Murky was afraid things might get worse if Weathervane  found out the truth about Sundial, but in the end it saved him.  Once again, Weathervane's development was foreshadowed well. He's been getting noticeably more angry, snippy and desperate for a while, and the way he talked about his friends was setting up something like this to happen. There isn't much of anything more saddening than to be given a final spark of hope, and then having it be snuffed out right in front of you. Murky showed him that his son, the one he cared about most, had gone out while protecting others, and Weathervane took it to heart and set out to do something much the same. I can only hope he doesn't meet his end like Sundial did. Sort of like Murky and Pip, Weathervane was putting his faith in his  son and former colleagues who were far removed from him, and didn't put enough value on the people who were right in front of him that he cared about. 

Something unnatural, howling and gurgling at the same time, came surging across the floor of the sports hall as the shriek grew and grew. What the hell were they!?

Believe me Murky, I'm wondering too. The close call with the mint monsters was even more terrifying than last time. We know they had horrific memories stuffed into their head by the memory machines and then had their bodies warped by zebra magic, but beyond that... I'm not sure. With all the medical equipment they found in the main slave area, Grindstone might have managed to create more of those things, given enough time.

Across the aid station, we saw Protégé shuffling over to us with an apprehensive, cautious look on his face. He gulped, hesitating. His voice sounded unusually meek.

“...then perhaps, if you would all permit me, there could be a library too?”

And now I'm imagining Red Eye sending his "most faithful student" to the remains of Ponyville to go and make some friends, learn about friendship, and restore the wasteland. And of course, Murky would be Protege's number one assistant.

How can you possibly write something so heartwarming and heartbreaking simultaneously? Better brace myself...

This chapter was mentally heavy.

I have mixed feelings about this chapter. It has to do with the way the deaths were handled.
Peace's death did hit me in the feels, and I like that. But on the other hand, I'm really not fond of the trope of a final goodbye. It did wrap up his arc rather well, but I much prefer it when characters don't get to finish their arcs before dying.
Weathervane going feral and being brought back by Murky? Brilliant. Utterly brilliant. The thing leading up to it, though? Contrived as hell. You're telling me those ghouls lived just long enough to die while being treated by Weathervane? I get that being moved wasn't great for them, and I get that medical treatment isn't without risks. But come on, it felt super contrived regardless. There would have been better ways to pull it off, like if half his friends were already dead when they were found. As it is, it feels like they lived just long enough to advance Weathervane's arc, and no more.

“A NONSENSE! ” He thrust an arm to the sky. “ We are IN war, Miss Fluttershy! What kind of a stallion-like-facsimile with three years extra warranty -that I suspect is expired- would I be to permit such a gentle mare to wander alone into this? Why, you could have quite the boo-boo without me around. ”

Mr peace had a warranty?