Ranger
Chapter 122: Fantasy
By Wanderer D
From the rooftop of Canterlot High, two figures watched the imminent departure of Twilight Sparkle.
"So, I guess she was an alien after all," Fei "Ember" Yeung said. She was sitting on the edge of the roof, on the west wing of what was left of the building, feet dangling on the edge, not worried at all about a potential fall.
Next to her, leaning on the same roof edge, was Omiata "Deadwood" Kiba, sniper rifle within easy reach. "Guess so." He watched Twilight pull Sunset to the side, where the pair sat down on a bench and talked. "Didn't they say that Sunset came from the same place? She's been an alien all along too. I guess that explains a lot of things."
The young chinese woman snorted. "You mean her freaky ability to see through walls? Or the fact that she's been mauled in ways that would have killed any one of us and she's still made it?"
Deadwood chuckled at that. "Yes. And saving Jane. From all accounts she should also be dead."
"Still," Ember turned to look down at the talking pair. "Not infallible. She couldn't save Mox."
"No, not infallible," Deadwood acknowledged, following her eyes. "It used to be that I thought we were really alone, you know? That every single non-human was a threat. Before I heard about the Skirmishers… before I even knew that a Viper could make their own choices when they're not under direct mental control… ten years ago, I used to just shoot them all. Never imagined I'd end up respecting them."
Ember remained quiet, but her head was tilted in such a way that he knew she was listening, so he continued, "I don't remember much from before the aliens… just like most of the others. I was about… six years old when they arrived. I remember, vaguely, watching TV in a small white apartment… my family is from Tokyo… it started on TV and then it continued just outside my window.
"I remember grabbing my Gundam action figure, while my dad turned off all the lights and moved the furniture to block the door. He closed the curtains and took us into the inner rooms. We stayed there until the next morning hearing shouts, distant explosions… strange wails and weird noises. At one point the building shook and the fire alarm went off. I spent the whole night waiting for Kamen Rider, or Ultraman or even Godzilla to come and stop them… I remember, my granddad used to love those Gamera movies, so I prayed that he'd come too... but none of them came, and it was only the screams of people that kept us company that night.
"My mom covered my mouth with her hand to stop me from screaming one time, when we heard really loud stomping above us and a deafening crunch… then blood started seeping down the wall." He trialed off, eyes haunted by the memory. Finally, he shook his head. "But we all survived. Eventually, the police came through, they broke down the door and ran in, weapons ready. When they only found us, they guided us out." He sighed, turning his back on the rail and leaning back on it to look up at the sky.
"My mom, she… she tried to cover my eyes, but I saw. Our neighbors had been massacred… the ones that had tried to escape or run had been burnt, or torn to shreds. Part of Mr. Nakamura's apartment was nothing but a giant hole.
"I promised then that all aliens would pay for it. For scaring me. For making my mom cry. For killing my schoolmate, Kioko." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Made good on it too. Once I was old enough, I joined a pirate crew that attacked a lot of seaside towns controlled by ADVENT, before eventually doing a delivery to a certain submarine, where I met Dr. Shen senior.
"But even after all this time, a part of me that still believed, wanted there to be some good ones out there, you know? And I thought I had found them when the Skirmishers appeared, or when Angel joined Menace. And yet, the fact is that there was at least one alien working with us all this time, and she wasn't an exception, but rather a representative of a whole other species. And we didn't know."
"I get the feeling that some of the older XCOM generation did," Ember replied, absently scratching a decal on her shoulder, showing the XCOM logo, Vigilo Confido. "My dad… he was a member of the Triad. I never really knew him… I remember moving from Hong Kong to the old XCOM base.
"I met Lily then, you know? We were not only the only two little girls in the base, but we were both Chinese. I saw my dad once. He knelt in front of me and smiled, placing his hand on my shoulder. It was a little time before the base was attacked. He said to me, "The life you had before is gone now, but you are alive. Perhaps we will become a family again after all, little Yújìn.""
Ember chuckled. "He was scary. Large and scarred… his hands were huge! But gentle. Even though my mother changed her name early on after discovering he was a Triad member… even though she tried to hide from him, his instinct was to protect us. When she found out he wasn't a criminal anymore… and that he still cared enough to take us to where he thought we would be safe... I have never seen her so happy." She licked her lips. "I never saw him again. But there was one thing I do remember as well… when he kissed my mother goodbye, he said that Lieutenant Shimmer needed him for one last mission."
"I remember, that day, as I waited for my father to return, I fantasized about what sort of life we would have. How he would defeat the monsters. How he would remarry my mother and I would take up his name."
The pair were silent for a moment. "I always thought… Sunset was that person's daughter or something. That she was like Lily or me. When I asked Galahad about it, he said it was classified. I guess they knew."
"Looks like they're starting," Deadwood said, watching in amusement as the Skirmisher going with Twilight had to talk herself into it. Even at this distance it was clear she was getting cold feet. "And there goes Acevedo. I'll miss her, she's a great shot, and spunky. Even after what happened, she had the courage to continue."
"Hm." Ember kept her thoughts to herself as the Skirmisher followed suit.
"And I guess it's the Princess' turn now," he joked, "You know, I always thought that was just a nickname. From what I heard from Rainbow Dash, however, she's an actual honest to god princess. Who would've thunk?"
Below them, Twilight Sparkle had turned to address the small crowd of senior staff, engineers and scientists before jumping into the statue.
"And so, little Twilight Sparkle, Scientist Squaddie extraordinaire is gone." After a moment Deadwood smirked. "Can you imagine… being an alien and knowing that everyone around you would most likely kill you rather than let you explain yourself? Your friends, your teammates? I can imagine Sunset taking it in stride, but… Twilight?"
"I hope she has the common sense to stay home, this time," Ember replied, her tone grim. "She might be tougher than she looks, but she's kind and good in ways that… that I've never felt like myself.
"This is not a world for that sort of purity. This world is not for princesses." She looked down with almost bitter certainty at the gathered scientists as they fiddled with equipment and discussed things with Sunset. "This is a world of monsters from outer space that kill and enslave whole civilizations… and of the witches, dragons and wolves that hunt them."
o.0.o End Chapter 122 o.0.o
darn, was hoping for more breezie fun
You know? I do love this story and follow it with glee. But goddammit im tired of the pacing. Every single time something is about to happen or there is a big reveal or some cool/serious shit is about to go down? WITHOUT FAIL this story will "Go do something else" for a chapter or two leaving the entire reader base hanging.
Its a decently effective tool when used sparingly. But its every single time here.
Could you please stop doing this EVERY TIME because for me at least it is getting extremely frustrating.
You're such a tease.
Twilight went through last in the previous chapter.
Twilight went through twice?
8991856
... Now I'm even more confused.
8991856 Ugh, when I was finishing up I screwed up somewhere with a copy/paste, I guess you found it! Fixed!
8991842 Sorry! XD Hopefully it makes sense now.
8991831 Personally, the pacing is what allows me to keep it going. It lets me explore other characters, their reactions and their conflicts. I mean, these people just found out Twilight and Sunset were aliens. Are they going to let that just slide without comment? I also try to make it relevant, even if it's not immediately obvious... and I really don't mean the obvious little reference here. The story, in my mind, is supposed to have action, but not just be about that, and the nature of the pacing I have allows me to explore more and enrich the world where Sunset's at. It's not just her and the immediate characters. It's bigger, and stuff has been happening around the world while they do one thing or the other. So, yeah, I realize the pacing can sometimes be frustrating, but it remains to me the best way to tell the story I want to tell.
This is not world for that sort of purity
1. This is not a world for that sort of purity.
8991856
8991862
From what I'm reading it's actually right. Before Twilight went in, she turned to give a speech of sorts to the rest of XCOM and part way through Acevedo shows up, jumps in before Twilight and a few more words before Twilight actually jumps in.
8991876
I do get that. But do you REALLY need to place all these "AND NOW ELSEWHERE" every single time you have a cliffhanger that leaves people wondering what happens next? Its actually annoying to the point that I for one can have a hard time getting myself to read these side bits due to the knee-jerk reaction of "Oh not this crap again" EVERY SINGLE TIME there is a buildup to something really cool happening.
You could place these less obnoxiously is all Im saying.
8991877
8991876
Guh! I see how I misread. Twilight made the speech before she was going to enter the mirror portal. No reasonable excuse on my part.
Okay...
8991831
This is why I'm just waiting for the story to be complete. Then I can just go through it without worrying about that.
In fact, I decided to check the comments tonight to see how it was doing, and lo and behold, it seems that my decision has been a wise one.
8991947 I would argue against using a single comment to deduce that, but people read at their own preference and speed.
8991885 Where else would I put them? I guess I could have just done the whole thing with Twilight and Co, in Equestria then put this chapter up afterwards as a recap of sorts, but I'm not going to go do the whole thing in Equestria in one go. That could have worked, I guess. Or maybe the frustration is that there's a cliffhanger and I don't resolve it immediately in the next chapter... but that's been the pacing of the whole story. I personally don't feel there's anything wrong with that.
8991969
It was already something that I'd noted. The story was playing it a bit episodically up to where I last read (chapter 27) and was definitely skipping around a bit. So I just put it on pause to wait for completion. The chapters are short, so it's not like I can't catch up in an hour or so when it finishes, and then there's no waiting period.
8991969
To me the pacing isn't really an issue. Unfortunately I've stopped reading it daily and instead read every 3 days to get more...er, "substance" in my reading sessions, if that makes sense. It's more satisfying to me. Keep up the good work though!
8991885
I would agree with you, probably, except that this story updates almost every single day. I wait months, even years (TSC for one), for updates on other stories, so a little hopping about in the storyline here is absolutely okay and actually entertaining in its own way.
8991979 That's fair, taking the other comment by itself made me think you were only looking at the latest thing and deciding from a reaction. Not that there's anything wrong either way.
8991981 doing my best!
8991876
Yeah, much better now. I'll add that I really enjoyed Deadwood and Ember's back stories. Sad though they are, they add a lot to the world.
8991969
It is an opinion I hold to. And its been an increasingly annoying theme during the entire story for me as I said. I find it a negative and found a need to mention the fact. You have taken my critique and thought about it. And that is really all I can ask whatever you decide. :)
8992016 I do appreciate honest feedback, I'll definitely consider optional moments for those, "Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice!" moments.
This one was rather more profound than I expected. In a good way
So Ember is the daughter of Shaojie Zhang. Fitting since his nickname, Chilong, means hornless dragon.
And he apparently tag along with Sunset one on the final mission for the Rising Dragon achievement.
No kidding. Stay home, Twilight, and assist from the safety of Equestria.
A rather thoughtful chapter. It's interesting to see how people change over time...
8991471
how is she being a Breezie a cop out?
yeah i do see that the mixing of genetic materials wou...Should have made a weird Pony like race like an umbra or a Thestral, BUT these choices would be obvious. NOT that picking the obvious choice is bad or wrong, but these curve balls are great. The human character turning into a Griffon; THAT is out of left field. Most humans on the portal side Are ponies, and i would bet some money that Mirror Chrystalis would NOT be a changeling...okay probably a Neo Changeling, but the point is that we don't know the characters Equestrian counterparts. Lets ride this out...ALSO what is a cop out by your definition? It'll help me understand what you mean.
All caught up (though I am deeply disappointed that no one posted any videos of Niftu Cal after Annette declared herself a psionic god.) Fantastic stuff all around, from the character interaction to the humor to the poignant meditation on the two worlds' respective positions on the idealism-cynicism spectrum.
As for the pacing, it's a daily serial that has to cover a wide cast. Some degree of back-and-forth is to be expected. I'd say you're doing a great job there.
8992595 I think you're the only one that caught the reference!
8991831
It's a daily.... What do you want?
Seriously, go read every daily on this site and try to tell me that they're much better.
Personally I like the pacing on this fic, along with a few other dailies I read. If you want "more" from it then wait a week and then catch up. Giving it a few days to bank is something I do whenever I don't particularly like a situation.
8992875
I have my opinion and you have yours.
I have aired it and gotten feedback and I am fine with that. Why does it annoy you that much that I had critique to level?
Baby Zhang!
Wait...
Ember...
Chilong...
You cleaver little devil!
8992881
You're drinking water and complaining that it's wet.
I'd barely call it annoyed, more disappointed and amused.
8992204
Wait... Ember?! You mean Shaojie is the Dragon Lord?!
8992464
Skirmisher temperament, ruthlessness and fixation on honor actually matches pixies or their close cousins - ellyls. And what race known on Equus is close to Ellyl? Right, breezies.
It's awesome to see Zhang's legacy seen here. And the fact that his daughter is "Ember" is a fun tie-in as well.
8994034 Maybe Tala is a tooth Breezie. I know those only actually exist in the world of RealityCheck's 'Rise of Darth Vulcan', but it would work so well. Agressive, capable, stealthy. No flower pollen for her, she gains power from taking teeth from right under her targets' noses!
I didn't catch what class Zhang Jr. is.
EDIT: Specialist.
Well ... I guess they figured it out ...
trailed ...
This doesn't seem very relevant to the plot, but I don't care. it's heartwarming and world building
I love this line
Isn't it 'think'?
Earth is indeed a Baddream come true now...
Even before...
Tala will have one hell of a story to tell, once she is back
The biggest adventure of her life