OFS commentary 8

staring out not into a bottomless pit, but a darkened sky,
 - Oh man, I know that feel, when you get gravity all confused. Gret work bro.

„We've got to go watch the rocket! Where's the rocket?“
 - Awww, this is almost heartbreaking. To think of all her efforts...

„Who cares?“ Sara yelled desperately, „It's a giant growing tower of fire! We've gotta get to the trains!“
 - Save life first, discuss details later. Priorities, priorities.
„Unless we get out of here pronto, we'll keel over and die choking! Just like her! You can't save them!“
 - Oh my, sounds serious.

„I've got to try. Sorry,“
 - *sniff* all my appreciation.

Sorry, kid. Guess I'm not a hero after all.
 - ... Oh man. :o

This was just another challenge. Another step on the ladder into history.
 - To accomplish epic things, one needs to think epically.

Celestia's champion. Destroyer of ancient gods. The founder of a new age. That's me, alright.
 - Oh lawd, I haven't considered RD thinking so much of herself. Must have been all the time spent in the space programme :)

„That thing shouldn't even be physically possible! Excuse us for planning within the confines of laws of physics!“
 - Yeah, but that's a much weaker excuse in the land of Equestria, no matter how small magic you used :p

„I'm trying to keep us all alive here.“
 - Oh yeah, nice way to redeem Rarity, I like ^^

Before him stood a dusted earth pony. Her mane, full of sand and dust, seemed comically distorted into a strange bubbly shape. So was her tail.
 - I might just know who we're referring to :3

„Surprise!“
 - LOL, nice reference.

Whatever that device was doing, it must have been far more than just providing clear air;
 - It's also the power of Pinkie ^^

„Oh, you know,“ Pinkie shrugged between breaths, „I twiddled this, I twiddled that.“
 - That's our Pinkie :D Griffinchaser VII anyone? (FO:E reference btw :P )

Feeling a mare and her foal jumping off her back, she smiled as the mother first painstakingly examined her child for injuries, then collapsed before Cherry in tears, almost delirious with thankfulness.
 - That's beautiful.

only to find herself staring directly into the face of the Commissar.
 - I think I'm not going to like what comes next. :p

Cherry took back what she had just thought about not being surprised any more. Actually hearing the Commissar's real name for the first time, she definitely was.
 - It's always the small things that stick the most, don't they XD

Telekinetically unfurling the map and spreading it out in the sand between them, Luna got out some quills and began noting down positions, occasionally pausing to ask the Commissar a question:
 - Awesome Luna being in charge of squadrons is awesome.

„3rd Earth reporting,“ she began. Cherry blinked. Hearing such words being spoken by such a cute voice was odd, to say the least.
 - Awwww, I'm reading it in Pipsqueak's voice.

You two,“ she gestured to Cherry and her father, „You're 5th Pegasus now. Circle the entire facility and see exactly how far that smoke extends. If you find any other ponies, direct them to the HQ here. Dismissed.“
 - Now that sounds more like proper orders for Cherry to follow.

Now that she had been hearing the noises for a while, she decided they were words. Not that she could make them out, obviously.
 - The epicness of Rainbow Dash's toughness doesn't fail to amuse.

„Oi!“ Rainbow jumped to her hooves, cutting the sceptical pony off, „Nopony else's going to steal the credit from me!“
 - Staying in character all the time, that's our Dashie :D

„What?“
 - I'm sure this mare deserves a Guinness prize or something. XD

She was a bit crazy, true, but seemed to have way more energy than any other pony Geist had ever seen. Plus, she was also very pretty.
 - Obligatory D'AWWWWWWWWWWWW

The kick had knocked the small glass capsule out of its slot, and sent it spiraling into the air above;
 - Brace for epic launch!

„But, but! Just look at all those sad ponies!“
 - Im sure Pinkie's mind is just screaming "PARTYPARTYPARTYPARTY" at this point.

„You'd better,“ Pinkie stared into the mare's eyes for a moment more, then released her grip.
 - Pinkie sure knows how to make things spin around, and like a boss while she's at it. A batshit insane, completely epic boss.

But it couldn't have been that long.
 - Wise man says, time is relative ^^

Rarity slowly chuckled, „Anything for a customer.“
 - Again, for the 3rd time, beautiful way of keeping the mane 6 in-character.

Lyuka looked at with considerable respect. If she was willing to devote a similar amount of energy to her work as she was demonstrating here… Hmm.
 - Nice to see Rarity's dedication is finally getting through.

„They're wasting resources! Acting against orders!“ she scrambled to hit as many of the sergeant's buttons as possible, straining her memory to remember all those strange phrases she had heard the Commissar use, „Inefficiently... err... distributing workload!“
 - Oh god, this is completely hilarious.

but, in the end, it was all being administered by five crazy ponies, working on utterly mad plans without any regard for health & safety.
 - Oh so true, in a way. XD

„By Celestia's-“ she stopped midway through her curse, realizing the goddess was still somewhere close around.
 - Thou may not desire to offend ye gods while them be in hearing range XD

exhausted violet unicorn
  - Aw yeah, Twilight to the rescue! ^^

Awww.
 - I can totally agree here.

Forgoing the diagnostician, she set off after the rapidly-disappearing team of nurses again. These ponies were going to make Zvezda better, or there'd be hell to pay.
 - Wow, this is so completely gripping.

Turning around, Celestia gave them a Look.
 - If I'd ever be subject to that, I'd probably be reduced to a blabbering blob of panic.

„Bunkers?“ Celestia repeated, her voice growing quite cold.
 - I can feel the room temperature drop from here XD

Celestia's steely gaze was now drilling a hole into Lyuka: "„Is this true?“
 - Yours is the gaze that will pierce the Heavens!... Plus unfortunate engineers.

Twilight was a smart pony, and moreover, she knew her friends; she'd be counting on the fact Dash's loyalty would draw her back. So, logically, she'd be waiting somewhere high up, waving a flag or something. Made sense.
 - Of course, let her just wait idly for several hours for help. Makes total sense. XD

And why did ponies need blast-proof concrete bunkers in the first place?
 - In an apparatus filled to the brim with fuels and all around explosive chemicals? Is it just me or Dashie reasons much better when she's low on life signals? XD

Applejack's mane was merely a frizzy mess, but what Twilight had on her head was a complete abomination against nature; had Rarity seen it, she'd probably faint on the spot. And the worst thing was, it fit her, especially with that crazy contraption in the background. She looked exactly like a mad scientist.
 - Oh lawdy. Is it worse than Rain-blow-dry levels? It must be. (Is that even possible?)

„Umm... behind you, if that's alright?“
 - Heh, this line could use a bit more work. She's a closer friend to RD than that, she shouldn't show much uncertainty for something so simple. She could go "Um... I'm here, Dash." or, you know, just not say anything and wait for others to do it for her XD

Immediately turning around, Dash added her to the group hug before she had a chance to escape.
 - D'awwwing so hard right now.

„It's Greybeard's power jars!“
 - Of course, that explains everything. Right, Dash?

„They all owe her their lives.“ OK, now that was something.
 - Finally someone speaking a language she can understand XD

Why did the most terrible things always have to happen to the ponies who never did anything wrong? Cherry was the one who had signed up for risking her life on the frontiers of science, after all, and she was perfectly fine. But all Zvezda wanted a well-paid secure job, and yet here she was, struggling to survive amidst unstoppable forces toying with her. Where was the fairness in that?
 - Heh, the ones with the smaller dreams are the ones who less fight the adversities in front of them.

Cherry almost cried out in protest upon hearing these words. Such a brilliant pony like Zvezda deserved better, much better.
 - Wow, I don't know exactly why but this friendship story is so gripping for me.

„Oh, I'm very serious!“ Pinkie grinned in a manner suggesting she wasn't serious at all.
 - Is she ever? XD

Her commanding voice was the most powerful of all, piercing through the steady background roar of the fire and inspiring everypony to do their greatest.
 - If anything, the Canterlot Royal Voice (TM) sure is LOUD.

As he lay on the ground, he could distinctly hear a massive roar slowly begin to build up, coming from the direction of the launch pad.
 - Oh, NOW is the rocket launching XD

Some of them almost looked like the arms of some ancient angry god, awakened by the explosion and now coming to devour all the ponies of Equestria in a horrible feast.
 - I'm sure Pinkie is really enjoying the lightshow.

Lyuka observed this made the ponies run even faster.
 - Luna should really consider how scary can her Royal Voice can be on top of other stuff :p

He had said it applied to almost every force in the universe. So, hopefully, prayers would obey the inverse-square law too.
 - This is so much more poetic than I could ever have expected XD Brilliant.

The peaceful ponies of Equestria were used to kicking up a panicked stampede at an unexpected swarm of rabbits; a giant burning tower of fire was just too much.
 - The poor ponies just don't have the stomach for such things XD

On a steel plate hanging from its side stood, in large blocky letters, the inscription „ULTIMA RATIO REGINAE“.
 - OHSHIT! <rhetoric> Sounds like a rather dramatic measure, doesn't it? </rhetoric>

„Chief, you know what 'munition' means?“
 - OK, so the plans now are firing off that THING? XD May Celestia have mercy on us all.

„Good morning, everypony!“ she hollered into the microphone, „And say hello to your new Field Marshal, Pinkie Pie!“
 - All part of Trollestia's plan? She's in good shape as ever.

„And that's why we don't trust politicians!“
 - Oh, I thought that was how Equestria was made. X°D

„No, wait!“ Pinkie squealed, then quickly hopped over to the microphone again, „That's not what I was going to say at all!“
 - Oh thank goodness HAHAHAHAHA
   Gawd, your Pinkie is a blast.

Instead, everypony in the Cosmodrome was staring at the nearest loudspeaker pole, a mixture of utter confusion and lost befuddlement on their faces. They were all thinking the same thing as Lyuka, apparently.
 - The plan's working, was there ever any doubt?

„Anyway, here's my- uhhh, assistant – princess Celestia!“
 - Of course Pinkie, just be thankful Celestia's a smart pony.

„Also, there'll be cake!“
 - Bob-for-apples, cut-a-rug?

Pinkie was right; ponies just weren't built for grimdark.
 - So very true. It's the thing that makes it most appealing, in fact.

Now this was the attention Zvezda deserved.
 - *sniff* There must be something in my eye...

Noticing her stern gaze was upon him, he quickly added, „Good work, everypony. We are almost there!“
 - See, everypony knows deep inside what's best to say, it's just that they don't say that as often.

Okay, I'll stop now, promise!
 - You never know what to expect with deities around XD

Or are they just two sides of the same coin?
 - Now we only need an epic score in the background to accompany the epiphany, and we're settled hehe.

A Deus Ex Machina. Had this been a work of fiction, Zvezda would have demanded her money back.
 -  The metahumor, it stings XD

„Is... is this how it ends, Princess? Without even a single success?“
 - Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

„Sowwy, Tia,“ Luna whispered softly, hanging her head low towards the ground; just a little too cutely to actually be sincere.
 - She KNOWS she's too cute to resist. Well, except for her sister, at least.