What exactly is the link between a famous historical painter, a mare with a talent for exaggeration, and the student of Princess Celestia?
When Twilight Sparkle examines a book thought to be lost to time, and casts a spell she probably shouldn't have, questions like that are only the start. Soon, she's not only dealing with glimpses of the future, but also the fallout from some misplaced weather, an errant thief, and a dream pony who isn't quite what she seems. But perhaps the most important question...
...is why everything keeps coming back to the same place.
Cover art by yours truly, veteran story of NaPoWriMo three four years on the trot. Featured on Equestria Daily 23rd April 2018.
Chapters (31)
Huh. Well, I do like the way this is written as I don't see any major flaws. Liked Celestia's and Luna' exchange. We see so little of them together.
Not much to go on for now, so I'll be keeping track of this. Continue on!
A Nice start please continue.
As a long waited return, this chapter was pretty dull. It's basically a brief glimpse in the life of Twilight with a few oddities thrown in here and there. Gonna read the next part and see how I feel once I finish that.
Setting up for more to come, I'm sure. A little more interesting, so I'll continue to keep an eye on things. Not much more to comment on so I'll see you next time!
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Cheers - It does feel good to finally get this out, although typically I just want to get it all posted now!
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Tempting, I know, but if you post everything at once, readers are a lot less likely to read it due to the huge word count. Let it breathe and you'll get a few more along the way.
I think we're going to hear form Commander Hurricane later on.
I like how Twilight is taking things in a rather logical way. I also liked how she got Dinky's help in picturing just what she was seeing. It was rather clever use of spells.
Prophecy is really vague, though. I guess that comes with the territory. And now another pony's probably going to see more of it.
Till next time!
Heh, so many things here are so early franchise: ponies not recognizing the saviors of Equestria, Luna being mostly absent, and Discord being imprisoned for the second time. Good times!
Anyway, things seem to be picking up. Lots of interesting lore dropped and some clarity to the whole prophecy thing.
And finally Trixie! Yay!
Well, seems Trixie's in the role of unintentional antagonist. Don't see her that way all that often anymore, so that'll be interesting to see how it plays out.
Lot more mysteries to the prophecy, even if some of it has been sorted out. Suppose we'll see more as things progress.
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The story's age shows - once the whole thing's up, I've got an afterword that goes into some of the places the story could have gone, but the original idea for the story came in around Season 2, which was before Trixie's return in Magic Duel. This chapter was written after Season 3, but I wanted to try and capture a Trixie who's still got that lesson to learn. And, because my brain is obsessed with canon, a Trixie who can leave this story in the frame of mind that would progress into her show reappearance.
Thanks for reviewing every chapter so far, by the way!
Why do characters in cartoons let kids do anything? Seriously, lock them in their room and leave them there until they're too old and infirm to do anything.
What? Too dark? It's the truth!
So big mysterious bell thing. I'm sure that's not anything to be suspicious of.
Till next time!
I wonder why nopony thought of splitting up the Crusaders.
Why didn't Fluttershy fly to the pegasus filly and get her out of the lake before the rainboom happened, if there was a clear and present danger?
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Because that's not where your mind goes. Fluttershy is dealing with a) this pegasus who she doesn't know taking up a position which she understands to be 'I'm very upset, please leave me alone', b) helping Twilight keep an eye on the Crusaders, and c) perhaps not entirely believing that the pillar's going to fall in the first place, especially in the direction of the lake.
And especially if Twilight's planted the idea that the future in which it happens has been averted entirely. Whoops.
If the main OCs in this story were voiced, what would they sound like?
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I actually started working on a 'fantasy credits sequence' but really I've stuck to the established VAs, so for the characters currently with voices, Snow Veil is voiced by Ashleigh Ball, Orange Box by Andrea Libman, and the dream pony by Kelly Metzger. So within their vocal talent. Orange Box would have a voice that's plausibly related to Tabitha St. Germain's Derpy voice, Snow Veil is constantly harassed but upbeat, and saying too much about the dream pony would be spoilery.
Just when Twilight think's she's got this...
The mystery to all of this is interesting. Though, I keep thinking that Twilight will have to track down Trixie in order to get more of the picture she's missing.
A day in the life of Twilight Sparkle. Shopping, reading, a little teaching of the foals, and out of control magic.
So this is how more of the prophecy will be revealed. I guess we'll see what convoluted visions will show up next.
Okay, apparently, all this prophecy is doing (and excuse my language) is fucking with Twilight.
So far, the worst that Twilight feared would happen is that some fairly minor property damage occurred. I have a hunch that at the end of this, Twilight's going to swear off prophecies as a waste of time and a major hassle.
Oh, look! Trixie's back! Yay!
Well, bleep...
Ah ha! Is this going to be the origin story for the tale of how Trixie vanquished an Ursa Major?!
Nice inclusion of Flim and Flam, even if they weren't exactly present. I always liked that duo.
Well, at least Trixie contributed! But wow, she's got a talent in delusion as bad as her stage magic.
Nifty way to take care of the Ursa. I'm wondering, if this one was male, if it'll hook up with the female one we say in the show.
Till next time!
Like I said in a previous chapter: This prophecy is messing with Twilight. Just when she thinks she can settle down, another piece to the convoluted puzzle appears.
Time to hunt down a pegasus!
Yep, Twilight, everything leads back to the prophecy. Are you really that surprised?
I always get interested whenever an author goes into dream theory. There's so much to explore and rarely do two authors use the same explanations or headcanons to describe it.
Till next time!
I had the feeling there was going to be a mix up with the boxes.
Okay, I think I've seen enough that I can make an educated guess. With all the time traveling and wild magic going on, I have a hunch that Stalleonardo da Colton got his prophecy due to Luna and Twilight meeting him and spilling the details in some way. So this whole thing is just an elaborate self-fulfilling prophecy.
Aaaaaaannnnnd Twilight finally understands. This just isn't her month.
Figured a few chapters ago that the prophecy would have been created by Twilight herself. It's just her luck.
Hopefully, Reeds is at least cured. Now she can sleep!
Till next time!
Ah, looks like Twilight's finally had enough and is being more proactive. Nice!
Also nice that Colton left a little surprise for Twilight in that book. Sometimes, it's the little things.
So Derpy's coming along this time? This should be fun...
If Twilight weren't so frazzled by the experience, she'd be taking this time to check out authentic Manehattan sights. What better way to study than to study the originals?
So now we've got a pony that can see the future. Wonderful.
Till next time!
Plot twists!
Rather funny and clever that Derpy's eye condition is what ultimately saved the day. These prophecy spells fail at the merest hint of deviation.
So is Stalleonardo on Twilight's side now or does he still have an agenda for the future? Guess I'll be finding out soon.
Well, Twilight COULD have teleported without problems at the moment her upward velocity reached zero, right before she started falling. With zero velocity, zero momentum, and zero inertia, she could have teleported right on the ground as if she had just stepped off the sidewalk.
Reminds me of a bungee jumper who calculated the exact height of his jump and length of the cord needed for him to jump and unhook himself from the cord right when he reached the ground, stepping away right before the cord rebounded.
Sound like we're getting close to a resolution!
Kinda neat with the layline, though something so important to the well being of the planet seems like it should be documented better. Or at least mapped out so that nopony accidentally digs into one.
Too bad Trixie's involvement hasn't been as often as I thought it would be. She kinda just pops in, makes the situation worse, then pops back out. Kinda true to her nature but I was hoping she'd lend a hoof a little. Ah, well.
Till next time!
I wonder if Commander Hurricane has anything to do with this, and if Twilight ever considered her.
Maybe they should use "A" for "airship".
So Applejack finally falls out of that stupid balloon. And she was prepared for it.
All the gloats, Applejack.
I knew this was partially inspired from Homestuck!
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While I am a Homestuck fan, I wouldn't say it's inspired this story in particular beyond a couple of references.
So Twilight is her own worst enemy, many times (and timelines) over.
Too bad we didn't get much out of Anthem but hopefully, once Twilight has bleached her mind of this whole adventure, she'll be well enough to get some answers out of Celestia.
Till next time!
Almost done! If no other spontaneous prophecies are spit out from now till the end, sounds like they just need to catch up with Trixie (for the third time?), get the Iris and wrap this whole thing up.
And then a book will probably fall and bonk Twilight on the head for good measure.
Till then!
I couldn't handle the truth.
Hope you had a spreadsheet for all of this because I sure as Hell wouldn't have been able to keep track of it all. Heck, there were multiple Twilights in a single time period!
Let's see how you wrap this all up.
Phew! All done!
Going into this, I wasn't expecting the timeloops to be such a prominent part of the story. After the first one I figured that would be it. But nope, lots more messing with time after that. Not sure how I feel about it since it all came together at the end, but at the time I was having trouble keeping track of events and finally just threw up my hands and went with it.
Still a little sore that Trixie didn't feature more into this. She's kinda a glorified cameo.
However, I did like how interconnected everything was. I'm sure if I were to go through this again, I'd be more impressed with all the foreshadowing and buildup.
Overall, nice work!
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I agree with you - ideally, Trixie would have played a much bigger part, but the combination of her character in general and the time period in which the story's set conspired against me. On the one hand, it gets her to the right place and mindset for Magic Duel, on the other hand, she does go on about her 'woeful' time at the rock farm, implying Twilight hasn't heard it yet. As for the time loops, I think my mind builds the story in a non-linear fashion and everything goes together like a big jigsaw puzzle, and (to me at least) leading to a big OH when everything falls into place. Rest assured that this is the end of the time shenanigans for now, the next story is basically a straight line from A to B.
And I know I've said it before, but thank you again for commenting on most of the chapters. A lot of my work peters out long before it reaches a stage where it can be read by anyone else, and it's good to get some healthy criticism. As the first full story that's out there (aside from Euphoria, which is basically just a series of drabbles), if at least one person has something positive to say, then I'm happy.
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And, I'll just add - in some places, I will admit the story got a little out of control. I tried to keep to the story, but at the same time building the world and a springboard for this fanon universe to launch from.
Holy cow, this is my favorite work on this site. You had me on the edge of my seat at the end there, refereshing the page every hour or so. The best part of this whole thing is that this is a well-written story that’s completed! You have just joined the ranks of a very elite club, sir! Thanks for the awesome fic!
So you have “Ponyville Confidential” taking place around the same time as “Boast Busters”?…Eh, as jumbled as the show timeline is, that works as well as anything.
Sounds interesting... and you just completed it! *Read Later*
This was frankly excellent. I didn't like how you indicated whispering, but oh well, you were consistent at least. The plot's complexity, the presentation of new information and the recap of old, the fuzzy feeling I got when things connected nicely, it kept me hooked thorought. The writing itself changed between playful and serious when it suited the scene, but still stayed light-hearted and fun overall. There were sentences that confused me and I had to re-read them a few times, but that might just be me not being a native speaker. I especially liket the notion that they couldn't actually change time, because it instantly looped around and committed all the changes they made. I think I've read a story with this idea, but I can't remember where.
I feel that by trying to stick to canon, you needlessly limited the story in places, but it all fits together, and again, you were consistent, so good job.
I whish we got all the answers in the end, like what was the deal with that Important Room or what happened in 617, but that's what sequels are for. *wink wink*
It is clear that Twilight and Trixie experienced a Bootstrap Paradox and they ended up close to Hoofington because Flux Capacitors attract paradoxes. Twilight doesn't have to worry about a thousand eyed creature as a result of messing with time since the Reapers don't have that many eyes and only show up when a timeline has been distubed too much.
If I remember correctly Stalleonardo da Colton didn't use that name in 611 and his old name had been forgotten which means he must be Sweeping Stroke. I wouldn't be surprised if the Iris has somehow caused Prophetia to be written.