Last Time On The Powers of Harmony... · 12:43am Aug 3rd, 2015
**This is merely a recap. Feel free to skip if you think you understand everything that’s happened up to this point. Huge thanks to Knight of Lycaeus for helping me out on this!**
**Also, if you'd like some music to listen to while reading, I recommend this.**
In The Beginning
-Once upon a time there were two immortal lovers that traveled the cosmos. One of them was named Discord, and the other's name was Harmony. Together, they searched for a place to settle and make their own.
-The two chanced upon a small barren planet orbiting a yellow star, and decided to work together to seed it with life. Discord created the weather and the oceans. Harmony created the lands.
-Next came the creatures. Originally, they were going to be perfect in every way; constructs of pure magic that would live peacefully and eternally together in a flawless utopia.
-However, Discord convinces Harmony to instead give their children the ability to struggle, fail, and even die, because such adversities would force them to evolve into higher beings.
-Harmony agrees. Discord instills in their children a fierce drive to bring about change and keep things in a constant state of flux and fluidity. Harmony gives them logic and reason. She also instills a desire for peace, happiness and order, as well as a resistance to change.
-Harmony soon regrets her decision. To struggle, fail, and die means the bodies of their children are temporary, easily injured, and require sustenance to survive. Free will does indeed bring about the chance for philosophical thought and advancement, but it also sows the seeds of corruption, mistrust and hatred.
-Harmony and Discord begin to argue over their children. Their escalating arguments led them to separate, which in turn led them to fall prey to their innate natures. Harmony becomes emotionless and passive, and Discord becomes unbalanced and violent.
-Discord attacks Harmony in a mad rage. Before he can strike the final blow, however, Harmony uses all her power to seal herself away in the planet, effectively saving herself from Discord’s wrath. Unfortunately, this also imprisons her, and she is left without a way to get free.
-Now fully insane and with free reign to do whatever he wanted, Discord does everything he could to make the sentient races evolve as fast as possible. Thus begins a new era of destruction, chaos, and strife.
The Rise and Fall of Discord's Era
-Discord reigns free on Harmony for a long stretch of time, spreading his influence to the entire planet. He prevents advancement of civilization, encourages evolution and natural selection by causing wars and destruction, causes the lands to be in a constant state of upheaval, and causes unrest between the races.
-Meanwhile, Harmony is still imprisoned, but she finds that she can control and influence things on a very slow, subtle, methodical level.
-Harmony realizes that she needs to disable Discord first in order for her to try and break free, and then she can try to separate herself from the planet.
-Over the course of several millennia, Harmony uses her influence to create six shining jewels of immense power—The Elements of Harmony. These jewels each represented a different element of her very being, and therefore was anathema to Discord.
-Harmony realizes she needs Bearers in order for the Elements to be used, goes about gene manipulation to create Bearers for them.
-Celestia and Luna are born. (unicorns)
-Harmony subtly guides Celestia and Luna to the Elements. Upon finding them, they use them to try and defeat Discord, as well as (unknowingly) free Harmony. Unfortunately, Celestia and Luna aren't strong enough to draw out the full power of the Elements. Harmony remains trapped, and while they are able to severely weaken Discord, they can't deal the final blow.
-Sensing that his power is being sapped away, Discord quickly spends it all in one mighty burst to give his vanquishers a parting gift. He alters reality so that the Sun and the Moon can't move on their own anymore, and at the same time, links Celestia and Luna’s lifeforces to them. He does this to get revenge, as he assumes they're incapable of handling such monumental responsibility and will eventually go mad under the strain.
-Celestia and Luna are immediately hailed as heroes for their act, but when it's discovered what's happened to them, and what they're now in charge of, they're worshiped as gods.
-Celestia and Luna do everything they can to try and discourage this, but as their physical appearances have been altered by both Discord’s and Harmony’s magic, their arguments fall on deaf ears. They finally relent and allow themselves to be named as Princesses, agree to take up rulership of the pony race, then found the pony country of Equestria.
-The capital city of Canterlot is built in the Everfree Forest.
-Meanwhile, Harmony isn't comfortable with the heavens being controlled by two sentient beings, but has no choice but to accept it, as she can't undo it in her current state. In addition, due to Celestia and Luna being touched by Discord's chaos magic, they can't wield the Elements of Harmony to their full power. Realizing that she's going to start over again, Harmony goes about the process of gene manipulation and natural selection again, but this time, she decides to create a paragon for each Element. Again, this process takes thousands of years.
The Era of Prosperity
-Celestia and Luna discover that using the Elements of Harmony is causing them to ascend into alicorns. The reason for this is that the Elements are extensions of Harmony's power, which was the source of the creation of the race. By exposing themselves to that magic, their bodies are altered and made ageless. They are still vulnerable to damage and disease, but they are resistant to it.
-Celestia and Luna also learn of their links to their respective celestial bodies, meaning they can't be killed as long as the Sun and Moon still exist.
-The other races discover that Celestia and Luna can control the Sun and Moon. War threatens to breaks out again over who should control them. Celestia and Luna hide for ten years, but hostilities still escalate in their absence. They re-emerge after they have fully ascended and end the fighting with their godlike powers.
-Ponykind asks Celestia and Luna to rule, after refusing for a few decades, they relent and take up the throne.
-Borders of Equestria are established. Occasional wars still break out between the other races over border disputes, but most countries learn quickly that angering the alicorn sisters is a very bad idea. They unite the three tribes and bring about the first true era of peace that Harmony has known since Discord's arrival.
-Equestria declares itself as a neutral state with open borders, establishes trade with neighbors.
-Canterlot is built in the Everfree Forest.
-Sombra is born.
-Cadance is born.
-Cadance becomes an alicorn.
-The Crystal Empire disappears upon Sombra's banishment to the northern wastes of Tarandus.
-Last armed conflict occurs against the Dromedary Empire.
The War of the Sun and Moon
-Libra is born. Meets Scorpio in school. Later decides to join military.
-Scorpio is born. uptight family pressures him into studying academic arcana and medicine. Meets Libra, decides to join military to watch out for him.
-Aquarius is born. Learns thievery to survive, later frames his father who was using him to steal. Shanghai'ed into military after the Battle of Zenith Square.
-Leo is born to two noble houses, is shunned by both. Learns ways of high society, meets Virgo who shows him a more normal life with his sister, uses joint resources to escape obligations and joins military.
-Taurus is born. Is an army brat, joins military as it's easiest option and it's all he's ever known. Uses unassuming appearance to his advantage and learns the ways of sabotage.
-Sagittarius is born in Drakkenridge Mountains. Village is destroyed by Kyneatoralqu, then taken to Canterlot to live in orphanage. Becomes obsessed with dragons for the sake of revenge. Seeks out Kyneatoralqu, slaughters him, then brutally desecrates his corpse. Joins military by order of Drakkenridge government as an act akin to community service.
-Pisces is born in White Wing. Moved to Canterlot to join military after seeing his mother, a ranger, become cold, detached, and haunted by her own memories.
-Gemini born in Cloudsdale. Moved to Canterlot to join military on an impulse after having epiphany that he can do what he wants with his life and doesn't have to be responsible for his twin brother Cyclone.
-Virgo born in Manehatten. Family moves to Canterlot when eight years old, meets Leo and uses joint resources to allow them both to join military to escape being forced into lives they don't want to live. Leaves family blacksmith trade to sister Crystal Song.
-Aries born in Stalliongrad. Parents are killed, moved to Canterlot orphange, meets Sagittarius. Also meets an Antelese martial arts master and trains for unknown reasons. Joins military alongside Sagittarius.
-Capricorn is born in Gildesdale. Brother Seeker drowns, accidentally discovers explosives and becomes disowned due to continued conflicts with this family. Moves to Canterlot.
-Cancer is born in Tarandus. Abducted and taken into slavery by griffins. Forced to participate in gladiatorial duels to the death. Invents the four-sword “Cardinal Blade” style and wins his freedom. Vows to never kill again. Relocates to Canterlot and joins military, quickly ascending through the ranks and earning the nickname “Tendoncutter.”
-Canterlot has been established, and it is a time of great peace. Celestia, in order to pass the decades, has taken an interest in undergoing grand machinations to accomplish goals and continue peace in the land. Uses half-truths and secrets to keep her goings on from Luna.
-Meanwhile Luna decides to research the magic that links her to the moon and the haze that surrounds Harmony. She knows that the magic is dangerous but she does it anyway, thinking she can handle it.
-Luna develops an understanding of the link, and takes several notes over the course of a period of time. Finally, shuts herself away for a period of fifty years and dedicates herself to research.
-Luna becomes reckless. She takes more risks in studying and fiddles with her link to the haze. In doing so, she inadvertently exposes herself to chaos magic in its raw state.
-Luna's heart is twisted with evil and her mind is filled with lies. She becomes convinced that the citizens of Equestria ignore both her and the night while only paying homage to the day,
-Luna appears at the Summer Sun Ceremony unannounced, and causes a stir. Due to her slightly unbalanced state and unprecedented arrival, the ponies fear her and run away.
-Luna becomes bitter, jealous and angry. Steals the Elements of Harmony and tries to use them to keep the moon in the sky to force ponies to see and enjoy her night. She corrupts her half of the Equestrian military and attacks Celestia in a vicious coup. Her plan is to try and use the Elements to synchronize the Sun and Moon and cover the world in an eternal lunar eclipse.
-As she falls further to the Chaos magic, Luna's body undergoes a terrifying metamorphosis and she became the abhorrent abomination known as Nightmare Moon. Her half of the military also becomes corrupted by the transformation, transforming into heartless, bloodthirsty, unkillable monsters later known as the Army of Darkness.
-Battle of Zenith Square. Libra uses the forbidden Lifeforce spell, nearly loses himself to it but is saved by Scorpio.
-Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, Pisces, Sagittarius, Gemini, Virgo, Aries, Capricorn band together with Libra and Scorpio to repel the evil soldiers and face off against the Astral Guard. They manage to hold them off long enough for Celestia to recover and repel all the forces from Canterlot. Nightmare Moon retreats to the Hollow Shades.
-Order of the Zodiac is formed.
-Series of battles take place over the course of two years, mostly centered in Canterlot and the areas around it. Celestia searches for a cure during this time.
-Libra uses the Lifeforce spell to immobilize a portion of Nightmare Moon's army each time she invades. He does so at a terrible price, though, for the magic causes him to become addicted. Becomes known as Libra the Lifestealer.
-Nightmare Moon spends much of her time conducting various experiments with Chaos magic to try and find a way to defeat Celestia, including a magical amplifier known as the Alicorn Amulet and a large-scale forcefield. Her most fearsome project, however, was a forbidden spell that created a bodiless, ageless magical construct called an Echo. She used it to make a clone of herself based off her own thoughts and memories, which she later names Cetus.
-Nightmare Moon places Cetus inside the Element of Magic so she can gorge herself on its seemingly infinite magic. Her plan was to then use the Echo to double-team Celestia and tip the balance of power in her favor.
-Libra’s lifeforce addiction grows out of control thanks to him repeatedly using it against the Army of Darkness. Celestia is forced to launch an all-out offensive against the Tower of Lunacy in the Hollow Shades.
-Two Zodiac Knights break in to the Tower of Lunacy and steal back the Elements of Harmony, which allow Celestia to use the three could control to seal Nightmare Moon away in the moon, thus ending the war. Little else is known about this battle, save for that Libra was blinded and his horn was cut off to stop his addiction.
The War's Aftermath
-Nightmare Moon is now gone, but the Army of Darkness remains. Celestia is at a loss on what to do with them, for while she knows that the Element of Loyalty is the cause of the mutation, she has no idea how to reverse the effects.
-Celestia creates Tartarus, an interdimensional prison residing in a pocket dimension where the soldiers remain until she can find a cure. She seals the entrance with the Symbols of the Elements and tells no one of its existence, save for the Zodiac Knights, who help her relocate the Army.
-Celestia grants each of the Zodiac Knights a boon in return for their services. They all ask for different things, but it's Libra’s request that was the most surprising. She’d expected that he’d ask to be forgiven for breaking the taboo on the Lifeforce spell, which he’d done prior to the war’s outbreak. He instead asks for her to create Echoes of himself and the other Zodiac Knights so that they might aid her when Nightmare Moon was inevitably freed. Celestia agrees, but doing so means that he receives no pardon, and therefore is banished from Equestria for his crimes. He is last seen heading south alone towards the Zhevra Flatlands.
-Celestia creates the Echoes of the Zodiac Knights and places them inside a series of constellations in the night sky to sleep until she needs them.
-Celestia discovers that her connection to the Elements of Harmony has been severed. Cetus flees inside the Element of Magic's pocket dimension before Celestia can get her out.
-Celestia fears the Cetus may try to free Nightmare Moon, or that she might find a way to extend her influence to other ponies, so she takes the Elements and hides them away in a vault deep within Old Canterlot.
-Cetus, now inside the Element of Magic and hidden away in Old Canterlot, now has free reign over the magic of the Elements of Harmony and devours it with wild abandon.
-Celestia attempts suicide, is transported to Limbo. Meets Harmony. The two make a deal to work together.
The Solar Millennium
-Celestia wishes to distance herself from the bitter memories that Old Canterlot held, so she leaves the ruins to be reclaimed by nature and rebuilds the city on the side of Mount Avalon.
-Celestia hides the Symbols of the Elemetns away so that they can’t be discovered or used to break open the Gate of Tartarus. Knowledge of the Symbols disappears, save for the Symbol of Loyalty, which is kept in secret by Aries and his clan for generations.
-Construction on New Canterlot is completed. Celestia makes preparations to work on Harmony’s task, which is to experiment on her link to the Sun. Uses Luna's old research notes for reference.
-The Zodiac Knights live out their natural lives. Upon their deaths, Celestia retrieves their bodies and places them in the royal crypts beneath Old Canterlot.
-Celestia subtly removes evidence of the war and alters the truth so that Luna can return to a normal life when she returns. She moves the true records of the War of the Sun and Moon to the Millennial Archives.
-Celestia encounters an orphaned baby dragon turtle while traveling along the borders of southern Equestria. She adopts him and names him Atuin.
-Atuin lives in Canterlot for two hundred years before he becomes too big and has to move. Celestia takes him to Lake Occul and charges him with guarding of the Caverns of Harmony.
-Celestia learns that her link to the Sun is an immensely powerful one-way link that allows her to draw power from the celestial body and will not degrade. Allows her immortality. In a nutshell, as long as the Sun exists, so will she.
-Celestia suspects that even if Nightmare Moon and Luna are separated, they will still both have an equal share of the link. However, if one of them is severed, the link will fully return to the other.
-Celestia realizes that the only thing that can sever the link completely is the power of another celestial body. She realizes she can use the Sun to create an Array of cosmic scale along the ecliptic with the Planet in the center. If she does this, she can harness its power and sever any connection to any of the celestial bodies. Once the link is severed, all Nightmare Moon would have is the natural agelessness of being an alicorn. And while that is still be very dangerous, she wouldn't have her regeneration.
-Celestia contacts Harmony to let her know of her success. Harmony informs her that her own progress on freeing Luna would take more time. She's working on creating six new Bearers for the Elements that would be the ideal wielders, and she refuses going to skimp out on any details this time. Celestia reluctantly agrees to wait a bit longer.
-Yakkhari Uprising occurs. Is quickly ended by the other Tarandians.
-Edith Smith is born.
-Rose Agate is born.
-Pendragon is born.
-Ponyville is founded.
-Edith and Pendragon are wed.
-Ponyville becomes under attack by Timber Wolves.
-Edith discovers that Zapapple Jam can be made edible with the addition of Timber Wolf blood/sap. She and Pendragon create the hoofaxes Aconitum and Abattoir. Together, they hunt the Timber Wolves almost to extinction.
-Sweet Apple Acres is built.
-Jonamac Apple is born.
-Cinnamon Swirl is born.
-Rarity's parents are born.
-Zecora is born.
-Twilight's parents are born.
-Zemblani is born.
-Horizon and Vigil's parents are born.
-Rainbow's parents are born.
-Fluttershy's parents are born.
-Pinkie's parents are born.
-Shining Armor is born.
-Macintosh is born.
-Vigil is born.
-Cadance is freed early from the Crystal Empire's curse. Moves to Canterlot to wait for the rest of the kingdom to return.
Zemblani and the Zodiac Ritual
-Horizon is born in Canterlot.
-Twilight is born in Canterlot.
-Fluttershy is born in Hoofalulu.
-Rainbow is born in Cloudsdale.
-Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity are born in Ponyville.
-Trixie is born in southern Equestria.
-Harmony transfers control over the Elements over the Mane Six, but waits to activate them until a later time.
-Celestia is still fussing over her Array and going overboard with failsafes. She's created failsafes for failsafes, wards upon wards, and has made it nigh inescapable. Celestia trusts that Harmony has come up with a way to separate Luna from Nightmare Moon, but doesn't know what it is. All she knows that once Nightmare Moon is separated from Luna and placed into the Array.
-Harmony sets her plan into motion. The instigator is Arch-Magus Zemblani, a well-meaning, brilliant, powerful but unfortunate pony who made several magical discoveries and advancements, but all of them were been used to do terrible things. She becomes bitter, jaded, and cynical because of this.
-Zemblani accidentally discovers a hidden section of the Millennial Archives and learns the truth behind the War of the Sun and Moon. Specifically, the statement that Luna was banished to the moon and her soldiers were imprisoned in Tartarus.
-Zemblani develops mistrust of Celestia for hiding the specifics of the War, and decides to travel to Old Canterlot to see it for himself. She travels to Old Canterlot, explores the old castle, and finds that one of the vaults is still warded. Zemblani is a master of transdimensional magic and easily gets inside. There she finds the Elements of Harmony.
-Cetus reveals herself to Zemblani, and the two talk. Cetus twists the truth and plays off Zemblani's resentment of Celestia to gain her trust. She tells her that Celestia is a liar and a tyrant, and she turned the people against Luna and made them all fear and hate her in the hopes that they would demand she step down from the throne. She even went so far as to demand that Luna give her control over the Moon and stars. When Luna refused, Celestia attacked her and began the War of the Sun and Moon. As a last ditch effort, she placed her memories and personality inside the Elements as a hope that one day she might find someone who would believe her.
-Zemblani, who is already resentful and bitter, has no trouble being taken in by Cetus's lies. She wants to help, but doesn't know how. A deal is struck.
-First, Luna must be freed from the Moon, as she's the only one who can put up a real fight against Celestia. Luna's army in Tartarus must be freed. To do this, a ritual must be done that can only be found in the Millennial Archives. Cetus gives Zemblani a portion of her power in order to accomplish this, as well as a means to communicate with her.
-Zemblani snoops around in the Millennial Archives for information on how to free Nightmare Moon. She discovers that Tartarus is inside a pocket dimension that’s been created by the Princess, as well as the ritual to break the spell imprisoning Princess Luna. It's called the Zodiac Ritual, and she won't be able to perform it alone.
-Under false pretense, recruits a group of researchers to help perform the Zodiac Ritual. The researchers live out at Zemblani's mansion out in the countryside and take a year to learn how to perform the ritual. Meanwhile, Zemblani researches how to break open the Gate of Tartarus.
-Zemblani find a way to overload the gate. However, it requires a pure conductor of magic, and the purest conductor is innocence. Innocence is strongest in young children. One of the researchers Zemblani recruited had two sons that she brought with her to the mansion. The first was a four-year-old earth pony named Vigil, and the other was a two-year-old unicorn named Horizon.
The Fateful Night
-While it is true that the Zodiac Ritual is the key to releasing Nightmare Moon, it also is the key to releasing the Echoes of the Zodiac Knights from their stasis. Upon activation, the Echoes are released first, and are brought down into the array. After which, if the Ritual is continually fed power, it will release Nightmare Moon. However, if energy is not continually fed into it, the energy already provided will backlash into the Array and explode.
-The researchers provide enough power to release the Zodiac Knights, but can't continue on to release Nightmare Moon. Because of this, the Array explodes, instantly killing all of the researchers but Lucky Star, Horizon and Vigil's mother.
-The Echoes of the Zodiac Knights awake to find a scene of death. They hear the last words of Lucky Star warning them of Zemblani's treachery, and Celestia arrives seconds later.
-Meanwhile, Zemblani is at the Gate of Tartarus with Horizon and Vigil. Celestia arrives with the Zodiac Knights, causing Zemblani to hastily finish her spell and throw Horizon into the Gate.
-Celestia tries to pull Horizon out, but the barrier's interaction with the Gate and resulting infusion of energy causes it to become incredibly unstable. It's all she can do to contain it from exploding, and it takes all her concentration. This, however, causes Horizon to become further exposed to the immense flow of magical energy, which causes his body to be transmuted into magical energy. Meanwhile, Vigil is lanced by an errant bolt of magic, hitting him across the underside of his barrel and tying him into the spell as well.
-The Zodiac Knights face off against Zemblani, whose empowerment by Cetus causes her to be a formidable opponent. She almost wins, but Blair breaks his Lifesealing ritual and kills her.
-Celestia wants to save the Horizon, but can’t because of his delicate state. The only thing she can do is stabilize him. At the suggestion of Piro, she merges the Zodiac Knights and Horizon together, allowing the Echoes draw power and sustenance from the barrier THROUGH Horizon.
-This will allow the magic to circulate through his body and keep him alive and whole. It also drains out the overabundance of energy that the barrier has absorbed so that it won't explode and destroy the entire pocket dimension, which would also free Nightmare Moon's army.
-Horizon's link to the Echoes is unique. They inhabit his body, which is partially flesh and blood, but they draw energy from the barrier, which has been fully infused with an extremely large amount of energy. They are comprised of both equal parts flesh and magic because of this.
-Horizon is now in a comatose state, is unaware of his surroundings, and his mind is shattered. However, his subconscious survives and now struggles to come to term with its new existence.
-Celestia casts a powerful Illusion spell on the Knights and takes them back with her, enlisting them in the Royal Guard and keeping them around in case she needs them.
-Celestia puts Vigil in a foster home, but keeps an eye on him, suspecting that he will want to aid his brother when he comes of age. The wound on his barrel leaves a telltale scar.
-Cetus, who had witnessed events up to Zemblani's death, makes a note of the minions inside Tartarus and goes back into stasis to wait.
-Celestia discovers Zemblani had been snooping around in the Millennial Archives and hides away the information about the War of the Sun and Moon better than before. Suspects that the thing Zemblani was talking to was Cetus, but can't be sure and can't get at the Element of Magic, anyway.
-Celestia resumes her work on the Array, but not before appointing a new Guardian for the Gate of Tartarus: A three-headed dog named Cerberus.
The Twenty Years
-The Echoes of Zodiac Knights have become fully acclimated to the new era and serve in their own platoon in the Royal Guard.
-Celestia tells Vigil the fate of his parents and Horizon, Vigil resolves to save his brother. Celestia offers to let him join the military as soon as he's of age.
-Rarity begins suffering from insomnia.
-Sweetie Belle is born.
-Spike is born. His egg is given to Celestia so that he can be bonded to her magical font upon hatching. This is a very healthy thing for Amethyst dragons.
-Death of Pendragon, Cinnamon Swirl, and Jonamac Apple. Applebloom is born. Edith Smith assumes role as guardian of the children.
-Cadance encounters Shining Armor. They hang out and babysit Twilight. Cadance's identity is eventually discovered, but it leads to a good relationship between the three.
-Fluttershy moves to Cloudsdale, moves in with Rainbow's family.
-Shining Armor admitted into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorn, excels in forcefield spells.
-Applejack moves to Manehatten.
-Death of Rose Agate.
-Harmony activates the Mane Six's magical links to the Elements.
-Rainbow Dash performs the Sonic Rainboom.
-Twilight triggers a Flare during her CSGU Examination. Spike's egg is hatched.
-Fluttershy discovers she can speak Sylvan.
-Pinkie sees Rainboom, realizes her destiny is to help others.
-Rarity is led by Harmony to a cache of gems, giving her what she needs to help with her friend's costumes.
-Celestia takes Twilight as her personal student, teaches her a spell to restrict access to her magical font.
-Pinkie moves to Ponyville and becomes apprentice at local bakery.
-Applejack returns to Ponyville.
-Twilight receives personal lessons from Celestia on a myriad of topics, including advanced magical theory, how to control her immense magical power, forbidden magic, history, the nature of lifeforce, and magical links.
-Shining Armor graduates from CSGU at Valedictorian and joins military, hailed as a prodigy and renowned for his adaptability in combat situations.
-Twilight graduates from CSGU, also Valedictorian.
-Twilight attends Canterlot University for a Bachelor's in Arcana.
-Shining Armor is inducted into the Royal Guard, sent on diplomatic missions to the Crystal Empire due to his previous relationship with Cadance. Their relationship blossoms.
-Fluttershy races Rainbow to Seaddle, shows Rainbow she doesn't need to be looked after.
-Rainbow drops out of Flight School and moves to Ponyville.
-Rarity graduates from school moves out and opens Carousel Boutique, watches Sweetie Belle a few days a week and begins to neglect her medication.
-Fluttershy graduates from Flight School, tells Rainbow's family of her desire to live in Ponyville to be close to her animal friends and Rainbow, give her deed to cottage.
-Twilight attains Bachelor's in Arcana in 1 year, goes for Doctorate.
-Shining Armor is then promoted to Captain of the Royal Guard.
-Fluttershy travels to Dragon Turtle Lake and meets Atuin.
The Summer Sun Celebration
-Celestia stations the Zodiac Knights at Tartarus in case Nightmare Moon has set anything up to try and break it open to get to her army.
-Twilight researches Mare in the Moon prophecy, contacts Celestia, is sent to Ponyville.
-Nightmare Moon is freed. Celestia fights against her and loses due to Cetus' interference.
-This has always been the problem. Celestia can take on Nightmare Moon, but she can't take on Nightmare Moon and Cetus combined. Celestia knew she'd immediately go for her, and trying to stop her would be extremely difficult.
-Cetus reveals herself to Nightmare Moon, informs her of events.
-Nightmare Moon wants control over the Moon and the Elements of Harmony so she can bring about the Era of Eternal Night. However, she can't control the Elements anymore because there are new Bearers, and it's doubtful they have the power necessary to do it. Cetus realizes this as well, as has come up with a plan.
-As an Echo, Cetus can steal the power of the Elements of Harmony by possessing the Bearers one by one. The reason she can do this is because Echoes can either feed off of lifeforce OR magical energy: their choice. She will use the Element of Magic as a conduit to transfer herself between the other Bearers due to it's unique connection, bond with them, and then devour their magical power. She thinks she'll be able to do this because the Bearers are new, mortals, and weak.
-Cetus tells Nightmare Moon lure the new Bearers to the Elements, and then force the Bearer of Magic to activate them, as that's the Bearer that Cetus will possess. Once the Elements are fully activated, Nightmare Moon will smash the Elements, causing the power to be expelled outward and then transferred to the Bearers.
-Cetus, as she dwells in the Elements, will be slingshotted along into Twilight. She will then siphon away the power before the Elements can be used, and Nightmare Moon will then have the power of the Elements at her disposal. She can go retrieve her army from Tartarus, and with Cetus' help can bring about the Era of Eternal Night.
-Events of show pan out. Nightmare Moon gets bored and fucks with the Bearers a little bit to goad them along. This is a side effect of Discord's chaos magic manifesting a little inside her.
-The Bearers are brought before the Elements, Twilight gets separated. Nightmare Moon allows her to try and activate the Elements.
-Nightmare Moon doesn't realize that the new Bearers are paragons of their respective Elements and can draw out their true potential, which is far greater than she ever do. She underestimates their power and, thinking that they're fully activated, smashes the Elements early.
-Only half the power is transferred, but Cetus is transferred into Twilight. Nightmare Moon realizes her error and, realizing that their power of the Elements is still growing, is taken aback with fear because she's awed at such power.
-Cetus is overwhelmed by the sheer amount of power Twilight wields, and realizes the plan has failed. Thinking quickly, she uses the connection the Element of Magic has with the other Elements to go into the Element of Generosity.
-The Elements are used on Nightmare Moon, and she's disjoined from Luna. Their power/link to the moon is divided equally between them, as is their mind. As Luna is the rightful recipient of the link, the power is slowly returned to her.
-Nightmare Moon is completely and totally repressed and is in a comatose state. She has no access to any of Luna's faculties, but is still alive and has her own lifeforce, separate from Luna's.
-Celestia is freed from the Sun. Is at a loss for what has just happened, sees the necklaces, sees Luna. Has no idea where Cetus is, but doesn't fully care at the moment because she's got Luna back. Luna remembers everything that Nightmare Moon did, as they were once the same entity, albeit no longer. She reconciles with Celestia and, after celebration, returns to Canterlot.
-The Bearers return to Ponyville with Twilight in tow. Celestia takes the necklaces, thinking that Cetus is still inside them, but isn't sure.
-Cetus managed to devours a great deal of energy from the Elements. She hides inside Rarity undetected. She discovers that Rarity has a sleeping disorder, and is used to fatigue and skirts a dangerous line with her condition. Comes up with a plan.
The Two Months
-Celestia inspects Luna and discovers Nightmare Moon is still there, just suppressed. She recalls the Zodiac Knights from Tartarus.
-Celestia also inspects the necklaces and finds no trace of Cetus. She realizes that only half their power is in the necklaces and, after hearing the account of what happened from Twilight and Luna, realizes that half the power is inside the Bearers. Cetus is most likely hiding inside the Bearers, but she has no idea which one.
-Celestia increases the guard around Luna to protect her from Cetus. More accurately, to deter Cetus from trying to get to Luna in the thought she might be able to do something with Nightmare Moon.
-Celestia needs the Elements of Harmony so that she can use them on Horizon, but is hesitant to use them because of Cetus. She's unsure of what to do.
-Celestia knows that due to being inside Twiligh, she could've jumped to any one of the Bearers. She decides to keep the Bearers away from Luna as long as she can, and to finish any last touches she has on her Array.
-Celestia wants to keep the Bearers away, but also wants to monitor them. Putting the Bearers under any kind of supervision is going to alert Cetus, but will also deter her from making a move. She doesn't want to alert the Bearers of anything going on, as it'll force Cetus's hoof and she may do something drastic like harm the Bearers. So she decides to send some guards under a false pretense. The guards she decides to send are the Zodiac Knights.
-Celestia doesn't want to cause a panic amongst the Bearers, nor does she want to uproot their lives. She feels like this situation has to be handled carefully, and above all else, the Bearers need to be kept away from the necklaces and Luna. So she (regretfully) decides that she needs to issue a set of confusing/vague orders that will cause confusion and hesitance.
-Celestia lets Shining Armor of the situation due to his relationship to Twilight and notifies him of the possible danger in Cetus. Also lets him know about the Echoes, Horizon, and Tartarus.
-Shining Armor researches all the information Celestia has about the Elements of Harmony, including their origins. Prepares for a fight against Cetus, and helps enlist guards into Luna's new contingent.
-Pinkie meets Zecora and askes to become her herbalist apprentice. Zecora realizes that Pinkie is a Mina, or “Bringer of Joy”. In zebra culture, these people are blessed ones that bring good fortune and happiness wherever they go. Zecora happily accepts Pinkie as her apprentice and gives her the name, Maalufunzi.
The Actual Story, Act One
-Horizon's barrier begins to fall apart, and due to Nightmare Moon's continued existence, the minions of Tartarus are still there. This is noticed by Blair, Libra's echo, and so he rushes to meet with Celestia.
-Luna sees Blair and demands explanation. Celestia tells Luna everything--the safeguard she set in place on Nightmare Moon's prison with the Zodiac Knights, what Cetus and Zemblani did to Horizon, Tartarus, Harmony's plan, her Array, and the now the need to expedite things quickly.
-Celestia anticipates that Cetus will try to get at Luna, but has no idea which Bearer she's inside. Echoes that reside in living beings can only be detected by the person inside them, and if the Echo is lying low, there's no way to tell them which Bearer she's in. And if she tries to get close enough to them to tell them, Cetus will act and may try to harm the Bearers.
-Celestia contacts Vigil to let him know about Horizon. Doesn't tell him about Cetus or the Bearer's condition. Vigil requests that he be allowed to go with to guard the Bearers. Due to his
involvement with Horizon, she agrees.
-The Zodiac Knights are assigned to the Bearers and relocate to Ponyville.
Blair = Libra
Piro = Scorpio
Esra = Aries
Tastar = Sagittarius
Megnii = Gemini
Spesci = Pisces
Ras = Aquarius
Ace = Cancer
Strauss = Taurus
Norric = Capricorn
Elo = Leo
Grovi = Virgo
-Elo and Grovi are assigned to Rarity. Tastar and Ersa to Rainbow Dash. Megnii and Specsi are with Fluttershy. Vigil and Ras are assigned to Pinkie Pie. Norric and Strauss are with Applejack. Ace, Piro, and Blair are assigned to Twilight.
-Twilight at this time is working on her Magus spell in Abjuration. She is planning a spell based on the Elements, which is supposed to create a Disjunction spell, aka a spell that can break down any and all forms of magic.
-Twilight is seeking the Symbols of each Elements as part of her research. She is finding little available information on the Symbols as the only known source is the inaccessible Millennium Archives.
-Pinkie is one of the first to show signs of her emerging powers. Her Luck shows the safest way for her, Vigil, and Ras to travel through the Everfree Forest to where Zecora lives.
-Rarity also begins showing some of her emerging powers as her Foresight powers manifest in her dreams. One such image she sees is the Symbol of the Element of Generosity, which she makes into a necklace, although she sees it as nothing more than unusual shape. Sleep comes rarely for Rarity, and she struggles with insomnia which has no discernible cause along with being the source of a growing rift between her and her mother, Garden Wishes.
-Rainbow Dash begins displaying her Inspiration and Courage powers, as demonstrated as she leads the weather ponies in their efforts to shift the weather. Later on as she explains to her guards her reasoning for holding herself back.
-Twilight has been also manifesting her growing power and font, although she is still largely unaware of its cause. Piro, who has examined her about this is aware, but has temporarily allayed her fears by directing the reason to something else.
-Applejack has begun to also display her powers although more subtly than the other Bearers. Fluttershy's powers are also subtle, but her Aura of Kindness is also gradually manifesting itself.
-While Twilight is researching for her spell, Fluttershy and her guards take a trip to Dragon Turtle Lake and meet the Master (Atuin), a large Dragon Turtle who Celestia sees as her son. It is here that Fluttershy begins to show signs of her Telepathy ability as she unintentionally reads the minds of her guards. The Master agrees to help Celestia along with her plan once he discovers the two guards are Echoes.
-Rarity also receives her necklace of the Symbol back ,which she earlier had broke. Now it had been enchanted by Grovi to serve as additional protection along with the addition of two Font Gems.
-Twilight discovers two of the Symbols. The one for Magic after casting an Identification Spell, and the one for Loyalty, which was held by the descendents of Aries' clan.
-Later, Pinkie and her guards follow Zecora to the ruins of Old Canterlot deep in the Everfree Forest in search of the rare Dalaci Vine. Along the way, Vigil and Ras argue about the true scope of the War of the Sun and Moon, showing how far reaching Celestia's censorship of that time was.
-Vigil believes the army was not as bloody or terrible as Ras claims it, showing not only the loss of history, but how much of history has been wiped clean of the taint caused by Nightmare Moon.
-After some perils in the old ruins and becoming separated from Vigil and Zecora, Pinkie discovers part of the truth and learns about Ras' true mission. She also learns a little of the true cost of the War of the Sun and Moon, and of the Element's power residing within her and the other Bearers. She is now able to manifest her power in a more controlled way, and her Luck power leads them safely to the old catacombs. There, they find the tombs of the original Zodiac Knights.
-That night, Blair is confronted by Horizon's subconscious, who Blair dubs Ophiuchus. Ophiuchus subjects Blair to relive some of the more horrific parts of the War of the Sun and the Moon before forcing him to listen to the screams of the damned inside Tartarus. Tartarus is the prison of the Army of Darkness and corrupted Astral Guard. It is teeming with their cries, as they slaughter each other to death and are reborn by the power of Undying Loyalty.
-Ophiuchus wants the Bearers to recover so he'll be free of his position in holding Gate closed. He demonstrates his power over the Echoes, and then threatens Blair to comply or he'll send them all to oblivion. Blair is afraid of Twilight's potential, hence his reluctance, but he eventually agrees.
-However, upon waking up, Blair discovers that Ophiuchus' meddling has desetroyed the seal on his Lifestealing magic. He goes to Piro, who partially reseals it. This causes those near Blair to feel a slight chill.
-Shortly afterwards, Edith's birthday is held and Pinkie uses it as a chance to use her medical knowledge to give Granny pain relief for the event. Later she uses her Healing powers to cure her completely and tells her what's going on.
-Blair meets with the other Zodiac Knights and tell them the change of plans. Some of them are reluctant to reveal the truth, but they all eventually agree.
-Twilight declares her intent to leave Ponyville to find the other four Symbols. Meanwhile Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy make plans to head to Canterlot in the near future.
-After the party, Applejack talks with Edith who now knows about what is to come in regards to the Bearer's powers. Edith tries to test the extent of Applejack's Truthsense, which ends up activating her sight allowing her to see Norric and Strauss as they truly are. They are now forced to explain themselves.
The Actual Story, Act Two
-Twilight leaves Ponyville with her three guards. Along the way Blair reveals the truth of who they are. They present the opportunity to see their memories of a few key aspects of the War of the Sun and Moon.
-These memories show their fights against the Astral Guard, their corruption by the Undying Loyalty power, as well as the devastation Libra wrought by casting the Lifestealing spell. They also show their fight with Zemblani, the two rituals, and the position they now find themselves in.
-Meanwhile in Ponyville the other five Bearers have learned of the Elements within them, along with the truth about their guards. They also begin practicing consciously controlling their powers in the Apple's Sunken Grove.
-Later that day, Rarity is confronted by her mother over her lack of sleep and her refusal to take the necessary pills. Upon testing Rarity's Font she notices something wrong. She does a few tests, becomes frantically upset from what she finds, and declares that Rarity is a danger to herself. She subdues her and then makes to call for an ambulance, where she'll be taken to a mental hospital.
-As Rarity's mother is leaving, Rarity hears a whisper in her ear telling her to surrender and remove the protective jewelry she is wearing. She complies. Cetus then springs her trap. She lets Rarity slip into a coma, then takes over her body and casts a forgetting spell on Garden Wishes.
-Twilight and her guards are now in Neighagra Falls. She is considerably distracted by her growing powers, which she now knows the cause of. Blair knows of her hesitance and struggles to force her to start using them, but to no avail. Finally, he is forced by Horizon to take drastic measures.
-Blair attacks Twilight and tosses her over the Falls. This forces the Element of Magic to activate, as the user is under emotional duress. This completes her recovery, and her Earth Pony bloodline awakens.
-Twilight is able to save herself, but Blair follows her and confronts her over her impending powers. Twilight eventually acknowledges the need to help Horizon, but she no longer trusts Blair. She makes a deal with Blair, and he shows her the remaining Symbols as an apology.
-Back in Canterlot, "Rarity" has awoken from a week long slumber, and along with Spike, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, travels to Canterlot to talk to Celestia about what the heck is going on.They travel to the Castle and are granted an audience with Celestia herself.
-Upon entering the throne room,Celestia immediately puts Rainbow, Spike, and Fluttershy to sleep so that she may confront Cetus. A short fight ensues. Cetus emerges victorious, as Celestia is unwilling to kill Rarity to get to Cetus. Cetus then fully activates the Element of Generosity and uses the Soul Tether to remove Celestia's Lifeforce from her body and imprison it in the Sun. This event also awakens Rarity's powers fully and begins the ascension procession as her Earth Pony bloodline is awakened.
-Rainbow and Fluttershy awaken to see Cetus, who is still carrying signs of her fight with Celestia. She leaves them to find Grovi who she asserts power over before she absorbs him. She then begins to make her way to Luna's tower.
-Meanwhile, the Bearers and Guards are being questioned over what has happened to Celestia. The Echo Guards learn that Grovi is gone as his connection to Horizon is also gone. They decide to go look for Rarity, as they don't know what has happened to her.
-Cetus, still in Rarity's body, now confronts Shining Armor and Princess Luna. This confrontation is to enact the next step of her plan, as she needs the Bearers alive for now. After the struggle, she emerges victorious and reaches within Luna to find Nightmare Moon. She places her in Rarity's body, and takes Celestia's body for her own. Cetus asserts her dominance over Nightmare Moon, and then renames her Eclipse.
-The next step of Cetus takes them back to Ponyville. Eclipse goes on ahead and confronts Strauss, whose use of explosives is able to do some damage to Eclipse. Granny Smith sees the fight and retrieves Aconitum, her hoofaxe.
-Strauss is poisoned by Eclipse and is going to die. He asks Granny to give him a swift death, which she does. She then continues the fight with Eclipse, quickly realizing that she is more than she seems.
-Applejack arrives, but is unable to save Granny from being killed. Granny's death activates the Element of Honesty, and using her Rejection of Fate power, she revives Granny and gains a pair of wings from activating her Pegasus bloodline.
-The ongoing fight draws the attention of Rainbow, Pinkie, Ras, Zecora, and Vigil. The loss of Strauss has caused the other Echoes to have their physical form waver, and Zecora has now learned the truth of the Guards. They all race over to Sweet Apple Acres.
-It is here that they all confront Eclipse. Cetus ambushes all of them, and she lets slip that she has stolen Celestia's body. Elo, having learned that Cetus killed Grovi, becomes enraged and challenges Cetus. He loses and is absorbed.
-Meanwhile in Canterlot, Luna takes the Element Necklaces and goes to the top of Mount Avalon. She has a conversation with Harmony, then she prepares two spells. She uses moonlances to strike Cetus and Eclipse, then scatters the Bearers and the remaining Zodiac Knights to the winds. She gives them the Element Necklaces, as well. Luna instructs them to head to Dragon Turtle Lake. However, Luna accidentally sends them off with the wrong Elements, except Shining Armour who has the Element of Magic and is sent to his sister.
-Applejack, Granny, and Norric end up in Glidesdale near the Changeling Wastes with the Element of Laughter. Fluttershy, Megnii, and Spike are near the former town of White Wing in the Yakkhari Mountains with the Element of Honesty. Pinkie, Zecora, Ras, and Vigil are in Zhevra Flatlands with e Element of Kindness, while Ersa, Tastar, and Rainbow are at Drakkenridge with the Element of Generosity. Shining lands near Hollow Shades and sees Twilight, who is confronting Trixie.
-Rainbow and her guards land in Chromatic territory east of Shearwind. They try to leave, but they are attacked by a Ruby dragon. Rainbow is able to flee, but instead she turns and begins to fight. She is unprepared for his magic, and it catches her off guard. Her guards get caught in the crossfire, and Esra is fatally wounded. He falls into the clouds. Rainbow goes after him while Tastar fights the Ruby dragon.
-Rainbow simultaneously does a Sonic Rainboom and fully activates the Elements of Loyalty, which she uses to save Esra's life. This also awakens her unicorn bloodline. Now furious after Esra's brush with death, Rainbow flies back up to the Ruby dragon and slays it in one hit. After this, a dragon named Aasterinian appears and asks Rainbow about her taking a life. After she answers, Tastar appears and recognizes the newcomer as a servant of Bahamut. Aasterinian recognizes Tastar as well, but she mistakes Rainbow as Celestia's daughter. The three of them then teleport away to parts unknown.
-Meanwhile, in the Hollow Shades, a powerful barrier has been raised in which Trixie is likely a factor in. The barrier was part of the research conducted by Nightmare Moon, and its source is an artifact somewhere within the valley. Trixie, daughter of Zemblani and possessed by the Alicorn Amulet challenges Twilight to a duel. This wouldn't be much of a contest, but due to her new heightened sensitivity to magic, Twilight has felt ill in the presence of the foul barrier.
-Shining arrives and enters the barrier by accident. After getting caught up on events and witnessing a magical duel, Trixie falls unconscious from the strain of wielding the Alicorn Amulet. Shining is asked to cast a barrier due to the approaching Star Beasts, and all of them head into town.
-In the Zhevra Flatlands, Pinkie awakens in a hospital alongside Zecora. During their stay, they learn that Vigil is the elder brother of Horizon and he has link to the barrier, just like the Echoes.
To cross the Zhevra Flatlands, the group is planning to follow the central roads east across the Flatlands and then later head north to Dragon Turtle Lake as Luna had instructed. Pinkie, Zecora, Ras, and Vigil are joined by three zebras returning the same way back home to their village in the east.
In Whinnyapolis, Eclipse and Rarity are beginning their search for Twilight. It is here revealed that Rarity's lifelong insomnia has given her the strength to visit Limbo, and not be lost. Rarity has also spoken with Harmony and understands more of her plan, and has agreed to help with the next steps which includes stopping Cetus and freeing Celestia from the Sun. She is faking an alliance with Eclipse so that she won't be subjected to torture.
-In Glidesdale, Applejack, Granny, and Norric head for Gallopfrey, a small fishing town. Here they are looking for passage to Dragon Turtle Lake. As weapons are not permitted within city walls, Granny decides to wait outside while Applejack and Norric head to Pilgrim's Pairings. They split off as Applejack visits the market while Norric heads into the Southern Comforts Inn. There he notices that something is out of place, and discovers that the town has been infiltrated by changelings. He reveals one of them, and a fight breaks out in the Inn.
-Applejack arrives at Pilgrim's Pairings and meets Pilgrim, a well-traveled pegasus. Applejack asks about groups heading through the rainforest, and she learns that there are only two groups heading out, and they're both for hunting. Not deterred, Applejacks asks for some maps to look and notices one for the Changeling Wastes, which Pilgrim tries to hide. However, Applejack tells her about her curiosity of the Wastes, and Pilgrim allows her to look. They are suddenly interrupted by a commotion outside.
Applejack joins in the fight against the changelings using her powers. She runs into Norric, and together they fend them off. Meanwhile, Granny Smith is at the docks meeting with a ship captain to try and obtain passage back to Equestria. Their conversation is interrupted by the changelings, and Granny heads into the fray herself. The captain decides to head to Equestria to inform Celestia of the broken Peccatum Pactum.
Applejack and Norric are handling the Changelings when a large Changeling named Veraxi appears. He is temporarily stopped by Pilgrim, who is revealed to be a changeling herself, but she also has a cutie mark. She asks Veraxi why the Peccatum Pactum has been broken, but Veraxi does not provide an answer and knocks her aside. Applejack and the others fight him, and they succeed in defeating him.
The three decide that Pilgrim is who they need to find to get some answers. Pilgrim wakes up to find herself bound, and she explains herself to the three and that is not with the changelings who attacked. She explains her past and how she was once the changeling Pupa and the pegasus adventurer Pilgrim, but then merged together into one entity.
Pilgrim proposes an alliance between changelings and ponies, which Norric accepts. She also agrees to guide them across Eternity's Crossing and into the Wastes to Pandemonium, where the current leader of the changelings resides.
-Up in Tarandus, Fluttershy and her guards have left the Yakkhari Mountains and have flown towards the Crystal Empire. Upon arriving, they are stopped by guards as the city is under martial law. They are brought before Princess Cadenza, who is cold and dismissive of them. They tell her of all that has happened, and once they finish, she calls for her Grand Vizier Sombra for his input on the matter. Sombra attempts to force his power over them, but fails, and Cadenza comments on the constant failure of his attempts to subject others to his will via brute force.
Spesci's fires an arrow at Cadenza and reveals that she is a changeling, Queen Chrysalis of the changelings, in fact. Chrysalis gloats over the valuable information they've given her, until Fluttershy's feelings of helplessness cause the Element of Kindness to fully awaken. Her unicorn bloodline activates, and she uses her Fearsense ability paralyze Chrysalis. This works until Sombra grabs Spike and takes him hostage. The group surrenders, and they're taken down to the dungeons, where they meet the real Cadance. Megnii speaks a rodent to send for help, and Spesci and Spike speak with Cadance.
-Upstairs, Sombra and Chrysalis talk about the sudden change of plans. They had originally wanted to infiltrate Equestria and take it over, but that seems like it's not going to work now. Chrysalis leaves Sombra in charge and flies back to Pandemonium. Sombra then begins plotting a new scheme to meet his own diabolical ends.
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Holy shit, I forgot how much depth and complexity this story has. Makes me remember why I love it so much.
I'm currently about a fifth of the way through reading it again from the start, but this is a great recap!
My body is ready.
I do question if you ended up revealing information that wasn't meant to be revealed yet, but this recap certainly helps readers in catching up with what has happened in the story up until this point for those who haven't read the story in years.
On the positive side I still remember, on the negative side I still remember. No repeat of the first read experience.
Damn, and this was just the Cliff's Notes version!
Still, it should be enough to help me be prepared for when the ball starts rolling again.
Holy shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitake mushrooms. That was long
But everything seems about right. Excellent recap
Though, I really don't recall the part where Capricorn was disowned
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Nor do I in regards to a direct mention about disowning Capricorn, but there is mention from Norric about his friction with his family when he talks to Applejack about about the idea of alternative solutions to problems in Chapter 10 when he also talks about Seeker. So I don't recall it ever out and out stated, but there is implication about it.
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang.
Well, on the plus side, I don't have to reread everything to remember where we left off. On the down side, Imma have to pull specifics out of my ass to remember this shit. Thankfully, this reminder should go a long way to that effect.
HYPE HYPE HYPE HYPE HYPE
I've re-read the whole story over the past few days and I still needed to read this all the way through.
Thank you.
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Fair enough.
Also, looking at it again, I think you guys missed why Rarity had insomnia. An abnormal growth on her brain that was causing the sleep disorder, but that after she slipped into the comma, that "tumor" was killed, effectively curing her insomnia.
I think there was a bit of new information in the backstory (did we know before that it was Harmony's plan to have Zemblani speed things up?) but this was really helpful otherwise!
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Considering that Zemblani was manipulated by Cetus, Cetus was a creation of Nightmare Moon, Nightmare Moon was born because of Luna's tampering with her link to the moon, and that link being created by Discord...? not very likely.
And I thought Pony POV was long.
I still do not remember any of this. I just read it all, but I do not remember reading it one bit. Wow, all the other stories I read must have completely erased this from my memory.
Wow. I remember nothing, I am half considering rereading this from scratch, but I probably won't. Way too lazy to do that.
Oh hey, something to remind myself of what was there before I read the new chapter, even though I know what happened before!
*starts reading*
Uh...I don't remember half this stuff...
Guess I'll have to reread the story!
Just halfway through the summary I realized I'm probably going to need to read this again. This still helps though, and I'm glad that I've finally seen someone post a summary after an extended break.
I thought I could go back into the story, because I remember loving it and recalled a bunch of stuff.
I went into the first paragraph, forgot who Eclipse was and came here. No regrets though, even the recap was awesome.