Among Monsters (3)
"Now remember," Bon Bon says, "the area's swarming with rebels, but they're desperate and demoralized, looking for heroes like us. Act confident and friendly. When we get close to the castle, Underqueen Longscratch will lead an attack on us to sell our cover. Fight back, and fight … huh?" She looks down at the baseball that just rolled into her hoof. "Noy jitat, Wing Wing! Stop fooling around!"
The cross-eyed mailmare shrinks back. "It wasn't me!"
"Whose is this?" Bon Bon demands. She's met with silence.
"Um, there's writing on the back," Fluttershy says, pointing.
Bon Bon rolls it over. "'Property of … Snugglepuss'?"
The things-that-are-not-my-friends start glancing nervously around the forest. All is silent.
"Group into squadrons," Bon Bon orders. "Search the area. Stay with your teammates at all times, and within sight of the next nearest squad." She leans down to sniff the baseball suspiciously. "Is it just me, or does this smell … tasty?"
I drop my sound-dampening charm, gaining back enough focus for a spell to snap Snugglepuss out of his dart-induced sedation. He wakes up with a snort. His nostrils flare. His pupils immediately turn into little hearts. His head swivels, fixating on the baseball.
Moments later, amid screams and scrambling and flailing, a six-cubit-long shadowcat bursts into the clearing. The changelings scatter. Somepony kicks the baseball as they're stampeding away. Snugglepuss skids, corners, and pounces. Applejack shrieks and bucks him in the head, and gets grabbed by the leg and flung across the clearing for her trouble. I grab the ball in horn and shoot it back toward Bon Bon's hooves, and Snugglepuss is off again, bowling over Dash and Pinkie and leaping for their leader.
Amid the chaos, Rarity scrambles behind the tree I'm using for cover. Really, how much easier can it get? I poke her in the neck with one of the unused darts, and her eyes roll up as she drops to the ground. I hoist her over my back, throw the second invisibility cloak atop her, and walk off, terminating the Want-It-Need-It enchantment as I go. The last I hear of Snugglepuss is a long receding yowl as he exits stage left, pursued by half a dozen changelings.
I rejoin Spike in an isolated glade a 20-minute walk away. "Welcome back, Twilight," he says. "I cross-referenced the berries I picked against the pocket botany guide."
"Excellent! I pulled off a clean snatch-and-dash. No killing."
He nods in approval, but his eyes widen for a moment as I pull the cloak off Rarity and lower her to the ground. "That's … the changeling you told me about, right?"
"Yeah. Please let me do the talking for a while. I need to convince her to cooperate with us again."
Spike acquiesces, so I cast an awakening charm and lean back against an oak tree by her side. "Wakey, wakey."
She stirs, rolling upright. Her wandering eyes finally lock on mine. She freezes.
"Relax," I say. "I'm here to help."
The changeling leans over and discreetly sniffs at me. For a moment, she looks confused, then covers it up by lunging further in for an embrace. "Twilight!" she coos in Rarity's melodic soprano, though she can't quite keep an edge of panic out of her voice. "It truly IS you! I was so worried, darling —"
I put a hoof to her chest and push her away. "You can drop the act. We've met, but you don't remember it. I'm time looping — the same way that Chrysalis is."
She hesitates at that, and I do a little fishing. "You told me about her putting down your hive's rebellion, and about what happened to your friend … what was her name? Bright Wing?"
"… I told you about Brightest Eyes?"
I nod. Good. Redundant verification never hurts.
"Then you already know why it would be insane of me to trust you," she says, backing away.
Less good. "Hey. Whatever happened to 'you're my only chance to save the hive'?"
"Look, I don't know whether you're crazy, lying, or just stupid, but you clearly don't understand. She's unstoppable, and I'm not going to betray her for some pony who she's going to fry with a thought before tearing me limb from limb."
I sigh behind a smile. Why isn't she cooperating? I wonder for a moment if she sold me a fake sob story as she died, but it defies logic that the changeling who begged for her life back at the train would be brave enough to sacrifice herself for a lie. No, she must have been telling the truth, which mean's there's something else going on here.
… Another complication. A small voice in the back of my head starts screaming bloody murder, but I ignore it. This loop matters. The changeling matters. If I'm going to set things right, I'm going to fix her problem too, and we're going to tackle it together. New, non-monstrous me will figure out what's going on, and I'm going to prove once again that the power of friendship will always prevail.
I lean forward. "Okay. Forget for a moment about Chrysalis, and trust, and saving the hive. Let's just talk."
* * *
∆-2 T-15 C-3:
"Wakey, wakey."
She stirs, rolling upright. Her wandering eyes finally lock on mine. She freezes.
"Relax, Crooked Fang," I say, putting a hoof on her withers and smiling. "I'm a friendly time looper — Equestria's answer to Chrysalis. We've already cooperated in previous loops; I'm just getting a new start on our joint mission to save your hive."
"What —"
"You were sixth egg to hatch from your clutch. Your favorite food is unrequited. Before your promotion last week, you were infiltrating Ponyville as a flower seller named Azalea. You vomited when you burned the train. You're trying to keep an eye on Wing Wing, because you think her enthusiasm will get her into trouble. You have misgivings about your current mission, because the hive has more than enough food now and the rebels don't have the numbers to pose any problems."
Crooked Fang's eyes widen a little further at each revelation. She backs away, shrugging off my hoof. "No. No … I'm loyal. I wouldn't cross her. Where's the Underqueen? Let me go."
I sigh. "Come on. How would I know all those things if I wasn't telling the truth?"
She looks around nervously. "How else? She's behind this somehow."
* * *
∆-2 T-21 C-4:
I'm silent as she stirs, rolling upright. Her wandering eyes finally lock on mine. She blinks, disoriented.
"You're not giving me much to work with yet," I say.
"Huh?"
"Nothing. Do I look like a foalnapper?"
Crooked Fang freezes. "What are you going to do with me?" she squeaks.
"Oh, I am," I say. "You just don't realize it yet."
There's a few moments of silence at that. "You're not making any sense."
"No, you're not."
She backs away slowly. "I … uh, I'm going to leave now."
"Because you just realized I've been responding to your statements before you made them."
Crooked Fang opens her mouth, then closes it again. She blinks several times. Then her jaw falls open. "Noy jitat."
Now that I have her full attention, I run back through my summary and personal information. "Finally, think about that demonstration for a bit," I conclude. "Facts about you are one thing, but predicting your words in real time should be sufficient evidence that I've got the same powers Chrysalis does. Also, you're disguised as Rarity, so you know who I am — and it should be obvious Chrysalis is the last being in the universe I'd ever work for. This is on the level, Crooked Fang."
I'm quiet for a while to let her digest that. She finally nods. "I believe you."
I give her a weary but genuine smile. "Great. Then let's get going. C'mon, Spike." I levitate my saddlebags onto my back and start walking. She doesn't move.
I look back at her. "What's the hold-up?"
"I … I believe that you're time-looping. But I can't help you."
I facehoof. "Stars and fishes. Why?"
"It doesn't matter how sneaky you are or how much help you have. She's unstoppable. Conquering Canterlot —"
"— is like climbing a mountain with your fangs, yes, yes. The thing is, we've got the power to undo everything she's done, as if it never was. I'm just trying to help you out, too, along the way."
"No, you don't," Crooked Fang says.
"I don't what?"
"You don't have the power to fight her. If you did, Canterlot wouldn't have fallen."
"I know that's how it looks, but Celestia and I are simply letting a bad future play out in order to run a special mission before resetting and fixing things."
"I can't take your word for that."
I stare at Crooked Fang in disbelief. "What is with you? You were begging for my help half a dozen loops ago."
She looks at me dubiously. "That makes no sense."
"Tell me about it," I mutter.
"Hmm. What did you say to convince me, half a dozen loops ago?"
I think for a moment. My face goes pale.
* * *
"Well, that sure didn't work."
I sit up. "Delta-2, T-22, C-4."
Celestia takes a deep breath before answering. "Delta-2, T-22, C-5. You asked a difficult question. My answer led to … more awkwardness than there needed to be. I'm deeply sorry, Twilight, but I had to reset. Please, let's try that again."
"Awkward how?" I ask, but the pained look on her muzzle is enough to dampen my curiosity. "Um. Never mind."
She nods. Silence falls. Luna and Spike glance between us.
"You had a question," Celestia prompts.
"You already know it. I thought you were going to answer."
"I'm not the only one here with relevant experience."
"Fair enough." I clear my throat. "Princess … er, princesses. I need some advice from one time looper to another. Are there some good outcomes which are only achievable through evil acts?"
Celestia inclines her muzzle to me, but she's looking over at Luna while she speaks. "I have three answers to that question, and it's extremely important that you consider them as a group rather than passing judgment on them one by one."
"Alright," I say.
"The first is the truth: Yes."
"Celestia!" Luna's voice is sharp. "How dare —"
"Please let me finish. The second answer is that this is a truth to whisper only in private, a truth we dare not allow the world to learn — for the light of harmony would be snuffed out if every pony committed evil acts, no matter how selfless the ultimate ends."
"Sister. Stop. I will not allow —"
"The third," Celestia says, bodily turning and staring straight into Luna's eyes, "and the most painful, is that this is a truth you must never allow yourself to believe. Even at the best of times, the line between a necessary evil and an unnecessary one is deceptive. Once upon a time, I convinced myself that something very, very wrong was necessary." Her voice softens. "I was mistaken, and it remains the greatest regret of my life."
Luna is silent at that. Her lower lip trembles.
"You should reset," Celestia says, still holding Luna's gaze.
"You must listen to me first, Twilight. She is wrong," Luna says quietly. "Lost in her time loop, or driven mad by this invasion. I assure you I know more of regrets than she ever will, and I promise you that evil acts will always extract their price from you. They are never justified."
"That's not what she asked," Celestia says. "She asked if there were good ends only achievable that way. Twilight, without Luna's banishment and my subsequent looping, today's Equestria would have been impossible. It wasn't worth it, but it's here, and millions of ponies over hundreds of years lived … live … in an unprecedented utopia. That's no small thing."
I open my mouth to mention that Equestria also prospered before I changed history to make her loop — then I remember someone was looping the whole time, and start to wonder whether she's got a point despite being technically wrong.
Luna's voice interrupts that thought before it can go anywhere. "Twilight Sparkle, know this," she says. "Once upon a time, I convinced myself that something very, very wrong was necessary. I was correct … and it remains the greatest regret of my life. If I find you also travelling down that path, I promise you, I will end you."
"Luna," Celestia says quietly, "you will not threaten my student."
"That was a boon, not a threat. What I offer would be the greatest mercy." Luna stares at me, and her eyes are the implacable chill of the endless void.
I shiver. I'm glad I'm not getting the "awkward" version of this.
* * *
∆-2 T-23 C-6:
"Hmm. What did you say to convince me, half a dozen loops ago?"
I take a deep breath. "Truthfully? I killed all your friends and threatened your life. You helped me because I made you think I was scarier than Chrysalis."
Crooked Fang looks at me wide-eyed. "I. Uh."
"That was wrong of me. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
"… Okay, wait. Are you serious?"
"As a burning train."
She winces. I remain silent while she paces around the clearing. "I guess I deserved that," she finally says. "Look … I want to give you a chance. After what I did, I owe you that much. And I do appreciate you being, well, kinder than I deserve. I just … I can't, not without some reason to believe this is any more than an elaborate suicide plan."
"Fair enough. Is there anything I can do to convince you that doesn't involve me acting like a monster?"
She thinks. "Actually … yes. Save the pony resistance. There's eight wings of changelings here, so they're outnumbered about four to one. Between that and our elite infiltrators within their ranks, they're doomed. Saving them is nothing compared to going up against Chrysalis, but it'll at least prove you've got some slim, crazy hope."
"Alright. In that case …"
* * *
∆-2 T-24 C-8:
The stars are beautiful tonight. There are an awful lot of them, too, from our vantage point at the top of the Rambling Rock ridgeline. I can feel Spike clinging to my back, but with our invisibility cloaks on, we're merely ghosts flitting under the unbroken bowl of the sky. Aside from the thin crunch of my hooves on gravel — which is quickly lost in the stiff night breeze — the two of us might as well not even exist.
I spare one last glance back across the sprawl of the Everfree — the dots of campfires flaring out in the augmented light of my night-vision charm, and the distant silhouette of the castle where the resistance is about to be wiped out — before turning my back and walking south.
You have to know when to cut your losses.
I'm in a timeline that shouldn't be, in a future that really shouldn't be. As much as each individual loop matters, the good future matters, too — the future where Crooked Fang never killed anypony, and the resistance she wants me to save doesn't exist. I'm only here to put Chrysalis on the defensive; I can't afford to get dragged into another fight where she can pick and choose how to sabotage what I'm protecting.
I'll redeem Crooked Fang and save her hive. For what she taught me, I can't do any less.
I'll just have to do it without her help.
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Two things:
1)
Apologies in advance, everyone. I need to take a week off from HR2. In between some dramatic personal life changes I'm handling in the background, and some frantic scrambling to finish an entry for AugieDog's Lunafic contest, I'm going to feel a lot better about the next arc if I kick my pre-publication editing down the road a bit, and give myself some time to breathe before I dive in.
I have NOT reached the end of my buffer (there's still over a month's worth that's basically ready to go). For the sake of my sanity, I'm just giving myself permission to briefly refocus. (And no, the stress isn't pony-related, so I promise I'm not going anywhere.)
2)
3931630, 3931856, 3931904, etc. etc.
You magnficent bastards, I just can't hide anything from you, can I? Those of you who called Azalea's identity may now commence gloating.
(Or kidnapping my dog until I agree to bring her back. Or, y'know, whatever.)
changeling!Rarity being Azalea is something I figured on also, but them using swear words out of Pirates of Dark Water, now that was unexpected.
So, changelings learn their stealth skills from watching cancelled shows, huh?
No! No breaks! Just bribe the judge to accept this fic instead, it has Luna in it so it'll be fine!
How I imagine the awkward version went:
4001891
I wasn't expecting that either, but it gives me a chuckle every time I see it.
I CALLED IT! ...and also I may have suggested moving the revelation up to this chapter while pre-reading. Ah... feels good to be able to comment again on the Az/CF stuff without worry of spoilers. Although Horizon's demonstration of moral ambiguity did inspire me to get off my plot re: Reign of Queen Sparkle, so kudos for that.
Ugh, March 11th. You're making me choose between this and Dark Souls 2, and right off the bat there is no way the next chapter is winning. See you in three weeks, I guess.
4001846
Two weeks! Oh man, I'm gonna be on the edge of my seat. ^^ Looking forward to it already!
This was a real stunner. I've been wondering about Luna's place in all this. Given how easily Twilight began to distance herself from her non-looping friends, is there now a barrier between Celestia and Luna? It must be a real pain in the neck to live with a timelooper, after all. I wonder what Luna would do if pushed too far - she may not be a timelooper, but she is an alicorn, and we know that timeloopers aren't immune to extremely powerful magic.
4001936
i.ytimg.com/vi/cx04qsv3afk/0.jpg
4001956 Oh that it does, but if Niddler shows up, I reserve table flipping rights.
Honeyhoneyhoney - 8 Horizon - 1
The "Twilight Wilderness Arc" was brilliant. Thank you so much.
I appreciate the author's dedication, superb writing and creativity. However, today's update felt underwhelming and weak. Sure, the chapter is short, but that's just mildly irritating. I am mainly frustrated because this chapter shouldn't be standalone. The entire "chapter" was a transition.
You are a wonderful author. I will never deny that.
But this chapter highlights your willingness to provide bare-bones content just to lengthen your spot in the limelight.As a warning, do not be surprised when fimfic readers begin to tell one another that this story should not be read weekly.a fan,
honeyhoneyhoney
UPDATE - Sorry. Had to loop, because my comment was too awkward.
UPDATE - I just read your comments about real life. If weekly chapter updates are too difficult...
Just have to say that I love this fic. So so awesome. It's what I've been looking forward to very happily on Tuesdays.
4001936
Brilliant-!!!
OH MY GOD WHAT.
4001984
No, please don't. PLEASE don't continue that. It's painful to see Twi fall so far.
Wow.
Being a looper raises moral quandary to a whole new level. There are a lot more options that we're used to considering.
This is going to take some thinking. I like it.
Excelent as usual.
Well done as expected from you sorry to hear your going on brake but I hope ever thing works of for you and life Don't get you down its not much but ill hear you out if you need to talk. /) also you inspired me to try my hoof hehe at writing again I'm still not to good but I have 3 editors and revisers so hopefully ill be alright I'm going to write the full thing before posting it ill make sure to send to the link when I'm done it won't be anytime soon though. Sorry for the long comment anyways yup can't wait for the next chapter have fun. :P
Like many people here, I saw the Azalea thing coming. So now I'm just going to go ahead and throw my other random theory about this story out there: Starswirl is the other looper. In the loop right before everything changed, Twilight summoned him like she did in "A Stitch in Time," and then he started looping when he went back to his time, and that somehow led to Celestia looping too, and everything went from there.
I don't know if anyone else has suggested this before, but I'm throwing it out there anyway.
Nice homage, Horizon.
webcomicsnation.com/memberimages/010204to_sign.jpg
4002311
Don't act surprised, we all knew it was going to happen.
Throw it back! For harmony's sake, throw it back!
Forget friendship, shadowcats are magic. Or fun, at least.
Never mind the previous paragraph, looks like friendship is back on the schedule.
Yes! I am calling in my marker in that
complete guessprediction! *fistpump*Woah. /neo
Yikes, that was the non-awkward version of that conversation?
Great chapter, although I was a little unclear, is Spike in the loops now or only in the Canterlot lost the war loops or what?
1.bp.blogspot.com/-Js0q6U76oJs/UwC3Lf7FBQI/AAAAAAABszE/ADM5RBOtoLo/s1600/large.gif
4001846 I am so strangely proud of that off-the-cuff guess I made a couple chapters back, I'm pretty sure I will be grinning all week because of it. All night at the very least.
4002335
Treat it like the Matrix revolutions, those who like it can have it, those who don't are free to deny its existence.
4002779
Spike is in all the loops, but he's not a timelooper. Twilight brings him along each loop to provide assistance on the changeling hive infiltration mission (as that's his job - also, there's the added bonus that he can't be impersonated by a changeling).
4002335
I think he meant that it inspired him to finish the story. It's complete.
4002850
Oh okay, thanks I was a little confused.
You know what bugs me about this whole concept?
How do we know that the timelines keep marching on after Twi kills herself? A true multiverse would certainly keep going. This means that all these horrible scenarios play out and various ponies actually just do see Twi or Celestia just randomly die by self inflicted magic.
Another thing: The more time it takes her to play out a plan, such as using the big cat to kill the changelings, the more tedious it would be for her to replay it-- Thus, the more time it has been the more she's going to want to make some real progress with that loop. At some point the perfect loop that took 100 years to get perfect would be dropped just because it got too boring to experience yet again.
I love the moral arguments between Celstia and Luna. Well done. The last sentence was great! I didnt see it coming. Giving up on the seemingly excellent plan because she had to be evil to make it happen. Great writing.
Can Luna really kill a looper for good? If so, then they need not suffer the fate of Twi in the original story.
Changeling posing as Rarity likes to eat unrequited love. That must have been an awkward conversation the first time around, with Spike right there listening...
4002901 I think about that particular scenario every time I die in a video game. You're a villager in Skyrim walking on a road, when the neigh almighty dragonborn, who has fought daedra, dragons, and slain an entire army almost singlehandedly, runs past you towards a bear and gets slaughtered. And for that matter, how much shit has Lydia had to put up with, getting left behind in deadend catacombs with ancient archmages when the dragonborn gets hit in the head with an arrow?
Awww. I liked the wilderness wandering,t'was funny.
Snugglepuss....that's great.
4002901 The idea that the loops kept going (at least, the ones where the elements of harmony somehow didn't explode and murder everyone) is addressed in the second book of the Hard Reset trilogy, A Stitch in Time.
4002068
Well, either way, on 3/11 you're going to get a great deal of dying and repeating the same actions over and over again.
4002184
I'm sorry that you're frustrated. It's legitimate to feel that stories should update faster/meatier than this, considering the high standards that other writers like Eakin have set; if I were a reader of this story I'd be chafing at the bit with ~3000 words per week too.*
> I am mainly frustrated because this chapter shouldn't be standalone. The entire "chapter" was a transition.
I do want to single this out for reply, because I respectfully disagree (but I might be wrong and I'd love second opinions from other readers). This arc was about a shift in Twilight's moral outlook, and this cements and shows the consequences of the last chapter's dramatic epiphany. It develops her relationship with a character we just now realized we knew, and gives a first look at a major character I'm just now starting to develop. I feel like there's an awful lot going on in these 2600 words, and while it doesn't close nearly so strong as last chapter, a lot of its punch is based on deliberately ending with that whimper.
Basically, this chapter was designed this way; it's not meant to be filler. If it legitimately doesn't feel meaty enough for a standalone update, I'll talk with my prereaders and see how to improve that.
4001891 4001921 4001956
Hoofbump for catching a reference that predates the majority of the audience! /)
4003176
And that's a reference that predates the rest of them!
4002184
Also, I totally just noticed that your loop number jumped by +4 since the last time I read your post. (Honey-8 Hor-2)
4002074
*cruelly withholds spoilers*
4002513
Only a week, I promise! Thanks for the kind words and I wish you success on your story.
--
* The flip side of that — and the reality for me, unfortunately — is that I'm cramming this in around a full-time job, some vague semblance of a social life, and fanfic-related duties like curating the Royal Canterlot Library and working on Everfree Northwest writing-track programming. If you want to set HR2 aside and wait to read it until you can blow through all at once, that's totally your right. I appreciate all the compliments and I'll do my best to deserve them, but I can't change my posting schedule for you, and you've gotta do what makes you happy as a reader.
4003230
(\ right back at'cha. It's what we get for being old fogies.
Maybe next time you could work in a really vague reference to the Snorks, or Paw Paw and we can start weeding out these dang kids.
4002778
And now we see the truth in 3970407's prediction that "She's gonna defeat the Underqueen with snuggles and ships."
4002560
Ironically, it wasn't a deliberate homage. Because he's just that cool, 3969920 simply got there first.
(Even 4001984's original Hard Reset was IIRC based on a time travel arc from Skywriter's webcomic Skin Horse.)
4002148
> I think its very well written but I can't feel anything for characters whose individual actions only serve as reference points for your protagonist to touch on to give the verisimilitude of looping.
I'm curious, do you think it's something I'm doing any better or worse than other Groundhog-Day-loop stories (Hard Reset, The Best Night Ever, etc)? That's a problem that's built into the genre. I do (unusually for a GDL) have other characters with agency, but the tradeoff is I'm choosing to skip the events Twilight doesn't remember, so there's a lot of implied (and outright hidden) character growth.
4002901
> (do) the timelines keep marching on after Twi kills herself
Hard Reset 2 has not yet addressed this (it will be laterally covered within a few chapters and may pop up more significantly later), but 4003224 is correct, in the original Hard Reset continuity the loops are implied to continue past loop-spell termination. I'll leave it there for the moment.
> Can Luna really kill a looper for good?
Good question.
4003230
Hey now, if you include my commute I work 60-70 hours a week, and then come home to
ignoreraise three kids and help run a Cub Scout pack. I believe the applicable quote right here would be, "I do not accept excuses! I'm just going to have to find myself a new giant!"Seriously though, take enough time to get the writing done right. I'd rather read a good fic that updates once a month than a crappy one that updates weekly.
4002901 Of course she could. Her 1,000 year loop trumps everyone else's. She could return from the moon, get cured, and then kill Twilight in a subtle fashion when no one is watching. Whether or not she's willing to do that, well ...
4001846
On a slightly different note, this particular chapter did feel extremely short, especially compared to the previous two chapters.
Ah well, hopefully, things settle down for you soon. Take a well-earned break (it is spring/march break, at least where I am, next week after all).
So, Twi's here to make sure Chrysalis defends instead of attacking. I'm gonna hazard a guess - she's gonna attack the hive, and kill Chrysalis to make sure she remembers it. But it's in the narrative, which means Twi remembers it.
Oh, well I guess she'd have to attempt it more than once. Makes sense. Good luck!
4003456 She could probably have Celestia come with her and loop repeatedly so they're both on the same page.
4003230
? I think I'm confused I didn't mean for you to hangs your entire writeing and posting time lol that's probable to some one else but it was like three dots like a pause and written under mine if that was to me bye no means do I want to change your time and stuf around especially for me if it was about my fic then I could still send it to you and you could get around to it when ever you wish that's what I meant I'm sorry if I caused an confusion and if that wasn't to me then forget that last part :P and as for your question about comparing this to like the ground hog day one well that one is like god level this is good but does lack in a few places although it still is amazing on its own I'm no knocking you of anything brow just saying all fics have there strong point along with who they appeal to yours is amazing but compairing fics of such an amazingly large scale is well... Difficult. Sorry for the long comment wubs ya bro /)
Extra 'at'.
Interesting update. I liked Luna's and Celestia's answers to Twilight's question; both thought that something terrible was necessary for a good outcome, one considers it her greatest regret because she was wrong, the other because she was right. I think that really underlines Celestia's third answer.
I wonder when the differences between Twilight's original timeline and Celestia's altered timeline will come into play again? After all, in a very important way, this Twilight is not the Twilight that this Celestia knows, and this Celestia is not the Celestia that this Twilight knows. This - and the fact that Celestia's reset is before Twilight's - leads to a certain conflict that I can see coming up later in the story. Specifically, once everything else is sorted out...
...should Celestia prevent her Twilight from ever starting the loops, or not? If she does, she erases this Twilight from existence, at least until Twilight casts the looping spell; if she doesn't, she erases her Twilight from existence.
And, sooner or later, they're going to realise that.
4003746
She's not really done that so far, no reason to expect that it's gonna change.
Called it. Honestly, it's almost disappointing the way that arc cut off. Azalea was one of the best characters in the original.
Ah, well. Excellent chapter regardless of shipping.
4003230 The comment about you withholding spoilers, in response to his comment about Luna, gives rise to the thought that Celestia may be unwilling to put Luna through another loop ... but Luna might not be. It would eliminate the complication of a completely new actor. Or perhaps I'm misremembering something that would falsify this possibility.
Another excellent chapter! Just two thoughts:
1. I noticed that Celestia went from C6 to C8, while Twi only increased by one loop. I'm presuming that stuff happened that just wasn't covered here? :)
2. That ending really shocked me. So, Twi killed the changeling after all? Or left her behind to fight against the resistance? Either way, the sophie's choice facing Twilight there was well executed!
4002743 I didn't pick up on it at all. I feel dumb.
CHONGO LONGOOOOooooooo
4004743 Not turning evil like Chrysalis. Turning evil like Nightmare Moon. She's had experience with the dark side before, and still regrets it.
In terms of the rest, you're thinking too hard. There's no devil substitute here yet, just a situation that tends to bring out the worst someone can offer, a la the Stanford Prison Experiment. Twilight's realized one of the issues with long-term looping - seeing others as tools/obstacles rather than as people - and is learning to deal with it. Crooked fang is an example.
Basically, she attempted several times to peacefully convince Crooked to help her, but now Crooked refuses, despite having previously agreed. Twi realized that was because the first time, she made Crooked fear her, and asks Celestia if evil acts could have good outcomes. After that conversation, Twi explains to Crooked why she agreed to help previously, and Crooked asks her to prove she could succeed by saving the pony resistance. Twi decides that while trying to fix the issues of the changelings to prevent further troubles is all well and good, since this particular set of events comes from her friends deaths in the first place, it wasn't really worth trying to fix this timeline. She resolves to save the changelings, with the acceptance that she'll have to do so without Crooked's help.
Also, Celestia was doing things offscreen.
Seeing your name for this little arc makes me think of Styx's song 'Man in the Wilderness'. Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBRoQ91W1rk for the album version. I'm wondering a bit ...
Still, overall pretty good. I'm guessing the (1), (2), and (3) mean that you originally thought of these chapters as one large unit rather than three?