i. The Immediate Aftermath [Epilogue 1]
The light that spread across Trixie’s prone form and forced her awake was cool, and seemed to spread gradually, more like fog than actual light. As her eyes fluttered open, she saw the Palace ruins around her, lit brilliantly by the full moon’s light –
Moonlight!
Trixie was almost instantly on all four hooves, and almost immediately thereafter had fallen back on her side after her body took the time to remind her that she was exhausted, drained both mentally and magically, and in all ways should not be trying to move as she just did. The blue unicorn took a few deep breaths to steady herself, then climbed onto her hooves at a more measured pace, casting her gaze upwards. Greeting her vision was a star-studded night sky, with a moon hanging high overhead. The moon looked different, however – emblazoned on it was a new pattern that had never been there before, a series of dark patches in the shape of a unicorn’s head and horn. Even as Trixie watched, however, the pattern disappeared in a flash.
“Huh,” Raindrops said. Trixie looked, and saw her companions – her friends – beginning to pick themselves up as well. “Wonder what that was all – whoa!” Raindrops had to leap backwards as two streaks, one mint green and white and the other pale gray and blonde, whipped past her, nearly bowling her over. As it stood, she was still clipped and sent staggering.
Neither Ditzy Doo nor Lyra seemed to notice as they rushed over to the collapsed foals and older ponies. Trixie’s heart fluttered at the sight of so many fallen ponies, and she rushed forward, her remaining friends following. She doubted that the Elements could have possibly harmed them, but Corona hadn’t seemed particularly cautious with her spell-casting prior to the end…even as those dark thoughts seeped into her mind, however, they were dispelled, as the merely unconscious foals and mares and stallions began to wake up, completely unharmed.
Though for two of them, at least, that looked like it may have been only a temporary thing. Lyra had found BonBon just as the mare had gotten her hooves under her, and impacted against her with slightly less speed than an unladen train engine with its furnace burning hotter than the fires of Tartaros, sending the two tumbling and ending with Lyra pinning BonBon to the ground, her lips pressed firmly to her love’s. Dinky Doo, meanwhile, once found by her mother, “suffered” a similar fate, scooped up into the pegasus mare’s forelegs and held tightly against Ditzy’s chest, Ditzy showing no signs of ever intending to let her daughter go. Tears were in no short supply, but they were tears of joy, not sorrow.
“Is everypony alright?” Cheerilee asked, as the rest of Trixie’s friends caught up to the group. Cheerilee moved quickly into the mass of foals, most of whom gathered around her familiar face, though several remained with the other adults, the ones “lucky” enough to have had relatives kidnapped by Corona as well. “Is anypony hurt?” As the foals all shook their heads or confirmed that they were alright – though scared – Cheerilee looked to Carrot Top and Raindrops, who were amongst the mares and stallions. “How about them?”
“Fine,” Raindrops announced as the adults all confirmed that they were alright. “Everypony’s okay.”
Trixie let out a sigh of relief at that, though her elation was short-lived as she forced her sleep-deprived mind – being forced to unconsciousness was not the same thing, as it turned out – to press forward.
First – she searched the ground near where she had fallen, and found her hat. It was covered in dirt and hoof-marks, a little frayed, and still somewhat damp, but Trixie ignored this as she removed the tiara she still wore – all her friends were, in fact, wearing the jewelry that the Elements had manifested as – and put her hat back on her head. After a moment’s consideration, she slipped the tiara on over it, and found to her surprise that the ornament fit rather snugly on her wizard’s hat, almost as though it was designed to be there.
That important part having been taken care of, Trixie turned her attentions to the next-most important matter. “Zecora,” she said, trotting forward and looking around. “Spike. Where are they?”
There was a moment’s pause, before Raindrops took to the sky, looking around. “I don’t see them,” she announced after a moment of searching.
“Ponyfeathers,” Trixie cursed. “No use searching for them now – ”
She paused as a flash of silver-white light spread across the courtyard. The ponies there all froze, looking in horror towards the flash’s source – the ruined tower of the Palace, the same place that Corona had fallen when the beam from the Elements had finally overtaken her. It was enough to tear Lyra’s eyes away from BonBon’s, and for Ditzy Doo to squeeze her daughter even tighter.
“No,” Carrot Top whispered. “That’s…no.”
Trixie swallowed, as she looked to the formerly kidnapped mares and stallions, then to the foals, then to her friends. She grit her teeth. “Come on,” she insisted, setting off at a gallop. The other five followed her quickly, grim determination setting in.
Reaching the tower was easy, climbing it only slightly harder. The stairs were steep, but they were also stone, and had not worn away over time. The stairs they climbed brought the six Elements of Harmony inside after their climb. They ended up standing in a wide chamber, its roof having long disappeared over time. At its far end was a pedestal set in front of a shattered stained-glass window.
Standing just inside the entrance, her back to the Elements, was a pony, taller than most stallions, deep blue in coloration, with an animate mane tail that were like flowing water catching the reflection of the star-filled sky, possessed of both wings and a horn, and with a cutie mark of a black patch of night broken by a white crescent moon –
“Luna!” Trixie exclaimed, forgetting formal titles. The Princess turned in time to see Trixie rush towards her, though the unicorn skidded to a halt before she could get too close, as memories of her last conversation with the alicorn came rushing back. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before sound came out, and Luna took the time to look at Trixie, then to each of her friends behind her, who had all bowed in respect. “H…hello, princess.”
Luna inclined her head. “Hello, Trixie,” she responded after a moment. To the blue unicorn’s surprise, Luna seemed just as unsure as Trixie herself was as to where this conversation should be going. After a long bout of silence, Luna looked at the tiara on Trixie’s head. “The Element of Magic,” she noted.
Trixie nodded. “Yes,” she confirmed. “It…it took me a little bit, but I finally figured out what you meant when you said that the sixth element was right beside me.”
Luna grinned slightly, though it was forced. “That’s…good,” she decided.
Trixie scuffed a hoof, glancing around a moment. “So…how did you know?” Trixie asked.
“Know what?” Luna inquired.
“Know about them,” Trixie responded, waving a hoof to her friends. “How did you know that they’d be beside me, five years ago? Did you know that Corona was going to escape? Was this some kind of plan, or something?”
Luna paused, a look of genuine confusion overcoming her features. It was matched, after several seconds, by Trixie’s own expression. “Trixie…” Luna explained, “I meant your cutie mark.”
“Ha!” A magenta voice exclaimed. Trixie wasn’t certain how a voice could be magenta, but glancing behind her, she saw Cheerilee grinning broadly. The other five had risen from their bows, looking relieved that the silver-white flash had apparently just been Luna returning from exile on the moon, and not the signal to start another round with Corona.
Trixie turned back to her mentor. “But…” she objected. “But my cutie mark isn’t beside me! It’s on me!”
“On your side,” Luna noted.
“But not beside! This is just like that ‘always moves but never wanders’ riddle – ”
“A tree,” Carrot Top chimed in. She, along with the other ponies, made their way forward, so that they were standing next to Trixie.
The blue unicorn glared at Carrot Top. “Trees don’t move.”
“Yes they do,” Ditzy Doo explained. “They blow in the wind.”
“That’s doesn’t count as moving! And even if it did, it’s not always windy so they don’t always move!”
“Trixie, I heard that riddle when I was…one? Maybe?” Raindrops asked. "You're over-analzying it."
“Everypony knows the answer,” Lyra added.
“I know it too, it’s just that it’s a stupid answer,” Trixie grumbled.
Luna looked between the six of them, a far more genuine smile on her features at the antics of the ponies before her. “Congratulations,” she offered, starting to incline her head, then pausing as she thought better of it. She instead backed away a few paces, and actually bowed to the six ponies. The sight was enough to leave them speechless. “You saved Equestria,” Luna continued. “All of you, working together. More than that, you have earned the Elements of Harmony – No. You are the Elements, now. You restored them from their inert state, a feat even I couldn’t accomplish. And you did this in order to stand against a monster…against the Tyrant Sun, one of the worst enemies Equestria has ever had.”
Luna lifted herself up from her bow. Her expression had changed, her smile dropping and instead a look of melancholy coming over her features as she turned around, looking down the length of the tower’s room, as she had on first entering. “Now if you will excuse me,” Luna said grimly, “there is somepony that I must talk to.”
---
Celestia was in a considerable amount of pain, but she was alive. She was whole. And she was not trapped once more in her sun. As the alicorn forced her eyes to open, finding herself behind a stone pillar, she began laughing, ignoring that it hurt to do so.
“H…ha!” she exclaimed, climbing to her hooves. “N-not…n-not even the Elements can…can s-stop the Sun!”
“You are typically the more powerful one,” Luna admitted.
Celestia’s eyes widened, and she spun around, ignoring the ache in her body as she lashed out with magic, calling down a solar flare that burned her treacherous sister’s body to a crisp –
– or that was what was supposed to happen. Instead, only a few golden sparks escaped her horn, and even that took everything Celestia had. She nearly fell to her knees from the effort, but she forced herself to remain standing, though with her head drooped. Pink locks of hair fell down over her eyes – her fiery mane was gone. Her eyes would no longer be glowing either, she knew, instead having reverted to reverted to normal-looking ones, with pink irises.
And was it just her, or was Luna taller than she used to be…? No – the opposite. She was shorter than Luna, the consequence of having so much magic pulled from her at once. She would still be taller than many stallions – but not all.
Celestia grit her teeth and flared her wings in challenge. “S-so, sister…” she hissed. “Come…come to finish what the Elements c-could not? The s-sun again? I will escape. I will always escape! Though it take me a thousand years again, or ten thousand, or a hundred thousand! Equestria is still mine, it belongs to me!”
Luna just looked at her, and a terrible clarity gripped Celestia as she realized what she would do if she were Luna and had just heard Celestia proclaim that. “No!” the white alicorn exclaimed, stumbling backwards, wings beating furiously as she tried to take to the air. They lifted her for a moment, but then their strength gave out and she fell once more to the ground. Her hooves scrabbled on the stone floor beneath her as she picked herself up and began running, towards the exit to this ancient palace – and finding her way blocked by the corrupted Elements.
“No!” Celestia proclaimed again, backing away, eyes wide – nearly as wide as their own as the Elements took in her changed appearance, her mundane mane and tail, her shrunken form. Looking away, looking once more for somewhere to run, she saw her sister coming out from behind the pillar Celestia had been at moments ago, the same look on her face.
Celestia grit her teeth, trying to call upon her magic. Sparks once more flew from her horn even as she backed away from the steadily advancing Luna. “No! Thou cannot!” she exclaimed. “I am the Sun! I am thy Queen! Thy elder! Thou has no right to judge me! Equestria is mine! Mine to do with as I please – ”
“Celestia,” Luna tried.
“ – as is everypony in it!” Celestia continued, as she tried once more to call on magic. She was certain her mane and tail ignited even for the barest moment, as she continued to back away from Luna. “The ponies are like gnats! They need protection! A strong hoof – ”
“Celestia!”
“ – lest chaos reign! They are weak and mortal and do not know the dangers that surround them!” Celestia had backed herself against a stone pillar. She tried to move around it, but Luna was there, in front of her, faster than her considerably weaker senses could follow, wings spread wide and creating a wall. “Without me,” Celestia continued, “the griffins…the dragons…Discord…Tirek…thou were there, Luna! Thou knowest the world as I do! How canst thou deny my right? My cause is just! My – ”
“Tia!”
The name cut through Celestia’s tirade, and her defenses, like a hot knife through butter. She blinked several times. The word had possessed no magic, in and of itself, but…
…how long? How long since her sister had called her that? Longer than a millennium, certainly. She gazed upwards at Luna, who returned the stare evenly. For the first time, Celestia looked at her sister, and saw not murderous resolve, not treacherous intent, but…but sadness. Resignation.
Celestia lunged with her horn. Luna blinked, and Celestia’s entire body was wrapped in a midnight blue aura, her horn-charge stopped before coming anywhere near Luna’s throat. “Don’t…” Luna said, though her voice cracked. She paused, closing her eyes, before starting over without opening them. “Please, Tia. Don’t make me do this again. A thousand years ago, I thought I’d lost you forever and it destroyed me. But if this…if this is going to turn into some kind of cycle…” The princess paused once more, before opening her eyes and looking Celestia in the face. “We were meant to rule together, sister – ”
“No!” Celestia shouted. “It’s mine! All of it! Everything! Mine! All mine!”
Luna retreated several steps at the exclamation, eyes wide, as Celestia began struggling against Luna’s telekinetic grip. “Tia, you’re not well. You need help. Let me – ”
“Release me! Release me or next time, I will not spare thee! Thou shalt burn!”
Luna blinked several times more, mouth hanging slightly open as she watched Celestia struggle, and cry out in anger. The princess was breathing heavily at the sight, and looked like she was on the verge of collapsing and just dying on the spot from sorrow at what her sister had become. After several long moments, however, her eyes narrowed, and she forced her breathing to steady. “Corona,” she proclaimed, ignoring the alicorn’s cries of protest about her name. “You leave me no choice. You will once more be banished to the heart of the sun. Escape, if you can, but next time, I will be waiting. I will be prepared.”
Celestia spat at Luna. “Thou shalt suffer!” she shouted, even as Luna’s horn began to glow brighter. “You shall all suffer for denying me my right – ”
Luna’s horn was glowing bright enough, now, to transcend its normal blue aura, and be glowing white instead. She opened her eyes – similarly gleaming with power…when a green-tinged cloud of particles passed in front of her face.
The princess stumbled backwards and out of the cloud, coughing and sputtering at whatever she had inhaled. Her concentration slipped, and Celestia fell to the floor, out of Luna’s magical grip, while Luna’s own magic spun wildly out of control, sending off jets of light and power in random directions. Several nearly struck the Elements of Harmony, but their accessories glowed, and created a barrier against the unintentional assault, protecting them.
Celestia lifted herself to her hooves, intent on charging forward with her horn once more, when she felt the presence of a pony beside her. Glancing, she saw Zecora, once more wearing her brown cape, and with an unconscious Spike on her back. “Quickly, your majesty!” Zecora exclaimed, as she reached into her cloak and produced a bottle of a liquid that somehow managed to be striped blue and red, and unstopped it. “This brew will restore power to you!”
Celestia didn’t need to hear anything else, biting down on the end of the bottle and throwing her head back, swallowing the concoction in one fell gulp, ignoring its bitter taste. She felt it work almost immediately, but pathetically. It gave her only a fraction of her total power. Next to her sister she would still be weak as a foal, and now Luna looked like she was recovering from whatever Zecora had done to her, glaring angrily at the zebra and her sister.
Celestia was a very, very old alicorn, however, and however much it felt like a slap to her face, she knew when to fall back, make a tactical withdrawal, and any other euphemism one cared to think up for run away. Her horn glowed – still gold, not the pure white she preferred – and she wrapped herself in teleportation magic.
Almost as an afterthought, she included Zecora, and by extension Spike, in her spell as well. That made it twice that the zebra had forestalled disaster. Celestia would not let a follower like that go to waste. As for Spike…well, one never knew when brute, dumb muscle could be useful, and Spike was just that when Celestia forced him to age prematurely.
In a flash of light, Celestia was gone.
But she would return.
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Great. She really IS insane.
Ahh, I was wondering how Corona was going to get away.
Well that was not what I expected, good ending though.
Now THAT'S an ending I wasn't expecting
Bad to the bone, it seems.
581145
Tragically so. There's a hint of her ultimate reasoning there...I get the feeling that this Celestia just couldn't handle the constant threats that Equestria faced. Discord, the evils in Tartaros, the Windigos, apparently Tirek, probably the Smooze, dragons, griffins, who knows what else that she didn't mention...just danger after danger after danger wore away at her sanity, until eventually Celestia was gone and only the Tyrant Sun remained.
581266
PTSD driven to the most logical of extremes. Tragic.
581425
Well, I outright stated in the commentary that Celestia/Corona wasn't redeemed. Boast Busted also has several lines of dialogue to the effect that Corona is still out there, though the most overt mention was here:
I've been working hard to make Corona her own entity, distinct from canon Celestia, Trollestia, and the typical portrayal of "Solar Flare" or whatever one wants to call Nightmare Celestia. I had extra work ahead of me since I was determined to keep her name as just "Corona" despite some suggestions that it lacks the "oomph" of Nightmare Moon. Corona just...fits.
I like to think I've succeeded.
"Instead, only a few golden sparks escaped her horn, and even that took everything Corona had."
As this is written from her perspective, shouldn't this say "Celestia"?
I'm really wonder how you're going to turn this around. You're not going to fashion Celestia into some renegade, lurking in a cave to send her minions to attack Ponyville on a weekly basis, are you?
Delusions of grandeur led one sister to war with the other. Power corrupts, and alicorns have a nigh infinite supply of power. This will not be the first time we see a Celestia broken by constant besiegement. When you truly believe there is no better pony for the job you cease being a ruler, and become a Tyrant. I can see Celestia wanting to control both sun and moon not out of greed, but insanity. She truly felt nopony else could be trusted. Not even her own sister.581266
581447
N...no...
In all honesty, the answer is "not quite." Corona has two competing factors here. On the one hand, she's an immortal alicorn of godlike power when at full strength. If she sits quietly for a few months and just recharges, she'll be back to form and able to oneshot Luna without a problem, and could easily strike at the Lunaverse-6 when their guard was down if she moved quietly and cautiously.
On the other hand, she's insane and greedy beyond reason, which makes her impatient despite literally having all the time in the world. She wants everything now. She also is not a subtle pony, greatly enjoying theatrics and making her presence known, and is fully convinced that she rightfully belongs on the throne and that somewhere, most ponies know this.
It'll be interesting to see how these play against one another. But regardless of how they do, it'll be awhile before we see her again. We can't be fighting gods every day of the week. Corona was concieved and played out the way she did to give me the option of a recurring villain as a way to further distinguish the Lunaverse from the mane universe (which lacks recurring villains).
Oh! Well, isn't that a twist?
Sorry, sorry, that was in poor taste. Brilliantly done, that is. Definitely did not see that coming. Can't wait to find out what happens next!
Well, at least we know what trope to file Corona under now: "With Great Power, Comes Great Insanity." This means that even if by some miracle, she starts seeing sense again, she's not going to end up being M6 Celestia. Instead, we'd end up watching Trixie and the others having to deal with that annoying creature known as The Atoner.
Atoning Corona makes me think of Miko from Order of the Stick.
"Now I see what must be done! This is why I was saved from my madness! The only way to save Canterlot from being overtaken by the changeling queen is to KILL SHINING ARMOR before she can finish draining his power!"
A few things I just thought of.
1.Corona's Name. It fits the bill. Celestia has generated a surprising number of names for Evil/Insane versions of herself including...
Solar Flare - One of the more popular names, which I always felt a little lacking in punch
Daymare Sun - Just Nightmare Moon flipped as Celestia
Corona Blaze - One of my favourite names for Evil/Insane Celestia.
Tyrant Celestia - Doesn't fit the bill here as she's more politically evil and controlling.
(Trollestia, Molestia, Pinklestia) - These three are less evil and more funny, bizarre etc.
The name Corona suits her, She's a powerhouse but knows when to try to pull her punches or retreat. I can see her now, fleeing to the Zebra lands and trying to build up an army.
2.If Luna has Nightmare Night, does that mean there is a holiday devoted to Corona too? I might've missed it earlier, but that what happens when I try to read way too many stories. I can keep track of the key elements and developments, but the minor details always escape me.
3.Luna is now on alert and going to prepare for Corona's return, will we see an even more militarized Equestria?
4.Regarding Recurring Villains: The greatest tragedy for a recurring villain I find, is that they become viewed as less of a serious threat. I'm not saying this will be Corona's fate in your Lunaverse, simply that your audience might view it that way if Corona shows up too often and gets thwarted once too often. A good way to keep her interesting might be to have Corona acquire some minions, besides Zecora & Spike, like say Chrysalis. Having the entire Changeling invasion organised by Corona would be a stroke of brilliance, but would it be out of character?
5.We have faith in you DoubleRainbowDash: Me and the rest of the readers are confident in your abilities to deliver excellent story telling. I look forward to seeing how the next chapter of your Lunaverse plays out. I dunno what episode you might do next, perhaps an entirely original story revolving around entering Tartarus or perhaps a story about the Apple Family trying to run two seemingly shady but actually honest merchants a.k.a the FlimFlams from the town. Especially since they are confident enough to actually compete in the apple market.
Oh, crunch. That is decidedly not bueno.
Having read 'Boast Busted', I expected that Corona would escape at some point, but I certainly couldn't foresee Zecora's intervention. Neither could Luna, it seems
Nice twist.
Can I get a quickest update ever?!!
Definitely not like before.
Oh, damn! She's loose, insane and will recharge given time. She's also got a zebra and dragon. Not. Good.
I'd say you succeeded in making this version of Celestia a distinct entity. Bravo, RainbowDoubleDash.
I love how this isn't just a mirror flip of the regular universe; it diverges in brilliantly interesting ways, and I'm excited to see what else you have in store for us.
581833 When I first started in this fandom, I had a (thankfully abandoned by this point) story-in-progress involving a 'Hellfire Sun.' That alone should tell you why I gave up on it.
Well I didn't see that coming. I don't dislike it that's for sure. Now we have the fundations of the Lunaverse! I can't wait to see what others will do with it
if I could think up something I'd love to give it a shot myself.
581266
Oh, poor Celestia. Nightmare Moon got to have her madness stripped from her by the Elements of Harmony, but Corona gets no such easy path to recovery. One really must feel sorry for her, even with all of the suffering she caused.
There really are a lot of threats out there, aren't there? The more we see of the show's setting, the more Equestria looks like a little bit of paradise set in the middle of a hellhole of a world. No wonder Celestia lost the plot.
I find this Celestia fascinating. She's all power and beat-down in her tactics, while Nightmare Moon was more subtle. And now she's on the loose. Definitely a more dangerous world here than in the main timeline.
I feel for Luna here. She tried to offer an olive branch; Celestia burned it. Luna tried reasoning; Celestia burned it. Luna tried imprisoning her again; Celestia charged, spat, had magic dust thrown from her follower, then burned it.
Also curious to see how Zecora and Spike handle being antagonists. That's a
I didn't see coming.
Looking forward to the rest!
581813
There's probably a point of divergence, but damned if I know exactly when it happened. Insanity isn't typically just a switch that's flipped in one's brain, especially to the delusional level that Corona possesses. It's a long, slow, sad descent.
581833
I mentioned in a blog post that there probably is, and it's on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. But it's not a day of candy and treats. It's more a day of mourning and remembrance.
I have a planned story, "The Summer Sun Celebration," for it. It's the furthest-forward planned story in the Lunaverse, taking place almost immediately after "Crisis on Two Equestrias."
"Summer Sun Celebration" isn't the name that most of Equestria calls it, incidentally; just one specific part of it. I'm open to ideas for its name. I don't want to call it the Longest Day, I know that.
(For comparison: winter solstice = Longest Night; vernal equinox = Eventime; summer solstice = ???; autumnal equinox = Ingathering. The Eventime and Longest Night were both originally mentioned in "Boast Busted," while the Ingathering was mentioned in chapter 1 of "Longest Night, Longest Day" as one of the three major holidays of Equestria. Not that the summer solstice isn't a holiday per se, it's just that it's not one that people "celebrate.")
i guess it makes sense that the Elements wouldn't affect an insane mind...
583172 How about...Daylight Savings.
584126
I feel that needed a YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! after it.
584126
and one of these img337.imageshack.us/img337/3816/ajdwi.png
582828
for the summer equinox how about "The Day of Fire" it sounds like the type of holiday you don't really celebrate.
i get the feeling spike is more an unwitting pawn in all this.
Corona: a wide spread light about an object fitting since she is bathing in her own "radiance".
so does cadence exist in the Lunaverse or what?
and lastly poor Celestia in her head she's completely in the right to bad.
584126 Oh we've got a bright one here.
584549
I've decided Cadence does exist, and I'm endeavoring to think of a way to work her into a future story prior to "Crisis on Two Equestrias."
I have a few decisions to make regarding her, though, the most prominent one being - is she Luna's daughter? We know she's Celestia's neice and we don't know of any alicorn brothers or sisters of Celestia other than Luna.
It could even still fit in the Lunaverse. I mean, Chapter 5 did have this:
But then it was almost immediately followed by this:
584613
well, there was that alicorn in the hearts & hooves backstory
i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q531/ADemonicPresence/vlcsnap-2012-05-13-03h18m17s151.png
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Queen_Chrysalis.png
584687
Prove to me that's not Cadence...or for that matter, Luna.
Well, I suppose the hair doesn't match up. Then again, a girl can change her doo every half-millennium if she wants!
In any event, I don't think the story ever mentioned what happened to them, after all - just their kingdom. And the kingdom was just "a long time ago" without it mentioning how long ago.
(fun fact: the animators say it was a mistake, but there's *also* another alicorn in magic kindergarten).
584709
wait... no- NO! aaahh! my headcanon! it hurts!
i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q531/ADemonicPresence/vlcsnap-2012-05-13-03h39m17s238.png
that totally could have been cadence, look at her hair!
584748
Hmm...what to do with this information...
584613
cadence is my favorite princess. well personally i just assume that Celestia and Luna's aunt (possibly the one that produce blue blood maybe another) is her mother that whole alicorn immortality thing.
584687
sudden thought just maybe the alicorn princess here turned into Queen Chrysalis?
584796
Nah, changelings are their own thing. Or at least I choose to believe that.
My head cannon for the whole princess Cadence, and prince Blueblood thing was that Cadence and possibly Blueblood (he could be prince of a principality within equestria) are descended by many generations from Celestia and a mortal she fell in love with, actually making them her great great.... great grand-kids. They call Celestia aunt because not only is it easier to say then Great Great.... Great Grandma, it's far more flattering (ie: doesn't make her feel like a old mare).
So, I wonder if Zecora + Spike will ever be brought to justice also concerning the crossover I would be nice to have Mane 6 Twilight suggest something be made by Zecora only to find that she's Public Enemy #2 (#1 being Corona)
Is it wrong that looking back, I kinda prefer this to the actual show?
It aligns with me on some philosophical grounds- I've always liked the dark instead of the light, and all in all, I think Trixie works better in some ways as a main character. She's more flawed, and there's a greater sense of progress and struggle in her overcoming those flaws.
I adore what you've done with Celestia, though. I do hope Twilight will make another appearence, though. Actually, thinking about it, you could use her to tell the message that Feeling Pinkie Keen was trying to tell. Maybe you've thought of this already... PM me if you haven't and would like to hear more, I suppose. In the meantime, great going so far, I hope to see more!
fim.413chan.net/fic/src/130221079136-Luna_happy.jpg
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Well, if my blog is anything to go by, Lunaverse-Twilight will probably be showing up for "Crisis on Twi Equestrias."
It's worth noting, though, that I see both Luna and Celestia as goddesses of light, with Celestia ruling over sunlight, and Luna over moonlight and starlight (the moon creates its own light in the geocentric version of Equestria I have).
Hey there RDD, this is 62835fdc-3fb1-11e1-9fc6-000bcdcb2996, your most devoted fan from the now defunct EQD comments thread. Finally got around to making that FiM-fic account so figured I'd save you the trouble of having to hike over there to read my excessively long rambling on Part-4 of your story. Aren’t I so generous.
First up, I get that these events are supposed to be more or less all about 'testing' their friendship and what not, but after Carrot Top set out through the poison joke couldn't Raindrops have followed by wing rather than hoof. She even says as much yet seems to be traversing the poison joke for no reason other than some sort of stubborn pride. Oh well at least they all call themselves out on the senseless idiocy of it eventually.
Next up the ancient palace, which apparently in your view of Equestria was intentionally built in the Everfree, perhaps so the dangerous environ would serve as a deterrent/test to mortals seeking an audience with the stewards of the sun & moon. Personally I've always preferred the notion that the untamable nature of the forest was due to the aftermath of the battle between the two sisters those 1000 years ago, but hey, your story your rules.
Then we cut to Canterlot, wasn't expecting that, even less to see Corona being held at bay, by Shining Armor no less. It was most interesting to see you work him into the story. Given that he still seems to be in about the same position with royal guard in your verse, I find myself very curious as to the status of his and Twilight's relationship after her post Boast Busted fugitive status. It rather seems to demand at least a one-shot fic. Someone should get to work on that before someone else starts getting less than patient.
Now for the fun part, gotta love poison joke. Invisible Trixie is pretty good, both because she loves being the center of attention and also because its her primary fall back for escaping any and all trouble. Also, found my self rather enjoying watching her try, fail, and then ultimately give up trying to figure out how the ‘rules’ of her predicament work. Also, love her exasperation as the others repeatedly fail to comprehend what's going on despite her own best efforts, not to mention the inconveniences it causes, though Ditzy seems rather impressive being able to read off words spelled into her own hide. Then there is Carrot Top, complete with green hair reference, plus wonderful comedic timing as she succumbs just as she begins to presume her earthy reliance will hold out the longest. One could almost think the plant to have a gleefully malicious sense of humor. Then there is Raindrops, who true to form responds to becoming a giantess with almost apathetic disinterest, as she rather calmly goes over the reasons why that’s the joke to be played on her. As someone who has his own temperament issues, I can rather attest to how it can lead one to adopt that kind of exceedingly calm demeanor to keep it in check.
Which brings us to the close as the doom of the sun descended upon them. Ever so frightening, yet each manages the sort of dignity befitting true heroes, right up until Cheerlee starts giving speech lessons, and was that a sex joke?
Meer moments away from death and that's what she's doing. For a long while I'd moslty taken Cheerlee's status as Element of Laughter as largely arbitrary, but now? Seriously, this mare might not be even fraction as zany as Pinkie, but she more than makes up for it with sheer madness (I like it 
), and thus begins the rebirth of harmony.
Also, loving how rather than gawking the whole time as is all too typical, Corona tries to put a quick end to it, but as any truly genre savvy troper knows that only invokes its own trope, as Lyra is quick to demonstrate. The rest of the claiming of the Elements progresses rather smoothly, though it’s interesting to observe how it's not only Corona left puzzled, but Trixie as well, who even serves as the voice that the sixth Element remains absent. We've known that this revers contrast of Twilight naming each of her friends to be the Elements while they stare in somewhat proud, but obvious confusion was coming ever since it was mentioned in Boast Busted, but to watch it actually play out is inspiring. It's also interesting to get some insight into just how twisted and warped Corona has become, as she tries to present the Elements as only a measure of power, illustrating how the concept of friendship has been lost to her.
Nothing left now but to power up the orbital friendship cannon and... wait what? That’s where the chapter ends. Oh, and I see that while I’ve been typing this all out you went and put up an epilogue. Well, seeing as this ramble is already over 800 words long, I think I’ll leave off as well, take some time to digest the story as whole, go see The Avengers, and get back with my final thought and overviews later. Maybe get some sleep somewhere along the line too, which is probably what I was supposed to be doing instead of reading your story and then writing all this. In the meantime, thanks for giving me one heck of a ride.
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Willkommen!
I'm not German, I have no idea why I typed that.
It's a solidarity thing. Was it smart? No, but neither Raindrops nor Trixie were going to let Carrot Top be alone in suffering the effects of poison joke.
Yeah, it was. I don't write with any particular age group in mind, and the typical reader of my fics is probably between 17-25, so I don't feel a need to hold back on those (there's been a few other insinuations already). Generally speaking I won't go beyond a "PG-13" rating, though.
Enjoy The Avengers! Oh, and for the love of God, stay through the entire credits. There are two secret endings, one halfway through the credits and one afterwards. The former is probably plot-relevant to the incoming slew of Marvel movies before Avengers 2 comes out (in...2015, I think? Provided we don't all die at year's end?*), and the latter is just plain hillarious.
*"Until such a time as the world ends, we will continue to operate under the assumption that it intends to spin on."
Still got a few minutes to kill while the rest of the family gets ready.
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>> the typical reader of my fics is probably between 17-25, so I don't feel a need to hold back on those
Wasn't trying to suggest otherwise or complain, heaven knows I've read worse. Just commenting on the sheer insanity of the mental state need to go there when staring down a living god.
>>Enjoy The Avengers! Oh, and for the love of God, stay through the entire credits.
Always!
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Mm, I noticed the blog posts. That's... A little less happy for me. "Dark is evil" is a mindset that is entirely foreign and honestly, a little repulsive to me*. I know I'm in the minority here, but that's how I am. I tend to applaud whenever I come across somebody who appears to share, or at least appreciate, my worldview in this. It's a pity I was wrong about you, but it doesn't detract from my enjoyment of your writing.
* For me, darkness is associated with, among other things, privacy, secrets, passion, freedom and, in a roundabout way, honesty. There's a reason the trope for one of the most important tests of character and personal integrity is called "What You Are In The Dark."
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On the other hand, darkness is cold and obscuring. Humans (and ponies) aren't equipped to be able to function in darkness, but a lot of the things that can cause us grevious harm can (human daylight vision is second only to a few species of bird - compared to most mammals our daylight vision is amazing, in fact - but our night vision is awful).
Not saying that darkness is evil, but it is an innately hostile environment. So it's only natural to take it as being evil. Luna, as a night goddess, though, holds light and shadow in balance. She's the darkness and all the things that hide in it, but she's also moonlight and starlight.
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If not for unfortunate implications I'd actually love to refer to it as the Holocaust, in the context of its original meaning of "great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire." Unfortunately a certain German asshat* ruined that word FOREVER while he was in the middle of also ruining forever red armbands, toothbrush mustaches, swastikas, the Roman salute, Richard Wagner, the Königgrätzer Marsch, the Übermensch concept, the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, the office of Chancellor, the entire nation of Germany, German nationalism as a whole, the German word "Führer," the word "Aryan," the Theory of Evolution, nine out of ten internet discussions, the Worms Eye View, trout with butter sauce, a particular tree, anti-smoking policies, vegetarianism... (list of ruined things go on for pages) the first name Adolf, and especially the surname Hitler.
Strangely, Volkswagen cars, the Autobahn, and the emo hairstyle also haven't suffered the same fate, nor has the term "assault rifle."
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*Someone once said that he wants me to do History Channel specials on dictators. Pol Pot: Social Engineering Madman, or Was he Just an Asshat?
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I think the difference here is that I see a lot more of the advantages that darkness offers by obscuring vision... And how the disadvantages aren't in the least unique to it. Yes, there are dangers in the dark. There are dangers in the light, too. Swans, for example, despite their angelic connotations, are complete bastards. Lions, tigers, bears and many other animals capable of tearing us to shreds are diurnal. Many conmen and politicians are all-too-willing to use our preconceptions about light vs dark to fool us. Perhaps the best example of that I've encountered is a desert. By night, you freeze. By day, you boil. Light and dark both have hostile elements, just in different ways.
I do take your point about human vision, though. I think that's the crux of it: My body runs a little hotter than the norm, and I have good night eyes, so I'm better equipped to deal with the darkness and have much less reason to fear it. A summers day makes me uncomfortable, while a winter chill bothers me much less. Heck, winter means clouds and rain, and I like being rained on.
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Ummm, When I read those line in Boast Busted, I interpreted it as Trixie was feeling bad about the tragic story of the sisters and that, due to the stress of being turned back to normal, she was still recovering back at the castle physically and perhaps mentally from guilt.
When I read the scene, I was struck stupid. WHAUT!?
I feel bad. I feel like I had been conned out of a happy ending.
Dang.....
Still, it is a creative AU. Props for that.