It's been more than a thousand years since the Mane Six's adventures in Ponyville, and things look very different. Equestria is gone, devoured by chaos. Nightmare creatures roam the lands, changelings prey on the few remaining pony settlements, and all trace of the peace and harmony during Princess Celestia's reign has vanished.
Until, that is, a small group of ponies set out to map the Tangle, and find a slumbering dragon inside. Now Spike, a millenium out of his time and with only his memories to comfort him, is ponykind's only hope. Together, he and his new friends set out to find the one pony who can set things right: Twilight Sparkle.
Cover art by the inestimable TheAuthorGl1m0.
Featured by The Royal Guard on February 4th, 2014.
[img]http://tinyurl.com/kaxbtuk[/img]
AUTHOR'S NOTES
- Beware of spoilers in the comment section!
- Currently undergoing heavy revision for chapters nineteen and onward. The "lost" chapters - that is, the story as it was originally published - can be found here.
So is the pegasus named Tailspin or Spitfire? You use both names.
Anyway, it's interesting so far. I've put it on my "read later" list to keep an eye on it.
Really good start man. I like how much emotion is put into Rarity's house/statue. Would love to see where this goes. Keep it up!
Off to a good start. I'm a fan of old spike fics and I'm looking forward to the next update
definitely interesting and the vines sound like the thing discord planted
very good, keep up the good work
3768884 Ha! Thanks for catching that. It's Tailspin, but apparently "two-syllable pegasus name" is too much for my brain to handle without getting confused.
Clearly I am the best at this.
Quick updates, you are going to spoil us.
Good chapter, feels like a SHTF moment is coming soon. I can't wait
Hi there pal! Rough.!
Just found this story and red it th
i like it really much and hope that you continue to write it! the beginning so far has been avesome. many questions, none of the ansvers and i am really excited to read what happend and how.
so then... i will be waiting and have agood time!
Oh, it's never a good idea to piss off a dragon. Even a nice dragon
Whoo Spike burn that mother down!
I was pleasantly surprised when I found this story. It's definitely one that I want to keep an eye on.
Keep at it!
That first scene was very nicely done.
And what a
Things can't ever be easy for the protagonists, but then it wouldn't be a very exciting story would it.
Chrysalis. always the one with the elaborate plans and disgyses... i really like this about her... You've portrayed her quite well i must say. keep up the good work!
So Twilight's really gone? :(
3805930 Well, she wasn't in that castle, at least.
...I'm trying very, very hard not to make the obvious reference.
I liked it. I enjoyed the drama of how it all ended but still left me wanting to see what is next for the group. Keep up the great work.
3806561 Don't worry. It's not over yet. And thank you for the comment!
At least everyone is still alive. It's turning into a grand adventure. Try not to burn yourself out with these constant updates, as much as I enjoy it, I'd hate to see you stop because it became a chore
Thanks for all the hard work. That was a great read. I cant wait to see the next generation will be like. As long as you are writing I'll be here to read it lol
Why do people keep portraying Chrysalis as that powerful? She wasn't. She was *nowhere near* that powerful.
Oh yes this made me smile like a madman! Kill em all!!!!
Good chapter. I'm kinda bothered that Twilight was fake but hey; can't have everything at the start can we?
I entered this story with relatively low expectations. I left chapter 11 with a wanting for more, more, and more. You've managed to blow me away with this story and it's a shame this story isn't as popular as it should be.
3806266
Heh.... Sorry but your princess is in another castle!
3815750
Put in mind that over 800 years have passed, anything could happen.
3816230
It takes a while, but I'm sure it will get its attention soon enough.
You sire, really do blow up any.expectations hat i might have had about this story! really. amazing how you spin it so that i cant predict what to Wait for next... reeeaaal niiice....
3816301 This story portrays her as having always been that powerful, and she wasn't.
3817613 Characters are open to interpretation! I can't say much more, though, as that would be !!SPOILERS!!.
...I probably overuse that icon, but damn it's awesome.
You mean this? Also, I'm pretty sure Bic Macintosh should be Big Macintosh.
Great chapter regardless.
3818060 YOU SAW NOTHING
And thank you. Always good to know someone's enjoying it.
3817744 Well, unless your interpretation is that she just lied about everything and isn't really as powerful as she pretended to be, we still have a problem here. When she went up against Celestia in Canterlot Wedding, she had to really strain herself, was clearly surprised that she won, and said it was only because Shining Armor loved Cadence as much as he did. Add to that the very likely possibility that Celestia held back because she didn't want to harm the bystanders, and you have Chrysalis being nowhere near as powerful as folks around here keep writing her.
3818324 she has had at least several hundred years of running rampant with no checks, and you are assuming that spike is on the same level as Celestia. To be honest we dont have much to base thier relative power levels on. Spike overestimated his abilities, and took some serious blows. That doesn't nesisarily mean that Chrysalis is all that powerfull. She landed three attacks that didn't cripple spike, he was still able to get away even if it exhausted him. The important thing is, in this story she isn't a pushover. That isn't to hard to believe.
3818570 I'm talking about the events of the TV show, not the events in this story. And I'm starting to get extremely frustrated at going around in circles with people who seem be paying no attention to the point I'm actually making. So one last time, and then I am quitting:
This story portrays Chrysalis as having *always* had Alicorn-strength magic, and she did not. Full stop.
What, is there like a sort of suffering quota you've got to meet every chapter? Like, oh hey, looks like Tailspin's doing better, better go make some other character suffer now.
Just messing of course.
I'm guessing Spike might wipe out all of the changelings and fears he might lose himself in the process. Could Spike burn down the Tangle and kill one or more of the current antagonists? Some part of me thinks/dreads Twilight is dead, another thinks/dreads she has been captured and tortured, though we can rule out Chrysalis as the culprit. Another part of me thinks/dreads she might be Nightmare Moon. Either way I sense/dread/approve Spike might be driven to the point when he will become the ultimate evil and declare himself an enemy to good and evil.
3819450 "alicorn-strength"magic means very little, not all alicorns are created equal she was able to trick or overpower cadence and keep her imprisoned. All we know from that episode is that she isn't as powerful as Celestia without a significant boost.
the story runs with the fanon that developed after the hearts and hooves day episode that chrysalis was the princess that the love poison was developed for, and it worked too well, after her husband died, she needed love and that twisted her into a changeling that had to steal love to survive. As Long as the story remains consistent with itself I dont have trouble believing this universe.
I understand you don't like Chrysalis being portrayed this way, but if every story had to adhere strictly to only what had been seen before in episodes, there would be very few stories to read.
Edit: good chapter, the element of magic may be closer than they think
3821277 Not quite. I'm just not one to gloss over the consequences of this stuff. This is tagged Dark and Sad for a reason, after all.
3821362 Never, ever bring up that abomination of an adaptation in my presence again, or I might find myself going on a draconic rampage of my own*.
Behold, Smaug as he should have been.
*: Kidding (mostly). I dislike that adaptation intensely for a host of reasons, and it's one of the few movies that I can actually say I truly hate (and it did screw up everything with Smaug horribly), but I'm not, like, legit mad it got brought up or anything.
3822342
Well I suppose I can relate to that feeling from a different situation. My bad, no need to flay me alive or anything...hehe
How about this?
3822509 No flaying going on here! I just want to go Flutterhulk on Peter Jackson every time that movie is mentioned.
I am sitting in class, and I almost burst into tears. This is beautifully written!
3821574
There is a huge difference between adhering only to what happens in the show, and merely not contradicting it. You are attributing the first point of view to me, but I hold to the second.
Chrysalis was not as powerful as an alicorn. This is simply not honestly deniable.
I have no idea how to feel about Reveille. I mean, I get that he's stressed and everything and there's a lot on the line but he acts like such an unlikable jerk. Certainly no Element of Kindness.
3822999 I guess I'm not seeing where exactly you have a problem, I'm sorry.
This chapter had some good news in it. Now I'm worried about what horrible thing is gonna happen next chapter to balance it out.
Oh geez, this can't end well. It doesn't seem likely that the Elements would be in Canterlot and if/when they come back empty-handed...
Gah, now to wait in suspense. How do you find the time to churn out chapters so quickly?
3831955
I'm forcing myself to write at least one chapter per day. I'm not editing any of them beforehand, admittedly, which several people have noticed due to minor spelling or punctuation errors that make it past me. I'm really just making myself write this because I've been suffering from severe writer's block for over a year, this is the first idea that really grabbed my attention, and I'm determined to get SOMETHING out there, whether or not it's good.
If people are enjoying it, fantastic. If not, I can always come back and edit later. For now, I'm just focused on getting the words down, so I can churn them out at a pretty rapid pace.
3836667 I would say you are doing a damn fine job for not having anyone else look over the story. Haven't really noticed any glaring issues
As for the chapter, oh dear.
While I think I can predict some plot points I don't find them to be weaknesses for this story, it feels a little like Fallout Equestria, with ponies trying to restore Equestria. I did like Cysalis's explanation for herself too. And What became of Nightmare Moon (I think my prediction will be right, but I give no spoilers) and Sombra should be interesting. Also the Question of Alicorn immortality is raised, as Celestia, Luna and Cadance "dead" in the transnational sense, or some kind of immortal form of death they can come back from?
Yeesh, this world has it rough. Every villan gets free rein to do whatever. What's next, the smooze?
3842212 SURPRISE this is actually a 40k crossover
last chapter is Angron tearing Equestria a new one while screaming BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD