This collection of stories is set in an alternative Conversion Bureau timeline where Mankind reigns triumphant, having destroyed Equestria and sent it back into the sea. The only remnants are Celestia's severed head and the now-docile earth ponies that are made from her blood.
As mankind claws itself back from the brink of extinction, it must build a new society and move forwards into the future, with a changed destiny shared now by two sentient life-forms. In this collection, stories will be spun about sacrifice, loss, and nobility of spirit, of two hands and four hooves.
new title card from http://mi9.com/shattered-horizon-intro_77122.html
Chapters (13)
I feel for Joss, I really do... perpetually cheerful AIs would get annoying after about five seconds
MOAR
That there is one brutal, and engaging, synopsis Mids. Hope you're well mate, cheers.
Interesting, very interesting, I give it a track!
From the synopsis alone I'm going to give this a pass. Sorry dude.
Well, this is disquietingly dystopian. Especially the on-Earth ponies' reactions to the disappearance of Equestria. I'm thinking of doing something with this universe myself, and this is exactly what I needed to get from vague concept to fine detail. Thanks!
528995 Sorry to see you go!
529026 Yeah, this is one that's been rattling around in my brain for a while - I'm writing it as a way to blow off steam from my more serious and other less-serious pieces. You will see a resolution to this part of the tale, but I aim for this to be a collection of maybe one-shots or two to three parters - no real timeframe for them, but they'll come.
528947 I'm doing okay, yup. The synopsis is as brutal as the world it is about - even though I'm playing with some pretty black humour in places, and it's not all doom and gloom. This is one for those who like to say they hate how mankind never wins in the other TCB worlds, so keep that in mind...
529055 You can find it here. It's from Chatoyance's "brand new universe" collection, and I've decided to run with it a little bit. It gives me a different take to play with, and it tickles my fancy.
I.... I don't think I like this....
I don't like the way this chapter is making me feel. The misathropic feeling Joss generates from me is too much for comfort. I'm still interested to see what you do but... the last two paragraphs...bleh
thank you. you have finally fulfilled my wish... in the most fucked up way possible.
looking good. i was wondering when you would catch the NU bug.
529113 Misanthropic? But... humans are triumphant! And those bloody useless newfoals, pfeh! They're animals, they're no longer human. How can this be "misanthropic" ?
Meh, I'll stick to Jonathan Swift for my daily dose of misanthropy. Still, I found the writing more tolerable than most of the CB stories I have tried to read, so I might check back later to see how it progresses.
529177 Ah, my dear sir, the classics. I'm glad to hear your modest proposal of a repeat visit later.
I think I like this! (Mainly because finally, humans weren´t xenocided)
Duct tape, you are to humans what magic is to ponies.
529138
Sarcasm aside, I think I figured out why I hate Joss so much already. His narration reveals that ignorant, unquestioning hate that comes with real nitty-gritty racism. And it gets to me.
that synopsis... err i'll pass.
529294 Nothing cures racism like being forced to look in a mirror, amirite?
This is funny, dark, fun, and wonderful. You Crusade me tenderly with your prose, and my Happiness Quotient just goes up by 73 percent.
I laugh at those claiming this is misanthropic - have they bothered to look at the real world, outside their happy little consumer paradise for even a second? Replace 'ponies' with Foxconn workers, and Nanobars with Ipads and Cellphones and you have written about now, today, in Real Life.
Misanthropic - it can't be misanthropy unless telling the truth is itself a misanthropic act.
But then again, in a world where denial and lies are accepted as reality, truth becomes a revolutionary act, doesn't it?
'Misanthropic' - the empty complaint of the ostrich with their head in the ground... and their ass in the air, open and waiting.
Thank non-existent god for the clear and honest vision of... well, YOU.
encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRvithMKHzKWiRGue2Xl4049lLYTKl-F6UUfA8rFunN-Jd7oW_7HQ
All you need and all you need to know.
Wow, sucks to be him...
looking forward to what comes next Midnight
You betrayed the law....
I AM THE LAW *bangs gavel*
Waitan-Yatami...
Weyland-Yutani...
529682
Since I'm the only one who has used 'misanthropic' I'll go ahead and I assume this is directed at me, as vain as that is. I think that there was an error in communication on my part in the identifying the difference between my feelings toward the story as a whole, my feelings toward the character(s) in the story, and my personal state of mind upon reading the story. Using the word 'misanthropic' itself seems a faux pas in hindsight given the as it's one of the biggest complaints about the CB universe in general.
529323
I thought about your comment and checked a mirror, but it was just the same handsome bastard that's always there.
530602 That's what I thought when I read that.
530655
Don't feel singled out, Vortex - there are about five or six people who regularly level the charge of 'misanthropic' at the entirety of the TCB genre. There is always a uniform five to six thumbs down with every TCB story published that appear within the first hour. I strongly suspect that it is the same people.
Most readers seem to be able to bridge the world-gap and accept the alien worldview that in a cosmos where it is possible to change species, it could be necessary, pleasant, or even good. But there is a small group that are essentially cheerleaders for the Great Naked Ape, and they will brook no talk of that ape's failings... even within a story that at the same time describes the virtues of human characters within it. It seems to be a hot-button to say anything true - at all - about Man's proclivities within their earshot.
Some of us in the TCB group, meaning me, mostly, have become overly sensitized to these annoying, unfounded attacks, and feel driven to slap the little parasprites down for being unable to hear even the smallest word against their favorite mammal. For me, it's like dealing with fanatical cat-lovers who go nuts if one merely suggests that cats, as lone, isolated predators, can be just a little bit murdery and incapable of the full range of social behaviors shown by more social animal species. They can't hear that kitties are still pretty or nice or fun, all they hear is that they are pointlessly vicious, which they are, sometimes, and go apeshit from that point.
I am the first to say a person can be wonderful, marvelous, the best. But I am also clear on what people, what the human species as a whole is, does, and has done. And I can imagine better.
The inevitable result of imagining something better is that the original pales by comparison, and may even be seen to be a bit shabby. That is the natural result of dreaming beyond what is. I do not consider it misanthropic to admit Mankind's failings, which are beyond legion.
Curious. Anyone note how the AIs seem to be conspiring to improve humanity's behaviour? The house AI is using negative reinforcement to encourage politeness and a more pleasant disposition, although it isn't terribly effective. The bear is encouraging kindness and sympathy, although it backfired terrifyingly.
Hmmmm.
531784 Let's throw some more paranoia fuel on this fire: What if that didn't backfire? What if the people who still have some shred of decency and kindness, who might work to improve things for their fellow man if they ever attain some degree of power, are being weeded out and given hooves before that can ever happen?
Looks like we're getting a pony's eye view from here on out. I wonder what's taken the place of the conversion dream...
530602 Unintentional, but apt. Darn you, subconscious!
531871
531784
Oh, you noticed that, huh?
531628
I'm having far more fun than I should doing this deliciously dystopian universe where thumbs still reign supreme. See the noble works of the great ape...
I am, of course, enjoying hamming it up in the comments, too.
Not sure if I sure I should read this, mostly because I have trouble standing negativity about the human race and how bad and smelly and evil we are. If this fic isn't that, then I apologize
EDIT: Oh ho ho ho man. This fic is glorious. The sadist in me is laughing at what these idjits are doing to themselves. Baka humans, you could've had peace. Tracked.
532319
If they give you a bit part, make the best of it -- chew the scenery like fodder.
531871 That's something I was "hmmmm"ing about. The idea of a society that has adapted to route altruism and empathy into a state of oblivion is a rather disturbing one. It would have to be the dominion of quite clever psychopaths, and I have difficulty believing it would be stable for more than a few generations. Still, I think I've shed a kilogram or two of sleep for having considered any of this.
532395
Well, I'm having a lot of fun with the characters and the setting. Truthfully, I'm weaving a dark, dark world here where humans are in control of everything. Ponies lost. No more rainbows and kittens. What they do have now though, is a captive, docile workforce of non-human sentient sapiences at their disposal.
If that doesn't bring out both the worst and the best of humanity, then I don't know what will.
This whole little tale is sarcasm writ large about corporate life and the screwings over that really do happen. I'll get to the better half of humanity later. Probably. And that doesn't automatically mean ponies! Every dog (or pony) has his day, so before we can get to the Scarlet Pimpernel, we have to wade through les miserables.
Oh... my goddess, this story is just becoming increasingly awesome. I am serious. This is freaking powerful stuff, with astonishing details and an incredible world.
I figured, when this started, 'that's really nice, taking that world concept and doing anything with it, Midnight is being nice to me.' No. No that is not the case here. This is Midnight taking a concept, making it his own, and powerfully executing it in a way that is blowing the roof off of my mind. DAMN. Now I am all like 'why the fuck didn't I do this myself, this is better than I imagined! Shit!'... well too late, sucker, because Middy's done gone and showed you how STEAK IS DONE!
I am jaw-droppingly impressed. The world, the clock, the teddy, the doing good going wrong, the inevitable ponification... you are surprising me at every turn, exciting me with every paragraph - this. Is. Good. Really good.
Oh, and if you were to take this all the way. Sweet Luna's Left Hoof... there's unhappy ponies yearning for better, the head of a screaming goddess in a box, and a whole, gouged-out planet of excitement to explore. I am on edge just to see what you do next. I should have take this scenario more seriously. Wow.
You have totally won me over.
This effin rocks.
Damned bureaucrat, no matter what kind of stories you're in, you still a dickhead
And I was kind of suspicious they stuffed somepony inside that teddy bear
Weird theme you got here, but it was an enjoyable read nevertheless.
But somewhere... Tia's head is still screaming
Have I said how much I like Dystopian fics? Because I do.
It's really nice to see some pro-human stories.
Unfortunately, as someone who has worked for big name companies in the past, this is probably a pretty accurate look at what the legal system would look like if it were fully privatized...
woo hoo! more!
Joss Hayes, Ace Atter- ow wait nevermind.
''As he trotted through the barred revolving door, Joss...''
WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT.
Humans trot now?
533679 Actually yes, they do. It's a bit of a euphemism, but I'm using it deliberately. Technically, a walk is a two-legged trot - or it has been said as such. Don't quote me on that, but it's fun to think of it like that.
533841 Ah.
On another note: finished reading the chapter... Man it sucks to be him. Who to blame.... I KNOW! TEDDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
533861 Teddy! You got some 'splainin ta doooo!
534047 Permanent Re-Assignment for all shop stewards? *Shakes fists into the air and yells* TEDDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Conversion Dream, with the blasted emptiness of obliterated Equestria, and the tattered, fragile shade of Celestia was superb. Good job there.
HOWEVER the abrupt change to Juniper didn't work as well for me. It skipped too far, too fast - I can only assume Juniper is Newfoal Joss? It's confusing. What I needed to see here was Newfoal Joss coming to terms with his change, joining Strawberry and... Keylime?... and being ushered out to the plantation barn. I would have loved to see inside his head as bits of who he was surfaced vaguely amidst who he had become, and how that felt and worked. I would have loved to have been set up for what amounts to 'ROOTS' for ponies. It felt like you just... petered out. What's up with that? That's twice now. Ambassador's Son ending and now this... and it's a problem because you grab hold of the dragon of lightning, wrestle him into a bottle, light up the whole room with the glory, and then just... let the dragon suffocate in there. Punch some air-holes and keep the story alive. I am... frustrated here, because you are so damn good.
The more I think about it, the more cheated I feel here. I am getting angrier as I type this. This was golden, and then... that. NO. Dammit, BAD AUTHOR. Smack you. You brought me THIS close, I was just about to peak, and then, nothing.
Maybe you need to pick a story, one story, just ONE, and really DO it. All the way. This isn't working for me. You had it all, the teddy, the characters, the world, all the details. It was golden, and then...quick dump to months later, three paragraphs, the end? NO.
I'm sorry, but... that is not how you end a story, especially one that just started to get good. GRRR. I think I will go throw a tantrum now. Frustrated.
You are a vastly better author than this. Vastly, hugely better.
It's impressive how awkward this chapter became to me
In other news... Some of what MAYBE went through Joss' mind: ''This is what I get for helping people.''
BTW I have a feeling that he WILL remember who he was, and then... The excrement WILL strike the ventilation unit.
551535
551549
Okay, you know what? Mea Culpa.
I should know by now when to take a break - in the chapter, at least. Not the narrative.
You saw nothing. The chapter ends with Not-Joss waking up... and the saga continues.
/me waves hooves about
I'll be going back to the world as it should be done next week.