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Persuaded by Pinkie Pie to loosen up, Twilight Sparkle uncharacteristically deviates from her routine and finds a street that does not exist on any map, a street that should not be there. Down this road is both a threat, and an answer, one that may help us all reconcile the troubling inconsistencies between Season One, and all subsequent seasons of MLP:FIM.
Alpha-Twilight in Beta-Ponyville? Looks interesting...
Also, I apologize for faving before reading but truth be told, I've yet to see you write a story I didn't want to follow. To make up for it, I only gave a thumbs-up after reading this. You, and this story, deserve both.
(for those who don't get what I'm talking about, read Chatoyance's guide to the ponyverses)
In before it gets featured.
Now this sounds really interesting. I definitely love the way Twilight is characterized in this, and Pinkie and Dash were also done very well; I love how Twilight made some minute distinction in just how much she was annoyed by the two of them. I'll keep an eye on this one.
Edit after reading more chapters: Nope, this is becoming way too preachy and negative for my tastes. Even the excellent characterization can't save it. It's basically just a massive treatise about how much you hate Season 2 presented as a story. At times you have valid points, but just as often you seem to complain about something being different in Season 2, even if it's not necessarily worse, while being strangely forgiving of Season 1 episodes in which similar things happen.
Hmm, this looks very interesting.
Of course, the real reason there's a sudden hill (that's not big enough to be called a mountain, really) in Ponyville is because it was plot-convenient to the silly children's show. 
But still, this might be a fun exercise in parallel universes and multiple copies of our favorite ponies. Consider my curiosity aroused.
What? Manticore? Throwing Faust at me randomly? What the hell?
Are you even responding to this story, specifically? This story is called 'Around The Bend' and it exists to examine and solve the problems of a lack of continuity. It involves a street and walking. There are NO Manticores. There are NO battles. There IS an impossible mountain. I don't even have a clue what you are going on about.
From my perspective, you just said "Machine Blueberry isn't Gooball Squart, therefore I am not reading this story!" My response is WTF?
Less drinking, more thinking. Stat.
I drew this version of the map, but it is heavily based on the extensive work done by Aurebesh, who analyzed season one images and discovered that the town could be rationally mapped. That is true continuity in action. Here is his utterly impressive effort:
I took his work, expanded it myself, and then finished the result in the style of The Prisoner. I completed many things, such as the railroad, which he had not placed, and so forth. I am, however, indebted to his tremendous effort. Kudos should go to him.
Waaaaaait a second...
(72 kgrum - 20 kgrum) / 72 kgrum * 100 = 72.2% repeating less frustrating, not 20% 
...Sorry. With Twilight offering the narrative perspective, I came out of this feeling awfully pedantic. In any case, I'm not sure whether I'm looking forward to more or if I should cite the MST3K Mantra. I'll settle for the former, though Twilight may not be the only one who should really just relax. Well, after she's left the Betaverse. She's got full license to panic while dimensionally displaced.
All I have to say is that this is a perfectly logical story to produce after your Ponyverses blog. Yes, perfectly logical.
This message is sponsored by the Twilight Sparkle Thought Filter™ (Registered trademark of Hasbro.) Yes, you too can think like the original Purple Pony: be logical and organized, mistreat your house-mate, worry about everything, overanalyse any situation and get into a panic over absolutely nothing! Yes, the Twilight Sparkle Thought Filter ™ will give you hours of anxious fun. Available at all fine multiverse outlets.
Like trekkies, there are many in this fandom that, in their hearts, truly wish for Equestria to be real. We would not have such a glut of stories about bronies dying and getting Equestrian afterlives, or falling through wormholes and ending up in Equestria, or, for that matter, Conversion Bureau stories were that not so.
Like every fandom of a fantasy where the readers or viewers secretly hope that their fantasy could be real somewhere, the fans try to MAKE it real by detailing every aspect, and checking the whole for consistency. Life is self-consistent, unlike dreams, so if the fantasy can be shown to be self-consistent, then the dreamers can enjoy the notion that, somewhere, somehow, their magic world really, truly exists. Equestria is heaven, it is religion.
Just like L. Frank Baum's 'Oz', I might mention. Baum had many readers convinced that 'Oz' was a real place. The readers, young and old, wanted so desperately to believe that they tried mightily to identify the exact location of Oz from every little scrap of information they could glean. They put Trekkies to shame. Eventually, Baum had to claim Oz had moved out into the ocean and become surrounded by an invisibility shield that was utterly impenetrable to all humans. Further stories were claimed to come not as letters from Dorothy and her friends, but as radio signals, the only thing that could penetrate the Great Barrier Of Oz.
Sound familiar? Great Barrier Of Oz... the Great Barrier of Equestria from the Conversion Bureau stories, far out at sea?
In it's time, 'Oz' was the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic of its day. Adults loved the stories more than the intended audience, and became obsessed with every nuance. They wanted, desperately, to believe that Oz was real, that there was a wonderful, peaceful fairyland ruled by a benevolent magical fairy so very, very much. This fandom is the sole reason Oz is even relevant at all today. Fandom is powerful, y'all.
The same can be said of several other works, but I site 'Oz' because of... many similarities... to Equestria. I am keenly aware of this connection with every story I write, and with every massive work I see other bronies do. We are treading in deep, respectable footprints, everypony.
Remember - the 'Oz' books were not considered classics in their day at all. They were considered to be crap for children, and it was embarrassing for adults to love and adore them. But they did anyway. Just like today, with MLP:FIM.
And that is why I am so adamant about the writers of MLP:FIM not screwing the pooch and destroying continuity.
Because continuity is the magic that makes fantasy worlds become eternal. And classics.
And it is what can make a brony analyze an entire season of images to construct an accurate map of Ponyville.
Or a silly woman in Olympia write over a half a million words on Fimfiction. 
No, the right word is 'Season Two'. That's all I'm doing here. Rewatch 'The Mysterious Mare Do Well' and 'Putting Your Hoof Down', as examples. I've used actual text from the scripts. That is the point of this story. I am having Season One Twilight meet Season Two Equestria and its denizens. But, I intend more than simply to point out that the writing has started to fail the show.
I have an answer, a no-prize, a convenient explanation - a way to cope coming. I have, I hope, a decent way to reconcile the paradise of Season One that captured our hearts with the increasingly meanspirited, cynical, and inconsistent bent of Season Two and likely, Season Three.
I am trying to save the sinking ship of writing on the series with a (hopefully) clever explanation. Let's sit back and see if I can do it, or if I just end up looking like a twit. Or a twat. I think I'd rather be a twat than a twit - twits are just stupid, but everypony loves a good... um... nevermind. Too much shipping stories, obviously.
I predict bladecasting, war with a new villain, and of course MOAR GUN!
Seattle is a city built in a hilly farmland area, like Ponyville. It totally has a death road with a cliff at the bottom. Two winters ago several buses went careening down it. 
That said, the lampshading of the death road does keep cracking me up. Especially 'death road'. I giggle every time I say it.
Hmm... is the mysterious explanation Discord-related? 
This... might be genius. Turning a gripe into a masterpiece, an objection into, if you may pardon the vernacular, a great big heart-felt fuck you that successfully uses that objection in an engaging, in-character metafictional romp of spectacular proportions.
Then again, haven't read it all yet. 
So here I am, preparing to set sail for Maximum Whimsy.
I wanted to use a character other than simply the ones shown in the actual episode I was referencing. Why? I'm already using words from the actual original script, there is a point where reference becomes merely retelling. I wanted to avoid that. So I did a little mixing. Since the characters in that episode were... completely out of character - so to speak- it is beyond reasonable to expect that the author of that episode, Merriwether Williams, would have taken the same liberties with any given character. Continuity didn't matter to her, clearly, and the characters were just pawns in her script. I felt free to pick any pony at all.
I settled on Granny Smith because I felt that it was the most emotional choice I could make. In trying to show the shock of the discrepancy between the two Equestrias, picking emotional choices is an excellent tool. Think of my choosing Granny Smith as a kind of emotional italicizing so that the discordant experience Twilight is having would be especially felt by the reader. If that scene disturbed or unsettled you, then I succeeded. If you felt nothing at all, I failed.
Yep. Merriwether Williams indeed
I'm speculating that Pinkie Pie will be the same one -- in fact, perhaps there is ONLY one Pinkie Pie -- and she'll be, like, "Yup! I come here all the time! You mean you didn't know this place was over here? It's a great shortcut!"
Edit: Or perhaps the Twilight-Pinkie power-swap fic I'm reading is putting out too much influence. But whatever! :D
I will be honest: I thought this was just going to be a somewhat angsty, preachy story about how S2 messed with continuity so often - a topic that I acknowledge as having some grounds, but minimal merit or relevance.
It still kinda is, but it's damn entertaining to read, so I no longer give even one flying fornication.
Only thing that bopped me on the nose was the name "Carrottop". Usual practice is to stick a space in there, giving "Carrot Top". Other than that, I'm curious as to where you're taking this.
>>581786 Jumping... Shark Street... 
I can't believe I only just got that.
In any case, I'd definitely see Pinkie Pie were I in Twilight's hooves. In a world gone mad, who better to turn to than the craziest pony you know? Of course, first she has to cope with Fluttersertive. That can't end well...
> the living sun goddess Celestia
err... I know Twilight has a serious case of hero-worship going for Celestia, but I've never figured it to be literally religious worship. I didn't get that impression from season one or season two, and I hope they never go there in the future.
AS is often the case with your stories, this one is making me ponder and think -- sometimes along uncomfortable lines, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
*Sees chapter title* Oh no...
*Sees interaction with Pinkie* Um... huh. Okay, I can see where you're going with this. Still, kind of ironic that, of all things, it's Pinkie actually being amenable to a serious discussion that keeps Twilight from doing just that with her. Well, that and Rarity with the melodrama cranked up to eleven, which can put anyone off her game.
As for Celestia... ooh boy. You're going to merciless there, aren't you? Poor Twilight...
I don't quite understand why you're bashing Season 2 so much, Rainbow Dash reading what's so wrong about that? 
Yes Rarity in Season 2 was often much more of a drama queen but she still learned a lot of valueable lessons as did everyone else. 
The pictures are cool though, you must tell me how you do those. 
I do my own cover art, occasionally I do cover art for others within the Conversion Bureau mythos. I also do my own interior spot art - though in this case, I am using actual screen shots from the show because it is necessary for the purpose of reminding readers of specific episodes that I am referencing in this story. Of course I did play a bit, such as with the picture of Twi saving the carriage.
All of Season Two is not troublesome. I've identified only five or six episodes that are destructive, and one of my very favorite songs - Smile - is in Season 2. I don't have a problem with Season Two overall. That is not my issue.
My issue is those few episodes that were clearly written with no concept of the series they were written for. No effort to even comprehend the story bible for the series, no effort to even try to work with the established events of the show. That is lazy, poor, unforgivable writing, and it should not be tolerated in any series whatsoever, not just MLP:FIM.
If you are going to write for a series - book, television, comic book, whatever - study the series before you begin. Learn something about your subject. Watch the previous episodes, learn the characters, and if nothing else, follow the damn story bible. All series have a story bible. Read the damn thing.
Secondly, if you are going to be a story editor for a series, make sure the scripts fit the damn series. That is the other point of failure. Certain MLP writers screwed the pooch, yes. But the story editor put the pooch out there, unprotected, in the first place.
Failure on a television program is a cooperative effort. It takes a lack of caring on the part of more than just one person. Because things are arranged to try to avoid it, for obvious reasons.
That it DID happen, is my beef.
Solving their mistake, their lazy, pathetic error... that is my goal. With this story.
Let's see if I can pull them out of the hole they dug for themselves.... but first, I have to establish the problem. A LOT of bronies just don't see the problem. It's there, but they are... in denial. First I establish the problem, then I try to solve it. That is the arc of this work, in case you are curious.
Thanks for pointing those blog entries out. I hadn't seen them before. After looking them over I felt compelled to write one of my own. Check it: FiM's direction in Season Two
>>589362 MAGICK.
I'm going to hold off on any and all commentary, review, and so on until this is entirely done. I want to comment on the entire thing all at once, in length and detail, for full fairness. A lack of silence isn't necessarily enthusiasm, of course!
>>589594 "I think you're taking Season 2 a little too seriously."
Perhaps you've noticed the quotations that preface each chapter? They are real, though I have changed the names of the famous people to make them more pony - "Mare Twain" instead of "Mark Twain", that sort of thing. They answer you here very, very eloquently because those quotes are from famous, successful, wealthy, historical individuals, and therefore matter. Unlike me.
But, if I might be indulged, here is the bottom line: if a fantasy or science fiction work cannot be bothered to be self-consistent, then it fails its primary reason for existing. The point of a good fiction is to provide an escape from reality, and to do that, it must permit the suspension of disbelief.
That primary requirement is what makes Middle Earth, Oz, and the universes of Star Trek and Babylon 5 classic, memorable works, and what dooms things like Sliders (after the first, brief, brilliant season), The Sword Of Shanarra (never heard of it? Not surprized. It was BIG once, even though it sucked, hard), Space Rangers, Earth 2, and countless other pieces of shlock forgettable failures.
If you are a writer, and you don't take narrative consistency seriously, you are a hack.
The most criminal thing is to say 'It's only a cartoon', or 'It's only a TV show', or 'It's only a book'. Those who say that, those who think that way, are why we cannot have good things. Literally, they are the reason crappy things are permitted to exist, and why great things are allowed to be ruined.
"All failure comes from not taking things seriously enough." That is a quotation you can attribute to me.
I think you're taking season 1 fanon too seriously and trying too hard not to be able to suspend your disbelief. 
Some people watch 'Putting your Hoof Down', see everyone acting like an ass to Fluttershy, and say, "That's clever. Normally we're seeing what people seem like to ponies like Twilight that everyone respects, or Pinkie Pie who thinks she's friends with everyone, but here's Fluttershy's perspective where everyone's out to get her." 
You say, "OMG evil dopplegangers!" 
What the? Celestia's horn broken, even in the Season 2 finale it didn't break it was blackend after the fight with Chrysalis but not broken.
I still don't know why you're bashing Season 2 so much, not everything about the show has to be perfect, it's about love and toloerance after all. 
Oh my...
Well, this is an interesting existential conundrum: When your god breaks, who do you call for technical support?
Also, I hadn't really considered the deeper ramifications of Shining Armor's presence in Twilight's life until now. I think I was too focused on WTF THIRD ALICORN NO EXPLANATION WHY???? 
...yeah.
If nothing else, this was as much an exquisitely constructed argument against the finale as it was an enjoyable transition chapter. I have none of the issues I did with earlier scenes where there were feasible (if occasionally flimsy) explanations for seemingly out-of-character behavior. Fantastically well executed.
Thank you for pointing out some of the positive character developments in Season 2. Though I have quite some problems with it (the season, not the character development), most of which you have already touched upon, there are some really nice things in it too.
At least until you have mastered your world-shifting ability enough to finally choose which realm you would stake claim to.
Dawww'd when Twilight hug the beta Celestia 
So there's only one Twilight, and she controls which Equestria is showed? Dayum girl you so scary
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