Once upon a time, (if the term even applies) two young ladies, (if that adjective even applies) decided to visit a magical land of Equestria, selected seemingly at random from about a million.
- One of the two is a time traveler deprived of her time machine, the other is an eldritch abomination out of her element.
- One would prefer the world of pastel-colored ponies to stay as it is, and can’t help but alter it. The other one is anxious to see how it can change, and can’t help but maintain it.
- Both believe that this is not their story. But while they disturb the delicate world of ponies, they don’t even notice ponies doing the same to them.
- Sandwiches are involved somehow.
There are many things this story is and some things it isn’t.
It’s not a fix fic, no matter what some of the characters think. It’s written in multiple first person narration, which happened for a pointlessly clever reason, that will eventually become quite obvious. It’s not a crossover, it just comes with an unhealthy amount of backstory. It could be a rational-fic, but since idealistic philosophy is typically not seen as very rational, it’s only a philoso-fic instead. It’s quite meta, in the original definition of metafiction: fiction concerned with fiction as a concept. In any case, it’s either a small monument to overthinking things – I’m trying to reexamine many fanon ideas here – or a digital paperweight, I’m not sure which. It’s quite a bit more subtle than it could be, and everyone talks way too much when they should be having glorious adventures.
I know how it starts, I know how it ends, and most of what happens in between. Readers say it’s a slow burner, but we’ll get there eventually.
Acknowledgements
With special thanks to my editors, Thainen, Shrink Laureate, and MitchH.
Further special thanks to ScarletWeather and Themaskedferret for valuable input.
The artist who made the cover image stubbornly wishes to remain uncredited, but thanks to her anyway.
>inb4 Popular Stories or Featured
Good story, though. I'd probably say something like "FERST COMENT LAWL" or something like that, but apparently those types of comments get nothing but dislikes.
6884432
I'm pretty sure it's not getting into either for at least one more week, if ever. Because that's when I plan to start actually doing something to promote it. :) (Mostly because I like how chapter 3 turned out much better than chapter 2.)
In any case, thank you for the compliment. :)
Two paragraphs in and I'm hooked. Blimey. This deserves more everything. This is much the kind of thing I try to write, and fail miserably. You lucky* swine.
*Hardworking.
6891120
It's not very even, I'm afraid. Some first persons are easier than others. Twilight just flows. Fluttershy's pieces are giving me huge problems. I'd start posting months ago, if it weren't for her chapter turning out to be number 5. Now I'm done with 5 and which one I get stuck hard on next? Number 9, which also turns out to be Fluttershy. So I expect not all paragraphs will end up written equal.
But to refuse praise is to seek praise twice, so thank you. :)
10**18 stories seems a bit low, especially if you are including starfish aliens.
6891334
There is a specific reason why the number is so low, which will eventually come up. It'll be quite a while before it does, though.
"“The world is a story, about people, told in words, across time. That is true of every world that exists,”
We don't all live on the Diskworld.
But hey, Meta. And it's enjoyable reading so far.
Come to think of it, this reminds me a bit of Robert Heinlein's "World as Myth" from The Number of the Beast.
6891396
Glad there are people that don't find it boring. :)
6891452
(some googling later)
That's precisely what it is, actually. Would you believe I never read Heinlein? Because to my shame, I didn't.
I'm also probably not using it the same way he did...
6891487 Probably with less gratuitous vulgarity, for one thing.
I wouldn't recommend it myself, it's really not his best work: I only read it because I was younger and indiscriminate in my SF reading, and there was as yet no internet yet to warn me off.
I'm So Meta Even This Aporia.
Great job. Glad to see you putting your work out there!
I'm loving every word of this story, great job, I'm eager for more.
So, do the incomprehensible aliens have their own libraries?
6913198
The same question my editor asked. :) They will certainly revisit the subject, when Twilight has a chance to come up with her own theory.
What book pinky is reading?
6961907
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, of course. :) I think it's this omnibus edition, though the cover might be different.
This is amazingly good to start with. I don't know how long it'll be before I have time to read the whole thing properly, but just from the first chapter have a all my thumbs up. This desperately needs more eyes on it.
I'll see what I can do about that.
7002257
Thank you. This means a lot coming from an acknowledged master such as yourself.
Judging from the stats, though, most people do get bored a few chapters in and leave, and even I feel it's taking too long to get to the point sometimes. At least, I can promise the three actual primary plot threads start in chapters 5, 9 and 11 respectively...
This is quickly becoming my most favorite story, seriously this is fantastic. Thank you for writing it.
7007681
You're going to either really love or really hate Conversation 9, then. :)
Does Aporia sound similar to the Aporia from Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's?
7027498
I have no idea what the one in Yu-Gi-Oh sounds like, because I was not aware they had such a character. For me, "aporia" is just an Ancient Greek word, so the Oxford dictionary probably knows best.
I like stories that take me for a loop. They make me feel smart when I eventually figure them out.
7059316
Carefully compare Conversation 2 to Conversation 7. Then think about what happens in Conversation 9.
So...Rica is a magical girl from the PMMM universe? Or....no. otherwise she'd need to hunt witches or those human despair things that give grief cubes
7068637
Nothing quite so simple as that, this is not a crossover. :)
But there are some similarities, which Rika will explain somewhere around Conversation 16.
6891487 This story reminds me of the little idea I'd had that I called Prologue: A New Life. A human that knows all about the narrative, and that they're a main character in a story, gets sucked into Equestria after one too many times of dissing the magical girls club and the giant mech group.
I really didn't go anywhere with it, because I realized I couldn't write a good story about a character trying their hardest to not be a main character.
So, suffice to say that your version is leagues above my own.
7102290
Thanks. :) Unfortunately for me, while there is a lot of thematic overlap with your idea, it's a bit more twisted. Pretty literally, because strictly speaking, there are supposed to be two stories in there, spinning around each other and trying to make a double helix.
Whether I have not bitten off more than I can chew still remains to be demonstrated. :)
7102405 Well, if Mary's last name isn't Sue, I'll be surprised. And if it is Sue, congratulations. You've made a Mary Sue I enjoy.
The thematic similarities are definitely they're, but our approaches are quite different. You've got a character who simply asks a question and the story falls over itself to make the answer an "always been this way" type of thing.
Mine was about a girl whose last name was Japanese for Little Princess, who couldn't stop an inner monologue if she tried, but still expected that all of the plot hooks would just leave her alone.
I also had Pinkie be a girl from Canada named Diane who fell into Equestria as a young girl, and had never actually been able to get back home. Also, she, just like Hime (Princess), was born with natural pink hair. A "female protagonist" color, of you will. And since she's aware of the Meta/Narrative, plus a little Wrong Context Magic, and a liberal helping of Offscreen Teleportation and other forth wall hijinks, she became the Pinkie we see in the show, silently missing the human family she barely remembers, bit actively seeking out all other humans that end up in Equestria and helping them integrate or leave, if possible.
My idea very quickly hit a brick wall. Your idea could turn that brick wall into pudding and waltz right pay mine without breaking stride.
7103143
It's not.
(bites back a wall of spoilers)
Oh, wow. I'm impressed! Very engaging and well-written so far. Definitely worth a thumbs-up and a favorite.
Now, I liked this chapter, personally. The spiders amused me--especially Fluttershy's ability to talk to them despite Mary's expectations.
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It did what it was supposed to do, but I still feel it doesn't flow well.
I imagine when the whole thing is done, whenever that is, I'll start cutting things left and right. :)
Right now, I'm kinda curious as to the backstory of Rika and Mary.
Would there be another location with earlier, non-pony related stories containing this pair or is this their first written expedition?
While I love the inherent pun-gency of the phrase, you're most likely talking about information or event-density, aren't you?
As in, their lives are literally
jam packed with excitement and happenings.
I recognised the Warhammer reference and that caused me to wonder about the embryomech.
Is there a particular story, world or author where it comes from?
I'm usually eager for new authors or settings to delve into.
7123421
I'm assuming this chapter was to set up Mary living in the Everfree and where the house came from as well as introducing a couple of the other ponies to Mary.
As you said; it did what it was supposed to do and it did so in a comfortably readable and entertaining fashion.
But by all means feel free to revisit the chapter, it is your story and perfection is always a matter of fractions.
It's been too long since I've read the HGttG.
Was that "six by nine" bit really in there? I recall one bit where Arthur's drawing Scrabble tiles from a bag and it makes a mathematical sum for 42 but...
Six by nine is fifty-four.
It's really been too long.
Oh holy heck.
It WAS six by nine. I never even picked up on that when I read it.
7123874 I'm curious too... If you meant to start this in media res, it's done pretty well but could maybe stand a bit more explanation. It definitely hooked me, though!
7123874
7124459
Not really, I’m afraid. They were both supposed to be heroines of their own stories, which, for different reasons, were never written, never completed or never properly published. Rika exists through scraps of barely comprehensible shorts since at least 2003.¹ Mary was supposed to have her own book which she’s the invisible² heroine of. They do have quite a bit of backstory together, which likewise, was never written.
I am planning to keep Aporia entirely self-contained, though, which is why all the relevant parts will eventually come up. After all, even if they don’t agree, this story is about them just as much as it is about ponies. :)
7123944
Yes. :) As far as I can tell, they really live an episode a week on average, and things happen crazy fast around them. Which is kind of supported by the comments in the crowd in Slice of Life...
7123983
Noon, XXII Century. First embryomechs are tested in Defeat, and they turn up in further stories occasionally.
Mostly, that was required so that Conversation 9 could happen the way it did. :)
7124016
Did you know that 6×9=42 in base 13?
7124914
breddydotorg.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/mind-blown-gif-jenna.gif
7125765
For the record, Douglas Adams himself always said it was an accident, and the idea was just that 42 is supposed to be a "funny number". But the serendipity of it is uncanny. :)
The opening paragraph made it very hard not to go away and reread "Librarians in the Branch Library of Babel", but it was worth it. The sandwich question! so mean to ask someone in a setting with no established reason for John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich to exist.
7126075
Thanks for telling me about this little gem, I was not aware it existed.
Well... yes. ;)
This story is wonderful and went to my favorite shelf on just what had transpired until now.
Great work, really love it.
Huh.
*scroll to the top of the page*
Yep, that looks about right.
Scary how much Rika seems to be like Twilight on the surface, in the sense of living her existence in a library, separating herself from nearly everyone — at least until you find Twilight at the point where she becomes aware that friendship is critically important to her, that her choices actually matter in how they affect herself and other people, that people are actually important enough to bend her thoughts to them and aren't just constructs that become irrelevant when they are out of sight.
Twilight could obviously spend her days researching, burying herself in the 'stories' she interprets in histories and encyclopedias and other books of knowledge, but if the threat to her friends and family were to be given as a choice – It's one or the other, Twilight! – you know in the end which she would choose without having to think about it. Rika has an interesting psychology building up that obviously doesn't have that same connection Twilight has made: she's (obviously) disconnected from it all, or at least believes that she is, and is pretty clearly depressed, heading down in a spiral to the end of all stories. Clearly she needs to be in a place where Friendship has a value written into it that's as important as gravity, which I'm guessing is why she really chose this particular story.
I'm not at the point where I can say for certain, but writing this kind of thing out at least helps me think about it. Hopefully I won't disappoint by getting it all wrong. In any case I have a ways to go, yet, and I'm really enjoying this story.