[Third Person] Alternating Perspectives [Equisverse Era 1]
(This is a summary/refresher/primer of my AU’s first set of stories. It’s an excellent place for people to jump onto the series, and also contains new information for old readers. Sherbert and her life will also feature in the next story.)
Sherbert von Ponyville, the daughter of Scootaloo and Azur Lily, has never been the best student. She has never been popular, or well liked, or even into sports or other school activities. Outside her family, Sherbert has nopony she would call her friend. Peers yes, acquaintances certainly, but no real friends. She’d rather be out freerunning and cloud walking than chatting with others her own age.
Sherbert isn’t happy with the lack of real friends in her life. She has decided to fix that. She’s got a plan to remake herself into somepony amazing so she can befriend the coolest ponies she knows of. To get started she must live in Neighpone for a few years.
To get to live in Neighpone, she must join the Equestrian-Neighponese Exchange Program. To Join the Program, she must have at least a 3.2 GPA. To get that 3.2, she needs to write the greatest history report of all time!
Unfortunately, Uncle Sky refused to let her borrow a time machine so she has to do it the boring way.
This, Ladies and Gentlecolts, is her report.
Featured on: Saturday, June 17, 2017 at 9:22:54 pm 
This story takes place in the Beta Equisverse Timeline. This story serves as a summary/primer on the first set of stories within the Beta Timeline.
Time for some Past-Future History, BITCHES!!
I like it! Keep going!
Better with the second read through. To be honest took me a moment get into the swing of it I can see what Sherbert is going through. Typical student with a boring assignment they must complete Now and they must ace it. Not sure I agree with his view of teh Elements of Harmony but I can see how they are seen like that
I do wonder about the griffon tail and there is a few more stories here. The bit about borrowing Sky's plasma cannon and going through the roofs in Ponyville.
YAAAAAAaAAAaAAA New Story
I'll have an extra large bowl of that Sherbert
The explanation of history, as a history report, ok I like this, let's see whats in store.
Oh, new story, bitchin.
I can't not think of this song when parkour is happening.
Cuz ponies have got better shit to do.
Interesting way to catch people up. Fav'd and liked
Sherbet, you silly filly. Making friends is not hard... If you are not unlucky enough to be the odd ball out. Unfortunately, it's not something you have input in. It's all on the other children. You got a bad batch growing up, that's all
Celestia sending Twily to ponyville to protect her from the neurotic tendencies is... Extremely likely, considering book horse. Girl really needed to unwind, sheesh
Cover story, suuuuure thing. It had absolutely nothing to do with her difficulty with relating to ponies in the new era, her insecurities and a tabletop group just falling on her lap. No sir. The rumor was just a cover up for the formation of a spec ops party.
Now roll for initiative already, we don't have the whole night
Yeah, changelings, monsters, chaos gods, returning empires... The ponies really had a lot to fret over during those early Harmony years. Maybe enough for them to have an inkling of a ponyville Thursday. Not Tuesday though, those are special.
Well Sherbet, heroes don't choose to be so. They are acclaimed so. And for that, the result of their deeds is the most important factor. The elements night have done less, personally, than the Knights, but they did save the world at least trice for a fact, and five times or more to the average citizen. Defeating Kaiju Ryoga might be awesome, but true fame would interfere with game nights.
Wait, related to THREE of them? We know about your grandmas, but who's the third one? Is it Twilight, when she helped Lilly fix scoots? Or is there more that we don't know about?
Religion if founded on belief. Actual physical deities are a factual truth. It's really hard to have faith in something you not only know it's truth, but that you also go to the bar with every Tuesday aftershenanigan. Yeah, that's a thing in ponyville. It's like afternoon, but more certain.
Why do you want to go to neighpon, little filly? You did say you have a plan, but what plan is that? Do you really need a Sailor Fuku for that?
Are you ready to inevitably fall into a Mecha's cockpit, awaken ancient evil or get all the waifus/husbandos? Or are you going to be the weird side character?
Do you, little filly, have what it takes to go... Beyond The Shadow?
Excited to start this! *cough* right after I finish the last one.... this has been one of those kinds of months.
8236430 While I was editing, this is the song that came up on random for that sequence.
8236347 Sherbert is a girl. Orange Sherbert Appledash-Trigger von Ponyville, you know, cause her dad will not let the ridiculously long naming trend thing go... Also I agree with your sentiments on her opinion of the Element Bearers.
8236501
Normally I couldn't blame you for not knowing. But since you are a reader of these stories, I can totally blame you.
Sherbert is the daughter of Azur and Scootaloo. Azur gene swapped himself with mostly Trigger dna, and was officially adopted as the youngest Trigger sibling. Which is why she refers to Sky as "Uncle Sky". Which means... *drum-roll for dramatic effect* Pinkie is her aunt, as she is married to Sky. Also bonus round, that makes Chip her cousin.
This chapter was a nice catch-up for what happened in the earlier stories for those who did not read them. I can't wait to see what Sherbert gets into later in this story.
Well I think making this is a great idea! I'm sure a lot of people wanted something just like this!
So I was looking at the featured page, and I click on this thinking it might be interesting, also, reading the desc., to add it to my worldbuilding group :P
But then
I see Meep wrote it
new characters! new story! YES!
8236702
I see three solutions for this
Get Sky to make a Transformation Gun. ZAPPP issue resolved
Get Lilly to address the issue ditto
Admit I made a mistake
Not counting genetics or marriage Sherbert has a lot of family. She probably doesn't think twice about the circles she runs in.
8237043 Well lets see what groups she has via family... We got Azur and his friends, including a bestie that is a former god. Then her grandmas on her moms side, which include the Apple clan, and the Dash (and Flash) family. Then you got on her dads side, the Triggers, which include prominent members of the City State of Phoenix, who include a multinational mogul, a Library Licensed Wizard, a super soldier wizard clone, a dinosaur, and the illustrious Ponk as well as the rest of the Pie family (who are also related to the Apple clan).
So yeah, she is connected out the ass, yet still doesn't think about asking them.
Definitely Azur's daughter...
featured! featured! its been featured!!!
8236347 Sherbet is a mare :P
ANd personally I dont agree with her views on the Elements ether, but I could see how someone could see them in that light, and personally I dont like characters to be clones of me so I like giving them different viewpoints. As such, Sherbet feels like the Elements cheated at being heroes due to having a tool that did all the heavy lifting for them.
8236306 Direct this to my editor Popmannn. The whole story's allready done ^^ Just needs edited.
8236421It's largly a jumping on point for new readers, so they dotn ahve to read 1.25 million words. But it's also characterization for someone I plan on following for a few stories.
8236430 Exactly. Young pone has confused lack of religion for not accepting that things which exist, exist. Faust blatantly said "no worship plz. Kthxbi." They dont want that treatment.
8236440 I thought so too. This way old readers get to see the perspective of those who lived during the prior stories, and get to see a new character get characterization. New readers dont have to read 1.2 million words.
8236565 Hang in there queenie!
8236994 Am I realy that good?
8236984 Yeah this was something that's been needed for a good long while. I think I'll do somethign like it every 800k words or so.
8236501
She's her fauther's daughter, which means she's a bit of a derp. She's also an over thinker and a bit pessimistic. As you probably clearly saw.
90% certain this is the canon reason and NNM just happened to actualy show up XD
Best part is, old readers know that is 100% exactly the reason XD
Yeah. Remember that Thursday those Old Ones popped in to try and barrow a cup of sugar? Man that was nuts.
Sherbet is still young, inexperienced, and dumb. Give her time to understand what heroing realy is.
Exactly! Also Faust has expressly asked to not be worshiped because seriously what sane person who is not into BDSM wants or needs to be worshiped?
One of her aunts mentioned something that Sherbert knows she can do which would get her skills she thinks she needs in order to be ready to be a hero if given the chance.
8237221
Yes. I'm amazed at how this story does not have the exposure Austreoh and others have
INB4 she gets a report writing cutie mark.
Or maybe a fictionalized history cutie mark, whatever that would look like.
8237291The Fox News logo?
8237315 Hah!
I like that your ponies age so slow.
8237221
I'll do my best!
8237502 From what I can tell, their 300 year lifespan is cannon. After all, Twilight says multiple times that Ponyville was founded 300 years ago, and we have confirmation that Granny Smith was a young adult who helped to found Ponyville. IE, they live a long long time.
Which makes prefect sense. This is a fantasy series, and ponies are the species with natural magic and ties to nature. IE: They are the setting's elves. Basic fantasy trope 101, the species in a setting with natural magic and ties to nature live for realy long periods of time.
8237712
They are equestria's elves. Huh. Had never thought about it like that. So they are the mystical kingdom of the long lived, magical nature attuned people. Would have more of an impact if most other nations where from other races too
But it does make an interesting precedent for an story. One told from the viewpoint of an outsider, one without such blatant magic or idyllic home. A native that finds itself seeing wonder without equal in the world, struggling to understand how such a majestic kingdom can coexist in a mundane world.
And the baffled reaction of the ponies when they realise the fairytale is themselves.
The Stout Ones, with wood sinew and bones of steel, whose mere touch can bring life to the harshest soil, and whose hoofs can shatter the hardest stone.
The Ephemeral, their lithe bodies hiding the power to torn reality itself asunder. Those whose laws of nature are mere suggestions to, that no feat great or miracles themselves are beyond their keen. Wounds mend at their touch, the world changes at their whims and with a flick of their horns paradise comes to their aid.
The Dancers Of The Wind, faster than a hawk and nimbler than a hummingbird, with the power to call the Wrath of Heavens upon their foes. The skies themselves bow to their masters, and it's on the endless blue that their palaces of rainbow and sunlight reside.
Or so tell the legends. It's all true, too... In a sense. How would I've react to find the legends as mere people? How would those everyday ponies deal with being considered semi divine just by breathing?
I dunno, but now I want to read that
Herp derp, Geo-political backstory.
Ohhh loved this character . Gotta love the alphabet soup that is Lillies DNA.
Yep, that is some excellent deterrent there, you hurt somepony and a deity will descend on you and beat your plot.
You just described every college student, ever.
I'm liking this, not too overwhelming, and it gives a nice background to how everything fits in and where
8238183 If Sherbert asked, would you make a dictation machine so she could fail less at writing reports? [Implying that she would think to ask in the first place]
I can kind of understand where she is coming from in regards to the Elements of Harmony, but at the same time I'm going to call Sherbert out on not knowing how the Elements worked to begin with. They weren't just an "instant victory and forget about it" button. If one of the Element Bearers were absent or not feeling very harmonious at that point in time, they wouldn't work no matter how hard the Bearers tried. Furthermore, in this universe the Elements have made their "guardians" eternal in addition to enhancing physical attributes (which, by the way, is pretty much my headcanon too), which could put the Bearers on equal footing with the Knights in terms of getting shit done; the Bearers simply had a super weapon they could fall back on if things started to go south, whereas the Knights kind of just pressed on even when shit did hit the fan too hard.
I dunno. I can really, really see where she's coming from (and the fact that Sherbert has a LOT of hero-worship going on), but at the same time being directly related to two Bearers and being non-blood related to each of the others, it really pains me that Sherbert hasn't ever seemed to take the time to understand how exactly these particular "super weapons" worked. I can only hope she really comes to appreciate the fact that the Bearers are every bit as badass now as they were back then with the Elements in working order, just without a more powerful weapon to always fall back upon.
Maybe I'm just looking too much into this entire thing...
Sherbet, you have a hard crush on a mare that already found her True Love. That can never, ever end well. But then again, horny teenager without lovers or much in the way of friends. Let's hope the disappointment doesn't hit her too hard.
Oh, a big and convoluted plan to get some. Yep, teenager alright. She will crash so hard, though...
Celly, Celly, Celly... You live in a world of magical monsters that periodically try to end it. Why the flying fuck would you diminish your military?!?
Sherbet must have seen some shit. Some really weird shit
Pony Avatar. That must be hilariously cute
I'd say that her plan can only fail catastrophically. But she's a ponyvillian. And the unholy spawn of a CMC Goddess. So it can only end in catastrophically epic shenanigans. And so much tree sap Everfree herself will feel the cringe from half a world away.
8238638 If she asked me(Sky) anything, I(he) would definitely help. I(he) just said no time machines. It's her own derp self's fault that she, for some reason, wont seek out the help of her massive-ass family. Seriously, she is connected like you wouldn't believe, yet she rather suffer in silence...
8238878
She is truly her parents daughter
8237102 I can't imagine Twlight not taking any interest after everything Lilly has done not to mention Luna. Though probably to a lesser extent as busy as they are with other matters.
Some of it is not sure how to define it. People do it all the time things we take things for granted and get used to them no matter how extraordinary they are to others
8238740 She does appreciate them now, and would agree that everything they have done since the Elements active use became impossible is very heroic. She would also say that they did plenty of heroic things even back in the day, when they didn't use the Elements. It's just their early work that she's got problems with, and only then because she HATES when things are unearned. Furthermore, as revealed in later chapters she has a massive inferiority complex due to everypony she's related to being a hero and she's upset that three of her relatives basically got to become awesome with no effort while she's been trying so hard to excel anywhere but cant. It's jelliouscy, mostly. They had a powerful tool that let them do good despite being normies and she's got nothing.
As for her not knowing how they worked, a lot of the Elements magic is still classified. Because theoretically a good wizard could reporduse some of the effects.
The truly funny thing is that the group she idolizes is a black ops team that she only knows about because of the time they had to save Ponyville durring the Tartarian Conflict. The reason they are not national heros is... They are a black ops team. You're not SUPPOSED to know about them. It's like how no one knew about Seal Team 6 till they killed Osama.
Fucking degenerates.
We loved The Last Airbender so much that we preserved it past our own downfall?
You know what? That fuckin' checks out. If any show deserves that it would be Avatar.
8239310
Not intentionally XD The USS Phoenix carried a large archive of public domain media as part of it's entertainment package.
8239322
Ssshhhhh.
Let me have this.
8239175 Well, sure, if by 'normies' you mean prime examples of their archetype... There was nothing even remotely normal about the Mane 6 even before the elements came into the picture; all 6 of them were kind of the best possible examples of their birth given subrace, and the elements simply amplified what was already there.
But I suppose I'll see what happens. While so far this new character really grates on me, you've never led us wrong before. Here's to hoping she gets her life lesson out of this!
8239368 Assure you I wouldn't write her like this if the point wasn't for her to learn her lesson in the end :D
8239368 Sherbert is so close to everything she doesn't see the bigger picture. It feels like she is working with the public image of Twilight and the rest of the main 6 rather than the information she would've gotten talking to them
8239368 , 8239522 hit the nail right on the head. The problem is Sherbert's been too affride to ask the M6 about their adventure related stuff. She's worried about being seen as useless. She wouldn't be, naturally.
Considering Cadance her and Shining's guard isn't surprising.. I would've thought maybe they had public name like the Crystal Guard keeping things more politically correct for their more prudish visitors.
AS a PS I wonder if Applejack had a suggestion for Sherbert's name. We can't forget Aunt Pinkie and there was the possibility Rarity and Twilight were at least at the hospital offering their support to Rainbow Dash and Applejack
. . . Vore? Yes, let's go with that.
In my personal opinion, if it was Babbers McScreamsalot, it would have been perfect.
Jesus Christ I thought she was in high school, not fucking Hogwarts.
8239955 No, it realy dosn't, but are you going to debate the reasoning a guy who fought an alicorn in a mostly fair fight used to convince himself to change sides and support you? No.
8239944
They do! And that is the Crystal Guard. But since Sherbert is friends with three of Lily's regular customers, who live in the Palace itself, she knows what they are called by everyone who lives there. And thinks that's their real name.
They did but they wern't present at the time of her birth. Scootaloo and Lily were KOed, so it was Sky or Ay's pick.
8240332
Now the question is does everyone reading and grading Sherbert's report know that. Or did she slip up and how will they take it
Drunken Trixie Rant. You based an entire crazy plan for a hero's journey on a drunken rant by a rebelled fine soldier prototype
Filly, you have a lot of issues, but after that one? You deserve at least a little bit whatever shenanigans come you way.
And rue the day you find out that the last thing your family would ever wish was for The Call to reach you
8240347
It's worse than that, though Sherbet has no idea. She based her entire plan on a drunk, just got laid and still loopy-happy, Trixie rant.
8239567
That I can understand, but seriously? Being afraid of being seen as useless? We are still talking about the Bearers, right? Fluttershy might be Kindness, but all of the Bearers show each of the traits of other Elements... *le sigh dramatically*
Also, Harem Guard? Whut?