This story is a sequel to A Magic Turn of Events
Fifteen years ago, reality changed forever. Equestrian magic flooded the world and everyone became a fantasy creature ripped from myth and fairy tales. No human was left in its wake.
Today, a new school year is starting. Keepsake, a unicorn who calls Canterlot City his home, wakes up early and prepares for his first day as a history teacher in Canterlot High.
Thanks to Venerable Ro for pre-reading and providing in-depth insight for this story, FanOfMostEverything for several nuggets of wisdom, and Antiquarian for setting me up with a good mindset in writing this fic.
Chapters will be published daily.
Chapters (6)
Seems like a good start. So both alicorns still work as a Principle/vice-principle at CHS despite being the ones who control the Sun and the Moon? I thought they would rule the America already.
Even more weird that the mare who moved the sun still did work as a high school principal, but who was Keepsake to judge?
In any case, definitely looking forward to getting a good look at this world fifteen years later. It should be quite the sight, I'm sure.
9808637
Cultural differences.
Something I've been looking forward to. Excited for the rest.
And here we go!
Well now, this should be interesting. End Of The World scenario in the middle of your birthday party? Yeesh, talk about a mood killer.
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9808728
Pretty much. Honestly, judging from the show, it doesn't seem that hard to do, but I can't say—I've never been a cosmic-level alicorn before, he-he!
9808702
Keepsake could judge her as a modest pony. At least, Celestia strikes me as the modest type despite her raising and lowering the bombastic and all-over-your-face sun.
9808892
Yeah, I've been looking forward to putting this out for others to see for a very long while, so count me in the excitement bandwagon too!
9809132
That's true! I hope you'll enjoy the ride after the publishing as much as you did before it!
9809376
You think that's bad? Just imagine the horror shadow puppeteers are going to have when they lose their hands!
Only one word comes to mind when I read this sentence.
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An acquaintance is someone you nod at on the bus, a friend is someone you have a drink with on the weekend, your best friend is the one who carries you home afterwards.
9810506
Playground regulations would get a lot more complex to ensure nobody gets hurt, although there's only so much you can do to prevent things like this happening. Then again, pegasi are a hardy folk; I'm sure a crash or two is a mere bump in the head for them.
9812408
A best friend forever is one who completely makes it like nothing happened at all: he brushes your teeth, throws some cologne at you, tucks you to bed, and flies off without leaving a trace.
Keep forgot to ask Greely for an urgent ride.
9812688
For a pony whose name is related to memory, that's quite forgetful of him!
What indeed, what indeed?
And here I thought only the pony-born would serious about cutie mark. What you want to do and what appeared on your flank does not have to match each other. There are a lots of ponies whoes job do not seem to have anything to do with their cutie mark. Cutie mark is not what dictate your life. It just a great big hint to what you might be good at.
9813512
Well you know how it is with early adopters, they take everything so seriously. The Equestrians told them that the Marks are a Big DealTM, so he's stressed about it. The next generation will likely be a bit more chill about the whole thing.
9813491
This is why historical revisionism is a painfully powerful thing, almost if not exactly on an Orwellian level of control. If you can control the historical narrative, you can steer the people to believe whatever's on display regarding who they were, who they are, and who they are supposed to be. That's why dictators make a beeline for history: it's to ensure that they are seen as the uplifters of the people, someone whose values and ideas are to look forward to whether they're truly good or not.
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In addition, even the pony-born still have cutie mark problems from time to time, ergo the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the clients they got later on in the show (and that's even with cutie marks apparently being part of the school curriculum, what with Cheerilee teaching it to a class nigh-full of already-marked foals). It doesn't help that the cutie mark is extremely important: ponies don't want to get something this big even an iota off course.
Princess Celestia: Hmmm... maybe I should let Twilight run things and become a teacher for a change. Should be better than listening to those broken gramophone records everyday.
Princess Cadance: Err... auntie? Are you talking about Day Court?
Princess Celestia: There are different?
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That's no way to run Day Court. She should upgrade to just listening to imaginary creatures in her head for Day Court!
Nice bit of bittersweet positivity. Then again, that’s pretty much this whole story in a nutshell, isn’t it?
9815287
Up to this point, yeah. They're usually the kind that get to me, now that I think about it, so I'm honored that this story manages to pass on some of that feeling too! Thank you for that!
I remember my history classes always involve noting what was on the blackboard. We did't even have time to chat during class.
9816627
I don't think that's a sufficient way to teach history. While I also don't think that just chatting it out wouldn't work too, I think that at least starting off a history class like this would be a good way to get students to know what history really is.
This went very differently from what I expected, but it was still a fascinating biography and microcosm of the world in general. Keepsake took a bit longer than many to find himself after the Change, but he came out of it perfectly equipped to ensure the legacy of humanity will be remembered. Great work all around. Thank you for it.
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Thank you. Your words mean a lot, and I'm happy knowing that this turned out a lot better than the first two outings. Work out of tender love and care does pay off after all—I just wanted this to be as good as possible. Again, thank you—and, well, you're welcome for the story too.
So glad Keep managed to find himself and start the year off on the right hoof, even if it took him a while. A job is much more pleasant if you really enjoy doing it.
Great story, Comma.
I really love what you've done with this AU, even if it stemmed from a rather rocky place. The idea of the human world going through a massive transformation like this is a really fascinating idea, and it's just so cool to see this environment develop (that's the main reason I liked Magic Turn of Events).
And I think the plot you chose here was extremely fitting. Keep was a really likable character, and all the talk about him living through one of the biggest catastrophes ever and how his passions developed as a result of this puts the surreal setup into a really relatable context.
Just.. everything in this worked IMO.
9817086
It truly is. A happy worker is a productive worker; no use in trying to eke productivity out in a sweatshop and hope-lost people.
9817501
The thing about a setting like this is that, out of all world-changing scenarios you'd see here like The Conversion Bureau, Ponies After People, and the Oversaturated world, this one is probably the most likely you'd see happening in the show. It's also because, as far as I know, no one else has ever done it, so everything in this setting is still new even to me. There're tons of possibilities and story ideas to be found here that wouldn't be too out-of-place in the show or in Equestria Girls proper (well, after getting past the whole world-transformation thing, of course).
It's also good to hear that Keepsake is a good character. It's always harder to depict an original character than someone everybody knows and loves. I tried not to stress too much out of it and decided to let the story flow and see where Keep would go. Despite being more rigid and rigorous with writing this than my previous two outings in this setting, I didn't use a character sheet or anything like that for Keep (or anyone else here, for that matter), so it's nice that it all worked out.
Overall, thank you for reading! I'm glad that you enjoyed the story.
I enjoyed this. It showed how people reacted to "The Change". Very interesting.
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I agree with this statement.