This story is a sequel to Crystals & Chitin
Having left behind a past that she's not interested in sharing, DaCapo Aria moved to Las Pegasus with little more than determination and a few dozen bits.
Aspiring to become a famous vocalist, she discovers the less-than-glamorous truth about the vacation city of lights, laughter, and dreams. Sometimes those dreams become nightmares... and sometimes what fails in Pegasus stays in Pegasus, whether they like it or not.
Undaunted, the talented lounge singer must find a way to survive among the down-and-out denizens of the town built-up below the city of lights long enough to catch her big break, move out of the shadows and into the clouds, where the real stars shine.
While this is a sequel to Crystals & Chitin, it is not necessary to have read it first.
That certainly is a take on Las Pegasus you don't see very often. Usually whenever it appears the focus is on the hotels and casinos you'd expect, and there isn't much attention to what else might end up in a city like that. I'm eager to see more of this depiction.
11365511
Glad to see you again, Martydi. As one of the more involved readers of Crystals & Chitin, I look forward to your reaction to what is coming in this one.
Interesting take on the sequel. In the previous story the protagonist was pretty much out of her depths the entire time owing to a lack of information, while here she seemed well-prepared this time, and could put her infiltration experience to good use. As 11365511 said (fancy meeting you here), Fimfic has loads of dark stories, but most of them depict violence and bloodshed, and are often centered around the main characters of the show. It's going to be interesting, focusing on the not-so-pretty parts of a non-AU Equestrian society.
11366950
I am very happy that you've enjoyed Crystals & Chitin as well as the beginning of this story. It sounds like you think the protagonists are one-and-the-same; I wonder if you're right.
My goal isn't to focus on the dark side of things, but without having to make sure the story is safe for eight-year-olds to watch, I don't have to shy away from what would be realistic. In this case, a fresh face without a parental trust fund to fall back on would definitely need to work their way up from the bottom, and you don't get much closer to the bottom than a red-light district slum studio apartment with one window and faulty doors.
It will be a challenge to remain solidly outside of AU territory, but that is indeed my goal. Some global events from the show may have an impact on this story, but probably in fairly minor ways. Almost everything in the show takes place around Ponyville, and a great majority of fics do as well. I wanted to avoid that, which gives me a little more freedom to remain in the canon timeline without having to dodge specific episodes.
11367100
The lack of a Changeling tag as well as the lack of solid confirmation haven't escaped me, though given the fact that we don't have a lot of information in general, "the protagonists are one and the same" seems like the most reasonable assumption at this point.
I think you've been more prudent than most authors on the site when it comes to rating and the Dark tag. Quoting the tag guideline:
Looking at this, stories which depict characters struggling to survive in a more realistic and more hostile environment may even be too mild to fit into this category. But, topics like this is undeniably heavy, if not "dark", and it's something that most of us relate to more than we relate to, say, war and torture. Again, I don't think many stories on this site would focus on this side of "dark" (especially since the main characters of the show won't really encounter these issues unless the writer goes full AU), and I felt like it's worth mentioning, even if it won't be the main focus of the story.
On the topic of AU, I don't think anyone can write a long pony fanfiction without any conflicts with the show, especially since the show can sometimes conflict with itself. If a story doesn't have an AU tag and the author puts some effort into making sure they've got the basic settings right, then the story shouldn't be considered AU, that's my take. In this case, an OC-focused story that happens in a place the main cast of the show rarely visits? I think you gave yourself some considerable creative liberty here.
Lastly, in a blog you mentioned your conversations with Phoenix_Dragon. I absolute adore how they depict changelings, both in the Fragments trilogy and in The Chrysalis, and I can see how some elements in Crystals & Chitin resemble elements from their stories. That's not a bad thing though, I love their stories for a reason. It's a shame that they won't be producing any more pony words. It may sound weird of me, but I really hope you could somehow fill in that void.
11367218
To even be compared to Phoenix is higher praise than I deserve, and is one of the best compliments I have received in recent memory. If I can improve my writing to the point that something I jot down may come close to filling that void, I will be extremely pleased. Phoenix is writing a real book right now (not putting down fanfiction by any means, but there is a barrier for entry between hobby and profession that I don't expect to catch up to). That said, I don't want his version of changeling lore and society to be forgotten either, so you can rest assured that I will do my best to do it justice. I just hope you don't set too high a standard for me to achieve. I would hate to disappoint you. I got permission to pay homage, but I also want to add my own flair to it all.
One main difference between our headcanons though: I have the advantage of knowing the entire G4 canon timeline, whereas Phoenix wrote most of his stories before the changeling went pastel. I plan to stick to that reformation, so if the timeline of Marking Time one day catches up to season six, things just might get interesting for Carina, wherever she is.
Well. I was expecting a slower story progression, so I’m kinda surprised to see the protagonist leaving the city, show material as well as connection with the previous story all appearing in the second chapter. The ending pretty much confirmed her identity, unless there’s something I’m missing. Discord and Tirek showing up is also unexpected; I don’t remember them being in the Empire, and imagine the disaster that is Tirek siphoning the power out of the Crystal Heart. I wouldn’t place the whole Tirek affair mere days after the Games, but that’s just a personal preference. Looking forward to the next chapter!
Edit: Seems like you edited the ending while I was reading/writing the comment. It’s rather obvious even if you didn’t specifically mention her identity, and since the cat’s already out of the bag in the second chapter, is there really a need to try to hide who she is in the first place?
11370975
You caught me. I wasn't going to include the last few lines there in this chapter. However, I jumped the gun and submitted the story to a few changeling groups, only to remember that the official changeling reveal wasn't going to happen until the beginning of the next chapter. Rather than take down the story listings, I just popped in a few extra lines real quick to include the changeling tag legitimately. I will probably revert this chapter to what you initially read and move the reveal to chapter three like I had planned once it goes up.
The intent of hiding her identity is actually her own idea, in fiction. She doesn't want to be Carina anymore and has spent the past year fully embracing DaCapo. She's method acting so deeply, she doesn't often think like a changeling, and so the story she is telling was not from a changeling's perspective. Unhealthy choice, and one she will be remedying over the course of the remaining chapters.
Equestria Games and Twilights Kingdom are actually back to back episodes in season four. Tirek's debut episode actually begins in the empire with Spike gloating about his statue "like it was only yesterday". I took some liberties to have it actually be just a few days ago. I wanted a reason for Carina to go to the Empire again (the games) and having her disguise forcefully stripped away in front of Warden and Carina was too tempting to pass up.
I will admit that I don't think Tirek and Discord's world tour included any scenes in the empire, but that doesn't automatically assume they did not. Cadence and Shining are in Canterlot by the beginning of the second episode, so they obviously know what's going on.
As the other guy said, things are moving fast. I didn't expect Warden and Double Time to show up so soon, usually in these kinds of stories the changeling gets some more time to get their new life on track before it all comes crashing down.
11371171
True. I'm a little sad you both feel the pacing is a bit rushed, but that's a failing I've known I've had for quite a while now. When I was outlining the rest of the story though, I realized Carina/DC's exposure and 'reveal' needed to happen earlier than the chapter six I had originally planned for.
I suppose a better author than I could have simply added more chapters to give that build-up time, but I think you guys are still going to enjoy where we go from here. This isn't the crescendo event of act two, it is the catalyst that begins act one.
11371234
Don't beat yourself up too much. It might feel like the story progresses a bit quickly at this point, but even the best stories are not without faults. The problems start when enough issues pile up to start seriously affecting the overall integrity. And all things considered, the pacing here isn't really a big deal.
I suppose a large part of why I even feel like this is rushed pacing is because of other stories I've read about changelings living in pony society. In a lot of these stories, the protagonist's true identity being revealed serves, as you mentioned, as a climax for a story otherwise focusing on the life the changeling created for themselves in Equestria. The first chapter being primarily about DC rather than Carina, with her starting out on both the literal and figurative bottom of Las Pegasus seemed to be setting up just that kind of story.
Carina's true identity coming into play early goes against these expectations, and that's why the story can feel like it's progressing quickly. Though if it's meant to serve as the event that kicks off the plot, whether it's going to become the main focus of the story or run parallel to Aria's career in Las Pegasus, it's an entirely different situation, and throwing this curveball at the character early on makes a lot more sense. It's not the formula you see often, but I have seen a story handle it really well, so if that is the direction you chose, I can only tell you to keep going with what you had planned. There is nothing wrong with going against expectations as long as it results in a good story, even if it might feel a bit odd at times.
This confrontation went about as well as Carina could hope for, honestly. (The fact that she switched from rambling mode to smooth talker mode the moment she saw Double Time made me chuckle.) Warden was understanding while Double Time apparently gave her permission to try and fix things between them. I’m not sure in what circumstances they would meet again, but hopefully Carina could see the path before her more clearly from now on.
Also, Carina stealing from the Crystal Heart effortlessly is such an ironic moment, though I wonder why didn’t Tirek drain it? If he could drain ponies, he could also drain a not very well protected magical artifact, right? Of course, for the sake of the story he couldn’t have done it or the Empire would be doomed, but still.
11401828
Aside from the fact that he didn't steal or drain it canonically, a simple explanation is that he can't. Tirek can only drain living things, not artifacts. I forgot when he said so himself, but I do seem to remember that during a conversation with Chrysalis and Cozy Glow in season nine. Another reason may just be that he wasn't aware of it, much the same way he wasn't aware of Twilight. Either way, Carina wouldn't know the answer to that, so luckily I don't have to come up with a reason in the story.
On a side note: Does the ending of chapter two make a bit more sense now? Carina's reveal isn't a climax event... at least not yet.
11401834
I actually only watched like half of S9, so I wouldn’t really know. It’s not really important anyway, I doubt he would ever appear in this story again. As for the story progression, having a real conversation with Double Time did seem like something Carina needed, it gave her a goal aside from simply making ends meet. My guess is that she wasn’t going to do this willingly so you need a coincidental accident to make it happen. It still felt a little abrupt but in the end the sequence worked reasonably well, so I can’t complain.
Darn! I've run out of chapters. I hope we get to see more of them mending their friendship but what a melancholic song.
11402022
Oh, don't worry. You can't foreshadow events like I did in this chapter without giving it a resolution.
You will see Warden and Double Time again. DT seems to be a fan-favorite
(can you call a character a fan-favorite with only a dozen different 'fans' commenting?),
so you can safely look forward to seeing her and Carina interact again, some day.
The next chapter involves a train ride out of the empire though, so that might be a while. I don't know when chapter four will be posted, as there are a few elements of the as-yet-untold story that I want to revise first. However, I hope to see you there when it goes live.
11402140
I mean you can also foreshadow things so well no one can guess what you're actually foreshadowing. I've done that. People are convinced someone is doing the actions of someone else even when the first person doing said actions would be very non-sensical.
11402294
I wonder if I might have done something like that in this chapter...