The beginning
This is the beginning of the story.
Farsight heard the beads on her curtains clack against each other, and looked up and saw Prince Blueblood duck through them into the dimly-lit back room of the magic shop. She nodded slightly to the prince, then returned her gaze to the crystal ball placed in the center of the small wooden table, taking deep, regular breaths as she began entering her trance.
The old earth pony had no magic that unicorns understood, but she had something else, something much less common, which was why even a prince of Canterlot might risk his reputation to consult her.
"Sit," she said, without looking at him. "Listen."
She gazed deeply into the ball—not that the ball mattered; it was merely there to prevent her from looking quite so mad while she stared into nothing, and to keep the clients from distracting her with their insistent gaze. She felt for the connections, the tendrils of fate slithering on their way from past to future, and reached out to touch Blueblood's bright lifeline. She felt her way up it, forward into the future.
She gasped. There was someone else there, in the future, traversing this same line in the other direction. She tried to draw back but could not. She felt her mind locked in an iron grip, which pulled her down and under the stream of fate, forward in time and far away from her body.
What have we here? she heard a voice say, and felt scaly claws rummaging through her mind. It seems we share an interest in the good prince. How convenient. You just go to sleep like a good little pony and I'll take over from here. Why, I'll tell him the truth—it will make it that much more delicious when he sees what it means.
She tried to scream, to lash out with her feet, but she could see nothing, hear nothing, and feel nothing but the chill, foul fingers picking over her memories.
You're a fighter, for an old hag, the voice said. Nice try. I'll give you a seven point five for effort. You're going to be very helpful to me, Miss Farsight. I'll let you live, when I reclaim my throne. Maybe even as a pony.
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Discord, you dick. You massive dick.
So why did you never publicly publish this? It's a nice, if dark, little story. Good thing you mentioned in your blog so I got to read it.
3303431 In my first version, Blueblood was a drama queen, and Cypher read it & said it didn't make people sympathize with him at all. It sat for almost a year while I waited for an idea how to rewrite it. Now it's waiting for a second EQD review.
3312126
I hope it goes well, I think people'd like this little piece, but maybe I'm just a sucker for Blueblood not being a massive ass.
So Blueblood Jr. would have found a way to stop Discord without the elements of harmony, so he had to go? (Pre-emptively)
So I have just one question left, discord was to break out in the original timeline after Rarity had had her foal correct? So was he to break out when he did (S2E1 and S2E2) or was that an affect of altering the time line? What I'm asking is did he really even change anything?
Either way he broke out, either way he loses. Tomato Tomatoe
Well fuck.
3725080 discord was to break out in the original timeline after Rarity had had her foal correct?
Discord's breaking out in season 2 isn't affected by this. His overthrowing Celestia & Luna also isn't affected. What is affected is what Rarity & Blueblood's son does.
(I wrote the first draft of this before season 3, so I didn't consider whether Discord had reformed.)
I had to go back and reread the salient section of chapter 2 after the ending to get it straight. Tyrants on a stolen throne. The truth indeed!--from a certain point of view.
Very nice.
I'll not try to work out the temporal consequences and the shapes of timelines. That way lies madness.
ETA: Oh, I'm not sure what Frederick Discord is referencing, though. It feels like it ought to be obvious, but there's some piece of history or something I've forgotten.
So he's actually not like that? Woah! Fabulous story, bit I would enjoy to see a sequel of the alternative timeline
Man, it's been quite a while since I've seen a 'Blueblood had a good reason for the things he did at the Gala' fic.
3725231 I'm not sure what Frederick Discord is referencing
I'd tell you, but first I want to see if Jedi Master Ed gets it...
3725328
Cheeky and very, very clever. I'm quite impressed. The word play is excellent, really skewing the 'proper' future to look as nasty as Discord lays it out.
Alas, the 'Fredrick' message is idly skidding around my brain, not letting me draw any conclusions from it, but I gotta say, I enjoyed this quite a bit. Props to you, BH.
3725328
There are a lot of Prince Fredericks. I'm not seeing a historical one that sticks out or would seem to particularly fit the story. Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, possibly. I don't know.
3725159
I see what you did there...
Thanks for the flattering blog post! I'll let you live. Maybe even as a pony.
3725392 A fictional Frederick, who was the Slave of Duty.
I've read some writing advice that amounts to "don't let your characters get bored." If the characters start complaining about how boring their lives are, odds are the audience isn't rapt with attention either.
I think that applies to the second chapter of this story. When Blueblood starts doubting whether the advice he's getting is worth anything, and the fortuneteller keeps dragging him back with vague promises and sexual innuendo, the temptation to skim becomes powerful.
3725468
Ahhh, I see. None of that in my repertoire, I'm afraid. Well... none save for that which has appeared in Star Trek and the Animaniacs.
3312126
So is anything different from when I read it, or did you just finally post it?
Now that's the Bleak Horse I know and love!
This is now making me wonder what released him a second time. I am assuming KCaFO simply doesn't enter into this. Hm, or maybe it does. Discord would never have considered reformation as a possibility, and as a result, he wouldn't bother checking the new future for anything like that. He just assumes that by preventing the marriage, he wins.
Also, there need to be more "Discord is a vicious bastard" stories.
3726423 KCalm and FOn doesn't enter into it bcoz I wrote the first draft long before that aired.
3725862 The biggest change was that Blueblood was a drama queen in the first version, and Cypher explained why that made it hard to sympathize with him. So he's calm and competent in the second version. The third version just smoothed over some rough places. I've been waiting to hear back from EQD, but stopped waiting & posted.
3726701
Yeah, but it almost seems to fit nonetheless. It's just a happy accident, rather than deliberate.
#holyshit
WHOA. DAMN.
Took a bit of a reread, but DAMN. WHOA. That twisted logic.
... Holy shit.
I admit, when I saw that it was going to be a "reason for why Blueblood was such a tool" story, I groaned... I believe every one of those that I've read have come across as massively sexist (as it was always either for Rarity's own good or to teach her a lesson). But then this swerved, and the reason itself had nothing to do with Rarity herself but with the future. I didn't piece it all together on the first pass through, but the perspective of who is telling of this future and so who would be the ones on the stolen throne is a very clever twist.
If I had a complaint, I would say that I too got a bit frustrated with the fortune teller in the middle part, wishing her to just get on with it and stop with the interruptions for sly asides. It fits a bit better when one knows who is actually talking though.
Good stuff... thanks for posting it!
Well now. That was certainly a way to twist a thing...
I'm impressed, again. And I have a guess about Frederick, but I'm not sure.
Mostly interesting, but I have to say that the second chapter really drags on with the banter. I suppose in hindsight it's supposed to be a hint that she's actually Discord, but on the first read, I think I skimmed over about one-third of the chapter, annoyed and wanting things to get on with it already than feeling any sense of foreboding I think you were trying to go for.
I'm amused as so many people are criticizing the second chapter for the fortune teller being so oblique and confusing but I really liked it. It really hammered home to me how powerful she really was and how helpless Blueblood was. I loved the idea that he's so used to being powerful and strong and to be completely at the mercy of this weird old mare. I know it's a common trope especially for BB but I really liked how you did it. I won't deny after I finished it I found myself thinking over her behaviour and grinning.
This is a delight. Feels very much like a prologue rather than a story in itself, but love where it seems to be pointing.
3725231
It took this comment for everything to click. But dang. Cleverly done, BH.
3726701
Well it's good that you finally did post it. I'll probably reread just in case, but it sounds like nothing changed.
Mr. Horse, you are a sly and cheeky monster
... I don't think that came out right.
:P
3725328
3725174
When the canon starts to roar
Retcon-ta-ra! Retcon-ta-ra!
Then our Muse is rather sore
Retcon-ta-ra!
And we find the wisest thing
Retcon-ta-ra! Retcon-ta-ra!
Is to hit "upload" and sing:
Retcon-ta-ra!!
For when threatened with "thumbs down"
Retcon-ta-ra! Retcon-ta-ra!
And you're feeling like a clown
Retcon-ta-raaaaaaa!
There is nothing brings you round
Like the fanboy's fav'rite sound,
Like the fan-boy's fav'-rite soooooooound!
Retcon-ta-ra! Retcon-ta-ra!
Retcon-ta-ra! Retcon-ta-ra!
Retcon-ta-ra! Retcon-ta-raaaaaaaaaaaa!
I'm glad that this story has finally revealed itself! And doubly glad that people are enjoying it
3725231 3725349 3728165 I feel a little silly about the whole "Frederick" business (in the first draft, it was a quote from a Rolling Stones song), but of course TheJediMasterEd got it immediately. The only purpose was to have Farsight refer to something from our world in a frivelous way.
Frederic is the main character in The Pirates of Penzance, or, The Slave of Duty, a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. When he was young, his father told his nurse to indenture him to a pilot. Having misheard him, she indentured him to a pirate, until his 21st birthday. On turning 21, he informs the pirate band that, although he loved them as brothers, it was now his duty as a citizen to see to their extermination. He arranges to lead the local constabulary to the pirates to capture them, but before he does, the pirate king informs him that, as he was born on February 29th, he has a birthday only once every four years, and will still be indentured until he turns 84, and it is therefore his duty to rejoin the pirates. Chaos ensues, followed by marriages.
3755346 Wow I was ten kinds of wrong...
3755346
Hah, alright. Like I said, no Gilbert and Sullivan in my repertoire expect 'A British Tar', 'Modern Major General', and the occasional call and response of "What, never?" "No Never!" "What, never?" "Well, hardly ever!"
3755346
*facepalm* And that's what I get for never watching The Pirates of Penance minus 'A Modern Major General'....
So, saw the ending coming at the "har-mony" line. I thought you said you would write a story with an actually happy ending for once?
And yet ol' Disco still managed to lose. Silly draconequus.
Fascinating story, both in content and structure. Thank you for it.
3761218 It had a happy ending! Just not a happy beginning. Or a happy epilogue.
This is an amazing premise! But I am thoroughly confused as to what actually happened.
Let me get this straight:
Discord from the future (I'm assuming it's Discord because he's tagged in the story but not mentioned by name) possesses a fortuneteller right before she is to devine Prince Blueblood's fate.
Discord, while possessing the fortuneteller, convinces BlueBlood (in a way) to not fall in love with Rarity because it will eventually lead to a son who will be part of the reason why tragedy falls Equestria. Or is Discord just being Discord and making a mess of things for fun?
So was future Discord in the timeline with the tragedy, or the timeline which was created because Blueblood decided to be mean to Rarity?
3770731 Here's the timeline:
Present Discord is still locked in stone.
Future events, in order:
Discord seizes power from Celestia and Luna.
Blueblood's son defeats Discord.
Discord looks back in time and possesses Farsight to prevent this, so Blueblood & Rarity's son will never be born, and Discord will continue to rule Equestria.
This was a good, short little story.
Okay. I didn't get it at first, but after thinking on it for a minute and factoring in that it was written before season three, this makes sense in a mostly satisfying way.
I feel like it should have said that in the author's note at the end there though, as well as made it clearer somehow that it was Discord doing the possession thing. It's really not the sort of thing I'd have picked up if it weren't for the character tags, mostly because Discord as a character has really strong voicing and I don't think you quite had the time to capture it here. Then again, based purely on season two Discord, I guess you have more wiggle room.
3771143
That makes much more sense! Thanks for clarifying!
A tad confusing,
but an interesting prospect...
3772366 Right, but Blueblood was deceived by Discord, speaking through the fortune teller; their son would have saved Equestria from Discord.