A/N: All right. So, I’ve gone ahead and started a sequel to An Earth Pony’s Guide to Magic (and am likely turning this into a series of fics as I have ideas for future plots as well). That said, I think that this fic should be understandable without having read the first fic in the series as Star Swirl isn’t difficult to understand character-wise and she’s been reduced from protagonist to secondary character. I’m still looking forward to other people writing about her and this version of Equestria though. Also, warning, this fic is significantly darker than the last, but it shouldn’t be full on GRIMDARK.
More than Forty Blinks
Chapter 1: Introductions
“All right,” said Blinky as she placed her hoof against the side of the mineshaft. “It’s about there.”
“And you have no idea what it is?” asked Inky as she walked out of the shadows and into the torchlight. The place was otherwise empty.
“I’ve never felt anything like it before!” replied her younger sister. “It seems like a gemstone, but it’s hollow with something inside it and the shape seems different every time I check!”
“Let’s find out then,” said Inky. She turned around and bucked the wall of the cavern, reducing the surrounding area to rubble. The rubble slowly shifted downwards, revealing a pulsing, colour-changing gem-like object. Its shape was irregular, but rapidly shifting. The sisters concentrated on their connection to the earth in an attempt to understand what they had just uncovered.
“It seems to be using the natural flow of magic through the earth to alter itself,” Blinky commented.
“There’s something inside,” the darker earth pony added with a distant voice. “It doesn’t feel...right.”
“Well, we have to crack it open then!” said Blinky.
“Are...you sure that that’s...a good idea?” asked Inky.
“What kind of archaeology student would I be if I didn’t find out what’s inside?” asked the light grey pony with enthusiasm. “I have to ask, ‘What would Daring do?’”
“All right,” sighed Inky. This time, she bucked the crystalline object, shattering it into shifting pieces. Inside was a white sphere about the size of a pony. It rolled forward and the path it left behind was equally white and as smooth as glass.
“HOW FORTUNATE I AM TO COME ACROSS THE DOMINANT SPECIES, THE INSTANT I AM FREED!” said a voice.
“Hello?” asked Blinky.
The older sister began to back away slowly. “Blinky...I’m scared.”
“Don’t mind my sister. She’s a bit shy,” said Blinky.
“HER MANE IS ASSYMETRICAL,” replied the voice. “THAT IMPERFECTION SHALL BE PURGED.”
“That’s not a nice thing to...” began the archaeology student before the ball rolled forward and touched her. “Wh-what’s happening to me!?” she gasped as her hoof turned white and her legs began to follow. The ball’s shape began to shift.
“Stop that!” cried Inky. “Leave her alone!” She stomped her front hooves down and a boulder rose from the ground. She spun and bucked it at the then amorphous blob as Blinky’s cutie mark flickered and disappeared. The rock smashed into many tiny, white balls of identical size.
“YOU DARE TRY TO HARM ME!? I AM GIVING YOU A CHANCE FOR PERFECTION! TO BECOME PART OF SOMETHING GREATER! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!” There were now two Blinky’s in front of Inky, though each was cutie mark-less and white, save for their red eyes. “THIS IS AN ACCEPTABLE BASIC MODEL!” They turned to Inky and poked her. She screamed as she transformed into an identical looking mare. As she did so, they said, “WE ARE CONFORMITY! YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED! YOUR SPECIAL TALENT SHALL ADAPT TO SERVICE US! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!”
Back in Ponyville, Doctor Whooves was trying to revisit a picnic he’d had with his family. Nothing happened. After running a quick check with growing panic, he noticed that the only time magic he had access to was his internal clock. He immediately started running in the direction of Canterlot. The last time he had lost his powers, a certain draconequus had stopped being a statue. He needed to warn Princess Celestia that something was wrong immediately.
(/)
Princess Celestia was sitting before the Day Court and was busy listening to a petition by Baroness Gem Dust to relieve the costs of freight transport when one of her guards walked over and whispered into her ear, “A pony claiming to be ‘The Doctor’ is demanding to see you, Princess. He says to tell you that he finds ‘time unmalleable’, whatever that means."
Celestia’s smile dropped and her eyes widened. “Court is adjourned! We will reschedule the rest of the agenda!” she ordered to cries of protest. Celestia ignored them and flew to the window. She quickly found the statue she was looking for. “Still there,” she sighed. “Unless it’s an illusion. Spear Point, wake Princess Luna and tell her that I need her to guard Discord’s statue and check that nothing’s wrong with it.”
“Yes, Princess.” A guard saluted and left the room.
“Battle Ground, take me to The Doctor.”
“Right away, Princess.” The original guard led her into the next chamber where Doctor Whooves was pacing frantically.
“Blimey, am I glad to see you, Princess,” he sighed.
“What happened, Time?” asked Celestia.
“Just wanted to do a routine visit to a former picnic when I realised that my internal clock is the only thing working,” replied Doctor Whooves
“Have you checked with your colleagues yet?” asked Celestia.
“No. I wanted you to be the first to know.”
“Thank you,” said Celestia. Thankfully, all time pones who had agreed to work with her had been enchanted with a connection to her, in a similar way to how she magically infused her Day Guard and Luna her Night Guard, though obviously not to the same extent. Still, it made situations like the current one easier. She lifted her glowing horn and in a flash of light, the room was filled with ponies with hourglass cutie marks. Colgate removed her scrubs.
“Princess, what’s wrong? I was with a patient.”
“Are they in danger without you?” demanded Celestia.
“No,” admitted Colgate.
“Then I need you all to check if you have access to your time magic beyond your internal clocks.”
Colgate’s eyes widened. “I don’t know how long that’ll take me!” she cried in panic. The room was soon filled with similar cries of dismay.
“Calm down, my little ponies,” said Celestia. “I am doing my best to find the root of the problem and solve it. I have others I need to see desperately first though.” With that, she teleported away.
(/)
Twilight was busy reshelving again when Celestia teleported in with a bright flash of light. “Holy guacamole!” cried Spike as he shielded his eyes.
“I’m sorry to drop in on you like this, my faithful student, but I need your help with some tasks more easily explained in pony.”
“What’s the matter, Princess?” asked Twilight in concern as she moved forward.
“I have reason to believe that Equestria is under threat from a dangerous foe, but I’m unsure from who. Firstly, I need to make sure that your friends are all fine.”
“They seemed fine last time I...”
“Bring them to me!” Celestia urged.
(/)
The bearers of the Elements of Harmony were soon assembled. After looking over them, Celestia sighed. “The good news is that you are still connected to your elements, so I do not think that Discord could have escaped, though I have Luna guarding him in case. The bad news is that I have no idea what the problem is then. So I am asking you all to help me with my investigation by searching for anything out of the ordinary. I will let my other agents know as well. Twilight, I need your help in speaking to a former classmate of yours. I understand that you met her again recently and were amicable to each other, which is good as we don’t get along well.”
“Why wouldn’t she get along with you?” asked Twilight. “And why is a former classmate of mine involved?”
“I’m sure she’ll explain that to you later,” replied Celestia. “The rest of you can search in the meantime. We will be at the gates of Tartarus.” With that, she teleported out with Twilight.
(/)
Twilight and Celestia reappeared on the cracked ground before the gates of Tartarus. “Why are we here, Princess?” asked Twilight.
“You’ll discover that soon enough, Twilight,” replied Celestia. “For now, follow me.” Celestia led the way as she walked right up to the gates themselves. They were charred and rusted pieces of black, twisted wrought iron topped with spikes, covering a large, dark cave whose entrance seemed to be a jagged, toothed maw stained with blood. The cave was filled with an unnatural darkness and thick fog which smelled of sulphur. The walls of the cave glowed with a deep red as the searing lava passed through them and the floor was covered in ash which filled the cracks in the ground. Above the gates was an iron plaque on which the words, “Remember that there is still hope, all who enter here,” were written. In front of the gates were a large three-headed dog and an ornate desk covered with paperwork. Behind the desk sat a dark coated miniature alicorn with a pale blue mane and a grim expression. On her flank was a cage of bones encasing a pair of red eyes in the darkness.
“Celestia, to what do I owe the...pleasure?” she asked.
“Plutonia, I already know what you look like. You can drop the illusion.”
“This is more official. It is basically my uniform. There are expectations of what the alicorn of death should look like.”
“Well, I brought one of your old class mates. Surely you can drop the disguise for her?” Twilight peeked around Celestia and the other alicorn smiled as her coat shifted to bright yellow and her mane became a shorter, fluffier purple. She was now obviously a filly, though her cutie mark remained.
“Twilight! Thanks again for returning my dog!"
“It was a pleasure, Pluto. So, how’s magic kindergarten?”
“Same as it has been for decades.” She glared at Celestia.
“You are only 700. You need time to train properly,” said Celestia.
“You passed Cadance and she is only 180!”
“Cadance is only a demi-alicorn and as such matures much faster than we do. Also, Cadance never had a temper tantrum that resulted in the souls of the dead wandering aimlessly for three days, forcing the spirit of her predecessor to fix up the mess and resulting in the legend of the Headless Horse.”
“Firstly, that story is awesome,” said Pluto lifting a hoof in divine proclamation. “Secondly, stripping me of my title was way too harsh a punishment! Thirdly, what does that have to do with my lessons!?"
“If you don't know, you're obviously not ready to pass.” Pluto glared at her again, but Celestia ignored her gaze. “I am here because I need to check the book,” Celestia said firmly
“And which book might that be, Celestia?” asked Pluto as she fluttered her eyes innocently.
“The red one,” replied Celestia.
“Well, to apply for that, you will need to fill out these forms in triplicate.” She levitated a pile of scrolls onto the desk. “You know that the details in this book are given out on a ‘need to know’ basis.”
“Plutonia, Equestria may be under threat. The last time I suspected that, I nearly lost Canterlot! Please don’t be difficult.”
“Please, Pluto. We need your help!” added Twilight.
Pluto sighed. “All right, Twilight. For you.” She levitated up a red covered book with the title “The Book of Great Evils”. “I will be reading it though. Let us start at the beginning. Morning Star...”
“I refuse to believe that he is alive,” replied Celestia. “Cadance is his current successor and he was much more powerful. He would have taken back his powers from her if that were true. Until I have confirmed that there is something wrong with her, I will believe that she is fine."
“All right. I will stop with chronological order and I will just throw out names. Tell me when you want me to elaborate. Tirek, Permafrost, Chrysalis, Grogar, Catrina, Havoc, the wizard of the crystal mines, the windigos, Tiamat, Cornucopia while under the influence of love potion...”
“You cannot blame her for that!” cried Celestia.
“She still brought a country to ruin. Her prince is listed here as well. Being listed in here has less to do with how evil one was and more to do with how high a threat they posed. Speaking of which...Nightmare Moon.” Pluto raised an eyebrow.
“Next!” hissed Celestia.
(/)
Pinkie climbed her way out of the grand piano and onto the stage. She then ran over to a grey earth pony mare and hugged her. “Cousin Octy! How are you!?”
“Pinkamena, we’re trying to practice here!”
“Aw, Octy. Don’t be like that! I just wanted to know if you’d noticed anything unusual! I’ve told you a zillion times to just call me Pinkie! I know you can do it! You manage sometimes!”
“Unusual besides you, Pinkie?” asked Octavia. “No.”
“All right. Guess I’ll have a look-see out at the farm next.” Pinkie smiled and jumped back into the piano and crawled out from under a rock. “That’s funny,” she said as she twisted her head into odd positions to examine her body and look under a rock as she raised an eyebrow. “I’m all the way out here! How’d that happen?” She then turned around and gasped. Her ancestral home was now completely smooth and white, as were the surrounding fields she had failed to arrive on. The rocks were all unnaturally spherical and nopony was in sight. Pinkie ran into the house and began searching for her family, but found no trace of them. Her mane began to sag in worry and she grabbed one of the round, white rocks before heading for the boulder that she had arrived under.
(/)
“...The Smooze, Discord...”Plutonia continued to drawl before Pinkie popped out from under her desk. “Who are you and what are you doing here!?” shrieked Pluto. “If you are an inmate, I suggest that you surrender now!”
“This is Pinkamena Diane Pie. She is the Bearer of Laughter,” sighed Celestia. “She is very good friends with Twilight Sparkle. She is also charmingly eccentric. Did you find anything, Pinkie?”
“My family isn’t home and everything’s all white and funny-looking! It’s all smooth! Look!” She held out the rock and Celestia froze
“White and smooth...Plutonia, what does the book say about Discord?”
“A lot. Son of Entropy and Havoc, Discord was the most powerful draconequus of his generation, partially due to the fact that he killed and ate his brother, Destruction, as well as his father’s avatar. Discord’s front left...”
“Skip to how he was defeated.”
“All right.” Pluto began turning pages frantically. “The powers and crimes sections are quite extensive for him. Ah, here we go. Discord was most recently defeated when he was turned to stone by the Elements of Harmony. At the time, the Bearer of Magic was Twilight Sparkle, the Bearer of Honesty was Applejack Apple the Fifth, the...”
“How about failed attempts during his previous reign?”
Plutonia frowned. “The attempt before the Elements of Harmony were used was the release of the Orb of Conformity by Justitia.”
“Of course,” Celestia sighed. “I need to check the magic in this rock.
“I know the perfect pony, Princess! Star Swirl!”
“Ah, yes. I remember her letter.” “But what does this mean, Princess?"
“I don’t know yet. I first want to be sure what this is.”
A Rainbow streak landed in their midst. “There’s a huge white patch on the ground and it’s growing towards Sweet Apple Acres!” Rainbow reported.
“All right, Rainbow. I need you to warn the Apple family. Twilight, Pinkie, I need you with me when I speak to Star Swirl. Can you take us there, Twilight?”
“I know the journey on hoof, so yes,” said Twilight. Her horn shimmered and they disappeared as Rainbow flew off back towards Ponyville.
(/)
Star Swirl dropped the tube she was holding in shock as the room was filled with a flash of light. She winced as the test tube cracked and looked up. “Princess Celestia! I’m so honoured to meet you again! And now you have Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic and Pinkamena Diane Pie, Bearer of the Element of Laughter with you! What a wonderful day!” She dropped to her knees and bowed.
“Star Swirl, You know us well now. Why are you grovelling?” asked Twilight.
“Because I’ve never spoken to you together!”Star Swirl insisted.
“All right,” Twilight sighed. “We need you to figure out what kind of magic was involved in making this.” She levitated the rock over.
Star Swirl frowned and touched it with her hoof, whereupon her eyes widened dramatically. “I’ve never felt anything like it! Everything has been fundamentally altered to be more uniform. It feels a bit like Discord, but as if his magic had reversed and is not quite at that level of power. And...there’s also what feels like alicorn magic, but a different...no two different alicorns from any I know. They feel similar, but different."
Celestia sighed. “Please do not panic at what I am about to show you.” There was a flash and the four ponies were suddenly standing on a field of red dust, surrounded by a protective bubble. The sky had turned pink.
“I think I like this place!” said Pinkie.
“Did the rock feel like this place?” asked Celestia.
“Y-yes,” replied Star Swirl.
Celestia sighed again. "Then it is confirmed. This rock was created by Conformity.” They teleported back into Star Swirl’s apartment.
“Who’s Conformity, Princess?” asked Twilight.
“And where were we?” added Pinkie.
“We were on Mars, the planet associated with the alicorns who created Conformity,” replied Celestia
“Two? But I thought that only one alicorn could be associated with each planet, moon or sun at a time!” said Twilight as her eyebrows jumped.
“Conformity took a long time and a lot of power to be made. I could tell you the tale of her creation, but I can tell you almost nothing about Conformity herself. She was meant to be a powerful warrior designed to fight Discord. Justitia could not control her though and Discord quickly sensed that an individual was ruining his chaos, so he imprisoned her. She was not released when Discord was turned to stone though, indicating that the world is more harmonious with her imprisoned.”
(/)
One of Conformity’s bodies walked up to the door to the Apples’ home. She then turned round and bucked the door which shattered and landed in a stack of identical white planks. She walked in as Granny Smith stirred from her nap.
“Hellooo? Is somepony at the door?”
“DO NOT FEAR! WE ARE HERE TO RELIEVE YOU OF THE SYMPTOMS OF OLD AGE! YOUR DISTINCTIVENESS SHALL BE PURGED! YOUR LIFE SHALL BE ADDED TO OUR OWN!” Granny Smith rose from her couch.
“What’s that yah’re talkin’ abou’?”
“SURRENDER AND JOIN US! YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED! ACCEPT OUR GIFT!” The Blinky-shaped being moved forward and tapped Granny Smith on the muzzle.
“What’re yah...!?” cried the matriarch of the Apple family before her face was also reformed into a white likeness of Blinky’s.
(/)
“So yah ain’t seen nothin’ strange?” asked Applejack.
“Nnnope,” replied Big Mac as he shook his head.
“Help!” called Applebloom’s voice. Big Mac’s ear flicked and he frowned at the sound.
“But Ah hear somethin’ strange! Applebloom, where are yah!?”
At that moment, Rainbow flew down to meet them. “There you are!” she cried. “A huge white blotch is spreading into the farm!”
“What’re yah talkin’ abou’?” asked Applejack. “An’ why’s Applebloom callin’ fer help?”
With that, Applebloom galloped into view. “Help! She looks like a pony, but she’s a monster! She did somethin’ tah Granny!”
“WE HELPED HER ACHIEVE GREATNESS! HER BODY WAS WEAK AND WE PURGED HER OF THE INDIVIDUALITY WHICH WEAKENED HER!”
“An where is she now?!” growled Applejack.
“They made her inta one of them!” cried Applebloom as she waved a hoof in the direction of the white pony.
“THERE IS NO LONGER AN EDITH SMITH! THERE IS ONLY CONFORMITY!”
“Yah monster!” yelled Applejack as she scraped a hoof along the ground. “Yah think y’all will git away with this!?”
“OF COURSE! ALL WILL BECOME ONE WITH CONFORMITY! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!”
“Nnnope!” said Big Mac before galloping forward and kicking Conformity in the face. She flew backwards before hitting an apple tree which straightened, smoothed out its bark, whitened and dropped its now spherical apples in a neat pile. Conformity rose as Big Mac whitened and his muscular body shrank to the daintiness of a mare.
“AS WE STATED, RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! YOUR STRENGTH IS IRRELEVENT AS IT WILL BE ADDED TO OUR OWN!” The former body of Big Mac joined in. “BUT WE DO NOT WISH TO THREATEN EQUESTRIA WITH DISCORD BY ASIMILATING AN ELEMENT BEARER NOW! SO SPEAK TO US AND WE WILL LEAVE YOU AND APPLEBLOOM UNHARMED!”
(/)
Conformity’s four other bodies marched into Ponyville. Lyra turned her head to view the strange arrivals. She had always had an appreciation for novelty. But she was not alone in staring at the strange arrivals. “Changelings! The horror! The horror!” cried Lily as she grasped her face.
The stares only became more pronounced as they began to speak. “CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! WE ARE CONFORMITY! BY VIRTUE OF LOCATION, YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN TO BE THE FIRST TOWN TO BE ELEVATED TO GREATNESS! YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED! YOUR SPECIAL TALENTS SHALL ADAPT TO SERVICE US! YOUR INDIVIDUALITY SHALL BE PURGED AND YOU SHALL KNOW THE GLORY OF UNITY! COME FOWARD AND ACCEPT THIS DIVINE GIFT!” Lily continued screaming. “YOU SHALL KNOW THIS GIFT WHETHER OR NOT YOU RESIST!” The bodies split up and began touching the bodies of the ponies with the typical results. The panicking only increased as Lily’s screams only got louder and the ponies tried running and flying away. Lyra tried to rise from her normal sitting position, but found that it had the disadvantage of being difficult to rise from. She was quickly tapped.
“When I said I wanted to know what it’s like to be a non-unicorn, this isn’t what I meant!” she cried, but this time, while most of her body morphed to Blinky’s likeness, her horn remained. The other bodies then sprouted horns of their own. The former body of Lyra raised her horn and grabbed a fleeing Cloud Chaser with her newly acquired telekinesis. Cloud Chaser screamed as she was tapped and Conformity’s bodies acquired wings which they immediately used to lift into the air and fly towards Canterlot.
(/)
“WE ARE WELL AWARE OF WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON WHILE WE’VE BEEN SEALED, APPLEJACK AND RAINBOW DASH! WE HAVE ABSORBED THE KNOWLEDGE OF THOSE WHO HAVE JOINED WITH US! WHAT YOU DO NOT REALISE IN YOUR IGNORANCE BROUGHT ON BY INDIVIDUALITY, IS THAT EQUESTRIA NEEDS US!”
“How do we need you!?” asked Rainbow.
“WE ARE A FORCE WHICH WILL PROTECT EQUESTRIA FROM ITS MANY THREATS AND BRING IT TO GREATNESS!”
“Well, Ah don’t think we need yah!” growled Applejack. “Now give back Big Macintosh an’ Granny Smith!”
The white mare before them sprouted a horn. “DO YOU REALLY NOT NEED US!?” She then sprouted a pair of wings. “WE SUGGEST THAT YOU THINK ABOUT THAT!” She took to the air.
“We’ve got to stop her!” cried Rainbow before lifting off herself. Applejack grabbed her tail.
“Yah have tah warn Princess Celestia! Yah wings’re faster than mah legs. Ah’ll meet y’all at the barn!
“Right!” said Rainbow with a salute before flying towards Star Swirl’s apartment.
(/)
Rainbow flew into the apartment just as Celestia finished her explanation. “Princess! There’s a freaky white mare with red eyes turning other ponies into copies of herself! She just sprouted wings and a horn and flew off! They’re heading in the direction of Canterlot!”
The ponies in the room widened their eyes and dropped their jaws in horror. “It is worse than I thought!” said Celestia. “We need the Elements of Harmony!”
“Applejack’s at her barn!” Rainbow reported. “Rarity should be with Fluttershy in her cottage!”
“Then let us go!” said Celestia. They teleported to Fluttershy’s cottage.
“Oh my goodness!” said Fluttershy. “I was just asking my animal friends if they’d seen anything.” She looked at their faces. “Is something wrong?”
“We know who the threat is,” Celestia informed her. “Her name is Conformity and she is turning ponies into copies of herself.”
“How horrible!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she crouched submissively.
"Simply dreadful!" Rarity agreed. "How can an artiste work with eveypony looking exactly the same!"
“We need to use the Elements of Harmony to stop her!” said Twilight. “We’re going to fetch Applejack now!”
“All...right then,” Fluttershy nodded. They teleported again, this time to Applejack’s barn.
“Good. Y’all’re here,” she said.
“Yes, we need to stop Conformity with the Elements of Harmony!” said Twilight.
“Conform-who?” asked Applejack.
“The freaky mare from earlier!” Rainbow explained. “We gotta show her who’s boss!” She slammed her front hooves together. Applejack’s eyes narrowed.
“Yah betcha we do!” She turned to Applebloom. “Yah gonna be safe here?”
“She’s gone already! Ah can take care of mahself.”
A dark cloud drifted down towards them and coalesced before forming an image of Princess Luna. “Sister, I sense nothing wrong with Discord...”
“Keep guarding him. I’m not letting him loose again!”
“...but I sense alicorns entering Canterlot airspace. I do not recognise them.”
“So they’re trying to take Canterlot. We’ll be right over Luna. We don’t know much about this enemy and we don’t want to exacerbate the situation.” Celestia’s eyes suddenly widened. “I’ve just lost my magical connection to one...no two of my guards.”
Luna frowned. “That isn’t good. Are you sure that you don’t want me on the front lines. If alicorns are attacking us, our end of the treaty forbidding combat by members of the Cosmic Council should be nullified.”
“If she qualifies according to the treaty,” replied Celestia.
“She?” asked Luna.
“Conformity,” replied Celestia. Luna’s eyes widened. “This is a job for the elements, Luna. We’ll be right there. Return to concentrating on your post.” The cloud dissipated. Celestia’s horn flashed once more, but this time, they didn’t move. “I can’t teleport to the chamber with the door to the elements for some reason,” said Celestia. “I’ll get us as close as I can.” The next attempt took them to the passage just outside the chamber. The eight ponies ran (or flew in Rainbow’s case) to the door and entered. The room was completely white and featureless. Where the door to the elements once were stood a bare patch of wall. Standing in the room were three copies of Conformity.
“HELLO CELESTIA! IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME!” they said. “WE HATE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO YOUR MANE!”
A/N: Phew! So there we have the first chapter. I’m using a bit of stuff from other fanfics here, especially The Pony POV Series here, but anyone familiar with that series will be able to tell that I’ve adapted it a bit. There’s also some G1 references. Cornucopia is my name for the alicorn from Hearts and Hooves Day. Pluto is of course, the animation error from Lesson Zero. I’ve combined TVTropes fanon for her with my own. Permafrost is the alicorn villain from the fanon that the same thread created for Snowcatcher the Irreverent (who still needs her story told. I’ve offered to collaborate with the author who has taken on her story, but we’ll see.). Otherwise feel free to comment etc. Maybe, I’ll respond. Maybe Pinkie will and maybe Conformity will (she tells me that she isn’t assimilating humans YET though).
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! THAT WAS BUCKING AWESOME!!!!!!
Tracking, will read later!
-Minty
Looks interesting so far. Pluto is hilarious.
Mare, Conformity is really picky about hair
I can't wait to see her meet Rarity
Off to a promising start!
1452290 Thank you...but you seem to have not favourited. If you enjoyed it that much, wouldn't you want to be notified of chapter updates?
1452330 Thanks. I'll be glad to hear what you think when you've done so.
1452434 Thank you.
Pluto: I am not "hilarious". I am respectful of protocol and am understandably frustrated by the fact that I'm being forced to learn about the alphabets when I actually have an important job. Nopony appreciates what I do. I bet that Hades never had to put up with this. And Mortis was too busy trying to ensure that those who didn't survive Discord's reign were at least granted peace to deal with Celestia's rubbish. Cadance is lucky that Uncle Eros died before she was born. She gets to be celebrated. Everypony's thankful to the bringer of love, but nopony goes around saying, "I am so glad that ponies die." Makes one feel rather unnapreciated. I am the final rest, the last judgement, warden of Tartarus and guide to Elysium! DId nopony learn anything thse three days?!
Sorry about that. Pluto was feeling a bit annoyed (don't tell her, but I think it's good that you find her hillaious).
1452506 You have no idea. If you think she's picky about hair now, she isn't even done yet. Of course, she's picky about everything.
Conformity: WHAT YOU CALL "PICKINESS" IS MERELY A HEALTHY APPRECIATION FOR PERFECTION! WE DO NOT TOLERATE ANYTHING LESS THAN ABSOLUTE UNIFORMITY! WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT A PONY IF THEY CANNOT EVEN KEEP THEIR MANE STRAIGHT, SYMMETRICAL AND UNIFORM!?
1459768 Thank you. I hope that it doesn't dissapoint.
I REALLY DON'T LIKE HER MANE.
Not bad, not bad at all. Loved the inclusion of the wizard of the crystal mines in the list Pluto read. Also, Pluto, lighten up. ;) Conformity... pretty scary, all in all. Although if you think about it, Granny Smith's hip is now all healed...
A Rainbow streak landed in their midst. “There’s a huge white patch on the ground and it’s growing towards Sweet Apple Acres!” Rainbow reported.
IN TARTARUS' GATES?!?!!?!?
And I think there would be a moment of confusion on this being the CURRENT Starswirl, not the one from the history books.
Conformity wouldn't be SO BAD, if it wasn't obvious that she wasn't just spreading unity and uniformity but also EATING the ponies she converts. She's not just applying a template, she's DEVOURING them.
SO SPEAK TO US AND WE WILL LEAVE YOU AND APPLEBLOOM UNHARMED!”
She doesn't CONSIDER IT harm though. She considering it healing.
And how can she consider her style of assimilation a GOOD THING if she knows that it won't keep Discord in check like she was CREATED to do if she devours the Elements Bearers?
WE ARE CONFORMITY!
why does she bother saying 'we' when they're all just vessels for the same entity?
What does COnformity even plan to DO with herself once she's eaten everything?
What would this do to Parasprites? OR THE VIRUSES AND GERMS IN THE AIR? Butterflies?
...no two of my guards.”
Which means her guards have ceased to exist rather than becoming part of a whole like Conformity keeps claiming.
You can't turn a glass of purple dye back into two glasses of red and blue dye.
"Your unity is death! You don't bring together the ideas and emotions and feelings of those you absorb! You just harvest their raw knowledge, abilities and talent! If Granny Smith and Big Mac's hearts were really a part of you, you'd never be this HEARTLESS about this whole thing!"
1463447
CONFORMITY: INDEED!
1464798 Thanks and yes, technically that's true.
1469649 Wow. This is an honour. Let's adress these:
IN TARTARUS' GATES?!?!!?!?: Technically, just in front of the gates themselves.
And I think there would be a moment of confusion on this being the CURRENT Starswirl, not the one from the history books.
For Celestia? Perhaps. Celestia's well aware of who the current Star Swirl is though, so I doubt that it would be hard for her to figure out.
Conformity wouldn't be SO BAD, if it wasn't obvious that she wasn't just spreading unity and uniformity but also EATING the ponies she converts. She's not just applying a template, she's DEVOURING them.
Pretty much. She's not exactly pleasant. She doesn't really see it that way to that extent though.
SO SPEAK TO US AND WE WILL LEAVE YOU AND APPLEBLOOM UNHARMED!”
She doesn't CONSIDER IT harm though. She considering it healing.
That she does. But she's smart and is trying to manipulate them into giving her more time to complete her plans.
And how can she consider her style of assimilation a GOOD THING if she knows that it won't keep Discord in check like she was CREATED to do if she devours the Elements Bearers?
This will be explained next chapter.
WE ARE CONFORMITY!
why does she bother saying 'we' when they're all just vessels for the same entity?
She thinks of herself in plural due to her multiple bodies.
What does COnformity even plan to DO with herself once she's eaten everything?
Maintain a world of absolute order.
What would this do to Parasprites? OR THE VIRUSES AND GERMS IN THE AIR? Butterflies?
You saw a bit of that with the apple tree. They too would eventually become species of a single individual named Conformity.
...no two of my guards.”
Which means her guards have ceased to exist rather than becoming part of a whole like Conformity keeps claiming.
...Sort of. There peronality has indeed ceased to exist and so has Celestia's connection to them. It was something that sepperated them from other ponies and was thus purged. Their bodies and minds have merely been altered though.
You can't turn a glass of purple dye back into two glasses of red and blue dye.
Not normally, yes. But remember that the setting is rather idealistic.
"Your unity is death! You don't bring together the ideas and emotions and feelings of those you absorb! You just harvest their raw knowledge, abilities and talent! If Granny Smith and Big Mac's hearts were really a part of you, you'd never be this HEARTLESS about this whole thing!"
Nice quote. May I use it?
1470361
You are free to use it. And Conformity is just a glorified eating machine with everything else as her meat.
She's not assimilating, she's consuming.
She feels nothing for Applebloom or Applejack in spite of their elder brother and grandmother having been eaten by her. If she was REALLY out for her INTENDED purpose, than those feelings of love towards them would have spread among her bodies like Lyra's horn did!!!
White is in fact ALL colors, so at least that makes sense with their intended purpose!
Not to mention she's not becoming one bit wiser with all the different points of view she SHOULD be getting, but in fact doesn't even TRY to assimilate. She just reaps their knowledge and abilities. She doesn't even try to increase her wisdom with their different points of view.
So basically, she's not even fulfilling her intended function.
I would suggest dividers or extra empty lines for when there's a scene change. It kinda got confusing near the end whenever they moved quickly from place to place.
Other than that, I like where this is going.
1470361
If you are going to quote bits of people's posts in your reply its a good idea to make sure that your stuff is distinct from theirs, there area few different ways (coloured text, a different typeface, ect) but the best is probably to use quote tags. They can be inserted either with the quote button above the "Add Comment" field or manually as {quote}{/quote} (replacing the curly brackets with square ones)
1470561
I'd disagree, Conformity was intended to counter Discord's chaos and seems like it would be a perfect job of that. Of course the fact that pure order is just as bad as pure chaos means that the cure is no better, and arguably worse given that Discord seemed to like keeping ponies around as individuals (they are more fun to play with that way).
1471337
Except Discord's chaos WASN'T pure. It had sadism and selfishness put into the mix.
This story seems to drive home the fact that order is NOT harmony. Her order is not perfection, it is negation. It shall bring stagnation to the world, and deny the harmony needed for life. Her "unity" is nothing more then that of the grave.
I await the next chapter.
I am pleased that this story is generating so much debate.
1470561 Thanks! Your points are valid, but again, she doesn't see it that way. It should be noted that Conformity is INSANELY stubborn and that this was actually a deliberate design choice as it was meant to be a defense against Discord's mind rape. She'd see incorporating the viewpoints of others as succoming to the corruption of individuality. But again, Conformity DID NOT turn out as intended. She was an act of desperation by two alicorns who weren't even able to work together as their lifespans didnt overlap.
1470706 More line breaks. I'll try bear that in mind. I may even edit a few more into this chapter later. Glad that you're enjoying it.
1471337 Thanks! I didn't know that.
1471349 This is true. Technically, Conformity isn't pure Order either. For one thing, it's tainted with absurd amounts of arrogance.
1471543 Exactly. Glad that you're enjoying it.
1472933
That's actually rather said when you think about it. Is Discord a sadistic monster instead of a benign trickster because of his NATURE or by CHOICE? Conformity didn't have any choice on how she is. Everything about her was decided for her. She can't even CHOOSE to follow her function in a way that would bring about transponyism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism joining the whole of the traits of all pony minds until a single understanding consciousness that ENCOMPASSES all and LOVES all is born.
Instead she'll just eat and eat until she's the only presence in creation and NOT EVEN LOVE THE gods who created her, only cherry picking traits that suit her goal of devouring everything rather, than the larger goal of an order tainted by love the same Discord's chaos is tainted by sadism. Never loving or creating anything.
Conformity is NOT Instrumentality. Instrumentality was the breaking down of the barriers between all human hearts.
And pure order and pure chaos are BOTH neither good or evil by their definitions. BOTH are as likely to cause harm OR good. Discord was a sadistic jerk.
Were dealing with a ponyfied smith? Quick someone find neigh-o! The pony matrix is in danger!
Well, this is off to an interesting start. Can't wait to see where this goes.
I just caught the joke in the title!
1474880 yes
encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRNC7QWpv7yoJVNS_7pjU6b-xBk7RQohF8UWL9uRBUvOVjKD7K0bw
This Conformity is actually rather terrifying, in concept. Good old fridge logic
This chapter seemed a bit hastily done to me. This is mostly improper formatting and the pacing being a little faster than most stories. I noticed a few times where, "One person was speaking," "And then a second began on the same line." Also, there might have been a few missing page breaks. For example, the first transition to Ponyville looks like it could use a little more space between it and the previous paragraph. Spelling was good as far as I saw and the story itself is enjoyable, so you're doing that right.
In short, more spacing your lines, please.
1473208>>1473210 Yes. Let me put it this way, I view Conformity as evil, but not completely vile, like Discord. She has some well-intentioned extremism going on.
1474880 She IS a bit like Smith, isn't she? But I'll be honest, she was inspired more by the Borg. She's ConBorgity as opposed to DisQord. Though, while Discord is more evil than Q and hasn't demonstrated as much power, Conformity is meant to be a little more sympathetic than the Borg while arguably being more powerful.
1482006 Hope that you like the result.
1482188 Glad that the joke isn't completely lost and that Conformity is provoking some emotinal responses.
1485635 Hmmm...I DID have to reformat when I imported. I'll have to relook at the source to try rectify the problem.
1485646 Good luck!
Pluto is best OC alicorn.
I do like the idea that there are quite a few alicorns out there besides Celestia and Luna (and Cadance).
...
Borg Alicorn, Doctor, Tartarus, Death-Alicorn, Sailor Alicorns, history of Discord, Octavia cousin of Pinkie Pie, a lots of evil lords, attack of white-clone-alicorns...
i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/410/250/5d2.gif
Another comparison is how in D&D the mindflayers THINK the Elder Brains works, and how the Elder brains ACTUALLY work. The mindflayers think that when they die and their brains are graphed onto the elder brain, their identity and thoughts are absorbed into the group mind. In reality the elder brain just harvests any useful knowledge and wiped the rest for space for itself. Not that it's about to tell any of the LIVING mindflayers that.
Conformity sells her methods like they're the former, when she's not even trying to hide they're the latter.
1486082 Glad that you like her.
1487340 From the fact that you faved, I'm guessing that this is a good reaction.
1491277 I wouldn't put her quite on the level of an elder brain, but you make a good point.
I really need to get the next chapter up so that you guys have more to work with.
“A lot. Son of Entropy and Havoc, Discord was the most powerful draconequus of his generation, partially due to the fact that he killed and ate his brother, Destruction, as well as his father’s avatar. Discord’s front left...”
Alex Warlorn is HERE and didn't even mention a reference to his own series. Then again, Alex also appears to be nerdraging over specifics.
*shrug*
I like how you included tiamat in the great evils list. That was a clever and subtle joke, and it more or less made the chapter for me. I was a bit disappointed with the writing however; I can't quite putt finger on it, but something about your writing style makes the story hard to read. You should defiantly look into that. I'm also intrigued by the mythology you are setting up and referancibh in tge story, and I would love to see that supported by a separated story.
Soooo...
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is the successor of Lucifer?
This alone has so much potential for a story.
So far, pretty awesome :) I will agree with others opinions that it seems a mite hasty in places... I think this might be improved if if was a bit shorter.. if you had the cast, for example, teleport to a place and check on a thing, then another things in another place, rather then detailing multiple teleports to multiple places, when a simple line or two could have summed up the goingons ("they teleported to flutterhshy's cottage and briefly explained the situation, before teleporting to Sweet apple acres") or, adjust the plot to make things unneeded.. for example, have Rarity and Fluttershy be with the other ponies, so they go straight to the farm instead. I heard it once said that an author should look at every seen and try to decide of it adds somethign to the story. Does the scene at Fluttershy's cottage add to the story? well, maybe it DOES but I don't know that yet..
Anyway, despite my verbosity, this is really goign quite well and I am enjoying this story :) My only other quibbles would be that the all caps is a bit frustrating to read.... and.. past that.. well.. I"m a big TNG fan. I am trying to picture a white care and blinky's body, but I just keep seeing Borgponies.
In other news Locutus would make a pretty nifty pony name
2122409 Thank you! I hope that you continue to enjoy it and I'll bear your advice in mind. Also, if Conformity is reminding ou of the Borg, that is a good thing.
The Umm.. "Pluto" You Are Talking A Bout Is Actually Princess Erroria! Herp Derp!
2783435 This fic is WAY older than that name for her.
Not a bad start. Bit fast paced and tended to jump cut quite a bit, but wasn't enough so you didn't know what was going to happen.
The borg lines were a bit much, I get what you're going for, but that was a bit to bltant IMO.
Loved the part with Plutonia. I have issues with your headcanon about Alicorns, but that's besides the point, and I try not to hold headcannon issues against a story as long as they make sense within it, and you're do. Also, LOVED the plaque above the gate, so so perfect. Also cracked up at "That is an awesome story"
Overall a good start, if a tad to fast paced so far. Not quite MMC levels, but close. And faster then Antipodes, which I did not think could happen while telling a coherent story.
2830130 Yeah, it seems that pushed the pace up a bit much. I wanted to get past the basic pemise.
Sorry that the Borgness was a bit much. They were the biggest inspiration and I felt the need to homage that.
Glad that my alicorns make sense despite your disagreement.
And it seems that Pluto is basically an ensamble darkhorse at this point. Pretty good for an alicorn who isn't Celestia or Luna. I'm glad about that.
*acceptable
*looking
Thanks. Fixed. Looks like you're hear to find all my typos Well, I hope that you continue to enjoy it.