History doesn't stop when the curtains close. Short stories highlighting events taking place in the years after the founding of Equestria are told by the princesses. Holiday cheer does not ensue. These are written as a part of the Titano-verse but are compatible with general canon and do not require any additional reading to enjoy.
Current contents:
"Hurricane's Fall" - Now an audiobook recorded by the way too awesome for words Scribbler.
"Wedding Night Jitters."
"Oracle of the Moon."
May be continued at some future date but it is done for now.
Chapters (3)
:P I enjoyed that you scoundrel you!
The Derpy story sounds like a wonderful idea......
Very good. Liked and Fav'd. Love the thought of Derpy being the descendant of some epic warrior. Would like to see more stuff like this from you. You are very good at it.
There's a strange sort of sensation from being able to read something and seriously say, "I helped!"
I love the mythos you've built for the Titanoverse, and it's always a joy to see it expanded upon. And I still see the potential in here for a chronicle of the Sisters' rise to power in Equestria, although I do find myself wondering, given what Hurricane's successors clearly think about the idea of harmony, how much damage Discord really did, and how much of it was self-inflicted by ponies who clearly hadn't learned a damn thing until the fury of the heavens dropped on their heads.
Not bad. Interesting take on Hurricane's history.
Thanks! I'm glad you folks enjoyed it.
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Did you mean the short story format in particular or stories in general? If the second, I've got two more up on fimfiction that are about 20x as long as this one.
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And I truly appreciate the help. This whole pre-reader thing is pretty ok, maybe I'll have to start using it more often.
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Lol. I liked and Fav'd those when they came out. I love your work; especially the world building.
What I meant was the short format. It's a nice change of pace to see something about Equestria's history that's not 100K words.
I don't know what your plans are for the Titanverse but these kind of stories really help it feel like there's a world outside of the current arc.
Anyway I can't wait to read your next story.
Ok, so I hadn't seen this earlier, but your blog drew my attention to it. I have to admit that I like it, it could admittedly do with some more fleshing out but I suppose thats just my hunger for quality writing coming out and demanding with a roar: "Words or blood!"
Oh and I can now once again claim to have read all your stories.
I hope you don't mind, but I liked this fic so much I have put together an audiobook version of it on YouTube.
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OMG SQEEEEE!
I'm a subscriber to your channel and love your readings. I am deeply, deeply honored.
Thank you so much,
John
Thank you again to TheAspiringWriter93, RomanCandle, and PhycoKrusk for prereading this chapter.
OMGWTFBBQ.
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That's what it says on my profile pic...
and thats how equestria was made.
From bad, to worse.
Hurricane's story was horrible and tragic, but it didn't involve the semi-forced rape of their divine benefactor and friend... all in the name of preserving peace. Silly Cadence.
I'm reminded of the actual endings to many fairy tales.
That wasn't so bad... At least the Mane Six weren't subjected to to grimdarks
or their own clopfics...
Er...
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Whups, fixed and thanks!
So, now that folks have had a chance to look read it, here's what I was trying to accomplish with this chapter.
Show what Celestia was like before becoming the consummate political animal I see her as now. Still divine, still wise, still loving but not nearly as savvy as she is usually portrayed.
Show the dysfunctional dynamic that already existed between the sisters and hint at the conflict to come. I also didn't want either sister to be blameless or responsible. I think its quite natural to desire peace and avoid conflict, but to dismiss flash-points rather than addressing them can lead to tragedies.
Show the process by which Equestria passed from the Triumvirate to the Diarchy. Hint at where "Prince" Blueblood came from and why Celestia was only a Princess rather than a Queen (I know the real reason for this decision but wanted to inject an in-world reason).
Show that while Princess Platinum may be a huge b****, she also was smart and hard-working in her way. Also, try to show where some of her anger may have come from.
Lastly, and this is a trait shared with the first story, show just how alien cultures removed from us by thousands of years are. The moral environment for an actual Spartan or for a European noble is very different from modern, western views. Arranged, political marriages were a common tool of diplomacy during the medieval period. We may find them ookie but they were normal then. Same with Hurricane's Fall: Spartan child-rearing was monstrous from our modern POV but the traditions and values of that culture was so very, very different than our own.
I hope all this came across.
BioChi
Well I'm not sure what to say about this sort of story, which is par for the course with the subject matter. I love your writing and this collection is no exception, but stories like this always make me feel slightly dirty.
I enjoyed this story, especially the last part where Fluttershy hurls (heh) the used flower pot after Cadance, which is kinda why I don't read these sorts of stories a lot. The subject matter is darkish and squicky, but it's well written and believable that this sort of thing would happen. Less of the "behold a savior" feeling some stories like this have. But because it's a good story about bad things bein talked about on ponymas, it gives me that weird little vibe that says "You really ought not to enjoy this as much as you are".
Anyway, since I thought Hurricane's Fall was a one shot I didn't think to favorite, but if this is continuing its going right up there. Well done and thanks for another good story. :)
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I don't think of it as a story where one enjoys the suffering of others. I intend it more as a story good enough to make you think and is sad enough to make you cry. Not happy with a simple "downer," I framed each story with a comedic situation.
2572822 Which is why it works. I never manage to make myself clear when talking about this sort of thing. It's good drama with people being mean and petty to each other, and I enjoyed it which makes me feel kinda icky because I just read somepony being a bitch to best princess and liked it.
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People from this far away in time talk movingly about the "Spartan ideal," but few have any idea what a soul-starved, sterile and totalitarian society Lacedemon actually was. As soon as you showed Hurricane practicing infant exposure and used the word agoge, I knew what you were aiming at.
Of course, the idea that Derpy might be a right-line direct descendant of Hurricane and The Dragonslayer is great.
Love the picture of Princess Platinum.
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I found it on Derpibooru. Its by someone going by invaderdebz, but his/her deviantart account has gone dark. That artist also did a good, but male, Cmdr. Hurricane.
Hah! Deliciously depressing, yet educational shorts. Poor girls will need some serious counseling by the time princesses finish their tales.
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Up until the name Hooves I assumed that Hurricane's heir would be Fluttershy ...
(not that she is totally out of the running or anything ... )
Sweet. I see you accomplished your goals with this chapter.
Your view on old pegasus and unicorn society is very close to what I use too.
Can't wait for the Chancellor Puddinghead chapter.
Guess the girls can't handle unvarnished history. Reminds me of when I gave a presentation on the Loyalist POV during the Revolutionary war for US history. Didn't make me too popular popping myths.
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People hate having their happy myths debunked >.<
I'm constantly playing Devil's advocate in history class.
Well that was an interesting origin story for Sombra.
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Tried to do something a little different with it.
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Which is good since pretty much every story is him the unicorn who was an ambitious conqueror that succeeded. A darker take though I did also enjoy the fact of how reaching Luna's court was much more difficult and the image seemed appropriate. Also found him once being an Earth Pony to work well, always thought that the Crystal Empire was more like Earth Pony magic than anything else
Wow. Just Wow. Do none of the alicorns understand what an appropriate story is?
So, in Apoptosis, Celestia was considering killing another to save Twilight. She is almost reaching Nightmare levels of crazy. This story was an intriguing study in cultural norms, and it provided some disturbing backstory for the whole series.
Sombra is evil, yet I understand the logic behind his decisions. That was well written.
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I take that as high praise.
Noooope
3826549 The best villains are the ones who operate on a form of logic normal people can understand. His logic was understandable and reasonable. If I was in Equestria, I would actually agree with his goal of equalizing unicorns and earth ponies. My only disagreement with him would be methods. I LIKE your image of Sombra. He is one of my favorite versions, next to the Sombra from The Code's Apprentice.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I found that actions of
my loveryour sister led to death, albeit temporary of my future foalsitter.Also I supposedly should have took local mailmare with our group in times of Dragon Snoring Crisis.
Sincerely yours, your faithful yet perplexed student Twilight Sparcle.
P.S. Can I take with myself a several barrels of whisky from Royal Cellars?
I can understand Sombra's motive. I do think you've got more of these up your sleeve.
A perfectly Inappropriate story for the occasion, excellent job.
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I don't know why I love running her through the wringer so much. Perhaps its because she breaks in such interesting ways.
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Thanks! Glad you liked it.
These origin stories are incredibly good! I hope you'll write more of them.
I've been considering writing a collection of possible stories for Equestria's past, just because I love these kinds of tales so much. Good work, Biochi.
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I might, but the more I think about it I'd like to put it in another framing story. I'm thinking Discord, Grogar, and Cryssi sharing some stories.
I was kind of surprised to learn about Sombra's rise to power although it does kind of make sense since he he always had a really weird looking horn. This does bring up the question of what exactly a cutie mark is because Nightmare Moon could apparently steal someponies special talent and than give it to another pony, admittedly this kills the first pony but still being able to manipulate a pony's destiny like that is pretty terrifying. Great story I would really like to learn more about the Titano-verse, ahh that makes me feel just like Twilight.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/11/27/483578__safe_solo_twilight+sparkle_animated_princess+twilight_smile_book_hub+logo_happy_faic.gif
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Thanks!
I felt the same way about Sombra's funky horn, hence the seed for this story. Before I found that hook, I was stuck for quite some time. I wanted the third story to be about an earth-pony but I kept finding myself uninspired by a Chancellor Puddinghead story. After my "Ah ha" moment, it was only a few weeks until I was finished with this third chapter.
In regards to the rest of the Titano-verse, I do plan to get back to Apoptosis eventually. There just might be something involving cutie marks and destiny, etc.
In my headcanon: Luna and Celestia can't create or destroy destinies (or life for that matter) but they can move it around and manipulate it; because gods.
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Hay thanks for responding.
Yeah I assumed that it was impossible to create a destiny out of nothing, however for those ponies who give up their destiny or even lose it because they survived something they shouldn't have, like if Twilight survived getting her horn broken off and lost all her connections to magic, than that pony would be living without a destiny. This kind of reminds me of a Harry Potter fanfiction with a similar premise and now that I think about it Final Destination, the part about killing someone else for their lifetime/destiny.
richferguson.com/video/dancinggirl.gif
I loved this whole thing, but i have to ask...
Am I the only one who pictures Twi eventually realizing what these stories mean, and re-labeling the history section of the library, the historical fanfiction section, until grudgingly seeking out what was omitted, or outright rewritten to cover for said omissions?
Yeah, I figured I was, but like I said, I had to ask.
i really do not like to see http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GratuitousGerman
otherwise, nice story
Of course, if Discord tells a story he will be going out of his way to make it as horrible as possible.
So what would be totally hilarious is that Discord accidentally tells a truly heartwarming story, due to attempting to tell an awful story but having an entirely different moral system and outlook on life than any pony anywhere. I don't quite know what kind of story would work there -- I dunno, maybe a story in which the resolution is that the hero who had an exciting and adventurous life ends up in depressing obscurity, married, with foals -- which, having had plenty of adventures, and being for the most part mortal and knowing that someday their own adventuring days will be over, the girls see as a happily ever after worthy of "d'awwww, that's so sweet", and to Discord, who thinks mortality is horrible, obscurity is horrible, not having an exciting life is horrible, and enforced monogamy is horrible (and doesn't think foals are horrible but has some terrible memories associated with the childhood of his own daughters), it's the most awful ending possible?
(On a completely unrelated note, I have just read all of your stuff, and while obviously 4th season's reveal on the Tree of Harmony made your stuff non-canon, the thought of Three's A Crowd in the context of Cadance being Discord's daughter is even funnier.)