The Story So Far [Born In Light, Forged In Darkness] · 9:00pm Dec 13th, 2023
The Rewrites.
Before you get to the recap, a quick word on what to expect from the rewrites, and why they are happening at all.
You should expect a slightly softer tone around Tirek's abuse early on. Originally he was supposed to die at the end of Act One, betrayed by Twilight, and Pear Butter, but as things progressed I fell in love with how he interacted with Twilight, and PB (their relationship was not planned). So when it came time for him to die, that didn't happen obviously and some things got moved around. Ultimately these changes made for a better story IMO, but it also left Tirek a bit too mean early on. He's still going to be a huge douchebag, and his redemption is supposed to be imperfect, but I at least wanted to make him not quite as over-the-top dickish as he was originally planned to be.
Other than that, there were some lore tidbits that didn't align after some adjustments were made at the midway point which I want to correct.
As for why they are happening, well that's simple, this story was not well structured or planned out, and unlike First Law, I never really did sit down and plan a bunch of the story out. I just kept planning the next arc (or sometimes not even planning at all and just winging it) and leaving the rest nebulous, leading the whole thing to feel rushed and weird. Getting rid of some of that early Jest oddness and bringing the story a bit more in line with modern standards, clipping off weird plot threads I decided not to use, and generally giving myself a refresher so I can write the best ending possible is why I'm doing this. I also used to be super over wordy and I wanna cut that down a bit.
Now, onto the refresher. Also, please excuse the roughness of this description, it is purposefully brief and imperfect so it won't take long to read.
Spoilers ahead, obviously.
Basic Premise: Twilight Sparkle is undeniably a prodigy and has the skill and knowledge of a unicorn five years her elder as well as the power of one. This knowledge and power have drawn Princess Celestia's attention, with the alicorn beginning to wonder if the young unicorn will be the one to fulfill an ancient prophecy that would save her sister. A prophecy that would have come to fruition, had the alicorn's own checkered past not come back to doom the filly to a life of fire and brimstone.
Chapter 1. Twilight takes the entrance exam, flares, and a portal to Tartarus opens, allowing the unicorn to be abducted by Tirek, whom Celestia had imprisoned in Tartarus.
Chapter 2. Twilight wakes up without memories in Tartarus covered in bandages and begins to be trained by Tirek.
Chapter 3. Twilight wakes up in her new accommodations, a cell next to the torture chambers. She learns about the various planes, is introduced to the library, receives a lesson, and learns about demons. Tirek also seeks out another equestrian who has ended up in Tartarus.
Chapter 4. Twilight meets her sparring partner, Cervantes the armor demon, picks out a weapon which happens to be a cleaver with an entropy demon trapped inside of it, and practices with Cervantes.
Chapter 5. Twilight Velvet and Night Light awake in the hospital, and are informed of what happened. They do not like it, though Velvet blames Celestia and she begins to take it upon herself to find Twilight herself. Shining Armor trains harder out of a desire to protect the rest of his family.
Chapter 6. It is discovered that Rainbow Dash is in Tartarus and is tainted by evil, and Tirek’s dealings to have her acquired quickly go sour. The entropy demon tries to tempt Twilight/Dog but fails. Pythias the seer checks over Dog and determines she is in decent enough shape, which she is as the physiological changes are progressing quickly such as growing sharp teeth. She also starts eating meat. She is also tasked with defeating an imp in single combat.
Chapter 7. She wins, consumes the imp’s soul relives part of its life, and gains the ability to spit acid. Tirek begins to grow attached to Dog. We meet Pear Butter, who is a wrath demon and one of Tirek’s generals. We also discover that Tirek is planning an assault on the demon who slighted him but there is a magical forcefield that needs to be taken down first and doesn't allow demons to pass.
Chapter 8. Velvet has reinforced the house considerably, and grown paranoid, she receives a meeting with one of Celestia’s inspectors who warns her not to continue her research whom she then beats unconscious. Velvet goes to a holding cell and meets RiffRaff, who offers her to join a secret magical research club, provided she can find it.
Chapter 9. It is confirmed that RD is in Tartarus, and is, in fact, a demon, albeit a strange one. Dog meets Pear Butter and the pair bond over a fight and after Pear Butter puts her to bed.
Chapter 10. Tirek is planning his attack on the pride demon and gets Pear Butter to serve as his emissary. Pythias shows Dog where the memory spells are, and manages to pull one out, telling Dog to practice them in secret.
Chapter 11. Dog gets outfitted for a mission, meets a few familiar demonic faces, and heads out intending to breach the castle which she manages to do without getting spotted and turns off the forcefield, only to discover that it was a trap, and she is captured.
Chapter 12. Pear Butter’s negotiations are not going well, and she quickly receives a report that Dog has been injured, and captured, enraging her and making her grow enormously tall. His shield quickly goes down and is then eaten by a pissed-off Pear Butter.
Chapter 13. Dog forges a pact with Rainbow Dash, making the former pegasus her familiar. They then escape as the castle is destroyed by a pissed-off Pear Butter, Sisyphus the demon ultimately whisks them away before things can go to pot.
Chapter 14. Velvet and Night Light fight over what happened, and the mare finds the last worm which happens to be a tequila bottling plant in the poor areas of town. Is tempted into joining Riff Raff’s club but doesn't, not yet anyway. They also learn Celestia is trying to find out where Dog/Twilight is by a special spell.
Chapter 15. Dog learns more about what it's like to have a familiar, and the two get settled in Tirek’s tower. Dog chooses her new name, Kanathara. Tirek makes sure that Celestia’s spell can't find his newest pawn.
Chapter 16. Her spell fails, Velvet gets pissed, slaps Celestia, is thrown in prison, and is broken out by Riff Raff, who she joins.
Chapter 17. Under Construction.
Which story of yours is this for? Is it not on this site?
5758922
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/377375/born-in-light-forged-in-darkness
I guess that means we'll get an update soon-ish?
5758928
Its tagged there now.
And first I gotta get the story so far done, alongside the rewrites I had planned. (Nothing major, just fixing spelling/grammer issues and improving the quality)