You wait ages for one Founders-era story... · 6:21pm Oct 5th, 2018
When in doubt, pull a plaster off nice and quickly. When in slightly more doubt, dither for ages before pulling it off regardless. It’s not one of the more classic sayings, but it suits my style.
Dithering’s happened, and now the plaster’s pulled. The Cancelled tag’s been popped on Stopped Clock and Noctivagant. Three years since any progress tells its own story, and I imagine even the most generous-minded and patient of readers had come to suspect more chapters weren’t in the offing. It’s a pity - I’d had high hopes for both going in, but ran up against declining enthusiasm in one case, and a lack of inspiration in the other. Cancelling them’s not fun to acknowledge, but it’s less of a pain than having hanging Incompleted’s cluttering up a library.
However. However, however, however. You’re not getting out of me inflicting new horsewords on an unsuspecting public that easily. If I was going to insist on cancelling stories, it seemed only right to perpetrate new stories in their place. And better yet, there seemed to be an opportunity to justify a perpetual Incomplete tag.
Hence, Once Upon A Winter!
The Founders seem to be an ensemble I’d made a habit of writing for last year, starting with Noblesse, and then running on with The Commander’s Shilling and The First Stitch near year’s end. They’re a fun and underexplored bunch, and my own cack-handed means of exploration didn’t seem to do them too much damage. Unlike the previous stories, though, this one’s an anthology, rather than a stand-alone. In future, anything I write regarding the Founders ranging from four-figure word counts to drabble-length’ll get plonked in there, as and when inspiration strikes and writing happens. If larger pieces happen in future, they’ll get their own independent stories. Wee things go here, and as and when they go, the character tags and anything else’ll be updated accordingly. Anything’ll be Palaververse-compliant unless giant neon signs say otherwise.
There’s two already in there, centring largely on Clover the Clever and Second-Best Princess, and the saga behind their existence is a long and winding one which involves Monochromatic, convalescence, and the notion of deferred gratification being kicked in the vulnerables and left at the curb. If the stars align and I write at a decent speed (stop bitterly laughing in the back, I can hear you) a third one’ll soon be joining them, featuring Private Pansy and another figure of Equestria’s early days.
If there’s anything from around that era you’d like to see me inspired to flail at, comment to that effect, and let me know what you think of what’s there. I hope it satisfies. 
Aww. I'm especially sorry to hear Stopped Clock won't be getting rewound. Any chance of a summary blog detailing what would've happened?
Still, more of the founders is always welcome.
Mayhaps inflicting years of psychological torture upon you wasn't the best idea for inspiring creativity. Yet I possess no other means of motivating others, so I am at a loss for what to do with this information.
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I offer up a summary comment by way of substitute.
So! Just after the events of the last published chapter, the main six, the princesses, an amiably amnesiac Discord, and the captured Time Police officer would have all gathered and, after interrogation and faffing, developed a strategy to force future-Twilight's hand in making an incursion, rather than giving her time to break Celestia's ward and ambush Twilight again. Twilight herself would have schemed up a magical ritual to, hopefully fix it all and stymie her future self forever. A specific window in time would have been created through which future time-travellers could enter, and then fortified to the back teeth with Royal Guard and all sorts, drawing the main attention and resources of the Time Police. Meanwhile, Twilight and co. would work elsewhere to see the ritual finished.
The area around the main time-window would have devolved into a clusterfuck and a half, with both sides being hampered by being unable to actually kill their descendants/possible ancestors, and due to the weaponry deployed by the Time Police getting out of control, time would start collapsing quickly. The Founders would show up. Celestia would be foalified, much to her displeasure. Discord would be restored by past and future versions of himself. Whatever mayhem I could gurgle onto a page, essentially. Future-Twilight herself would break through the battlefield, confront the main six, and in the nick of time, Twilight would complete the ritual, annihilating her future-self and fixing the mess in the present, but also breaking time altogether.
The single-stream model in the fic would become the spiders-web-of-possibilities model. Timesteams would now split off, the future wouldn't be fixed, the past wouldn't need to be protected, and all possible futures wouldn't face the risk of annihilation, and Future-Twlight's own timeline would be saved from her meddling, once and for all. Sort of a happy ending, save for Twilight's own massive headache at the end of it.
Screwy as hell, and probably unlikely to work satisfyingly ... but heck, maybe it could have done. In some alternate timeline, I'll know.
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Don't worry about the psychological toll you inflict on me. It'd seem cruel, almost, trying to dissuade you from a hobby that brings you such joy.
4948636
Yeah, but when your misery starts preventing me from getting what I want, then I have to draw a line.
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i.imgflip.com/2jhdyf.jpg
4948641
I foresee this being useful.
the people demand a platover kiss
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What. They don't. That wasn't an option on the referendum. Why wasn't I told that was an option.
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On one hoof, I'm sad we'll (likely) never going to see that, since going by the rest of the story, and your usual quality, it would have been ridiculously epic. Also, temporally (and temporarily) confusing as hell.
On the other hoof, I'm glad we're getting some new Founders stories, so yay!
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It likely would have been a complete train-wreck, but it would have been a suitably bewildering trainwreck, with any luck.
Hope the new Founders stories fill the void.
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Like the wreck of a train loaded with fireworks.
And puppies.
And orphans.
...heck, I'm just going to have to go and reread it.
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Whenever I need to spontaneously smile for photograph-taking purposes or whatnot, I'll think of that story.
I'm a dreadful person.