CRISIS 2: Electric Boogaloo Update

Okay everyone, time for the last of the CRISIS: Equestria sequel's teaser preview for everyone, this time a shorter one (with no pictures ) to cover some major events and characters from canon that have slightly different variations in the CRISISverse due to a number of factors dealt with at the ending of CRISIS: Equestria. Most of these won't affect the story much, they're just neat little bits of information to deal with characters that didn't exist when CRISIS: Equestria was being written and have to be acknowledged in some fashion.

Without further ado:

Discord’s Redemption: Discord was taught the magic of friendship and the benefits of being on the side of good, not by Fluttershy, but through the efforts of six others: Trixie, Cheerilee, Derpy Hooves, Raindrops, Lyra Heartstrings, and Carrot Top. With six mares all befriending him in equal measure, rather than just one, he has much more incentive to stay on the straight and narrow, though he's still a mischievous trickster, of course. He also takes no small amount of glee in rubbing Twilight’s face in the fact that his “Elements of Pandemonium”—granted to Starlight Shadow and her sisters—are responsible for saving the world, and thus he is responsible for saving the world.

Tirek’s Return: When Tirek escaped Tartarus, as in canon he set about his plan to absorb the strength of the ponies of Equestria, but he did not encounter Discord and so did not have his help in the process. Instead, he had to get bold and creative to be near the same level of threat. However, events played out mostly the same as they did in canon despite this, including the appearance of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s castle following his defeat, though there was much less drama about it. Tirek was defeated as soon as the Elements of Harmony were gathered and he had no chance to absorb Discord’s magic, so his attempt to conquer Equestria was, luckily, a quick conflict, and he was placed back in Tartarus as per canon.

Queen Chrysalis’s Return: By this point, Starlight Shadow and her sisters had integrated into the society of Equestria-IV, though they had yet to truly find their place in their new home. However, when Queen Chrysalis makes an attempted return by capturing some of the most powerful ponies in Equestria, she does not do the same for Starlight Shadow and her sisters, as they are unknown to her, much as Starlight Glimmer and Trixie were in canon. Incidentally, Trixie, in Equestria-IV, is considered powerful, as are her friends (see Discord's Redemption, above), and thus they are among the captured. Thus, it is Starlight Shadow and her sisters, along with Discord—who still holds a soft spot for them as the “Elements of Pandemonium”—who put a stop to Chrysalis’s plot and help Thorax rise against her. Chrysalis, of course, singles out Starlight Shadow as her newfound nemesis.

Starlight Glimmer: So, with Starlight Shadow “replacing” Starlight Glimmer in Equestria-IV’s narrative role, what happened to Starlight Glimmer and those related to her story? Well, in Equestria-IV, Starlight ended up getting her cutie mark for magical studies at around the same time as Sunburst did, so they never drifted apart, and she never had a breakdown that inspired her to create Our Town, and thus she never lured several ponies that lived there, such as Sugar Belle, Double Diamond, etc. As such, these other ponies never gave up their original lives, whatever and wherever they may have been, and never came into contact with Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Starlight Glimmer herself grew up together with Sunburst, worked together with him in his magical studies, and eventually the two fell in love and got married. The pair serve as some of the premier magical scholars in Equestria, even assisting Twilight Sparkle in releasing the Pillars of Equestria from stone, as in canon.

Sunset Shimmer and Equestria Girls: Equestria-IV did not properly integrate the Crystal Mirror that leads to the human world associated with Sunset Shimmer’s storyline. Instead of fleeing to another world, Sunset merely left the known lands of Equestria and wandered the world in search of what she desired. She still attempted to steal Twilight Sparkle’s Element of Magic shortly after Twilight became the Princess of Friendship, which itself was soon after she and her friends returned from her adventures in Equestria-V. However, between Twilight’s experiences in the other world and the lack of a Crystal Mirror to escape into, Sunset was easily caught. Twilight offered her hoof in friendship to Sunset, as she had done with Starlight Shadow in Equestria-V, and as she would do with Starlight Glimmer in canon. The experience would inspire Twilight to later open up her School of Friendship years earlier than she would in canon, and Sunset filled a role similar to Starlight Glimmer there, becoming friends with Twilight and her friends, and eventually even Starlight Shadow and her sisters. She still serves as the headmare of the School of Friendship in Ponyville to this day.

Tempest Shadow and the Storm King: The denizens of Equestria-IV handled the Storm King’s invasion significantly better than they did in canon, as Equestria-IV had something canon did not: Starlight Shadow and her sisters, who were well-trained fighters with no hesitation in defending their new home from threats. The attempted invasion of Canterlot was swiftly dealt with. While Twilight Sparkle and her friends attempted to seek help much as they did in canon, Starlight Shadow and her sisters engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Storm King’s forces, dramatically weakening them and forcing them on the defensive before Twilight even arrived with reinforcements. Starlight Shadow’s greatest contribution was, of course, planting seeds of doubt in Tempest Shadow long before the final engagement, as the two shared a tremendous amount in common. Tempest changed sides with little fanfare and helped put an end to the conflict much earlier than in canon. As a result, she never captured Twilight. By the time Twilight and her friends arrived to liberate Canterlot, the city was practically already taken back. Tempest Shadow served as Captain of Twilight’s Royal Guard for many years, and personally trained Gallus to take over for her when she retired, which was fairly recently.

So there you have it, those are the major differences between how Equestria-IV itself is going to look compared to canon. Any events not listed here specifically did not deviate far enough from canon to warrant a mention. The first two, incidentally, are mentioned directly in CRISIS: Equestria's epilogue chapter!

So, now that these teasers are out of the way, a little update: as of this writing, the sequel to CRISIS: Equestria is halfway complete. A few things of note: the story will not be the long, slogging scale that CRISIS: Equestria itself is. It moves at a fairly quick pace and the chapters are shorter, so it's taking less time to write it, thankfully. I anticipate finishing the final chapter before the end of the year, and the chapters will begin posting in January.

But wait, there's more!

Once CRISIS: A Royal Affair—the prequel story to CRISIS: Equestria—finishes its run, I have a little short story planned of some "bonus" chapters set during the ending of CRISIS: Equestria to give Blackburn and Lockwood a proper conclusion to their story. It will be posted all at once when CRISIS: A Royal Affair is complete as a final bump before the sequel officially starts.

Thanks again to everyone that's supported CRISIS: Equestria over the years and recently, and I hope you're looking forward to the sequel as much as I am!

Comments

[Lainofthewired]

Awesome, can't wait!

[Crimson Dawn]

Totally looking forward to it!