Team/Crew Spectrum Regarding What Lies Ahead...

TheIdiot: Well, here we are, everyone. This is the last SPECTRUM update for me at least. The end of an era after four years. To finish it out, I’m joined by my successor, Sledge115--

Sledge115: Hello there.

TheIdiot: And frequent collaborator, VoxAdam.

VoxAdam: Alea jacta est.

TheIdiot: The purpose of this blogpost is to notify you, our dear readers, that the time has come. Change is about to approach and the story will soon be “remastered” as my compatriots had dubbed the process previously. So, when you get alerts of updates, that’s just chapters either getting touched up or getting split for a better flow/pacing. Aside from that, the formatting and presentation of the story - like its rating, descriptions, and cover art - will be overhauled. However, a crucial change is that both SPECTRUM and The Other Side of the Spectrum (and the FIMFiction group) will find a new home. A lot is going on and we’re here to walk you through it all, piece by piece.

So, without further ado, let’s kick off with the story’s content itself. While normally a story only changes from a different reading or noticing something you missed before, or even external factors like a sequel or a prequel, Word of God, or even fanon, the text itself is never really changed or altered.

As mentioned before, there are going to be chapters touched up with revisions or reworkings. Some of the new chapters are content gathered from existing chapters, or new scenes added in. Either way, the experience of reading the story will be a new one (despite whatever new alerts you might get).

Chapters aside, the formatting and presentation will change as well. Again, as mentioned before, the story will have new cover art, an updated description, and even a cosmetically different title (“Spectrum”). A comprehensive overworking, but will aid in making a cohesive experience from top to bottom. I’m certain all readers from the years past to the years to come will relish this new shape.

Speaking of the future, I now pass the baton to Sledge115 for this next section. Over to you, Sledge.

***

Sledge115: It’s been a long, long road travelled, and longer still ahead. G5 is upon us, and strange to think that it’s a little over eleven years since this fandom began.

In all honesty, I never expected to be here at the top, almost seven years to the day I joined Team Spectrum. But I hope not to disappoint, and Vox and I have got a lot written over the past few months – it’s been a very busy few months, and I do apologise for the delay.

But I can’t mention the rewrites without mentioning Vox, who’s worked so much for the rewrites, including perhaps the biggest scene to rewrite. Seriously, that man is a writing machine. He’ll be listing each and every change made by he and I, from rewritten scenes to new additions.

That’s not to say other stuff hasn’t been done, either - over the year Spectrum’s gotten a few new side stories, from The Rose of Florentina to Celestia Regina, all of them expanding on Equestria. Had to pass the time somehow, heh.

As mentioned earlier, and as part of the overhaul, the first and most noticeable change you’ll notice is a new cover art – personally requested by yours truly and drawn by my good friend Grace, who’s also drawn the cover for The First Second of Eternity and Wallflower of Canterlot. Thanks, Grace!

And without further ado;

Personally, I think it’s a fantastic cover .

I’d like to thank the following for their aid in the rewrites, throughout, whether it be direct help, critique, or moral support - because while the additions are cool, the circumstances that led to them are not, and never will be.

Grace, Gay for Gadot, Bicyclette, RanOutOfIdeas, and chris the cynic.

Thank you, DoctorFluffy, for bringing me on board Spectrum all those years ago. Thank you, TB3, for laying the foundation for Spectrum’s present day. Thank you, KizunaTallis, for all the fun discussions we’ve had on Frost and Comet.

Lastly, thank you Vox, for your friendship through these years.

Here’s to Spectrum. I’ll post a final blog once the story’s been fully updated. Watch your feeds, heh.

On to you, mate.

***

VoxAdam: Thanks, Sledge, I’m touched.

Am I writing machine? That was more DoctorFluffy’s thing. His presence on the Team and contribution to the Spectrumverse remains missed. As is the case for several of our members who’ve departed over the years, like ProudToBe, TB3, KizunaTallis…

Since I opened with this, I’ll conveniently mention this is a new thing which will be featuring in the “remastered” story. The full list of authors remains until Chapter Seven, after JedR and TheVoid had left. Following that point, authors’ names stay, but get “greyed out” as of the chapter the authors took their leave.

I look forward to what else the story may still offer with Sledge115, regular “consultant” RoyalPsycho, and a few readers who’ve grown closer to the writing process in recent times. You know who you are.

So, this entry of mine is going to be more technical than usual. I’m sure that, based on what I’ve written for Spectrum journals in the past, I must have acquired the reputation of possessing a head for dates and trivia. But this is the first time I’m going to be almost exclusively writing about those things. Well, the trivia, anyway.

These listings of the changes, tweaks and additions to individual chapters will be touched upon as well in new, short notes written above screenshots of the original authors’ notes for each of the chapters. Where there shall also be a link to this very journal for the full overview at the top, every time.

I’m not going to exhaustively include every single minor change, but there are a couple of rather subtle alterations here and there I hope will get noticed. In order to preserve the surprise where relevant, the most significant changes will be hidden under spoiler bars.

A couple of general notes;

• The title has been changed from the all-caps SPECTRUM to Spectrum.
• A new piece of cover art, created by a friend of Sledge’s.
• All characters and concepts by JedR are either renamed or removed.
• The most prominent example of the aforementioned is the renaming of the grey alicorn sister Galatea to Galena.
• Conversely, Jed confirmed he would not request the retraction of his work for Alexander Reiner or the Mane Six; these remain largely unaltered.
• However, the decision was made to “demote” Alexander Reiner from a USMC Colonel to a Captain, a decision I argued for on the basis of making Reiner feel more believable and to emphasise he was just “some guy” in the grand scheme of the war.
• The character previously identified as alternately Havok or Kontagion has been amalgamated with the Krampus and is now known by that name.
• The Fausticorn is renamed by the fanon anagram of Tau Sunflare.
• Elsa Erklass is renamed Ilsa Erklass.
• The Concordia Maxima conference is renamed the Convocation.
• Inconsistencies in the time dilation between worlds have been addressed; Imperial Equestria is firmly ahead of Sunny Equestria by sixteen years, e.g. the Year 19 to their Year 3.
• Spelling is altered from American English to British English, except names.

~ Prologue ~ This Burning World

• The first big change is in the title, going from a previously nameless prologue to the addition of the subtitle ‘This Burning World’.
• Dialogue between Sint Erklass and Tau Sunflare is considerably altered.
• Removal of concept and character; relatedly, the third participant in the conversation is no longer the OC Spirit of Possibilities, but the Pony of Shadows.
• The Half-Gilded Horseshoe of Sunflare is introduced.
• Addition of a scene; a flashback to Cadance’s mother fleeing for her and her daughter’s lives. This is not considered a spoiler, as the identity of the mare is still kept under wraps.
• Removal of a scene; the opening monologue by Galena. This was my own choice to remove as the writer on that scene, which I no longer liked.
• The closing monologue by Galena is reworded to better reflect her characterisation.

~ Chapter One ~ The Human

• A new plot breadcrumb (X); the book Rainbow Dash was waiting for to arrive in the mail is Daring Do & The Volcano of Destiny, one of the canonically-given titles to the Daring Do books in the franchise.
• Furthering the placement of “canon” events in Spectrum, Trixie’s non-canon arrest following the events of ‘Magic Duel’ is confirmed to have occurred a year prior.

~ Chapter Two ~ Friends On The Other Side

• Alexander Reiner, whose name is still not given at this point, gets referred to by the narrative from the Sunny Equestrians’ POV as an “it” rather than “he”, as they are unaware of his biological sex or self-identified gender. The word “it” may potentially sound dehumanising, but it was that or “they”.
• Luna’s revamped introduction scene contains additional character detail, including the appearances of her pet possum Tiberius, the Canterlot Palace majordomo Kibitz, and Philomena.

~ Chapter Three ~ They Are Us

• This chapter features no noteworthy modifications, other than tweaks to Luna and Twilight’s interactions, and a new plot breadcrumb (Z); the earliest mention of Sunset Shimmer as Celestia’s adoptive daughter.

~ Chapter Four ~ Nightfall Over Boston

• This chapter features no noteworthy modifications, other than the references to real-world political figures and institutions replacing the fictional stand-ins previously used.

~ Chapter Five ~ The Hour Is Darkest Before

• Previously, Spectrum kept it rather hazy as to whether Viktor Kraber, Aegis and their crew were on a PHL penal squad; this is now confirmed.
• A new plot breadcrumb (Y); Ana Bjorgman’s reflections name-drop Verity Carter.
• The flashback to Reykjavik is expanded to include Amethyst Star. However, one character no longer appears; Alexander Reiner, going with the change in the character’s role to be more of an everyman.

~ Chapter Six ~ Understanding Dawns

• It is in this chapter that Havok / Kontagion is made a composite character with the Krampus. As such, the creature’s prison is changed from a small crystal to the snowglobe used to trap the Krampus.
• When Twilight goes to visit Spell Nexus, her old Headmaster at Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns, she momentarily crosses paths now with his goddaughter, Starlight Glimmer.
• The Concordia Maxima has been changed into a lantern, no longer is it a copy of the Moment from Doctor Who.
• The Canterlot Palace throne room is shown to be undergoing reconstruction, making space for two thrones and covering it in crystal, thus preparing to bring the room’s design closer in line to the 2017 Movie.
• Galena now makes her introduction as one of the workers on the renovation of the throne room.

~ Chapter Seven ~ The Trinity Harmonious

• A revisitation of the creation of the three alicorn sisters by Tau Sunflare in the distant past, changed into a flashback of Celestia encountering a mysterious figure in Adlaborn.
• Galena’s conference with Princess Celestia in the royal apartments of Canterlot Palace; includes a flashback to a transferred memory from the Galena of the Imperial Timeline witnessing the holocaust of Adlaborn.
• The final lines of the chapter, spoken by Galena to Alexander Reiner. Instead of informing Alex that she is the reason he is here, Galena tells him that she can help find out why he is here.

~ Chapter Eight ~ An Opening

• This chapter features no noteworthy modifications.

~ Chapter Nine ~ The Heart Goes Last

• A new plot breadcrumb (X); Zecora reflects on her possession of the Half-Gilded Horseshoe of Sunflare, a mission given to her by the Stonecutters and their Magical Council.

~ Chapter Ten ~ Witnesses

• By my initiative, the character of the zebra delegate to the Convocation is changed from the OC Queen Zolomare to the IDW comics’ Prince Abraxas, thus revamping the whole scene of the zebra delegate receiving the Call; this is now set in Farasi and shows Abraxas confronting the Grootslang.
• A new plot breadcrumb (X); Prince Abraxas is a member of the Stonecutters’ Magical Council, given the sobriquet of “Candid”, and he reflects on the Half-Gilded Horseshoe of Sunflare.
• In a change from the official canon of Friendship is Magic, the Misfortune Malachite was stolen from Farasi, instead of Abyssinia.
• Addition of a scene; Thorax and Pharynx are introduced earlier, with Thorax hiding away to read a picture-book by Sunny Skies, and Pharynx letting him know what he thinks about this pastime.

~ Chapter Eleven ~ Those On Pilgrimage

• This chapter features no noteworthy modifications, although Discord and Fluttershy totally did what you think they did.

~ Chapter Twelve ~ To Seize The Day

• The circumstances of Proxenos Darkhoof’s visit to the Labyrinth to retrieve his son Basil have been rewritten. Here I would like to thank RanOutOfIdeas for his guest-writing collaboration on this scene. Thanks!

~ Chapter Thirteen ~ Concordia Maxima

• This chapter, the behemoth chapter of Spectrum, had already once undergone revision on July 27th 2020; for further information, see here. Ironically, after previously getting shortened, the Concordia Maxima chapter received an expansion during these rewrites.
• A new plot breadcrumb (X); Prince Abraxas meets up with Spell Nexus (of Sunny Equestria) in private at the Convocation, both of them members of the Magical Council of the Stonecutters.
• Spell Nexus’ sobriquet is given as “Cunning”. He and Abraxas discuss not only the Half-Gilded Horseshoe of Sunflare, but their Council’s newest member, “Constant”, a.k.a. Daring Do.
• Addition of a scene; Proxenos Darkhoof and Basil Darkhoof are shown on their arrival at the Hall of Unity. Again, I wish to give my thanks to RanOutOfIdeas, and to RoyalPsycho, respectively, for helping me with this. Thank you both.

~ Interlude I ~ Through Ragdoll’s Eyes

• Here was a tough decision to make. In order to streamline this interlude’s portrayal of a Newfoal transformation with the later appearance of a Newfoal character in the following arc, I finally settled on amalgamating “Nepenthe” with “Andalusian Ardor”, known by the latter name.
• Permission was given by TB3 for this change.

~ Chapter Fourteen ~ Silent Night

• One line indicates how the Solar Empire deals with nuclear radiation and waste. Queen Celestia herself cleans it up.
• Removal of various HLF characters at the UN summit, including Commodore Daniel Romero.
• Removal of a concept and characters; the Mystics no longer barge in on the UN Security Council. Frankly I wondered how they were left standing after coming into a highly secure location with weapons.
• A new plot breadcrumb (Y); when Ana Bjorgman reads her letter, mention is made of Verity Carter.

~ Chapter Fifteen ~ Two Faces

• This chapter features no noteworthy modifications, despite or maybe because of being the original meeting between Princess Luna and Archmage Twilight.

~ Chapter Sixteen ~ An Angel’s Wings

• This chapter features no noteworthy modifications.

~ Chapter Seventeen ~ Thus, Lift Me Up

• A couple of renamings are made to reflect the changes to leaders of Equus who appear in the flashback to the founding of the Co-Harmony Sphere.
• Removal of concept and character; Samantha Yarrow and the Reavers no longer are the ones to intercept Maxine Radwick in Boston.
• The aforementioned removed concept and character is replaced by Tess Jones and the Harriet Thomas Foundation.

~ Chapter Eighteen ~ Moonrise Over Boston

• Removal of concept and character; Samantha Yarrow and the Reavers.
• The aforementioned removed concept and character is replaced by Tess Jones and the Harriet Thomas Foundation.
• Removal of a mention by name of Commodore Daniel Romero.

~ Chapter Nineteen ~ When The Dust Settles

• Removal of concept and character; Samantha Yarrow and the Reavers.
• The aforementioned removed concept and character is replaced by Tess Jones and the Harriet Thomas Foundation.
• This chapter may have represented one of the most challenging endeavours over the course of the rewrites, since it required the complete removal and potential substitution of a nine-thousand word scene.
• Removal of concept and character; Commodore Daniel Romero and the Thunderchild-class super-ship Columbia.
• The aforementioned removed concept is replaced by a meeting of Princess Cadance with Verity Carter of the Harriet Thomas Foundation.
• On a personal note, I am quite happy with the “eureka” moment which crossed my head when the idea came to effectuate the aforementioned replacement for the nine-thousand word scene.

~ Chapter Twenty ~ Accept The Dawn

• This chapter features no noteworthy modifications, other than Princesses Cadance and Luna passing through a decontamination chamber on the way to the portal, for verisimilitude.

~ Interlude II ~ Child of Crystal

• This chapter features no noteworthy modifications, although I did seek to polish the story of the two Princes a little more, and in a plot breadcrumb (Z), Sunset Shimmer again gets mentioned in relation to Celestia’s family.

~ Chapter Twenty-One ~ Nostalgia

• A chapter that was created from splitting the prior Chapter Twenty-One (‘So Say We All’) into two chapters.
• Addition of a scene; Cadenza and Moondancer of the PHL’s thoughts and feelings as they look upon the Hall of Unity, and thus, Sunny Equestria. Such a scene was never written for the original version. I consider this to have been one of our great oversights.
• Displacement of a scene; the ending to the original unsplit chapter, of Weaver contacting the Solar Tyrant via her ansible, is moved to the conclusion of this chapter.

~ Chapter Twenty-Two ~ So Say We All

• A chapter that was created from splitting the prior Chapter Twenty-One (‘So Say We All’) into two chapters.
• Displacement of a scene; the discussion between the Pretender Queen Grizelda and her griffons is moved to occur earlier in the chronology than was presented by the original unsplit chapter.
• Addition of a scene; the Royal Guard characters are seen sharing evening tea in Canterlot. This is a scene that was originally written for early in Act Three, but had got cut out for pacing, assuming it would be used later.
• Displacement of a scene; the arrival in Equestria of the captive Trailblazer, Oaken Plow, is moved to occur earlier in the chronology, from its previous placement in the original Chapter Twenty-Three (‘Here’s To You’).

~ Chapter Twenty-Three ~ Castles In The Air

• A chapter that was created from splitting the prior Chapter Twenty-Two (‘Unveiled’) into two chapters.
• In the scene of the PHL penal squad, Aegis reflects on his children.
• The scene of Princess Cadance talking with Alexander Reiner is expanded to touch upon her encounter with Verity Carter in Boston.
• Cadance is reminded of Sunset Shimmer when she meets Sunburst.

~ Chapter Twenty-Four ~ Unveiled

• A chapter that was created from splitting the prior Chapter Twenty-Two (‘Unveiled’) into two chapters.
• This chapter features no noteworthy modifications, other than the split.

~ Chapter Twenty-Five ~ Family

• A chapter that was created from splitting the prior Chapter Twenty-Three (‘Here’s To You’) into two chapters.
• Removal of a scene; the PHL Moondancer’s meeting with Twilight and Lyra in the Hall of Unity’s library. See the next chapter for its displacement, which moves it to occur later in the chronology than was presented in the original unsplit chapter.

~ Chapter Twenty-Six ~ Here’s To You

• A chapter that was created from splitting the prior Chapter Twenty-Three (‘Here’s To You’) into two chapters.
• Displacement of a scene; see above.
• Addition of a set of scenes; a montage of the five Element Bearers in Ponyville going about their day as they prepare to head for the Hall and bid Twilight farewell before her departure to Saddle Mareabia.
• Lyra’s own departure on the Expedition is slightly expanded upon.
• Addition of a scene; Ember’s thoughts and feelings during departure.

Finally, you may be tempted to think those brief glimpses of Grubber during chapters set at the Hall of Unity were added retroactively, but no, we didn’t cheat. We’ve been setting him up as the Storm King’s spy since 2019.

Thank you, TB3, for providing that spark of what made Spectrum good from early on. Thank you, KizunaTallis, for writing the Asia Side-Story, one of my favourite stories in the old Spectrumverse. Thank you, RoyalPsycho, for being polite enough to indulge me in whatever off-beat ideas we may ping-pong in chat. And thanks to everyone on the Team who kept the fun alive while it lasted.

How much time is there ahead? Who knows. But I’m glad it’s with you, Sledge.

***

TheIdiot: And there you have it. An overview on what to expect. If you haven’t subscribed to Sledge’s account, then do so now since that’s where the story is going. Literally. If any of you are willing to stick around here, it’s appreciated. I might have some ideas on what I’m going to do next… aside from one final, public note. If you want to leave, then go ahead; I hope you enjoy everything that comes next.

Sledge115 will do well with everything he and VoxAdam have planned, and I'm confident everyone will enjoy what they have intended.

It’s been a ride, everyone. Who knows? Maybe our paths will cross again someday soon.

Take care and seize the day,
Sincerely,
A Storyteller

Comments

[kojivsleo]

Gonna have to take a long couple days to reread it all, but I got time every so often.

[Sledge115]

5596502

You've got time to prepare, fret not . The changes have not been put into the story proper on Fimfiction, and I'll notify people with a quick blog as a heads up.

[Mr cold ghost]

Thanks for the update! I look forward to rereading the story!

[Vibrant lies]

I’m sorry to see you go, I hope the story goes on strong without you. Here’s to Sledge and Vox now running things behind the scenes!

[TheIdiot]

5596541 The thought is appreciated. Thank you. I might have something to look forward to in the future and, should there be a new story, I hope you enjoy it.

[DoktorSigma]

Wish the best for you guys! Hope these changes will not affect the side story I have been working on though. Also, is Viktor Kraber still canon?

[Sledge115]

5596548

Kraber is still canon, of course

[DoktorSigma]

5596575
Oh it is a relief to hear that.

[RanOutOfIdeas]

Woooo! It's finally here. It's finally happening. Aaaaaa.

I know we all wish circumstances were different, but don't let that bring down the massive goddamn wonderful work you all just did, with literally the whole story, in less time than many well-known authors take to write a single chapter. This was a prime lesson in organization, efficiency, and creativity (speaking as someone who had a little look behind-the-scenes, I can affirm this with certainty). And that is already considering the hurdles I know must have come up, and the stress that I'm sure would pressure anyone with such a heavy load before them.

And even with that little peek behind the curtain, I'm still floored with the amount of changes and tweaks that happened. For every thing I wagered would change, you guys came out with five more. This is like coming from a long trip home and finding that the mess you left is now organized to perfection. Things are ordered, timelines are straightened, details are added, scenes displaced to even better locations... well, I don't need to list the whole thing, because you guys went and did it already! Absolutely mad lads.

I legitimately did not think the summary of changes would be this detailed (I was expecting something like "Chapters 1 and 2 minimally changed with no additions, 3 and 10 heavily changed with scene additions, etc" but oh how wrong I was, me of little faith). This is like a codex of changes, a thorough documentation that would make any software developer blush. I will probably find myself re-reading some things here while reading the story proper, already have this page bookmarked and everything. I want you all to know, it is very appreciated.

Everything is looking fresh new. I look forward to having the pleasure of seeing these additions first-hand, officially, in the new story with a gorgeous new cover art.

[VoxAdam]

5596836,

Your enthusiasm is always catching. This is probably why I can actually mean it when I say that, while I've got a lot which keeps me going writing this story, I felt a genuinely fresh thrill when we tried our hand at that Minotaur scene you've got a guest-writer credit for in Chapter Twelve ('To Seize The Day').

Judging by the word-counter on Spectrum, the story has been extended by another whopping 22,000 words, the equivalent of one of its longer chapters. But when you take into account the material we had to remove and replace wholesale, said count probably constitutes quite the conservative estimate.

For all that Spectrum is a niche ponyfic which'll never put food on our tables, I have felt guided by the example of Sean Murray on No Man's Sky throughout the writing of this story; just keep patching, and patching, making it hopefully a little better every time.

And as usual, here is the list on TVtropes of the ways in which we take cues from all over G4.