Sequel to Blink Again · 9:23pm Mar 8th, 2022
Spoilers for Blink Again ahead...
The truth of teleportation has been discovered; the full knowledge of its horrors known by a select few while the rest are given vague warnings of mortal peril. All use of teleportation is banned, all texts on it under lock and key, and all research into the subject placed strictly under government oversight.
As for those who were trapped in the pocket dimensions, they've been rescued, but what do they do now with their lives? Other versions of them already exist, filling their roles. Perhaps a new direction is in order. After all, the truth behind what created the spell in the first place—what stands to benefit—remains a mystery. For now.
Howdy y'all, what you just read was the current description for Blink Again: Long Shadows, sequel to Blink Again. I began teasing this story during the last couple chapters of my last story, and since then, I've been slowly but surely figuring out how I want to tackle writing it.
Now, some of you might ask why this even needed a sequel. After all, I could easily have wrapped up Blink Again in a slightly different manner, made Fluttershy simply crazy rather than hijacked, and it would have ended just as well if not better. Well, the answer to that is simply that I'm not a big fan of short fiction. I write, suddenly find myself attached to my own story, and then can't stop adding onto it. Woops. My bad.
Anyway, since I've apparently committed myself to yet another story that will take forever to finish, I figured I'd let y'all in on a few tidbits of information ahead of its eventual release. Also, I have a few questions of my own as well. After all, I want to know what people do and don't want to see in this story.
Let's start with what information I can offer:
Q: How well does the sequel tie into the rest of the Blinkverse?
A: Not well. Pocket dimensions will make an appearance, but for the most part the main themes of horror and hopelessness aren't as strong here. Unlike Blink Again, which followed up on story threads from Blink and Not the First, this story will only have direct ties to stories already written by me (and the MLP universe as a whole, obviously).
Q: Will we see extensive therapy sessions for our heroes?
A: No. They definitely need it, but I won't get too in-depth with that. I'll try to show trauma to an extent, and some form of counseling may be implied or shown in brief, but I won't get too into it. This is both because I'm not an expert on the topic and because I think that would be exhausting for me to write.
Q: What's with the Daring Do stuff?
A: If you remember, she came across a cult strongly implied to be working with the same entity Fluttershy encountered, then disappeared shortly after her return to Equestria. Believe me when I say that I'm definitely following up on that and her story will be better integrated into the main story than last time. That said, I haven't yet decided how late into the story she will first appear. It may be a while.
Q: How long will this one be? How long will it take you to finish?
A: Honestly? Absolutely no clue on both accounts. I suspect it will be longer than Blink Again, but I can't be sure. I also know from experience that it will take me a very long time, but couldn't possibly give an estimate.
Please feel free to ask any additional questions in the comments. Anyway, onto my questions for you now. I'm aware not many people are likely to answer, but even just a couple responses are helpful. Here goes:
1) As implied in Gray's section of the epilogue, this story will mostly focus on events in and around Canterlot. However, I remain conflicted on how much and on how soon the story should focus on said city. It will probably start in Ponyville, but I haven't decided on how quickly to move on from there and get to the meat. I also haven't decided on how frequently the characters should be forced to venture outside of Canterlot. Any input on this is appreciated.
2) Obviously, I can only focus on a limited cast of characters. Light, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle are already locked in as major characters, but the rest are still up in the air. Are there any characters y'all want me to focus on? Perhaps one or more of the main six from Ponyville? What about Light's parents? They do live in Canterlot after all. And then there are Twilight's Canterlot friends and the princesses to keep track of as well. Hearing your preferences could help me narrow this down.
3) I've considered including a romantic sub-plot between two of the major characters, mostly because I've never written romance and I'm eager to practice. However, these kinds of things tend to cater to a very specific subset of readers, and I don't want people to feel alienated by this choice. Does anyone have any arguments for or against including some romantic elements?
Anyway, that's all for my questions. I now present an excerpt taken from the prologue of Blink Again: Long Shadows:
Princess Luna found herself staring at her exact copy, forming from nothing before her eyes. Flesh grew over bones and cyan eyes sprouted from the skull, staring back at her without any hint of comprehension or life.
Luna panicked and tried to teleport back out. She kept trying even as the clone disappeared from before her, as she fell to the smooth floor of the mysterious dark gray sphere she was trapped within. And when she landed, the echoing ring of her horseshoes hitting the unidentifiable material of the sphere marked the first and only sound she'd heard since her arrival.
She was beginning to hyperventilate. She couldn't fly, didn't have magic, and could see no exit nor even so much as another thing besides her and what little she had on her when she teleported. And if it weren't for her superior dark vision, she was quite sure she wouldn't be able to tell even that much about the place. There certainly were no visible light sources, after all.
Oh stars and skies, was this to be her new prison? Could she really not have had even a few more days of freedom?
"One thousand years..."
The voice filled the sphere, bouncing off the walls to make it seem as if it came from every direction, even though it definitely didn't. It came from one very specific direction. The direction in which a black fog was seemingly flowing out of the ground, filling up a full third of the large sphere right before Luna's eyes. And in the center of that darkness grew two golden eyes, staring down at her in contemplation and perhaps even a hint of disdain.
She recognized those eyes, that wise, matronly voice, and she knew immediately that if this was more than mere hallucination or a nightmare that she shouldn't have been able to get, then she might as well have been dead already.
In addition to this, I'm also working on another story, which is currently listed under the name "Waning Moonlight." It takes place a thousand years before the events of MLP G4 and is a tragic story about the struggles of the Lunar Guard immediately following the banishment of Nightmare Moon. It will technically take place in the same universe as the above stories but won't be connected enough to merit inclusion in the Blink group. It's more likely that there will simply be a handful of references between them. If that interests you, feel free to check it out when it comes. I will probably be releasing chapters for that sooner than for Blink Again: Long Shadows (excepting maybe the prologue).
Anyway, thanks for your time. I always appreciate it.
-AmaranthineDream :)
1. This seems really hard to give an answer for without knowing the scope and length of the story beforehand. So, all I can say is have at least the first few chapters take place in Ponyville, but not so long that it overstays its welcome. Maybe like 3ish chapters in the start or so? I don't really know on that front but with the characters venturing out of Canterlont, I'd say every time it starts to feel stale or boring reading/writing about Canterlot take a break and have the characters leave for a bit (like a chapter or 2?) then return when it feels like the break was long enough. If that makes any sense...
2. I personally would love to see Luna be a major character. Now I love Luna, so I'm biased, but I genuinely feel like there is good story telling opportunities to be had with her. Like we get a princess's perspective on the whole thing for one, for two we get to see how she deals with the knowledge that she let ponies teleport and have this awful thing happen to them as well as having that now piled on top of her Nightmare Moon guilt, and for three I think that her dream walking ability could be used in some creative ways within the plot. I'd also love to see the perspective of a pony who hasn't ever teleported, to see their reaction to all of this. Probably a non-unicorn like Rainbow Dash maybe? That way we could see a mane six member who didn't have to go through that experience while kind of relating back to the first story with Light only originally teleporting for Rainbow Dash's party. We could see how RD could possibly feel guilty and feel like it was her fault that what happened to Light happened. Also, if ponies have gone to all pocket dimensions to rescue trapped ponies does that mean villains too? Like do we have two King Sombras, four Queen Chrysalises, and six Discords? Just curious on that front, especially for reformed villains. Like could a Nightmare Moon meet Luna, or a bad Starlight meet a good one? Or has it been too long since those characters or the villainous versions of them teleported for them to still be alive? Final suggestion, make Derpy a POV character. Why? I have no reason, just think it would be cool.
(This Derpy suggestion is a joke, I don't really expect you to take this one seriously... Unless...?)
3. I think romance is fine as long as you are 100% sure you can write it at least somewhat convincible and enjoyable. Poorly written romances between characters who are underdeveloped and feel like they have no chemistry is never fun. If the characters don't feel like they should be together yet or haven't earned it, don't force them together and upon the reader. You always have to be careful, because depending on how you write the romance and what you write it about it can seriously turn off a major portion of your audience from your story. Also make sure that the romance doesn't take over the story. If the story is marketed as a certain thing first then people came for that type of story, they'll expect a certain thing. Then if you let the romance start to take over the story they'll become uninterested, just be careful to not let it consume your story. So, just be careful with how you go about writing it, but I'm personally not against it, I say go for it.
Overall loved Blink Again and can't wait for the sequel and Waning Moonlight sounds interesting. I'll defiantly check them out.
P.S. Hope I didn't upset you or wasted your time with this comment, sorry if I did.
5642444
Hey, thanks for commenting! This is exactly the kind of feedback I’m looking for. I’ll definitely keep what you said in mind as I go forward, though I wouldn’t expect Derpy to have a major role, no. Maybe a brief cameo? :)
5642450
Thanks for taking what I said into consideration, and a Derpy cameo? I'll take it! :)
Really keen to see where you take the sequel, Blink again had me on the edge of my seat till the end.
I agree with all the points Child of stars has made, especially in regards to bad romances in stories being a big turn off.
There's been 3 large stories I've been invested in recently that I've read past the halfway point before I couldn't bring myself to read another word due to either out of left field romances that are just jarring, or me simply not being able to relate to a character any more and becoming disconnected from the story.
At the end of the day it's your story to tell as you see fit, you've got the skills to make it work.
5642523
Thanks. I’ll probably just write the story with the possibility in mind, and if it feels like the story is going in a direction where it can be introduced smoothly and organically, I’ll add it. If not, I won’t. I definitely don’t want anything to feel forced and this story shouldn’t be made worse just because I want to practice a genre I never write. If it doesn’t work out, maybe I’ll write a separate romance story to get my practice in at some point.
maybe you could call it
"Never Blink Again"
I'm a little late to the party, but I'll give my two cents. I mostly agree with everything that Child Of Stars wrote, so I'll only write my additions.
1. I think you should dedicate some time to Ponyville so we can get familiar with the daily lives of our main characters. Don't immediately thrust them into the main plot. It would be great if we get to see if and how our characters have adjusted to normal life. So, depending on chapter length, that would probably be around 3 or 4 chapter.
2. Both Luna and Starlight are good choices because of their villainous pasts and potential interactions with their "clones". Surprise us. Honestly, the potential interactions between characters and their cloned counterparts is the main reason why I'm reading these stories. It's not that the plot isn't interesting, I'm just personally more engaged in character dialogue and interactions. I'm currently very much looking forward to seeing interactions between Light and Twilight, both Rarities (if they both live) and even Sweetie Bells. You won't see me complain if you add more to this list.
3. I don't mind a well done romance. So if you believe that you can pull it off believably and without detracting from the main story too much (in both plot and tone), I say go for it.
P.S. "Never Blink Again" does sound good, but I'm fine with your title.
5648883
Thanks for your answers, and you aren’t late at all. The prologue is finished and much of the outline, but I’m still changing things. Also, I’ll definitely make sure to include at least a little interaction between each of the cloned characters and their counterparts.
As for that name idea, I agree with both you and Softy Soft. “Never Blink Again” is a great title. I don’t know that it’s better than what I already have, but if enough people think it is, I could consider changing it.