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Fullmetal Pony
Group Contributor

Alright, seems there were a few interested in a Q&A so I'll be taking questions until May 5, 2022.

I will answer them to the best of my ability on May 6, 2022.

7680376

1. Can you provide a timeline of what happened in between the last two chapters of your story? I know the original sequel idea for pony fall was to have the whole cast be scattered across the multiverse.

2. Looking back at your own story is there anything you wish you would have done differently in regards to writing, plot hooks, etc.

3. This and number four are going to basically be a two-part question so for this part are there any other ponies you wish you could have written for instead of the crusaders or add into the story with them at the time.

4. Since pony fall originally took place before season 3 are there any post season 3 characters you wish you could have added into the story or write about?.

5. Looking back at the pony fall group itself do you wish you could have changed the direction or decisions the group made back then?

Fullmetal Pony
Group Contributor

Answer time!

Q: Is there anything in your own story you would have done differently?
A: I probably would have been a little less masochistic on the physical level. Man, I beat the crap out of everyone.

Q: Anything you would have changed for the group as a whole?
A: IIRC we had some general outline, but I think I could’ve pushed more to fill it out further. I think we needed a set ending/goal, and key plot points. I loved working with this group though and I’m happy with the product we put out.

Q: Are there other ponies you wish you could've written or added to the story?
A: I was happy with the Crusaders. I think they had a unique part of the story being kids dealing with everything rather than adults. That presents different challenges as a writer. It was a really fun time writing them… perhaps I’ll consider another story with them as the main characters in the future.
That said, looking back with what we were working with, I think there’s a few interesting ones:

  • This ties in a bit to post-S2 but Cadance and Shining Armor could have had a hell of a honeymoon.
  • A Trixie story would have been interesting. Hard to say what it would have been like with just two seasons to work with, but given how Trixie developed I can see her adventures on Earth being fun (knowing sleight of hand is useful in a variety of situations but that has to contrast with her initial personality). That said, there is one pony I think we all would’ve been interested in seeing…

Q: What about Post-Season 2 Ponies and Content?
A:
Sunset Shimmer would throw Ponyfall a curveball. These are thoughts I've only had since the Q&A opened (might have had them at the time EQG came out too), but I can imagine her being this enigmatic figure: somehow an early arrival from Equestria Pre-Fall with her own machinations. Worse, she’d be very well connected and not afraid to use those resources for her own means (I’m thinking her initial Equestria Girls portrayal mixed with Mansley from Iron Giant and Demona from Gargoyles). Unlike the other ponies, she’s had time to learn how Earth works and use that to her advantage. She’s not just photoshopping pictures, she’s siccing task forces and/or private security goons on you. Her going demon could also be a key plot point to show how bad the multiverse situation is given magic usually shouldn’t manifest to the level on Earth unless you’re really top tier (Discord, Celestia, Luna). There'd also be an unique angle with her in that she's really caught between two worlds whereas everypony else just wants to go home. Where is home for Sunset Shimmer? In show and film canon this is something she struggles with and could make for an interesting analysis. Since she hadn't existed yet, this was an issue that did come up a little with the CMC (especially Scootaloo who was taking on a few human mannerisms) Doesn't hurt that Sunset is my favorite character.

Seeing how things could play out with Starlight would be interesting too. We'll get to that in a second.

Q: What is your take on the timeline of events?
A: Oh boy is this a doozy. Glad I gave myself a week to think this over.

Late April 2012
Encounter with FA and Discord in Australia- The Second Fall and the Shattering

John, Scootaloo, and Fluttershy get shoved into a portal

I settled on the portal leading to the world of So I’m a Spider, So What?

Since 2014, I’d also considered a sort of soft-reset where the Crusaders at least would get thrown into a more recent version of reality (biggest contender would’ve been when I was working in Japan).

Ultimately though, IRL stuff led to this story collecting dust, so for wrapping things up, I decided to go for an isekai world. Funny thing is, I didn’t really get into isekai until around 2017. Other potential worlds considered were Made in Abyss and Reincarnated as a Slime. I think Spider was a good choice since spoilers for that series: it deals with inter-dimensional travel heavily, there’s a big focus on meta, and there’s a god-like jerk whose name starts with D. It's my favorite isekai too.

John’s party navigates the Great Elroe Labyrinth

John’s party encounters swarm of Nightmare’s Vestiges. Fluttershy befriends them and them they help lead the party to Kumoko.

The elves of that world attempt to lure John’s party to their side.

At some point, Scootaloo obtains her cutie mark while assisting Kumoko in her work
Since she’s not in Equestria, it doesn’t manifest as a mark but rather as a unique [SKILL]: Binding Web- anyone Scootaloo has “caught” can be located to some degree- when maxed, it can even locate across dimensions.
John’s party obtains [SKILLS] but ultimately sacrifices all but one for each of them in order to have the energy necessary for a jump back to Earth

April 2013
Return to Earth at John’s Parent’s home

The multiverse is in a state of flux. Various locations are literally carved out. Widespread coastal destruction. Interior destruction as well (such a shame for large swaths of China. Take of that what you will). Entities from various universes are getting flung into ours but mostly depowered along the same lines as ponies. Only top-tier characters in terms of power still have semi-regular access to abilities but even those are limited when not in close proximity to others from the same universe. Earth is in a state pandemonium (I mean, worse than usual) with what is essentially a guerilla war with hostiles from the multiverse and trying to protect non-combatant travelers. Zombie outbreaks and alien diseases are the really big concerns.

Tirek is skulking around but can’t do much since there’s barely any magic to drain

Sunset Shimmer makes her move

She is much more effective and dangerous than Tirek. She managed to cross over to Earth earlier than anypony else and has a much deeper understanding of dimensional travel. She keeps to the shadows but is manipulating both Discord and Tirek plus she’s crafted a human persona with government ties and connections to the powerful.

Sunset Shimmer ensures that every pony she can ID and their accompanying human is put on a wanted or watch list.

Scootaloo, thanks to Binding Web, is able to find others. John has a fast-travel [SKILL] and Fluttershy has a healing/restoration [SKILL]. Together, they’re able to navigate that chaotic Earth and find the others.

Gathering enough ponies together provides sufficient magic for Sunset to steal and compress but well… Demon for a bit. Sunset defeated and, with her identity revealed and her bridges with humanity severely damaged, she teams up with the other ponies.

2014
United, the ponies and others (Endgame-style) have a final confrontation with Discord (interpret that as you will but you know, friendship is magic and all).

Tirek swoops in at the last moment to usurp Discord since with everyone united and the multiverse’s barriers deteriorated to the point of near full collapse, magic is more easily accessible and is able to be stolen

Twilight becomes an alicorn though not as Princess of Friendship but rather Princess of Space. Space also includes the bonds the bind reality together- one point of view on this.

Back in Equestria, we make a rough camp since we’re in the middle of nowhere

Ponies so happy to be reunited, home, and have access to magic (turns what would be a bad situation IRL into a party)

CMC discover their marks in the morning

Brief bit of panic about humans getting back home

Pinkie has fun with The Divide- gets a little too curious about clothing

The multiverse is restored and access to other dimensions is sealed off save for Equestria.

A Ponyfall version of the Cutie Map comes into existence. It includes both Equestria and Earth.

John’s Party’s [SKILLS] are lost, likely sacrificed as energy to restore the multiverse- Scootaloo retains a sharp intuition and a particular sensitivity to Falls

There were a variety of locations, flora, and fauna from other dimensions that got switched out with Earth’s and Equestria’s. This will be a long-standing issue.

2014-2019
Various governments dealing with Equestria and how to handle inter-dimensional travel. A whole bunch of talks and treaties. This is ongoing but by 2019 some stuff is hammered out.

John and the other humans deal with talks, getting dragged to meetings and panels, and way too many interviews.

John (probably Doug too) considers hiring an attorney to avoid legal ramifications when dealing with governments but decides rules have gone out the window and there’s no laws Re: interdimensional travel. An attorney would just be a money sink.
Celestia and Luna offers haven if any government decides to impose legal or other ramifications on the human companions of Ponyfall (we never did come up with a name to describe our group in story. Shame.)

Trade is a major issue since the entrance to Equestria, The Divide, spans from the coast off California to New Zealand in an arc. Humans adapt though and find the trade routes aren’t too difficult to redraw and actually use travel to Equestria to their advantage.

John manages to finish schooling while taking occasional trips to Equestria to destress. All of the Ponyfall group, for their contributions to resolving the crisis, have free access to Equestria (at this point it is highly regulated with only us, top gov officials, vital trade, and Equestrians able to cross over)

Falls still occur and flora and fauna from Equestria slip into Earth and vice-versa

Govs and independent orgs work to set up systems to monitor and return sapient entities back to Equestria

The CMC start their agency.
In addition to its role in show of helping others find their “mark” in life, the Ponyfall CMC Agency has additional functions:

  • Special status is given to younger Earth travelers looking to find their mark and potential run-aways
  • Locate anyone that Falls into Equestria and help get them back to Earth
  • Help acclimate travelers and movers from Equestria and Earth

CMC start looking into inter-dimensional adoptions
John is an honorary member though he has no role in day-to-day functions
Attends big events every now and then
Has to be careful with Conflict-of-Interest matters given his work in law (this would be exciting IRL to be on the bleeding edge of inter-dimensional law)

Starlight Glimmer sets up her cult on Earth rather than Equestria. Reaches Wild Wild Country Levels of insanity but luckily not Jonestown
Mane 6 involved due an Earth-Equestria version of the Cutie Map.
Raids conducted on Starlight’s compound
Since Starlight’s compound was on US soil, trial held in US and becomes a seminal trans-dimensional case
In a deal, Starlight is transferred over to Equestrian jurisdiction. US gets a whole lot of bits and Equestrian tech.

2020

Equestria opens to general public for travel. Initially, this is very limited both by regulation and price. Twilight is having none of the latter and publishes a thorough breakdown of the numbers.

A few unfortunate incidents when crossing The Divide. Humans do not exist in Equestria (bar when the multiverse is severely screwed up) so when crossing over they are transformed into one of the sapient races. Pony is the most common but yak, griffon, hippogriff, buffalo, zebra, donkey, dragon, and changeling are also possible.

  • A freshly minted unicorn foal sinks a ship but some nearby seaponies prevent any deaths
  • A group of North Korean spies all become changelings which provokes an international/dimensional incident (spies and other saboteurs are pre-disposed to become changelings)
  • A freshly minted dragon whelp nearly burns a different ship down
  • Special measures need to be taken to prevent any new dragons from being afflicted with greed sickness
  • Safety protocols are updated- a WIP

2022

For a laugh: Jackass Forever now features the crew going to Equestria.
This is the first movie to be banned in Equestria

Ken Burns style documentary titled “Ponyfall” is released
It’s one of many documentaries but this one contains interviews from some of the humans (or writings), Twilight, Applejack, Dash, and Scootaloo

Reunion

Random

The dimensions that Earth got exposed to are still set around the same “time” as Earth’s. So, hypothetically, the Earth of Ponyfall had to contend with events in say DC and Marvel films, zombies (remember that fad?), and other issues from stories set in the 2010s. Sorry Star Trek/Wars fans.

This ties to my headcanon on Discord (largely inspired by DarthLink’s Raising Spike) that he can manipulate space as much as he wants, but time is tricky. He can mess with an individual’s age or make them relive experiences through his hallucinations but changing actual events on the timeline is a no go. Time is very set on being set (debate on how anthropomorphic time is if you wish)

Thank you all for reading and I hope this answered your questions. I look forward to our next adventure!

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