I was talking about this for a while and I was sorta wondering what everyone else's headcanon about 'What if the sonic rainboom never happened?' Alright, predictably, one can assume that Nightmare Moon would've won with nopony to oppose her. The floor's open, throw out your own ideas.

I think someone made a fanfic out of this idea already.

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Equestria will be gone...

1522750 There is a story here that talks about exactly that. Can't remember the name though.

Then this story/series.

EDIT
Though it's probably not what the others are thinking. But I still think it's a great series.

1522757 yeah, but if there can be multiple 'X was always a Changeling' fics I don't see why I can't do my own twist on it. Plus, the whole idea is more about being "X, but with ponies"; in this case, The Flashpoint Paradox based on the Flash storyline Flashpoint...replacing Flash's intervention in his own past with the Sonic Rainboom that connected them altogether as friends.

I wrote a version of this as well

My favorite bit is that Twilight never passed her magic exam and thus her egg never hatched. Instead, Spike wound up with the next candidate who turned into Celestia's number one student...

...Trixie.

1522750 Shit would blow the fuck up.

1522750 None of the mane six would've hit puberty.

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The mane six would have either gotten different cutie marks, or, since destiny is a thing, they would have gotten their cutie marks in a different way.

I actually am working on a series along these lines, though the differences in the timelines go back farther than the Sonic Rainboom. Still, the lack of that event was the primary force shaping the course of the Mane6's lives.

Snowblind
Twilight & Rarity (pic and backstory)
Rainbow Dash & Fluttershy (sketch and backstory)
Applejack & Pinkamena (sketch and backstory)

There's also notMurphy's story, A Minor Variation, which is closer to canon, but has Rarity as a snarky academic, Twilight talking to plants, Fluttershy as a more full-time badass, Pinkie as a medic, and Applejack as a tramp (the wandering type, not the slutty type). Oh, and Rainbow Dash turns into freaking Leonardo DaVinci.

1523004 I spent the last 10 minutes trying to find that story...

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At first I thought it was the other rainboom at first and I was like "rarity and the wonderbolts would have died"

Anyway, Rainbow would have gotten her cutie mark, she got that by racing, not just because she made a sonic rainboom (I think...) Twilight would have failed her first entrance exam, but she still would have found a special talent in magic, she would still be Celestia's student too, but it would take longer to happen. Applejack would have either taken longer to get home, or she would have persevered and became a manehattan pony. I have no clue about anything after that.

Fluttershy would still get her cutie mark as an animal whisperer (or whatever), but being stranded on the earth without anypony or any animal friends would have toughened her up and she would have been a badass introvert. Rarity would have stared at the rock and nothing would happen, making her leave unsatisfied, but that spell would have come back again and again, making her visit the rock all the time, then Pinkie would have come around looking for rocks for the rock farm and opened up the rock, revealing the gems, Pinkie sees all the glittering and joy that Rarity feels from seeing the gems, and Rarity would have gotten her talent in creating beauty, and Pinkie would have tried to find that happy feeling again, resulting in her cutie mark. Spike wouldn't exist, and Sparity fics would be impossible.

I actually wrote a story that touched on this too, just not entirely directly. Basic plot borrows the whole crack in time thing from a recent season of Dr. Who. RD ends up ripping a hole open while breaking light speed thanks to some magical help and in the end, she ends up having to close it, thus her existence is erased. She's later restored thanks to a latent connection to the Element, what with time being wibbly wobbly instead of linear, but after she disappeared, I had it as Nightmare Moon taking over without any real resistance, thus resulting in the world freezing over and everything dying, leaving her alone again. Which is basically what would happen to the world if the sun was suddenly permanently gone.

But that's just my 2 bits.

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Applejack stays in Manehatten.
Pinkie eventually leaves the rock farm and becomes a baker.
Das still gets her cutie mark.
Fluttershy gets injured in her fall, (the Rainboom scared the animals out, making it easier for them to catch her) and probably ends up reclusive.
Rarity tries something different, and ends up as Mayor of Ponyville.
Twilight still gets into the school, but not as Celestia's pupil.

Eventually, twilight's parents send her to Ponyville to get a job as the mayor's assistant, nightmare moon escapes, and She, Carrot Top, Roseluck, Minutte/Colgate, Cloudchaser and Dizzy Twister become the new elements.

1522750 I threw my ideas on that out a while back, in Never a Rainbow. : D

1523788>>1523614>>1522783 check it

Shatterpoint: Equestria

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I wouldn't call them headcanon, but Random Elements and its sequel tell one version of what could have happened.

A Minor Variation is another version.

A World Without Rainbooms is a third version... of the three, it is the only one that has not reached its conclusion yet.

Trinary's Rainbooms and Royalty goes in the opposite direction: Princess Celestia was so impressed by the Sonic Rainboom that Rainbow Dash becomes her personal student instead of Twilight.

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Rarity tries something different, and ends up as Mayor of Ponyville.

I'm liking this idea in particular! Do you know if somebody wrote a story around this?

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I very vaguely remember an AU-fic based on the idea of Nightmare Moon sealing Celestia away and ruling Equestria.
I think Applejack and co ran the Sweet Apple Arms Manufacture, and Rainbow Dash was the slightly unhinged Bodyguard for Mayor Rarity.

I saw it on Deviantart, and I honestly don't remember what it was called or who wrote it.

Twilight is deeply saddened by her failure, and makes herself an alicorn after about 12-14 years of practicing dark and normal magic. After using proper dark magic in order to achieve this, Twilight becomes obsessed with the darkness and relies completely on dark magic. She then thought: why should she be a princess when she could be the queen of all of Equestria?

Pinkie (or Pinkamena) is depressed and continues to work on the rock farm after many tedious years. She gains interest in business owning and later begins to sell rare gemstones for moderate prices, however she is still unhappy with her life deep down, despite the money she makes. With about 100,000 bits, she finally sealed herself inside her home.

Applejack stays a fancy pony and has her farm life put behind her. She ignores ponies like her former self, which is why she is somewhat antisocial towards most. Her old accent is eventually replaced with her fake British one, and despite her riches, jewels and money, she misses her old family.

Fluttershy never comforted the animals and never earned her ability to understand the wild creatures. She lives in the Everfree and gains Rainbow Dash's bravery instead of her shyness, and lives off other creatures' hatred for each other, being the opposite of a changeling. Through this, she spreads love and tolerance.

Rainbow Dash couldn't do the rainboom, and therefore lost her adventurous personality. Binding herself to the Rainbow Factory, she soon embraced the darkness, developing red eyes, but never let it get the best of her. She felt sorrow in actually killing ponies at the very last part of the factory and eventually escaped her job.
Theme: "Five Nights at Freddy's"

As for Rarity, she decided to learn to sing and play instruments. She composed part of Rainbow's theme alongside The Living Tombstone's ponysona. She was pretty much an average pony inside: having her daily issues. She was about the only "happy" pony out of the Mane Six's alternate selves.

*pants* there, I actually wrote some summary of some sort.

1523076 I like your thinking, but maybe Spike would still exist. He'd just be hatched by a different student. Like maybe Lyra, or Colgate, or Twinkleshine.

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There's the possible idea that Celestia knew everything from the beginning (including the Rainboom). Rainbow Dash was destined to do that and the rest of the Mane Six were all in the proper place at the proper time. But even if the Rainboom didn't happen, destiny would find a way to insure that Equestria would have a safety net when crisis strikes.

As for the Mane Six:

- Fluttershy would still fall and meet the animals.

- Rainbow Dash would not get her cutie mark until later.

- Rarity would find gems somewhere else.

- Celestia knows the potential Twilight has and will accept her anyway.

- Applejack's homesickness would grow until she finally decide to move back on her own.

- Pinkamena would remain a blank flank.

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Well, my headcanon is that the Rainboom couldn't not have happened, because destiny is an actual thing in the setting. Canonically speaking there isn't some other alternate reality where Rainbow never pulled it off, because it's been established that their universe probably doesn't work that way. Things happen because they were meant to happen, not because of chance or choice.

Even if we take the rainboom out of the equation, I'm guessing that most likely nothing much would have changed. The Mane Six would have all gotten the same cutie marks some other way. Applejack would still have returned to the farm, Pinkie Pie would have found something else that made her smile, Twilight would have hatched Spike and impressed Celestia some other way. Small details might change, but not the big picture.

Boring answer, I know, but that's my view of it.

Discord would rule everything. It's clear that only the elements can beat him and because Luna and Celestia have lost their connection with them so he's untouchable. He'd have no reason at all to team up with Tirek so he's just send him back to Tartarus. Chrysalis would have no love to feed off of. And Discord would snap his fingers and remove Sombra's horn. Discord basically rules the world