This story is a sequel to The Necromancer's Ambition
Trouble. It follows me around like an unwanted pet. The kind of pet liable to maul my friends’ faces.
From a random stalker to illicit organizations to long-lasting feuds, I tried to face them alone. But life is give and take and no one can go it alone.
This is the tale of a foolish young mare, her friends and how nothing could break their bonds.
---
Interested in seeing things from Night's perspective? Check out Mending Light, Invidlord's contribution to our collaboration.
Due to taking place in the same universe as Evil's Twilight, this story only uses canon up to and not including the season 3 finale.
Beta Reader Special Thanks:
Invidlord
TerribleTransit
Pannic/BillyColt
Thattagen
Meta Four
Sereg
BrokenHero
Hazzdawg
Yami Vizzini
The Handle/Blank!
War877
The Following Characters Belong to Their Respective Owners
Night Flurry (Invidlord)
Terrabona (TerribleTransit)
Mahogany (BrokenHero)
Starshadow and Merriweather (Thattagen)
Blizzard Breeze (Jqlgirl)
Certainly looking forward to seeing where you will take this.
Mate, if you want people to notice this you may want to devote a chapter to informing them of the existence of a sequel.
4471958
I appreciate your concern, but that'd be making one of those non-story chapters that the mods aren't so fond of. Besides, the people most likely to take notice of something that would be those who had faved TNA, and therefore should have already been noticed by the sequel system. Although, now I'm curious: did this story actually give you a sequel notification?
4472433
Nope, I never knew that there even was a sequel until I looked at your stories page. And what the hell are the mods gonna do, give you a bitchslap and a scolding?
4472728
I'd heard reports of forcible deletion, but if this stupid thing is broken, I guess I'll have to look into alternatives such as that. Thanks for letting me know.
4472947
No problem, mate
4472947 Actually, the mods don't enforce you adding a chapter to inform of a sequel. And they would never outright delete something, they would give you a warning and a chance to correct it first before anything.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
What you are supposed to do is make a blog post with the original tagged announcing the sequel. Anyone who has it favorited will see it.
I do so love worldbuilding, that Ostfriesin is tickling my wonder-globe with nefarious intent.
4546348
Technically, it was still a chapter update. just a very short one with a link to the sequel. being a chapter story update it still follows the rules. if it only had a link to the new story then it would not be allowed.
4591231
True, it was, but the proper protocol now is to use a linked blog post.
4538777
What I meant is them telling people to delete those chapters. I'd heard reports of that and it was kind of a "better safe than sorry" type deal for me because if they made me get rid of it, it'd basically be back to square one for that information.
4558520
4591231
Yeah, it was the best workaround I could could come up with.
4546348
I guess I should've done another one of those. Maybe I was just misinformed.
4636659 If they ask you to remove it, you could always put it in an author's note on the last chapter.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
I came here looking for adventure, but I can't say I'm disappointed. This slice of life bit is refreshing.
4683244
Glad to hear. Gotta build the rug before it can be pulled out from under 'em.
Well, Terra seems rather... Hrm.
I have no idea what she means. Perplexity, oh how you suit me.
An anti libido spell. How I wish I had one of those.
4911259
Dare I ask why? >.>
I wonder what that dream was about
Nice update
4943834
To use on myself of course.
Night flurry is just adorkable. I don't think that's what he's going for though.
5063711
Ah, okay.
5096155
Hehe, in my experience, that's how it usually goes, especially with people who are overly earnest. I think it would be difficult to be adorkable on purpose (at least on a regular basis), because a conscious effort would remove some of the genuineness that the trope relies on.
I'm confused , how does this relate to the previous story? Other than a flashback I haven't seen any of the old characters.
5321051
Without spoiling too much, this is sort of the big picture long game to the story Dusky started telling. The characters as they were by the end of the first story lacked the raw power to force a resolution. Let's just say that when they return to Pasture to finish things, the journey in-between will have significant pay-off for them.
5321628
That certainly is good to hear.
I am (was) in the same boat as Moss, scratching my confused head as to how this story tied in to the previous one.
Will we see Ivory? Pwease?
5483570
Sure will. I just ask that you be patient.
5484668
K....
Huh. that was unexpected.
5577277
In a good or a bad way? >.>
5587823
Um, is there something I'm missing or did you intentionally post a blank comment?
When Night mentioned his contact in the guard, my first thought wasn't of family. My first thought was that this contact is an old lover. I'm not sure what gave me that impression.
5620549
Hehe, maybe it's just because it's one of those pervasive story cliche things? I'm sure were it any other type of character, it would've totally been possible for fraternization that led to problems being a subplot.
I mentioned this on the draft but I think it's worth repeating: This story (like the previous one in the series) does a great job of putting me in Dusky's horseshoes and making me feel the same paranoia she does. What we have here is a whole chapter where nothing goes wrong—yet at every point I expected the worst, or feared that every good turn of events was just setting up some future catastrophe.
EDIT: It’s kind of funny how Night gets so hung up on being a hero, and it never turns out like he expects it. In prior chapters, he kept trying to protect Dusky, but it just wound up blowing up in his face and annoying her. And here, he does something genuinely helpful for Dusky, but he does it by braving painful awkwardness rather than physical danger.
5646468
Hehe, it's been noted in the past for me that I don't give Dusky very many breaks and that the breaks that do exist tend to appear as 'traps' (in the sense of not necessarily being deliberately set up by a character, but by the plot itself). I'm glad this impression comes off consistently that way (at least, if I'm inferring correctly from your comment).
And yeah, Night starts with a very simple view of how to help. Things start to go more smoothly once he realizes he can't apply that philosophy to the complicated kinds of games of shadows Dusky faces and realizes that being helpful and a friend is more than just trying to be a physical guardian. Or in the very least, he sees some pay-off for all the pain and hard work he puts in.
Theory time: Stalwart is a single dad. Terra is embracing her matronly instincts so that, when she finally does get her sexy back, she can put the moves on Stalwart.
That's one hell of a place to end the chapter.
5816416
What's an adventure without a little dramatic tension?
Dusky and Night are cute together.
A fact that more "pone X nurses pone Z back to health" fics could stand to keep in mind...
Considering Night mentioned that Dusky almost died, I wonder if that bizarre scene in the penthouse was Dusky having a near-death, out-of-body experience.
The mental image of Dusky sleeping in the back of her dad's cart is just too cute.
5898855
Heh...
What about interlibrary loan? Or barring that, how about going to the fiction section of said library, checking out one of those stories and following the directions therein?
Come to think of it, that would make for a silly one-shot, gently poking fun at the whole "nursing back to health shipping" thing...
"OK, I have set your wing and the fever has broken. The next step it to passionately make love to one another."
"Wait, what?! I thought you said you went to the library to get a pegamedic trauma manual!"
""Welll... Modern Medical Manual of Mare Maladies was checked out at the time. But I got something just as good!"
"And that would be...?"
"Sultry Sock's Sensuously Steamy Shipping Sessions: A Healing Tale"
"..."
Makes perfect sense!
6057235
Of course. Terra always makes sense.
5985505
I won't deny that, were some of the roles to be switched around, somepony or two might have bought into that line of logic.
It's up in the air at the moment, whether or not Sergeant Grumpy Mint is really a guardpony, but I'm guessing she's legit. We've already seen that, when the Cartel thugs impersonate guards, they impersonate guards in full uniform. It wouldn't make much sense to impersonate an undercover guard, anyway.
"Where were you on Wednesday night last week, Dusky Dune?"
"Um, my name's Dusky Down."
"Really?" <re-examines her case files> "Sorry to bother you, miss. You wouldn't happen to know where Dusky Dune is, would you?"
6134451 That would be a nice twist...
6134451
Not to mention using the same scheme twice...
Please never stop being a dork, Night Flurry.
Thaaaaaat's Twilight! <sad trombones>