[Complete! With TVTropes apparently!]
Also, apparently, an animated trailer.
In a world of brass and steam, Twilight Sparkle had thought she had made a life-changing discovery with the invention of the telescope. For better or worse, she was correct.
Now her discovery has not only changed her life, but the lives of those she seeks out in her desperate attempt to contact the only other creature as lonely as Twilight herself.
It all would have been much simpler, but it had to be the one Twilight could only call The Mare on the Moon.
Decidedly not within walking distance, then.
[Featured on EQD before story was meant to be submitted. 4/03/2015]
[Editing team: Southpaw, Wolfvenom, Maskedferret, SwanSong and BluePaladin42, without whom this story would be a fraction of its current state.]
[Special thanks to Novel-Idea for the updated cover]
Warning: The Following Spoiler is Incredibly Pretentious, and will Mark A Theme the Author Cares Far Too Much About.
Read At Your Own Risk.
There is a term in cinema, the field I ideally come from, called chiaroscuro. It is creating depth using sharp contrasts between the light and dark.
The brighter the light and the darker the dark, the sharper the contrast. That contrast adds remarkable depth to the medium.
In every chapter of this story there is one line that shows and evokes joy and wonder, and one that tears it down completely -- for me, at least, writing it. Obviously, I have an innate bias in this matter, but I find it interesting nonetheless.
For this chapter, we have: "Hoofprints left in the lunar surface. Hoofprints left in the moon dust. This wasn't an anomalous reflection, and her Telescope certainly wasn't broken. There really, truly was a mare on the moon!" for that light.
But then of course we have: ""I don't think I've ever seen a pony this lonely before." Not even in the mirror." as its counterpoint.
And so come to a story, then... of light and tunnels. Gaslight fics are wonderful. Even their very name evokes what they are: Harsh light catching brilliantly, then creating even harsher shadows immediately underneath that brilliance, if one could only look past the surface. It's a dirty light. It's a romantic light. There isn't nearly enough of it, and it's in all the wrong places, but that just makes where it is stand out so much brighter for it, and that's what makes it wonderful.
Okay, so if this is a romance fic, who are the two lovers? Just curious.
Why is this story password-protected? And why does Equestria Daily feature a story that is password-protected?
You won't get many readers that way.
Fabulous, keep writing and don't let those haters get you down!
When a story starts with a little streak of genius like this one, you know you're in for a good time. Man.
You do realize there'll be Twicane comments about this, right?
As an addendum -- the fic is clearly steampunk, but Twilight has somewhat perfected the telescope now? If I remember correctly, the telescope was invented around the 1550s or so, and Galileo made his in 1600 (maybe I'm wrong, I didn't bother to look it up -- feel free to point out my incongruences if you want). The steampunk thingy is based on the victorian years, right? That's around the 1800.
So kind of weird, I guess. Then again, this is an AU, and steampunk (or gaslight, as I guess this is) is not exactly a precise year. Still, food for the thought -- ponies don't give no craps about stars, and Twilight invents the modern telescope (as in, perfects it) around 200 years later than one would expect them.
Seeing how there's probably some lore around the Mare in the Moon, though, I guess that's justified.
Twilight measures stuff in Twilights. That's hilarious.
And weirdly creepy -- I used to do that whenever I played DnD in highschool, myself. I used myself to measure distance, weight, and volume. Nice to see the creepy, snarky, cynical loner is similar to me.
God, I'm so alone.
This entire fucking thing just screams fanart, dude. I guess it's a given with steampunk stuff, it's pretty visual. You create a picture, and then you develop it.
I hope this story does more than that, though. Steampunk is great for comics because you can just put every single character in googles and cool clothes and call it a day. Steampunk literature? That's tougher.
Seeing how this is an AU, it would have been cool for Spike to call Twilight "Captain" all the time. Or maybe using some kind of title. You could use it to expand on the solitude of Twilight, or maybe to add one more layer of, you know, alien feeling to the story. Room for character development.
Then again, I'm reminded of that comment by... I think it was Tracy Hickman? When he explained why, when making a fantasy world, you don't do things as having the sun rise from the west and set on the east. You want to show the readers things they're not familiar with, but too many aliens alienate them. Plus, all in all, this is a fic.
So I guess Twi and Spike having a relationship like the one from the show makes more sense. Meh. Senseless rambling.
(Also that was slightly wooden dialogue, I think. "Just Twilight will do, as always" is weird to say out loud, and kind of awkward in casual dialogue. I would suggest her rolling her eyes, or refusing to humor Spike and his silliness. Then having Spike calling her Twilight, and calling it a day.)
Hmm. Maybe that wasn't as wooden as I thought, and it's just how they talk. I guess they're formal? I don't know, usually you make the conversations flow with more ease. Here they look a little stiff ("You can look for the tenth planet, which, as you know, nopony has ever found..."). It might be the style.
Or maybe you're just setting the atmosphere. This is an AU, after all, so you gotta establish a couple things. You can't just say HERE THIS IS TWILIGHT and then go to sleep.
Spike knows a surprising amount of things on the facts of life. Just pray that what they put on the popcorn doesn't come from what the pones in the back row do, little fella.
Subtle way to establish the name of the world! I like that. Althought it's not the first time I hear it -- is it, like, a known thing in fanon? Or some kind of canon source said it? Because it's surprisingly specific to be a coincidence.
Also, more paralels with Galileo -- before him, everybody thought the Moon was a perfect sphere. Twilight here wants to prove otherwise, which shows that my hunch was right; contrary to what it seems, in the astronomy sense, Equestria (or Equus) is set in a 1600-esque world.
Oh, fuck yeah. Four cups of coffee and too long into the night? That's the best state of being there is, no doubts.
Slight repetition of the "faithful/number one assistant" thing here. Also, I knew she would roll her eyes at Spike.
Seriously, he's a capable assistant, but he's a kid, and Twilight is a scientist. If she's not fed up with his bullshit and/or naïveté at least once per day, she's not scientisting right. That job is not about working hard, it's about being condescending in the right places, goddammit.
Ah-hah! So they know it's a sphere. Not that big of a deal, but it sure shows that my 1600 guess was more or less right, in the sense that hey, at least they're not in the thousands.
Which reminds me -- some people have said, in other parts of the fandom, that Equestria might not be a round planet (seeing how the sun goes around it, instead of the other way around, they say it's feasible to say physics doesn't work like in our universe there, because rather obviously gravity is not really working in the show). However, the show acknowledges that the moon has phases.
So the fucking planet has to be round. Q.E.D. Twilight is surprisingly naïve here, forgetting for a second that the Moon is also a sphere, but then again -- they still think its surface is flat and have no telescopes. They obviously know nothing about the Moon, or space in general. So it makes sense for her to forget -- sure, on a rational level she knows it's not just a flat circle, but it's hard to have that as a fact when you can't really see it or know more about it.
Hey, it's the thought that counts. Almost everybody nods and shakes their head while talking on a telephone, and that's completely useless.
I mean, other people do that too, right? It's not only me. Right?
Woah, how the fuck does this girl know so much about space when they have no idea about space? Also, wait a moment -- if they have no real telescopes, then how come they know there's a tenth planet? I imagined it was based on math, and the geometry of their orbit, but if they can't---okay, steampunk. They are talking ponies, they have cinemas, and they can use magic. I should stop thinking so hard about this.
Oh, Twilight, you're nasty.
If you had included some line on how it can't be a chromatic aberration because she measured the lenses correctly, I would be in your pants already. However, of course Twilight wouldn't allow such a thing to happen, so this comment is silly.
HAH! I love it when smart characters are actually smart. And they say smart, nerdy things. Delicious.
Also, in this universe Luna is on the moon, as in, physically speaking. I wonder what the heckle does she do to kill time? Whimsically gazing at the stars and her home must get boring after a while. I would take so many naps if I were her, man.
So many.
But it can't be a breeze, because--
Oh. Okay, yeah.
Wait, philosophy? What part does philosophy play in physics? The lack of an atmosphere is a merely physical thing -- lack of gravity.
Then again, metaphysics. They do use the term "aether" to refer to space, and that's the fifth Aristotelian elementh. So, okay, philosophy makes sense in this context.
Or maybe they don't understand the word "philosophy" as we do, I guess. It literally means "love for knowledge", and it's made up of logic, epistemology, etics, metaphysics, and anthropology. I always think either epistemology, logic, or etics whenever I see "philosophy" written down (because of modern science and all that jazz), but in a more rudimental universe, having philosophy as an important part in hardcore science would work.
Eh. Still thinking too hard about this. Magical talking ponies, cool steam-powered devices, enough with the useless talk.
Woah, never seen this quality of Twilight before. Seeing how I relate the shit out of it, though, I like it. Gives her a little more dimension. Too many people seem to think that "smart" equals "absolutely perfect in everything brain-related". Hah. No fucking way.
And with that, Numbers smirked, made a pistol with his fingers, and mouthed the word "boum."
"Chiaroscuro, motherfucker."
Jokes aside -- great sentence and rhythm in that one, bro. Not as much a whiplash as it's a mere part of character building. But eh, the chiaroscuro theme can't be too contrasting in the very first chapter.
(Also HAHAHAHAHAH FUCK YOU SPIKE YOU DON'T COUNT!)
(Seriously, the show also played the "Twilight is very lonely" card. Twice, because after the first episode she said Cadance and Shining Armor were her only friends. I have the theory that Spike is legally seen as a really eloquent dog.)
Woah. Reality ensues.
I wasn't expecting that.
5693960
Well, judging by the description, the title, and the chapter, I'm willing to bet it's Twiluna.
I can't tell if it's intentional, but having to re-enter the password every time I go to a new chapter is a real pain. I hope that gets removed at some point...
Good so far, just have to read the rest of the published chapters.
Very intrigued, and I have marked this for later reading...but I am curious and confused by the 0-word chapters at the end.
I am enjoying the imagery quite a bit so far and will now go back to finding out the why of this spun off world.
5694890
I don't think they are published yet.
5694016
BECAUSE IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE SUBMITTED YET.
ARGH. ARRRGH.
The story has been fascinating up until this point, but what happened after the start of RD and AJ's hoofwrestling? The text went all fragmented, like words, sentences or whole paragraphs went missing. Is this an early draft? Did the upload get corrupted somehow?
5695088
EQD jumped the gun. This wasn't meant to be open to the public yet, as it were.
Oh dear oh dear oh dear
5695105
Then get with the posting, man! It's killing me that I have an OTP story by the author of Demense, and FimF isn't letting me download it.
5695250
Done. Done, done, done.
5695105
I'm seeing eight chapters and 41,000 words. Is this the story as it was intended to be released?
If not, I'll wait for a blog post on the matter; if so, time to jump in, because all of my yes.
This is marked as Complete, good sir...
I have to agree with Shiver McTimbers, right after the RD/AJ hoofwrestling starts things get Pinkie Pie strange and garbled with possibly imaginary text failing the poke test.
5695330 5695088
Temp fix: I missed the GDocs import. The text is now all there, but most of the BBC tags are gone.
5695311
Fixed.
Steampunk, downvote. But wait, MrNumbers, so upvote?
Ooooooh, I'm adrift in a sea of ambivalence, beaten upon the rocks by the tides of indecision. This is what it's like when doves cry.
YES. IT'S HERE. IT'SHEREIT'SHEREIT'SHERE.
5694234
Wasn't the reflecting telescope a more modern invention though?
5695486
It's Mr. Numbers, so you know it won't be your average gaslight fantasy.
Link to the cover art? It's amazing....
5696019
Hover your mouse over the cover art and then click the 'Source' button that pops up in the lower right corner.
Stray sentence?
Wow... A story got published in EQD before it got published =D
It must mean that you're really good!
Seems like Celestia has really taken to the idea Luna is dead, but t's clear Luna isn't even possessed by Nightmare anymore in this reality. Celly's mood might swing in a totally different direction if she looks though the telescope herself and sees her sister waiting for Twilight to contact her. She probably sees the prophecy as some cruel punishment meant to torture he for "killing" Luna or she mostly blames Nightmare for Luna's "death" and grows furious at any reminded of Nightmare's existence. And clearly here "The Stars" doesn't mean literal Stars but some pony marked BY stars, and the prophecy lacks the bit about eternal night.
5695486
I recommend striking a balance by first downvoting, then upvoting the story.
That way both impulses are satisfied.
I would describe what it is, precisely, that I find so enjoyable about this story. I do not seem to know the words to do so adequately, however. I shall settle for, "Yes," followed by, "It has been written."
5696163
If we should go along the assumption that the Nightmare pins down, amplifies, and then acts out the worst parts of a pony's character, then I offer you an alternative interpretation of these events. Luna said, as we saw, that she can now walk through dreams without fear of the Nightmare any longer. We have not, however, been given any reason to believe that Luna was possessed by the Nightmare at any point. However, I can certainly think of another ponies who seems to be displaying, in a rather exaggerated — an amplied, you might say — manner, the worst parts of her character.
Anyway, food for thought.
Delightful and unique. I'll enjoy this one.
5608625 Taking pride in your art is not being pretentious, it is simply taking pride in your art.
"I just need you to power the death ray we're aiming at the moon."
Best job description ever.
5694234
In answer to your question about philosophy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_philosophy
Science and the scientific method are the creations of philosophers. Asking what philosophy has to do with physics is like asking what math has to do with rocket science.
5696477
Yeah, so like I said. Right now I don't consider an essay on black holes a philosophy paper, but back then it definitely was. My comment was just me pointing out how what we understand by "philosophy" (or at least what I understand by "philosophy, perhaps I'm the odd one out) has changed over time.
Or maybe not what we understand by it, but rather what is included in it. Meh. You get my point.
5696487
Ah you seemed more focused on the alternate world concept "maybe they don't understand the word as we do" than the historical basis, so I wasn't sure you were aware.
This really deserves more readers and reviews... Very well written!
Bright Spark=
Alexander Graham BellEdison, Pinkie=Nikola Tesla. For those who didn't pick up on it.Ps Please have Bright Spark get his comeuppance unlike
BellEdison. Tesla died mad and a pauper I think be Bell was successful and famous in his time.Edit: Apologies I believe I mixed up Edison and Bell in my head, Bell is still a scumbag who stole the patent for the telephone though.
5696507
Close! But Thomas Edison.
I'm seriously loving this. The characters are wonderful AND adorable!
Two things...
1) ABOUT BLOODY TIME!
2) WHY NOW, WHEN I'M TRYING TO WRITE A GOD DAMN UNI ESSAY!
That is all...for now
Yes.
Best. Job. Ever!
Ninth planet, ha, Pluto isn't a planet. Though if there were previous telescopes that could see that far and pic out such a faint object, I am not sure what makes Twilight's so special.
Again, seeing Pluto would make the moon easy cheese.
Seems like Twilight needs to redesign her telescope. Something that delicate without cams to move everything and stops just seems silly.
When I first saw this... Oh my god!
Twiluna romance and Steampunk, two of my favourite story concepts combined. It sounded too good to be true and I was almost sure of getting disappointed.
Sadly most Sci-fi, Steampunk or otherwisely technology-inspired stories either loose themselves in pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo that is played for convenience and is neither realistic, nor interesting, or they loose their potential to immerse and create a very unlivid atmosphere with flat characters.
So I was all the more surprised, when neither your world, nor your characters failed to immerse me. Everything you described came alive in front of my eyes. Your world has just the right mixture of hard science and otherworldly charm to it. Nothing is really unrealistic and yet nothing is boring.
I also really love your interpretation of the (so far known) Mane 6. They fit into your world, but they don't loose their canon origins.
All in all there is not much I can criticise about your story, except for that it should have more chapters right now for me to read.
well lets see were this gets me
also its steampunk so....
This is absolutely beautiful. I love it and I cannot wait for more. You're doing a fantastic job so don't stop please.
I'm a bit shocked at Celestia's reaction though. I mean I can understand her reaction but I suspected her to be mad then sad or just sad. But that's me and this is you. Everything in this story is your choice and I enjoy your choices.
I don't know what else to say so ya. Hope you have a good day and have a smile when you read this. If you don't have a smile oh well. But either way have a good day fantastic writer you.
This seems like an interesting Fic, and I'm glad I read it, but one things niggling at me...
What the hell happened to Celestia? She seems to have gone batshit in this fic, what ever happened to the caring and kindly Princess? And why would she destroy all evidence of her sisters return, when she has clearly been in mourning her loss? She seems to have lost her sanity at one point, I understand its AU, so anything goes, but I'm just wondering what happened to her to make her like this.
Also, where's Nightmare? Wasn't Luna supposed to be Nightmare moon while she was trapped up there? did she cure herself? Also, what's going to happen when its Luna's time to come back? But hey like I said AU, anything goes.
I just have no idea what to expect.
Also, when's Flutters? I Kinda wonder how she fits into Twilights grand schemes and eventual friendship.
"We're getting two millibars of pressure, oh Captain my Captain!"
really? were breaking out the steam punk references this early!
5696603 Seems like Twilight needs to redesign her telescope. Something that delicate without cams to move everything and stops just seems silly.
its fucking steampunk there are no cams you have grease, oil, brass and pressure thats it
I live in a house with two other guys, and one of them is always bringing people to my place. Without asking first. They get the whole place dirty as hell, and annoy the shit out of me.
And they never knock, even though we have a really cool doorbell. There's nothing more irritating than someoneo knocking on your door instead of ringing the damned bell.
As an addendum -- at least here they're knocking hard. In my case it's a soft tap tap tap every time they try to get in. I never answer that. You want to get in, you fucking embrace the fact you're annoying me. Bah.
Something something Bioshock reference hahahah I'm so wacky. More importantly, after reading this and thinking on the place's description before, I wonder what kind of acoustics does that observatory/library have? The glass roof and wooden glass suggest echo, or at least reverberance, but the books making some kind of labyrinth are doomed to mess up the entire thing.
So I'm guessing small echo/reverberance/resonancy in some places (like under the telescope) and then soundproofing in other places. Kind of chaotic.
That would justify such a doorbell, too. It all adds up.
God, yes. What a fiend. Alcohol in a library, god forbid. As a college student, I'm extremely offended by that.
Seriously though -- a wine cellar in a tree. That can't end well. (Or, wait, is this a tree? I don't recall it being a tree). Having a dragon there is dangerous too, because if I remember correctly, alcohol has vapour, and that's extremely dangerous. You can't enter a distillery with a matchbox, for example. Spike sneezes, the whole place goes boom.
We're getting deep into AU territory here, as the show clearly portrays the unicorns moving stuff that's way heavier than them.
Wait. Or does it? Twilight moves the sun, but she does that while being an alicorn. Hm. Now I'm dubious.
However, this kind of establishes that A) the unicorns in here aren't exactly overpowered, as she can't levitate very heavy stuff, and B) Twilight is one of the best mages in the planet and yet she makes sure to build nonmagical stuff, like telescopes and doorbells. Because fuck you, standards. I do what I want.
Also, I'm guessing the apparent underpowerment of the unicorns is a way to justify the steampunk elements? It makes it more necessary for the ponies to come up with mechanical stuff, seeing how pure magic doesn't cut it anymore.
Oh God I laughed at this. I like how Twilight, immediately after saying that the voice sounds dumb, tries her hardest to sound as verbose and loquacious (second time I use this word in two comments, that's weird) as possible. "She's dumb, I'm smart!"
Also yeah AJ sounds stupid. I'm guessing that voice is AJ because, come on, it's right there in the title. And the tags. And the accent.
World-building! However, this means that the Zebra lands are a stand-in for America, instead of being a stand-in for Africa, as most people do. That's new!
Does that mean that Equestria is Great Britain, then? That would make sense, seeing how steampunk in general is based on victorian visuals. I'd actually like that -- I get why most writers have Equestria being more or less USA (or Canada!) when it comes to the pony planet (Plonet? Plany? Planyt? There's a good portmanteau somewhere in there, I know it) but it gets a little old after a while.
Incidentally, that would also mean that the Everfree is Australia. Wild, scary, and full of monsters. It checks out.
Pffft. Twilight's a paranoid.
Then again, the Telescope is expensive, and she has a lot of stuff in there. This can also be read as some kind of metaphor for isolation (she literally doesn't let anypony that's not herself or Spike get in there) but maybe that would be reading too much into the gag.
HAH!
Yeah, but that's your house, and the door opens--
Dammit, not fast enough.
I don't know why, but this line made me kind of sad. Poor Applejack.
It's also a funny line, and I smiled internally because HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH YOU'RE POOR AND DIRTY but that's merely because I'm a bad person and I shouldn't be allowed outside. But that aside? Dunno, it's kind of a heavy line, for what it implies.
I've talked endlessly about symbols, and preloading in stories, so I won't go deep in this comment, but yeah. This line here gives the reader the idea that AJ is a honest mare. Perfume implies something fake, something artificial. An natural smell is the truth, it's more honest itself. The message here is "this one doesn't lie".
Also, she's the Element of Honesty in the show, that too. But yeah. Symbols, totems, you know the drill.
On the other hand, based only on the wording, this sentence doesn't evoke sad/melancholic/pitiful thoughts, but rather a bemused smile, because it's about character, not lack of time or money. 'Cause of the wording, I think. And because brushing your hair is something the poorest person can do (especially if they can clean themselves with water, as stated earlier).
I get the nagging feeling I keep babbling about unimportant stuff. But eh, screw it, I'm having fun. Analyzing is interesting.
Oh my God that's adorable.
Oh my God, that's so fucking sad.
Dude, seriously, why is AJ being poor annoying me so much here? I've laughed at the hillbilly for years, and now I have empathy? That's bollocks!
OKAY YES I KNOW I SHOULD LAUGH AT THIS BUT I'M SAD FOR APPLEJACK OKAY. MAKE APPLEJACK HAPPY.
Ah-hah. That's subtle, but my suspicions were right -- unicorns are less powerful than in the show, and that's why everything is steampunk-ish.
Then again, you kind of said it out loud before, but I feel smart now, so shut up.
Yes. Happy Applejack.
Also yeah, forgetting about food. Funny how that happens, isn't it? I haven't eaten in almost twenty hours myself either, you reminded me of it.
That's a student for ya, I guess. Points to Twilight for being realistic.
And surprisingly kind, too. I get why -- this is a Save The Cat moment, the part where we realize that Twilight is a good person, thus immediately like her -- but I was expecting something more cynical from you. I guess it's not a bad change, though. This one seems more in-character.
Oooh. Economics. I wonder what's the fare for getting the food from the distant lands to Equestria? I guess it doesn't really matter -- with colonies, you get so many things at such a low price that local commerce is going to crumble, unless they try to make things cheaper or change their business plan. Applejack outright said they did everything the old way, which I'm willing to bet means less product, and a much higher price.
No wonders she's poor, then.
Also -- yeah, just as expected (again), Equestria is definitely Great Britain here. Funny how a race of hervivores can conquer stuff.
HAH!
Ouch. Seriously, that's gotta be scary, not charming.
But hey, more money for Applejack. You go, girl.
However, small addendum here, before I continue -- I'm guessing Applejack is a blacksmith, or at least knows something about being one, based on her reaction. However, she's also shown to be a farmer, and the fact that she smells like apples (plus the fact that she's Applejack and she's poor) imply she works a lot.
As in, the whole day. I was gonna mention how that would mean no actual time to develop any blacksmithing ability, but then I realized that, well... Old-timey farmers did know a little bit about being a blacksmith. Not a lot, of course (that's why "blacksmith" is a job on its own), but if we realize that Applejack runs her business the old way (something I don't approve, as an economist) then we see that she obviously needs old-ish tools.
Tools that, probably, are hard to find. And sometimes it's cheaper to fix stuff than to buy a new tool. So if she knows baout blacksmithing, it's becuase she needs to, in order to survive. That's an ability gained not out of ability or will, but out of necessity.
Damn. Made myself sad again.
Okay, she has a welding mask and a torch. She's not that poor then. Good.
Also oh Gods why would you even think of developing imitation leather in a pony society what are you even imitating you're not predators WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU APPLEJACK.
Fucking nailed it.
AJ has maimed quite the quota of unicorns, I see.
Also, Twi, yer braggin.
Yaddah yaddah Bioshock again I'm still wacky. Paralel with Twi's conversation with Spike, at the start of the chapter? Dunno if that adds anything, thematically speaking, because Twi is not AJ's servant. Probably a coincidence.
I recognize that pun! Dunno if you're referencing it, or if it's a happy coincidence. But still!
AJ is pretty fucking monothematic, isn't she?
I love how the implications here are that food is not "vital". Eating is a mere annoyance, something you have to do as quickly and efficientely as possible so you can move on to the important stuff.
Simpleton savant. Now that's one I hadn't heard before.
Also, that's more like your Twilight. Hah. I knew it. She can't suddenly be a mare with a heart of gold.
That is one master pun. Also HAHAHAH APPLEJACK YOU'RE A FUCKING HILLBILLY. HAH.
Celestia equals God, though? Interesting, Might just be a phrasing, though, so I won't make any assumptions.
Look, economically speaking? Applejack is in the wrong here. Sure, her apples are better, but they take longer, are more expensive, and there are fewer. Develop a brand, make sure to advertise your shit as deluxe apples, and then you might survive in the market -- but if the consumers clearly don't mind changing quality for quantity, then no work ethics is going to save ya.
Don't act good. Act smart. This is business, Applejack. You gotta learn how to play the game.
"Spark" is a proper name here. I'm guessing Edison. Well, "guessing". I know it's Edison, but you know the game. If they talk about bulbs and all...
Also, yes, AJ, you were very convincing. Now do that in public, and develop a good marketing strategy. God, it's as if you wanted to be poor. No wonders Twi sees you as a simpleton.
Yeah, sorry. Economist and lawyer yere. I've been trained to see that as a bad thing.
Sure, humans with "hearts" and "self-respect" might think otherwise, but Applejack is poor, so checkmate, buddy.
Oh. Hey. Turns out I'm one of the villains in the story.
Well, fuck. My mother warned me about this. Should've listened to the old woman instead of selling her for a couple coins.
WELL EXCUSE US FOR SPENDING OUR TIME DOING NOTHING FOR SOCIETY AND SUPPORTING THE SYSTEM THAT CAUSES DEPRESSION AND DEHUMANIZATION EVERYWHERE. Seriously, you create an elitist group that fucks up everything that's not included in that elitist group, and suddenly you're the bad guy.
HAH! Foreshadowing. When Rarity appears, betcha she's a noblemare that actually thinks. And clutches purses.
Clutches all the purses.
I've always thought that, out of the Maney Six, Twilight would get along with Applejack far more than with the others. Rarity and Pinkie are close seconds, though.
Woah. Hey, that's cute.
Makes my Spike-is-just-a-loquacious-dog theory more plausible, too.
D'aaaw. This is not as sad as it's cute. She made her first friend!
ALSO HAHAHAHHA SPIKE IS NOT THERE. Seriously, poor guy. He does the best he can, and yet he's never rewarded. I'd feel pity for him if I wasn't laughing so hard.
oh never have i wanted to smack a pony more than i do right now
oh twilight please! please! beat his ass into the ground then get the princess to arrest him followed shortly by taking every bit he owns then giving it to pinkie
5696507
Probably not bell, but Edison