Entry 8, End (Dragonapped)
Long story short; no. Ponies do not understand the universal signal for “Going my way?”
What they do understand, however, is the telltale signs of a lost little filly.
It took me several grueling hours of walking before I came across ponies kind enough to offer me a ride home, and another hour after that before I returned to Ponyville proper, so I think it's safe to say that I’ve had enough time to digest this weird day, as well as form an opinion of it. From the rare highs to the never-ending lows, and all the awkward in-betweens; my encounter with Artemis will no doubt go down as one of the strangest, if not the strangest, series of events this diary will ever see.
I'm knocking on wood while writing this, just to be safe.
After everything that went down between Artemis and I though, from starting off as enemies to ending up as reluctant friends acquaintances, I’m left wondering how much weirder my life can possibly get past this point before my episode knowledge either runs out or becomes unusable. Whether the choices I made were ultimately the right ones is another topic plaguing my mind too, but that’s nothing new. Obviously not everything went off without a hitch and, par the course, I was left with a whole lot more questions than answers, but I recognize that things could have gotten a lot worse if I hadn’t fought back, or if I had been too forgiving.
I have to hone my messes, not fear them.
Can’t believe it was Artemis of all ponies who taught me that.
He also said I should think of my curse as my cutie mark instead, now that I think about it… Note to self: work on drawing skills so I can gift The Poisoned Barb with an emblem of some kind. Possible ideas: Fireball, Quill, Phoenix… D, all of the above?
Speaking of Artemis, him traveling past Southern Equestria as a pegasus pony is still something I’m trying to wrap my head around. It’s a development that doesn’t fit the show nearly as neatly as, say, Artemis staying locked in his room until Nightterror Night does; but, as I’ve written many times before, this world is alive and constantly on the move. Ponies don’t simply disappear when the camera isn’t on them. They have lives, and even adventures all their own. Never has this been made more apparent than it does right now, as the Prince of the Night journeys forth to become the stallion he wants to be.
I’m still uncertain how this change will affect Equestria’s future though, or even how Prince Solaris will react to his baby brother’s sudden disappearance...
… If those were the only questions left hanging after all of this I’d call it a night right here and now, and work next on getting some much needed shut eye… But, of course, they weren't.
They weren't by a long shot.
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Clipclopclipclopclopclipclopclopclipclop
Leaning over the side of the carriage, Golden Oaks speeds rapidly into my view as the fancy wagon I’m riding in hurtles down one of Ponyville’s many bumpy roads. Wind batters my eyes as I gaze upwards towards the sky above, and watch as the clouds slowly dissipate thanks to the efforts of the local Weather Team.
Oh my gosh! If they’re only now working on clearing that up, t-that must mean the boys completed their quest, and are almost home!
I’m cutting it uncomfortably close here… but at least I’m cutting it at all!
SSSsssccccccccceeeeeerrrrr
… Fump
Clip clop clip
With a slight jerk the large stallions pulling the carriage suddenly halt, allowing my ride to come to a complete and safe stop. With my purse securely strapped over my shoulder, and diary in tow, I exit the vehicle in style with a leap out the window. Landing on my feet outside my home, I about-face just in time to respectfully address my savior.
“Thanks again for picking me up, Miss Pish Posh!” I call out to the carriage’s owner, still hidden within. “You really saved me!”
The phthalo, bluish gray mare sticks her hoof out from the windowsill, and waves pleasantly back to me.
Thinking that would be the extent of my interaction with her, I take a step towards the library, only to be surprised when she calls back to me with, “Think nothing of it, dearie!”
The refined earth pony then laughed all haughty-like, though the last hour I spent with her has taught me to recognize it as the genuine showing of respect that it is, instead of anything spiteful.
“We were circling back to Canterlot anyways for some missing luggage, so it was no trouble to us at all," she reassured me, not for the first time. "Right boys?”
The stallions whinny loudly in reply, confirming that they felt the same way as their boss on this.
“Still though,” I insist, not wanting the kindness to go unrewarded. “I really owe you a lot, ma’am!”
“Oh think nothing of it!” the pony with the fan cutie mark insists back, sticking her sunglasses adorned face out of the carriage this time to bid me a proper farewell. “Your creatively torn purse was quite the sight to behold, as too those gorgeous scales of yours!” again she laughs pompously. “They really invigorated my passion for critiquing… Honestly I feel that I’m the one who still owes you!”
“O-oh,” I blush as I reply, not really used to being called gorgeous anymore. “Well, in that case… Can I maybe get your a… a-autograph? N-not for me though!” I quickly tack on, waving my claws back and forth in embarrassment. “That would be too selfish! But… maybe I can get one for that friend I told you about? The one who liked your costume choices in-”
Flit flit
Before I could finish, a single scrap of paper descends from the cart’s window and floats its way slowly into my open talons. Upon catching it, I’m pleased to discover that it reads “To Gleaming Shield, from The Pish Posh; Stay Uniquely You.”
“Don’t be a stranger now, Little Miss Dragon!”
Clipclopclipclopclopclipclopclopclipclop
Yanking my eyes away from the signed letter, I catch the sight of the pony's light grey mane disappearing back into her carriage shortly before the stallions pulling it sped their way off to Canterlot.
“... Wow,” I whisper in awe, starstruck. “Gleam is going to be soooo jealous…”
…
… Oh right the episode!
Stowing my prize into my ‘creatively’ torn purse, I dash to the library’s door and quickly head inside.
“Barb!” cried out Red Gala, her appearance surprising me greatly. “Yer okay!”
“Yup!” I cried back from the doorway... and almost cried literally, if I’m being honest. “Got my diary back too!”
“Eeyup?”
“Yup!” I cheer, before taking in my surroundings...
… Oh I’m half tempted to kiss this beautiful mare! She cleaned up the library while I was gone… Weeeellll not completely; there’s still a lot of books out of place, and a lot of fur all over everything… but damn it all if it’s not the thought that counts!
“The boys will be back any minute!” I shout hurriedly, resulting in my friend now galloping towards the door. “Take the back roads and they’ll probably not spot you!” Saying nothing in reply, Red almost makes it outside completely before I stop her with a cry of “Wait!”
Turning back towards me, I’m able to catch the big red mare just in time to hug her leg tightly.
“You’re the best,” I speak truthfully, squeezing her as tenderly as my miniscule arms can manage. “Literally best pony, without a doubt.”
“Hehe… Eeyup,” she agrees softly, and nuzzles my cheek lovingly, before heading on her way.
Now alone in the library, I take a nice deep breath, and mentally prepare myself for Dusk’s return.
Let me think… Twilight returned to Ponyville at the same time as her friends after Fluttershy convinced the dragon to leave. That was pretty much the entire end of the episode, outside of some last second joke at Rainbow Dash’s expense if I’m remembering that right...
… Hope I haven’t forgotten anything important…
…
...
… Squeak.
Startled by a light noise, I look downwards towards the source…
… and quickly spot Angelica The Bunny...
… Ooooooh she does not look happy to see me.
“...”
“... H… H-hey there, dear,” I try to talk calmly, hiding my newfound fear. “Now, I know I haven’t watched you as closely as I promised I would, b-but you can still stay nice and behaved for me for, like, ten more minutes… Right?”
“...”
“... Please?”
“...”
“... I’ll buy you carrots for a week…”
“...”
“... A month?”
“...”
“... A-a year?”
“...”
“...”
… Angelica then put a furry paw up to her lips…
Fffffffff
… and produced a shrill whistle.
…
...
… Rumblerumblerumblerumble
This sent the rest of the animals into a mad frenzy.
Rumblerumblerumblerumble
One that was aimed squarely my way.
Rumblerumblerumblerumble
Rumblerumblerumblerumble
“OH YOU DEMENTED SPAWN OF SATA-”
Rumblerumblerumblerumble!!!!
“Ahhhh!!!”
~Ten Minutes Later~
“Hhhhuuuuhh… huuuhhhh… huuuuuhhh... I-I said come back here!” I tiredly rage at the snow colored ringleader. Running forward, I make a jumping leap towards her.
Angelica retaliates to my charge by simply hopping over me.
Whomp!
“OOh!”
This results in me crashing headfirst into yet another bookshelf...
… Unlike the five other times she managed to pull this trick on me though, this time I came prepared! Reaching upwards at the last second, I at last manage to capture the damnable trouble maker. “How does Butterscotch put up with you furry little things?!” I ask honestly, as my prize tries to escape my grasp.
Seriously though, how does he?! Sure his other animals are mostly well behaved, but one little push by this tiny piece of trash and they suddenly go berserk?! What the hell?! Why does Butters tolerate such a worthless, and annoying, little bitc-
“Barb, take a letter.”
?!
Whipping my head downwards from the loft, I’m greeted with the most wondrous sight I’ve seen all day long:
The sight of Dusk home, safe and sound.
Sighing loudly, releasing Angelica in the process, I pull a quill and scroll out of my purse as I exhaustedly reply; “With pleasure.”
Wasting no time, his excitement evident, my favorite purple unicorn begins to dictate his message to his mentor. “Dear Prince Solaris.” Ohhhhhh music to my ears. “I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country, and that it was my good friend, Butterscotch, who convinced her to go.” Yes yes yes! It’s the same letter this time! No weird changes! No new lesson! No canon violations!
I’m so happy I could cry~
“This adventure has taught me to never lose faith in your friends,” Dusk reports dreamily, recalling his own journey far more fondly than I ever will with mine. “They can be an amazing source of strength, and can help you overcome even your greatest fears.”
My writing ceases momentarily as my thoughts drift elsewhere...
… Red Gala…
Never lose faith in your friends, huh…?
… Snrk
Looks like I learned that lesson today too!
“Always your faithful student; Dusk Shine,” my first pony friend finishes his letter strongly, encouraging me to pick up my pace on the transcribing.
“Dusk!” suddenly cried out Applejack’s voice, the source of which coming from outside. “Yah gotta come see this!”
His letter forgotten, Dusk gallops his way over to the windowsill and sticks his head out through it. From my seat on the steps leading up to the loft, I chuckle quietly at my charge’s enthusiasm as I finish drafting up his latest friendship letter.
A quick scan over it with my eyes produces no noticeable spelling errors, thank goodness, so all I have to do is slap a scroll seal on this baby and the episode will officially be over! Awesome! Fishing around in my purse, I look for one of Solaris’ seals…
… only to stumble on the special one from this morning.
“Oh, right,” I giggle to myself. “Totally forgot all about this extra one.”
Right right; Solaris usually doesn’t send return seals with his messages, but he did this time with the letter from this morning…
… The… letter from this morning…
… The one that started Dragonshy…
… The one that convinced the boys to leave Ponyville for most of the day…
… The one that gave Artemis the opportunity to invade my dreams…
… The one to blame for all of this insanity…
…
…
… Hurriedly I yank the letter in question, the one from ‘Solaris’, out of my bag and look at it more closely than I ever did this morning.
“Thy village,” I read out loud what’s on the page. “Posthaste… We implore yon…”
This…
… T-this is Artemis’ horn writing! I recognize it from his journal! It’s beyond flowery, and covered in so much Royal We that it’s ridiculous!
How did I not realize this until now?! It was literally staring me in the face from the very beginning!
“That must mean,” I think loudly, my head now buzzing too much to concentrate. “that this scroll seal…”
The seal in my claw, the one that came from this very letter; instead of Solaris, it must go straight to Artemis! Yeah… Yeah I can picture it now! It was probably some kind of failsafe to prevent his brother from learning that he sent the Elements away on a quest! If Dusk had written ‘as you commanded of us’, or something similar, it would have blown a gigantic hole in Princy's master plan!
Ugh! I’m so stupid…
… but at least it looks like Artemis can come up with a long term plan when he actually puts his mind to it, and that thought grants me a little comfort concerning his journey. Also, as a bonus, I have a way to contact him directly with this scroll seal if ever the need arises!
Having an emergency line to a prince who isn’t Solaris might prove to be useful someday… when he gets his horn back, at least. Doesn’t help me much if he can receive but not send...
…
… But… wait a second…
… Artemis sending Dusk this letter... means that Solaris didn’t send one.
All day long, while smoke covered the blue sky, Solaris did… nothing.
He didn’t send the boys to take care of the dragon, he didn’t send his army or Wonderbolts to take care of the issue, he didn’t even send a letter addressing the dragon at all!
Solaris did… nothing.
Solaris… didn’t start Dragonshy.
Artemis did…
…
… My letter about Stardust wasn’t the catalyst, the snoring dragon was.
Artemis… started Dragonshy… to get to me…
...
… Artemis… started Dragonshy.
Artemis… started Dragonshy.
Solaris never sent a letter.
Solaris didn’t start Dragonshy.
Artemis… started Dragonshy…
… Solaris never sent a letter...
… which means Celestia never sent a letter either…
… which means that Luna was the one who started Dragonshy instead…
...
Luna… started Dragonshy…
Princess Luna started Dragonshy…
...
… N-... N-no.
That… T-that doesn’t make any sense!
Luna sent a letter to Twilight?!
Luna tricked the girls into leaving Ponyville?!
Luna… Luna broke into the library for… for…
… Spike?
...
… B-but why w-would she do that?? He’s… h-he’s just a kid!
He’s… just a kid…
… Just a kid…
…
… Like… L-like I’m ‘just’ a kid…
…
…
“... Barb? Did you send my letter?”
“Yes!” I screech a tad too loudly directly into Dusk’s face. “Y-yes! Totally did!”
This startles Dusk greatly…
… but, with a pony shrug, he drops the subject all together as he starts to make his way downstairs. “Take a nap, Barb,” he commands, departing. “It looks like you could really use one.”
...
“... R… R-right,” I stutter back, long after he’s gone. “R-right.” Making my way over to my oh so comfy basket, I grip my head in a bid to suppress the fresh migraine that was threatening to tear my head in two. “Just… J-just need to sleep for a bit, and then everything will be okay...”
Look.
In case you haven’t noticed… I’ve had a bit of a day.
Instead of dwelling on what Spike may or may not be, or what happened in prime Equestria, or even whether Artemis is going to be okay; let’s just… take a little nap, shall we?
Just a little nap to clear the old head.
Just a little nap to rest the weary soul.
Just a little nap to relax the writing claw.
Just a little nap…
… before I prepare more readily for the upcoming weekend.
It looks like Stardust isn’t the only Seer Solaris and I are going to have to have a little chat about.
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~Journal Entry 0049 Final Page~
We are saddened to report that we have run out of our favorite blue ink, and will be forced to use our spare black one for much of the foreseeable future.
Our mouth writing is to blame for this unfortunate turn of events. Usually we are able to keep our thoughts within the confines of only one or two pages, but the loss of our horn has had the unfortunate side effect of taking from us our ability to keep our words together as neat and orderly as we are accustomed.
Though… now after transposing such… we suppose we shall be experiencing much in the coming weeks that will prove to be equally beyond that which we have grown accustomed.
We do not know what to expect once this train ride comes to an end, nor do we know if our quest will even grant us that which we are seeking in the first place. Mount Aris is quite a ways away, after all, and we are severely under prepared for this adventure… Nonetheless, we shall strive to hold our head up high as we venture forth into the great unknown. If we are to succeed we must recall often, and always keep close to our heart, the reasoning behind this grand undertaking of ours; the reasoning behind it all.
Thus we shall transpose our goals here for our future self’s benefit, so that we may never forget the ideals we now wish to live by:
We journey forth to become a better Prince, as beloved as brother.
We journey forth to become a better stallion, as gentlecoltly as is expected of us.
We journey forth to become a better pony, as worthy of friendship as any other.
And we journey forth to become a better Artemis, as clever as necessary…
... so that we may one day decipher the mystery of Barbara D. Burns.
Brother’s Squire is not who she says she is, that much is certain. We grossly fibbed about only skimming her diary, when in reality we managed to read a few pages. She writes of the same subjects as Starswirl, and possesses similar views concerning life and death. We art convinced now that us reading The Poisoned Barb was preordained by brother, whose invisible hoof gently guided us as such. To what ends we are still uncertain… but that is as far as we’ll allow him to go. We will not steal from Barbara a second time, now that we are aware of how much she has lost already.
In fact, when next our paths cross, we pray that we will have grown enough to become the ally her old soul so desperately needs.
It’s humorous, when we stop to think about it. We sought out the young Seer this day so that a path forward might become clear, only for us to get exactly what we wished for in a manner we could have never imagined. Fate truly is an unpredictable thing, despite what many a Seer have claimed.
But that is enough meandering for one eve. We must depart now to bed, less our sleep cycle not adjust itself accordingly. Tomorrow will most assuredly prove to be quite arduous as our journey begins in earnest, thus we must prepare ourself wherever we can...
… One final thought, before we retire this day:
We have never felt the need to do such until now, but since this entry marks a great turning point in our recovery… Oh, what the hell?
Good night, dear journal.
May the stars forever guide our path.
Sincerely,
- Prince Artemis of Equestria
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~At the Same Time, Underneath the Same Sky~
“... So then I, um, gripped her muzzle in my hooves… and flipped her right out of her cave.”
Angelica rolled her eyes at this, continuing to munch on her gifted carrot with a bored expression and not much else.
Butterscotch’s ears droop lowly thanks to this.
“W-well I thought it was impressive,” the large stallion mumbled under his breath, disappointed that his bunny friend was not as enamored by his story as he thought she would be. “Fully grown dragons are heavy.”
Still Angelica chewed uncaringly.
“... Okay,” the yellow pegasus shrank away. “She wasn’t that heavy, b-but I didn’t want to tell the guys that…”
Swallowing, Angelica finished her carrot. Tapping a foot against the ground, she demanded another. Complying, Butters made his way over to his cottage’s kitchen to fetch just that.
“... Oh!” he suddenly gasped halfway through delivering the orange vegetable. “Speaking of dragons, how did Barb treat you all today?”
Various squeaks, tweets, and parakeets cried out in reply, as every animal fought one another to share their many different takes first.
“O-one at a time,” Butters asked softly, only rewarding him with louder cries. “I… I-I can’t hear any of you when you get like this!”
Stomp stomp
Ever the ringleader, Angelica’s pounding foot quickly ceased all the racket.
“T-thanks,” whimpered the pink maned stallion. “Angelica, can you please summarize what everycreature is trying to say... please?”
Though she felt the need to roll her eyes once again, Angelica complied. Butterscotch listened carefully to his little friend's squeaks and gestures, as he tried to understand what she was attempting to say.
Eventually, a detail came to light that startled the pegasus greatly.
“Big… red… mare?” the pony in the home tilted his head, trying to picture the scene. “There was a big red mare at the library…?”
Suddenly, a light bulb goes off in his head
“Oh! That must have been Applejack’s sister, Red Gala!” Butters deduced easily, proud of himself for having put two and two together. “She’s a good friend of Barb’s,” he feels the need to explain for Angelica. “She’s very big, and strong… and… a-and pretty…”
This time Angelica didn’t resist the urge to roll her eyes.
“... Ahem… Barb must have asked for help when things got too much for her to handle,” the stallion went on, heedless of his bunny friend’s lack of caring. “That was a very adult decision she made!”
In the blink of an eye, Butter’s surprise quickly turned to disappointment, as a thought then crossed his mind.
“A-and I said she wasn’t up to the task,” the now sadden pony lowered his head, crestfallen. “That was a really mean thing for me to say… M-maybe I should ask Dusk what her favorite gems are, and surprise her with some.”
Angelica tapped Butter’s leg.
“I-I bet Elusive could help me find them!”
Angelica pulled on Butter’s tail.
“Then I can tell her how sorry I am for doubting her!”
Angelica yanked on Butter’s beard.
“That’s perfect!” Butters cheered, lowering his raised wings. “I better make plans to meet with Elusive tomorrow then-”
Whomp whomp whomp
“... Ow,” Butters muttered quietly, having just been struck in the face by an angry bunny. “Angelica, that wasn’t very nice.”
Uncaring, the small furry animal began to wave her arms up and down, and squeak out another important detail...
… one that the pony couldn’t easily envision.
“...”
“...”
“... A… a blue coated stallion... with a light blue mane... was there too...?”
Angelica nodded enthusiastically, before jumping upwards and yanking the carrot still grasped in her friend’s hoof away. Allowing his bunny to do what she wants, as was the norm, Butterscotch stared off blankly into space as his mind raced to picture what he had just been told.
“Blue coat… and blue mane... A blue stallion… Blue stallion...
“... Why does that sound…
“.... familiar…?”
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~In Another Time, In Another Place~
Twinkle twinkle twinkle
Cobalt blue light bathed the subterranean laboratory, casting strange shadows against the walls. Reflected off of many a science beaker, the alicorn’s magic buzzed ominously as it’s caster debated on how best to shape it. To escape and be branded a coward, or to fight back and ALSO be branded a coward…
… in Princess Luna’s mind, her options were slim.
Twinkle twinkle twinkle
Tied to a chair, thoroughly outsmarted, pastry lanced through her very horn; the mare had certainly seen better days.
And it was all thanks to one, poor, decision.
A decision she needed to rectify.
A decision she needed erased.
Twinkle twinkle twink-
Luna made up her mind.
Peace was never an option.
Soon her magic ran up her opponent’s arm, engulfing it fully in her aura. Dragging the victim ever closer towards her bindings, victory would soon be assured…
… Yet Luna knew well that her battle was not of one front, but two.
Twinkletwinkletwinkle
Specifically the front and the back of her forced sitting position.
“Ahhh, there art thou,” the Princess threatened the hidden pony behind her, his hindleg now similarly captured in powerful magic. Shooting the earth pony stallion with a menacing side glance, Luna then taunted her assailant simply out of spite. “Striking a lady is most unbecoming of a gentlecolt, dear.”
“Let him go!”
Whipping her eyes back towards the youngest in the room, the first victim, the alicorn’s spell increased in strength as she began to lift the child up into the air. One little enchantment would be all it would take to leave him dazed, and susceptible to her memory erasing spell. Though she truthfully felt bad for things having gone oh so very poorly, the temptation of simply starting over was too great for her to deny. In her mind, the ends would justify the means if it meant her latest blunder could be completely covered up.
The child’s ally, however, being an Apple born of an honest line and an honest soul, was not the sort of friend to take such an injustice lying down.
“Nnope,” he spoke softly, gritting his teeth. Using his massive well of strength, both physical and inner, the red pony then grunted silently as he willed his magically ensnared leg to support his entire weight. Flipping skywards, the stallion craned his neck to better spot his new target. With momentum carrying him through a controlled barrel rotation, he then stuck out his one free leg…
Twinkletw-
Whomp
… and gently tapped Luna right on the horn with it, ceasing her magic.
The Princess hardly had a second to register the halting of her spell before the stallion was on her, gripping her tightly in what she passingly recalled to be a sleeper hold.
Before her senses were robbed from her, before she reawakened shortly thereafter with only a minor hornache, and before she even realized she was on a train heading straight to Canterlot Luna observed one small detail about her shadowy assailant; a detail that stunned her greatly, and haunted her long after.
The stallion's eyes had contained no malice.
Only pity.
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And thus, Arty died, and Barb somehow managed to avoid every other danger that could’ve killed her. And grew up to marry Jason, again, not reincarnated, not a clone, just another Jason sitting there.
10654929
Ixnay on the spoilers ay...
...
...
I cannot shake the feeling that Jason may turn out to be Spike. I know it probobly won't line up but it still seems like the most logical parallel for Luna to suspect that Spike is a seer.
So Luna didn't lose her horn, another divergence for Barbs actions.
What does this all mean...
Oh, neat. Another way it differs
10654975
But from the looks of it, it wasn't from barb's actions, but from big Mac. The male version of him is too much of a gentlecolt to go all out. Just like how pinky pie laughed at the trees instead of burning them like her male counterpart.
Hell yeah!
So the next five chapters are coming out one after another next week, right? Right?
10655162
H-hehe
heheh
heh...
...
... *Collapses face first on the ground and sleeps for at least a month*
So much to absorb...It's almost overwhelming.
Well, I'm happy that i decided to pit off this story for a time.
Now I've read up Dragonapped in one sitting.
Well, that dilation with the "canon" is certainly intruding and was unexpected.
And it was unexpected that alicornhood was so fragile.
10655150
Or its because Spike didn't try to stay awake at the ssc, not causing the event that filled BM with malice for his younger sisters tormenter.
10655387
Say goodnight, our little miracle person!
Cheers!
Looks like Barbara isn’t the only one hiding the truth from others.
What is your game, Solaris? What is you, Solaris? Tell me your secrets! That no one should hear. Whisper them - softly - into my ear.
I won’t tell....
10655734
Come closer.
Closer.
Closer...
...
...
.... I look dashing in filly lingerie
Gotta say, it's really weird seeing Barb's full name, cause it very nearly puts mine front and center.
Course, this means that when I did, I get reborn as a female dragon.
...
...
I am fine with this.
10655765
D'oh ho, my! That is a nasty habit!
Wait a moment... filly lingerie?! Isn't that illegal?
10656089
I AM THE LAW...
... My drawing skills suck, so it's your responsibility to imagine a red-bearded, male Celestia wearing the Judge Dread helmet for me; kay thanks bye.
10655855
May we be scaly clutch sisters in the next life
10654975
It means Tempest may get some help sooner, if Artemis figures out how to debust a horn.
10674189
oh you tease
I am finding myself thrown for a loop by these alternative viewpoint sections from the end of these chapters of your story. At this chapter, I was wondering at each one you added, is it Artemis? Is it Luna from the primary universe we know? Is it something new entirely? With the "another time and another place" and mentions of a laboratory, until it was explicitly stated, I was torn between it being Luna stuck in Twilight's basement, or either female or male version of Starswirl the Bearded (since s/he was mentioned prominently as a likely case of human into Equestria reincarnation, and it did mention another time, it didn't seem too far out of the realm of possibility).
My conclusion: parallel universe story telling is confusing.
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Hmmm... You know what? I think we're far enough along in the story for me to finally spell out what the hell the ~In Another Time, In Another Place~ stuff ACTUALLY is.
Spoilers below only because I'm about to cover a good chunk of the story up to Entry 8. Not really going to be covering anything major for the future, but I WILL be hinting at one or two things like I usually do ^_^
Now... Onwards!
So there's been a lot of hints towards this being the case over the years, but I'll 100% confirm it now; ~In Another Time, In Another Place~ are glimpses into canon Equestria. No edits, no divergences, just plain old vanilla Equestria with plain old vanilla Spike. The reason behind this is two fold:
First off, these peeks are meant to ground Barbara's actions, and make it clear that she's not all that different from her dimensional brother. Declaring themselves not slaves, riding atop Applejack's older sibling into the Everfree Forest, being comforted by their charge during Dragonshy; no matter how crazy or out there Barb's journey may get, ~IAT,IAP~ is there to remind us that Spike went through much of the same behind the scenes.
This is an important detail to remember as we move on to reason number two, of which being the highlighting of major canon divergences.
Sweetie Belle ignored Spike while Sweepy Belle became Barbara's friend, Trixie's mother was a major figure in her life while the Trixster had both a mother and a father, and, most recently, Big Mac knocked out Luna while Red Gala dehorned Artemis... ~IAT,IAP~ has shown us where canon has split, but the evidence behind the WHY is still elusive (pun intended). The clues have become harder to locate in each instance, and this will continue to be the case moving forward! Sweepy's is easy enough to solve due to his prior meeting with Barb in the dream realm... but the rest... Well the rest ARE solvable, but only just for now. They'll be easier to solve in time as more puzzle pieces make themselves known...
... Aaaannnnd I hope that kinda broke these down well enough for everyone! Definitely don't want to leave people scratching their heads if I can avoid it... but darn it all if I don't love my mysteries
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to go over these in a little bit more detail
This entire story arc has been the funniest and most gripping fiction I've read in months. The entire thing went from drama thriller, to mind games, to hinting at the fate of history itself, to action train ride, to two kids arguing, until it just went to the end with its many zingers and great quotes. This was just great. The best this story has to offer yet.
I cannot wait to hear all of Artemis' storied and ridiculous adventures mentioned offhand, when he next appears in like, 200,000 words or something.
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200k words...
... That's a pretty generous estimate, don't ya think?
Silliness aside, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Obviously not every future arc is going to be quite this out there, but I'd like to think some of the upcoming ones in Act One will be pretty darn close. Hope you'll enjoy them too!
See you then