Twilight knew, at that moment, that the word “impossible” had officially left her vocabulary. Hearing that she had a doppelganger in an alternate dimension was one thing, but actually having her stumble out of a statue, babbling about time loops was another thing altogether.
There was a long moment where the two just looked at each other, and all Twilight could do was give herself a simple wave, feeling like a complete dork while doing so. The others present, which included her friends, their little sisters, and Spike, were watching with amusement.
“Quick, make out with yourself!”
All eyes turned to Pinkie.
“What? Don’t act like you’re not thinking it.”
Princess Twilight blushed. “Yes, well... look, it’s very nice to meet you, Other Me, but before we can exchange pleasantries, I need an explanation.”
“An explanation?” Sunset asked, her confusion mirrored by the others.
“Yeah, I have to go to the outskirts of Equestria, and when I get back, Princess Celestia tells me that holes in reality appeared all over the country, and they all peaked in here. Care to explain?”
Twilight felt a pit of ice in her stomach. This new her was a princess, and she had endangered her kingdom. Would this other her put her in shackles and drag her back to her kingdom to face trial? Still, she knew she had to tell her the truth.
“It was my fault,” she said, trying to sound steady.
Princess Twilight looked at her with surprise. “Your fault?”
Sunset cut in. “No it wasn’t... well, not entirely. It’s a long story. Everything’s better now, really. Sit down and we’ll tell you everything.”
Princess Twilight looked confused, but nodded. She began to sit down, but another figure stumbled out of the portal.
The group jumped. They had been expecting Spike to follow, but instead it was another boy, one who was clad in gold plated armor.
“What the... Flash!”
Everyone blinked at the Princess’s words. Then they gasped when the boy, still on all fours, lifted his head up. It was indeed Flash Sentry, though clearly not the same one from their world.
“Your Highness, you shouldn’t be here alone!”
Princess Twilight actually placed her hand on her face. “Flash, as I told you: as far as anyone is concerned, I’m an ordinary high school student here,” she said as the new Flash worked to raise himself onto his legs. “The only thing you’re accomplishing is making me a target. Look, are you wearing regular clothes underneath that armor?”
Captain Flash brought a hand up to his collar and, with some difficulty, peered down. He nodded, though Twilight could already see he was wearing jeans and tennis shoes.
“Good. Take it off. I brought a storage bag, you can put it in.”
As Captain Flash began to obey, Apple Bloom spoke. “Our Flash ain’t going to like this.”
“Is he around?” Princess Twilight asked, suddenly interested. Then, seeing the smug looks, she blushed. “Not that it’s important.”
Applejack stepped forward. “So yer the pony’s world’s Flash?”
Having peeled off his armor, he nodded. “Captain Flash Sentry of the newly appointed Twilight Guard, assigned to be a personal bodyguard to Princess Twilight Sparkle.” He placed his chest plate in a bag that looked much too small for it, but seemed to slip in anyway.
“Wow... you look almost like our Flash,” the cowgirl said. “Yer eyes wanderin’, Twi?”
Princess Twilight blushed. So did Twilight. The ‘almost’ part of Applejack’s assessment came from the fact that this Flash had considerable more muscle on him. He was still wobbling a bit, standing on two legs was a new experience for him, but his military discipline was serving him well.
“Um... well... nevermind. Tell me what happened... huh?”
No one had noticed, but Spike had gone up to the new Twilight. “Cool! There are two Twilights? Are you as cool as my Twilight? Is there another Spike? Is there another Fluttershy?”
The baffled Princess Twilight look at the dog, eventually bending down to scratch his ears. “So there’s another Spike... and he can talk. Why can he talk?”
Twilight smiled. “Well... that’s part of the story...”
Sunset smiled. “Like I said, long story. Come on, sit down. I brought extra sandwiches... all vegetarian, I assure you.”
Princess Twilight sat, taking an offered sandwich. Captain Flash, however, stood at attention, combing the area for potential threats. Though... Twilight could swear that he was looking at her specifically. Probably stunned by a copy
So, for the next half hour, the girls took turns telling their new visitor what had happened. Twilight spent most of it in silence, refusing to look at her doppelganger for fear of scorn at her recklessness. When they finished, Princess Twilight spoke.
“When I was in magic kindergarten, I had to get glasses. When I went in, all the other made fun of me. I went home in tears, yelled that I didn’t want to wear them anymore, and stormed into my room. The next morning, I suddenly had 20/20 vision.”
Twilight blinked. “Really?”
Princess Twilight nodded. “When I told Princess Celestia years later, she concluded all my magic must have been subconsciously worked into fixing my eyes. It makes sense that a large dose of magic fixed yours.”
Twilight blinked. She didn’t even seem mad.
“Sunset, do you have your journal with you?” The girl in question held it up. “Good. Send a message to Spike that it’s all clear and he can come through.”
Spike, who had gone back to his master after it was clear how scared she was, perked up. “There is another Spike?”
Princess Twilight nodded. “He’s actually a baby dragon who turns into a dog when he comes here like I turn into a human.”
Twilight blinked. “A dragon.” The disbelief was evident.
Princess Twilight nodded, a proud look on her face. “I hatched him myself when I was a filly.”
“You’re gonna have to get used to weird stuff when the Princess is around,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Rainbow, I don’t like my friends calling me Princess...”
“Yeah, well, I can’t just call you Twilight anymore, so it looks like you’re Princess from now on.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but she gave it up. “Fine... just don’t start bowing and scraping, please.”
“Um... am I in trouble?” Twilight asked. Princess just looked at her. “Well, I did cause trouble for your kingdom...”
“Oh no, I’m not mad,” she assured. “I probably would have done something just as reckless before Princess Celestia trained me. If there was anyone I’d want to drag back to Equestria for punishment, it would be this Cinch... speaking of which, I think I’ll check the Equestria census to track down her pony self. Best not take chances.”
Twilight felt relieved.
“See? Nothing to worry about,” Sunset said.
Twilight blushed, feeling a little foolish.
“So, are there human versions of Shining Armor and Cadance too?” the Princess asked.
Twilight smiled. “Oh yes. They’re the best brother and sister-in-law I could ask for. They’ve been taking good care of me ever since Mom and Dad died...”
“What?” Princess suddenly shouted, much to everyone’s surprise. “Mom and Dad... they’re.... dead here?”
Twilight was shocked silent for a few moments. “Yes. Wait... are they... still alive where you’re from?” Her emotions were wheeling. Her parents alive in some form? Was that... would they be the same...
Princess Twilight was silent for a moment. “Applejack... your mom and dad... are they alive?”
Applejack looked confused. “Of course, Prin... wait... are you sayin’...” The cowgirl couldn’t finish. She looked sick. Apple Bloom looked equally disturbed, and ran to hug her big sister.
Suddenly Scootaloo was in front of the Princess. “What about me and Rainbow’s parents? Are they still around?”
This was a day for confused expressions. “What do you... are you and Rainbow sisters?”
Rainbow Dash stepped forward. “Of course she’s my sister. Isn’t she where you’re from?”
Princess shook her head. “I’ve never met any of your parents, but I know you’re not sisters. Well... not biologically. The other Scootaloo practically worships the other Rainbow, but they’re not related.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve never met Rainbow Dash’s parents, but I know they’re still alive. Scootaloo... I don’t know. I never asked, I just assumed.”
There was a silence before Princess continued. “I know everypony else’s parents are still around, even if I’ve never met Pinkie’s or Fluttershy’s. Sweetie is still Rarity’s little sister, and Apple Bloom and Big Mac are Applejack’s siblings.”
She took another deep breath. “This is all so new... I need to put some research into everything back in Equestria. If we find out the link...”
And then the portal shimmered again. This time, it was the Equestrian Spike who came through.
“Hey everyone, I...”
And then, much to everyone’s surprise, someone else followed him.
It was a girl, one no one recognized. With light purple skin and dark purple hair with light blue streaks, all tied up in two pigtails. Her clothes were childishly simple, a white sundress with purple trim, and simple tennis shoes and stockings. She was young, younger than Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. In fact, she looked like she belonged in primary school rather than a high school.
“Starlight!” Princess said. She sounded upset as the girl got on all fours. “I told you to wait in the castle.” She looked at her Spike with a disapproving look.
“Hey, I didn’t let her follow me!” he protested.
“Um... I’m sorry, Princess. I just wanted to see the humans.” Starlight looked at her hands, wiggling her fingers experimentally.
Princess sighed, then grabbed one of the girl’s arms. “Get on your hind legs, sweetie. I told you, humans only walk on two.”
The young girl struggled, leaning on the Princess for support as she tried to stand it what must have been an unnatural position for her.
“Um, Twilight?” Sunset asked, sounding very confused. “Would you mind telling us why there’s a little girl following you?”
Twilight looked at the confused group of humans, then sighed. “This is Starlight Glimmer. She’s my new student... who was supposed to wait at the castle like I asked.”
“Awww....”
Fluttershy practically shoved the Princess out of the way so she could get a better look at the newcomer. “You are so cute.”
Starlight blushed. “Um, you look a lot like Miss Fluttershy,” she said, half hiding behind her mentor. “She’s really nice.”
“I am Fluttershy. Well, the one from here.”
“The Princess told me there were doubles... of...”
Starlight trailing off was due to her finally catching a sight of Twilight. Her eyes widened in shock as she hid behind her princess even further.
The Princess smiled. “Starlight, I wasn’t expecting this either, but this is my other self. Come on, say hi to her.”
Slowly, Starlight left the safety of her mentor and walked slowly to Twilight.
“Um... hi.”
“Hello there,” Twilight said.
“Are you a Princess too?”
Twilight blushed a little at that. “No, I’m just a high school student.”
Starlight tilted her head. “What’s high school?”
“It’s complicated,” the Princess said. She looked at the three youngest humans present. “Will you three please take her somewhere to have some fun? I need to talk to everyp... er, everyone a bit.”
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle looked annoyed. “Do we have to?”
Sunset stepped forward. “Do it, and I’ll consider it your ‘Anon-a-Miss’ service this week.”
The trio flinched but nodded.
“Anon-a-Miss?” Twilight asked.
“Go on and play, Starlight. You’re going to be grounded when we get back to Equestria for following me here, so I suggest you have fun.”
The young girl flinched, but nodded. “Okay,” she said.
Then, much to Twilight’s surprise, the young one turned back to her and hugged her around the neck. “Bye, Miss Twilight.”
Twilight was stunned for a moment, but hugged her back. “Goodbye.”
As Starlight was escorted away, the Princess spoke. “Anon-a-Miss? Are they still being punished for that?”
Sunset nodded. “They agreed to a full year. Besides, they’re done with everything else. But nevermind, where’d you pick up a student?”
Twilight sighed. “That’s another long story... and it’s why I sent her away. I don’t want her knowing the full story yet.”
“What are you talking about?” Sunset asked.
Princess Twilight took a deep breath. “The answer to that is nearly as complicated as the story you told me. You all better get comfortable.”
Everyone took their seats again. Except Fluttershy who picked up the new Spike. “Oh it’s good to see you again... hold on, I have something for you,” she said, reaching into her backpack. It was at this point that the new Spike noticed the other Spike.
“What th... I really am a dog in this universe?” he asked, sounding offended.
“And what’s wrong with being a dog?”
“Nothing if you’re a dragon first.”
“Well, I bet I’m still a better pet.”
“Yeah, you are, because I’m no pet. I’m an assistant.” As the Equestrian Spike spoke, Fluttershy hooked something around his collar. It was a red dog tag in the shape of a dragon.
“I picked it up a few days ago. I figured you’d come back through the portal eventually and I wanted some way to tell the two of you apart.”
The dragon Spike smiled. “Thanks, Fluttershy.”
Dog Spike huffed. “Doesn’t look that good.”
Dragon Spike huffed, but was mollified with a treat from Fluttershy. He took it and scampered back to his Twilight, munching on his prize.
After Dog Spike got his own treat and returned to his master’s side, the Princess spoke. “Okay... has Sunset told you what cutie marks are?”
Several girls shook their heads. Seeing this, the Princess reached into her bag and pulled out what looked like a thick book. One opened, it revealed itself to be a photo album. She pointed to one of what looked like pony versions of themselves standing together.
“Is that... us?” Rarity asked.
“No, that’s my world’s version of all of you.” She pointed to a yellow Pegasus that they all guessed was Fluttershy. “See those butterflies? That’s a cutie mark. Everypony has a different one, and they get them when they discover their special talent.”
“Wow, look at mine!” Rainbow Dash said, looking at a different picture.
“Aww, look!” Fluttershy said, pointing to a picture of the newly hatched Equestrian Spike, with a filly Twilight smiling at him. Fluttershy scooped up the dragon in question in a hug. “You look so cute!”
Dog Spike fumed. “I bet I looked cuter as a pup.”
The Princess chuckled. “We took that a few days after I hatched him. He liked to play in his old shell... but back on topic, a few months ago, a bit after we took care of the sirens, my friends and I were called up to this weird town where everypony had the same cutie mark that looked like an equal sign.”
Sunset shivered. “That sounds creepy.”
“That wasn’t the half of it. It turns out the town was the result of a pony that was forcibly removing cutie marks...”
“What?” Sunset actually looked sick.
“What’s the big deal? It’s just pictures...”
Sunset nearly rounded on Rainbow Dash. “How would you like it if I were to permanently break your legs? Or anything else that guaranteed you’d never play sports again?”
Now Rainbow Dash looked shocked. “That bad?”
“Oh yeah,” the Princess said. “When my cutie mark got removed, it felt horrible. Afterward I could barely use magic. It was like getting a piece of your soul ripped out.”
Sunset patted the Princess’s back. “Who was responsible for that?”
“You just met her. Starlight Glimmer.”
There was a long silence. “Uh... Twi? Not doubtin’ ya, but she seems pretty young...”
“I’m getting to that. We ended up exposing her as a fraud since she kept her cutie mark, but she managed to get away. Just a week ago she broke into my castle and trapped us both in a time loop. She was trying to stop my friends and I from getting our marks.
“Then, she made the mistake of showing me her past. It turns out that once, when she was a filly, her best friend got a cutie mark that let him go off to magic school. She didn’t have a family, no parents, she was all alone in an orphanage, and not a very good one at that. She had nopony left.
“I saw my chance there. I hit the adult Starlight with a spell that trapped her in crystal and ran to find the young one. It took some convincing, but I offered to train her and take her back to the present with me. By the time the adult Starlight could break free and stop me, she was already disappearing into the timestream.”
There was silence for a moment.
“So... you’re telling me you’re now raising what could very well be a future psychopath?” Sunset asked.
“That will be her decision,” the Princess said firmly. “I’m going to give her that second chance... what she does with it is her choice.”
Twilight blinked at that. It sounded a lot like what the others were saying.
“Are you sure it’s okay to leave Starlight alone with our sisters?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Relax. She has no memory of the other timeline, and the others don’t even remember going to her village. She’s just an ordinary filly now.”
“Ooh! I’m so jealous for the other me,” Pinkie said. “Since you’re a mommy, that means she gets to be an auntie! Ooh, I bet she spoils her niece rotten...”
“Pinkie,” the Princess said, blushing. “It’s not like that. I’m not a mother.”
“You seemed pretty motherly to her back there...” Applejack noted, a grin on her face.
“No, I just...”
“And you said you hatched Spike!” Pinkie said. “You must have looked pretty funny sitting on that egg! I tried doing that with a chicken egg, but all I ended up doing was smooshing it and...”
“I didn’t sit on his egg!” the Princess was blushing now. “I just have it a huge surge of magic that hatched him.”
“Hmm... sounds like you magically inseminated the egg,” Twilight noted.
The Princess nodded. “That’s right, I...”
“So, you wouldn’t technically be the mother. You’d be...”
“Don’t say it...” the Princess said.
“I was just saying you’d be...”
“I said don’t say it,” the Princess said.
Then Sunset grabbed the Princess’s shoulder from behind and shook her. “You’re the father!”
“You said it!” the Princess growled. Even Captain Flash looked amused. Dragon Spike fell to the ground and laughed.
The Princess glowered at her first charge, but eventually scooped him up in a hug. “You’re lucky you’re cute, Spike.”
After the laughter died down, the Princess spoke. “Well, enough tormenting me. Sunset, you said you were researching magic. How’s that going?”
“Very well, actually. In fact,” she walked over to Twilight, “thanks to her, I think we’re on the verge of a breakthrough.”
The Princess smiled. “Show me.”
Huh. An interesting twist on the season finale...which I have to say, I like better than the original.
The ripples it could create could be complicated for Princess Twilight to handle, especially as she's the only one who doesn't remember the new timeline and remembers the old one. Hope she's cast a spell to give her knowledge of the differences via the Map table, or she'll be in trouble.
Woah... wasn't expecting that!
Hah! I was just going to ask you if this was related to said comic.
Great minds, then, and all that, clearly.
(Don't blame you, either, I found the ending of the finale very lacking. Not the concept of Glimmer's redemption itself, but the execution was very poor; it was too easy and too quick, I felt.)
Um, anyone else thinking that Twilight hasn't considered the moral consequences of what she's done?
Don't get me wrong, I do think that Starlight's redemption is dumb. But Twilight essentially kidnapped a little girl from her home just to stop her future self. That's just messed up.
Otherwise, this chapter's not that bad.
6755030
As I stated in the cohapter, Starlight didn't have anypony else. She had no family at all. Literally nopony would notice her gone. Was that not clear enough? (I'm genuinely asking, it means the chapter needs to be fixed.)
6755041 For me, the issue isn't that nopony noticed. It's that Twilight did it in the first place. Despite her obviously good intentions, it just seems messed up. I'm sorry that I can't elaborate further, but that's the best I got.
6755069
OK then, I just wanted to make sure my intentions got through alright. And given what could have happened if Starlight was allowed to run free, I really don't think there's a moral quandary here. Not that I don't get where you're coming from, though.
Aw...that means they never sang the song at the end; I liked that song.
One thing that bothers me is Flash, don't get me wrong I don't hate Flash, but I don't like him either. The shoehorned "love interest" bothers me with such a bland and boring character. It is my hope, you do nothing with his character unless there is a proper characterization and buildup for him. (Just a personal preference; take this with a grain of salt)
In other words, nice chapter. I look forward to the next.
Edit: I forgot to mention how underhanded Twilight was when she hit Starlight in the back with a spell; I like it when Twilight has a backbone. Good job to you, Sir!
6755030
Even worse: she essentially retconed present Starlight for whatever version in which filly Starlight grows up. That´s kinda close to death of personality.
6755164
What I'm doing with Flash is this: Princess Twilight can't stand Captain Flash, finding him annoying with his constant insistence of treating her like a princess and general protocol. She much prefers the more laid back human Flash. On the other hand, SciTwi finds Captain Flash quite attractive. Who know what might develop.
6755165
By that logic, Starlight knowingly murdered six ponies and a dragon several times and unknowingly murdered everyone in existence just as much. If that doesn't get the death penalty, what does?
Good job on the story, keep up the good work.
I do like the Twilight adopts past Starlight idea, and also agree that it would have been a better ending than what we got.
Eh, I like infodumps.
...Not that this alternate take on the season finale isn't interesting, but this Fix Fic stuff really comes out of nowhere for what was advertised as a post-movie character piece (for an entirely different set of characters).
Listen up on the next chapter, before anything else, Twilight must decide now: Captain Flash or Human Flash?
6755495
I had planned Starlight's inclusion since the summary for the Starlight book spoiled the heel face turn. I was totally expecting something like this to happen since the movie had already spoiled the time travel aspect. I was prepared to write her as an adult, but the S5 finale handled the redemption so poorly i couldn't help myself.
Still, Starlight has a purpose for the character study. You'll see why next chapter.
6755575
Which Twilight? I think the chapter made it pretty clear Princess Twilight finds Captain Flash annoying, but SciTwi digs his muscles..
great as usual
Princess Twilight can't be with Human Flash causes it never works out.
6755594
I very much prefer this approach to Starlight's redemption compared to the one the season 5 finale gave us. I see this more as Twilight 'adopting' a friendless orphan to give her a chance at a better life (and avoiding the mistakes her alternate self made), After all, adult Starlight being as messed up as she is does imply that she had a horribly unpleasant childhood.
I do have one minor nitpick though. If filly Starlight had no other friends and no family, where was she staying? It doesn't look like she was homeless, which implies she was in an orphanage, which in turn implies that somepony will eventually notice that she has disappeared suddenly.
Edit: Noticed the part where you mentioned Starlight being in a not particularly good orphanage. That would imply that they might not notice (or even care depending on how 'not very good' the place was) that a filly has disappeared.
Nice take on everything here. Great Alternate universe that you are setting over here. Pls Continue^^ and if you dont mind, maybe a recap about the differences between worlds at the end of the story would help us imagine the setting better? Thanks for noticing
Interesting AU for The Cutie Re-Mark. Far too dark for the show, of course but a very, very plausible solution for Twilight to have selected in the face of a powerful mage who remains undaunted in her plans even after seeing proof that her actions would eradicate all life on the planet. It was an execution as cold and precise as a guillotine. Frankly, I can see a certain Doctor glaring coldly at Starlight as she fades out of existence. Has Twilight taken the first step to becoming her own world's Oncoming Storm?
The interaction between the Twilights, the Spikes and Captain Flash with the EqGs was nice. I wonder if we're going to end up with a second weird cross-universal romance with Sci-Twi developing a crush on the good Captain?
Regarding Captain Flash, he really does take his duties seriously, doesn't he? My headcanon is that the pony Shadowbolts are the rest of Twilight's regular protection detail. I've got a mental image of a seriously-embarrassed Twilight walking down the street with 'Little Princess Starlight' with pony!Flash and the pony!Shadowbolts, all looking a bit like teenage Secret Service agents, forming a cordon around them, politely but firmly moving people out of the way on the sidewalk and making Mr and Mrs Cake feel slightly nervous as they quickly check out Sugarcube Corner's evacuation routes.
And... Yes, Twilight, Pinkie is right (whenever is she not?). You are Starlight's mother now, in heart and legal responsibility; denying that serves no useful purpose. I also think I know who is going to be the first of the next generation of Cutie Mark Crusaders... much to Twilight's vexation!
I liked all the minor changes you gave the counterparts, it shows that while they're similar they are also very different. I guess that was a clever change you made to the finale, my only question is how much is the timeline affected by it? They didn't go to the village as the first map mission obviously but what else could be different? Funny how both Spikes argue with each other. I wonder if human Flash will appear next chapter. Be funny to see what happens with him around, see him react to the doppelgängers and his own. Plus Sci-Twi apparently crushing on Captain Flash makes a funny cross-dimensional romance considering Princess Twilight and human Flash's own romance.
I was about to congratulate you for incorporating the DoubleWBrothers comic into your fic when I read the author's note. It's funny that you both had the same idea, apparently without contacting each other.
6756379
On the Doctor thing, no. twilight does not see this as murdering the original Starlight, she sees it as giving Starlight a second chance at life. It's a mercy, not a murder, from Twilight's POV.
On Sci-Twi and Captain Flash... yeah, pretty much.
The Shadowbolts being Twilight's security... is actually a great idea. Mind if I use it?
6756515
To answer your question, only the first episode got effected. The map sent them nowhere at the time. And human Flash will show up next chapter.
6758587
Yeah, you can use the 'Shadowbolt guards' idea, if you want to!
You know, your version of the ending of the season 5 finale makes Starlight's reformation a lot more believable. But wouldn't her disappearing from the orphanage then showing up a few years later not having aged at all raise a few eyebrows? Granted, from the dialogue, it wasn't a very good orphanage, but still.
6760372
Twilight already had to explain how she suddenly has a student/daughter. I'm assuming she has a suitable cover story prepared in case that oddity ever comes up.
6760372
That's assuming anyone remembers her. Remember: Equestria doesn't have the access to information we have, where we can look up things online. Assuming the orphanage even kept good records, Starlight's village was so small it's not likely to be seen.
6761478
The obvious: "Where she comes from and her background details are classified because being my student makes her and anypony connected to her a target. We have a blackout on her past. Trying to find out is now a criminal offense."
6761515
Since no one else has encountered Starlight before in this timeline, Twilight would at least need to explain to the rest of the mane 6 (and probably the other princesses) how she ended up with a student that no one remembers ever meeting. Anyone outside that 'need to know' circle will get the 'classified info' story.
6761515
Alright, thanks for clearing that up.
Hey there. Not much I can say other than excellent job on this story so far. :-D You did an excellent job on the exchanges, emotional content, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. I particularly like how you are being careful to depict the two worlds as being as different as they are similar. :-D
And, as for Cinch's pony self, I wouldn't be surprised if she used to be a teacher at Celestia's school before Celestia was forced to fire her for unethical practices (some time before Twilight became a student at the school).
Anyway, that's just a guess and I'll freely admit it could be wrong. At any rate, I'll definitely be looking forward to more of this as soon as time and inspiration will allow.
Oh, and before I forget, I have to admit this story WOULD also be a good side story for the near-future of your "Nuptial-verse" stories.
Of course, I'll admit that it would be your call entirely and will respect your decision one way or the other.
6766966
It doesn't even have to be before Twilight became a student. What little of Twilight's childhood that we've seen in the show and comics show her as being a relatively normal filly. It would stand to reason that whatever happened that caused her to be as socially awkward as she was pre-EOH likely happened while she was in school.
As to why Twilight would not remember Cinch, recall that she had trouble remembering the names of what few friends she had at school; I'd imagine that she'd be even less likely to remember that one nasty teacher she had.
Note: Comment edited to correct a minor error.
6767747 Point well taken, except I think you mean "why Twilight WOULD NOT remember Cinch"
6768853
And you would be right; i derped on that one
I've read your blog about how you wanted Starlight to regress in age befor reading this. Honestly, I glad that didn't happen. It would have been too weird. Than again, that might simply be my desire for her not to become a regular on the show. I don't want to see the status quo altered in this manner. Now if it was Sunset...but I digress.
Nice way to wrap Starlight's mental issues, never let them happen in the first place.
That's vaguely worryingly...
Seriously, the more I think about it, the more disturbed I am at not only the "shortcut" Twilight took with Starlight but the fact that almost no one else, in universe or out, seems to have any problem with it.
actually, no I wasn't, but thanks for giving me an image that will be stuck in my head for the next three months, at least...
very appropriate response here...
two things: 1) it's alright, Twilight: WE don't know where Scootaloo's parents are either... 2) yet another piece of proof that we're in another dimension...
you know, I could faint from confusion and die from cuteness overload right around here...
no contest:
images.halloweencostumes.com/products/11316/1-1/mossy-bat-tombstone.jpg
*miraculous resurrection*
(sees this) this does not look good for my insurance bill...
mairedubhtx.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/tombstone.jpg
*miraculous resurrection (again)*
you know, I can see the Spike having a LOT of arguments with himself like this one...
...wait: that didn't come out right...
no, but you'd think she would've...
(groans) are you TRYING to kill your audience with cuteness!?
pre06.deviantart.net/4b6d/th/pre/i/2012/139/2/7/the_tombstone_meme_by_v_oblivion-d50bjhx.png
*another miraculous resurrection (again)*
this amuses me more then it should...
btw, that stuff with Captain Flash: wow; just...wow...
Firstly, that beginning earned you a like. Secondly, because of this chapter, I now want to read a fanfic where the main-verse interacts with the AU where Twilight raises filly Starlight. Thanks. I needed more wants in my life.
Lastly, after reading the whole chapter, I am definitely going to favorite this.
as I
___________
... After reading everything I have the say that I'm thankful that you're an awesome author. What they did in the show pissed me off even to this day. What with how Trixie's still treated with contempt even by Twilight. Over something that was originally the Mane 6's and Ponyville's fault to begin with. Yet no moves were made to actually forgive her, or make friends with her, or even make her a student after Twilight ascended.
Yet Starlight ... I seriously want to kick her repeatedly in the face after her shoehorned "redemption" that was cheap. I mean even Sunset had to work hard for her redemption.
But this. Taking Starlight Glimmer from the past, moving her to the future, and making her a student that way is still a much better story. Thank you for that .
7187478
I don't know why you got down voted. If people accept Starlights redemption as fine, that's their opinion, but saying Trixie is getting treated like shit for doing waaaaay less than Starlight is cold hard fact. And that's just some poor, inconsistent writing.
Not to mention, to make Starlight's villain origins believable at all, then they really needed something like what Darth put in here, showing that after the abandonment of her best friend Starlight had literally zero support structure.
So Twilight just erased adult starlight from existance? that's metal as fuck
This seems a little off, how would you feel if you were being investigated because an alternative universe version of yourself was corrupt. We've just seen how different the universes are with different people being dead or alive and different family relationships as well. Pony Cinch might not be anything like human Cinch.
7379835 Yeah, honestly Princess Twilight scares me here, especially the part where she de facto killed Starlight:
There's OOC, and then there's turning the princess of friendship into a psychopath who uses time travel to "correct" the past. The redemption as it happened in canon was a disaster, yes, but I'd take that any day over something with such terrible implications. If Twilight is willing to use time travel to change the entire life of Starlight and all ponies she affected (which due to the butterfly effect would easily number in the thousands), why not do the same for Tirek, or Discord, or Nightmare Moon? Time travel is an extremely slippery slope and the way it is presented so nonchalantly here is seriously offputting, even terrifying. Fixfics aren't supposed to replace a problem of the canon with a problem that's magnitudes of order worse.
Cool! They meet now! So many changes from Canon! This'll be fun to watch! I guess the romance in the sequel might be TwilightXFlash-es with each half being from one of the two universes.
stunned by a copy(.)
There is another -> There's another [Smoother that way]
Here's what I got from this chapter-
1.Twilight is a mom to a filly Starlight.
2.Sci-Twi has been introduced to Flash.
3.I now want the two Twilights to make out thanks to Pinkie.
4.Twilight is a dad to Spike.
Wouldn't that count as having sex with 'yourself'?
And thus fall under the term 'masturbation'?
Awkward...
No. Nonono. I quite like everything else about this story, but this interpretation of the ending of The Cutie Re-Mark? Disgusts me, it does. I much prefer canon Starlight, as she is clearly willing to learn from her mistakes and move on; heck, she's reconnected with Sunburst and made a new friend in Trixie (and defeated Chrysalis).
This filly Starlight, who knows nothing of what her older self did, and thus doesn't have the same motivation to change, is not right - and I doubt Twilight would ever purposefully allow a pony to die, which is exactly what happened to adult-Starlight in this fanfic's world.
Again, I love everything BUT this.