Once upon a time, there were twelve pillars of reality, which were shattered into nine sets of twelve apiece. These shards, scattered around the world of Equestria, could be said to form the very basis of the world itself, and for some time, they metastasized into a relatively stable configuration. That, however, was long ago...
In a handful of different universes, events have occurred which destabilized reality, opening rifts, even if only a few moments in length. Things, and people, have fallen through - some of which were guided by unknown variables. Some were heroes, or villains, or, let's say, ordinary people.
Rainbow Dash was having an extremely good day: she'd just performed a legendary Sonic Rainboom, beating out those two stupid colts who claimed that she'd never amount to anything!
Jennifer McAllen was having an extremely bad day. She'd hoped to obtain some good photographs of urban decay in Toronto. She'd hoped to get home and work on developing them into something worthy of a composition book, all the better to fuel her hobbies. She never once thought she'd land in the Everfree, let alone as a changeling! And what's this nonsense about it being 995 CE?
But so goes life. And what is a changeling going to do when she knows a very large part of the future?
Probably screw it all up...
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This is the first book in the Mancala series, a work in progress. Expect a lot of world building, up to and including frank discussions of relationships. Do not expect clop, in any way, shape or form.
All worldlines used and discussed, including Earth Prime, are the properties of their creators and/or owners, including but not limited to FASA, NCSoft, the BBC, the Canon Cabal, and the Foundation. All OCs are mine unless otherwise noted. Timeline may differ from established canon after Series 1, in part due to meddling Princesses. Side effects may include blind searing rage. Ask your doctor if Mancala is right for you.
What's a Mancala?
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Mancala, in this regard, is a series of 'sowing' and 'tilling' games played throughout much of the world, but especially Africa, wherein one draws 'seeds' from certain areas of the board, and places them into consecutive 'fields'. The name won't come into play for a few chapters yet, but it will before too long.
Interesting so far. I'm a bit surprised the protagonist is so willing to share information about themselves, even if it is to mess with ponies.
Perhaps the biggest drawback of this work is the over reliance on telling versus showing. A lot of the interactions with the Wild Guard for instance is summarized instead of shown playing out. The story got better about that by the time the protagonist landed in the hospital though.
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There are a lot of stories where the protagonist decides to keep everything under wraps, leading to what could best be called a tangle of sitcom tropes which, understandably, have been played out to no small extent; I didn't want to . That having been said, there's more than one point which Jen hasn't shared, because having knowledge of future events (and the idea that My Little Pony is a fictional show) is definitely not a good idea.
Thanks, though, for the heads-up on showing, not telling. That's something I've definitely got to keep an eye on! And I hope you enjoy the story as I continue it.
What is this a crossover of?
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Characters - some of whom will be introduced to a larger extent and will be making an enormous impact on the story, albeit delayed - will be coming from such worldlines as City of Heroes, Shadowrun, the Whateley Universe, and others, and while the characters themselves will all be OCs, the knowledge and some variants of technology that they bring with them is very quickly going to make things go off the rails to a sizeable extent.
the author's note should have been part of her inner dialogue.
you might grok... i don't.
explain, please what she groks.
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Pegasi were, hitherto, a rather militaristic set of tribes, hinted at in the Greek- and Roman-themed architecture of Cloudsdale (and the physical contests found therein), as well as the history provided by the Hearths-Warming Eve tales. In past, before unification, some likely found themselves hard up on food supplies, especially the high-energy varieties which are so beneficial for them. It would not be surprising if there were raiding parties who took to trade routes to survive, particularly if they were less effective as soldiers or those on the weather team.
How did Doc. Horse know about the aluminium and bucky balls (in the courtyard) BEFORE our heroine mentioned them during the interrogation? You might want to fix that.
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Thank you for that catch! I've edited the previous chapter accordingly.
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Ah. I was thinking, confusedly, that you meant the Pegs raided the insect ponies' hives for honey. Didn't make sense at all.
Amazing stuff! Love it so far, 8 chapters in.
Ok correct me if I'm wrong but the 12 pillars are;
Fire
Water
Earth
Wind
Darkness
Light
Life
Death
Thoughts
Emotions
Creation
Destruction
STARLIGHT, GIVE THEM THEIR CUTIE MARK BACK!!!!
What kind of creature is he?
And now I wait for the story to continue
I thought that quote looked familiar. It's from the Princess Bride when the grandfather was describing what was in the book
It took me a while but I think I finally figured out what those 7 words could be and I know for a fact that the 3 words are “Elements of Harmony”