Predictions & Prophecies

by Kinrah

Afterword

Well, there we are, the first story in what I’ve unofficially dubbed the Grandeur Sequence. Prologue, 26.5 chapters, Epilogue, six years, and what a long, strange trip it’s been. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

I’m just going to say a few things about the directions the story could have gone, and why some things went the way they did - and for some of them at least it’s an improvement. Feel free to skip this if you’re not interested in the details.

Predictions and Prophecies began life in 2012, in the middle of Season 2, as a sort of sequel to Boast Busters. Back then, the ideas were much looser than they would be eventually. I knew I wanted to start at Twilight’s library, Rainbow Dash’s incidents kicked the whole story off, time travel would be involved, they’d end up at a vault underneath Hoofington; but the in-between bit was where the story sort of fell apart. I was trying to get from Point A to Point C without going through Point B first.

Remember that bit in Chapter Three, where Flutter Doo thought that Rainbow Dash was the source of Ditzy’s pain? That was a holdover from the original version of the first chapter. In it, after Fluttershy arrived, Twilight received first a visit from Rarity, horribly sleep-deprived, and then Rainbow Dash would arrive accidentally towing Ditzy behind her. The end result was a hurt Ditzy, Rainbow would point out Rarity’s stress-mane which would make her faint, and then Twilight and Fluttershy would leave Rainbow to the books and go and take Ditzy and Rarity home. This got taken out when I realized I was just putting the actual plot off for too long.

Fortunately, the contents of Chapter 21 are not what I had originally envisioned. Originally - and I hope you appreciate the change! - the Mane 6 and Trixie (having convinced her to join their side somehow) would open the vault… and inside would be Doctor Hooves.

Yeah.

Having just time-locked 1000 years ago, the paradoxical opening of the vault would trigger the TARDIS to land inside, and the Doctor would then help the Mane 6 tie up the loose ends back in Canterlot 990.

What a cop-out. Really it was Magic Duel that put rest to this, as I couldn’t have Trixie take their side and then show up in a later episode swearing revenge. If you couldn’t tell, I’m really too focused in making sure things fit perfectly into canon.

Where Doctor Hooves’ presence was removed from the story entirely, other characters turned up without me expecting them to. Snow Veil had come about as a minor character in a short story, and that short story will appear soon as a way of properly introducing you to Wind Chime and Mayfleet. Princess Luna’s role outside of the prologue was entirely unscripted. Anthem in particular wasn’t due to turn up until another even longer story. But pieces fell into place nicely, and the story slots nicely into its new intended place between Boast Busters and Magic Duel. If you couldn’t tell from the timeline, I’ve pieced together the first three seasons to fit into a single year, not necessarily with all the episodes in the right order. Interested? Well, the timeline can actually be found here, at my blog on the MLP wiki.

NaNoWriMo 2014 was the first turning point. 50,000 words, 7 chapters plus the prologue, that got me through the introduction, through Hoofington, an unexpected visit to a marble mine (before proper planning, the telescope had just been in ‘a cave’) and a trip back in time to Skyview Lake. After a year of nothing, NaNoWriMo 2015 came around, bringing with it a character from a side story, a storm, more jumps through time, an Ursa Major, and finally the introduction to Reeds Melody. Another year of stalling, then the time travelling to the 600s and the opening of the vault finally came around. Then I published the prologue on Fimfiction! Then I lost another year, and Nanowrimo 2017 was officially the point where the story finished, with the trip to 990, and a re-write of the Great Fire climax.

So where do we go from here? Well, that epilogue sure gave us a few story hooks. Five alicorns? Where’s Anthem now, and for that matter, those other two alicorns? What did happen in 617? Why did Rainbow Dash trigger an alicorn magic detector? What about those ‘Wednesday incidents’ Twilight mentioned in the timeline?

In the future, I hope you'll read We Are Harmony: The Delusions of Grandeur, Where Did Wednesday Go?, and Chronologically Impaired - and in the interim, I have a couple chapters from Euphoria that are basically ready - but for now, prepare for the arrival of the Firespeaker.

Comments

[RTStephens]

Phew! All done!

Going into this, I wasn't expecting the timeloops to be such a prominent part of the story. After the first one I figured that would be it. But nope, lots more messing with time after that. Not sure how I feel about it since it all came together at the end, but at the time I was having trouble keeping track of events and finally just threw up my hands and went with it.

Still a little sore that Trixie didn't feature more into this. She's kinda a glorified cameo.

However, I did like how interconnected everything was. I'm sure if I were to go through this again, I'd be more impressed with all the foreshadowing and buildup.

Overall, nice work!

[Kinrah]

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I agree with you - ideally, Trixie would have played a much bigger part, but the combination of her character in general and the time period in which the story's set conspired against me. On the one hand, it gets her to the right place and mindset for Magic Duel, on the other hand, she does go on about her 'woeful' time at the rock farm, implying Twilight hasn't heard it yet. As for the time loops, I think my mind builds the story in a non-linear fashion and everything goes together like a big jigsaw puzzle, and (to me at least) leading to a big OH when everything falls into place. Rest assured that this is the end of the time shenanigans for now, the next story is basically a straight line from A to B.

And I know I've said it before, but thank you again for commenting on most of the chapters. A lot of my work peters out long before it reaches a stage where it can be read by anyone else, and it's good to get some healthy criticism. As the first full story that's out there (aside from Euphoria, which is basically just a series of drabbles), if at least one person has something positive to say, then I'm happy.

[Kinrah]

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And, I'll just add - in some places, I will admit the story got a little out of control. I tried to keep to the story, but at the same time building the world and a springboard for this fanon universe to launch from.

[Spiney09]

Holy cow, this is my favorite work on this site. You had me on the edge of my seat at the end there, refereshing the page every hour or so. The best part of this whole thing is that this is a well-written story that’s completed! You have just joined the ranks of a very elite club, sir! Thanks for the awesome fic!

[LostArchivist]

Sounds interesting... and you just completed it! *Read Later*

[ItchyStomach]

This was frankly excellent. I didn't like how you indicated whispering, but oh well, you were consistent at least. The plot's complexity, the presentation of new information and the recap of old, the fuzzy feeling I got when things connected nicely, it kept me hooked thorought. The writing itself changed between playful and serious when it suited the scene, but still stayed light-hearted and fun overall. There were sentences that confused me and I had to re-read them a few times, but that might just be me not being a native speaker. I especially liket the notion that they couldn't actually change time, because it instantly looped around and committed all the changes they made. I think I've read a story with this idea, but I can't remember where.

I feel that by trying to stick to canon, you needlessly limited the story in places, but it all fits together, and again, you were consistent, so good job.

I whish we got all the answers in the end, like what was the deal with that Important Room or what happened in 617, but that's what sequels are for. *wink wink*

[SC_Orion]

I have nothing but praise for you and this story. This is one of, if not the best, story I have read in a very long time. Which might not be saying much because I've not read as much as I've wanted to lately, but the point still stands: this is an amazing story. This is the sort of story that, at least in my opinion, demands a reread. For such a story as intricate as this, how could it not be reread?

The way you weave things together is impressive, albeit confusing at times (which is perhaps part of the reason it needs to be reread). I still have questions. So many questions... ...which a lot of are mentioned in this afterword.

Why did the light/sensor act the way it did to Rainbow Dash? Does this relate to the 'origin' of the rainbow mane and streak she has, as mentioned earlier? What was Twilight's confusion/fear regarding the sensor reacting to Princess Celestia, or the slight implication of the green in Celestia's mane? The fifth alicorn seems implied to be Twilight. The unicorn, at first pass over, I would presume to be Trixie. However, Trixie doesn't seem to fit this due to her personality. Second pass over, I would say it is Starlight Glimmer, but it's still too vague to be sure. After reading the last chapter, the unicorn is Starswirl? I completely forgot about Cadance, so that makes five alicorns... I'm so confused. I have so many more questions!

Thank you for writing this. Thank you for sharing this. I truly appreciate this. I look forward to the pseudo-sequel(s?). I think, with your permission, that I will recommend reading this to my followers.