Midnight Sparkle, Twilight Sparkle's distant ancestor, wakes up one morning to find that she's traveled forward in time several hundred years. Now she must try to get home while enduring an Equestria that is nothing like the one she knows.
That, and a ten year old with a fondness for painting animal skulls pink living with her great-great-great-great-great-great-great... etc. granddaughter poses some unique challenges of its own, even if there are those around Ponyville who are willing to become her friends.
Midnight Sparkle from Chengar Qordath's The Lunar Rebellion
Now co-authored by Ponibius
Thanks to Chengar Qordath and Ponibius for editing!
Special thanks to InuHoshi-to-Darkpen for the awesome cover art!
Chapters (9)
"And that cockatrice."
"Well, yeah—"
"And that dragon who got mad at Spike."
"Sure, but—"
"And the poison joke."
"It was kinda funny in hindsight."
"And the Ursa Minor."
"Well, technically, that wasn't in the Everfree..."
In any case, this definitely looks like it's going to fun. I look forward to more, especially Celestia's reaction to seeing an old friend again.
My only fear is that this story doesn't turn into another Past Sins. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad story to be aping just remember that several plot points are...shall we say similar to the much more famous story by that certain author. l'm not saying that things are bad and you should feel bad just to remind you that there's a fine line that you're walking. Have a like and follow of the tale!
Since Granny Smith was alive during the founding of pony ills, does this mean, assuming that this isn't some sort of gross exaggeration (most likely not, due to the one stating it), that Granny Smith is a few centuries old, at the very least? If so, could we assume that the lifespan of, if not all three common races, earth ponies to be similarly lengthy, or does Granny Smith have some secret we don't know about?
I have only started The Lunar Rebelion. Is that going to affect this story much?
I like what you've got so far, so have a follow.
So this story may feature Midnight, Dinky and Kukri? That amount of cute should be illegal!
7334574 It won't turn into another Past Sins. I have a different direction planned. I was mostly just poking fun at that story by them finding Middy in a bush.
7334637 No idea. The show itself isn't very clear on that. Granny Smith is stupid old, but still has aunts who are older than she is.
7334845 good to know
7334854
... I was referring to this story's rendition... The one you have say in...
Haha, this is gonna be great!
Midnight Sparkle in modern Equestria? This should be interesting. Can't wait for Celestia to arrive.
Honestly the beginning reminded me of a scene in Past Sins what with the filly in a bush and all that...
I'm confused. Midnight's supposed to be young, but she's talking like somepony with lots of experience (which, at times, makes her come off as a brat)
Welp, looks like the start of another great tale from you Bronywriter. I'm keeping a eye on this one.
7334574 Yeah, it does remind one of that story but knowing Bronywriter he'll put out something great and different from what you'd expect.
Congrats for getting on the featured list!
7334854
Yeah, given canon has established things like "Ponyville's Winter Wrap-up traditions goes back for several centuries" alongside "Granny Smith is older than Ponyville itself" her canon age is a bit iffy.
Loved the intro, and I'm looking forward to more Middy-ness. Especially once Twilight mentions that she's Twilight Sparkle. What will Middy think of having a
FalseAlicorn as her descendant?What does this mean? Crossover? Does that mean that there are other stories before this one?
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Besides the above confusion an excellent start to this story>
Read you later-BFBL
7335422 I like to think that pony's don't really have a rigid natural life-span, cause magic. Granny Smith is still alive because she has so much kick and fire in her. She probably bucked the Grim Reaper off of the farm when he came for her the first time, lol.
7335097
Have you read Lunar Rebellion? Midnight talks like that all the time.
7335531
so there like Warhammer fantasy Dwarfs?
if youre stubburn enough you can avoid death by natural causes
Wait, the Midnight Sparkle character is from another story? Which one?
Pet peeve: "I don't feel like writing any more of this conversation, so let's all go to sleep."
At least it's actually night time this time.
Otherwise, cute so far.
7335422 i think the simple answer is this. Granny wasn't supposed to be a founding member at the start of the show. It was only after season 1 they decided that. So Season 1 facts are nullified.
7334637
Personally my headcanon's been that because she got the original Zap Apples from the Everfree itself, she's been exposed to some sort of longevity-effect.
Even if we ignore what Twilight said during Winter Wrap-Up, if we look at Granny's flashback when she was visiting Canterlot, Canterlot was basically just the castle and some merchant tents. It'd have to have been ages for Canterlot to be built up into the national capitol and metropolis that it is now. Longer than what we'd consider a normal lifespan, yet there Granny was.
7335701
Well yeah, I'm 99.9% certain it's a case of a continuity slip-up rather than the writers intending for Granny Smith to be several hundred years old. But pointing out amusing continuity errors and running with them is just too much fun.
I can't put my finger on it but this feels really rushed and bare. Like there's plenty of detail and atmosphere-setting just completely left out so that we could get around to the idea that she's the famous Midnight Sparkle of Lunar Rebellion and her spin-off series. Like, we spend more attention on her identifying aspects than we do on the setting or establishing the characters in relation to the situation.
7335097
She's a very precocious filly. Even at her youngest in Lunar Rebellion she speaks like a dreary and overly-serious old mare, only one who is at least vaguely fascinated by the world and especially with death. She doesn't understand sarcasm and she speaks as plainly as she can because she finds anything else to be troublesome.
7335600 She's from Chengar Qordath's The Lunar Rebellion.
7335852 I know. i personally put Tanks for the Memories at season 3
Im liking this story so far. Im definitly giving it a watch
Watched. This will be interesting to say the least. Anyone who can call an alicorn a false alicorn is alright in my book. I wonder how Celestia will react to this. Ooooo.... What about when Midnight meets Luna? That will be.... fun
On what scale is her smile scary? Or is it shown in the Lunar rebellion story?
Anyway looking forward to your next update!
An interesting start to what looks like a promising story. I do look forward to seeing where this goes next. There are certainly plenty of interesting ways to take this.
This story has potential and a unique concept, however I think it's lacking a bit of details. It also feels heavily rushed. Still a decent little read, but do try to include more details in the future. Smells, time of day, brightness, what you can see, what you can feel etc etc. It's good stuff to include.
Shouldn't Twilight refer to herself as a princess of friendship, though?
7336437 I originally did that, but this is pre-Tirek. She wasn't officially called that until after she got her castle.
7336283 i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af250/TheArchavist/greatsnowballwarhalf_by_sintakhra-da2lodg_zpstqnqfqem.png
Though on the other hand, that's just one interpretation. Chengar never really fully describes why her smile is so creepy, only that it is. It's best left to your imagination. Here's another interpretation.
pre03.deviantart.net/fda1/th/pre/i/2016/061/9/2/ankward_family_portrait_by_inuhoshi_to_darkpen-d9tpxz4.png
7336437 Yeah, wondering about that too. Then again, the story is set pre-Tirek, so... maybe it's also before Twilight was told what she was princess of?
I dunno, can't remember when "Princess of Friendship" was first brought up in the show.
Twilight saying something like "Cut me some slack, I only became a Princess a month ago" might help to clarify here.
Hay, I could imagine the filly making fun of that title too: "Princess Celestia raises sun and moon into the heavens. Pray tell, what does a Princess of Friendship do? Raise the friendship?"
"nearly a millennia ago"
"millenium"?
"I mean, I know that time travel"
"knew"?
Oh man, there is so much potential to this. Just the character interactions alone could be golden. Midnight and Twilight. Midnight and Celestia. Midnight and Luna. Midnight and Midnight's grave (because you know she'd probably go visit it).
Bwhahahahaha! Midnight's 'smile', lots, everyone who sees it, zero.
I'm looking forward to this. Liked and bookmarked.
7336624 Middy and Dinky.
7336523
7336533
Ah, good points. It didn't occur to me that she once didn't have a castle!
Don't mind me then, I'll just hide in the corner.
7336283 well considering who Midnight was designed to be the vessel for i have a good idea of her creepy smile.
Ill roll with it.
7336524
I imagine it's not so much that she has a single unique creepy smile as it is that whenever she tries to smile it always comes out ... wrong.
7335585
No I have not
Oh, Rarity...
I love midnight already
Uhh... okay. Emotionally crippled filly remember Twilight? She's literally known nothing outside of her mothers influence since she was born, and has had so little contact with others she literally has no filter or ways to gauge the harms her words cause. When she wasn't being abused by her mother, she spent her time living in fear of her impending doom via warlock, pegasi, or alicorn beating their respective heads repeatedly on the shitstorm button, or even succumbing to one now easily treatable malady due to the poor knowledge of the times. She literally has no knowledge or concept of reasoning for the horrors she lived through, and is just happy her mother is alive to abuse her.
It was a hellscape of misery, death, and lack of any semblance of common fricking decency or care for others. Sunbeam managed to cock matters up so badly as the then schizophrenic nightmare land into an ever more horrendous clusterfrak of post traumatic stress disorder of the hour, and then being abused more by Sunbeam for a change of pace
Adults couldn't grasp the times they lived in. Pegasi threw their lots in for mortal rule then followed an alicorn, unicorns would rather let a sociopath run roughshod and act as she pleased then put their own titles at risk, and earth ponies got caught in the middle. All Midnight knew was that ponies she knew were gone forever, she lived in fear of the next attack, and if Mother died she was Shadow's daughter. And Shadow... was never harsh or hit her, she just talked to her like she was a pony and an adult, and didn't abuse her. And then she'd live in terror of Sunbeams dying because she didn't know if she could live like that, because the gilded cage was all she knew.
Okay... what the hell is wrong with Sparkle mares?
Is this lack of decency inherent in them or a product of enviroment? Are all mares of the clan complete dimwits with total lack social cues and personal boundaries, or does it skip? How in the world can Twilight see Midnight knowing all that bitch cow Sunbeam put her through to the point of near incompatability in regards to societal functionality, to the point as an adult she still struggles to have simple conversations and contact with others, and still romanticizes the era and Sunbeam.
Its historical selective Alzheimer, I swear to God