This story is a sequel to Empress Rarity's 250th Birthday
“We are friends, are we not?”
The Empress’ two hundred and fifty-first birthday is just a few days away, yet there is little cause for celebration as Rarity’s Empire is crumbling before her eyes. Bad luck somehow meets her at every turn, and there’s a grim shadow looming over any hope for her nation and her crystal ponies. With a powerful darkness locked within her own mind, will the voices in her nightmares tear her apart? Or can she learn to rely on those she once called friends before it's too late?
Welcome to the sequel to Empress Rarity’s 250th Birthday.
This story was designed with new and old readers in mind. I have made sure to carefully place information to touch on the important facts to remind those that had read the first book of what happened, and to let new readers know what is going on in this one. Not everything is going to be explained from the last book at once, but it will be eventually covered.
So it is not necessarily a requirement to read Empress Rarity’s 250th Birthday, but it is highly recommended.
The group for the story: Birthdayverse.
Credit goes to Autumnschild for the editing.
Cover art is done by, and belongs to ifthemainecoon.
Incentive for me to finish the first one, I should think.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Holy shit, that prologue was epic!
Ah, more! I can't wait! I loved 250. :)
Awesome. But question:
Shouldn't that say "slump her head down onto the floor?
Also, you doubled up on puncuation here:
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I'm not totally sure if it is okay the way it is or if it needs to be adjusted to that. I'll check with someone. Thank you for noticing that and the double punctuation.
Alright, let's hope this birthday goes a little less disastrously than the last one.
That really isn't a very diplomatic way of interacting with a dragon.
No kidding.
Definitely a very action filled start to this. In my headcanon this is Luna forcing Twilight and Rarity to relive their friendship through dreams. One per night since the last story ought to make the point.
I'm curious to find out when this little adventure happens in relation to the rest of the story. Is Discord actually working to bring them together? Did we flash back to simpler times? I'm looking forward to Chapter 1 to find out.
So... Twilight denotated her spell in the dragon's eyesocket...? I wasn't quite sure.
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Hmm. No, it acted more like a flashbang, and it went off at the opening of the gorge. I just looked at it, and adjusted it to be more clear on which hole she was shooting stuff at.
Thanks, and sorry for the confusion.
And yay! Another Commander!
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Right. Yeah, it was a touch unclear. (The fact I'm running on barely minimumal mental fucntion today doesn't really help, mind...!)
That was an exciting way to begin a new story!
I'm happy to see you're continuing this series, thank you!
Awesome chapter
Thank you for continuing this wonderful AU. Looking forward to the rest of it.
What I want to know is....how does this chapter fit in with the rest of the Story? It seems like it's a Prequel to your previous story.
I am just kind of confused to how this fits in, and what exactly is going on.
Though I DID rather fancy this chapter, and it's great to see more writing coming from you!
pre12.deviantart.net/5c2b/th/pre/i/2015/325/8/5/bed_time_story_by_hillbe-d9hkh8m.jpg
nice adventure,,,
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I do have chapter one coming out today, and I hope it will put to rest some of your questions. I'm sorry, I am not sure on how much I can say without spoiling everything. It is an important part of the story, but I don't dare say anything until a couple of chapters come out explaining some things.
Sorry.
And our interests are the same.
We collaborate,
And trust in fate
To parcel out the blame~
wow.....
this is going to be good
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I was about to post that, lol
That's what I tell the kids in the coals mines when I whip them and tell them to work faster.
But honestly, geez Luna. Hyperbole much? That lines was used as a gag in "Calvin and Hobbes" for a reason.
*Mr. Plinkett of Redlettermedia appears inexplicably* I liked how Discord handled things in this movie. When womens gets crazy, sometimes you just have to abduct them... for their own good of course.
At least that's what you tell the jury.
It up to you to give them both a hoof upside the head for it, Cadance, you're the only alicorn available for the job!
Flint Pie, instantly suspicious. I can't help but imagine Pinkie having her line of descendants spying for her even from the grave.
Heh.
Oh my god, Twilight, are you still letting your emotions effect relations with the Crystal Empire that strongly? Talk about "things that should make you ineligible to be a head of state". Millions of lives impacted by this, and she's being all personally offended still after even a year.
Okay, much better.
Very rude!
You never expect to be thankful for Discord's intervention, but here we are.
A split personality for Luna? Historically, that hasn't gone well. Same for the emotional stress that Rarity is under to a bit of a lesser degree.
A "temporary suspension of powers" does sound an awful lot like a coup.
Even more thankful for Discord, twice in the same chapter. Well, assuming he is attempting to help as it appears that he is.
Im so happy you continued this story, kudos
I feel like there needs to be a Greatest Hits collection of Discord's best entrances/exits.
But really, what was Rarity expecting when she ordered the non-Euclidean omelette?
Sorry for not reading this sooner
I sense a conspiracy against Empress Rarity from the Crystal Council.
Just have to say that I'm loving this story - perhaps more than the original PTS500 arcs... Is that blasphemy or something?
Probably because you have lots of good things - Fallible Twilight, Rarity in any aspect and intrigue in spades.
Few grammar and spelling errors throughout the prologue and Chapter 1 but nothing large to detract from the reading.
I'm sure Lizardman will pick them up. "Leapt" rather than "leaped", for example.
Cute. I guess it'll be a while before we figure out what they're doing on that island.
Hmm, not much to comment on yet but I like this added insight into Luna and her now almost mental roommate Sapphire. Hope to see more soon.
The conditioner bit was really cute by the way.
Hype!
Haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I've been dying to see an update, thanks!
New chapter, finally! <3
I'll dive into this soon as I'm done with this Wasp and Spider story's chapter. But so looking forward to diving into this next!
UPDATE: Oh dear. That was cute. Yet it all amounted to a big tease in the end as we now wait for the game to start.
Twilight's O face at the thought of rediscovering potential secrets and bring back Golemancy, cutes.
Not much I can say without spoiling what little is left but I feel tortured this story doesn't dish out deliscios 12k+ chapters. I'd imagine that'd plain kill you two trying to get such size out at a reasonable time given how much I know life has a way of kicking you in the proverbial and sometimes literal nads. Suffice to say I'm now in love with the direction this has taken even more, normally I grown at a certain toothy dude's usage but this story fits them well. And no I didn't mean Grumpy. ;3
Discord is great as always.
Hmm, odds are the trial is related to the dragon incident in "Dragonshy"...
BAHAHA! This is either best typo or a rather ingenious punning.
… the rest of the chapter is also much amuse. And Twilight being innocently admiring and sincerely curious is quite difficult to resist, certainly.
tipped on it’s side
its
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Sorry, it's neither. Basically, if I was to use the meaning of prefervid, Rarity would be reading "very passionate" books.
I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you.
The long awaited update is here. At least one of them is trying to make up
For a moment (and I'm still not ruling the idea out) I wondered if Discord had brought them to the future to see the results of their current actions, because of the ruins. Then I remembered this was 250-less-Rarity's-show-age years in the future, and rebar and concrete had probably been pretty widespread for a good 250-odd years - which is a long time to lose civilisation or even merely a (perhaps temportary) city in and have it degrade back into ruins.
Well, at least this seems like a really nice vacation spot.
Er, never mind.
Well, forest valley isn't too bad an alternative. Still could be pretty scenic at least.
Ooo. Can't keep any secrets like this when Discord is around, apparently.
Well now, that's interesting. Sombra the blacksmith?
Poor little dissolving Sombra. How karmic, or something.
That's our birthday girl, so graceful, so light on her
feetface.INB4 it's Twilight.
Hahaha, and it's Twilight.
You know, as much as I've been criticizing Twilight's approach to certain things, I thoroughly approve of her approach to this surprise trip. Boom, free vacation.
Interesting that she doesn't know enough to recognize Rarity's armor.
A ruined city, advanced enough to be built out of rebar reinforced concrete? And one that neither Twilight or Rarity recognize? Very interesting.
A pedestal, with six impressions for mystery objects? That's just a little telling.
Reunion time!
Really, the armor makes a lot of sense.
You can always depend on Twilight's love of learning.
Yeah, figured that they were involved.
Oooo, so the other girls were involved in designing this? Even more interesting. So either they knew waaaay back when that it would be needed someday, or they're out there somewhere (or somewhen?) and know it's needed now.
INB4 the Kindness trial is terrifying.
It's out!
And where does Sweetie Belle fit in on all of this?
Awesome! Love this 'verse, keep it up!
Luna and Celestia especially deserve all the grief they can get for their little hiding games. At least Luna seemed to has a flash of guilt about it, although maybe that's her disguise's emotions more than her own. Losing themselves in their alter egos is an interesting little detail, regardless.
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Well, she is dead in this. She, along with the other original Crusaders, and remaining Mane 6 (Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie) have all passed on by this point. Sweetie Belle, like the others, did leave a legacy, and has a descendant that has a active role in this time period, called Graham Belle.
A few of the Mane 6 (with the exception of Twilight, and Rarity) have decedents that are actively participating in this story line. Some are extremely obvious, some aren't.
Concerning Sweetie Belle's "legacy" I think some of it is in Empress Rarity's 250th Birthday (ER250), maybe something in Princess Twilihgt's 505th Birthday (PTS505). I can't remember off the top of my head what was implied and what was published in the final version of the story. I'm not sure if you have read them, and I would hate to spoil anything about them, except Sweetie Belle does sort of make an "appearance" in ER250.
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Ohh, they totally deserve it. But it's going to wreck Luna the worst because of... implied reasons. Guilt will be getting worse, right now it's more of a numbness, that 'surreal' felling of it all is inhibiting a lot. Celestia will get more worked up about it as things unfold, but more because her attention gets split as a certain chess player wanders back onto the field.
I'm glad you enjoy the bits with the alter egos. I might expound more on them later, depending on what happens with Sapphire.
has just lost it’s Empress
its*
I am rather amused at how much Spike is still so much like his young self, despite being so much older.
I see that the lost in the woods adventures are going, well, let's say survivably. So far.
I'm deeply amused at the sisters being the ones getting to react to a pair of missing rulers. Turnabout is fair play, after all.
Though speaking of which...
Solerstia seems an awful lot like accidentally slipping and saying Celestia. Does Spike know Shining Star's real identity?
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Spike doesn't know. Autumnschild thought it would be funny if he kept screwing her name up and getting really close to the truth, but never actually knowing the truth and thus putting her on edge about it. I agreed and found it funny too.
7697144 Ahh, gotcha. I didn't think it was likely he knew at this point in the timeline given what I remember of him in 505th, but I was uncertain.
So when can we expect a story about how spike became the chosen one for the dragons?
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Hmm... I can't recall if Autumnschild touched on that in PTS505 or not. I can't remember if the two of us ever discussed that.
Actively, I have no such plans to create such an epic. I'm getting a few ideas just thinking about it, and may include a brief scene about it with this story, or do a interlude chapter and show the climax of such an event.