Chapter 1: Talking, Movies
The rest of the girls were already at Pinkie's place when Rarity arrived.
"Well?" Rainbow asked eagerly. "What are Twilight's new friends like?"
"Hmm," Rarity said, worrying at her lip. "Well, they're...hmm."
"Hmm?" Fluttershy echoed.
Rarity tapped a slender finger against her lips. "I...how do I say this delicately?" She frowned. "They're...odd."
"Well, they're from Equestria, ain't they?" Applejack asked. "Ah reckon they're gonna stand out no matter what, like Twilight did when she first showed up."
"No, I mean they're very odd," Rarity said. "One of them was a more severe version of this Twilight, one of them was a..." She shuddered. "punk rocker, and the third just...I don't know. Something about her just set me on edge. She reminds me of those impossibly cheerful housewives you see in old movies and TV shows, only..." She tilted her head. "Oh dear, how do I say this...?"
"She had a smile so tight you're gonna have nightmares about her pouring boiling water on you in your sleep while she sings about going on a bloody homicidal rampage?" Pinkie suggested.
Everyone stared at her.
"Err...y-yes," Rarity said. "Something like that."
Twilight frowned. "Wait a second. What do you mean 'a more severe version of m—' Do you think I'M odd?!"
"N-not at all, darling!" Rarity said, holding her hands up defensively. "I just...I meant..."
"That this other girl was way, WAY nerdier than Sci-Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yes, that's EXACTLY it!" Rarity said brightly, pointing at Rainbow Dash. "I simply meant that this girl was...well...a horribly stereotypical hermit. Taped glasses, bad hair, ridiculously huge sweater, the whole thing." She shuddered.
"Oh," Twilight said, frowning and absently reaching up to her own bun. "But...I'm not like that, right?"
"Nah, you're good," Rainbow assured her. "You could still stand to loosen up a little more, but you'll get there."
"Maybe some contacts," Fluttershy suggested softly.
"Lose the bun," Applejack suggested.
Twilight frowned and folded her arms. "In other words, change my appearance to look like her."
"N-no, not at all!" Fluttershy gasped. "We want you to find your own look! It's just...you have a lot of natural beauty, and, um, and, um, help me out?"
"A bit of a makeover is all we're suggesting," Rarity said. "Just so you're not letting your good looks go to waste! That's all."
Twilight let out a noncommittal grunt, but relaxed her posture.
Rarity sighed and held out her phone, showing Twilight a picture of the fuschia-haired girl she'd only just met. "We just don't want to see you become this," she said.
Twilight stared at the picture. "Oh my god, that...that is pretty bad. Those eyebrows..." She shuddered.
The other girls crowded in for a look. "Yikes," Rainbow Dash pronounced.
"Yeah, now there's a girl that needs a makeover," Applejack said, scratching her head.
"I'm sure she's a lovely person," Fluttershy said with a hint of reproach. "You're all being a bit judgmental, don't you think?"
Rainbow took the phone and thrust it in Fluttershy's face. Fluttershy drew back. "Oooo-okay, maybe she could use a...a pluck..."
* * * * *
"So, tell me more about yourselves!" Sunset said. The five girls were all comfortably seated—more or less; Moondancer looked awkward and stiff—and had drinks in hand. "I've heard a little about Moondancer and Starlight, but I don't think I've heard anything about you yet, Ember. Other than you being the Dragon Lord."
"Yeah, sorry, I haven't had a lot of time to write lately," Twilight said sheepishly. "What with Rarity's new boutique opening and so much else going on, I've been pretty busy."
"I know what you mean," Sunset said. "Any time I can get an evening to myself to just unwind and relax, I take it. Don't get me wrong, I love getting involved and doing stuff with my friends! But sometimes, you just need—"
"A quiet evening at home with a long hot bath and a good book," Twilight finished with her. They paused, then burst into giggles.
"You know, if you two need to slip us a few bits and send us to the movies, we'll understand," Starlight said with a smirk.
Ember tilted her head. "Huh?"
Moondancer frowned. "I don't get it."
"I do," Sunset said, her face going red. "And we're not—it's not like—" She groaned in frustration and sipped her drink.
Twilight coughed. "So! Umm...Moondancer, why don't you...?"
Moondancer blinked, shrinking into herself slightly. "Oh. Well...I study a lot, and sometimes I do stuff with my friends, and...that's pretty much it." She ducked her head.
Ember leaned forward. "I'm the daughter of the former Dragon Lord," she said. "I won the Gauntlet of Fire..." She paused, grimaced, then amended, "Actually, Spike won the Gauntlet. And then abdicated power to me because he didn't really want to be the Dragon Lord."
"Actually, you won the Gauntlet together," Twilight reminded her with a smile. "Never forget Friendship Lesson #1."
Ember rolled her eyes. "Friends accomplish more working together than trying to go their own way," she said. "Yeah. I got that." She shook her head. "Anyway, ever since then, I've pretty much just been kickin' it in the Dragon Lands, makin' a few trips to Equestria to visit Spike and Twilight...I gotta admit, Equestria's not bad." She smiled slightly. "I'm glad none of the others won. They'd have burned Equestria to the ground by now."
"They'd have tried," Sunset corrected. "I doubt they'd have gotten very far if they managed to tick off the princesses. Especially now that there's four of them."
Ember chuckled. "Yeah, I've heard that a long time ago, Princess Celestia showed a couple of dragons why messing with her was a bad idea." She shrugged. "Honestly? I think it's pretty stupid to pick a fight with someone who controls the sun. I mean, hello! Am I right?" She shook her head. "Anyway, this little side-trip to weird wacky world is better than spending another weekend judging belching contests." She sighed. "Especially since I don't get to compete anymore."
Starlight wrinkled her nose. "You...compete in belching contests?"
"Of course, I'm a dragon," Ember scoffed. "But when you're the Dragon Lord, you always win because the other dragons don't want to make you mad, so...yeah."
"From what I've seen of dragons, I'd think that'd be a bonus," Twilight said.
Ember snorted. "No dragon wants to win a belching contest by default," she said. "It's insulting." She drained her drink in one swallow, then blinked. "Oh, hey, this is good!"
Twilight laughed. "We have it back in Equestria, too. You can pick up big bottles of it at Barnyard Bargains."
"I'll have to remember that," Ember said with an appreciative smack of her lips. She then let out a massive belch.
Sunset blinked. "Yeah...sounds like you could win a belching contest easily," she said.
"You could at least say excuse me," Starlight muttered under her breath.
"Why don't you tell Sunset and the others all about yourself?" Twilight suggested to Starlight.
"Yeah," Sunset said. "I'd love to hear more about the unicorn that almost destroyed Equestria and how you ended up as Twilight's friendship student instead of rotting in Tartarus."
Twilight frowned. "Sunset," she said, "you...really aren't in a position to judge."
Sunset flinched. "Okay...yeah, you're right. Sorry."
"It's...it's okay," Starlight said.
Ember blinked. "Wait. What am I missing here?"
Sunset sighed. "I, uhh..." She coughed. "A while back, I stole the Element of Magic and tried to use it to enslave every student at Canterlot High into my own personal army so I could invade Equestria and conquer Canterlot." She looked away. "All to settle a petty personal grudge against Princess Celestia." She looked around the room, eyes wide. "But...but I'm in a better place now! I've learned that friendship is the better way. The right way."
Starlight blinked. "Wow. Twilight never told me all that," she said. "All she ever talks about is how amazing a friend you are and how you were Celestia's personal student before her and how sometimes she feels like you're the only pony who really understands her because you were both Celestia's prize students."
"Starlight!" Twilight hissed, blushing furiously.
Sunset stared at Starlight, then at Twilight, eyes wide and irises reduced to pinpricks. "Umm...wow," she said quietly.
Ember raised an eyebrow. "Aaaand now I get that crack about going to the movies," she said.
"STARLIGHT HERE," Twilight said loudly through clenched teeth, "stole the Cutie Marks of an entire village of ponies and brainwashed them into thinking the only way they could be happy was if they were all exactly the same with no special talents. When we exposed her for a fraud, she decided to take revenge. Tell them all about that, Starlight!"
Starlight cringed. "O-okay," she said, swallowing. "S-so, I, umm...I found out about the Cutie Mark bond Twilight shares with her friends, and I altered an old time travel spell Starswirl the Bearded wrote, then used the Cutie Map in Twilight's castle to activate the spell. I, umm...I went back in time to the day Twilight and her friends all got their Cutie Marks at the same time, and I tried to change the event that caused that to happen."
Sunset blinked. "Whoa. That's...that's some really powerful magic. How did you—I mean—just—how?!"
Moondancer frowned. "How do you even steal a pony's Cutie Mark?"
"Starlight Glimmer is the highest-level unicorn ever born," Twilight said. "She's actually even more powerful than Starswirl the Bearded. Princess Celestia herself says so. The problem is...Starlight doesn't always exercise the best judgment in using her magic."
Starlight looked down. "Yeah, I'm...still working on that," she admitted. "Even though I'm not using my magic against ponies for my, umm...schemes...I still make a lot of mistakes."
Ember frowned. "So how does screwing with Twilight's past equal destroying Equestria?"
Twilight recounted the various alternate timelines she and Spike had visited, caused by Starlight's interference in the past. Starlight added in her own part of the tale, about her motivations for everything she did. When they were finished, everyone in the room was visibly shaken.
Moondancer looked at Starlight, then shifted away from her. "Don't take this the wrong way, but...you are getting therapy now, right?"
"Yeah, I mean...I was just a conceited jerk who went down a bad road," Sunset said. "You, uhh...you've got problems."
"I know," Starlight said miserably. "And I'm working on it, really. And yes, I'm getting therapy...sort of..."
"So Twilight, how is she not in one of your dungeons?" Ember asked. "I mean, I know you ponies are all about love and friendship and rainbows and stuff, but I also know you have dungeons. And Tartarus."
Twilight took a sip of her drink, then set it back on its coaster. "If a pony can be reasoned with, I like to think they can be made to see the value of friendship. Starlight made a lot of mistakes, but she's willing to make up for them and learn about friendship. To me, that makes her worthy of a second chance."
Sunset chuckled softly. "That sounds familiar," she said.
"And I'm not really comfortable with the idea of sentencing a pony to imprisonment except as an absolute last resort," Twilight continued. "We sent Tirek back to Tartarus because he will never understand friendship. He can never be allowed to roam free. Queen Chrysalis is determined to be an enemy to ponykind, so we treat her like one. Sombra...Sombra was just pure evil. But even Discord proved he was worthy of a second chance, so..." Twilight shrugged. "I couldn't just put Starlight in Tartarus or banish her to the moon without at least giving her a chance."
"And I've learned so much and been so much happier since I moved to Ponyville," Starlight said with a smile. "Twilight's made me realize...how foolish I was to just give up on friendship because my first friend moved away." She scratched her head sheepishly. "I really am kind of a crazy pony, huh?"
"You scare me, and I'm a dragon," Ember said, popping open one of the sodas still sitting on the table and chugging it without bothering to pour it over ice.
Sunset frowned. "That reminds me," she said slowly. "How is it Ember came through as a human, but Spike comes through as a dog?"
Twilight shrugged. "Dunno," she said. "I honestly think it's because this world's Spike is a dog. If he was, say, your Twilight's little brother, then my Spike would probably have come through as a human too." She tilted her head and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I don't really think it's a species thing, because you know those three big, kinda dumb gray guys at CHS?"
"The ones Rarity has wrapped around her little finger?" Sunset asked.
"Yeah, them," Twilight said. "In Equestria, they're Diamond Dogs." She shrugged. "And then there are the Sirens. They're closer to dragons than they are to ponies, but they're human girls here."
"Good point," Sunset said, nodding. She chuckled. "I guess we'll never completely understand how the portal works."
"It might even be that we're not the same species of dragon," Ember said thoughtfully. "Spike's a tunnel drake. They're not very common west of the Griffon lands."
"Really?" Twilight asked, leaning forward with interest. "How come you never mentioned that before?"
Ember shrugged. "I thought you knew." She arched an eyebrow. "Didn't his not having wings clue you in?"
Twilight frowned. "I just thought it was because he's a baby dragon."
Ember shook her head. "No, it's because he's a tunnel drake. They don't fly."
"Oh." Twilight's frown deepened. "I don't think he'll like hearing that."
"And by the way, he's not a baby," Ember added with an amused smirk. "He's just short."
"Oh." Twilight blinked. "If you say so."
Ember snorted and shook her head. "I have a lot to teach you about dragons," she said.
Starlight clapped her hands loudly. "So hey!" she exclaimed brightly. "How about this world, huh? I wanna hear more about this place!"
"It is quite...fascinating," Moondancer said, adjusting her glasses. She glanced at her hand and frowned. "And strange." She looked at Sunset. "Is it true there's no magic here?"
"More or less," Sunset said. "I mean, the only magic here is what we've brought from Equestria. And the portal." She shrugged. "The magic from the Elements of Harmony that leaked into this world when I stole Twilight's crown sort of...intensified on its own. Once it found hosts here, it got stronger. It's not like unicorn magic, though. None of us really have any control over it. It just sort of...happens on its own." She chuckled. "And even then, all it really does is make us grow pony ears and ponytails. Oh, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy get wings."
"But you do know how to trigger it, right?" Starlight asked. "I mean, you've done experiments, right?"
"I've tried experiments," Sunset said. "The results..." She winced. "Inconclusive."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Interesting way to put being fried, splattered with rainbow goo, buried under a pile of magic apples..."
"Oh god they told you about that?" Sunset cried, facepalming. She sighed. "Anyway, we have a general idea of how to make the magic happen, but without something specific to do with it, it's just..." She shrugged. "Pointless magic hot flashes."
"But wouldn't that be where spells, pegasus magic, earth pony magic...?" Starlight asked. "I mean, that's the very definition of something specific to do with it."
Sunset shook her head. "When I said that, I actually meant something along the lines of 'combining the Magic of Friendship to rainbow laser an out-of-control magical supervillain'. Because that's really pretty much the only thing we can get it to do on purpose." With a wry chuckle and a roll of her eyes, she added, "Not exactly a practical everyday skill."
Ember snorted. "Yeah, that must happen like what, once ever?"
"Three times in the last two years actually," Sunset said sheepishly.
"Seriously?" Ember asked, tilting her head.
"Well, first there was me," Sunset said, ducking her head. "The Element of Magic turned me into an actual demon. Then there were the Sirens. And a while back there was this world's Twilight Sparkle. She pretty much had the same demonic transformation I did, except it was caused by being absorbed by a huge ball of uncontrolled Equestrian magic and then going a little...crazy." At the disbelieving looks of Ember, Moondancer, and Starlight, Sunset hastily added, "It wasn't her fault! She isn't...I mean...all she ever wanted to do was study the magic here at CHS, and she didn't even know it was magic. Then this device she made started sucking up magic left and right, then spitting out random anomalies that caused all kinds of trouble, and then her principal and her classmates pressured her into using that magic against CHS..." She shrugged. "Poor girl was a victim, not a villain."
Starlight shuddered. "I...don't think I want to even imagine a Nightmare Twilight," she said. She tilted her head. "Or would it be Nightmare Dusk?"
"Midnight Sparkle," Sunset said. "That's the name the students at CHS came up with for it. It's kinda stuck."
Ember grinned. "Well, Twilight, now you know what to call yourself if you ever go mad with power and try to take over Equestria."
Twilight groaned. Starlight and Sunset giggled.
Moondancer looked around the room with a frown on her face. Her eyes fell upon Sunset's bookcase. "Do you mind if I read some of your books?" she asked.
"Sure, go ahead," Sunset said. "Oh, horseapples! We've just been sitting here talking forever and now we're out of drinks and I haven't even put out snacks or asked what you girls want to do for the rest of the afternoon!"
"What's there to do here?" Ember asked curiously.
Twilight grinned. "Sunset? How about I get the refreshments while you introduce these girls to television."
Sunset smirked. "Sounds good to me," she said, picking up the remote and turning on the TV. Moondancer returned to the sofa with three books, sat back down, and looked on with interest, while Starlight and Ember jolted at the sudden influx of image and sound.
"Is...is that a movie screen?" Starlight asked. She looked around the room wildly. "Where's the projector?!"
Sunset laughed and began explaining the concept of television while she browsed the listings. As Twilight returned with more drinks and an assortment of snacks, Sunset settled on a movie and leaned back in her chair. The five girls watched—with volleys of questions about different concepts, terms, and the like—an action/adventure/comedy/romance film about a weathered old pilot and a neurotic younger woman who were stranded on a deserted island. Throughout the movie, the protagonists sniped at each other and got on each other's nerves as they struggled to survive the island's various dangers, up to and including an unexpected brush with pirates.
"How can they even make movies like this?" Starlight asked, eyes wide. "It's so...so realistic!"
"I wanna know more about those pirates," Ember said excitedly. "Is that a real thing? I mean, all the stuff they had?"
"Oh, everything in this movie exists in real life," Sunset said. "The planes, the boats, the guns, all of it. There's lots of movies that have stuff that doesn't really exist in this world, too. With a little imagination and a lot of money, they can pretty much make anything happen in a movie." As the credits began to roll, Sunset picked up the remote and opened the listings again. She raised an eyebrow. "Case in point," she said as she selected another show.
The room shook from the rumble of an earsplitting bestial roar. Moondancer jumped in terror. Starlight's eyes widened.
Ember grinned and leaned forward. "Now you're talkin' my language," she said.
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Oh boy, I have this idea of Ember watching the Hobbit Trilogy for some reason now. Also, a minor nitpick and I may be being biased here but shouldn't Twilight be the most powerful unicorn since Starswirl? I mean, Twilight's ascended to a Alicorn while Starlight has not.
I do like the idea of human Twilight being sensitive about perceived attempts to turn her into her equine counterpart. It's a logical aspect to her character.
Wow, Twilight. It's one thing to be uncomfortable with your crush. It's quite another to throw a new friend under the bus for bringing it up.
Yeah, Starlight's pretty dang ridiculous when you stop to think about it.
Huh. That would explain a lot about Spike.
This is proving entertaining thus far. Looking forward to more.
Let me guess, Sunset introduced them to some dragon movies or Jurassic Park.
7284105 I am Fire I am Deathhhh. and ember would get a crush lol
Whatever you do, don't show Ember video games with Dragons.
Those tend to...
img05.deviantart.net/b08b/i/2012/075/8/6/skyrim_screenshots__dragon_skeleton_by_vincent_is_mine-d4sy46b.jpg
7284105 it could be Jurassic park, no real way to tell.
7284105
Twilight was the most powerful unicorn since Starswirl (this is canon). Starlight is the most powerful unicorn since Twilight, is what I think this story's going for.
Okay, I didn't stop laughing through the entire chapter.
That's a good sign.
Also, good explanation as far as why Spike is so different.
Hmm, bestial roar, am I the only thing thinking Godzilla?
7284150 Unless said game has you playing as a dragon, or show her this song.
7284127 I'm gonna guess Godzilla.
>>zimmerwald1915 That actually makes sense. I can imagine Ember getting into Kaiju films.
7284228
7284251 I wonder what she'd think of say, Gamera, giant turtle who is a friend to all children, and can use his shell to fly by spinning like a top, and shooting fire out of the holes....
I kind of like this going back and forth between both groups it helps fleshen things out a bit more and lets you do a bit more with two groups in the story at once.
Oh the fun.
But yeah, Spike being a different breed of dragon from Ember makes perfect sense based on the lack of wings alone.
Nice, just the five girls sharing personal stories and getting to know each other. I like the part where Ember explains more about Spike, never considered him not being a baby dragon and just being really short instead. I'm going to guess at the end that was either Godzilla, a Jurassic Park film, or something else, like maybe a dragon from Game of Thrones, I can imagine Ember getting a kick out of any of those.
That thing about Spike being a different breed of dragon actually makes a lot of sense given what we've seen in show canon.
Tunnel Drake, huh? Well, Spike has been shown to be good at digging.
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I was thinking Jurassic Park myself.
I bet the movie is Godzilla.
7284105 Twilight's ascension has nothing to do with her magical power, and if you really believe it does, then you haven't even been paying attention to the series. At all.
7284171 I'm just doing my best to write around show canon I don't personally agree with without ignoring it outright.
7284431 Oh, I've been paying to the series so don't accuse me of that. I was just taking not of Twilight's power level. She's pulled off some pretty impressive spells.
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Implies you equate Twilight's magical power with her ascension. When it had nothing to do with her ascension.
7284456 As I said before, I know exactly why she ascended because of her skills with friendship but I was just pointing out Twilight was a pretty powerful unicorn.
Uh late 80s early 90s moviebwith Harrison Ford as the piliot and some popular actress of the time. Remember the scenario. Had some other guy flirting with carribean girls. Going to bug me now.
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Twilight also had what was likely the best arcane tutoring possible in Equestria.
If what is, in comparison, an untrained amateur can take a spell and heavily modify it to the point of being able to rewrite history, then that's pretty good proof that the 'amateur' is pretty damn powerful, if nothing else.
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Celestia: "I don't think I've ever come across a unicorn with your raw abilities."
Consider that Celestia is the founder and possibly headmistress of a school for advanced magic training for promising unicorns. Consider that she knew Merli- er, Elmins- I mean Starswirl by all notions apparent. While there might have been outliers who lived and died in relative obscurity here and there, or never got the training to develop their potential, this means that Celestia was uniquely placed and long-lived to have known history's greatest mages.
And the adorabubble filly Twilight had more unrefined ability than all of them, according to the authority on these matters. So in this story, Starlight Glimmer is just whole-hog more powerful than mortal!Twilight because she's basically Twilight 2.0, that immensely rare super-unicorn. Instead of what we have in the show, where Starlight Glimmer's stronger because the moment you become an Alicorn you get Worfed to fucking hell and back (note that Princess Twi is much less useful and powerful than she's shown as a normal unicorn). Unless you're Luna, then it only happens once because pandering.
This line. This line right here. Reason #3 why I'm not working on Convergence any more.
This only gets more fun. Nice bit of headcanon about dragon breed difference.
I love the references and hints to shipping without directly using shipping in this story at least not yet. I also love how hilarious the interactions are.
Quick! Try to guess what movie/TV Series they just showed!
Uh...Uh...How To Train Your Dragon!...Game of Thrones?...Alien?...American Dragon!...Bubble Guppies?
lol Nice ending there. Was it a movie like Eragon that she turned it to or something?
I'm hoping its one of the Jurassic Park/World movies (as long as its not #3), Ember would probably like seeing giant creatures chasing humans.
Nice bits of fanon for various aspects (like Spike just matching his local counterpart, and being a different wingless species of dragon... though not sure the show has shown any other dragons without wings, but the show's not that good at handling Spike anyway). So guess Moondancer never went to Crystal Prep- well, human Twilight was alone except for Spike and family (and sort of Cadance). And yeah, Moondancer was even more withdrawn than Sci-Twi was (though Princess Twlight's abandonment made it worse).
Yeah, don't worry Sunset, you're way better than Starlight who tried to wreck the space-time continuum for petty revenge on Twilight (Pinkie's description of Starlight fits too
is really spot on too). I know shipping isn't part of this tory, but those comments about giving Princess Twilight and Sunset alone time are funny, hope to see more of them. I'm liking the casual atmosphere a lot, its nice to see them just relaxing together.
7284820 I'm betting Godzilla.
Also, Spike's not a baby, he's short. Hahahaha.
You better make them watch Star Wars, or else-
...
I am going to be mildly disappointed.
7284538 Six Days Seven Nights. LATE 90s, so Harrison Ford was in his sixties and looked more like Leonard Nimoy than ever; his co-star was Anne Heche, and the supporting actor you're thinking of is David Schwimmer from Friends.
7284820 Wrong on every single count.
7284943 I've already used that in Cheer Princess, so I'm trying to actively avoid it here.
7284126
Before season six started up, my headcanon was that Starlight was the 'Sorcerer' to Twilight's 'Wizard'. IE: she has more raw ability, but can't master nearly as many spells.
Now, though... yeah. Starlight is just straight up OP.
NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!11!!! Girls with big nerdy glasses are HAWT!
Starlight's therapist is probably the same one that Twilight went to after Lesson Zero happened.
7284912 Jurassic Park?
I'm liking the story so far- only a few things I thought were kind of "out of character", but nothing to the point it spoiled the story for me. Again, so far this has remained a very entertaining read.
Now I'm going to throw my two bits into the discussion on whither or not Starlight is as powerful or equal to Princess Twilight; using canon evidence from the show, naturally.
What are Starlight's major accomplishments:
1. Removing other ponies Cutie Marks, thus forcing them to become equal
2. Convincing an entire village to become her personal "cult"
3. Traveling back in time to ruin Twilight Cutie Mark Bond
So I'm going to begin with #2 as that's the easiest to solve. Everyone keeps saying that Starlight "mind controlled" the ponies of her village to do what they did. Well, no. No she didn't. One of the ponies after they discovered what Starlight was actually doing even stated, paraphrasing right now since I don't remember it word for word, "We trusted you! You said if we got rid of our Cutie Marks and made everyone equal everything you be be better. But I guess you meant get rid of everyone's Cutie Mark, except yours!"
At no time did Starlight ever mind control anyone. That's why I used the word "cult"; because that's exactly what it was. Now this does show Starlight is incredibly good at manipulating others and putting on a ruse for a very long time, both impressive feats by themselves. But she never once used a spell to control others' minds.
Now what about #1?
Yes, Starlight DID remove other ponies' Cutie Marks with her own magic- the stick was for show. This means Starlight is capable of removing the special talents of another pony; the only other character we've seen who can do anything with a Cutie Mark is Tirek, who absorbs the magic in ponies, which removes their Cutie Marks. It could very well be that Starlight somehow learned of this trick and changed it to fit her needs, taking enough of a ponies' magic to remove their Cutie Mark.
Either way, this proves without a shadow of a doubt that Starlight is indeed a skilled unicorn.
Yet it's #3 that everyone points too as what makes Starlight "the greatest unicorn to ever have lived". No. Honestly no. There is a major reason as to why I can never believe that kind of thinking. Because even in the show it's stated Starlight had used Starswirl's own time travel spell as the basis of her own. To quote Jurassic Park, ". . . . it didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could . . . ."
Starlight used someone else's spell to advance her own. All she did was figure out it could be used in conjunction with the Map to go back further in time. As for being able to change history; it's time travel so chalk that up to whatever the plot/writers really want to happen.
Starlight to me is more clever and imaginative that Twilight, but both are about equally as powerful; if not Twilight being just a bit more powerful/skilled. After all Starlight put Twilight in a sealed glass-thing and Twilight only needed to concentrate a bit to break out; on the flip side anyone saying "well Starlight dueled Twilight to a draw", well, no duh, because it's very hard to catch someone without hurting them or anyone else.
As I said, Starlight is more clever and imaginative. If you gave both of them a test, to build something, Twilight would try to use a method she has read before or would do research to figure out the best way to do so. Starlight on the other hand, would try to figure it out herself with what she already knows.
While this chapter has been a very entertaining read, there's one line I have a hard time believing, even in a head-canony way:
I honestly think the timeline of the EQG movies is closer to a few months (Fall to Spring) than a few years.
This isn't done with the intent to start another time length debate, by the way. It's just me stating my personal headcanon.
Spike being a different species of dragon makes more sense now. Equestria has SO. MUCH. to learn about dragons. Now that Ember's friendly with Twilight, ponies don't hafta play dumb anymore. Also, i feel really sorry for Spike as he's always getting the short stick.
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As is often the case with you, superfun, it doesn't really matter what you think. Go watch Rainbow Rocks with the audio commentary on. Word of God (the directors and writers) says Rainbow Rocks takes place six months after the first movie.
This chapter had me laughing almost the entire time. I don’t know if you actually plan to do any shipping here, but I hope you don't drop the gag about the others teasing Twilight and Sunset any time soon. Also, love the reactions to the television and acknowledging that they do have projectors and films ,so it's not that they're completely oblivious to the concept. Some authors seem to forget or ignore that for the sake of the joke. I think there were a few bits that felt just a tad ooc, but nothing really worth noting, especially for a more comedic story. Looking forward to seeing more of this.
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Questionable. It's hard to determine who the "most powerful" is, even ignoring the inconsistencies of the series. Of course, it doesn't help that Twilight has spent about half the series as an alicorn rather than a unicorn. We can still look at talent in performing spells, but determining how much of her raw power is from her innate skill as a unicorn and what kind of boost she might have received from her ascension is complicated. Meanwhile, Starlight has pulled off some really advanced and unique magic (cutie mark manipulation, flight, etc), but by her own admission The Bearded One already did the hard part on the time spell and she basically just modified it.
Honestly, I tend to put Twilight and Starlight on roughly the same level (probably with a raw power advantage on Twilight's part) in terms of talent, but with different approaches. Twilight is the academic sort. She does her best work through research and experimentation, which gives her a definite advantage in the long term. Starlight is the innovator. She sees something, and immediately goes to work modifying it and putting it to use. Which might not work well if she wants to understand the underlying mechanics and find the limits of those skills, but provides an advantage practical short-term use.
This also impacts how they fight. Twilight isn't weak or incompetent by any means, but she's not great at fighting because fighting requires a lot of on-the-spot adaptation, and her talents are more in the area of slow and methodical preparation. Put her on equal footing with someone else who just slings raw power around like Tirek and she can hold her own. Put her up against someone on equal footing in terms of raw ability, but who tends to be less predictable or who adapts really quickly, and she's at a disadvantage. Starlight's way of approaching things, on the other hand, gives her a much bigger advantage in a combat situation. Throw in the fact that she was basically gearing up for a confrontation with Twilight from the time she was defeated, and that she didn't actually need to beat Twilight in battle to win, and it's really no surprise that she was able to hold her own against someone who probably outmatches her in raw power.
That's my take on it, at any rate.
This is fun. Not much else to say.
I suspect that this second movie will have a lot of freaked-out Neighponise running around and screaming: "Aya! Gojirra!" whilst giant rubber monsters and guys in Giant Mecha suits slug it out across the skyline.
I would have thought that Sunset would have mentioned what she's learned about the triggers of her friends' magic (music and their Element traits). Of course, she might not have worked out the 'Element' end yet; maybe that will take Twilight or Moondancer's research abilities to reveal.
I think we can sum this chapter up in one word,
But seriously, thanks for getting everyone's backstory out of the way. I look forward to reading the rest of this.
7286029 All right.
But then how much time has passed between Rainbow Rocks and Friendship Games?
I doubt a year and a half would have passed between those two
So, instead it would be closer to about 8 months than 2 years. Which would still fall under the "Fall to Spring" section of my original theory.
7286455 I'm pretty sure it was another six to eight months. Which means "three times in the last two years" is accurate.