5. Ponyville
Rare were the moments when Ponyville received royal visits. Sure enough, those rare moments were a little less rare after Twilight had relocated to live in the library there, but such visits were still events to be meticulously planned for and around. With one notable exception, one that made Twilight cringe to this day, Celestia always arrived as princesses should; with ample warning, a team of guardponies and a royal host.
Two princesses landing on her porch in the early morning hours; that was decidedly not the norm. At the sound of hooves on wood, Twilight put aside the book that had held her attention and moved to admit them, sparing only a single glance and a wince at the state of her room.
Things were a mess. In the past ten or so hours, she must have gone through half her personal collection. Not knowing what she was looking for, it was a rather useless gesture, but she sincerely doubted she’d missed anything downstairs after her self-imposed exile; as well as her friends meant, none of them knew the least about metamagical theory. That, and when you’d been awake for a full day, being around Pinkie Pie quickly got frustrating.
“Twilight, my faithful student,” Celestia said, smiling in that pleasant and soothing manner nopony else could ever pull off. Backlit by the sunrise, she looked positively radiant as she ducked inside. “We received your letter and came as fast as we could. Are the others here?”
Twilight nodded and moved to give Celestia a brief hug. “Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Spike are all downstairs. I—no offense, and I’m glad, but you didn’t have to, uh—”
Her eyes had slipped to Luna, and it hadn’t gone unnoticed. The night princess closed the door behind her with a brief glimmer of magic and raised an eyebrow. Only now did Twilight notice that she carried several large books and tattered scrolls wedged under a wing.
“No offense taken, Twilight Sparkle, but we do believe this concerns us, as well. Where is the object? We much desire to see it,” Luna asked. Something about the way she said it made Twilight’s coat stand on end.
“One step at a time, Luna, please,” Celestia suggested, smiling still as she indicated the door leading to the ground floor. “Shall we?”
Twilight nodded dumbly and led the way with practiced steps. It was absurd, leading a royal procession down from her bedroom like this. She was racking her brain trying to find a scenario in which both of the princesses responding within the hour was a good thing, and she was failing.
When Rainbow and Pinkie had arrived at the library a few hours after Twilight and Rarity had gotten back, they’d hoped it was as simple as Fluttershy and Applejack being slower in getting back home from wherever they’d ended up. Given that Fluttershy wasn’t as proficient a flier as Rainbow Dash, and since the others had appeared in pairs nearby, it wasn’t much of a stretch. There was a tendency, and Twilight had been content with this. A pattern in the nonsense that had occurred, even if the sample size was small.
As dawn broke, Twilight had sent a detailed letter to Princess Celestia, hoping for some insights. None of the girls were strangers to adventure, but this was different altogether, and with every hour that passed, the worry grew.
Down on the main floor, Spike, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were all sleeping by the embers of the fireplace. Pinkie Pie had fallen asleep halfway atop Rarity, and Spike lay by their feet, all in a small pile. Rainbow Dash was pacing, looking up as Twilight and the princesses entered the room. When she saw Celestia and Luna both, she sketched a quick bow whilst glancing a query at Twilight. Twilight could only shrug.
“Hey, girls, Spike, wake up,” Dash called, before lowering her voice a little. “What’s going on, princess? Uh, princesses, I guess.”
Celestia shook her head gently as she moved to the center of the room, waiting for the others to wake. Once Dash poked her, Pinkie was up on her hooves and beaming brightly in a second. No doubt, she was thrilled to see so many princesses so soon again after the wedding. Rarity was furiously yet covertly straightening her mane, and Spike rushed to Twilight’s side.
“We’re still trying to figure out exactly what happened,” Celestia finally said. “And we are very glad you are safe.”
“Indeed, we are, Princess,” Rarity said. “But—”
“Is this it?” Luna interrupted. The princess of the night stood in front of a cooking pot upended in the middle of the circle of pillows.
“Yeah,” Spike confirmed, taking a few steps towards the ominous kitchenware. “I heard a noise, and when I came downstairs, everypony was gone. I saw that freaky glowing whatever-it-is, so I took care of it!”
Rainbow Dash snickered. “By covering it with a pot. What a hero.”
“I think he was super brave!” Pinkie said. “When you don’t have war-pies or battle bread, pots are a great defense!”
“I still don’t understand what could cause glittercoal to have such a violent reaction to a light spell,” Twilight said, desperately trying to steer the conversation back on track. “I thought I’d wait for you to check, but there are no properties of glittercoal that explains this!”
“This is no lump of coal, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna muttered, her voice crackling with barely restrained anger. Twilight made to warn her, to tell her to be careful—anything similarly useless—but the night princess flicked the pot clean into the kitchen with a burst of magic. A second later, she gripped the hidden object in her aura, hovering it before her snout.
“It—it isn’t?” Twilight finally managed. Luna paid her no mind, and Celestia closed her eyes. Desperately, she sought her friends. Rarity stared, Pinkie Pie tilted her head a solid ninety degrees, and Spike shrugged. Rainbow Dash’s mouth hung open as the pegasus glanced every which way.
“I told you to fetch—” Twilight began.
“Thingy on the table by the blinking whatever, yeah!” Dash snapped. “I did!”
“Two months hence, we released this from our study on your insistence because your student wished to research it,” Luna growled. “And now, this?”
In an instant, the blood in Twilight’s veins was replaced with ice. She stepped closer, but she already knew what the little object was. “The other table,” she hissed. “The other table, not the one by the magimeter, Rainbow.”
“How the hay was I supposed to know?” Dash protested, paling.
“Guys, what’s going on? Hi, hello? What’s with the angriness?” Pinkie asked, frantically waving a foreleg in the air.
“Anger,” Twilight automatically corrected her.
“I’m afraid I don’t follow,” Rarity admitted.
“Sister, we are going to go confirm our theory. We shall be right back,” Luna said, locking eyes with Celestia for one brief moment while depositing her books onto a nearby table. Celestia nodded, and just like that, the princess of the night left. Before anypony could question her, Luna galloped out the door and took off with such force that the door rattled on its hinges.
The budding tension in the room was palpable. Eyes flitted between Twilight and Celestia both, four sets of eyes bearing varying degrees of confusion and frustration.
“The thing,” Twilight began, sitting down on her rump and facing her friends. “It wasn’t the coal I meant to use. It was a piece of Nightmare Moon’s armor. I asked Princess Celestia if I could study it, so she had it delivered. I’ve run a few tests, but nothing suggested—I mean, it’s never done that before.”
She knew why. Rather, she knew what was different from all the other times she’d cast spells on it and interacted with the armor shard. Without thinking, her eyes drifted to the six jewelry pieces, the Elements, where they still lay on the nearby pillows. As she watched, they were all enveloped in a golden light, floating over to hover in front of Princess Celestia. The alicorn was utterly expressionless as she deposited them on a nearby table.
Twilight had expected a comment. She feared that the princess would be angry with her, or even worse, disappointed. She scanned her mentor’s eyes for any signs of disapproval, but there was absolutely nothing there. Still, she couldn’t keep quiet after Luna’s reaction.
“We shouldn’t have brought them out,” Twilight blurted. “It was wrong, if that’s what caused this, and now Luna—”
“Luna is angry with herself,” Celestia interrupted. “And that is not something you should worry about. Nopony could have foreseen this. I don’t blame you. I don’t blame any of you,” she continued, seeking their eyes one by one. Twilight’s heart caught in her throat as she made herself nod. The silence held while Celestia led the ponies over to the fireplace, sitting down only after the others were all settled.
“Where are they?” Dash asked, voice hoarse. “If they were far away, like in Appaloosa or something, couldn’t they have sent a message?”
“Like I said, that is what we are still trying to figure out,” Celestia replied, levitating over the volumes and scrolls that Luna had brought. Twilight tilted her head and scanned the titles.
“History of Cloudsdale,” she read aloud. “‘Architectural trends and masonry topics of the early days’. How is this supposed to help?”
“I shared the letter with Luna the instant I got it. She has a theory and is seeking to confirm it right now. If you listen, I will explain.”
“Listen? Shouldn’t we be out there looking for them?” Dash protested. “They could be anywhere!”
“As fast as you are, Rainbow Dash, you cannot search all of Equestria alone,” Celestia said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “And besides, that may not be enough.”
“Then stop speaking in riddles!” the pegasus cried.
Twilight glared at Dash, and Rarity look mortified, but if Celestia took offense, she showed none of it. The princess opened various books and lay them out in a semicircle around herself as she went on.
“In the letter, you say that you two—” Celestia indicated Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, “Ended up in Cloudsdale. Cloudsdale is very old, but what very few ponies know is that the first clouds that went into its construction, the core clouds, are older still. Older by far,” she said, launching into that rhythm, that manner of speech that Twilight recognized from countless lectures.
“Stable clouds like those are rare, and some speculate that they were brought in from someplace else, gathered over hundreds or even thousands of years. Some speculate,” she repeated with a small smile. “Some know. At any rate, Luna had the idea of inspecting the stones at the old castle for something similar.”
“You think the stone was similarly... imported?” Rarity asked.
“That sounds rather inefficient,” Twilight remarked.
“Not quite, but a few cornerstones may have been brought along as a symbolic act, and such stones may be old as civilization itself, just like the clouds. I suspect they may be from the kingdoms that only thousands of years later became Equestria.”
The room became deathly quiet. When Rainbow Dash made another token protest, it was with far less conviction. “Yeah, well, okay. So where are they?” she asked, again.
Before Celestia had the chance to reply, the room darkened a smidgen. It was as if though somepony muted all the lights for a moment, and with a sound not unlike a small thunderclap, Luna appeared in the middle of the room. The alicorn entered mid-stride out of nowhere, throwing to the ground an unremarkable square stone with rounded edges. The rock cracked the woodwork where it landed, but the night princess paid it no heed.
“They are the same,” Luna declared. “It is as we suspected.”
“You’re being rather dramatic. You could have flown or used the door,” Celestia offered.
“You feel time is a luxury we have, sister?” came the reply, voice sharp. Celestia sighed and turned away from her sister to once again face the little fireplace assembly.
“We think that you were sent to these locations because they are keyed to you. The clouds of Cloudsdale are the same as those that have been the heart of pegasus society since its birth. The same is true of the forgotten castle. Before Nightmare Moon—” Celestia explained, and Twilight automatically glanced at Luna at the mention of the name. The night princess did not so much as flinch. “—the castle had significance to the unicorns. All ponies, really, but the unicorns had brought parts of their first home with them.”
Luna nodded at her sister’s words, once again levitating up the armor shard. It looked very different in the light of day, but it was easy to see how she could have made the mistake in her haste and in the darkness. The flat, bent piece rotated in Luna’s grip as she stared at it with thinly veiled loathing.
“This is not us anymore,” she muttered. “But it remembers. Hatred has seeped into this thing, and when it felt the Elements, it lashed out in fear. Sought to throw you as far away as possible. Distance and time, either or both. It’s not self-aware, but clearly it is potent.”
Pinkie Pie’s eyes were wide, and an unsettling grin spread across her face. “Oh wow, Dashie, you weren’t kidding when you said I’m not an earth pony. I’m totally a pegasus! You’re smart!”
Rainbow Dash only blinked, but Twilight caught on. While she remembered the joking comment from Rainbow to Pinkie back at the spa, there was something that didn’t add up with the theory the princesses proposed.
“Why Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie? Why Applejack and Fluttershy?” she asked. “Rarity and I, we ended up in the castle because we’re unicorns, but why them? Pinkie Pie isn’t a pegasus.”
Pinkie Pie deflated and pouted at Twilight.
“The Elements have a very long history,” Celestia explained, her eyes drifting to rest on the last of the glowing embers in the fireplace. With a flare of her horn, she re-lit it, flames burning brightly again with no fuel at all.
“When Equestria was founded, there were no bearers. What we found out then was that they are, or were tied to the different ponies, earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns all. When I, ah, found you six, recently, I was surprised. I had thought that connection was solid.”
“It seems I was wrong. Perhaps it is proof of how far Equestria has come, that the Elements and the virtues do not feel so confined to the tribes that birthed them.”
“Feel?” Spike remarked, squinting at the jewelry pieces where they lay on the table nearby. “The Elements are alive?”
“Not quite, Spike,” Celestia smiled. “But there may be a grain of truth to that. At any rate, as special as you all are, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are quite unique in this respect.”
Pinkie Pie giggled and grinned at what she no doubt saw as the highest compliment ever given, but Rainbow Dash was quick to jab a hoof in the princess’ general direction.
“What are you trying to say, huh? What do you mean ‘unique’?”
Luna sighed. “She means to say nothing except that Fluttershy is an amazingly kind pony who exemplifies a lot of virtues traditionally associated with earth ponies, thousands of years ago, before the pony tribes started mingling in earnest.”
Rainbow Dash stared at Luna, then over at Twilight.
“No, it’s not an insult, Rainbow,” Twilight said.
“I knew that,” Dash muttered.
“Oh, oh, and does this mean I can fly?” Pinkie asked, hopping on the spot. “I’ve tried, but it’s really hard like you wouldn’t believe without balloons or something!”
“I would say no, but I would not put it past you to surprise me, either,” Celestia chuckled, glancing down at the books splayed out in front of her. All the while as they talked, she kept turning the pages of multiple books, evidently reading snippets here and there.
“Don’t encourage her,” Dash groaned.
Rarity cleared her throat. “So. The symmetry may not be perfect, but this all seems very simple. We need to go get them from wherever the earth ponies made their landing here in Equestria, then.”
“That was the idea,” Celestia murmured, a rather unsettling frown crossing her face. “The problem is, we found very little in the royal library on the topic.”
“It is as we said. Earth ponies have always believed in giving back to nature, in a cyclical approach. It is likely they brought nothing,” Luna retorted. “We told you this.”
The ponies in the room exchanged a set of glances. Those who didn’t make the same mental connections Twilight did picked up on the tone of the voices of the royals in the room.
“So they could be anywhere?” Rarity asked, aghast.
“No,” Twilight interrupted, eyes on Celestia as she preempted her mentor’s response. She’d read more than one volume on the subject of pre-Equestrian history, and they all said the same. Rather, they all had topics on which they had precious little to say at all.
“Not anywhere. A specific somewhere, but a somewhere that nopony knows of, any more. They could be back in the cradle of earth pony civilization.”
Celestia chewed her tongue. It was a ridiculous, mundane gesture that seemed entirely out of place on her, but at length, she finally nodded, once. “That is one theory,” she admitted.
“Well, where is it?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Just point me in the right direction.”
“I couldn’t say for sure,” Celestia admitted, averting her eyes.
“You don’t remember?” Twilight asked, and before she knew what she was doing, she found herself frowning at Princess Celestia, her mentor and ruler. Something about this was very odd.
“We still need to go look for them!” Dash shot. Pinkie nodded vigorously.
“You don’t seem to understand the gravity or the scope,” Luna said. “We don’t even know where to start, whether we go east or west, north or south. The world beyond the borders has changed.”
“So we’ll need lots of ponies to help!” Pinkie said.
Luna rubbed a spot between her eyes with a hoof. “You are still missing the point—”
“Then you do something!” Dash suggested. “You’re princesses, you’re super-magical and awesome, right? Can’t you just cast a spell or whatever?”
Twilight sank further down between her cushions. Spike leaned a little closer and Rarity looked every bit as lost as she did as the little quarrel escalated. These were words Twilight herself wanted to say, but she knew the possible counterarguments, too.
“It’s not that simple,” Celestia said, confirming her fears. “There are politics to consider. The Griffin Kingdoms are still unstable after the last change in leadership, and many of our neighbours would take it as an act of aggression should Luna or I enact some great spell.”
“So you’re not gonna help us?” Pinkie Pie asked, blinking. “But—”
“There is nothing to help with, until we decide on matters,” Luna said. “You are not to leave Equestria’s borders.”
“Oh yeah? Says who?” Dash asked, puffing out her chest.
“I realize you’re trying to be sensible here, but you cannot expect us to sit idly by if you think Fluttershy and Applejack are stranded,” Rarity chimed.
It was all Twilight could do to hold her tongue and watch as it devolved. Before long, it looked as if though it would turn into a shouting match. Dash was alternating between challenging the princesses and sulking, Pinkie Pie was talking too fast for anypony to actually catch what she was saying, and Rarity was stuck trying to mediate between the other two and the princesses who didn’t quite represent a unified front themselves.
Twilight shook her head slowly and sighed, her ears drooping. At her side, Spike was looking up at her, seeking her attention. Perhaps he was hoping for answers or support, but she had none to give.
“Enough!”
Celestia rose to stand. It wasn’t quite a shout or a yell, but it did the trick; the sun princess scanned the room as they all, to the last pony, quieted down.
“I understand you are worried,” she said, her frown slowly melting and giving way to a gentle smile. “It is testament to the strength of your bonds, and that in itself is something wonderful. Still, we cannot act. Not yet. Trust in your friends, and take care of each other. Luna and I will do what we can. For now, we must return to Canterlot.”
Twilight tried to give Celestia a smile, but the corners of her mouth weren’t cooperating. The sun princess leaned down to nuzzle her and nodded to the others. “Take care, my little ponies. I am sure it will all be fine in the end.”
Luna looked less convinced. The younger of the two sisters nodded curtly and followed Celestia as the pair made for the door. Five pairs of eyes followed them as they barely cleared the threshold before taking wing. It was only once they were out of sight that the dam truly broke.
“So, they intend to do nothing, yet they’re convinced it will be ‘fine’?” Rarity asked, arching a brow as she turned to Twilight. “Is that supposed to be comforting?”
“I don’t know, you know as much as I do, you saw me send the letter,” Twilight retorted. While Rarity nodded and seemed placated, Rainbow Dash was still looking at her, and the pegasus did not look pleased. “Okay, what?” Twilight asked, some of the irritation, the fear and the helplessness creeping into her voice.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Nothing,” she muttered, looking away. “Okay, I’m just gonna go take a nap, and then I’ll start looking.”
“Look, Princess Celestia said they’re probably not even in Equestria,” Twilight said, sighing.
“I’ll help,” Pinkie said, perking up.
“I, as well,” Rarity added.
“You’ll just slow me down,” Dash snorted, completely ignoring Twilight. “I’ll begin with the mountains or something, I don’t know.”
“Aw, well, I can start looking in Ponyville, I guess?” Pinkie suggested, cupping her chin in a hoof. “You never know. Maybe they’re at Sugarcube Corner enjoying a snack?”
“At the very least, let me, ah, knit you a scarf, perhaps?” Rarity asked, clearing her throat.
“Are you even listening?” Twilight cried. “It’s pointless!”
“So you’re gonna sit around and do nothing?” Rainbow Dash asked, crossing her forelegs. It was impossible to read her, to determine whether there was an accusation in there somewhere. Pinkie and Rarity were looking at her as well, but none of them said what Twilight thought they would say. What she wanted them to say.
None of them blamed her, even though she was the one who had cast the spell. None of them pointed out that it was her fault.
Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but what could she say? Princess Celestia and Luna both had admitted they had no real plan yet. Not long ago, she would have been content to let her mentor handle this, but now? It didn’t take long before she realized she couldn’t rest easy like that anymore.
At length, Twilight took a deep breath and let her eyes rove over the library’s different sections, her brain shifting into gear.
“No,” Twilight finally said. “I’m going to ask Luna to return the shard that caused this, and I am going to figure out how this happened. When I know that? I’m going to figure out how to bring our friends back.”
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Yes!
Cloudy rides again!
I've had the privilege of reading some 80-100k of this fic so far. It is adventure on an epic scale. I remember in 2011 when we had several long adventure fics that were the center of the fandom's attention. This fic is like those. It's world building on a large scale. It's history. It's shipping. There's action and tension. It's pretty much everything you could ask for in a fic. Is it worth reading the estimated 170-200k? Hell yes.
Looks interesting I will have to add this to my read later
Uh...wow. 20k words straight out of the starting gate. Thats a way to start for sure.
1. Awesome
2. Fic starts off with 5 chapters totalling 20k words. (2 prologues?
)
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw3082-13279593542672.png
Damn,it's 2:30am and while I normally go to bed at 4~5, I have to return to at least going to bed at 1 if I want to get anywhere in school, so I'll simply put this in 'read later' for now.
This has "epic" written all over it.
Oh crap, a Cloudy Skies story? MUST FOLLOW
Starting with 5 chapters.
i.imgur.com/m3rLR.gif
Kits basically nailed it with his comment up there. It's been quite a while since I've had the pleasure of reading a long adventure fic, and Cloudy settles right into filling that niche with Lost and Found. It's been a wonderful read so far and the only reason I haven't read more of it is because I'm a screw up when it comes to time management. This story's worth the read just for the worldbuilding alone, which Cloudy executes on a consistently high level. Can't wait to see where it goes.
I think I must have favorite'd and unfavorite'd this story a hundred times based on how many times I clicked the favorite button.
Silver: Sir, we are taking back Karalia.
Me: Good.
Silver: The reinforcements we landed on Volna Beach have reported heavy fighting along the coastline. 80% of Karalia is under our control again and it won't be long til we can retake our capital.
Me: Things are going TOO well. What's the bad news?
Silver: It appears that a huge force of Cloudy Skies' rebels have been spotted advancing toward our position from the jungles.
Me: How big?
Silver: Trust me sir, you DON'T wanna know!
Me: No matter! Deploy our new Cobalt, Magnet, and Katana Battalions... and send the Dragon Busters with them while keeping the Skilla unit in reserve!
The former Cloudy Skies' citizens that flocked to our army will be VERY useful to us. Send them out. I wanna see how loyal they really are.
Silver: Roger!
I'll be back to read this one later Cloudy but I'm a little occupied at the moment.
Silver out!
Well, I'm excited for this.
Instant-Track and I'll get around to reading it very soon. I must say I'm fairly excited about this, I have no idea why, but the description sort of gives me a bit of an "Off the Edge of the Map" vibe. It could be that I reread that recently, and the FlutterDash just set off those triggers, but all the talk of mass-scale world building and whatnot sort of puts it in my mind. Not that this is at all a bad thing, mind you, also not trying to compare your work to something rather old and great, and creating unfair expectations, I just... don't know, I just woke up, me brain no function today. Bleh.
Anyway, I'll just say preemptively that I've always found the Mane 6 x Royalty ships to be sort of tragic. The fact of being immortal (or, a VERY long life span), and watching all of your loved ones die seems very depressing to me. Even if you offer your lover a way out to become immortal with you, they have to share your heart ache of having to see all of your friends, family and loved ones die around you while you live on, it seems sort of depressing to me. That all said, I have no idea how you plan to tackle their relationship, so it'll definitely be something worth finding out.
1154270
Have you read Forever is Forever?
also
[youtube=5L8-FTvSVxs]
aaaaaaaaaa
I love it so far. Exciting!
You released! \o/
Aw, it's not complete. still! X3
Epic adventure is epic.
1152047 You're being far too kind, but thank you; I wonder if I'll be releasing yet another adventure fic next fall. Odd sort of habit, this!
1152054 1152088 1152359 I hope it's not intimidating. I debated with myself (and others) long and hard over how much to kick off with, but the simple truth is, unless I want to spend more than two months publishing this, I gotta get them words out!
1152818 Thank you for kind words (and for your help!) - we'll see! If it holds your interest, I would love your thoughts, of course.
1154270 OtE is definitively (and has always been) one of my main inspirations, so I'm going to take that as potential praise.
You have a point regarding the princesses and such, but my main counterargument is that FiM has never been about death and about the long term consequences; it's not about looking for the shadow side of things when something's nice. I'm not saying ignoring consequences is always a boon, but I've never liked to focus on overinterpreting such things until something lovely becomes tragic.
I'm of course not going to discuss/spoil specifics of this story with regards to this (I'm still writing it, even!), I just mean that generally, I don't let myself be concerned with sad stuff. I tend to favor ignoring or trivializing. The fic Kits linked is a good example of what you can do if you want to frame everything ridiculously tragic, and it's everything I don't want in a fic, be it writing or reading. No offense to the fic or its writer, but it's diametrically opposed to my preferences.
1155501 A small (ridiculously long) ways off yet, sorry!
1155019 Thank you very much!
1155709 Definitely not, I actually enjoyed the continuous read.
1155709
I re-read Fo:E for fun, its hard to find an intimidating word count for me.
1155714
Never apologize when you can... write your flank off! Rhymes off, but gogogooggo XD
1154870 I have now, and it's kind of a bittersweet feeling that TwiDash was added in, considering the cost.
1155709 That's fine, but it's something that I tend to over-analyze because I want to avoid the potential for a tragedy. My feelings to those sort of ships were probably formed after I read the fic Our Last Goodbye (a story which I gave a chance on a whim, and interestingly enough, has been the only actual fanfic that legitimately made me cry).
It's completely a preference thing, and I will always like fluffy little ship stories between ponies and princesses, but my enjoyment seems to always be tinged with that tragic sadness that seems to be associated with the curse of immortality.
*Steel shields his eyes, his computer monitor shining quite a bit brighter than usual.*
Bloody hell, being in this comments section is like being in a church, and the Author is their God...
I guess so...I didn't kick up the brightness on my monitor recently, at least.
I think if we open up the first chapter, we'll go blind from the sheer volume of praise this story's getting.
Only one way to find that bit out.
1156980 Oh, I understand and respect that, truly; all I can say for sure is that tragedy is something you will never find intentionally implied in any story I write. There's a profound lack of Sad or Tragedy tags for a reason, but if you autocomplete TwiLestia thus, I understand why it gives you pause. I'm sorry to hear that :|
1156980
Have you read Within and Without? It's a TwiLuna, a damn good one at that, and if you read it you'll get a decent taste for how Cloudy handles the princess pairings. Now I don't now that's how it'll go down here, probably not, but it's something.
Besides, it's a great fic that, if you haven't read it yet, I recommend you do so with all the haste you can possibly acquire
---
As for the story, I am hooked and already enthralled. The concept is interesting, the new setting is interesting, and the mysterious hidden history is interesting. This story is pretty interesting.
I rather like your take on Fluttershy. I'll be honest, I normally dislike her in most stories due to her perpetual shyness and all around timidity. The bold, do what must be done stance--still retaining her trademark idiosyncrasies--is a refreshing take on her. The mysterious letter is very alluring, too. I want to say that it does have to do with her parents not being able to make the marriage, but at the same time it's for a reason that may not be all bright and dandy. She basically spoke a half truth, hiding the segments that deal the damage.
What does puzzle me is why Fluttershy went to Applejack and not Rainbow. They've been friends for a longer period of time, Fluttershy obviously likes her and has even told Rainbow about the letters, and yet she flew off to Applejack. I'd like to think there's a reason for this beyond the farm pony saying that she could come to her at anytime (and that she lived closer), but I could just be over analyzing it...
Anyway, all I can really think about now is rolling fields of golden grass, a hard headed and distraught Rainbow, and two ponies in a land very, very far away... And now that I think about it, something Luna said unnerves me:
Hatred has seeped into this thing, and when it felt the Elements, it lashed out in fear. Sought to throw you as far away as possible. Distance and time, either or both.
There are no good implications here, none at all. This could be much worse than what we think it may be.
Yep, this story is awesome and on it's way to being another favorite. Have I ever told you I like your writing style? I probably have, but repetition can't hurt. I really like your writing style.
I had a feeling that was where you were going, with the tribes and the pony's elements representing these tribes going to their origin. I had to stop reading mid way through and had come up with the theory, and I'm so happy it turned out to be true~! (That hardly ever happens, I'm so horrible at mysteries and theories
) But, hehe, on towards the actual story and not just me being proud of myself...Very good! I'm a very excited on where this goes, as I haven't read many 'epics' recently, or really any much at all, and it will be nice to read it as it goes along rather than all at once, since it takes the suspence and time of speculating away. Looking forward to more!
1159760
you're a bit late bro
So this is off to an excellent start. Within and Without is up there in my list of favorite adventure stories. Also, I can't wait to see where the Twilestia shipping ends up.
The first update is 20k words. You don't even know how excited that makes me. I love these adventurous world-building stories, and this has the makings of a grand one.
Well hello there, new Cloudy Skies fic. Yes, I would like to track you.
Thanks for mentioning this in your blog, Kits. Somehow I completely missed it being posted.
OMG a new Cloudy Story instant fav to this day Within and Without is still my Number one Favorite.
I love really long Adventure Stories of Worldbuilding with or without TwiLuna Elements.
1160328
Yeah, I know. I was referring to the first chapter specifically.
Anyway, this chapter took some interesting turns. I hadn't thought to blame the 'glittercoal' for the teleportations at all; I'd figured the Elements or some outside force were responsible. Luna's comment about 'distance or time' was also intriguing, specifically the 'time' part. If AJ and Fluttershy might've been thrown through time, that opens up a whole new can of possibilities and directions this could take. Can't wait to see how it goes.
Cloudy Skies writes one of his patented longfics wherein one of the ships is Flutterdash... My body is ready.
Handel's Messiah is insufficient to describe the pure, unbridled joy I felt upon seeing the EQD post. Cloudy, I loved Within and Without, and now I'm in love with this and it's only just begun. I look forward to the places you will take me and the roads you will show me. Adventure awaits.
Cloudyyyyyy, it's Monday night! I have work in the morning! How could you do this to meeee?
... Ah the heck with it. *page one*
I wonder if you feel oddly about this fic. I imagine many people (such as myself) will be comparing it to Within and Without - some people might find that to be a lot of pressure. Or maybe I'm overestimating WaW's impact since it was such a major part of my joining this fandom in the first place.
EDIT: Oh hey, this was posted three days ago... >_> <_<
1159182 I will of course not spoil anything, but it's a treat reading peoples' theories and such. Writing so much Fluttershy has definitively been a challenge, and I fully assume that not everyone will like the way I do it as you do; some want her to be like she was in S1E1, some want her to be Strong(tm) and have changed, and between those camps, it's impossible to please everyone I guess, hah.
1159545 Thank you! I hope it does not let you down; I definitively wrote this aiming for something on a bit of a bigger scale than my other, recent stuff.
1161184 It was a bit awkward, I either had to upload the first two chapters, or the first five, and I went for the latter. In hindsight, I wonder if I should've started slower; while there are plenty here in the comments field who say they enjoy it, I am not sure it has as broad an appeal as I had hoped.
1161678 Well. No pressure right? Breathe, Cloudy. Breeeeathe. Hi again!
1161695 Would you believe me if I said I really really want to do more TwiLuna in the future? After S2E4, Luna's got something like characterization. I'd love to try my hoof at it again!
1162101 A frightening amount of people have commented on exactly that sentence, haha.
1166086 Oh gosh, don't stress, but I'm eager to hear your thoughts nevertheless! Studying law is the fastest way to lose your life. Forever!
I have friends (multiple) who've studied law. I salute your choice and your mettle.
1173530 Submitted to EqD a week or so ago, released this- yeah, three days ago. I was trying to coordinate, and failed miserably. Sorry!
1172372 You are very kind, and I hope that the story doesn't disappoint!
Cloudy Skies, you never disappoint. Never.
1174323
Well, you can't please everyone. Besides, as you pointed out, most of the people in the comments do like it so far. That's gotta count for something, right?
I... I am not sure if I can gather the courage to read this.
I have read over a hundred of stories in this fandom, but Within and Without is the only one I read twice. Both times I was completely off track for a week afterwards. Together with Eternal, it had changed me, and the way I look towards this fandom. It inspired me to try writing my own story (which is still in progress).
I am not sure if I can handle this again. I may not survive.
Well, if anyone needs me, I'll be in my room reading. Either that, or I'll be in a psychosis. Either is fine.
Uh oh, new Cloudy Skies fic out. Time to drop everything I'm doing to read it!
ah finally the other shoe drops.
interesting
>“Oh, oh, and does this mean I can fly?” Pinkie asked
>“I would say no, but I would not put it past you to surprise me, either,” Celestia chuckled
scranton.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw2604_small.jpg
And look at that. I am up to date! Too easy. Just quickly, remember that when you use the word 'princess' as a proper noun, make sure that you capitalize the 'p'.
Eg, "What's going on, Princess?"
Looking good so far! I am eagerly awaiting the next round of updates.
I literally just sat down and read this, along with "Within and Without" over the last 4.5 hours. I regret none of it.
It now poses me the question: How was I not following you before now?
Definitely looking forward to the direction this takes, and how you explore both setting and characters in this (epic) story.
out of 10. (That makes sense, right?)
Rating?
Frostwyrm
I haven't read an adventure fic like this in a long long time. I can feel how awesome this is going to be already.
It's always a fear of mine when reading fic's with Luna in them where they'd make Luna a bit too obnoxious with the Canterlot voice. I can firmly say that this is absolutely not the case, and you've pulled off Luna with ease! You manage to keep her in character, and still make her a bit forceful with what she says, without having to resort to the Canterlot voice to get out of a sticky situation. Lesser authors would have capitalized every second line she spoke. I applaud you good sir.
And Celestia's characterization is also amazing. God damn you! You could probably make lines for freaking Berry Punch and have her in character.
Gah, you make it look so easy!