Dear Princess Celestia,
Thank you so much for your prompt reply, as well as your understanding. Looking back I suppose I did act rashly locking Gary up like that. Right after I sent my letter I was so worried this would turn out like how the story disks showed my brother's wedding could (Would? Should?) have gone.
I'm sure you'll understand my confusion with tenses once you and Princess Luna see that story for yourselves.
Back to the important topic, Gary Stu is no longer present nor welcome at the Golden Oaks Library. I'm not sure where he's gone since I kicked him out, likely to wait with one of our my other friends until either they find out what he's done or the guards pick him up for questioning.
Speaking of, I've already met with the guards and gave them the disks and my testimony so both should be on their way to you soon. I've now begun work on my special assignment, and it seemed prudent to begin with the last pony (aside from myself) that had contact with Gary before our discovery.
At time of writing, I am approaching Sweet Apple Acres to speak with Applejack. Her response to the situation shall follow shortly.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
P.S.
When the guard you sent returns, please let him know what I'm really, really sorry for crashing into him like I did when I opened the door! This whole situation just has me a little on edge.
Dear Princess Celestia,
So, Twilight just finished explaining to me 'bout this whole situation with Gary.
Now, Ah know more'n anypony that honesty is sorta "mah thing", and not just 'cause it's mah element. An' Twi here told me what yew said 'bout our opinions bein' important in figurin' this whole mess out.
That's why Ah'm awful sorry to disappoint yew, Princess. Ah just don't know what to make o' this!
(I don't think Twilight knows what to make of that. You should see her face! —Spike)
Now don't git me wrong. It ain't like Ah don't believe Twilight or Spike 'bout what they found. Twi's never been much fer practical jokes and this wouldn't make a lick o' sense even if it was one. But see, that's where mah problem is. Cuz that'd mean Gary really did know 'bout all the stuff we were all gonna face 'fore it ever happened.
On the one hoof, Ah don't think he had any right keepin' stuff like that to himself! Ah mean, if'n he knew so much he musta known 'bout Pinkie and her Pinkie Sense. We all know she can predict future stuff 'fore it happens, so it ain't like we wouldn't believe somepony from another world could too. That means he coulda been warnin' us waaaaaaay ahead time 'bout Discord an' all them other baddies that tried to overthrow Equestria.
But on the other hoof, Gary also coulda done a lot worse with all the stuff he knew.
Ah mean, take just today fer example. From what Twilight jus' told me, mah big Apple Family Reunion woulda wound up an almost total disaster if'n Ah'd been running it on mah own. An' what she told me she'd seen on those story disks sounded like a bunch o' the ideas I'd told Gary 'bout before he made some suggestions. Stuff like the obstacle course fer the younguns, all the oil cauldrons and sewing machines fer family cooking and quilting projects, not to mention the fruit bats swarming the hay ride Ah set up!
But Gary jumped in with his own ideas, told me to "maybe tone all that back a bit". Now Ah wasn't sure, but seein' as Gary'd been right 'bout loads o' stuff before I took his advice an' just tried to focus on havin' a good time with mah family. Brought out some old lawn games fer Apple Bloom an' her cuzins and joined in with the quiltin' circle and fritter baking.
'Course Ah kept the hay ride idea. Ah'd already put a deposit on it an' everythin' so no way Ah wasn't gonna use it. Gary stuck around and offered to hold Auntie Applesauce's favorite hat so she wouldn't lose it durin' the ride. Yew know what? Everypony had a great time! Said it was the best family reunion they'd ever been to and that Ah should be in charge o' the next one! Ah couldn't take all the credit o'course, Ah told 'em all Gary helped and that Ah'd be sure to have him help with the next one too.
So Ah think yew can see just where mah problem is. Yeah, Gary knew all 'bout what was gonna happen. He coulda just stood by an' let everythin' go to Tartarus in a tumble-dryer an' then jumped in an' preached to me, but he didn't. He helped, he made sure my family had a great time, heck he saved us a whole afternoon of needing to fix mah barn!
It's a little hard to say that counts fer much now, knowing that he knew 'bout it all goin' wrong before, but Ah'm just sayin' Gary could be usin' what he knows to make thing worse. Ah don't like that he's just been waitin' fer ponies like Chrysalis or Sombra to make thar move 'fore he steps in and saves the cris
(Sorry, Applejack started coughing there. Twilight too, actually. Ah I guess Winona tracked in some dust or something. — Spike)
—saves the day, but he could've been helpin' guys like 'em instead! He's makin' an' keepin' a load o' ponies around town happy thanks to the stuff he knows. Hard to think he's doin' all that just to be selfish.
So that's it. Ah don't think that what Gary's 'parently been doin' is totally right, but it ain't completely evil neither. Ah wish Ah knew what else to say on the matter but that's really all Ah can offer.
Only other thing Ah can think of is that Ah'll definitely be askin' him a lot o' question if'n he comes around offering advice again.
Your faithful citizen,
Applejack
(Sorry Princess, Applejack's accent can be really hard to get right sometimes when she dictates! I hope I got it close enough fer for you to get the idea!
Also, Twilight looks kind of shocked after all that. I think she thinks Applejack made a lot of good points.
Really, I think so too. I mean, Gary spends time playing Ogres & Oubliettes with me and Big Mac every other week. You know, when he's not busy helping somepony else. Maybe he just really likes the game and was making us like him so I'd ask him to join us like I did, but that sounds like way more trouble then just asking if he could play too.
Sure, Gary wasn't completely honest with us, but maybe there was some reason he couldn't tell us about what he knew? Just a thought. Maybe one of the others will have an idea.
—Spike)
To: Princess Celestia
Re: Progress Report
Princess, I'm pleased to report the acquisition of the "story disk" evidence you requested as well as Miss Twilight Sparkle's testimony regarding the matter of Mister Gary Stu.
I'm afraid this is where the investigation hits a bit of a delay, however. Miss Sparkle sent Gary Stu away from Ponyville's library as you instructed but neglected to learn where he was going after she did so. Given the situation between them I got the impression she only cared that he was away from her (which, in my humble opinion, isn't an entirely irrational response).
Thankfully asking around town revealed that he was seen heading in the direction of a cottage at the edge of town belonging to another of the Bearers of Harmony, Miss Fluttershy. I've elected to go question her about Mister Stu's whereabouts while sending Silver Lining back with the evidence we've recovered so far. Will send my next report as soon as I learn more.
From: Private First Class Flash Sentry
P.S.
If Miss Twilight Sparkle contacts you please let her know that I'm not upset over our little collision. I'm not hurt and the tea and cookies she offered to make up for the accident were very nice. Perhaps we could enjoy them together some other time.
And now Flash is a pussyslave (whiteknight). Here we go.
So... why exactly did Celestia advocate just kicking out the guy currently suspected of knowing the future perfectly? Like, untying him I can get, but just kicking him out on the street? Where's the logic in that?
Honestly, I'm biting back a little irritation here at Applejack's letter. Wanting to have it in her tone is understandable, but intentionally misspelling words like "yew" instead of "you" and putting "ah" instead of "I" rub me the wrong way. Having it be written by Spike as Applejack dictates doesn't really make it better. Granted, it's not as bad since it doesn't make Applejack look as illiterate once we understand it, but it still rubs me wrong.
8362625
Admittedly the accent thing is mostly me joking around, seeing as every time Applejack has sent a letter in the show we always hear it in her voice. I thought it would be kind of funny, my apologies if you don't agree.
>> Tartarus in a tumble-dryer
Fantastic Applejack turn of phrase!
I find the current format to work fine. If Twilight needs to write another letter in this same format.
8362614 Celestia didn't advocate for just kicking him out. The letter at the end was Flash Sentry. In the previous chapter she advocated for freeing him but didn't exactly say what to do with him after.
At this rate, Gary'll have to head off into the Everfree, seeing as his reputation is nosediving.
8362637
People don't write letters in accents. Sure, they may use the same language and contractions as they do in real life, but an "I" is an "I" no matter how you pronounce it. We know Spike has been transcribing for a while now, he should be plenty experienced enough to convey information in a way that doesn't both make his own job harder, and give the person reading a headache.
This is one of the things why I like this:
We don't know what exactly Gray DID. The HOW Gary USED his knowledge of the future events
I don't know why i didn't think of THIS possibility
I'll be here when the chapter appears
Oh, boy I can't wait to see Rainbow's reaction. She's gonna kill him.
Could do without the completely irrelevant shipping...
Rest of the chapter was good though :)
This is the part where Celestia and Luna find out about That Time Starlight Glimmer Is Going To Almost Have Already Broken Causality, Or Why Changing The Future Is A Bad Idea: The Musical.
8362840
I like to humor the thought that he's actually a decent guy, but he's either forgotten or skipped most of the episodes and was reacting as he would without prior knowledge. On top of that, he's scared of possibly being the reason things go to crap when big bads show up, from the bigger episodes he remembered, and that was the reason he decided it was time to 'nut up or shut up', before doing something that looked brave to everyone else, while the truth of the matter was he was panicking like a wee babbie on the inside.
Enjoyable. I like the increased information. Gary hasn't just been glory-hogging as I've read some people in the comments accusing him of, he's been legitimately aiding people. He didn't go around telling everyone how he fixed the reunion, AJ did that. Even then he didn't ask anything in return.
As for why he went to Fluttershy well, she was willing to put up with Discord after the draconequus brainwashed them. If she's willing to put up with that, surely she's willing to listen to Gary and help him out. After all, Twilight just decided that "If he lied about this information(not even a true lie but a lie of omission), then he's lied about everything and thus is a horrible person who deserves to be imprisoned. According to AJ's testimony, he sounds like a decent guy who used his foreknowledge for good.
8362824 Not sure where you got this, but AJ's entire letter was fairly neutral if a bit positive. She'll have questions for him but she doesn't hate him.
8362836I thought it was both funny, imagining Spike trying to write out AJ's accent(including accidentally writing the wrong word afterwards), and clever. I was willing to put up with a few oddly written paragraphs for that.
8362868I can totally see Dash's first question to him being "AM I GONNA BE A WONDERBOLT?!?"
Seriously Twilight? You kick him out, because he didn't tell you what he knew about your future?
People might think that Twilight should know that spoiling the future (What she already did for herself with scanning the discs) will result in an entirely different future, because the persons in question will most likely act differently. But hey, kicking the guy out who did nothing else -prior knowledge or not- than helping her is certainly the best solution and will make him feel much better (Right after being released when she went all "mad-scientist" on him).
At least Applejack gives him the benefit of the doubt (as it should be) instead of hating his guts and accusing him of "crimes" without having any proof nor the knowledge about his side of the story. Yes, she isn't pleased either, but she is ready to talk everything out with him.
And much more important, in opposite to Twilight she appreaciates and acknowledges it that Gary helped them out (specifically that he prevented the Apple Family Reunion from ending as a disaster).
I don't think it's necessary, nor will add very much. We're already past that point in the story, and I don't feel like anything is missing for it to fill. It's reasonable to expect that readers on fimfiction will be able to fill in the details. You don't need to hold our hand and explain how Gary arrived, or his first encounter with Twilight, or any of that. The details aren't important to the story you're actually telling.
Plus, explaining that, showing Twilight's questions of Gary and his responses, etc. would necessarily lock you in to showing us Gary, which as was discussed by several of us in the previous chapter...might be a thing you don't want to do.
Maybe you'll choose to show Gary at some point, maybe you won't. But even if you do, very little would be gained by doing it here and now in the way you describe.
8362975
Now I can't stop thinking of that possibility
8363372
Thanks for the input. It's comments like this that really help me figure out the best way to portray this story from point A (Twi's discovery) to Point B (the fate that awaits Gary at the end and everypony's reaction)
8362967
Heh, not going for full-on shipping don't worry. Just acknowledging a little fact about time travel or changing the future that's been shown to us in FiM before. Namely that even huge sweeping changes still can't stop certain minor details from staying the same (see Starlight's time trip and the fact that the re-Mane Five still had their original Cutie Marks).
8362840
I once read a "Self-insert in Equestria" story where the character in question was literally told by God himself that he's not permitted to reveal his knowledge of upcoming events to the pony crew. I won't confirm or deny whether this Gary Stu is in a similar boat, just pointing out that these stories tend to have ridiculous excuses for their "history-altering characters" to not be upfront about their foreknowledge. If they acknowledge it at all.
8363007
Also feels worth elaborating on one particular point that's keeps coming up: Where they are in the timeline and what has/hasn't happened yet.
For this story (much like Not the Hero) I'm working off the idea that Season 3 episode broadcast order = chronological order of events (barring any definitive proof otherwise, of course). So yes, that means Discord has not been freed or reformed yet since they just finished "Apple Family Reunion". Not to disparage your point, of course, as Gary would still know Fluttershy is kind, loving, patient, and all-forgiving from watching ahead in the series.
Hmmmm... I notice everyone seem to now be thinking about Gary might have not been so in the wrong, but, well, i didn't see anyone take notice of the, Sudden coughing fits both Twilight and Applejack had. That seems a bit suspicious to me, but, well, well see if it keeps up.
8363007
I meant in the sense that if ponies don't trust him, they aren't going to want him in their homes.
8363022 I'm glad she did. It's nice to see that the possibility is that he isn't out to make it like people are suspecting him to be a glory hog. Thought that cough is foreshadowing. I suspect this is going to be a bit darker now.
8362840 It's been speculated Chaos Theory of Time Travel. And also the fact of how they will react to him (Twilight is the perfect example).
8362625 It's understandable why Spike is trying to get her way of speaking down as if she's talking there but it's overboard. We know she likes to read as said in the daring do episode when RD was in the hospital.
8363921
I don't myself think the cough is foreshadowing of any sort: I just think that Spike doesn't really understand how dictation works, because he's like 12.
Ah, glad to see Applejack being a bit of a voice of reason, and seeing things from her perspective. We also see now a bit more into Gary's motivation.
Loving it so far, keep up the good work, Author.
See? This is exactly what I was talking about! Layering the details!
A shame! The additional documents might be a good idea!..