This story is a sequel to Tactics of Snowbound Unicorns
Harmonic bonds aren't the most predictable of spells. Sunset learned this the hard way with Twilight. Involving Moon Dancer will make things either extremely complicated, or extremely simple.
And that has nothing to do with harmonic bonds.
Knowledge of the previous stories set in the Wavelengths Timeline is suggested, but not required.
Cast: Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Moon Dancer & Princess Celestia
Co-Starring: Coco Pommel, Coloratura, Minuette, Cheerilee and Raven with a special appearance by Philomena as herself.
Historian’s Note:
Set in the Wavelengths Timeline where the Sonic Rainboom didn’t happen, A Study on Chaos Theory occurs about two months after The Cloudsdale Report and three weeks after Tactics of Snowbound Unicorns.
Stories set in the Wavelengths Timeline in chronological order:
Origins Arc
The Alchemy of Chemistry
Bards of the Badlands
Grading on a Bell Curve
Habits of the Equestrian Phoenix
How Not To Use Your Royal Prerogative
Applications Arc
The Application of Unified Harmony Magics
Princess Celestia: A Brief History
The Cloudsdale Report
Dreamers Arc
Tactics of Snowbound Unicorns
A Study in Chaos Theory
Teahouses of Saddle Arabia
As the Raven Flies
Cover Art by OverlordNeon
Cover Text, Chapter Header and Break Designs by Amber Spark
Sunset Shimmer Cutie Mark by MillennialDan
Celestia’s Cutie Mark by BlackGryp0n
MLP Book Vector by SnowedEarth
MLP Magic Aura Vector by AimeeLovesU
Moon Dancer Cutie Mark by AllyCatBlu
Beta Reader & Editor Credits
Little Tinker: Master of Systems at Poniverse & Scripting Engineer on The Manehattan Project
Beltorn: Commenter-at-Large on FimFiction
Cursori: Reader of Many a Pony Word
JayMan155: Artist & Author Extraordiane!
Corejo: Synopsis Combo Finisher
Word Count: 45,000
Version: 3.1
An excellent start. It seems Celestia is continuing her probably not very nefarious but still top secret plans. I get the feeling that Celestia does want to have Sunset ascend into an Alicorn, and that she's afraid of telling Sunset that it was originally supposed to be Twilight before the timeline shift.
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Now i imagine Sunset starting the whole Transformation process just for Twilight to walk into the room busy reading a book or something, The glow moves on to Twilight and transforms her, she failing to notice since shes too busy reading a book...
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Thank you kindly! Celestia is definitely up to something and she definitely knows more than she's letting on....
Now the question is... what's she going to do about it?
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"WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL TWILIGHT?"
Looks up from book. "Huh, what happened?"
"You... you just... YOU TOTALLY HIJACKED MY MOMENT!"
"Uh... I didn't mean to? I'm sorry!"
"Oh, don't fret so much, Sunset. I have another set of wings for you right here."
"Oh... sorry. Thank you, Princess!"
Moon Dancer barges in. "Hey, guys what... huh? Where'd these wings come from?"
"OH COME ON!"
Hah! Looks like we're off to a good start. Definitely interested to see where this goes, though I expect you know that already.
Ten bits Celestia is gonna try to play matchmaker.
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I might have some idea, yes!
Oh deer, that's quite some specialized fan service there. While I'm on fan service, I'll segue to how much I love Raven as a side character in this continuity. Her mannerisms and interactions with Celestia are a really nice addition.
My my... it really is an AU if Twi can say that. Sunset's had an even greater effect than I would have thought. Speaking of... while I get Celestia's concern in regards to the report, why does she seem so against the two getting closer emotionally? Does she just assume it won't work out, thus damaging any friendship (and harmony) between them? I feel like sitting them both down and having a frank discussion about what she knows might work out better than keeping them in the dark when, at any moment, they could find out (Celestia has no idea when, or if, that other Twi, Spike, or Glimmer will show back up). That said... full disclosure has never really been her style, for better or worse. All these characters are rather dear to me (not sorry), so it hope it all works out for them.
I don't...
...
I understand that risks are an unavoidable part of securing the future when there are a lot of uncertain variables. But the more Celestia mulls over her plan, and the more background information is gradually filtered out to us, the less convinced I become about the path she's chosen. Risks might be unavoidable, but I'm no longer certain that the risk she's settled on is necessary.
Just as I become less convinced that a thousand some years of experience is actually of any kind of benefit to decision making, since it seems that Celestia has, instead of evaluating every possible path and choosing the best one among them, has fatalistically latched onto the path that was shown to her by a magical artifact that has been proven by itself to be unreliable.
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Yup. Mainly for me.
It did take a lot of convincing to get her to that point (and personally, I don't think she actually believes it, but she's going with it in the face of Celestia and Sunset's support).
And don't worry it'll all work out!
...eventually.
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While Celestia did secure the report, that's quite true. She doesn't know when those three might show up again. She's working with only pieces to a puzzle that's semi-clear to all of us. And it's hard to work with so little information, especially for someone who's used to having excellent intelligence (we saw just how extensive the ESS is in Cloudsdale).
Which one are we talking about? The mirror?
And so we begin in earnest. You know, I was actually rereading "Grading on a Bell Curve" for something like the fourth time when you posted this. I'm certainly going to reread the reast of the series in preparation for this one. Really looking forward to this, as well as "The Last Train Home". You and Monochromatic have me hooked on RariTwi,and I regret nothing.
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If you're going through it, you'll definitely want to refresh on the Applications Arc! Enjoy the ride, through time and on the train!
Hmm. Celestia is afraid that Twilight is too much of a distraction for Sunset, and her friendshipping will suffer? Pushing Twilight together with Moondancer might solve that. Or make everything way worse with jealousy. Celestia should follow her own advice and let it develop naturally.
Also, chaos surges are the best.
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Chaos surges are AWESOME.
Despite everything, the REAL question people should be walking away from this chapter with is this...
...does Moon Dancer keep the tail?
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The Mirror, yes, and looking back that comment was a bit vague in terms of the "unreliability," but what the mirror shows clearly varies depending on the circumstances surrounding those who look into it. Circumstances change, outcome changes. Based on that, it seems poorly thought out to base any plans on what is seen in the Mirror.
I don't know. It just seems to me that Celestia's plan, whatever it actually is, is involving risks that aren't really needed, accounting for my limited knowledge of the situation. With all the hopes for eventual forgiveness involved, you'd think she was planning to disregard Sunset as an individual and use her solely as a means to some end.
I am like, 90% certain that the apprehension I'm feeling is the desired effect.
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In Applications, Sunset did one day ask what the Mirror showed. Celestia only answered with one word: "Potential." And by its very nature, potential does change. Which means both of her visions are still possible.
I cannot confirm nor deny this statement.
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Oh, I forgot to mention! Raven may be a side character... but she's also a crazy important one. She'll be coming up a lot in this Arc!
It was around this time that the long-dormant plans for construction of the CSGU High-Energy Magic Laboratory Annex were put on the fast track. Of particular interest were the prominent “Experiment in Progress” warning lamps outside every warded spellcasting chamber...
I'm sure Celestia believes she has some very good reasons for manipulating her students like this, and I even understand keepiung some of the information under wraps. But in other cases, I just want to hit her with a rolled-up newspaper. Old mare's been playing the Great Game for so long that she's all but forgotten how people work on an individual level.
As for the main plot, this looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.
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After which they realized it wasn't enough and those lamps were put in outside every room in the entire complex.
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People are SO MAD at Tia! Ooooh! It's glorious.
Fun's one word for it.
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Nice, I'll look forward to that.
I dunno that I'm mad at Tia, per se, but particularly given that she knows she's nearly lost Sunset, and knows she quite probably DID lose her in the original timeline, I do kinda want to join in the 'smacking her with a rolled up newspaper' group. I get her motivation, really I do. This is bigger than any one mare's sanity, or even several... but that doesn't mean I have to like it. And that little tidbit about Spike? Gah, tease us more with her potential shadiness, why don't you? ...There's a joke in there somewhere about a sun goddess being shady.
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Whatever do you mean?
What? They never talked about any dragon. Who's Spike?
The Goddess of the Sun casts a long shadow. Fear the shadow when she is turned away. Fear the source of the shadow when she is watching.
My mouse was probably smoking from the speed I moved it to hit Like on this.
...haven't actually read it yet, but Novel deserves my trust
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Wow... thanks! That's actually a pretty big deal. I hope the story earns it!
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...k, so we're playing that game, are we?
“That night… we never did speak of the dragon in the photograph.”
“No,” Celestia said. “And we both know why.”
While I don't necessarily know who that name is, in this go-round anyway since the name could change, but certainly that quote is them talking about a... yeah...
Now, that said, I am more than content to await developments, but you're way too deep in this to feign innocence.
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I'm always perfectly innocent... until the time is right.
Then?
i.imgur.com/jbb6uan.gif
Boom.
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Hmm... no boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always boom tomorrow.
Celestia, if you cockblock Sunset and Twilight I'll be SO MAD
Wait, is cockblock the right term since they're both girls?
Hello there. Very little I can say beyond, excellent work on the start of this story. It took a while to get started, but was quite well worth the wait. Yeah, I love the work you've done on the characterizations, exchanges and future chapter set-up. I particularly liked Celestia's inner reflections, the chat between Celestia and Raven, Sunset and Twilight's argument concerning the precautions and preparations and the reactions to Moondancer's accidental transformation . And, yeah, while I'm not much into same gender pairings (unless they are specifically in the characters' character), I have to admit Twi and Sunset DO balance each other out quite well.
And, once again, I will most assuredly be looking forward to more of this, but will also be fully willing to respect that you have other matters in your life requiring attention too.
That's quite a bold claim -- seeing as I've already become so interested that I've spent the last few days trying to get all caught up on everything Wavelengths-related. Guess I picked a perfect(?) time to get into things!
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It's true. Someone needs to keep some perspective around here. Sooner or Later... Boom!
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I had way too much fun with that little bit of spoilers. ^^ Thank you!
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Excellent. You've already fallen into my trap!
Ah, at last, back to the present. So Celestia has mixed feelings on the Sunlight shipping, huh? And given the visions and particularly the unpredictable destinies involved here (compared to canon Twilight's relatively straight path), well, all that guilt is ominous. Nice opening, though I expect things to get worse soon.
I guess Spike's egg isn't just lying around anymore either. I've got to go reread some of the other stories since many of the details have slipped my mind (particularly what Sunset saw in the mirror). They're still a long way off from when alicorn Twilight will show up again, but that will probably be awkward too, to say the least. Looking forward to another of your stories. Wonder how many other of the "alternate" Mane Six will show up, to either help the (possible) awkward triangle forming (or to take bets on how it'll go).
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I can't imagine why.
I don't believe we're going to have any of the Main Timeline Mane 6 in this one, save Twi, obviously. But the next one explores one directly and gives an oblique reference to another! By the time the Dreamers Arc ends, you'll have seen them all!
As for any triangles... well, I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about.
This is an interesting start and I hope Moondancer will soon be returned to normal.
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Who can say?! Besides me, obviously.
I won't lie, I completely forget why Celestia doesn't want Sunlight, unless she never said it.
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Her reaction to Twilight (though not necessarily to "Sunlight" specifically) is chronicled in Princess Celestia: A Brief History and The Clousdale Report.
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Eyes the cast, eyes the beta-readers and editors list. Opts to remain silent
Huzzah! The stage has been set, now it is time to start the show! I've been looking forward to this. I can never get enough shimmy, after all.
So far, Celestia seems to be keeping a number of secrets. Chess master Celestia is always interesting, especially if it requires her be almost duplicit at times. Although, whose to say what secrets she is keeping in this story. Her intentions might be as benevolent as ever, but does she really know what's best? I guess we'll see.
Also, book-title tie in so early in a story? That must mean it has significance moving forward. I'm onto your games Novel
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...sssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
ssssshhhhhhhhh
ssssh.
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That seems to be the question of the hour.
Oh, is that right? So the title of How Not To Use Your Royal Prerogative doesn't have any significance since it was at the end? Hmmmmmmmmm?
I'M INSIDE YOUR HEAD! INSIDE. YOUR. HEAD.
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All I'm saying is a book is more useful after you've read it and GET YER MIND GAMES OUTTA ME NOGGIN YE DEVIOUS WORD SMITH!
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Far too late, boyo. Far too late. Imma in yer brain, messin' with yer... something something somethings.
YUP! /micdrop
And now we have Celestia who is gonna matchmaker Twilight and Moon Dancer together so Sunset doesn't get tied up with Twilight. Always the chess master and always thinking of the broader picture. This may be "better" for Sunset but it doesn't mean it's the right decision.
Moondancer as a doe sounds fucking adorable.
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Interesting theory. You'll have to see if you're right or not! After all, she doesn't actually say she's going to do anything...
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I will not rest until all ponies are deer! ALL THE CUTE DEERPONES!