Equestrian City is a massive metroplex of lives, stories, crimes and adventures! Sometimes these stories don't make the front page news nor catch the majority eye, and other times they are right in your face!
In a world where superheroes and magic have been combined, the unlikely happens on a daily basis. Yet it's the stories that occur elsewhere during the headline stealing events of the day that make just as much of a difference to the city. Be it in a small way or much larger later on.
Welcome to Equestrian City! Where everyone is doing something, just not always saving the day.
A Collection of Side Stories for Equestrian City aka MetaVerse
Chapters (8)
Ah, those with a degree of strength (Malcontent) take advantage of the weak (Aria) and in their frustration, the weak seek to dominate those weaker still. Yeah, he definitely has Aria on a leash. And if I remember Dead Money, you best respect the person holding it...at least for the time being.
9100144
exactly right. hate spreads. mal to aria to cupcake
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Thst was the vicious cycle I hoped my readers would see and comment on. All of them a victim of someone else much like real life tends to be but not to such an extreme always ;)
Glad you liked it and stay tuned for more!
Very good and nice insight into Sci-Twi Midnight Sparkle. Nice detail ^_^
So that's why she's working with Sombra. A noble goal but she misses the forest for all the trees. Would Shining Armor be alright with her killing countless innocents in twisted experiments just for the prospect of getting him back? How many times has she told herself that the ends justify the means until she started to believe it?
In the end of the day, she's played the Pontius Pilate; Committing a horrible act and then simply washing her hands clean of it as if it can just simply be swept under the rug.
9201901
Ah yes. You see what I was hoping to hint at. Even IF she makes a breakthrough..what would her brother think? Would she hide it?
All of it is just steps towards the Professor Midnight we eventually see, one whose lost all compassion, what little she had living by: The ends justify the means.
I'm glad you liked it! :)
Just in time for Halloween 🎃
9254801
Do tell, we love to hear how readers feel and react! We left the ending as open ended as possible in terms of what it was and wasn't. Reality or Nightmare, ect.
If that was real, Twilight has crossed a major M.E.H.(Moral Event Horizon). She deleted(possibly) her son's memory/self and the evidence of the previous 'Spikes'. The first 'rollback/scrub' was necessary because of Spike's overreaction. This time Spike understood why she did it, and didn't react in ANY form of negative way but she STILL did it without a hint of remorse. This makes me concerned for her sanity.
Okay, I have to admit that that was scary. What is it they say about science and the vast majority of it being trial and error? That would seriously be one intense thing to think that you've been unmade and remade again and again. What Twilight did decide to do in reality was a much smarter idea than in most science fiction. Though she did it the right way: feeding information in small bits and learning like a real brain instead of giving it complete access like an Ultron or HAL. Hers is what I would consider a true A.I.
Ouch. Very well done. I definitely see the cycle of abuse here: Mal dominates Aria, who dominates poor Cupcake... damn.
Oof. Spooky. This Twilight probably went off the deep end LONG ago... she's totally lost sight of her humanity, all for getting her brother back.
And the real tragedy of this is, should she succeed, I can see "Professor Midnight" confused as to why Shining Armor recoils in horror from her, and asks "What have you done?"
Oof. That was genuinely unsettling. Well done. Especially on the ambiguity of the ending... you want to say that Twi would never have done such a thing in reality, ever... but there's still that niggling sense of doubt, that little voice asking "what if?"... and for that I congratulate you. Great chapter!
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We left the ending pretty much unresolved.
We wanted a spooky feeling towards the end to hold onto.
But thanks for the feedback!
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Its amazing what even the most grounded of people will do when it's the people they care for hanging in the balance.
I even toyed with the idea hes dead but shes hanging on in hopes of beating death. But that was sorta pulled aside for now we felt wed reached a level of what I like to call "What the ^$*@?" Energy. ;)
All goes back to decisions. Decisions we make affect others and ourselves years or days or minutes after we make them.
This twilight didnt get to learn the magic of friendship..and this a series of events fired off, as they would in anyone's life that changed the SciTwi we know from lovable Thelma archetype to Deathshead from Wolfenstein.
Thanks for the feedback!
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We left it completely open for now on purpose. I wanted people to feel the sadness from Twilightts story about Spike.
We never really deal with what happened. Only a glimpse here and before in the main story. We may just delve in full flashback eventually if the fancy strikes me.
Nothing is more relatable then the loss of a friend or a pet. In this case both.
The entire idea of "am i..me?" Aas where this all started in the writers room as we threw around ideas. Zap called it genius if I recall when I pitched the idea outline n.n
Thanks for the feedback!
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I was hoping you would chime in!
The whole goal was to get everyone "Spookified" as I called it in the pitch. This whole uneasy feeling as Spike watches these clips. Early notes i got back from beta readers indicated some felt him watching movies wasnt scary so we almost just ditched this. I'm glad i listened to everyone else who told me not to xD.
The way Twilight worked on Spike was intentionally done to show that. The flaws we saw in HAL and Ultron had tk be at least cautionary tales somewhere in this world by now in one form or another. I'd assume as booknerd as she was Twilight would totally research everything on it.
Treating and raising it with human feelings and treating it as an equal is the best way I can foresee a.i. not going skynet on us all. Sadly I think well still forget ourselves and someone will backhand a robot butler and there comes the matrix!
Thank you as always we look forward to all feedback and love to interact when we are able!
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what is the term again? A bold euro? uh tall oreo? eh bald ewe, no?
9458574
Very good n.n
Well can't have superhero/villain shenanigans without a government agency handy now can we. I appreciate the little test the Director gives out. As the saying goes, "No plan survives first contact with the enemy". Excellent way to see the response from new recruits. Prevents freezing up and putting others in danger in the field.
So I take it Sweetie Drops and the Bon Bon we met briefly in Equestrian City are related then. If so would make sense.
I'm racking my brain to think if I should know this Diane, though.
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The governments of the world always have a sorta of covert agency to..er..shield...us from harm ;) it's like a rule in comic lore! :)
Yup, last we saw bonbon yelled at Trixie in jail. :)
And Diane and her role in why the government has already started training agents to deal with Equestrian Magic years before it became a problem is another story point to be dealt with in a side story.
I had always wanted to work her in and I was happy when I figured out a place to slide her into the lore. Shes such an adorable little Cupcake after all.
Thanks for the response!
Diane?!
...You have my curiosity and my attention.
Also, good work on all the other content here. Sweetie Drops being Bon-Bon's mother is a particularly clever and unique way of reconciling the two different names and identities, props for that! XD And I also got a kick out of the Danger Room-esque simulation of a manticore too.
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Oh good. that was my hope ;)
Bonbon and sweetie drops were a quick fix when I realized wed made an oversight in the prison scenes. It was too late to just pull the chapter. Wed already published xD I like how it turned out.
Stay tuned to all three story sets! More down the line.
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Heheh
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Oh! Sweet mother of mercy, this is bad!
9460175
Oh? Has a revelation occured? ;)
Okay, how the hell is DIANE-never mind, just say it's magic and be done with it.
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All in good time ;) Stay tuned for more! :D
And this is how Pinkamena is introduced, albiet only with a small, initial appearance.
9472408
It does leave the reader asking questions and eager for answers ;)
9461692
All in good time ;)
Well that was a nice change of pace. Not sure whose to blame in this situation if anyone is really to blame. Maybe Trender...I mean he does have a girlfriend in Rarity for the better part of a year. Then again, the heart knows the love it wants and he and Rarity weren't exclusive. That's the way Simple Ways seemed to me from the beginning. Fans disliked him for liking AJ but he was never really interested in Rarity and I think that really shows here. I may be luckless in love myself but I do know you never really know what you're looking for until you find it.
But enough of the love angle, though it could well tie into Applejack's whole visit. Wonder why Rarity would send that donation and not expect someone to have a few suspicions of their own. Unless of course it wasn't Rarity herself, maybe.
This was a well-done chapter. I must admit I was a bit on edge reading the flashback scene because I was anxious about what on earth would happen in the past with AJ, Rarity and Trenderhoof... so good job there with keeping me hooked through all of that!
So glad you all so far have enjoyed it! ^_^
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Not sure. After reading it again Rarity was giving off a very possessive vibe. Even if she and Trender were dating, he's well within his right to fall in love with someone else. Admittedly the way he went about it wasn't the best but one instant like this should never have put their friendship in danger. From the fallout in the main story it seems that Rarity wasn't being mature about the situation afterwards through her actions. Don't have a clue what that donation was all about but it could be her trying to make amends with what happened between them and could be the first step to making things right.
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Both excellent points! One thing that should be noted that without the lasting friendships ALL the girls had with each other, AJ and Rarity's personalities skewed a bit. Not drastically, but enough to start down a different road. Thats part of the subtle changes I hoped to show, along with the huge changes that are very apparent in the storylines (Granny's dead, Rarity's parents won't talk with her, Sweetie's dead, Luna is the police commissioner after her last job EXPLODED :P)
Love the chatter about the story! ;)
Nice little look into things in this not so far off place. Truth be told, Starlight and her dad are giving me some Idi Amin, Papa Doc-esque vibe with the way they are treating people. Can only imagine what life is like for everyone else who is not so "fortunate". And looks like Trixie is getting the raw end of some deal here if she's getting shipped off to Sombra. Fascinating that Firelight has the info on what's really going down in Equestrian City while the cops, politicians and heroes chase their tails.
This first half was great and eerily unsettling when you read between the lines (Not that there were any lines to begin with). More on this would be a treat to read, particularly from Sunburst's perspective. Really hope he and Stellar can get out of this somehow, though I suspect nothing is ever really that easy.
Tell me about it. You write an alt verse where two characters aren't together because the ship isn't your cup of tea ad decide to have no ships at all and the sharks just come from everywhere.
Nice little touch with Dash and Pinkie.
9551168
We're so glad you enjoyed and hope you will enjoy future installments here as well as in the main story! ^_^
Yeesh. Firelight and Starlight in this AU really give me the creeps. Especially the former. *shudders*
So now we have mention of Trixie here? And Starlight is gonna be sent in to fake friendship with her to exploit it? Nice reversal from canon I must say. XD
Good work as always. I'll be checking out the updates for the main story soon too. ^_^
9613371
Starlight didn't get the friendship lesson from season 5 shoved down her throat in this reality.
I took that into account when writing her in.
I wanted their world (the Symmetry Dominion) to be vastly different in government and culture.
Magic users are considered above all and the royal family are all magic users.
Glad ya liked it. I got some worried beta comments about the relationship between steller and Mr. Starlight. But I think it matches the atmosphere of "survive how you can"
I was gonna wait til I read the rest of the short chapters, but this 1st one was a real knockout & kinda ironically too. In Wubcake’s world, Cupcake falls in love with Adagio, then later on she fall in with an OC siren that she created. Here in the Meta-verse, she’s in love & in a relationship with Aria. Now, we need someone make Cupcake fall in love with Sonata, the trifecta is complete!
Jesus, this was depressing...
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The grim reality of a disaster is never glorious.
The problem of a regular one is horrific enough but now add onto that the horror the medical community is facing now: new afflictions new pain new conditions all that are now following scientific behavior.
This was meant to give us a glimpse into the past and show us two things:
SciTwi and her reason for going to the Eastern Empire
And
How no one typically starts out a monster. They always have reasons that are usually absolutely valid to them. Alot of times loved ones are involved.
On an personal level I know what it's like watching loved ones dwindle away, powerless to fix the problem despite all our advanced technology.
Having radiation exposure coupled with regeneration spells fused to him, poor shining armor can't be conscious until he either dies (not possible with regeneration as he has it) or she can find a way to fix him.
Part of the reason she gets obsessed with magic. Not the total reason, but some of its motivation. We see how isolated shes become already without the help of the 3rd movie and watch her begin a journey that leads to a decent into madness and obsession.
To a place where compassion is gone. There is only purpose. Determination. The goal oriented mind.
That's what I hope people see. :)
Thank you for the reply! :)
9691245
I did not familiarize myself with the WubCakeVerse prior. I wanted to have her as a guest shot and to show Aria in her own side moment.
The purposes were I wanted to highlight a couple of character moments with Aria:
As much as a victim of abuse some might feel she was with Mal, she is equally abusing those she finds beneath her. Using them as he uses her in a vicious cycle that occurs when abuse isn't treated appropriately.
I wanted her to be presented as someone who we could see is as manipulative as Mal was but not as long term planned as he was presented as. She's working short term plans like food and pleasure while he's working a long game of his plans.
The other thing I wanted to show was that she is NOT an innocent victim. Shes simply an abusive personality that's been out in check by another kind of monster. Both get what they want and both arent entirely honest with the other.
One might even call it a relationship of convenience.
But it's nothing like love. Or shipping.
All too often I worry about falling into the tried and tired shipping of an oc and a canon character. Now personally I think it's fine, I've noticed alot of vocal opposition on these and other places we tend to congregate in.
So we take the idea and turn it on its head with AriaContent.
Thanks foe the reply!
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Wow, that's a lot to take in to both the situations that Sci-Twi & Cupcake were in at the time. Both so broken, confused, & in a state of desperation. I also understand why Aria has buyer's remorse about being with Mal, by the way she lost temper at Cupcake.
Thx for answering & you're welcome for the comments. I'll try to read the rest later. Take care
The part about Twilight taking Spike to the vet, talking to the doctor & .... Well, its just say I was in that situation a nearly a year ago...
Always, this was a perfect blend of sci-fi & horror with that nightmare, Spike had. The scene where Spike almost killed Twilight & the other one where, Spike close to deletion is something you see in the old days of horror, like that one movie, where a A.I. goes rogue & starts killing the crew in a space station, it was set it.
Alright Im done, ttyl & I made a blog to promote Equestrian City, hope it helps.
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I drew from several times I'd had to deal with pets in my life. None of the times were easy and remembering them are always hard. I like to think I channeled some of it into Twilight.
I always worry I shouldn't have put that scene on the side, it feels like I should have put it in the main story line due to it's powerful exposition and it's emotional moments.
Oh thank you! We appreciate that! Throw us a link when you can! :)
Can't wait to hear more :)
9693429
You're welcome & here's the link, hope it works
Interesting use of the manticore & also weird that Lyra and Drops are more like Hawkeye & Black Widow b instead of best friends & secret lovers, but this a AU as well as the blast alter everyone's personality.
God, I wish AJ slapped that piece of a shit! No wonder, Rarity will donate to her business (nice callback), but wants nothing to do with her, its cause of Tender!