Chapter 33: For Futures Unwritten
Twilight felt a tightness in her chest as she made her way through Ponyville alongside her friends. Just on the edge of town, she paused. Although the smoldering wreckage and scorched earth had long since been cleared away, the empty plot of land before her reflected the hole in her heart. Where once stood the Golden Oak Library—her first home in Ponyville—now only a vacant field of grass remained.
Applejack trotted up to Twilight with a shovel slung across her withers. “You okay, sugarcube?” she asked, placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.
Twilight sighed and levitated a small box from her saddlebag. She carefully rotated it in midair, examining the carvings adorning each side. None of the carved pony figures were alike, each with subtle but significant differences. Some were tall, some were well-built, and each had a unique cutie mark. But what stood out the most to Twilight was that each of the three tribes were equally represented. Celebrating and dancing amongst one another with flowing vines and young saplings growing between them.
“My, the level of detail is exquisite,” Rarity chimed in, leaning close with sparkling eyes. “Maybe if it had some sapphires to compliment the—no wait, emeralds!”
“Yeah yeah,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes, as Fluttershy started to inch closer to get a better look. Rainbow flexed her wings, flying just above the rest of the group. She hovered above Twilight, peeking her head just over Twilight’s shoulder. “So, what’s in the box?”
Twilight cleared her throat and used her magic to nudge Rainbow off to the side. “It was a gift,” Twilight said. She looked at the box again, losing herself in the complexity of the carved figures. A small smile crossed her lips. “A gift from Ivy Bramble, the elder of Peacegrove Village.”
Twilight opened the box, revealing a seedling lined with intricate golden veins and a protruding sprout. It teemed with a familiar magic signature, one that filled her with nostalgia and hope. She slowly trotted to the center of the field. Though long gone, she could feel a faint aetheric imprint left on the land. Just like the Castle of the Two Sisters, she thought.
Pinkie Pie suddenly materialized right next to Twilight, leaning in super close to the box. “Oooh, is that the special thingy you were talking about?” She squeaked out rapidly.
“It is,” Twilight said quietly. Her smile grew a little wider.
“I guess this is kind of like its birthday! We’ll have to throw a party later!” Pinkie said, hopping in place.
Twilight gave Applejack a knowing look, who nodded and gave the shovel to Twilight. With a mighty thrust, Twilight struck the earth. She tore into the dirt and piled it to the side, methodically digging a hole just right for the young sapling. Removing the seedling from its container, she held it above the hole. Sure enough, she could see the magic along the swirling gold mingling with the Golden Oak Library’s remnants in the soil. “So the story was true…” she muttered.
“You say somethin’?” Applejack cocked her head.
Twilight glanced away, brushing a tear away with a wingtip. “Do you remember the story Ivy told us about the colt who fled Peacegrove?” Applejack nodded. “I thought the connection was too good to be true. But from what I can see,” Twilight motioned toward the seedling, “the sapling she gave us is a relative of the library. My library. It came from the Silverglade after all!”
Applejack grinned. “Fancy that! So it ain’t all a bunch a’ hooey after all!” She took the shovel from Twilight’s magical grip and stood over the hole. “Now let’s do right by it and make some new memories.”
Surrounded by her friends, Twilight planted the sapling, giving Applejack space to gently pack dirt around it. Twilight watched as magic flowed from her hooves and into the soil, illuminating the growing roots underground with flashes of soft, purple light. She found herself lost in the sight, unaware if a minute had passed or only seconds, but then a faint glow caught the corner of her eye. Wispy trails of aether emanated from her friends, flowing toward the sapling. Although not strictly earth pony magic, it was still a shared moment between her and her best friends. The sapling shuddered as it sprouted out of the earth, blooming with a small, gilded flower.
“Thank you, everypony,” Twilight said, feeling a warmth spread over her body. “It means a lot to me that you came with me.”
“Oh, Twilight, you know we wouldn’t miss something like this for the world,” Fluttershy said from behind her mane. “I know how you felt when… Well…” Her face trailed off and she looked down, digging her hoof into the ground.
Twilight hugged Fluttershy. “I know. We all lost something that day, but what’s important is we didn’t lose each other, and we never will.”
“You said it!” Spike piped up, leaping up onto Twilight’s backside. “I like my new room in the castle, but I still sometimes miss that old library. So cozy!”
“It’s a shame I never got to see it,” Starlight said dejectedly. “Unless…” She put her hoof to her chin with a wicked sneer.
“No!” Twilight shouted, her wings extending in a panic. “No time travel!”
“I know, I was just kidding!” Starlight snickered with a smug grin. Twilight felt her heart pound in her chest, but soon found herself laughing alongside her friend.
“It’ll be a long time before it grows to be the same size as the original, but it warms my heart knowing future generations will be able to study and learn in a safe haven like I once did,” Twilight said. She sighed contently and gazed at the sapling in silence, reflecting. “Come on, girls. Let’s go home.”
Twilight sat at her desk, her notes neat and orderly—for once. She carefully shuffled through a large stack, slipping colored tabs into key sections for reference. Dominating the upper shelf of her desk was a copy of the tribal diagram. She looked up at it with a smile. Her long journey had started with this simple drawing, and now it would end in kind.
She glanced out the window. The sunset hues of orange and gold dominated the sky, a new night beginning as the shadows lengthened. It’s twilight. The thought relaxed her, sharpened her mind. Finally, she would have time to herself. Setting down the sorted stack, she stood and slowly walked toward her map of Equestria. Colored pins marked her journey, each one representing a new experience. Images replayed in her mind: the glittering caverns of Amethyst Hollow, the majesty of the Golden Oak, and the unstable ruins of the Cloudsbane. Her satisfaction grew as her gaze alighted upon the Tree of Harmony.
She found herself looking further southward, toward the edge lacking all but the roughest of details. A slight unease pricked at her mind as the dark images from the aetherstream returned. If I’m going to be a true princess of Equestria, then I need to learn more about how the world works. How friendship manifests itself between dragons, between griffins, between all kinds of creatures. She pursed her lips. No, I have to experience it. And I think the best place to start is…
The lands to the south, across the ocean, were not as well documented as Equestria and the surrounding kingdoms. The words “Storm Empire” were spread across a wide swath of land.
Twilight knew that in ancient times, these lands had not been the dominion of an empire, but contact with the region had been suppressed for centuries.
One day, she thought. She pressed her hoof gently on the map, and as she focused, she could swear just for a moment that she felt the pain and darkness that gripped the people of the fallen Empire. For now, though…
She shook the thoughts away and returned to her desk. The urge to record her experiences and conclusions down to paper gripped her. It was borderline intoxicating, which for most ponies would have been unusual. Not so for Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. The final step of her journey was a simple report, one that she had been longing for since the first night those three words had come to her.
“Seek…
…Learn…
…Know…”
Twilight perked up. She could swear that the familiar voice had called to her, but all she heard now were the curtains blowing in the breeze. Using her magic, she closed the window and returned to her work before her. This research will be for the betterment of all living creatures all over the world, she thought. With a quick dab of ink on a fresh quill, and a smile on her face, she took to the blank parchment before her.
“Thaumaturgical Ocularity, or Magisight: The visual phenomenon of magic at its most fundamental level. A first-hoof account by Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
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Sequel when?
Strong characterization, lovely storytelling, and epic world building.
Thank you for sharing it with us!
Can I just say I love this story! It's taken me on such a roller coaster of experiences and brought such a unique view on Twilight Sparkle. I hope to read future stories from you.
Congrats on finishing this one, PK. I know you have a sequel planned, but just take it easy and give it your best
YEEEEE
Let's do it again next year!
This was fantastic PK. Twilight planting the new Golden Oak is such a nice moment, and it thematically makes sense. It kinda feels cyclical with the whole student/mentor thing that happened with Celestia and Twilight, and how it happens with Twilight and Luster. This really feels like the ascension we never got to see in the show. And I know some stuff like the Clouds Bane has me aching to try and make some music stuff
, I'm just waiting for a synth
Well I do hope there is going to be a sequel.
A wonderful story from start to finish. Hard to believe that it's been over a year since this whole thing began, let alone that we cracked 130K words in the process! Not bad, not bad at all.
This has been an excellent story from start to finish, and managed to sustain a trilling pacing even though Twilight never really had to deal with an antagonist or even a particularly arduous timetable. (Aside from that whole Cloudsbane business...) That's a tricky thing to do, but this story managed to supply all of its own drama quite organically. It has internal drama with Twilight herself, external drama with the friends she avoids and then travels with, and even a nice bit of action complete with explosions!
You've done good work here. There's always room for improvement, but this is a promising step.
10304724
The cyclical poeticism of the ending here was something we decided on long ago and we're really happy with it. I'm really quite pleased with how the whole story turned out, and my dear PK has become a much stronger author along the way.
10304071
Haha, it'll be a while before a proper sequel. I have some ideas swirling about, but I need to solidify the details.
10304091
Thank you! Those were things I tried really hard to achieve when writing this story. These are all traits that exemplify what MLP means to me, so I thought they were important to show in a story.
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Thank you so much! I hope to write even more fun stories with Twilight in the future! I've got a few things in mind, along with a proper sequel to Magisight.
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Thanks for all of your support in Manechat and other servers. I'm definitely gonna chill for a few weeks and let my brain settle before diving deep into the sequel. But if the right motivation strikes me beforehand, I won't squander it!
10304392
That's the plan!
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Thanks Rad! I wanted to try and be cyclical, but without being corny and overdone. I thought a planting of a new Golden Oak Library was a good way to show this, and it was something we decided on doing very early on into writing the earth pony arc. One could say that this whole story is akin to "Magical Mystery Cure Part 2," in some ways. I'm really glad you enjoyed it!
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I've got one or two ideas in the works!
10304792
Thank you! I always loved reading your comments, since I can tell you also appreciate big adventures with character growth like I do. Pacing was something I sometimes fretted over. How much downtime do I leave between each major arc? How much "fluff" should I have? I tried very hard to make sure each chapter added at least one thing to move the plot along. The lack of a real antagonist made it tough, but I am very happy with the result. I think our little Twilight has grown a decent a mount here! Once again, thank you for reading and offering your comments! <3
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take as much time as you need!
Loved this story hope you do a sequal and if you do can't wait for it be cool if twilight learnt about and how to use magic other than pony and bat pony magic too
10305261
Oh goodness, someone finally noticed. I'm sure you'll enjoy the rest of the story then
Congratulations on the finish. It was a nice ride, this story.
Though now I want to see Twilight being all, "Hey Celestia, Luna! I can control dark magic!" complete with the green aether from her eyes and have the Sisters panicking in disbelief.
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I think you're the first person to call attention to this! I've been a huge FF14 player since 2.0 dropped, and it's made for some great inspiration!
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Yup, I've definitely got ideas for a sequel. I just need to iron things out and then actually get off my butt and write!
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I'm glad you think so too! A strong opening is key to snagging the reader. If you can nail the opening scene or the first chapter, then you've likely snagged the reader. A satricial movie critic once told me "A movie's gotta starts with an explosion. SHABLAMMO! Yknow, to get the audience's attention." Specifically, this was in context of Star Wars: A New Hope. The opening shots of the Rebels fleeing the Star Destroyer, followed by the Stormtrooper shootout, is one of the best opening sequences in cinema history, in my opinion. I don't quite start with an explosion, but I thought hard about what would be a "mystery genre equivalent," so to speak.
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Hah! Would be funny to see that, yeah! Thanks again for all of your comments over the course of the story. They were always a joy to read!
10306699
Well, I've nearly finished the story now, and I now know that this strange voice was, in fact, not at all like Hydaelyn. Extremely fun read, and I love the portrayal of magic you've built up. Definitely worth it's place on my 'best of the best' bookshelf!
Probably time to finally read this, hmm....?
If I don't start the first chapter and then forgetagain(Edit: I wish Fimfic was a bit better about "placing" comments in chapters, even if you comment from the front page without thinking about it. Ah well.)
10308864
Sorry I didn't get to this sooner! I'm glad you've been enjoying it! Would you believe Amethyst Hollow was a placeholder name in the draft? It was just something I came up with on the spot, and I thought "Hmmm I shouldn't go with the very first name, but I'll right it down until I come up with something better." Then Denzy, my proofreader and fiance, said "What that name is PERFECT what are you doing USE IT!"
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Oh yes, I wanted that sort of... Eager-giddyness she has when she's learning or experimenting with something new. I also thought Sunburst would make a great companion for this part of the story. Having Twilight go alone wouldn't be very interesting, and Sunburst seemed like a perfect match based on his personality and the location.
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Hah. Hope you enjoy it all the same, man.
10315546
I think you got the perfect amount of affectionate touching (and smacking). Very close friends but not quite shipping material.
I have been reading this on my kindle when I go to bed at night, so I haven't been able to listen to the music yet. I will definitely do that this evening, though. Thanks for the reminder!
10315546
I've just listened to the music (except for Cloudsbane: I'm saving it to listen to as I read the appropriate section), and I'm very impressed! Lovely and evocative, each piece fits their parts of the story quite well! Nice graphics on the videos, too!
If you don't mind me asking, what sort of software does Heartsong use?
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Thank you! Getting just the right level of friendliness was a little tricky, but it helps when you've been with these wonderful characters for a decade. It's fascinating how half of the dialog and actions just seem to write itself. ...Of course, when you thrust them out into new situations, sometimes it gets tricky.
--
Thank you for the compliments on the music, and I'm sure Denzy appreciates it as well! I think he said that he PMed you regarding the questions you had about his music, so I hope he was able to help you.
The covert art for Cloudsbane was commissioned specifically to reflect the content of the chapters. When I saw the finished weather golem, I almost shit myself. The music and imagery really help tie the writing together. I'm glad you've been enjoying everything!
Goddamn.
Haven't read a story like this in a long time.
Well done, well done indeed!
~Skeeter The Lurker
Wonderful! I just finished it, and I have to say that it was an entertaining and satisfying read. I loved the epic exploration and discovery of the nature of the different tribes's magic. Very well done!
That was beautiful
Plus, it really feels like all of this could've happened between the movie and S8, and S8-9 would just make even more sense that way.
Final nitpicks:
- (we discussed this in Manechat already, but for completeness) some of the early chapters use "never seen ... before" a few too many times
- some of the later chapters use "gazing into the middle distance" and "nicker" maybe one too many times
- When Twilight started looking for the pegasus nexus, my first thought was that should try making a triangle out of the first two nexi and see if that lands anywhere plausible on the map. At the time I just assumed she did try that and a hundred other failed ideas "off-page". But then she does exactly that to figure out she needs to visit the Castle of the Two Sisters/Tree of Harmony, so it retroactively seems odd that she didn't think of it before.
10330623
I believe I sent you a PM already thanking you, but it bears repeating! Thank you so much for reading and enjoying my story. I'm glad that it left such an impact on you. It means a lot as a writer.
10330866
I know we've talked lots in other places, but thanks again for reading it! It makes me happy that you enjoyed it, and comments like this and the above really help drive my motivation for a sequel!
10345562
I'm unfamiliar with the Rune Factory series, although I did watch a friend of mine play one of the more recent ones for about half an hour once. I should check it out.
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Thanks so much for all of the comments, both on here and in Manechat! I've been keeping track of these mistakes and I intend to address them sometime tonight. I really appreciate people pointing out weird little typos or missing words, since I do intend to get a physical print published. Before that though, me and Ember might do a second editing pass and just clean things up a bit.
I'm glad you enjoyed the placement of the fanfic chronologically, too! When I started drafting it, season 8 was brand new (I think we were on episode 4 or 5). I wasn't sure what direction they would go with the school and characters like Chancellor Neighsay, so I opted to set my fanfic in the interim between S7/The Movie and S8. I had to "stretch" that interim period though, since it's implied that S8 begins almost right after the conclusion of The Movie, but eh details details, who's keeping score? Nopony is gonna notice a few extra weeks on the calendar...
Canon compliance has always been an important aspect of fics for me. The more "believable" within the framework of the show/comics it is, the easier it is for me to read and enjoy it. This is why full-on AUs are harder for me to enjoy because "too much" is changed. My goal was to strike that sweet spot of adding new stuff built off of pre-existing canon and trying to keep it as compliant as possible.
It's kind of funny how S8 and S9 kind-of-sorta by coincidence validated some of the ideas in Magisight. Tirek using the word "aether" in S8 made me go gaijin4koma.jpg at the screen, and who can forget the some of the details of the Tree of Harmony in S8? Of course, I did borrow a few things from S8 and S9, so I can't take all the credit.
Yeah, that's definitely a big weak point that I need to address. Sometimes I found myself unsure how to describe it, and fell into a trap of repeating myself, even if I assumed I had enough gap between recycling words. I also used a ton of "as" sentences early on that need to be fixed.
"Gazing in the middle distance" is Ember's fault. That's totally his turn-of-phrase, but it grew on me super quickly and I did end up using it a lot lol.
I considered setting aside time for Twilight to do more research on sciencing out the locations of the next nexus, but something I was unsure on was how much "downtime" to have. One reason she didn't triangulate the pegasus location was because I wanted to save that for the final stretch of the story for the most dramatic moment. You're not the first person to bring this "downtime" issue up, so it's something for me to think about in the sequel. One goal of mine was to ensure each chapter had something that happened to push the plot forward, even if it was Burger Princess and a Wonderbolts Show. I didn't want to spend 3 chapters of Twilight in a library just reading, so I thought the best way was to ensure that she was forced into action before being given a proper chance to really sit down and think things through. The Cutie Map calling her right as she returned from Amethyst Hollow, the sudden freakish weather disaster right after Peacegrove Village... None of that is a coincidence
I really enjoyed this story, the adventure, world-building, and exploration of the different tribe's magic was so interesting! I hope one day you are able to write a sequel to this (I'd love to see Twilight tackle the Storm Empire).
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Thanks! I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Don't worry, a sequel is in the works! I just don't know how long it'll take to publish. Could take a year, could take two! But one way or another, one will be coming!
first off, I just want to say that this has been one hell of an adventure and that I enjoyed every second of it, you've really outdone yourself PK
second, send my thanks to Denzy for providing a killer soundtrack
and finally third, I eagerly await the sequel
Seriously, as someone who shares your adoration for twilight, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that you nailed her character and provided the most faithful depiction of her I've ever seen on fimfic, so congratulations on that front.
Thank you for writing this spellbinding story. I look forward to checking out the upcoming sequel.
10541506
Hiya! Thank you so much for your comments! Sorry it took a bit to reply, been distracted the last day or two...
I'll be sure to take a look at those typos and adjust them accordingly. I don't mind when typos or grammatical errors are pointed out. If anything it helps improve things for future readers!
I wanted to emphasize that most of the races in MLP's world experience and express friendship, but they do so in ways that might be different, or even alien, to ponies. It's kind of like how two brothers might be harsh with one another, but they don't mean anything ill by it. That being said, there are definitely far off lands, far away from Equestria, where the light of friendship has been stifled.
I'm very glad that you enjoyed the story, and it means a lot that you commented! Work on the sequel has been slowly underway, so it will likely be at least a year (possibly longer, given various IRL circumstances) before it's published, but it's definitely coming! I hope the long wait won't be much of a bother, and that you find similar enjoyment in the sequel as well.
10542127
Absolutely no worries about the wait, I've got plenty to read in the meantime and besides, I'd rather wait for a quality product than some rushed out half-flanked excuse for a story.
And I'm glad I could be of assistance.
10542546
Wanna know a fun secret?
The book titles are Star Wars prequel memes.
Also, thanks for pointing out the typo. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
you 'borrowed' this version of harmony from hydalin in ff 14 didnt you
even right down to how she first speeks to the player, though the words are a bit diffrent isntead of 'hear, feel, think' we have seek, learn, know which is naturaly more fiting for twilight, still that is but one of many refrences in this story but unlkie alot of ham fisted meme inserts i can tell alot of thought went into each refrence here and they feel natural and not out of place as a result
10818923
Oh yes, I definitely drew some inspiration from it! Perhaps too much...
10819375
Bingo. Only a few others have pointed this out. I've been playing FFXIV since 2.0 launched, and it's been a big inspiration for my work in both big and small ways. The same goes for my preference of the word aether.
Thanks for the kind words!
It took me longer than I expected (life finds a way to be inconvenient), but I finally finished this story. I enjoyed the journey and look forward to where you plan on taking the story next.