Ambre, Sarah, and Laurence do not seem to have that much in common besides living in the same city of southern France, and sharing a birthday on May 1st. However, the three of them will soon have to come together, as chance and fate force upon them the greatest change they ever experienced – forever altering their bodies, their minds, and their very lives.
How would you react, if suddenly you were cast into a skin not your own, and all you thought you knew about yourself or your place in the world was upended?
Treat it as a blessing, a new beginning, letting go of what once was? Try to hold on to yourself, while adapting to circumstances?
Or fight and reject it all, whatever the cost..?
Though we follow the same characters from start to finish as they learn to deal with their transformed lives, each Part of this tale is its own adventure, focusing on a specific plot and themes:
Prologue
Chapter 0
This is a sidefic set in the 'Five Score, Divided by Four' universe created by TwistedSpectrum. I recommend the original fic, as well as the various subsequent sidefics by other authors, but neither are required for enjoying the present tale, which is conceived as a stand-alone story exploring other corners of this universe. The fic does not currently take into account the 2019 update of Five Score, Divided by Four.
I thought the Five Score-verse was banned or something. Am I mis-remembering that?
9531192
It was a 'ban' with conditions: a Five Score story can be submitted, but it needs to be either completed, or at least 30.000 words long at the time of submission (in the case of this story, the latter is respected – with the inclusion of chapters currently in proofreading).
9531192
9531199
There is no longer any such thing in the rules. They haven't been in the rules since a considerable time before I joined fimfiction.
9531219
That's what I hoped for, to be honest; it would've been surprising if the ban was still enforced years after the initial Five Score hype died down.
But well, better safe than sorry ^^
More please
Well now! I haven't seen one of these in a dog's age. This is certainly an interesting start, you've a marvelously smooth writing style. 'tis so rare to see a cast of female protagonists, I look forward to the novelty.
9531368
Thank you!
One of my core writing principles is that sentences and paragraphs should flow organically from one to the other: each element is primed by the previous one, and sets the scene for the following one – even if sometimes it's more a question of phrase rhythm than actual content.
The main downside of is that, in my opinion, it makes me a pretty slow writer... ^^'
Vive la France ! Vive la République ! Vive le Joueurs du Grenier ! Cyprien et Squeezie !!!
9531361
Next chapter should be up around next Tuesday, after proofreading is complete!
9531426
Anything worth doing is worth doing right.
9531434
Ok then
9531493
Weeeeeeell... Looks like your wish has been granted in the end... ^^'
Proofreading has been a tad cursory as a result, don't hesitate to tell me if you notice any typo!
9531798
You are my saviour from my boredom and don't stop this story
9531798
And also viva la France or Viva la republike
Is them turn to be ponies and goes to equestria?
9532065
This would be the general trajectory yes, but it will turn out to be not so simple to get from point A to B...
9533117
A lot problem basicly are they gonna lie about their name and where there come from
What a charming story this is! Absolutely loving it.
9534031
Thanks! I'll do my best to keep up the good work! ^^
9534894
Thanks! ^^ Working hard on it!
This story is so good! The weekly wait for each chapter is killer!
A new Five Score story...
This will be good! Looking forward to more.
One question, though:
Will this be a Go-and-fight-Discord 5s or a Stay-and-deal-with-humans 5s?
9546465
I'll certainly do my best to make it good! ^^
This story will be mostly of the 'Stay-and-deal-with-humans 5s' variety, but will also touch on the post-Discord Equestria.
More please
9558115
Wish granted!
But... but pon! Be safe pon!
Sarge! ;-; please survive? Damn was this chapter intense and heart rending at the same time. Adrenaline is definitely pumping.
More please
Thanks for another awesome chapter and keeping on it. Careful not to burn yourself out though. I like your unique take on the 5s/4 and your focus on the different personalities and more so internal struggles. I find that really relatable and contemplative, especially as you have included a trans individual into your writing. I can relate a lot to Ambre myself.
9572202
Thank you!
I always thought it's a missed opportunity that transgender topics and perspectives aren't included often enough into transformation stories, especially when it deals with matters of identity and self-definition. I hope I'll keep doing it justice!
This is a really great story, being French, I can only say that those Brigades are terrifyingly accurate in some ways...
9575412
Thanks!
I tried to portray the Brigade as a 'realistic' antagonist – their motivations are rooted in the same ideologies that can be found all across the Western world nowadays (extreme nationalism, distrust of the establishment and media, etc), even if here they go to violent, unusual extremes to accomplish their goals. I hope this exaggeration will stay limited to the realm of fiction for as long as possible...
Oooooh Excitement! The talk about humanity was certainly interesting, and to have Sarge stricken about the encounter is only natural - especially when she has the ability to cut people in half. I reckon most anyone would feel upset to have such an ability they don't know how to control. As always anxiously awaiting the next chapter. You're prose is most enjoyable.
9598888
Thanks! I always try to provide the smoothest reading experience possible
Exploring the implications of the change, individually, societally, and philosophically, is one of the major focuses of A Prench Tale, so this kind of discussion will occur regularly – just as we will take frequent looks at how each character is dealing with things. In a way, I'd say that each character's development through the story is its own little plotline, and I'll do my best to keep them just as interesting as believable and realistic.
Geez....that's....I don't have words. There would be very little that could possibly be more horrifying. Especially knowing from the 5s universe that they really are that character, that would be heart shattering. That hits pretty deep. As always glad to see another chapter and looking forward to the next one.
9611883
It absolutely would have been a true horror story for Amber, and her realization may have consequences for her outlook of the change, even if she avoided the worst case scenario...
Some may not have been so lucky...
(and thanks for the fav', by the way ^^)
I prefers to read a nice story only when it is completed or sufficiently long. Therefore, I plan not to start reading this currently.
OT: The new cover art is nice.
I really like how well written your characters are, if the story was only focused on them going through their changes without all the crazyness that happens to them, I'll still be hooked.
9616488
Quite understandable! I hope you'll appreciate the completed product – even if it will take some time!
(and thank you!)
9617399
Thank you! ^^ Considering the 'main plot' of the Five Score setting has already been told, A Prench Tale also places a large emphasis on the story of the characters themselves. Through the next chapters I'll keep doing my best to balance the drama and the adventure, the crazy and the cute!
Ooooh! Lots of new characters and names with interesting stories. To trust humans or to not trust humans?
Tricksy little humans.I'm not sure if I'm not keeping track of them well enough, but its a little struggle to remember all the different individuals in play (Despite the setting and prose being completely realistic). Might could use a small reminder to remember who is who. Still! Glad to see a fresh take on the 5s/4 universe.9627085
Thanks! I understand that it may get a bit tough to keep track of who is who, considering we almost doubled the number of characters with this chapter, and especially when a lot of them have two different names (some a bit exotic)... ^^' I'll go over the chapter to see how to improve that!
The thoughts on identity and sense of self in this story are fascinating.
A note on transformation magic. One of the less-well-known hazards of transfiguration magic is the effects it can have on one's psyche. You see, like water, the mind takes the shape of it's container. Thus a shapeshifter must posses a strong will and sense of self or else risk drifting. This is how Human-turned-pony-in-Equestia characters end up "going native". 'tis also how you lose deep-cover operatives to foreign nationalism when they forget how to remove their "mask."
What one is, and who one is, are two subtly different things, that will always influence each other. The state of your body informs your mind, and the state of your mind informs your body. Thus as one grows up and becomes independent, one begins to look more like oneself and less like one's parent's child, if that makes any sense.
So, given that these people are now ponies instead of humans, their minds will subtly change shape to fit their newly pony-shaped containers. That's, part, of why these people sometimes seem to act so strange, they are no longer what they were, so neither are they entirely who they were.
9627337
Addressing questions of identity and how oneself relates to one's identity – physical, mental, and/or social – is one of the major themes of A Prench Tale, so I'm very happy if it is appreciated!
In this story I really wanted to explore and question the quite frequent "instantly going native" transformation trope.
In this context, each of the main characters was conceptualized as representing a specific view and trajectory on how to deal with this divide between the 'who' and the 'what' following the transformation. For example, the character of Laurence asks the question: how far is it possible to hold onto one's sense of self, when what one is doesn't match the who anymore; is adapting to the circumstances a capitulation of the 'who' and the self, or a simple pragmatic necessity of survival? Through the story, we will see if the characters can come to an answer to their own personal questions, how it will affect their identity, and the world around them...
Noooooo you used the cursed chocolatine word !!!!!
Oh damn, I called it about Raphael halfways through the chapter, now let's see where this will go.
9629724
Dang it, why do cursed words always have to sound so nice..? ^^
Actually I thought 'chocolatine' was common in the south of France, but after your comment I looked it up in a bit more details, and it's actually mostly restricted to the southwest; so while at first only one of our main trio would have said 'pain au chocolat', now it'd be more accurate to be two of them!
All the tension! The several complicated emotions of betrayal, misunderstanding, and such are quite captivating, definitely keeps the feelings real.
Though I'm rather clueless about all those directions and locations. As always loving your more realistic tone, makes it more believable and relatable in several ways. Are you having this set in the "vanilla" version of 5s/4, something more like Velvet Nightfall or just your own freeform?9639431
Thank you!
I would feel a little lost with all these streets and such too, I had to spend a while on Google Earth to get my bearings and decide on our heroes' itinerary! I'll tweak the links to improve legibility and usefulness.
One of my main draws, for universes like Five Score that heavily involve the modern human world, is precisely to really dig into just how the inclusion of magical talking ponies would affect both the characters and setting. I thus try to go for a 'naturalistic' feel, which I suppose influences indirectly how I deal with the characters, and makes for a more realistic, or at least believable, experience.
As for 'how' the story relates to the greater 5s/4 universe, A Prench Tale is firmly set in the 'vanilla' version. I try to be as coherent with the original story as possible, though I admit I may take some creative liberties at times for dramatic/narrative purposes, like how deeply traumatic the 'Five Score dream' can be to some ponies, or some things that would get spoilery. I will take into consideration elements of sidefics on a case-by-case basis – my main criterion being if said elements mesh or not with the original story – but I still want to at least do little nods to as many relevant 5s/4 sidefics as possible (after all, what interest would there be to a shared universe otherwise?). Notably, as A Prench Tale's time frame exceeds that of the original story, I'll be following the chronology established through Dust on the Wind and A Velvet Nightfall.
Ah, 'tis amazing how far you can get with a really excellent bluff.
Ok, this was really, really tense.
And yeah, both sides are digging their holes in some way or another... What have you done Crispy?