Barring Destiny (A Pony Named Nope — Status: Depends on the Portals)
Sunset's Isekai
Barring Destiny (A Pony Named Nope — Status: Depends on the Portals)
By Wanderer D & Nyerguds
"And stay out!" Nope's dad yelled. A swarm of tiny four-legged creatures with red hats galloped out the doorway, desperate to escape his relentless broom. With a noise of jingling hat bells and squeaky curses they hopped and clambered down the stairs of the apartment building's stairwell.
"Freaking hippognomes," the stallion grumbled. He turned to his daughter, who was dutifully helping him sweep the little pests outside. "I just hope they won't nest in the stairwell." He cricked his neck, gave the living room one last critical scan to ensure he'd gotten all stragglers, and finally closed the door to the stairwell with a satisfying click. "Ah well. That'd be the landlord's problem."
He smiled at his daughter and gave a small sigh. "It's always something, isn't it?"
The little alicorn looked up at her dad. She was six years old now, and she had started to realise that the stuff that happened to them wasn't how the world was supposed to work. Magic talking mirrors, singing woodland critters, time travellers and swirling portals to other worlds weren't supposed to pop up in a fourth floor apartment. And she had started to realise that all these things came to her.
"I didn't mean to go in," Nope said, staring at the floor. "It was just there, and then I was through, and then I ran back but they came after me!"
Her dad grabbed her into a tight but gentle hug. "Hey, now, don't look so glum. I didn't mean it like that. It's not your fault, Nope. You never asked for this." He gave her a soft smile. "You got back. That's the important part, all right?"
Nope nodded, leaning her head against him. He always managed to make her feel better.
"Now, come on, filly," her dad said. "We've had enough excitement for today. Let's get you into bed, all right?"
Nope nodded. The hippognome invasion had taken a while to get rid of, and it was way past her bedtime.
Nope clambered out of bed and grumbled softly. Her dad had warned her about drinking right before going to bed, and now she was feeling the inevitable effects. Still half-asleep, she crossed the hall and walked into the door at the other side. Something jingled as she pushed open the door; a hippognome had probably lost its hat in the bathroom. Those tiny menaces had rampaged through the whole apartment, after all. She closed the door behind her.
"Oh?" she heard a female voice say. "Well, what do we have here? Welc—"
Nope gritted her teeth. This again? "Daaaad!" she yelled. "There's someone in the bathroom!"
She looked up to see what the latest menace to invade her home was, and blinked. Her eyes widened. "This isn't—"
She was standing in a bar. The kind of place her dad went to sometimes, where he bought those neat-looking brightly-coloured drinks which he never allowed her to taste.
"Oh no. No, no, no... It happened again." She looked behind her, ready to sprint back, but stopped. There was no sign of any swirling portal. "Where is it?" she said, panicked. "Where's the portal?!" She frantically moved her horn around, trying to pick up any trace of the portal's magic, but felt nothing.
"I'm stuck..." she said, curling into a ball, her wide panicked eyes darting around in a vain attempt to find some trace of a portal to bring her home. "How do I get back!?"
Sunset studied the alicorn filly with some surprise, wondering at the reaction. Normally, guests were slightly confused, but given that they had walked in through the door, usually knew that it was the same way out. What had this filly gone through so far that she'd react this way? And an alicorn out of all possible guests. Her first thought had been that this was none other than filly Celestia, but the mane colors were different, even if it was pretty wavy.
"Hey, calm down, little filly," Sunset said gently. "Don't worry, I can get you back home, it's really not a problem." She smiled gently. "This is… well, my bar, but I also serve other things. How about I get you some hot cocoa, we clean up those tears and get you back home?"
The filly looked at Sunset, eyes wide, but seemingly not actually frightened by her appearance. “Um...” She looked around the room with an embarrassed look on her face. “Do you have a bathroom here?”
"Sure!" Sunset pointed down to the door at the end of the bar. "Through that entrance, second door on the right."
“Okay-thank-you-tall-lady!” the filly shouted as she fled towards the door.
"Huh," Sunset muttered, turning over to start preparing the hot chocolate. "Odd filly." She hummed one of Twilight's songs as she poured out the different milks and chocolate shavings, making sure the temperature was right as she slowly stirred the contents with a tiny whisk.
By the time she heard the filly come out of the restroom, the marshmallow was already browned, the waffle cracker was in, and the chocolate was waiting on the bar for her newest guest.
The filly emerged from the back door and walked over to the bar. This time, her looking around was more curious, and not panicked at all. She looked at Sunset. “So… you’re sure you can get me home?”
"Yep. One hundred percent," Sunset replied. "All you need to do is go back that hallway entrance, and open the door. It will take you back home, not a second past the time you left. So how about it?" she said, nodding at the hot chocolate. "It's my favorite recipe. I hope you like marshmallows."
The filly glanced back at the door. “Oh. It’s a door-portal.” She nodded, and turned to Sunset. “I had that before.” She finally focused on the treat put before her, and smiled. “Thank you, tall lady!” The marshmallow was swiftly picked out of the drink and chewed up; clearly she had no objection to it.
"Anyway, I'm Sunset Shimmer, very nice to meet you." Sunset said, leaning back so she could take in the little alicorn as she drank her chocolate. "And this is my bar, I call it "Sunset's Isekai", and that little spider in the habitat over there is my pet, Bernard. So, what’s your name?"
“Nice to meet you too,” the filly said meekly. “I’m Nope.”
Sunset arched an eyebrow. "Nope? That's… is that your actual name?"
Nope frowned. “Um. There’s a long name too, but my dad doesn’t like using it. It’s No-ble Pin-i-ons. But my dad said I should just say ‘Nope’ to people, because everyone’s always asking me things, and that’s the best answer.”
"Ah, I guess that makes some sort of sense," 'it totally doesn't' Sunset said. "And you seem familiar with being suddenly away from home, huh? I take it that's why he insists you do that?"
Nope nodded. “Today we had hippognomes. They’re like, tiny fat ponies with red floppy hats. I fell over my train toy and then there was a portal and then there were hippognomes saying I had to become their princess,” she said. “I said ‘nope’, and they got all angry, but the portal was still open, so I just ran back through.” She slumped down and leaned her chin on the bar. “And then we had hippognomes in the living room, and then the portal closed, of course.” She looked up at Sunset and gave a weak smile. “I’m just glad it wasn’t Pictsies.”
"I'm fortunate enough that my bar doesn't allow them entry," Sunset said. "Nothing against them, but there's a limit with how much I can put up with the excuse of: 'I'm already dead so I can do anything.'" She smirked. "Especially when I have a ghost living here half the time, and she has manners."
“A ghost?” Nope asked. “I’ve never seen a ghost before.” She peered over the photos hanging on the walls. “Did all those people come here? Hey, that’s Princess Celestia! You know her?”
Sunset grinned. "Oh, I know them well! That's one Princess Celestia, but I do know other alicorns too. There's 'Princess' Nyx. And that's her mom Princess Twilight. And that one over there is Cadance, and that other one is Cozy Glow, who's not an alicorn anymore…" She pointed out as she went. "Most places will have Cadance, Celestia, Luna and Twilight at least. Oh, and Flurry Heart."
“I dunno those others,” Nope said, “but I know Celestia and Luna, and Cadance, and Twilight. Dad says Celestia is a scheming... something. Um. He said I shouldn’t repeat that word. I don’t think he likes the princesses very much.”
Sunset nodded. "Hm, well, I'm not sure all of the Celestias I've met are scheming b—ad words." She cleared her throat. "But, he must have his reasons. Sounds like he worries about you, if Celestia keeps involving herself."
“I dunno. They were at our door a few times, but my dad sent them away again. He says he can take care of me but I think the princesses don’t believe him.” She gave Sunset a defiant look. “But he’s the best dad! He chased the time travellers away!”
Sunset felt the other eyebrow slowly lift on her face. "Time travellers." She pulled out another stool from behind the bar and sat down. "No wonder he's paranoid. So… Pictsies, Time Travelers, Princesses…" She shook her head. "One day, I will introduce you to Ranma Saotome." She stopped to consider that. "You know what, probably not. Especially if his dad is around. Anyway, it seems you're… going to lead an interesting life whether you want to or not."
“Myeah...” Nope said, nodding. She grabbed her cup in her forehooves and drank the last of her chocolate milk. “But dad says adventure is a lot of work, and not much fun, and anyone who puts a filly into that is… uh, more bad words.” She smiled. “This is the nicest portal I’ve been through. You didn’t say anything I had to say ‘nope’ to.”
"Well," Sunset smirked. "I did ask you your name."
Nope grinned at her. “But you gave me hot cocoa!” She suddenly looked worried. “Uh… but this is a bar, and I don’t have bits. Do you want me to get my dad?” She shook her head. “No, he won’t let me come back in. He hates portals. He’d probably try to set your door on fire or something.”
"Huh." Sunset hummed. "I… don't think he'd actually damage it. And the drink is on me, don't worry… but I don't think it would be responsible of me to tell you to not tell your dad." She tapped her chin. "Why doesn't he like portals?" She frowned. "And why are portals an issue in the first place?"
Nope gave her a level stare. “I told you, there’s hippognomes! And breezies, and pictsies, and singing bunnies!”
"Ah." Sunset fidgeted. "So it's not just portals. It's a bunch of them." She nodded gently, with a small smile. "So… they ask you to do things in every single one of them?"
Nope nodded. “Well, the other time I had a door portal like you have, I was in some shop selling flutes and guitars and stuff. The seller there just wanted me to take something. But my dad found the door and came in and told him he would burn the shop if he tried that again.”
Sunset crossed her arms. "Your dad is apparently genre savvy." She chuckled. "Still, it does sound like he's saved you a lot of trouble." She glanced around. "My bar is a bit different. People come here to relax and talk. Other than a few groups of multiversal adventurers who meet here occasionally, no one is sent on quests or missions. Your dad might still disapprove, but I think if he was ever going to give me a chance, he'd need to at least know. Plus, if we don't tell him, and he found out he will never trust me either."
“I’ll tell him tomorrow,” Nope said. She yawned. “I wanna go back to bed. Dad told me you can’t use time travel to cheat bed time, and I’m tired.”
"He is a wise pony," Sunset said with a short nod. "Here, let me give you this, in case you want to come back." She slid a silver business card to Nope. "That will help the bar come to you if you ever want a break."
Nope gave the card a critical look, then floated it off the bar in her magic. “Thank you. But I’m not sure if my dad will let me. Even if I tell him you’re super nice.” She slid off the bar stool and looked up at Sunset, and briefly leaned her head against Sunset’s leg. “You really are super nice. Thank you for the hot cocoa.”
Sunset chuckled. "Alright, it's your choice kiddo, and you're welcome anytime."
Smiling, and with the silver card in her magical aura, Nope walked out and closed the door behind her.
Sunset sighed, standing up and walking around the bar to start cleaning the mug. "Well, that's one unusual filly. What a dad, though," she muttered as she turned on the faucet to rinse it. She paused when she heard the bell chiming again, and put the mug down, turning to face her next customer. "Welcome to Sunset's Isekai! My name is… Nope?!"
The filly stood in the doorway, her hind legs held together uncomfortably. "Um," she said, "I think I drank too much hot cocoa, and my bathroom door was gone again. Can your card also make your door not show up?"
Sunset laughed a little. "Um, yeah, just put it away when you're in your room, I'll make sure to get the bar out of the way. You can use mine for now, or go back, your choice."
“But I’m not holding your card!” Nope shouted, before once again disappearing in the door in the back.
While the filly was in the restroom, Sunset glared at the roof. For a moment, she could almost feel a sheepish shrug from her bar. "Now you listen to me," she said firmly, "I know you like playing games, but this filly is going home to sleep. Understand? You can't just keep opening up for her!"
There was a general sense of frustration, then resignation.
Sunset kept her eyes warily on the roof, as if expecting it to say something. Which of course it wouldn't.
Eventually the door to the restroom opened again, and Sunset motioned for Nope to follow her to the door, where she opened it into Nope’s home, right in front of her bedroom door. "I've told the bar to stop it. So… it should."
“It’s probably just me, you know,” Nope grumbled. “It keeps happening.”
"Well, this is my bar," Sunset whispered, kneeling to be at eye level. “I'll check in a moment if we're still here, and if we are, I'll take over, okay? Now, your dad did say it was bedtime, so let's not make him angry at either of us, okay?"
Nope nodded. “Okay.” She sat down on her haunches and gave Sunset a hug, and once again walked out the door.
"Good night," Sunset whispered again, waving gently before standing up and closing the door. She waited a few seconds, while all around her a small feeling of embarrassment started permeating the building. "Oh… come on." She risked opening the door a little and peeked out, seeing Nope's room again across the corridor, with the little filly presumably already in bed. She gently closed the door, with a small smile that turned into an angry frown when it was completely closed. She gave the floorboards a gentle kick. "Come on. It's time to go somewhere else. I'm sure someone out there is using their card."
She felt the shift and opened the door. She stared silently at the twisted and unnatural, yet oddly organic shapes that formed the sunken city of R'lyeh for a few moments before nodding in satisfaction. "Back to normal." She sighed and turned to walk deeper into the bar when she realized something.
"Dammit. I forgot to ask for a picture!"
On a perfectly normal spring afternoon, two teenage ponies walked home from school.
“Come on, Nope!” Sunshine said, looking back at her friend. “What’s keeping you?”
“Hold on,” Nope said, looking into a dark, narrow alley. A smile slowly crept onto her face. “A door just appeared here.”
Sunshine raised an eyebrow and walked back to her friend. “What, like, spontaneously?”
Nope nodded. “Mmhm.” She walked towards the door, closely followed by her friend.
Sunshine shook her head. ”I thought you specifically stayed away from places like that.”
Nope looked at the familiar cutie mark on the door and smiled at her friend. “Oh, I do.” She pushed open the door with an excited glitter in her eyes. “But this place is an exception.” The two ponies walked inside, and were greeted by a friendly voice.
"Welcome to Sunset's Isekai!"
End Chapter
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Sunset does get her photo in the end... but it takes a few more (similarly accidental) visits
This was a lot of fun to write. Thanks, Wanderer D
10104166 Pleasure was mine!
I honestly skipped the story A Pony Named Nope, due to having mixed feelings about her parents keeping her away from basically everything. XD
Also now that you have mentioned Ranma you CANT just leave it at that! We NEED a chapter where he/she shows up! *pleading Pony Eyes*
Hey, it's Nope! Wow, been a while since I've read that story. Finally a friendly portal for Nope, huh? Well, Nope's dad certainly could use a drink or two, with all that he deals with to keep his daughter's life nice and uneventful.
Nope Nope Nope
I can imagine Nope being a regular and exchanging stories with the patrons, decidedly NOT living adventures while doing so. And giving good advice through genre savyness.
And also occasionally helping poor sods out of luck by tossing them into a portal in her place. Efficient disposal!
"Wow," said the bartender, "deja vu."
To be fair, I'm pretty sure Nope's dad would turn down any attemptsd proposals.
I did enjoy Sunset arguing with the bar like the Doctor scolding the TARDIS. Nope has that effect on places.
Great fun throughout. Thank you both for it.
I kinda wanna give Nope a huuuge hug right about now. Poor filly. :(
10104181
That "scheming b—ad words" line still makes me crack up. It's freaking glorious
10104192
Would be kind of boring to just have a whole fic about nothing but that. Too boring for me, anyway, so I didn't do that
10104197
Yeah, honestly, my first thought when reading this story was "Nope's dad could use something like this". But given his immense distrust of portals, there's no way he'd go inside. Catch-22
10104197 Eventually he does meet Sunny, Nope has permission to go into that particular bar, amirite? 10104318
10104330
Absolutely
With all the random portals spawning around Nope, he figures that Sunset's bar being one of them just decreases the amount of actually problematic ones popping up. It just... uses up "portal potential" on a harmless portal
Tell her Dad to look at it this way, the door can appear anywhere, anywhen, so if Nope ever gets stuck on the wrong side of some portal she still has a way to get home easily.
This was very adorable.
Good work.
Aww!!!!!
Is it possible to feel nostalgia for a fanfic that’s mentioned in another fanfic? If so, I’m definitely feeling it. Man, I loved that Nope story.
I know it's kind of predictable, but now I want to see what happened when the Nac mac Feegle showed up. And how Sunset got them out again; did a kelda have to come drag them out by the ears?
10104811
As Sunset said, they're not allowed into the bar, so I guess she never had to get them out. It can be assumed she just met them outside the bar.
10104849
It's unfair to ban them pre-emptively, so they must've gotten in once. I doubt they used the door.
10104192
Second! Ranma and piggy Ryoga in Sunset's bar should be amusing.
Ka is strong in this one.
10104166
I kinda want to see Nopes Father's reaction when he comes to investigate the one portal that DIDNT try and take her on a merry adventure. That and I kinda wonder how many times he stopped in for a drink to de-stress.
The only "dangerous" thing about this bar is, I can almost see it making Nope WANT to go on an adventure.
10104681
It's kinda still semi-ongoing... whenever inspiration strikes. As Wanderer D summed it up, its status 'Depends on the Portals'
It's just marked as Complete because I honestly don't have any kind of real ending planned. So what's written is written, and anything that may be added later is bonus.
[edit for those who see this later: it's actually, truly, 100% finished now]
10105636
Fair enough.
Didn't see the notification for this... odd.
Oh well. Hope the portal issues work out soon enough.
Oh, I liked this one and I of course liked Nope! This one almost needs a sequel. I’d like to see Sunset interact with an older Nope.
I just had an amusing idea. Has Sunset gotten any vampires in her bar yet? If not, it would be funny if one showed up, and then asked to drink Sunset herself, prompting her to fight them off and be annoyed. Or it could just be a friendly one making a quip to the same effect. Actually, the third season of Castlevania is coming out on Netflix soon, and Trevor had been known to appreciate his liquor. *poke* *poke*
Well, that was adorable.
10111895
I've now read it all and await more eagerly. Just a pity the other author has so many fics on their plate.
Happy to so Nope making a visit, and while I would love to see Ranma pay a visit... I could also see Ryoga coming into the bar via the back room, being a slightly more lost then usual.
(And if we're talking about Anime characters... Shinji really could use a flipping drink)
I've been wanting to try this since she first made it last episode, ngl
It's also 5AM and I'm starving
We talking standard version, infinite loops version, or grand tour version? …Actually, scratch that, it doesn’t matter.
In other news, I have never read "a pony called Nope" but I am VERY familiar with the premise and I love it to pieces. Absolutely love it. Prolly should read it at some point.
-GM, master of reds.
10172063 That hot chocolate recipe does sound amazing, especially when you're on a diet (which I am). I skipped the previous chapter because I'm reading his for the light and fluffy, and that one sounded like drama, but I may go back and read it just to see the full recipe.
Edit:
Oh gods, that sounds amazing. Now I really want one.
*Raises hand.* What genre is that? I'm not familiar with this one. I like this crossover collab though! That was really cute!
10486232
The magical musical instruments shop is a direct reference to Terry Pratchett's "Soul Music"; one of the books of the Discworld series. The concept of interdimensionally travelling shops, often distributing dangerous magical objects, is used more often throughout the Discworld series.
Thus one storyi can recommend to literally everyone
Absolutely loved the stomach pain from laughter.
10676370
How did you make a collaboration here anyway?
Was the chapter writen by you or D?
11147031
As Wanderer D said
11147078
So, bit of both. Google Docs allows literally writing together. Wanderer D planned out the overall structure. We discussed where to take things, story-wise. Following his outlined structure, I wrote an intro to introduce the character to the readers, then we wrote the middle part together, more or less role playing our character, and then I wrote the outro bit.
By the way, Wanderer D, FYI, I dunno if I mentioned this before, but people don't get notification of replies unless you post your reply in the same chapter as their comment. It's a bit tricky for authors to notice this since they get replies of comments on their story anyway, but if someone replies to you, in the same chapter, on your story, you should see you get two notifications. So don't reply from the front page; click on the chapter shown at the top of a comment before replying.
A really good chapter.