I was reading one of my comic books when I heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," I called out.
Scootaloo entered the library. "Hey, Spike. Is Twilight around?"
"Not at the moment. Why?"
"I want her opinion on something."
"Why don't you ask me?"
"Okay." Scootaloo pulled out a list. "Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and I are trying to figure out what our next activity should be to find our cutie marks. Which do you think is more awesome: skydiving, ziplining, or fire dancing?"
Oh...it's this episode.
"I would say ziplining," I replied, "because it's safer, but—"
"Great!" Scootaloo rolled the list back up. "I'll let the girls know. Thanks, Spike." She then dashed out of the library.
"Just make sure to go one at a time!" I yelled.
Aside from that moment in the beginning, there was not much else I could do for “The Cutie Mark Chronicles” aside from thanking Rainbow Dash for hatching me.
Today seemed pretty much like a normal day. Twilight and I were organizing the library as usual. To be honest, I couldn’t tell if she spent more time reading the books or reorganizing them.
“Come on, Spike,” Twilight said. “If you’re gonna help me sort these books, then get to it.”
“I’m trying,” I replied. “It’s not easy stacking these when you don’t have a horn or wings. Or when you’re as tall as a filly.”
After our pretentious stacking, Twilight and I headed for Applejack’s farm. Twilight had her nose in yet another book.
“So why are we going to Applejack’s?” I asked. “I thought she bucked enough apples for today.”
“It’s not her apples,” Twilight replied. “Most of her corn is ready to be picked.”
“Wait, she grows crops other than apples?”
“Well, yeah. They just don’t sell as much as the apples, though.”
That’s when something occurred to me.
Why does this feel strangely familiar? It’s like...oh, no!
A low rumbling noise filled our eardrums.
“What was that?” Twilight looked up at the sky. “That can’t be thunder. Rainbow Dash said it wasn’t—”
Twilight’s confusion was interrupted by a weird liquid falling from the sky. The droplets coated the buildings in a thin coat of brown.
“Yikes!” I grabbed Twilight’s book and held it over my head like an umbrella. “Was there a freak accident at the weather factory?! Why is it raining gunk?!”
“Wait.” Twilight stuck out her tongue and tasted the brown liquid. “It’s...chocolate?”
“Chocolate rain? Even Rainbow Dash wouldn’t pull a prank like this.”
“We gotta find the girls! Come on!”
We hurried to Sweet Apple Acres. Just like in the show, the farm was littered with chocolate-soaked popcorn, giant apples that deformed the trees, and rabbits with grotesquely long legs. It was complete chaos, and I knew who was responsible for it.
“Don't worry, everyone!” Twilight read through her book. “I've learned a new spell that'll fix everything.”
Sadly, her magic failed. After casting the spell, the chaos still remained.
“My fail-safe spell...failed!” Twilight rubbed her head. “What do we do?!”
“Don’t you have a Plan B?” I asked.
In fact, she did. Twilight ordered Rainbow to group all the cotton-candy clouds together, Applejack to bring them down to Earth, and Fluttershy to get the animals to eat the chocolate spewing clouds.
“Good job, girls,” I said after their successful plan.
“Thank you, Spike. There's nothing we can't overcome if we all work together,” Twilight proclaimed.
Suddenly, I belched out a scroll. Twilight picked it up and read it. The shocked look on her face told us it wasn’t good news.
“Come on, girls,” Twilight announced. “Princess Celestia wants to see us all in Canterlot immediately!”
Then the realization hit me.
“Wait! Twilight! The Elements!” I shouted.
“Princess Celestia has them, Spike. Don't worry. Head back to the library and make sure there isn’t any weird stuff happening there.” Twilight and her friends ran off in a flash.
“That’s not what I...”
But it was too late. The girls were already gone.
Wait. I gotta check to see if the Elements are where I think they are.
I quickly made a break for the library. The entire town was already descending into a misshapen dystopia. Buildings were lifted from their foundations, the hills turned into a giant checkerboard, more of those cotton-chocolate clouds drenched the streets in a torrential downpour, and ponies everywhere were in a frenzy.
Good grief. I feel like a character in a nineties platformer video game.
Eventually, I made it to the library, which was fortunately unfazed by the surrounding chaos. I entered the library and slammed the door behind me.
I checked the shelves until I found the book I was looking for: "The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide." At least there was one advantage to Twilight’s obsessive organization.
Please, for the love of Celestia, be in here!
I flipped through the pages and breathed a sigh of relief. The Elements of Harmony were sitting right there in the book.
“So if the Elements are here, then that means…”
I dashed to the table and grabbed a quill and parchment. I almost spilled the ink trying to scribble a letter as fast as I could:
"Dear Princess Celestia,
Tell the girls to come back to Twilight's Library. Hurry! I found the Elements of Harmony in the Reference Guide!
Signed,
Spike."
I quickly rolled the scroll up and sent it to Princess Celestia.
I hope the girls get the letter before they enter the maze, and I hope that Celestia doesn't think it's a trick.
I sat down next to the book and patiently waited for a response. Suddenly, a flash of light blinded my eyes.
What stood before me was the most unusual creature of all. He had mismatched limbs, antlers, and wings, a tail of a dragon, and a goat-like head. He was a draconequus, and he was much freakier in the flesh.
“I know who you are,” I said in a determined voice.
“Same with you,” the draconequus replied.
“Discord.”
“David Smith.”
My eyes widened. I haven’t heard that name in a long time. It was the first time someone in the pony world has called me that.
“How...How do you know my…?”
“I know a lot about you, Dave. I know you came from another world, and what you’re trying to do. And I’m here to tell you that it’s not gonna work.”
I grabbed the book with the Elements inside. “You’re not gonna corrupt my mind or steal these Elements, Discord! You can forget about it!”
"I'm not here for the Elements, Dave. I know you’ve seen all the events happening before. Let me ask you something, do you know what a Morton’s fork is?”
“Uh...no?” I kept a firm grip on the book.
“It’s when no matter what choices you’ve made, the outcome in the long run is still the same. Take those gala tickets for example. Last time, Spike rejected the tickets, which resulted in the girls fighting over them. In this reality, you accepted the tickets, however the girls still fought over them. Another example was when you prevented those two colts from going into the forest. The ursa minor still showed up in town thanks to that cockatrice. My point is no matter what you say or do, Dave, the ending will always be the same. Trust me, I have seen it all before, and I did the same thing you did."
“Wait, you’ve already experienced this?”
“Multiple times in fact. Just like you, I tried to make things right. I kept repeating the same timeline over and over and trying to change the outcome for everything. But all of them were almost identical. What you saw in your own show was one of my better attempts, if I’m honest.”
“So you know about Tirek escaping, and you’ll still side with him even though he’ll betray you?”
“As long as I get my magic back.”
“And Starlight changing the future?”
“She’ll still get reformed.”
“What about disguising yourself as Grogar and getting Tirek, Cozy, and Chrysalis to work with you? The girls in this world weren’t the only ones who were mad at you.”
“That troublesome trio would no longer harm your little ponies.”
“And what if none of those things happen? What if Twilight and the others fail?”
“They won’t fail. No matter what happens, those ponies will always win. You can’t change fate, Dave. Heck, I’ll bet that when you reach the final episode, it’ll play out exactly like the show did.”
I thought about it for a minute, then it occured to me. “I don’t believe you!”
“Oh? Why not?”
“Nice try, Discord. This is one of your mind games! You’re trying to corrupt me! Well, I’m not falling for it! I know I can change the future, and I'll prove it to you!”
“Suit yourself.” Discord looked at his wristwatch, which somehow appeared on his wrist. “Well now, I better be going. I’ve got some chaos to do!”
“You do realize that you’ll be turning to stone soon, right?”
“It’s not like I can surrender unconditionally now. I’m still a villain here, and the girls aren’t going to trust me that easily. Tallyho!”
And just like that, Discord disappeared. I thought about what he said.
I know I can’t change fate, and I know that the girls will win regardless. But that doesn’t mean I can’t make them win in a different way. Trust me, Discord, I’ll be using that fork to my advantage.
Then something flashed across my mind. Was he the one who sent me to this world? If so, what did he do with the old Spike? Is he able to send me back? If he isn’t responsible for my appearance, does he know who is?
My thoughts were interrupted by the door slamming open. I looked to see the Mane Six barging in.
“Girls!” I called out. “You’re back! And none of you are grey!”
“Where are the Elements?!” Twilight said. “You said you found them?”
“Right here.” I handed Twilight the book. She opened it to find...
“The Elements! They were here all along!” Twilight called out. The girls were filled with glee.
“Golly, Spike,” Applejack said. “How did ya know the Elements were in here?”
“I was sorting out the last of the books when I noticed the reference guide felt heavier than usual,” I lied. “When I opened it, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the Elements. I don’t know how they got here. The Princess sure has weird ways of hiding stuff.”
The girls put on their respective Element with haste.
“Necklace, necklace, necklace, necklace, necklace, and one big crown!” Twilight called out. “Now, let’s get rid of Discord. Come on!”
I hopped on Twilight’s back. “Onward!”
“Spike?”
“You’ve got a surefire way to take down a crazy villain. There’s no way I’m gonna miss that!”
“Just let ‘im tag along,” Applejack said.
Twilight rolled her eyes as the group galloped out of the library.
“Now we just need to find Discord!” Twilight yelled.
“Where do you think he could be?” Rarity asked.
Suddenly, a light flashed in front of us. The same draconequus appeared mad as a hornet.
“Right there,” I answered bluntly.
“How dare you!” Discord bellowed. “Trying to trick the Lord of Chaos like that!”
“Trick us?” Twilight said. “‘Find the Elements back where you began.’ That was part of your riddle!”
“Yes, but you claimed you’d start at the labyrinth first! You’ve got some nerve double-crossing me like that!”
“It’s a lil’ something called ‘fightin’ fire with fire’!” Applejack shouted. “And now we’ve got the Elements.”
“And who’s to say they’re not fake?” Discord asked calmly. “Are you really gonna trust some whelp who just sent you a letter at the last minute?”
I gasped.
Shoot! I forgot to check if they were real! Oh, no! What if they aren't?!
“That’s enough stalling!” Twilight shouted. “It’s time to defeat you once and for all Discord!”
“Ugh, gag. Fine, go ahead. Try and use your little Elements. Friend me. Just make it quick.” Discord’s throne appeared behind him. “I'm missing some excellent chaos here.”
“Alright, ladies! Let’s show him what friendship can do!” Twilight called out.
“Wait! Wait! Wait!” Pinkie shouted as she drank from one of the chocolate rain clouds. “Okay, now I’m ready!”
I sat next to a nearby floating tree stump and watched as Twilight’s horn glowed. Every one of the girls' necklaces shot out blinding laser beams in all directions. That was a relief.
Yep, they’re real. If only I grabbed some of that popcorn from Applejack’s farm.
Like a rocket launching into space, a rainbow blasted from the heroic group and slammed directly onto Discord. His struggling was made futile by his entire body being encased in stone. He hollered a loud “NOOO!!!” before his head was also turned into granite.
The rainbow arc turned itself into a dome that covered all of Ponyville before expanding ever outward. I watched as the buildings returned to Earth, the grass pierced through the checkerboarded ground, the clouds turned into water instead of cotton candy, and roads paved themselves with dirt instead of soap.
The entire event finished in an instant. What was left was a normal Ponyville, the Mane 6 standing proud, and a shocked Discord statue.
“Good job, girls!” I called out.
“Thanks, Spike!” Pinkie said.
“Did anypony else feel like that was mighty easy?” Applejack asked. “The feller didn’t put up much of a fight.”
“And you’re complaining?” Rainbow Dash asked. “It was because of our Elements of Harmony. No villain can stand a chance against us with these babies on our side!”
Suddenly I burped out a scroll. I still haven’t gotten used to that.
“It’s from the Princess,” I said as I read the scroll. “She wants you back at Canterlot for a celebration!”
We took the train back to Canterlot. By the time we arrived at Celestia’s Castle, there was already a huge crowd waiting for us. We approached Celestia as fanfare blasted across the halls.
“We are gathered here today to once again honor the heroism of these seven friends who stood up to the villain Discord and saved Equestria from eternal chaos.”
The cheers were loud and proud. Celestia unveiled a new glass window showing the Mane 6 defeating Discord. I noticed that I was included in the window. I was in the bottom center holding the Reference Guide above my head.
“Wow, I’m included as well?” I asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Princess Celestia replied. “If it weren’t for you finding the Elements, there would be no telling what might’ve happened.”
I chuckled as I rubbed the back of my head. “Heh, well, I just happened to find them. It was pure luck.”
“And it seems the Mare of Luck has been kind to you today. You deserve the praise just as much as Twilight and her other friends.”
“Thank you.”
The crowd continued to cheer for us. Confetti and streamers rained down on us. I never thought I would be given such admiration. It truly was an excellent day for the girls and me.
Oh! So his real name is Dave!
I have a feeling that was the final episode Discord who came back to the past to try to keep David in mind about the fork effect.
And I have to say, while Discord may try to make some changes alone it wouldn't work, David could help it to make it not to change the fate, but to make it less drastic as some episodes. Like, instead of happening a betrail from Discord, Twilight could risk her life to save Discord and almost dying with it, and that would make the same effect of final test of elements.
Because for the friendship test you need to do the most friendship proof ever made 1- Forgive the one who betrayed you... But there is another one which has almost the same effect.
2-sacrifice your life for your friends. It can be 2 ways to prove the supreme friendship and receive the supreme powers of the box.
And David would be the one to say. Hey, don't you girls has the power of the box? Why not KEEP USING IT instead of using just once and forget forever?
Well, that's a perk for changing the future.
10250346
Yeah. He mentions it in the prologue.
Why does Discord think that events can't play out differently? I know that for the purposes of this story, the author needs to keep things on track, since they don't want to veer off into an unwritten episode. Although, by the story's internal logic, Discord could have, say, terminated Twilight or one of her friends the moment he got free, since he apparently knew exactly what was going to happen.
10250357
Oh, sorry. I must've rushed reading and missed that.
Me: Well... THAT WAS UNEXPECTED!!!
The thing about Morton's Fork is that the only unavoidable outcome is the conclusion of the events in question. In this case, Discord's defeat. That being the case, I don't see how Dave finding that out this way made any sense. Since Dave wasn't trying to avert Discord's defeat, Discord appearing just to provide this explanation winds up being exposition for its own sake. Not only is that bad writing in and of itself, but it's antithetical handling of Discord since setting the record straight in advance diminishes the potential for future chaos. It would all feel that much more real if he came to that conclusion on his own later down the line as repeated attempts to stop bad things from happening continue to fail as causality rights itself to the set course.
Welp, if the end result is the same, then he could change enuogh to suit his needs and the needs of others, up until the l ast chapter, afterwards, is free game, in other wordss, he could plan for after the show, taking advantage of the points he knows will happen.
Maybe Dave should have called him "Q".
Is... is it just me, or is this saying that David has free reign to try and change the world as much as he likes, because there won't be any negative consequences to his actions? Because it sure sounds like that. So far the changes he's made have either all benefited him or "corrected" some of the episodes that have a bad rep among fans, but while this should be leading to bad consequences eventually, as David robs everypony of the lessons in life they needed to grow to overcome their challenges, now Discord is bluntly saying that everything will end up just fine in the end anyway, so David gets to live out his isekai fantasy consequence free.
David can change everthing its simple kill twilight in her sleep then everything changes😈
He can change everything if he tell them truth. It is risky option, but... nothing would be the same..
10250487
It's not a question of if the canon timeline of the show can be changed, it's really if the author has enough tenacity to pull it off successfully. If what Discord said in this chapter is true, then the answer is no.
Now he is free! Dave is free! Free to do whatever he wants, HOW he wants! If events are quantum locked into happening regardless of the preceding events leading up to the event result, he's free to solve all problems how EVER he likes!
...if that makes sense?
[edit] He could take increasingly divergent actions forcing the universe to self correct more and more each time.
10250533
Yeah, that's what I meant. It felt like the message was "no, there won't be any negative consequences to David's actions, so he can do as he likes."
What? Twilight hatched him.
Surely Applejack would have noticed that Spike was lying!!
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After the Rainboom startled her into a magic surge
Good so far, wish the chapter went on a little longer XD... good stuff...
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Oh right.
10250496
I dunno about that sorta stuff, all I get is the reference.
You know I feel more for this version of Discord than any other character.
It's like playing an RPG where you have multiple options but the result will always be the same doesn't matter what you choose and the result is always bad for you, like the beggining of Chrono Trigger.
It is more in line with what the spectatora thought Discord was before the later seasons when we learned he was just a tool instead of the long lived mastermind.
10250358
You kinda have to think of 'Time Travel'
In a sense you CAN change the moments of an event, but in the end it will end the same way.
Unless you ROYALLY disfigure an event you are not gonna completely change anything.
Disfiguring would be like surgically being in multiple key locations of a event and neutering the possibility of the event in question.
Spike here is kinda just inserting himself in the event and making alterations, but not ultimately changing anything; sure he is a main player now, but that was always a possibility that Spike, as a character, had in these events.
I go more with Spike/Dave's belief. Discord was on the surface trying to discord him. Mainly though Discord was playing the long game by planting doubts in his mind, and/or making him think he can do certain things safely that would instead lead to chaos. If Discord can get Spike to think that he can do anything and it won't change the main results then Spike might do some reckless changes that would indeed add entropy to the timeline.
10251244
Except, this Spike has knowledge of a possible future, so if he wanted to change any major events, he would need to begin changes a lot sooner. For example, if he wanted to bring the changelings into the fold much earlier than in canon, he would need to start preparations right now, and not just wait until the royal wedding.
A single pebble can divert the course of an entire river if you put it in the right spot, but it still takes ages for the river to come from the initial trickle the pebble started.
10251509
Exactly, you are right, that would be a disfigurement to the established time line.
While beneficial to the Changeling race as a whole
Spike would need to set up multiple events in advance to neuter the original event thus disfiguring that event, and changing this event could go in the opposite way due to the fact that Stev...Thorax not learning that he does not want to feed on ponies; Thorax learns that he does not want to feed on ponies chronologically at the wedding.
Spike would have so much he NEEDS to do to make peace with the changelings that there would inevitably be 'SomeThing' he misses that would mess it up.
It would have been fun if Spike made some sort of reference to their future O&O games and Discord rolling his eyes, waving it off with some sort of complaint about bad die rolls.
You know I'm with Discord on this one. Something that needed to happen has to happen, one way or another it doesn't matter what causes it, but the end will always be the same even it is a change for Dave.
It didn't change anything if you see it as a sea and what Dave did just picking up or adding some drops of water inside it that's all. Some events just set as stone when the history was already choosing the butterfly effect of its outcome. It really won't change anything in the long run and IF it does change the big event how come you will know you make it better or worse not to mention Dave doesn't have the power to undo it and I think he will have only two possible outcomes will happen
1. everything stays the same and his effect was useless
or
2. he changes something big for real and the time starts collapsing and toward its end which is not good. By the way, I got this idea from the game Quantum Break.
The story will be a better story if Spike can influence events than if he can't. Hence discord is full of it because the author won't tank his story.
Oooh so what about the alternative dimensions in the starlight episode and how Zecora said about timelines and water flow...
in my oppinion you should take actions that won't bring you regret apon the concequences, i think that trowing the "Canon" out of the window it is way better than sitting on your scaly butt doing nothing...screw discord and his pessimistic outlook on what is meant to happen and what not. take charge of your future my boy take destiny by the horns and give it a run for his money.
10250354 I think you''re right. David isn't actually trying to change the ultimate outcome of events the way Discord ...seems to be? David's just trying to reduce the suffering of his friends to the bare minimum required for their emotional growth and success over various villains.
Heck, Discord has just validated David's behavior, since if the ultimate outcome cannot be changed, why not focus entirely on making your friends as happy as possible?
10253840
Thanks! Tbh I've always wanted to make stories on here but I always never find the right words or I mess it up big time, and end up forgetting all about it.
Discord himself mentions that he's been through the timeline multiple times, Spikeman has referenced The Blueblood Groundhog Day fic a few times, and Spikeman has also mentioned feeling like he has genuine memories of things that happened before he possessed Spike's body.
I think I see a bit of a pattern here.
Nice to see Discord interacting with him. Wonder if the debate will continue when they start the guys night thing.
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10318416
Like perhaps both of them are reliving Groundhog's Day, only it is going all the way from Season 1 Episode 1 to Season 9 Episode 26, before the rinse and repeat. The catch is, Discord is the only one who's memory isn't getting wiped at the start of each loop. That does bring up an interesting idea: what if Dave Smith isn't the only brony there just playing his role as one of the major characters? ....yeah, this just became another entry for the Twilight Zone...
Nice! That's some good butterfly effect!
10440403
There are no ponies. Everyone are just humans hiding stuff from each other trying to follow the canon as best they can.
Hey you know the deal with Final Fantasy VII Remake? How about the deal with this, i.e. My Little Pony IV Remake? 😉
Morton's Fork isn't exactly what Discord is proposing. Morton's Fork seems to be that you have a choice between two bad situations. The movie, Sophie's Choice is an excellent example of this. What you are actually referring to is a variation on THIS: Reversible dynamics with closed time-like curves and freedom of choice, by Germain Tobar and Fabio Costa. In essence, it says that certain things are destined to happen, and that attempts to change them are doomed to failure, even if you do manage to change the exact circumstances of individuals.
The example explicitly mentioned is COVID19. If you were a time traveller, you could go back in time to prevent Patient Zero from starting the infection. However, the conditions that led to Patient Zero are the same, and therefore someone else will become Patient Zero. Preventing the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand to prevent WWI might save his life, but there were far too many factors at play in Europe at the time, and so another incident would have occurred that would have started WWI. Similarly, killing Hitler as a child wouldn't prevent WWII, there were far too many factors in Europe driving Germany's desire to escape the excessively punitive punishments imposed by France and the Allies after WWI, someone else would have taken over the German psyche, and started Germany's return to power, and eventually started WWII. You might be able to save your Jewish friend's family, but the overall hatred most German Christians had for Jews would remain unchanged, and the holocaust would still occur, even if you preemptively killed all of Hitler's top command staff. Other people would have taken their place and maybe made it even worse for the other Jews.
Thus, according to the paper I cited, while there is individual freedom (you can change details), there are macro events that are going to happen, regardless of your efforts otherwise. That is, you can go back in time and have your grandparents build their home of wood so that the grandparents aren't killed by falling walls when your parents are young, but that won't stop the earthquake that caused the walls' collapse in the first place.
10792913
Are you referring to theoretical "Fixed points"?
It's pretty weird seing Discord of all characters, the Lord of Chaos, say that nothing will ever change and everything will stay the same.
I'd think he'd relish the opportunity for chaos, if anything.
Good grief. I feel like a character in a nineties platformer video game..
Is it the one with the annoying bobcat.
O no! The sewer system in the Sky broke
Yet they left Spike behind... How all exclude non ponys is beyond me...
Q is his biggest fan
But what keeps repeating the timeline? Messed up timespell from Starlight Glimmer?
Fair enough...
Than how about Discord offer friendship? He let himself willingly stoned and the ponys get a chance to show they are willing to trust him by de-stone him on the same day.
Well at least he's not draining his supply of Pepto-Bismol that day. 🤑
Slightly confused why Discord don't try take Spike for his team. Two guys in a time loop can do more than one individual.
The use of the morton fork is not good, that is, a morton fork is supposed to be a false situation where two contradictory situations give rise to the same result, it has nothing to do with the use of the time line here, in fact that The same statement is quite ridiculous, rather it would be something like the fact that the end is already written but regardless of the development it will end the same, which in a fairly real situation would not make sense, even more so if we consider "cause and effect"
11425135
Indeed, maybe the bigger picture is roughly the same
BUT the smaller pictures building it are totally different.
The path/way is the goal.
11230525
Even if he tried, he still won't believe it too much to say that he changed so brutally. He sticks to the show's script, but off-camera he confides in the lead dragon.