A mysterious portal appears in the Everfree Forest one afternoon, and Twilight Sparkle and her friends are sent to investigate. The portal transports them to another Equestria, one full of darkness and strife, where they struggle to survive while trying to make their way home, making new friends along the way and combating dangers as they go, all while under the watchful eye of a manipulative overlord who wants to use them for some nefarious purpose.
Hang on, that all sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it? That's the basic premise of the entire CRISIS-verse, right?
But something is different this time around, something which influences everything in ways you might not expect.
This story takes place as an alternate retelling of CRISIS: Equestria, but you do not need to be familiar with that story to enjoy this one. But for those familiar with the original, you might just get a kick out of the new situations you'll find your favorite characters in.
The events of CRISIS: A Royal Affair are still considered canon within this timeline, except for that story's epilogue. It is not required reading to enjoy this story.
This story takes place during Season Three, after Wonderbolts Academy but before Keep Calm and Flutter On.
Foreword by and edited/co-authored by Devnator. Cover art and character designs by Starlight Spark.
Shares a TVTropes page with the original story.
Strictly going by the cover art, it seems like there's going to be a new Mean Six. Is this true?
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Some definite redesigns for them for sure, at least physically, but you'll see them soon enough to get an idea for how things are going to change with them. It's very much connected to the story's progression; little changes make big differences.
New reader here. Pandemonium huh, sounds and looks like a 1950's or 60's film noir setting. I curious about this dolor being advertised. I've never heard the term before and don't know if that's a real thing or not. Off the top of my head I'm guessing either a drug like smokes or some kind of food item. Definitely going to be keeping my eyes on this story.
The cover? Did you make it your self? It caught my eye. Wonder if there is going to be more chapters?
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The cover was done by Starlight Spark, who has done all of the covers for all of my stories. And yes, there are absolutely more chapters incoming—the first seven are being posted daily, followed by a chapter a week every Friday.
Old reader here I remember the first time I saw the EQD post and you were posting on google docs. And I love the world you built in the stories also really love the ocs, my favorites being Blackburn, the Mean 6 (favorite of them being Curaçao) and Sundial. I wonder how much is it gonna change with the new Cronomancer and I look forward to seeing her personality.
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Glad to see that old readers are still interested in this world after all these years. I hope you enjoy the new material!
Poor Snapshot
It appears some things do not change, in this case sadly (in terms for the character).
Can't wait to see how much these small differences change things.
Ohh...I remember this...poor Snapshot.
Oh so Shadowstep really did have something to do with what happened last time.
My memory's a little fuzzy, but did Shadowstep die this early the last time? I know that he died at one point and got rezz'd with gleamy sharp metal bits and a lot more attitude and came back at some really convenient times.
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Suffice to say, no, not this early, and not quite so permanently.
It's supposed to be Gray Skies, right? She seems mostly the same so far.
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Good catch, force of habit when first writing through this. Comes with the territory of their names sounding similar. Fixed!
So her complete name is still Havocwing or is it just Havoc but force of habit made you write Havocwing?
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Missed those too apparently, ugh. Fixed!
So iirc, the directive of the Clone Six is different this time, with them meant to befriend and convert the Mane Six instead of just destroying them. Also, Starlight Shadow is nominally and physically different now as Golden Dawn...probably because we have a canonical Starlight in the show now and it would just be less confusing I guess. Also Grayscale and Havocwing have different names.
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Ah, I see. So I guess maybe that point of this timeline hasn't changed.
it begins
My memory fails me for the first act in Pandemonuim, but I think Gumshoe might be Curaçao.
Heh. Burn.
Sheesh, Snapshot gets the shaft in every timeline...
It wasn't until this chapter that I realized Winters accent is Australian.
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Agreed, that was beautiful!
Oh Insipid, you are going to be the end of Rarity.
Also most of her runway scenes can be best summarized with this:
Oh dear ditzy Insipid...
Huh...Gray being the point of contact for Flutters? That's different.
And you don't want to find out what happens when he completely fucking loses it I can tell ya that much.
Okay, this was a pretty dang enjoyable chapter. Sportsball action is neat. Havoc was already an amusing character but swapping her for Gray to first contact with Dash and have them go all-out on the court and verbally joust on and off the court was great. Good stuff.
I love how you made it rainslicks observation of the game rather than a first-person experience of Rainbow Dash
playing the game.
I really love how you switched around Fluttershy and RD's counterparts in the last two chapters, it really fits how they would get along.
I'm 90% sure that "deja vu" might have been a callback to the other story.
I've always wondered about the Dolor products ever since they were introduced. It was nice to learn how they are prepared.
Did not expect these two to get along that well...
One half of the set pieces definitely coming together.
Might just be me, but this version of Curaçao seems different and..."sneakier". Me like.
Hmm...that library research...a foreshadowing of things to come?
Not much going on, just everyone holding it together (or trying to hold it together in the case of things back home).
I'm loving Fluttershy, and Gray's dynamic.
I like these little slice of life bits. Nice relationship building going on there with Gray and Fluttershy.
The Mane Six seem to be doing a lot more bonding with this Pandimonuim Six.
It's gonna bite hard when the truth comes out.
pffft
It's kind of strange dealing with an antagonistic force that isn't related to Silvertongue for once. I wonder if it could be Harmonia somehow trying to kidnap the elements? That feels a little off-brand though. Scratch that, I'm betting it's just Silvertongue playing 4D chess again.
Man, I had bad vibes about that "repairpony" from the get-go.
Okay, this is a bit new. I don't remember any other group wanting to get involved with the Mane Six. Who the heck are these guys? Still a chance it might be Silvertongue enacting a different plan at the same time, but I dunno...
Also ayyyyyyyyyy I was right! Gumshoe is Curaçao!
Uhhh...
Yess I love this, I'm so invested!! Such a great story! (also is Gumshoe's name from Phoenix Wright? cause I love that) x
Danger Pinkie Pie Danger
I'm gonna be honest, after seeing how well Pinkie fought in the original timeline, seeing her get shut down by guy with gun came outta nowhere.
Nihila. Nihila plz. Wat r u doin'. Stahp.
Something tells me the turnaround will be a lot sooner in this timeline.
Man, Shroud is really good at what she does.
Hopefully this story keeps more towards just the journey through the world as opposed to the confusing bits on the multiverse theory that had all the worlds being rewritten once the show changes.
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That brought a great story down to an okay one.
Oof. Wonder if AJ's taking things harder than she lets on. Or maybe she's just blitzed out of her wits and needs to process the alcohol out of her system.
Good on her to help out Clay with his troubles. Hope he gets a chance to talk to Thickhoof before things go crazy.
>implications
Oh yeah. I just now realized that doppelgangers didn't get any explanation from the boss for their memory loss, unless I missed it. That's definitely gonna come back.
Okay, Insipid's just precious. Protect the silly pony at all costs.
Poor Insipid. The elevator doesn't always reach the top floor with that mare but at least she's adorable.
That misunderstanding between Rarity and Lockwood though. Rawr.
I kinda have the feeling we'll be seeing Chiffon at least once more.