• Member Since 24th Jul, 2019
  • offline last seen Tuesday

Casketbase77


Routine day with a dirt cheap brush, then a week goes by and it goes untouched. Then two, then three, then a month, and the rest of your life you beat yourself up. - Aesop Rock, "Rings"

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Source

In Equestria, when it rains it pours. A recent barrage of threats has included an evil queen from the moon, an invasion of shapeshifting bugs, and even a rampaging god of chaos.

Some days, Twilight Sparkle wishes there was an easy fix for it all. Some sort of rainbow laser that could solve any conflict. But wishful fantasizing doesn't keep ponies protected; hooves on the ground do.

Only guards like Twilight can keep Ponyville safe. Still, she won’t say no if a few locals offer help...


This is an entry in the Snippet Series, an anthology of old oneshots that I (and my good buddy Str8aura) wrote based around interesting pics I found. New ones will be posted every other Thursday for the foreseeable future.

Chapters (1)
Comments ( 59 )

I love this story! Just the thought of shining running off into the everfree with a bunch of foals... Whoa! :twilightblush:

I have always loved the idea of guardsmare Rarity but informant Rarity is also a treat! Also just a small correction

But I promise Celestia always looks out for all her little ponies." Twilight

Missing a word at the end I think, Twilight said maybe?

Cant wait to see more!
Its a reallly interesting premise

really good story xD

hope there is gonna be a sequel, it really sounds intersting xD

This is very interesting, also I am a sucker for !Guard Twi. What happened in the forest? How did the CMC get mixed up in this? What are the Changelings up to?

Hey there. Thanks very much for getting this one-shot up. Definitely enjoyed the look at this AU. This look at Guardsmare Twilight in Ponyville looked great. Kind of liked the fact that, despite the differences in the universe, Twilight is still well on her way to making friends with Applejack and Rarity. The stuff about the investigations into the still-at-large Nightmare Moon and the stuff concerning the Everfree are also great details. And the characterizations are a wonderful mix of in canon character and different enough to be entertaining.

Definitely looking forward to more from this universe.

Howdy, hi~!

Oh, I really liked this one. All the different elements and revamps make this such an intriguing read and I would love to see more of this. I love the characterizations you have for the main characters, and the little things that really fleshed out the new world that you made in this fic. Really fun read.

Thank you for the fic~!

"I have heard this one before, actually. Sheesh, how many of my brother's entourage that night were kids, anyway? I had a crying yellow pegasus find me after her own brother volunteered. She was so upset you'd think he was still in diapers, but when I finally saw him he was a full.. grown..." It occurred to Twilight she'd just blabbed about her family ties. And judging by the glint in Rarity's eye, the slip up had been noted.

It's a wonder that Equestria still exists with these idiots thinking they're the Elements of Harmony. Shining, Zephyr, the CMC, and someone else (unless I missed it) do not qualify by a longshot.

Great story idea though. Twilight's got a start with the proper Mane 6. She's met Fluttershy, and no way she's not met Pinkie. Only need Rainbow.

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Sibling rivalries, am I right? The Elements nearly nabbed their proper bearers, but each missed the mark by one family member.

While drafting, I dropped an extraneous scene where Twilight sees a blue Pegasus flying twice the legal speed limit. She can’t pursue though, since she doesn’t have wings of her own. She’ll need Rarity’s knowledge to track that lawbreaker down.

:rainbowdetermined2:

I have a much lamer reason for not portraying Pinkie; I couldn’t decide which of her sisters should be the one in the search party.

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Any of Pinkie's sisters could've worked honestly. None of them fit an Element. Hell. Limestone with her anger management issues just for the LOLs would be funny. Oh well.

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Well, Maud might fit for Honesty (because, if anything, she would be BRUTALLY so), but beyond that, you make a great point. Of course, Maud also, at least, has the strength to be VERY useful in a fight.
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To be fair, Shining would make an EXCELLENT "Loyalty" (since he has done so in SEVERAL AUs). But, yeah, that's a very good point.

This one definitely needs followup, especially with that highly accelerated rate of villains becoming uncorked.

Ah, the season 1 rewrite. Tried. True. Friend of AUs and Abridged series everywhere. However, due to its brevity, this one is a lot unique- much like, say, Bad Future Crusaders, we know this world is different right off the bat, but have to piece it together in reverse. However we still do get the classic formula in how Twilight meets the others- AJ first, THEN Rarity. I imagine a chance encounter with Pinkie happened right before this and was brushed off.

I always liked the idea of magic as a hard to control natural force- more often than not I've likened it to Radiation, and that's not too far off from this, a blight that needs to be warded off against same as Ergot, despite how unnatural it may be. As the enemy of a farmer, it's the perfect way to keep the threat low level but still important to this small circle of characters.

Long story short, magic kicks ass and the mane six are ripe for symbolism.

Of all the Snippet Series oneshots, this one is tied with the Mirrorverse entry for strongest follow-up potential.

I mean, this is blatantly a first chapter. Everything is setup; no actual story happens, unless you call hauling AJ home a conflict and resolution. "Welcome to the team" is a by-the-numbers first chapter closer, but it doesn't qualify as a story ender unless it signifies a major twist, which it doesn't here. Presented as a narrative, this gives an info dump and introduces some characters, and then just sort of ends. Only as a first chapter does it stand on its own merit.

This is a cool little premise! I like it!

"One bad apple doesn't spoil a barrel," Twilight assured.

...I mean, it does, but I suppose maybe not when dealing with Fear Magic.

Of why the didn't Elements activate

Bit of a swap here.

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Judging by how everything is, nopony in that group was right. And since Apple Bloom noticed Twilight's cutie mark looks like the Element of Magic, the Rainboom still happened and the canon Mane 6 are still the Elements.

Iinteresting . . sad that is is only a single chapter, this would a good starting point for more . .

11267208

This story wasn't a full on Season 1 rewrite at its conception. I pondered the cover image and thought "what threats would Royal Guard Twilight have to deal with?" The answer was of course "every single villain the Elements of Harmony should've zapped by now." Moondancer's party was Twilight's missed date with destiny.

But I didn't want all the blame to be on one likable heroine. AJ and Rarity's scenes hint that every member of the Mane Six dropped the ball that night. But despite everything, they're still forming their required group. Destiny tends to right itself like that.

:twilightoops: :ajsleepy: :raritydespair: :fluttercry: :rainbowderp: :pinkiesick:

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You've found pretty much every breadcrumb I stashed in this story. To support your conclusions, I intentionally had Twilight say "honest, Applejack" then had Rarity ask Twilight for "some generosity." The true Bearers are coming together, as you predicted.

For all your successful sleuthing, I bestow unto thee a Spike Of Distinction.

:moustache:

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The only thing I'm missing is how Shining is Celestia's student. Unless he was before the Rainboom happened, and Twilight was already interested in the Royal Guard, so there wouldn't be a reason for her to be there.

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Ah. Right. There is a simple explanation for why Shining Armor is Celestia’s student: it’s because Twilight is not.

Such is the effect of seeing a cute pic of Twilight in guard armor, then trying to build an AU around that. After I swapped the roles of the Sparkle siblings, I decided the rest of the Mane Six should follow suit. The predictable result was an impotent Equestria hanging by a thread.

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Some people DREAM of getting the spike of distinction, you know.

There should be more of this. Just saying.

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Yeah, *now*. But his adventures have just begun. I mean, think about what he has inside him.

You know, I've said before, but Shining Armor is a badass. Canonically. Let's have a look at his achievements.

- The single most powerful mortal in the world.
In terms of political power, he's the head of a nation state and brother to the ruler of another. In the event of an attack that renders the Alicorns defeated (for example the Storm Kings invasion had it been succesful) he is defacto heir to Throne of Equestria and Prince Regent of the Crystal Empire: a nation larger than Sombras greatest ambitions.

- Became supreme commander of a nation's armed forces whilst barely a teenager. Then married into Royalty. Arguably into Divinity.

- Is Father to the first Natural Alicorn in history.

- Flights Sombra, 1 on 1, in the Tundra, and survives.

- The *only* unicorn whose raw power seems to exceed that of unicorn Twilight. We know that when Twilight lacked the proper training she could be fought to a standstill by Starlight who - though less powerful - knew techniques Twilight didnt. He has that training. Could therefore feasibly take on a young Alicorn.

- His love for Cadence (Alicorn of Love - possibly the most dangerous force known to man) is capable of defeating an entire changelling hive. And more alarmingly when someone capable of feeding on that energy was able to weaponize it, defeat Celestia Herself.

- His sister is the literal incarnation of Magic destined to succeed the Literal Sun.

- His Brother will one day become an Elder Dragon.

- He literally rolls Dice with the Lord of Chaos.

All of course whilst being mortal. As far as we know immortality is not on his Cards. He will, eventually, whither and die. I firmly think ascension for him is *possible* but that he will refuse it. I'm a fan of the notion that Cadence and Armor have a romance like Beren and Luthien. Of Arwen and Aragorn. I rather suspect she will be the first Alicorn to die a natural death...But

Student Armor? Able to wield that raw untapped potential could become the first King of Equestria in this timeline. Hell, if he out his mind to it, he's probably one of the very few people who might actually be *able* to pull of a coup against Celestia if the mood took him. A Midnight Armour would be a tremendously frightening prospect...

Armour is no slouch. Even in the main timeline. He's literally the embodiment of heroism, and glory. He's *ludicrously* potent. In a straight up fight could take on an Alicorn on a good day , and probably the only hero could reliably best Glimmer and all of her nonsense in a 1 on 1 magical duel. And she fucks with Time and (more dangerously) Destiny magic on a regular basis...

11267542
Yet despite all of that (and doing something impressive enough to be Celestia's Personal Student), he still couldn't bond with the Elements of Harmony. We've seen more than one can be with the Mane 6 and the Young 6.

11267035 Oh gosh, I didn't even notice the significance of the search party all being Mane Siblings. The Pies are still unaccounted for, unless I missed something.

Twilight: All right, Miss Dash. I admit you gave us a good race, but you were speeding by a severe degree.

Rainbow: How did you catch up to me? Only Pinkie is faster than I am and, even her only when she thinks it's funny.

Twilight: Wasn't easy, but my partner's contacts provided some very helpful leads.

Rainbow: Look, I was trying to find something to help take down Nightmare Moon, but I didn't want anybody else in harm's way because of me.

Twilight: Let me guess - your little sister went into the Everfree two weeks ago?

Rainbow: Actually, no. I'm an only child. But I DO have a fanfilly who kind of sees me as a big sister figure and was probably trying too much to emulate me. Why did you ask?

Twilight: Because three of the mares I talked to the past two days had sisters - though Pinkie's was, at least a couple of years older than her and had the strength to be SOME use in a fight. Another one had a brother. I was just detecting a pattern.

Rainbow: Well, the point remains that, well, I'm willing to put my own life on the line, but only my own. Nobody else's. I can't stand the thought of anybody else getting hurt. Not after how traumatized Scoots was. Actually, that was the reason I was trying to find a way to take down Nightmare Moon.


11267715
It wasn't said. Best guess is that it was either Maud or Limestone. Marble doesn't seem the type to do something like this.

11267874

Why is no one writing this story? This is too good not to use.

"Is this the best Celestia could do? You six?"

"I don't understand. Why didn't the Elements..."

"Then let me explain it to you. All of you. So you know how much you have failed. A unicorn with rather impressive magic for a mortal. A stallion with a far too high opinion of himself, a mare so boring it makes watching paint dry interesting/a mare with serious anger management issues that actually put up a decent fight. And three fillies who have less than zero business interfering with adult business."

"HEY!!!"

"In our defense, we told them to go home more than once, and they did not listen. Their sisters will not be happy about this."

"Then I will not do anything to them. I do not need to. I will let you three think about how much you've failed. How much Celestia has failed, as you run home. Before I change my mind."

Nightmare Moon to the Useless Six, during the Longest Night.

Couldn't resist. Take it however you want :pinkiehappy:.

Interesting AU.

I like the idea that a tiny shift is the difference between total success and utter doom, despite how terrifying such a concept plays out in real life.

Another masterful story. Looking forward to more.

11268534
The proper Mane 6 are coming together though, so utter doom isn't guaranteed yet. Does help that Twilight isn't anti-friendship like she was in canon.

Ah, I really hope this becomes a thing. Good new fics are such a rarity these days, its mostly just NSFW stuff and looking through the non popular stuff is like looking for gems in a rock pit.

11267035
Maud is the obvious choice

Very nice. I leave you with a gift, my favorite qoute from Aesop Rock.

"Look, I've never had a dream in my life
Because a dream is what you wanna do, but still haven't pursued
I knew what I wanted and did it till it was done
So I've been the dream that I wanted to be since day one!"

Aesop Rock, No Regrets.

11268591
It's pretty bad though. You have no less than 5 Season villains running around.

Other than the Pony of Shadows (Not counting the EqG Villains) that's all the most powerful threats depicted in the show, running wild at more or less the exact same time.

I'm honestly surprised the country is still intact, given Discord's on the loose. Which is kind of it's own plot hole, but that's neither here nor there.

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Seeing all the chaos and discord going on, it's not that much of a shock Discord's free. Why he hasn't taken over Equestria yet when we very well know he can (and how powerless Celestia is against him without the Elements) is what I wanna know.

11269063

Why he hasn't taken over Equestria yet when we very well know he can (and how powerless Celestia is against him without the Elements) is what I wanna know.

That's definitely a concern which I share.

I'm honestly surprised the country is still intact, given Discord's on the loose.

My point about how it is a plot hole has more to do with how the Elements work however.

Princess Celestia: I thought the spell we cast would keep him contained forever, but since Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements, the spell has been broken.

So do the elements work differently here?

Because the indication is that the elements are no longer connected to the Sisters because they chose new users.

That hasn't happened yet, so why is Discord free already?

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Maybe the connection broke after Celestia banish NMM/Luna to the moon instead? Leaving Discord in a gradually weakening prison that still strong enough to contain him until certain amount of 'chaos' to set him free?

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While I know it's a popular head cannon, the implication is that Celestia is connected to the elements even after Luna's banishment.

There's is little suggesting that she lost her connection to them because she used them on Luna.

As for why she didn't reverse the banishment, I suspect that even if it was possible, she'd still be stuck at square one when it comes to her sister.

Love this AU!

This AU needs to happen

I want more! Its good.

I really like how you wrote Guardlight Sparkle. It helps that I like guardsmares in general.
But as others have pointed out, it indeed only feels like a first chapter. So I hope you have more in store.

11269227
That is actually entirely headcanon. More likely, Celestia doesn't want to use them anymore after they put her sister on the moon
Edit: which is MY headcanon, tbh. but canonically, no idea why she doesnt use them

Well this was a fun first chapter one-shot to read.
Sigh... I can see why you’ll only make a single chapter. That’s fine.

I love how you’ve kept Twilight’s nature intact while re-casting her as a guard.
ie- when she is with Rarity and recounting the unicorn population of Ponyville. She still prides herself on being well read.

Well that was a thing and a half. So Twilight and Shining switched roles did they?

And it seems that there was quite the clown parade up at the old castle, Zephyr Breeze and the CMC? I'm amazed Nightmare didn't die of laughter watching Shining try to corral that lot.

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Going by what was said, Zephyr might've gone no matter what Shining may have said. Same with Pinkie's sister (since it's all siblings, one of them had to take Pinkie's place).

It was the CMC who had no business being there, and that the group tried to corral in going back to Ponyville. Queen Meenie might have tried not to die of laughter from those three more than anything else.

Could be wrong though.

11271103
Yeah. I could see that too.

Nightmare Moon: Not bad so far. You are obviously well trained in combat and defensive magic. But you still won't win.

Twilight: You're right. I won't win. At least, not alone. But then, I'm NOT alone, now, am I?

Rainbow: Got your back, Twi!

Pinkie: And here's a few gifts from the Pie Family (pelting Nightmare Moon with pies and rocks while Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy try to go for the Elements)!

Nightmare Moon: You and your friends are proving more troublesome than the last batch of "'adventurers'" that tried their luck against me. Armor and Maud were the only two that put up anything even resembling a decent fight. And, considering who their supposed allies were, it is actually admirable that they were able to put up as much of a fight as they did while keeping the others corralled as you modern ponies would say. I almost lost because of the laughing fit I endured.

Applejack: (lassoing Nightmare Moon while Rarity and Fluttershy are bringing the Elements to Twilight) Yippee-ki-yay, melon farmer!

(The battle continues while Twilight is making the realization about herself and her friends)

Twilight: And now, my favorite part of the detective stories - the part where the detective explains how he or she figured everything out. (her friends continue to use teamwork to keep Nightmare Moon from attacking Twilight before she can finish her explanation.)

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