This story is a sequel to Never Alone
Traveling somewhere away from home is a daunting endeavor for Olive, but to do so without her mother around? It's downright scary!
And worst of all, she has to remain there for an entire week. But maybe she can overcome her initial fear of traveling alone with only her sister for help. Maybe, if it wasn't for an unexpected guest finding himself hopelessly lost in Appleloosa.
An injured stallion heading who knows where stumbled upon the town, seeking shelter. This pony, however, has quite the bad record and only Olive knows about his crimes. Only she can save the town from somepony who used to follow her maniacal father around.
To make matters worse, another ghost returned to haunt her during this dreadful week. A giant in shackles without a single trace of life in his eyes has arrived to further torment her stay.
No time to cower anymore. It's her time to be the hero again.
Alright! I'm here for round two.
Why doesn’t this story have a violence and/or death tag?
Sequel's out woooooo! We're getting outta Ponyville with this one!
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It'll be a shorter round, but it's far from the last. I hope I'll do as good as the first time, maybe even better.
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Because I didn't plan to have any violent scenes or ponies dying perhaps? The most violence you'll see here is the injured stallion in the cover art. I only rated this story as T because it's a sequel to Never Alone, so I felt like keeping the rating consistent would be best.
Yay olive!
I wanna hug her and snuggle her and CALL HER AWESOME!
i wanna give her wings to fly!
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Yay indeed, our loveable filly is back for one more adventure in the wild town of Appleloosa!
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Indeed!
Luna is taking a big risk here and poor Olive is having a bad case of insomnia induced by new everything.
Oh, Nelly...
Olive returns! Yay!
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Sometimes, it's a good thing to go out of your comfort zone. Let's hope that it'll do some good to Olive in the end.
very good start, onward to adventure with big sis ^^
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Thanks, happy to know you're already loving it! Also, surprise! Already back with an update!
Odd, there are no hospitals or clinics in Appleloosa?
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It's a relatively small town, I figured it would make sense if there were no hospitals around. Also, I just didn't want to write more hospital scenes considering the previous story already had a lot of chapters in a hospital.
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Hello my friend. I just finished your first story "Never Alone" and it's definitely a 12/10 story.
I can't wait to read this too. May I ask how many chapters we should expect with this one?
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I'm happy you loved the first story! For this one, I'm not quite sure how many chapters there'll be exactly, but I can say it should be at least 10.
Does this story take place during "The Cutie Map"?
Also I hope Strong Hoof, Dreamcatcher and the speaker get reformed. I wanna see that happen.
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Yes, that's why Applejack was leaving in the beginning. Big Mac and Granny were for other reasons, but that's not important. As for Strong Hoof and Dreamcatcher, the door to rehabilitation is open but I'm afraid Speaker's is locked forever.
Great to see another chapter! Olive is gonna make it, like the powerful filly she is, we all give a kind thanks to AJ for her motivation :D
Love that Mango's just chillin' with the ex-criminals, and I think Mango is the best drinking buddy you can ask for LOL No questions asked, let's just knock 'em back!
This is my guess for the plot, I'll just mark as a spoiler:
I'm thinking that Olive will after all get Apple Bloom's help one way or another, so she will also deepen her relationship with her sister, but Olive, Strong Hoof and Dreamcatcher will be the ones to ultimately stop Speaker, because come on, who the hell likes that guy, not even Anarchy liked him, he just used him ; Braeburn and Apple Fritter might have mild involvement, but I see this as a way Olive will finally in a measure reconcile with Stronghoof & Dreamcatcher and will be able to lay at peace at least this fragment of the past. Guess we'll see how wrong/right I was, I won't mind either!
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It's becoming pretty clear that I really love to write Mango. You can notice a clear shift in the way I wrote him around chapter 30 onward. In this story, I'm expanding on his kinder and softer side, which you can see when he interracts with Strong Hoof and Dreamcatcher. I'm starting to love this new dynamic!
Also, the fact that Anarchy hates Speaker is quite interresting, might I add. He might be a killer, a cannibal and a cult leader of sorts, but he does have standards believe it or not. A hypocritical figure who's true face is difficult to discern, it's no wonder he became my favorite villain to write, period. (Also, shit! I forgot to add the color for Anarchy's only line! Gonna fix that now...)
Also I'm fairly surprised about your guess. It's a really complete hypothesis that covers most of the plot point I'll touch upon. Well, now we only have to wait and see how things will turn out.
Is it weird that I'm more disgusted by Speaker's plans than all that Anarchy did?
I mean, as you said, Anarchy was a killer; a cannibalistic cult leader, but I don't recall him being even a fraction of the disgusting creep that Speaker is
I dunno, Speaker's dialogue twists my stomach in a way Anarchy never did
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Anarchy was a monster for sure, but his plans were more focused on marriage and becoming a king. A megalomaniac basically. But Speaker is a more realistic kind of baddie, and that makes him more disgusting. Anarchy at least had some standards, some crimes he never dared to commit for he found them repulsive. It's no wonder he created a list of "good" and "bad" Anarchists!
Lastly, I'm guessing that the reason Anarchy's dialogue never twisted your stomach the same way Speaker did is because the former had charisma and a bit of a goofy feel to him whilst the other has none of that. Presentation is important, it can change how you perceive somebody
Apple Fritter wasn't mentiomed, that's...worrying.
Dreamcatcher amd Strong Hoff together, that's quite beautiful, a little like a David and Goliath, Dreamcatcher's Strong Hoof's only weakness.
And well Mango at least can take constructive criticism
Can't wait to see how this thickens amd evolves!
So, does Anarchy have purple text while Jolly Melody has regular text?
Also, It's nice to see Strong Hoof and Dreamcatcher turning to the good side and showing love again.
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Yes, a clear distinction between the two, for Jolly has changed quite a lot ever since he performed the ritual on himself. The wicked are the ones who see the most change with this ritual after all.
Strong Hoof and Dreamcatcher have taken a step forward, but there's still one pony they are not willing to see ever again. There's still progress to be made.
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Worrying indeed, she's still taking care of Speaker! I never found the time to work more with Strong Hoof and Dreamcatcher's relationship in Never Alone, so I'm taking full advantage of this sequel to spend some time with them!
I have 3 questions this time.
1. Did you pass your exams
2. Is Anarchy's spirit helping olive take down Speaker
3. Are you gonna make Olive act "seductive" around Sweetie Belle in your story about them?
I also have 2 comments too
1. That was a pretty smart plan Applebloom and Olive
2. I can't believe I'm saying this, but poor Strong Hoof and Dreamcatcher. They're too traumatized by their memories to even get close to olive
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I haven't received all my grades, but so far I'd say I did fairly well on them. I'm not expecting any failures.
Yep, that's what's happening. Anarchy does have some semblance of love for Olive, only it is rather twisted seeing as he holds no animosity for being killed at her hooves. In fact, he seems rather proud!
Why, certainly. She's a fast learner and a curious filly. She won't resist the temptation of trying it out for real.
It's sad, but it's also a good thing. Shows that they at least care for her in some way now instead of outright hating the poor filly. There's a chance they can push past their trauma and make amends, they still have a couple of days left before she leaves Appleloosa.
Some comments:
1. Apple Fritter, what the hell? And making the kids do it too? Good seducing lesson though. Also it looks like Apple Fritter had a crush on Jolly Melody along with Cheerilee
2. I'm also starting to really like the relationship between Mango, Strong Hoof and Dreamcatcher, even though the latter 2 are still racked with guilt
3. Speaker, your freedom days are numbered
4. Now we know how dreamcatcher can go into and manipulate dreams. Also that was a sad backstory
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Considering that ponies are naked all the time, I figured it would make sense why they'd have no problem showing their "private areas". And as for Jolly Melody, I kinda see him as this world's equivalent of Michael Jackson, amazing singer, known and loved everywhere. Only, he has a dark side that the King of Pop doesn't have.
So do I. If I feel like it, I may write another short story about them on another "reforming" trip. Maybe send them to Las Pegasus to tie up some loose ends. But before that happens I still have two other sequels to write which would focus more on Olive and Anarchy respectively.
Out of all the scenes in this chapter, this one was by far my favorite as well as the easiest one to write. The inspiration just kept on coming and I'm happy with it overall. Would have felt unjust to not explore Dreamcatcher's past further when I did so much for Strong Hoof in the prequel.