When Starlight Glimmer refuses Twilight's offer of friendship, only quick thinking from Spike saves them from being stranded in an apocalyptic future. Fed up with their cat and mouse game, Twilight Sparkle decides to go back to the day Starlight lost her only friend and set things right. The consequences turn out to be more severe than she could have imagined.
Now, trapped together in a dead-end timeline, Starlight's mind is fracturing from the effects of the spell, and she'll have to work with Twilight to put the world back to normal– if only so she can finish what she started.
Chapters (6)
Good start!
This is excellent. Your writing is spot on & I'm definitely hooked. I just have a few questions...
Yes, having Starlight not go through her villain arc will have Queen Chrysalis more likely be victorious in her second attack, but doesn't she not attack until later? Which is far later than season 5 ep 25/26. I'm just assuming that the map took her later, so she could see the changes she'd make.
&, no Starlight = no pony of shadows. Sunburst will have no reason to visit ponyville, meaning that he & twilight won't get the barrel, no Starswirl diary, no release of the legends & you know the story. & even if the Twilight of this world gets it, no Starlight added to the equation would make it less likely for her to perform the spell to release the legends. & even if she does, Starlight did seem to help with the spell. & EVEN if she performs the spell without her, wouldn't she just have sent the pony of shadows to the limbo like they originally planned. & EVEN even of they don't, as far as I'm aware, Twilight was the one willing to hear out stygian for him to change. Starlight being there to initially tell them wouldn't have made much a difference. They just won't have a Starlight to tell them "I told you so."
Okay, apologies, but I'm rambling now. Great story. I'll stick around
12072137
I'm glad you liked it enough to write so much!
You ask a lot of good questions that I mostly won't answer right now, just know that there are more actors in this story than the three on stage.
As for the chronology, this does get addressed, but my meta justification is that the map slapped them right in the middle of Tirek just hanging out blasting lasers in Ponyville, which I personally don't believe would be, uh, chronologically consistent, so I just assume the Map has a lot of free reign in the department of actually showing the consequences.
I quite enjoy the dynamic between Spike and Starlight. Excited to see more!
Good job with this! This can only go so well...
Have a great weekend too
Yeah, destroy absolutely everything you know and possibly love for petty revenge. That a great plan, Starlight. That's f*cking ingenious, if I understand it correctly. It's a Swiss f*cking watch.
Honestly, I still have mixed feelings about Starlight's original backstory. Like, there are so many holes in her own logic that it doesn't stand up to any criticism. There are no fewer holes in the logic of her backstory. But at the same time, Starlight is becoming a pretty good character in the future, even with her cockroaches inhead.
I am extremely interested in how her schizophrenia will develop further. What will this duality of memories lead to. I really hope for a good ending.
Take your time on this. You're doing great
I feel pretty confident that the group will encounter changelings in the next chapter, but I have to wonder: did the events in this timeline possibly create a schism in the changelings and possibly create a changeling civil war?
I loved this fic. Haven't seen a fic this good in a long time. It seems that, by the end of all this drama, Starlight will be kinda friends with Twilight. Can't wait to see more of it. Stay safe and happy
Loved the chapter. Can't wait to see more of it. Stay safe
It's a strange paradox. Starlight carries the memories of both versions of herself, although the second version of her has not disappeared anywhere and exists separately in this world. However, Twilight and Spike are not in the same position.
Do any of the other timelines play any part in this story?
12084041
we don't have time for other timelines, this one is enough of a hoof-ful.
I like how the story is going. Finally we see the two Starlights resolve themselves. Can't wait to see more. Stay Safe
so it turns out that both versions of Starlight came together because they both put everything on the line and lost?
12084417
Harmony works in mysterious ways, we may only guess at its reasons
Just read through everything up until now and this sure hit like a load of bricks! /pos
12076610
I agree that the 1-note sob story that they gave her was a let down. You have this very dark interesting villain and we're supposed to believe that because she lost a friend in pony kindergarten she decided to become evil...just like that...I call shenanigans
My thought is that Sunburst leaving was just the tip of the iceberg, a piece of the puzzle, and other such analogies. Bullies, poor home-life, mental/psychological issues, clinical depression, that eventually led her to starting her commune. Heck, maybe she started out with good intentions but as time went on it became more and more like what we saw in her debut, maybe it got worse. By the time she gathers Starswirl's scroll she's definitely NOT firing on all cylinders, so I doubt she planned on the whole Fallout Equestria type world (side note: I wonder if that was part of the inspiration for that particular future). If anything, she had tunnel vision on revenge against Twi. Any fallout or collateral damage wasn't her problem.
Can I just, why is fluttershy always quiet? If u said so, then I must've missed it. Also, did the mane 6 just make the school of friendship earlier? What's the "school" Twilight referred too? Or is that a spoiler?
& great story & quality btw!!
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Chapter 3 has a brief conversation about the school towards the beginning of the chapter. It's also where the trio woke up in Chapter 1.
The implication for Fluttershy is that her transformation has left her unable to speak, but don't worry, I'm not sure she minds that part so much. You didn't miss anything though, I just never directly stated the fact, felt the implication was enough.
And thanks for the compliment! I appreciate you sticking around.
Great chapter! When Starlight was thrown at the wall, I thought this was it for her, but they saved her! And that second Twilight at the end.... Why do I feel like that's a changeling transformed into her, not the timeline's actual Twilight. Anyway, great chapter, great story. Stay safe and happy
Great work, a shame I can't like twice but i will leave this comment to let you know I'm really enjoying this.
Feels good to be here to see a great story update in realtime, all my other favorite ones are years old. :,)