#i learned its not spelled cadance | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ask-iamnotanalicorn · 3 years

Photo

Previous: The Flim Flam Timeline

The Wasteland Timeline:

This is the story of when Equestria fell.

And this it the story of when Equestria rose again.

The trials began as they always do: with the return of Nightmare Moon. The celestial sisters clashed, and Celestia fell. Heedless of the struggle it would be to keep the Sun set with its alicorn princess banished inside it, Nightmare Moon did just that, determined that her traitorous sister experience Nightmare’s punishment.

Nightmare’s reign of Equestria was strained, but Equestria could have borne it. But within a year, the capital was attacked by the Changelings, desperate to replenish their stores of pony love that had been stymied by the nation’s state of fear and uncertainty. Nightmare Moon was barely managing to repel the threat when the Crystal Empire returned, and King Sombra began to march on her northern borders. With attacks from within and attacks from without, a distrusted leader on the throne, and economic failure rippling across the country as readily as the shifting front lines, the ponies of Equestria were more torn than ever.

So of course that’s when Discord escaped.

The upside of Discord’s release was that it temporarily stopped the fighting. Even King Sombra was smart enough to withdraw in the face of the mad draconequus on a quest of vengeance against all ponies. Queen Chrysalis and Queen Nightmare Moon (who had absconded herself at first sign of Discord’s escape, using every possible trick to keep him from finding her) formed a temporary peace treaty in order to seek a solution - for a world ruled by Discord was useless to all of them. (Granted, the Changelings could withdraw to their protected realm, but Chrysalis had tasted power and wasn’t about to let Discord have it all. She was quite looking forward to stabbing Nightmare Moon in the back afterwards.)

Their solution: a magical contract with the long-imprisoned centaur, Tirek. Tirek was more than happy to oblige. He single-handedly decimated Sombra’s troops, gorging himself on the magic of Crystal Empire and Equestrian ponies alike. It is possible that, if Discord hadn’t come to see what all the fuss was about himself, Tirek would have kept right on gorging to the very limit of the contract that bound him.

When the two titans clashed, the battle that ensued sundered hundreds of miles of landscape. Canterlot bore the greatest brunt; the castle collapsed completely from its cliffside home, the city little more than ruins. Discord’s attacks spread wildly unpredictable waves of chaos magic across much of Equestria. And when at long last Tirek had defeated him and sucked him dry, the lingering effects of that chaos magic stayed rooted in the ground like weeds.

It seemed, for the briefest moment, as if the worst problem was over. But of course, a power-maddened Tirek is a worse threat - because at least Discord doesn’t go out of his way to destroy everything in sight. Drunk on chaos magic, Tirek easily broke the tenuous contract with the queens and set across the landscape, draining ponies by the thousands and carving swaths through the countryside for the sheer wicked joy of destruction. His power was even mighty enough to destroy the changeling hive, overpowering its magical protections.

There was no choice - the two remaining rulers of any species in the land had to either defeat their own creation or face the loss of all they held dear. Nightmare Moon called upon the power of the Moon itself, drawing it nearer to Equestria in a desperate gambit. Tidal waves rocked Equestria’s coastlines, submerging Manehattan and other coastal cities entirely, and the alicorn of the night shone with deadly moonlit radiance as she bombarded Tirek with the full brunt of her power. But even Nightmare Moon at the height of her power was not strong enough to stop Tirek at the height of his, and he struck her down against the surface of the Moon itself. Some of the dislodged chunks rained down on the world, damaging more of not only Equestria, but many other countries on that side of the planet.

Tirek seemed to have won; all he had left to deal with was one small, angry changeling queen. An assured victory, no doubt.

He could not have known how wrong he was. For a changeling might give its magic willingly to a spell like Tirek’s with no ill effects, but an unwilling changeling queen will not be robbed of her power easily. As Tirek’s powers drain magic, so changeling powers drain love - and no one in all the world had such self-love as Tirek. The cycle of Tirek draining her magic and Chrysalis draining his became a self-consuming spell spiral that ultimately imploded upon itself, taking both creatures with it.

The resulting explosion could be heard across the celestial sea. For a few moments, there was something like an artificial sun on the horizon - a sun that had set directly on Equestria.

Then came the silence. After three years of war, devastation, and disasters unlike any the world had ever seen, there was silence.

And as the silence stretched, the survivors stirred.

Earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, crystal ponies, and zebras; yaks, cows, goats, donkeys, and buffalo; gryphons, dragons, hippogryphs, minotaurs, and changelings: in spite of everything, many had survived. They rose from their hiding places to find an Equestria and Crystal Empire in ruins. No major cities still stood; borders and coastlines were unrecognizable. Large swaths of land once green and lush were barren and blasted, and spots of chaos magic lay in wait for creatures unwise enough to enter them unprotected. The moon hung wrecked in a dark sky, shining in shattered glory down on the devastation that had been the once-rich land of Equestria.

But the great destroyers were gone. None of the titans and tyrants who had brought this destruction down on the country remained. The usual monsters hardly seemed a threat anymore; those who had survived thus far had learned to cope with far worse. They could build new settlements, make new ways of life, come together or fall apart on their own merits.

And the most hopeful sign of all came the next day. The first actual day since Nightmare Moon returned and the Thousand Days of Woe began:

The Sun - weak and red in the dust-filled sky - slowly rose over the horizon.

The Princess of the Sun had not returned yet; perhaps she is still trapped by her sister’s spell. Perhaps another way of escape is being laid. But the light fills the ponies’ hearts with hope.

The Equestria they knew is gone. But the New Equestria has a future.

____

Sunday, Aug.10, 4 A.C.

Dear Journal,

It’s really strange dating things this way; but with everything that’s happened, most folks agree it’ll be easier to date our calendars starting with the fall of Princess Celestia. ‘After Celestia’ sounds so grim, though; kinda hope we change it. Maybe when the Princess returns... we’re praying she does.

Anyway, I still can’t believe we found a whole stock of blank paper in the storerooms! We’re saving most of it for bartering, but Mom thinks it’s smart for one of us to make notes for posterity, so it looks like I get to keep you. I’ll try to be short to save space, but it just feels so good to write again!

The move into the Canterlot ruins ruins is going pretty well. A few other families joined us after our last trip to Apple Fort, and we’ve shored up our defenses in case the air pirates make another flyby. Pop and I negotiated a deal with the Apples - food in exchange for books. A few of the unicorns know replication spells and are using some of the paper to make copies of really important texts so we don’t lose valuable knowledge to an accident. It still blows my mind how much we’ve lost in... was life really normal only a few years ago? It feels like another lifetime that I was in this very city, talking to the Princess, sitting at a normal cafe... eating lunch with Cam and Press...

I don’t want to forget them. Camera Shy and Pressing Matters, my best friends. Maybe they’re still out there somewhere. We run into old friends every now and then - my old traveling salespony gig has come in handy, actually! I’ve found a bunch of people who used to be clients, it really helps with forming trade and peace treaties with other groups. So it could happen. Please, Prince, keep them safe wherever they are.

I’m really blessed, though. I have to remember that. I have Mom and Pop and Black and Per and Chewie - although I’m still not used to Chewie flying and talking now. She’s such a character. Lots of ponies are missing family - so are we, we haven’t been able to find most of the extended family, but Pop got word from Aunt Pitter that she and my cousin Light Drizzle are out west somewhere, and Pitch Apple is down at Apple Fort, thank the King.

And we could be worse! We made friends with a tinkerer named Steam Punk, he made me a new wing that works as good as my old one! (Not a HUGE bar to cross, but it’s still really impressive!) I’m talking him into working with me to start a production house that can make and sell them affordably to other handicapped pegasi. And Mom got her flight back thanks to a gem Black and some other mages crafted. I think she still misses her diving mark, but she’s so brave and optimistic, it really inspires everyone. I wish we could do something for Pop’s horn, but he’s finding other ways to help out. Per is... well, I guess if you’re going to get turned into a pony-dragon, you’d want to be as cheerful about it as Per. Who knows, maybe she’ll still get a cutie mark someday! And Black is fully aware that he looks pretty boss with an eyepatch, the dork.

There’s rumors that Princess Cadance might be alive and organizing the crystal ponies up North; lots of ponies are heading that way, but I think our group will stay here. There’s a lot of resources in the Canterlot ruins and in the castle, although Black leads the expeditions into the castle because of safety issues. I never knew he was so good at exploration and such; guess there were a few skills he was holding out on us over the years, but turns out he was working for the Princess before! What in Equus, I gave him such an earful for being all secretive about being my bodyguard or whatever.

I’m running out of page, so I’ll wrap up today. We’re holding a worship service later, Pop and Parson Brown are setting it up. We want to keep focusing on what we have to be thankful for. We are GOING to get through this. The King, the Prince, and the Advocate have not abandoned us, and we have each other.

~Salespitch

----

Fun Facts About The Wasteland Timeline:

- This was my favorite timeline to draw =D I HAD to get some steampunk stuff in there, although there are definitely Mad Max vibes. The convenient thing about this timeline is that it was a literal blank slate, so I could really get creative with it! I feel like this would make a neat bookmark, what do ya’ll think?

- I tried to reference all the major villains in the picture. Extra shoutout to ReversalMushroom, the patron who sponsored this Alternate Timeline Special, for giving me the ideas for the changeling goo and Tirek’s hoofprints, which were added in during the coloring phase. I think they round it out quite nicely!

- The random bit of Candy Forest over the crevice there is one of the pockets left behind by Discord’s chaos magic going wild. Most ponies avoid it because here’s WEIRD stuff in there, and ponies who go in there usually come out a little weirder themselves.

- Black lost his eye and half his sunglasses in a fight with some Changelings. He gets on quite well with only one eye, though, and he insists his sunglass-lens eyepatch is going to be the height of eyepatch fashion. (He DOES have a sense of humor in case anyone doubted it. ;) ) Black taught everyone basic survival techniques and does most of the more dangerous tasks.

- Sales lost his wing during Tirek’s rampage; he tried to distract Tirek, but they didn’t have time to make the plan from the Tirek timeline, so he got swatted pretty quickly. On the upside, Tirek lost sight of him and didn’t get his magic. Sales can fly about as well now with his new steampunk wing, which combines technology and magic to mimic low-level pegasus flight (which was where he was at anyway, so he made a great first test subject!) Sales’ main job is negotiating peaceful trades with other groups.

- Sales Patter (Dad) lost his horn while pushing his wife out of the way of some falling rubble. He insists he was only mediocre at magic anyway, and he doesn’t need a horn to do business! He does miss it, though. He helps their new community with allocating resources.

- Pitch Forward (Mom) lost her magic and cutie mark to Tirek’s onslaught. The gem in her coat simulates flight for her, although not quite at the level she was before. She and Sales joke about how he can almost beat her in a race now. She helps with the kids in their small community and teaches flying techniques to pegasi.

- Pitch Perfect got hit with a random blast of Discord magic that turned her half dragon. It took a little getting used to, but she honestly thinks it is super neat. She’s pretty good at sniffing out gems now, which (when she isn’t eating them) helps with family finances. Her friends Codebreak and Castle Crasher are part of their little community, and the three are constantly getting into trouble (which most everyone silently thinks of as a nice bit of familiarity.)

- Chewie ALSO got Discord’d; she has fairy wings now and she can talk. Chewie still likes Sales the best and hovers around him chattering like Navi half the time. The other half of the time she forgets she has wings and just hops around exploring. At this point she’s become less like a pet and more like another tiny sister, to Per’s delight and everyone else’s raised anxiety levels. She is VERY aware of her surroundings and alerts the group to intruders and strangers. She really misses computer games.

- Princess Celestia will eventually return, although by that time I feel that the various groups gathering together will have formed something like a decent society again. It remains to be seen if they’ll go back to a monarchy, create a government of connected micronations, or turn into something like the United States.

- And yes, Camera Shy, Pressing Matters, and Press’s husband Curler are all alive. They’ll meet up someday!

---

A/N: Thank you all for joining me on this journey through time and space to explore the seven MLP timelines and where Sales & Co might have ended up in them! I hope you enjoyed it; I had a good bit of fun coming up with the different scenarios, it was a great brain exercise. =D Thank you again to all my Patrons, and to ReversalMushroom for sponsoring this particular special! There will be a final post next week of all the pictures together, with links back to their storyline posts.

I also want to thank you for bearing with me as the regular updates continue to be on hiatus. This has been a rough and strange year for all of us, and I hope you all are safe and healthy and know that you are loved. Jesus has really been with me through this year, and even tonight as I write this; there are things I struggle with, but I know that they do not define my value, HE does. =) And I, like Sales, want to count my blessings, the biggest one (aside from my faith in God) being that I have family around me who love me and care for me. I’m very much looking forward to Christmas! =D

Merry Christmas! May your Christmas and New Year contain joy and peace, and may Christ Jesus rest His hands on you and draw your heart to His. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

~River Babble

#mlp ask blog #pony ask blog #tirek #sombra #nightmare moon #Queen Chrysalis #mlp discord #IANAA #Salespitch

76 notes · View notes

glapplebloom · 3 years

Photo

So let’s see what Amore could have done to prevent the future evil events...

So the first change. I’m going to give her credit this time and say that telling Sombra he can change his fate is a good thing. But here I would also add that “if there is anything that worries you, you know you can tell me.” This way, it’ll let Sombra and Radiant Hope know that if anything comes up they can turn to her to give an answer.

So when Sombra becomes sick, Radiant Hope goes to find Princess Amore to help. Since she knows what’s happening to Sombra, I would like to believe she would be making a magical mcguffin to allow Sombra to see the Crystal Fair without the fear of being sick. After their day of fun, this is where I would go a different direction.

After their day of fun, Amore tells Sombra everything. About him being an Umbrum. About why he got sick during the Crystal Fair. About knowing what he fears he would become. But she will also say once again that fate is in his hooves and if they get too heavy, Radiant Hope and her will be here along to help. So Sombra continues to live a relatively normal life though still having some fears.

But as the years go on, the McGuffin begins to work less and less. This is because Sombra is becoming stronger and stronger. Even with Amore’s help, its still not strong enough. But luckily Radiant Hope is there to prevent him from breaking down and earned her cutie mark. And like the main timeline, this allows her to become a student of Celestia and Luna. But there is one difference...

She’s not going alone. Seeing how important the two are to each other and Sombra’s fears, she asks Celestia and Luna to also take Sombra. With Radiant’s amazing talent and Sombra’s Shadow Pony magic, the two would be a big plus for the protection of Equestria. And when together, they seem to learn a lot better than apart.

And killing two birds with one stone, it means Luna has someone to talk to about her fears and inner thoughts. After all, the two share a similar trait about being darkness. While not leading to a full on ship (much to Mina’s shame), this will also prevent Princess Luna from turning into Nightmare Moon

Now to fulfill Radiant Hope to being a Princess, she figured out a way to help Sombra for good. Using the combined magic of the four Princess alongside her, she believes she can ensure Sombra won’t be negatively effected by the Crystal Heart. This allows her to become a Princess and become the 4th Princess she needed for her spell.

When they returned to the Crystal Empire, Amore retired and Prince Sombra and Princess Radiant Hope ruled the Crystal Empire with grace. There was no Nightmare Moon, so no need for a Gifted School for Young Unicorns. No Wonderbolts too since they were created a year after Luna’s banishment.

Sunset Shimmer’s desire for Princess began when she was selected, and grew even more when she saw the mirror. While she saw Hope as an example of how someone can become a Princess, her research showed how anyone can become an Alicorn, a status that is even higher than a Princess. Thus leading her to the Equestria Girls Universe.

The Sonic Rainboom did happen since Dash wanted to prove herself in that race, so everyone who got their cutie mark because of it got it. Discord, since there isn’t much Chaos in the world is still in the statue. Twilight is sent to Ponyville to make friends for no reason other than to make friends. This was a much slower process than the original but overtime she did warm up to the others.

But since she only got close to them much later, Twilight is on her own during the wedding. So the only pony she could count on is Spike. But since he doesn’t have to help he is there when Twilight makes her discoveries. Sadly Spike was too young to remember Cadance like Twilight does so he does play devil’s advocate. But the same thing happens here.

Twilight does not become a Princess since she still has a lot of learning to go, but the plunder seeds did happen, creating enough Chaos to break Discord free while Twilight and friends discover that the Tree of Harmony needs the Elements to fix the problem. But since Celestia and Luna, the two who can control them, were captured, no one has access to them.

Which means Discord can hide the elements and do whatever he wants. After all, no one is powerful enough to stop him. And thus we got the Discord Wins timeline. Another downer, but considering how easy it was for the first 1000 years it had to happen with Discord’s long play.

#Twist of Fate

11 notes · View notes

happypastelponies · 6 years

Text

A curious case of crystal ponies and coverups

For a while now, I have been curious as to why the MLP g4 animated series didn't shine much of a spotlight on the crystal ponies. Aside from just being background characters in the episodes that take place in the Crystal Empire, we don't really learn or know much about them. Even in episodes where Spike is the focus, and they all glorify and practically worship him, we don't get to see Spike hanging out with any of the crystal ponies and we as fans, don't know their names.

But I have a theory that could give these crystal ponies the respect they deserve. Given the nature of the crystal heart- an artifact that the My Little Pony The Movie Artbook hinted at having been excavated out of dragon remains where a city had been built on top of, and its ability to act as a container, of sorts, for an entire empire's feelngs of light and hope...could it be possible that like the crystal artifact that protects the Empire, that these crystal ponies are also able to be vessels of powerful magic themselves?

Think about it. We have seen many instances where gems and jewels have been able to be embued or naturally store magic, from the elements of harmony, to the Alicorn Amulet which bears a jewel that resembles a ruby in its center. Maud even told Starlight Glimmer that there may actually exist a rock with a jewel within in it, that would allow someone to rule the world, likely, if enough magic was stored within it.

So back to the crystal ponies. As their name states, they are clearly made of crystal, and could possibly act as any other mineral formed jewel that would allow them to store magic that is not their own. I find it rather intriguing that back in "Twilight's kingdom", Celestia spoke of "not being able to just cause their magic to disappear" before she, Cadance, and Luna funneled their power into Twilight. This leads me to believe that at some point, this spell would've been practiced before being performed on Twilight without concern of error or flaw. Even Starswirl himself needed to practice spells to ensure he got them just right, as referenced in comcs. No spell, no matter how skilled or powerful the caster, is able to execute a spell flawlessly on the first attempt.

And since crystal ponies act as living magical storage facilities, this could've been the case....perhaps not with Celestia or the other Princesses, but maybe, just maybe, the long mysterious alicorns of pre-Equestrian era (Journal of the Two Sisters) could've first channeled their magic, for safety purposes, into the Crystal Empire ponies, before mysteriously disappearing and never being heard from again. If they had foreknowledge of the future, they would've seen that Sombra's rule and ultimately cursing the Empire and its crystal inhabitants would've benefited them, ensuring that their alicorn magic in the crystal ponies disappeared also, protecting it further. This would explain why Celestia and Luna would also know such a spell to allow their own magic to be transferred to another vessel.

However, I'm sure the question would arise of "wouldn't the crystal ponies have knowledge of this, if they had been used to store an entire long lost race's alicorn magic?" Well, to that I say, it all depends. Both in chapter book and tv series canon, memory altering spells exist, and cover-ups ARE done to keep the populace from becoming aware of certain situations. In 'Slice of Life', Sweetie Drops admits to a secret agency under Celestia demanding complete deniability with regards to certain events, even to the point the organization disbands and leaves no evidence to their existence. And an agent from said organization was ready to erase Lyra's own memories, in 'Lyra, Bon Bon, and the agents of S.M.I.L.E' We've also seen memory alteration spells in Starswirl's unfinished masterpiece, in 'Magical Mystery Cure'.

But since memories, like magic, can't just be erased like writing on a chalkboard, they would need to go somewhere. Perhaps, after transferring their powers into the crystal ponies, the alicorns of Pre-Equestria wiped the empire's memory of the event, and waited for Sombra to do the rest. As for where an entire memories went, what if, like the alicorn magic, they were stored....but rather in a crystal pony, they were stashed safely in a vessel that functioned as a crystal pony but didn't outwardly appear as one, while also having sentience and able to travel, for safety purposes? A living pony.....created from an alicorn and has a will of its own....sound familiar? Almost like Luna's sentient TANTABUS????

It could be that Star Dreams, a toyline exclusive pony, that had interesting releases around the mane 6 and CMC, was meant to be such a vessel to contain the crystal ponies memories, but also having been created by the ancient alicorns, much like Luna's Tantabus- self aware and sentient. For protection, she would've either been cloaked in a glamour, hiding her crystal form to appear as a regular filly, or far removed from the empire's inhabitants and the crystal heart before it had been cursed and vanished. Say, for instance, in Ponyville, where the mane and CMC, if need be, could ensure the vessel's protection, if something comes looking for those memories of the alicorn's magic. Of course, this is purely headcanon, but provides depth to the crystal ponies nonetheless.

#star #dreams #mlp #mylittlepony #horse friend #pastel #equine #stardreams #crystal #curious #coverups #mlp:fim ponies

5 notes · View notes

deltabrony7 · 7 years

Text

MLP Season 7 Adventures: Human Delta’s New Magic and Chat with Starlight Glimmer and The Ponies

*In Camp Everfree, Human Delta is done picking up the trash, and Gloriosa and Timber thanked him for that*

[Gloriosa Daidy] “You did a wonderful job on helping us.”

[Timber Spruce] “Never could have done it without you.”

[Human Delta] “Phew. That was a hard job, but I got it done just in time.”

[Gloriosa Daisy] “Oh, the campers are heading back to Canterlot High.”

[Human Delta] “Hmm... guess they are done having fun at the camp. Oh... um... sorry for what I did. I was obsessed with equestrian magic, and I took things literally.”

*Sunset and Twilight and the others were on the bus talking about Human Delta*

[Sunset Shimmer} “Well, I guess he is learning his lesson after all.”

[Human Twilight] “I’m pretty sure that he can redeem himself.”

[Gloriosa Daisy] “Apology accepted Delta. But please don’t become crazy with all the magic that you used on us.”

[Human Delta] “Likewise... (gasp)

*Suddenly, Human Delta look at his hand and sees a powerful light on it.*

[Human Delta] “This... can’t be!! I wasn’t expecting this.”

[Timber Spruce] “Me neither... I never seen something like this from you.”

[Human Delta] “Hahahaha!! This is amazing!! Sparkling stars that is surrounding my hand. Gloriosa, I must go asap.”

[Gloriosa Daisy] “You may be dismissed. Come again soon.”

*Human Delta walks and head back to town and tests out his new magic.*

[Human Delta] “How is this even possible?!! There is no way I can still have magic like this.”

*Human Delta channels his power and throws it at a tree, and the magic explods on impact, and sparkling glitter scatters around*

[Human Delta] “This is amazing!! I have some magic!! Oh my goodness, wait until Joshua sees this.”

[Human Joshua] “I’m right here.”

[Human Delta] “Josh!! Never thought you came to see me again.”

[Human Joshua] “I see that you are excited and was mentioning about magic.”

[Human Delta] “You never gonna believe what you are about to see.”

*Human Delta charges up his magic on his hand and showing it to Human Joshua*

[Human Joshua] “No WAY!! This is... rad!! Delta, don’t tell me you have magic from Midnight Sparkle.”

[Human Delta] “That was the past. This time... I have good magic. Sparkling glitter and light appears on my hand everytime I channel myself. It’s like casting a spell.”

[Human Joshua] “Wow!! Can you do a little research on yourself?”

[Human Delta] “Although, I need your help on this one.”

[Human Joshua] “Don’t worry, as Gloriosa would say... I got this.”

*Meanwhile at Twilight’s Castle, Delta Brony talked to Starlight Glimmer about the events he been through*

{Delta Brony] “So I fought an evil pony named Twivine Sparkle, she had the magic from Twilight, Luna, Celstaia, and Cadance. I am the only unicorn who defeated her and returned the magic to the princesses.”

[Starlight Glimmer] “Wow!! I can’t believe that you were very heroic.”

[Delta Brony] “That’s before she used Tirek’s power to transform into a hybrid. Then me, the Mane 6, and the princesses defeated her again and we managed to reform her during the time Omega Brony was here.”

[Starlight Glimmer] “Omega?”

[Delta Brony] “Very long story Glim Glam.”

[Twilight Sparkle] “Starlight, you also distracted Princess Dark Matter and we was able to defeat her as well.”

[Starlight Glimmer] “Isn’t that the girl who took your cutie mark, and transformed into a powerful being and was planning to take over Equestria?”

[Twilight Sparkle] “That’s right. She used the negative power of our cutie marks, but thanks to its positive power, we regain our cutie marks back.”

[Rainbow Dash] “Yeah. We couldn’t have done it without Megan.”

[Starlight Glimmer] “Wow. Seems that you ponies have some special tasks.”

[Delta Brony] “The Mane 6 will do anything to spread the magic of friendship in Equestria. And you will do the same if you keep this up.”

[Starlight Glimmer] “Well, I still have some friendship lessons that I need to learn from Twilight.”

[Twilight Sparkle] “So Delta, are you learning some new spells?”

[Delta Brony] “Nothing new, but I did learn how to do this.”

*Delta Brony channels her magical ability to create a golden shield.*

[Delta Brony] “The shield spell, the one that you and Starlight has.”

[Twilight Sparkle] “Very nice Delta.”

[Delta Brony] “Thanks. I’m starting to get the hang of it. Especially when I am an alicorn. Well then... I guess I better meet Pinkie Pie to get some desserts.”

[Twilight Sparkle] “Alright. See you later.”

*Delta Brony leaves the castle looking excited.”

[Delta Brony] “Hahaha!! I live for a good friendship between me, and the Mane 6, or... 7 because of Starlight. Silly me.”

*Suddenly, Darcy was hiding in the bushes, looking at Delta with a smug.”

[Darcy] “Well now, I see that a pony is trotting in the town. and he is mentioning about the others. It’s time for me to dig in.”

*While Delta Brony is walking, he meets the Cutie Mark Crusaders*

[Apple Bloom] “You met Rainbow Dash’s parents?!! That is amazing!!”

[Sweetie Belle] “Never thought you went to Cloudsdale Scootaloo.”

[Scootaloo] “Trust me, I squealed whan I saw them.”

[Delta Brony] “Crusaders!! You seem to be excited.”

[Apple Bloom] “How’s it going Delta Brony?”

[Delta Brony] “It’s going pretty well, just left the castle a few minutes ago.”

[Scootaloo] “You never gonna believe what I just met.”

[Delta Brony] Babs Seed?”

[Scootaloo] “No silly. This!!”

*Scootaloo shows a picture of Rainbow Dash’s Parents, Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles. Delta becomes shocked.*

[Delta Brony] “EGADD!! Is that.... Rainbow Dash’s parents?!!”

[Scootaloo] “Yes!! I was so enthusiastic when I first saw them!! I was doing a school report during that time.”

*Delta Brony becomes speechless in a few seconds and starts to shout RD’s name.*

[Delta Brony] “RAINBOW DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!!”

To Be Continued...

#twilight sparkle #pinkie pie #fluttershy #rainbow dash #rarity #applejack #deltabrony7 #scootaloo #sweetie belle #apple bloom #my little pony #friendship is magic #mlpseasoon7 #superbronysparkle97

5 notes · View notes

marvelandponder · 7 years

Photo

It’s a Curious Thing

Originally, I was going to talk about both Cadance and Shining Armour together today. Then, my friend @beach-city-mystery-girl suggested they should each get their own days. After all, none of the other princesses have to share a day, and we don’t want to only focus on their relationship. Seemed fair to me!

And in hindsight, I’m very grateful for the suggestion because it lets me take a look at two characters that fans might think are, well, non-characters and reveal the awesomeness that’s really going on.

The Princess of Love here is a little more than meets the eye. She’s not a transformer, but now that you put that in my head I want her to be.

This topic was originally going to cover what we saw in A Canterlot Wedding mostly, that big surge of love magic that blew the changelings away Team Rocket style. While we totally will bring up one or two things Shining and Cadance have done together, the more I thought about this topic with Cadance specifically, the cooler it became.

So, sit back on this the loveliest day of the year and let’s show some love for the Princess of Love. Because here’s the thing: Cadance might actually not need her husband to use the power of love (if I say “love” one more time this paragraph, and yes that counts, I get a free sub sandwich!).

Oh, and I should say this before we start, technically the official spelling is “Cadance” instead of “Cadence,” so before you tell me I’m wrong, go write Hasbro and tell them to fix it.

Superhero Princess Origin Story

Let’s start with her backstory, because when you think about it, she became the Princess of Love before she even met Shining Armour. So, what does that mean for the love magic she uses?

Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell is the book that tells Cadance’s backstory. I couldn’t get my hands on a copy for myself, but thanks to the wiki, I didn’t have a problem finding what I was looking for:

“The book tells the story of Twilight Sparkle after she'd been made an Alicorn and seeks advice on being a princess. She turns to Cadance, who tells her life story, how as a baby Pegasus she was found in the woods by Earth ponies, who took her to their village.

When she grew up she reversed a love-stealing spell cast by a pony called Prismia. Prismia wore a magic-enhancing necklace that amplified her evil and jealousy, but when Cadance confronted her, the necklace amplified Cadance's love. Once Prismia changed her horrible ways, Cadance was surrounded by magical energy and transported to a strange place where she met Celestia, who adopted her as her royal niece.” (x)

So, this gets me thinking.

When Twilight became an alicorn, Celestia told Twilight she’d created new magic thanks to the good, ol’ power of friendship and all the lessons she’s learned about it.

Which would make Cadance’s ascension to alicornhood comparable to Twilight’s: they both used friendship and love magic respectively in combination with a preexisting spell (or amulet) to make something new. And next thing you know, they’re alicorns!

But therein lies my point. Even though they might be using different magic, they’re comparable.

Which leads me to wonder if they’re using different magic at all.

Two years back, The Brony Notion did a theory video on how the four different princesses of Equestria represent different kinds of love. In that video, he uses the four different Greek words for love, Phila (friendship or brotherly love), Eros (romantic or passionate love), Agape (unconditional, non-sexual love, sometimes Godly), and Storge (familial love) to explain how each princess fits into that theory, but I think for our purposes we’ll keep it even simpler.

Because there’s something all of these characters represent: Harmony.

Ever-Lovin’ Harmony

So, we all know how this world works. There are at least two powerful, magical forces that act through “bearers” or “spirits,” which can be anyone from average everyday schmoes to immortal princesses to... well, Discord.

Whoever best represents the thing or an important aspect of the thing, gets the honour/burden. Hooray, I think?

First off, we should probably ask whether Love would qualify as an offshoot of Harmony, or whether it’s something else entirely like Chaos. I mean, is Harmony necessarily the same thing the power of Friendship in this world?

It makes sense to me that Love is another kind of Harmony. Even just semantically: you don’t have to have a specific sort of relationship with someone to be harmonious with them. You can be friends, family, lovers, you name it! Harmony just means to be in accord with someone, basically just to get along.

Now, it doesn’t have to be this way, Harmony could only be Friendship in terms of this fictional universe, but if that were the case, they would probably be the Elements of Friendship, instead of having one Element, Magic, that Twilight interprets as the Element of Friendship in the first episode.

So, yes. Friendship is Magic, but Magic isn’t Necessarily Friendship. Magic is also Romantic Love, and maybe more!

The reason I say this is because I think Luna and Celestia represented Family or Familial Love when they bore the Elements.

I mean, they could’ve represented Friendship, too, you can be friends with your sister, but it makes sense, doesn’t it? When Celestia used the elements alone to send Nightmare Moon to the moon, for example, I don’t think she was thinking about her sister as friend. I think it was their sisterly bond that made that possible.

And here’s how that info-graphic would look with Romantic Love put in:

Missing someone?

I’m... not entirely sure.

Because, okay, it feels like Shining Armour should be necessary to some degree for romantic love. Romance requires more than one participant. But at the same time, Cadance is able to use Love Magic on her own, and it is Love Magic, not mind control.

Well, I mean, as far as we can tell, we’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. Hooray for free will!

My point being, she can channel the Power of Love on her own, and now that we’re talking about it, Shining Armour has never been referred to as the Prince of Love. Maybe in his dreams.

Which would be totally comparable to the Mane 5 not being Princesses of Friendship.... if Twilight could just casually use Friendship Magic like Cadance can use Love Magic.

Something’s up here.

This isn’t really unheard of, it’s just strange. It almost goes against the rules set up by this world; you usually need all bearers in a set to use the Elements or assumedly similar powers, like Rainbow Power (which in and of itself came from the Tree of Harmony, so I’m gonna go out on a limb and say, yeah, they’re still using Harmony Magic together, just without the necklaces and big crown thingy). It’s why the mane 6 couldn’t use the Elements without Rainbow Dash in Return of Harmony, for instance, they just have to use it together.

Princess Celestia used the Elements alone once in banishing Nightmare Moon, but it was specifically to protect her sister (and her subjects), the pony she shared the Elements with (Familial Love is Magic). Cadance is using the spell she created to channel that Love Magic, and has been since before she even moved into the same city as her future sweetheart.

So... why’s she so special, then? This seems a little out of whack.

Well, I had to do a little digging to figure out exactly how all this Love Magic works, but I really love the answer I found. ... Love love love love (yay, another sub sandwich!).

Two Wholes, Not Two Halves/The Supporting Role

In the official Elements of Harmony Guidebook, the answer is staring us right in the face:

“PRINCESS CADANCE is the ruler of the Crystal Empire. She is the former apprentice of Princess Celestia, who practically adopted her as a niece. Her love has a magical quality that combines with the magic of her husband, Shining Armor, to make them nearly unstoppable.”

The book specifically says that Cadance’s love on its own is inherently special (it might have something to do with the fact that she’s distantly related to Princess/Queen Amore, the original Princess of the Crystal Empire that Sombra killed in the comics; who really knows?), so yes, Cadance on can represent Love on her own, at least to some degree.

It’s just that Shining’s magic makes it stronger.

And it’s the same with Shining Armour. He’s got one hell of a protection spell, even if he’s not necessarily using Harmony magic like Cadance, but when combined with her magic, that’s when things get amazingly powerful.

It’s why Flurry Heart is so special---their magic combined produced the first natural born alicorn since the founding of Equestria!

An you know, by now we all know that old “other half” and “completing you” stuff isn’t really not what love is supposed to be/do. You’re your own person in or out of a relationship. No matter what. Love is just there for support, and strength when you don’t have any. All that cheesy stuff!

Which is why it’s especially awesome to realize that’s how it works in this world too, because Shining Armour and Cadance are so often grouped together. Which is fine, they are married and love each other deeply so I totally get it, but they’re also their own characters, with their own strengths, flaws, and even their own magic.

The two of them have been criticized for lacking depth in the past, and I think that’s because we kinda saw them as a singular unit instead of two unique characters who just so happen have this kickass Power of Love when together. And, well, because of one other thing.

As time has gone on, we’ve also gotten to know them a bit better as individuals. Shining Armour is a complete and utter dork, a total mess just like his sister (she said lovingly), and Cadance?

Well, apart from being kind, humble, loving, and sweet to properly represent love, and being able to use this awesome power on her own, I think the reason we don’t think of Cadance’s character flaws a lot is because we’ve so often seen her in the supporting role.

By which I mean, doing her duty as the Princess of Love. She’s either there to support her husband, her kingdom, or her sister-in-law. Even in Princess Spike, we saw her being there to guide Spike back on the right path. Rarely do we see her moments of weakness.

But, like any other princess out there, she does have them.

She’s the type of pony to takes on too much, even when it physically exhausts her. She’s the type who needs to cut loose and have a dangerous adventure every now and then instead of just enjoying her cushy life (I feel like that’s Celestia’s influence). We can even assume that at one point she was the type that needed to learn how to take deep breaths to calm down her anxiety (since that’s what she taught Twi).

It’s in these small moments that we see she’s far from perfect, and in this way that we can truly appreciate Cadance for who she is.

The ever-supportive Princess of Love. The orphaned pegasus who stood up to a monster attacking her village. And the fallible mare who was put upon at a young age to become something incredible like her adoptive aunt---all only in addition to being a wife and mother.

Here’s all the editorials I’ve done, and here’s the most recent three, just for you! Enjoy:

Spike, Design and Animation, and Rainbow Dash Editorials

Year of the Pony

Header Image and Graphics Only Possible Thanks to...

Cadance Vector by 90Sigma Mane 6 Vector by Aetheon056 Discord Vector by Soren-the-Owl Luna and Celestia Vector by GameMasterLuna Cadance Vector by Sakatahintoki177

A whole heap of wonderful artists this time! Check ‘em all out if you’re in the mood for some kickass vector art!

Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Everybody!

#princess cadence #princess cadance #yearofthepony #mlp cadance #mi amore cadenza #valentines day #mlp #my little pony #friendship is magic #love day #mlp:fim #mlp: fim #shining armor #animation #analysis #character analysis

39 notes · View notes

glapplebloom · 4 years

Photo

Behold the true start of Season 2.

youtube

Starting off with the first Intro Change. Now instead of Twilight walking into Ponyville, she’s doing so with known characters in the background. Granny Smith, Big Mac the CMC and even Muffins is there if you looked hard enough. While the rest is the same, this shows that Season 2 is going to be different.

And it begins with Twilight going on a Checklist Overdrive. Making Checklists on making a Checklist. Checklists for things she has to do. Double Checking. Triple Checking. Even going seemingly overboard on cupcakes because she doesn’t want someone to have more icing than the others. Yet despite all this, she realizes he hasn’t sent a letter to Princess Celestia this week.

Twilight is Twilighting very hard as she feels that if she doesn’t send a letter by the end of the day she’ll be sent to Magic Kindergarten. So before I continue, I feel its a better idea to have both Twilighting and Twilynanas being used. Twilynanas being a condition and Twilighting is a verb for someone acting Twilynanas.

So Twilight thinking she can learn a lesson before the day ends tries to find a problem she can solve. Spike got nothing, Rarity’s was fixed before Twilight can do anything, Rainbow was helping Applejack, and Fluttershy was breaking the neck of a bear (not really but Twilight thinks so). It gets so bad by the time she arrived at the picnic asking for help on this issue, they didn’t really consider it important despite Twilight looking like she got hit by a car.

With all her options gone and time running out, she goes full on Twilynanas and decides to make a friendship problem. Finding the CMC, she lets them play with her childhood doll hoping they’ll fight over her so she can teach them the meaning of sharing. Well they do fight over her, but its more about who HAS to do it. But Twilight does a spell likely borrowed from Cadance and makes it so they’re obsessed with the doll.

And its such a strong spell that anyone who sees it becomes obsessed with the doll. So now the entire Town is fighting as its night time. And Celestia finally doing something (don’t get used to this) stops the spell and confronts Twilight. The other girls sees this and realize they could have stopped this if they treated Twilight’s worry seriously.

Luckily for Twilight its to calm her down and let her know she doesn’t need to write a letter every week. But after seeing the girls come in to defend her, she decides to let them all write to her about what they learn about friendship (only when they actually learn something and not weekly). And this is all thanks to Spike who let Celestia know about the situation that was happening.

And this is a fun start to Season 2, showing how far it came from season 1. A little more action, setting it up so we can have episodes focused on other characters without Twilight being shoe horned in. And besides Pinkie Pie each of the main cast got something to do. Season 2 is when the Lauren Faust influence lightens up and the shows ability to stand on its own begins.

As for how it fits with GLAB... Honestly haven’t figured that out yet. There’s really nothing for anyone to do. So consider this just Apple Bloom hanging out with her friends.

#season 2 #mlp review #MLP Revisit #Green Lantern Apple Bloom

6 notes · View notes

the-crystal-muse · 7 years

Note

good end that only happens after what would have been a bad end normally

Your name is Cadance. Once, long ago, you were the ruler of the Crystal Empire as well as the Princess of Love.

It’s time you took those titles back.

The flight to the Crystal Empire is tricky. The train went out of commission about the same time negotiations with the new ruler, Emperor Snow Storm, broke down. Since a few months ago, the Empire’s been cut off completely from Equestria. The only news in or out come from the few Equestrian loyalists still inside, a small group of crystal ponies that knew their people couldn’t survive Snow Storm’s rule.

Snow Storm. That was the pony that fueled the anger against you. He took advantage of your fear, insecurities, and weakness, then projected those things onto the public. They were convinced of your ineptitude, and maybe they were right, but you’ve grown since then. It only took watching his people—your people—suffer for you to see that.

Snow Storm’s first act was to deport all native Equestrians back to their homeland. “The Crystal Empire our home,” he said according to your few sources. “We can’t have them taking up valuable resources.” Resources which, funny thing, were starting to drain under his command. Snow Storm and his lackeys were keeping their best for themselves. The royal line needed to be healthy and strong, he claimed, so hoarding the best made the most sense. The other ponies had to work harder for less, and with the emperor’s lack of an ability to plan for the future...Well, let’s just say he was starting to crumble under the pressure.

You arrived in the Crystal Empire to find fog had rolled in. The stormy weather typically held at bay by the Crystal Heart was starting to cut its way inside. Likely due to a general lack of happiness in the area. You shook your head as you dived into the empire. It’s hard to believe Snow Storm ever ousted you in the first place. Then again, it’s hard to believe you fell for it anyways.

Those months of depression and fatigue were hard to fight against. Every day it was the same story. Read about the Empire in the papers, do minor princess duties that literally anyone else could have done better at, learn what ponies thought of the first-ever-dethroned-princess (Luna doesn’t count, she renounced her throne technically), have your own horrible thoughts mirrored back at you by the ever-depressing maelstrom that was your mind. It wasn’t nice. No matter how you tried to keep yourself looking up, you couldn’t stop from drowning in your thoughts. Failure, useless, mistake, embarrassment. Every thought was a stab to your pride, and in time you learned that you simply weren’t the princess ponies thought you could’ve been.

But as time went on, you felt a stirring. You heard of Snow Storm’s rule; how terribly he was managing the job he attacked you for, how he had closed off the Empire’s borders and cut off ties with Equestria, how his subjects felt endangered by their ruler’s recklessness. It set off a fire in you, a hatred. You wanted to run up to the Empire and deck him in the face.

Eventually you found yourself encouraged, surprisingly, by your loved ones. This was the first they’d seen you impassioned in a while, as you spoke of Snow Storm’s injustices. They were supportive, and even offered to help you take back the Empire from that brazenly backstabbing colt.

So he you are, your hooves landing in front of the castle of the Crystal Empire, next to the Heart itself. It spins weakly, with thin trails of glowing blue energy moving across the ground and giving it the power it needs. So little love to be found...

Ponies stare at you. Royal guards pick up their spears, but they do so with little urgency. You can tell by their thin frames, their lack-luster coats, the circles around their eyes. They’re tired. They’re weak. What happened to the pride of this empire?

You clear your throat before summoning a spell Twilight taught you. Suddenly, your voice is projected for miles. “Ponies of the Crystal Empire! It’s me, Cadance, and I’m here to offer my deepest apologies.”

Ponies start to gather, their faces mixing curiosity, confusion...and desperation. “I’m here to say I’m sorry. I wasn’t the best ruler for you all before...” You make sure to look them all in the eyes, trying to look for hope that they may accept you. “I was scared and nervous that you all wouldn’t accept me, that I’d let you all down. And in the end I did. I failed because I doubted myself so much that my fears became a reality. But no more.”

More ponies gather and you steel yourself. “I’ve spent the past few months studying under the princesses, both as to how to rule and to learn about your heritage. My heritage. And let me tell you, I’m stronger than I was before, wiser too. I can be the princess you want to be, if you only give me a chance.

“I saw you all suffering, and the first thing I thought was that I need to help you. Not for your love, and not because you’re my subjects. I thought that because deep down, I care for you all. I’m not a crystal pony, but I understand you as if I was. And now I want to join you, to take my place among you as your ruler and your friend. So the question is...Will you accept me?”

“What are you doing here?” You turn around to see Snow Storm himself. He looks well-kept, a stark contrast to how he looked before. He wore a long red cape that flowed behind him, as well as...Was that your royal regalia?!

You turn to face him with a sneer. “I’m taking the Empire back from your grubby little hooves, Snow. How about you give me back my crown and we call it even?”

“Little chance of that princess,” Snow said. “You failed your kingdom. I, on the other hoof, am making it strong like it used to be!”

“Is this what you call strong?” You waved a hoof towards the crystal ponies around her. “Starving, scared ponies who don’t know whether or not the Frozen North will kill them in a day? This isn’t strong, this is evil!”

“I’m not evil!” Snow Storm stomped on the ground. “I’m their protector! The Empire can’t function without a leader, and I’m him!”

“You’re not a leader, you’re a foal playing dress-up. In my clothes, I might adp.” Snow Storm meekly tossed his cape out of sight. “Now, I’ll say it again. Give me back my crown.”

Snow Storm hesitated before shaking his head. “No. I can’t let you Equestrians take over our kingdom again!”

You roll your eyes. “Fine. Then we’ll see what our ancestors think.” A murmur went up in the crowd as you turn to the Crystal Heart. “You’ll listen to our forebearers, won’t you Snow?”

Snow Storm looked at the Heart as if it was made of acid, but his expression cleared quickly. “My ancestors will choose me, of course. We all know this.”

“Then you won’t be worried to step up to the plate.” Cadance stepped forward and the Heart slowed to a stop. She pressed her horn against its cold blue surface just as Snow Storm did the same.

There was silence for a few moments. Then, a collective gasp went up as Snow was harshly pushed away from the Heart, which then lit up as it zapped Cadance with its power.

The alicorn moved away to find that she had been crystalified. Streaks of energy shot across the ground to power up the Heart, making it spin with vigor.

Snow Storm shot to his feet, mouth agape. “I-Impossible! You must have hexed the Heart, or- Or used some kind of Equestrian magic to cheat!”

“There was no cheating, Snow. Our ancestors chose me for a reason. They know that I plan to make up for my mistakes. And they also know that you are a fraud.”

Snow gritted his teeth. “I’ll show you a fraud,” he said before shooting a bolt of magic at Cadance.

Cadance moved too quickly. A shield was lifted, deflecting the bolt right back into Snow’s face. He fell to the ground with a cry of pain.

Cadance sighed. “Guards, take Snow Storm to the dungeons. We can hold a trial for him after we get the Empire up and running again.” A pair of guards nodded as they took Snow Storm away. With that, the crystalified princess turned to her people, able to feel the joy radiating off them.

“Thank you, everypony. I won’t let you down.” With that, she gave them a deep bow, and her people did the same.

For the first time in a long time, Cadance had hope for the future.

Maybe destiny wasn’t so bad after all.

#{Ask}#{Drabble}#maudyoulook

0 notes