#but his and fluttershy's little pupils?

[personwholoveschocolate]

dont tell me this is not how it went

[bodrewritten]

Daughter of Discord Rewritten Chapter 12: Mysterious Stranger

Discord and Screwball were rolling on the floor laughing after their successful prank on Pinkie Pie. She had sat down for a second only to set off a giant whoopee cushion that mooed like a cow. She snorted along with them.

"Okay, you got me! Good one!"

Discord's laughter died down as his wife approached him.

"Up to your old mischief, I see," Fluttershy said.

He smiled nervously. "Well, I...just a little?"

"So I take it you're too busy for a dance?"

The draconequus jumped up and grabbed her hooves. "Never!"

Screwball watched as their parents glided across the dance floor. She also saw Dinky with Maple Cinnamon and Apple Blossom with Thunder Dash. Flurry Heart was dancing with some unicorn suitor while Rainbow and applejack were grooving. Autumn and Rarity danced as mom and daughter while Taco Grandé and cinnamon twist cut a rug.

"Can you believe they finally got together?" Lightning asked, joining her friend.

"Thunder and Blossom or Dinky and Maple Cinnamon?"

"Both! Crazy, huh?"

"Well, it was about time, don't you think?"

"Yeah. If there was some pony special in your life or mine, then this really would be an eventful evening!"

"Right," Screwball muttered.

"Excuse me?"

The two mares looked up at the sound of a male's voice. It belonged to a pale unicorn stallion with blue eyes and blonde hair. He held out his hoof.

"May I have this dance, Miss?"

Screwball looked around and pointed to herself. "Me?"

"But of course."

She glanced at Lightning, who mouthed, "Go on!"

"Um..." Screwball stammered. "Sure."

Her pegasus friend winked at her as the stallion led Screwball onto the dance floor. He bowed to her before pulling her in. The stallion was exceptionally light on his hooves, even when dancing on his hind legs! As he dipped her and Screwball got a glimpse of his eyes, she could not help but think there was something familiar about him.

"Have we met?"

The stallion smirked. "No, we're complete strangers."

He was lying. "Are you sure?"

"Well, I know who you are."

"You do?"

"You're Screwball, daughter of Discord, the Lord of Chaos."

"Was it the eyes?"

He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "If I told you, you'd know I was lying."

"Actually, it was the horn-less magic."

"... Do I really know you? You look real familiar."

When he moved away, his blue eyes flashed green. Screwball's pupils dilated.

"Mothball?"

He smiled. "There's no fooling you, is there?"

She opened her mouth to say something when the music stopped and Apple Bloom spoke into the microphone

"Y'all havin' a good time?"

The audience stomped their hooves and cheered.

"Well, now we're gonna bring it down a notch! Boys, it's time to grab yerr sweethearts for a little slow dance! Take it away, Sweetie Belle!"

"Ooh!" Pinkie piped. "Can we, Cheesy? Can we, can we, can we? It would be so romantic!"

Cheese Sandwich chuckled as he took her hoof. "Anything for you, my little joy buzzer!"

As the music played, Screwball looked into the eyes of the stallion before her. They were not Mothball's, but that did not change the fact that he was there.

"In a very unusual way," Sweetie Belle sang, "One time, I needed you."

Mothball placed his hooves on his partner's shoulders and they began to sway to the music.

"I got your rose," Screwball whispered. "It was...sweet."

"In a very unusual way, You were my friend."

She remembered how thrilled she had been to see the flower on her windowsill. It got her thinking about why Mothball kept coming to see her.

The disguised prince, meanwhile, was so transfixed on Screwball's beauty. He had almost not recognized her at first, dressed in an elegant purple gown and without her propeller hat. She was even prettier than he remembered.

"Maybe it lasted a day."

Her purple and white curls bounced gracefully over her shoulders.

"Maybe it lasted an hour."

Her smile brought warmth to his chest.

"But somehow it will never end."

And the more he gazed into those endless eyes, the more that warmth pounded inside his chest.

It was at this point in the song that Discord noticed the young couple.

"Screwball is with..." His eyes lit up. "A boy! And he's not afraid of her!"

Fluttershy breathed nervously into her man's neck as they danced, keeping a close eye on them.

"hey aqua, what are you doing here?"

"In a very unusual way, I think I'm in love with you.

In a very unusual way, I want to cry."

Aquafresh ran up to lightning and spoke to her softly. "I haven't seen you in so long!"

"well you never wanted to see me."

Aquafresh melted under the filly's gaze. "I've always wanted to see you. You're just always around Screwball."

Lightning furrowed her brows. Of course I am, she's my friend!"

"I know I'm just scared that she'll hurt you if she gets... Crazy."

"she's not crazy!" Lightning pushed away from aqua. "You don't know what it's like to be hated the way she was! She was figuring stuff out."

Aquafresh looked deep into the filly's eyes.

"...I trust you."

Lightning took the other girl into her hooves and danced as slow as she could while excited.

Mothball was so lost in Screwball's gaze that he did not realize they were floating off the ground. Screwball was not even aware she was lifting them.

The prince then glanced down and shrieked.

"Something inside me goes weak."

He wrapped himself around Screwball, who only giggled.

"Something inside me surrenders."

"Sorry. Sometimes I can't help myself."

Mothball grinned awkwardly. "You never cease to amaze me."

"And you're the reason why."

As the song reached its climax, ponies began taking notice of the young couple in the air and watched with awe as the stallion gracefully spun the mare. Fluttershy's teeth ground together so hard in fear.

"You're the reason why!"

Sweetie Belle saw the couple too and sang the next verse with passion:

"You don't know what you do to me.

After bringing her up from a dip, the two locked eyes again.

You don't have a clue!

You can't tell what it's like to be me Looking at you."

At that moment, it was only them and Sweetie Belle's angelic voice.

"It scares me so That I can hardly speak."

Mothball flinched as Screwball lay her head on his chest. He could feel the love transferring from her to him. It felt stronger than last they met. Their altitude didn't change, despite the fact that he should have been draining her power.

"In a very unusual way, I owe what I am to you."

Reluctantly, he ran his hoof through her mane. It was as soft as cotton.

"Though at times it appears I won't stay, I'll never go."

"I missed you," she whispered.

"Special to me in my life, Since the first day that I met you."

He tenderly lifted her head so he could look into those eyes again. "I missed you too."

"How could I ever forget you, Once you had touched my soul?"

"In a very unusual way..."

Screwball closed her eyes and leaned forward.

"You've made me...whole."

Mothball panicked once he realized what she was trying to do. He moved his head as far back as possible. When it was clear she was not going to give up, he put his hoof to her lips. Screwball opened her eyes in confusion.

"Why don't we talk outside?" he whispered.

The applause brought her back to reality. Ponies were watching. Her dad was watching. She nodded in agreement.

"Where are they going now?" Fluttershy asked as the couple floated back to the floor.

"Does it matter?" Discord responded. "I think it's sweet that Screwball's found a nice colt."

"I'm sorry discord, I'm just worried he might break her heart. Can we at least see where they're going?"

"Okay," Mothball said as he and Screwball ducked behind a bush. "I don't think any pony will find us back here. Oomph!"

Screwball tackled him in a hug.

"Where have you been all this time?"

"Can't breathe!" the prince wheezed.

"Oops." She pulled away awkwardly. "Sorry."

"I'm sorry. Mother rarely let me out of the hive, and when she did, she kept a close watch on me with her guards."

"How'd you slip away?"

He shrugged. "Dances are the ideal hunting grounds for changelings." He leaned forward. "In addition, I couldn't pass off a chance to see you again.

"Why didn't you tell me it was you in the first place?"

"I was afraid someone might hear."

"Well, it's good to see you."

After a long pause, the gap between them diminished. Once Mothball saw this, he instantly drew back.

"Screwball, you can't!"

She scowled at him. "Why not?"

"Do you know what happens when you kiss a changeling?"

"No, but I'm about to find out."

He stopped her next attempt with his hoof. "Screwy, a changeling's kiss is very dangerous and can be life threatening! If I kiss you, I will drain all the power from you like a sponge! It is bad enough that you are sitting so close to me!"

She crossed her forelegs. "How is that bad?!"

"I don't want to hurt you! Okay?

She groaned in annoyance. "Fine. But...you know you don't have to hide from me?"

Mothball sighed. "Screwball, someone might see..."

"I don't care! I want to see the real you! Please!"

"Well...alright."

He took a deep breath and his body erupted into green flames, transforming him to his changeling self. His hair was longer, he was a few inches taller than her, and his muscles had developed. Any other pony would have found the sight of him terrifying, but not Screwball. In her eyes, he was the most handsome stallion in all of Equestria.

Neither of them heard Fluttershy and Discord sneaking around the garden, frantically searching for his daughter. He heard a pair of voices and followed them to a bush. He peered over the edge in time to see the mysterious stallion change form.

Mothball could feel her emotions growing by the second. How could some pony possess such intense feelings for him?

"ah... Did you know that when you use magic, the oval organs on your thorax glow?"

"... No? I cannot see back there."

He was so overcome with shock that he was frozen in place! He expected his daughter to do the smart thing and run away, but she did not! Instead, she raised her hoof to touch the wretched creature's face!

He snapped out of his trance and growled as he recognized the changeling. Screwball and Mothball jumped back as he popped out of the bush.

"YOU!" he bellowed.

"Papa, wait!" Screwball exclaimed.

Mothball was about to run when Discord grabbed him by the tail. He tried to struggle, but the draconequus had paralyzed him with his magic.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" Discord hollered at a volume that could be heard from the ballroom. He never shouted, much less screamed as he did now!

Many ponies rushed out to the garden to see what the commotion was, including Fluttershy and her friends, Screwball's friends and the princesses.

Somepont shrieked!. "A changeling!"

"Oh! It's so horrid!"

Had Mothball been able to move, he would have winced at that comment.

"Papa, put him down!" Screwball pleaded. "It's not what you think!"

"Stay back, Screwball!" Discord commanded. "This insect has fed enough on you!"

His eyes literally burned with anger, making Screwball gasp. "Papa, don't!"

Without thinking, she used her magic to blast her father into a tree. As he cried out in pain, his spell on Mothball broke.

"Go!" Screwball said to him. "Get out of here!"

The prince wasted an instant, and knelt down, backing away from the crowd like a scared dog and yelled to Discord.

"I am sorry sir! I really am!"

Fluttershy flew to her husband's side and tenderly stroked his head.

"Are you alright?"

She jumped as he suddenly sat up. He clutched his ribs and glared disapprovingly at his daughter. Screwball made the mistake of glancing at the horrified crowd of ponies. Her friends' jaws had dropped to the floor and they were all staring at her in disbelief.

Screwball looked back at her father and hung her head in shame.

"You," Discord grunted, "have a lot of explaining to do, young lady!"

[fizzy-popps]

when Neapolian's pupils change it changes the little designs in his hair too..

also his favorite my little pony character is fluttershy

[dragimal]

and finally my OTHER Kirins and Jackalopes, put into their own post because they’re fan-avatars (technically the Wayfarer is also a fan-avatar, but since he’s Feral, he can stay in the other post). in order: Aradia, Fluttershy, Stitch, and Espeon

I'm not too pleased with Stitch, so you only get his back. the Espeon was from a flash-cosplay event for Eeveelutions that happened in the middle of City Fera one time, so I didn’t actually keep that avatar very long, haha

[IMAGE ID: screencaps of 4 different Feral avatars in the avatar creation screen, all in the typical blocky, cartoony style of the game. (continued under cut) 

“Aradia” is a stocky goat-- mostly dark grey with blood-red accents. her legs are thick and shaggy, with extra long fur around her fetlocks, and her hooves stood near together, underneath her center of gravity. her face is long but flat, held tight against her neck, which is pulled back above her chest. she has a tall nose, small/pointed ears, a small goatee, and a pair of long, thin, ram-like horns. she has a thick mane of fur surround her neck down to her shoulders. she also has a short, sparse tail. her eyes have a round outline with sharp corners, which is dark red with a red cross-shaped pupil. her horns have the Homestuck-typical gradient, red-orange at the base, then orange, then yellow at the tips. her face, body, and upper legs are all dark grey. her nose, goatee, mane, and fluffy lower legs are all red. she has a red Aries horn symbol on her forehead, her rump has a red gear, and there’s a red deer skull between her shoulderblades. Aradia is wearing a ragged, dark grey scarf, red tassel earrings, a red ankle band, a skull ornament on the tip of her tail, and a small, grey, teardrop-shaped floating above her shoulder.

“Fluttershy” is a mostly-yellow pegasus with some light pink and light blue accents. she’s very tall and lean, with long/thin legs that have shaggy fetlock fluff, a long neck, and a long/thin tail with long hair flowing off the underside. her face is long and thin, curved gently down in a Roman arch, with a somewhat prominent muzzle/chin, and small/pointed ears. her mane flows freely down one side of her neck, and is twisted into a braid down the other side. her eyes have a round outline with pointed corners-- dark blue with extra accents to give the impression of thicker lashes. her irises are light blue, matching her forehead gem. her main body is yellow, while her underbelly, muzzle, and fetlock fluff are a lighter yellow. her long, feathered wings have yellow coverts, pink flight feathers, and longer, decorative blue feathers, shaped like peacock tail feathers. her hooves, mane, and tail hair are pink, though the tail fur has some yellow stripes. she has little butterflies (blue bodies, pink wings) on her rump. Fluttershy is wearing pink flower corsages on her legs, and has a small white bat sitting on her forehead. she’s carrying a small baby kitsune in a pouch around her neck, and another small animal in a bucket hanging off her rump.

“Stitch” is a small blue rabbit with dark blue, wobbly accents on his back and the back of his head. he has tall, pointed ears, and a small, puffy tail.

“Espeon” is a tall purple rabbit with a light purple dewlap/tail, and dark purple inner ears. their ears are tall/pointed, and their tail is small and pointed.

END ID]

[palaceofpassion]

Human MLP AU- Fluttershy is insecure since she isn't as curvy and sexy as the rest of her friends. However Spike thinks otherwise as he decides to cheer her up by telling her about how beautiful she is and that she herself is just as attractive as the others.

Prior to any of them dating. Also going to include drama in this au! Cause I can!

Muwahaha

susing the h! tag for the human ones going forward.

Fluttershy had never felt secure about herself. Not when her closest friends were voluptuous and bodacious, as her so called date had referred to them. Today was supposed to be a good day, the MidHarvest Festival had always been one of her favorite Holiday's, celebrating the commitment of pony and animal.

But, here she was again, being the party pooper of the entire group. All because her date, thought it was a good idea to flirt with someone else during the dance. She didn't cry, she didn't even fall apart, she just walked away and went to take a deep breath at the dance hall.

Luna's night sky was gorgeous, even before the Princess of Darkness had returned to them, she had found herself enamored with it. With the moon, and the stars. Because they always felt like reflections, the light of the moon was never it's own, but that of the Sun's. Just how she felt around her friends.

"Fluttershy?"

Her ears twitched and wings fluttered.

"Spike?"

Turning her head she noticed Twilight's young Ward, or little brother? She wasn't sure honestly, their relationship was a complete mystery to the rest of them... though, then again so was Spike. Now that she thought about it, they didn't really know much about him.

Well except for one thing, that he was different. He wasn't much younger than any of them, her included, as she was the youngest of the group. But, he was so much shorter, even shorter than Rainbowdash! Which was all the more impressive.

Regardless, again, Twilight, nor he talked much about himself. And... most of them were sure he wasn't even a Pony. Not with how sharp his features were.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?"

She felt a quick flush of heat run over her face, embarrassment, really.

She wasn't used to having anyone worry about her, or feel concern outside of her close group.

"I'm just... getting fresh air."

She noticed the way his emerald eyes seemed to flair, his pupils dilating turning into thin slits, much like a reptile. She felt a primal fear run through her spine... yes... that was the reason hardly anyone got close to him. And... and probably the reason he chose not to be close to anyone but Twilight... she realized how cruel that was.

"I don't... does this have to do with your date?" He quickly pointed his thumb back, the jerk was now flirting with Rarity, who had come with a dashing Stallion Thunderlane, who was also nowhere to be seen. Though a quick scowl from the white mare, was quick to turn him away.

"Ah... no... I don't."

"You know, I can tell when someone's lying. It's not good to lie about things that make you feel sad."

Before she knew it, he was at her side, tiptoeing over the railing as he looked down from the balcony. "Twilight used to do that a lot, it wasn't good for her."

"I see..."

She wasn't sure what to say... it wasn't like theyw ere close enough to have a conversation, but... it was also sort of awkward.

Then she asked him a question, she wasn't sure why... perhaps because he was an impartial judge? "Spike, am I pretty?"

"Yes." His answer was concise, quick, and to the point. Though it was only a few seconds later that he started to question her, "Why are you asking?" It was clear he was concerned.

"Well... like you said... my date..."

"Ah... yes, say no more." He nodded. "He's just an idiot, you're very pretty."

"Aren't I too tall? I'm not, curvy like the others, I'm practically a stick."

Spike gave her the strangest looks, and said something around the lines of, 'These ponies...'

Though she could barely hear it. "I mean, I don't know, everyone's tall compared to me. Heck! Even Applejack and Rarity's sisters are almost as tall as me! As for your size, that's fine isn't it? Not everyone has to be the same. That's the beauty of our world, everyone is different, it's alright to be different. And you're beautiful in your own way. You're eyes are stunning, clear as the morning day, or the pale moons' light. There is nothing wrong with who you are."

She felt moved, her heart... it did a few flips. She... she'd never been so grateful before. "Thank you."

"Anytime, now get in, Twilight's going to start dancing, and you don't want to miss that."

"Oh! Oh of course!"

Fluttershy ran in, not realizing Spike hadn't followed.

'I miss ya ma.' He said, looking over to canterlot.

[theclumsyxeno]

Cossacks and Mavericks: Lost and Found

-Recap: After a mysterious series of events, Elizabelle has gone missing, with a dark hint as to why.-

Sunset Shimmer gulped harshly and turned to Fluttershy, who turned to Sunset Shimmer and nodded. She turned to the Cossacks and Mavericks, and relayed the information.

...

[ “Haunted” Starts playing] Macy-Mae nervously approached Elizabelle, who was in a fetal position, with her eyes closed, and murmuring to herself. Half of her silver hair was White, The Weiner dog approached, and nuzzled her owner. Leading to Elizabelle opening her eyes, her pupils’ large red slits, and her sclera black. Macy-Mae whimpered as she nuzzled Elizabelle. Elizabelle soon freed her arms from her knees and sat up, she scooped up Macy-Mae and carried her to her bedroom, and set her on the bed. Once she let go of Macy-Mae, Elizabelle hunched over in pain, worrying Macy-Mae. Before Macy-Mae could follow the anthro fox, Elizabelle closed the door. Causing Macy-Mae to whine and scratch the door.

Soon Elizabelle screamed, “No! Stop!!” Soon a growl followed, with sounds of furniture toppling, and glass shattering. Elizabelle quickly cried, “Please, please not now, please don’t!!” Soon a roar came out, along with thumping. The sound of the front door opening surprised Macy-Mae. Not long later, the thumping grew quieter, and quieter, until silence. With Macy-Mae crying and scratching once more... [“Haunted” stops playing, replaced with Sad instrumental]

Bright Man felt lightheaded and nearly fainted, only to be caught by Wire Sponge.

Magma Dragoon felt anger rise in him, he quickly stood up, grabbing everyone’s attention.

The dragon maverick soon declared, “We’ll go after whoever harmed Elizabelle and make them suffer!” [Sad Instrumental fades, and is replaced by hopeful instrumental] Pharaoh Man stood up as well.

He soon stated, “We will save Elizabelle from whatever is hurting her, there is little doubt in my mind that Hollow Heart is responsible.” Crescent Grizzly shook his head as he crossed his arms.

He chimed in, “Going after a defenseless young girl, that’s low.”

Drill Man spoke up, “Well, Hollow Heart’s a soulless bitch.” The other Mavericks and Cossacks stood in agreement, with Wire Sponge helping Bright Man back to his feet. Yammark and Spiral Pegasus helped Spike Rosered back to his feet as well. Soon Pharaoh Man turned to Sunset Shimmer and Fluttershy.

He asked, “Now, where do we begin to find this kidnapping beast?”

Fluttershy soon gasped and stated, “How about we give Macy-Mae something of Belle’s to smell? She might be able to find her!”

…

In the Forest, The Cossacks, Mavericks, The EQG Mane seven, and Macy-Mae journeyed. An uneasy feeling hung heavy in the air, as Macy-Mae followed Elizabelle’s scent. Yammark clung to Spike Rosered, with the Rose Maverick comforting his lover. Boomer Kuwanger sighed heavily as they went; grabbing Sting Chameleon’s attention.

The chameleon Maverick soon asked, “Something wrong Kuwanger?” Boomer Kuwanger turned to Sting Chameleon, his key beginning to glow.

He replied, “ I don’t know why, but I feel something isn’t… Right.” His words grabbed Snipe Anteator, who turned to Stag Beetle Maverick.

Snipe Anteator chimed in, “How so?” Boomer Kuwanger sighed once more. Before he could respond, Macy-Mae began to bark, grabbing everyone’s attention.

Fluttershy cried, “Macy-Mae found something!” Soon Macy-Mae ran, with the group trailing the small dog.

…

[“Ashes” Begins playing] The young grimm girl looked down, with black tears rolling down her little cheeks.

She whimpered, “I’m sorry miss Zera…” The Huntress, Zera, scowled at the child.

She stated coldly, “Lisanna, do you know, how much your grimm form disgusts me?” Lisanna winced at Zera’s harsh and cold words.

Lisanna asked, “Why am I bad?” Zera made an inquisitive face, after a moment, her scowl returned.

Zera replied, “Because Grimm are monsters that cannot be loved, no matter their form. Not even the children deserve an ounce of love. But, there is a way to earn my love…” Lisanna looked up quickly, her black and red innocent eyes widening.

She quickly wondered, “How? I want to be loved!” Zera smirked, her brows furrowing with ill intent…. [“Ashes” abruptly ends, replaced by instrumental]

…

Soon, Macy-Mae stopped and came upon a torn-up part of the forest, Fluttershy grew fearful upon seeing the destruction that laid before her and the group. Bright man grew horrified.

He spoke up, “W-we ha-have t-to go in there?!” He shakily pointed at the wrecked area. Split Mushroom and Vanishing Gungaroo hid behind Shield Sheldon, and trembled. Burn Rooster mustered up some courage, and came in front of everyone, his key glowing.

He declared, “We can’t just sit here and quake in our boots! Belle needs us!” Pharaoh Man soon stood next to the Rooster Maverick.

He added,” Burn Rooster is right, We cannot abandon a friend in their time of need!” [Instramental fades, with “Evidence” taking its place] Soon the other Maverick leaders nodded in agreement, and with morale boosted once more, the group soon entered the torn up forest, and headed on their way. A distance away from the group was Lunar Crescent. She quivered slightly, and clenched her hand, and held it upon her chest.

She whispered, “I just hope the magic of friendship is enough….”

...

[“Evidence” fades as new instrumental takes over] As the group went deeper, the destruction began less and less, in fact, they were nearing a clearing.

Yammark grew surprised, “It doesn’t seem natural for there to be a random clearing here, The canopy order doesn’t match up.” Vanishing Gungaroo grew confused and scrunched his face in confusion.

He stated, “The Canopy order? Huh?” Soldier Stonekong facepalmed with a deep, heavy, sigh. With Splash Warfly Snickering, only for Wind Crowrang to smack the back of his head with a head shake. Before any further arguments, a rustling occurred, causing all the Cossacks and Mavericks to bring out their weapons and magic. Only for a small rabbit to hop out, causing everyone to grimace in embarrassment. However, Macy-Mae began to bark again. Grabbing the group’s attention.

Dark Mantis turned to Fluttershy and asked, “Did she find her?” Fluttershy nodded as Macy-Mae trotted happily through the bushes. Soon the group followed, however, they grew shocked by what they found.

To be continued...

@nitathebearybrawler

[gecktarina]

Teo.

Why don't I tell you a little more about Teo?

i think i'll start with her appearance:

As I said earlier, she is an Eastern Kirin.

body: covered with blue fur.

paws: covered with white fur.

tail: covered with blue fur, and at the end covered with white fur.

ears: white outside, pink inside.

face: white fur surrounds the mouth and nose.

nose: black.

eyes: black pupil, yellow iris, glare.

Eyelashes.

hair: like fluttershy from Mlp.

blue and white, with a smooth transition.

tongue: white (yes, I know that it is a different color in the picture, but I just got a little confused there).

optional: wings, white and blue.

And Now the character:

So, she is cheerful, sociable and sometimes irritable, likes to joke, can call someone in jest, and perhaps with the purpose of insulting..

In addition, sometimes she can be quiet, calm, and sometimes even depressive (but rarely depressive).

She also often purposely blunts.

If you make her angry to a certain point, she will turn into an Antiteo (I'll tell you about her some other time).

Teo doesn't like being called names to insult her.

Teo likes a lot of things, such as singing, dancing, eating, just relaxing and so on.

Teo also often quarrels with his brother Reo, but the quarrels do not last long)).

Teo (and her friends) live in rainbow city.

Sometimes they can travel to other universes using a spaceship, or through a portal (which is activated once a month).

Features:

Can transform into any creature.

Has the ability to fly.

She has rainbow blood.

She may suffer and not die, but that does not mean that she is immortal, she can be killed, but in a certain way.

In addition, she and her brother are bound, if one of them dies, then the other one will also die.

Can lift a heavy thing and not notice it.

That's all about Teo).

If you have any questions about Teo, don't hesitate to ask me).

[saintheartwing]

Undertales of Friendship: Beware the Man Who Speaks in Hands

Frisk was not having very good dreams.

Over and over, he would find himself descending down, down into the dark recesses of the "True" Laboratory beneath the normal place where Alphys had worked in the underground. The walls a dark green, a chill running through the air, a faint fog all around his feet as he nervously stepped past patient chair after patient chair. Over and over again he'd approach the sinks in the back of the room, turning them on to get the key one of them had inside them, hoping to flood the sinks and for the key to either float up, or the pipes beneath to burst open to get what he wanted. Yet that always gave way to the sight of that...THING coming out of the third sink.

A cute little round, cheery face, twisting and bulging and morphing into a monstrosity with a horrific laugh, large black eyes with pinprick white pupils gazing back. A tongue lagging out of one of many mouths, eternally crying and bleeding-black eyes on a whispy, curved tail like a scythe. This...this odd, strange, faintly melted specter of many faces looking back at him, three in a row all rising up from the sinks, mouths opening and closing and all speaking at once, and saying the same phrase again and again.

"LOREM IPSUM DOCET.

LOREM IPSUM DOCET.

LOREM IPSUM DOCET."

Frisk knew what it meant. Sorrow itself teaches. And he knew what these things were. Pieces of what had once been the Royal Scientist of the Underground, WingDinG Aster, aka Gaster, as he preferred to be called. More bestial and darker traits had risen up in this little "Mini-Me" of Gaster, and they were really only interested in one thing.

"Come join the fun."

"It's a real get together!"

"Become one of us! One of us!"

"You'll be with us soon." The Memoryheads intoned, as more heads sprang up around Frisk, knocking him back as they bulged and popped, Frisk shivering as the Memoryhead closest to him intoned in a dark voice.

"Sorrow itself teaches."

"Teaches what?" Frisk asked. And again the Memoryheads would get closer...closer. "Look, I-I don't want to join in the fun!" He insisted. How many times had he done this before, only to be ignored as they leapt on him and-

But now it was different. Now they merged together, popping and squishing into one, growing larger and larger as an enormous black maw opened slowly and a voice faintly echoey in tone rang out.

"I only want what's mine. And you have a part of it."

"Wh-what's that?" Frisk asked, a gigantic head now staring down at him, white pupils gazing deeper and deeper into him as Frisk found himself sinking, going further into the endless black that was engulfing him-

And then he awoke, Fluttershy the Pegasus gently dabbing a cloth over his head as he sat up on her couch, glancing about her little cottage. "Wh-what happened?"

"Oh, Frisk, sweetie, you fainted in the middle of feeding the chickens outside. Is it too hot for you? I don't know why you always wear a long-sleeve shirt." Fluttershy sighed a little, waving a hoof in the air. "I mean, blue does bring out your eyes, but you must get very hot."

"No, it...it isn't that." Frisk muttered, holding a hand to his head as he cringed. "I keep having these bad dreams and I haven't slept well lately."

"...dreams?" Fluttershy murmured. "Hmm. You know, I think I know someone who could help with bad dreams." She offered with a gentle smile, clasping her hooves together and beaming.

And indeed, a quick letter from Spike was sent out, and Princess Luna of Equestria was soon back in Ponyville, happily meeting with Frisk as the tired, ragged-faced, scarcely-able-to-keep-his-eyes-open child moaned, rubbing his head as he laid on the couch in Fluttershy's home. Fluttershy handed him some golden flower tea, another very popular dish brought up from the Underground thanks to the kindhearted Toriel, and Luna thoughtfully looked him over, dark blue eyes gazing intently at him as Sans, who was also there to look after the kid, gave the kid a hot dog. Or rather, a hot cat.

"Ugghhh. I'm sorry, Sans. I don't feel like eating it."

"geez. ain't even hungry enough to have one of my specialties? now I KNOW somethin' ain't right with you." Sans said, shaking his bony head back and forth. "maybe a joke'll cheer you up. what do you call a guy who gets run over? tired."

Fluttershy, Luna and Frisk all slooooowly turned their heads to directly look at each other, then at Sans, saying absolutely nothing. "..."

"...wow, something IS wrong with you. not even a chuckle." Sans commented with a surprised look on his face.

"I can see his soul's aura. It is plagued with bad dreams. Something has a grip on him." She reasoned aloud. "Frisk, I ask of you. Tell me EVERYTHING thou dost remember of thy dreams. It's most imperative."

"I'm dreaming of these...amalgamates. Melted-together things, pieces of a person that used to be. They're called Memoryheads because they're...well, they're like living heads that are the embodiment of a memory of a man." Frisk said, his tone sounding just as exhausted as the child looked. "A man named Dr. Gaster. He used to be the Monster Kingdom's Royal Scientist...and he was Sans and Papyrus's big brother."

"Whatever happened to him?" Fluttershy softly inquired.

"He fell into his machine, into the time/space continuum and now's in pieces."

"what Frisk here means is that he's at a PIECE conference." Sans remarked wryly.

Many, many, MANY miles away, something stirred. A very furious growl turned into a roar as a cracked face snarled out high and loud enough to crack every glass window in Canterlot. Which it DID.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT BONEHEAD SAID THAT!"

"OW. OW. Sans, that joke was so bad it's physically hurting me, OWWW." Frisk moaned out, Luna whacking her head against the nearby wall over and over again, Fluttershy covering her face with one hoof as Sans nonchalantly shrugged.

"maybe you're right. guess I should leave and make sure you get some-"

"DON'T YOU DARE-"

"PIECE and quiet."

"OHHHHH." Frisk groaned, writhing on the couch as Sans exited the house, laughing uproariously as another pained groan echoed out from miles away in Canterlot.

"Ugggghhhhh. How detestible. He should put more backbone into his pu-" Princess Luna began to say before cringing. "Oh sonofa-"

"HA!" Sans laughed.

Unbeknownst to them, it wasn't Frisk who was in the most danger. No, that dubious honor went to Papyrus, who was hard at work in his new job as a guard for Princess Celestia in her palace at Canterlot. Well, "work" is a strong word. Because currently, he was, along with the other guards, enjoying a nice game of charades with her. Celestia was pantomining a clown to demonstrate the circus, though the guards couldn't quite pick up on that, least of all Papyrus. Then again, perhaps the other guards DID realize it, they just couldn't speak over Pap's VERY loud voice.

"OH! OH, YOU ARE A FLOWER! NO, NO WAIT, YOU ARE A PATIENT FROM AN INSANE ASYLUM! NO, NO WAIT! A MAGICIAN! YES, I AM CERTAIN YOU ARE A MAGICIAN! IS THE WORD MAGIC?"

Celestia chuckled a little, Papyrus happily bouncing up and down in the throne room as she cheerily smiled back, some of the other guards jabbing each other in the side, snickering a bit at his childish exeuberance. It was really quite adorable.

But then the room began to get dark and cold, a chill settling in as Celestia realized that she could see her breath right in front of her. She gasped, quickly looking around the room as the expanse all about her began to convert into utter shadows, and she narrowed her eyes. Was this Discord playing a prank? It couldn't be Sombra, he wasn't around anymore! What was going on?

"...PaPyRuS..." A voice whispered, its voice haunting and echoing as Papyrus stiffened in shock, Celestia looking over in his direction before inky blackness began to swell around him, Papyrus struggling to get free of the darkness that was engulfing him. He let out a gasp, trying to push the other guards away so they wouldn't get sucked in, Celestia racing towards him.

"NO! PRINCESS, STAY BACK! I DO NOT WISH YOU HARMED!" Papyrus insisted, the blackness carefully pinning his arms to his sides as a form rose out of the black, its face skeletal, one black crack running up its right eye, another running down towards its mouth on the left as it gazed over Papyrus, bony hand clasping Papyrus's cheek. "DO...DO I KNOW YOU?"

"You don't remember, Papyrus?" It spoke. "I remember everything about you. Everything."

Papyrus's mouth gaped open slightly, Celestia taking a step forward, eyes intently narrowed as her horn glowed. "You release him NOW. I will not allow you to harm an innocent."

"I only want what's mine." The being said. "I need...to make USE of you." It told Papyrus.

And with that, the inky blackness exploded outward like a bomb, Celestia reeling back along with the guards as she gasped, glancing around...

Papyrus was gone.

AN HOUR LATER...

Sans was calmly sitting on a bench in the park, leaning back and doing nothing. Just the way he liked things. Calmly sighing, he looked up at the sky, and the clouds idly passing by as he saw Papyrus approaching off in the distance, dressed in his normal attire and eagerly sitting down next to him. "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?" Papyrus asked Sans.

"well, i like to watch shapes in the clouds. that one looks like a flying dragon, see?" Sans said, pointing with a bony finger up at a draconic-shaped puffy cloud that looked like it was belching out 'flames', Papyrus nodding in agreement.

"OH, YES, IT DOES INDEED."

"and that lil' one over there looks like a mother duck, and the other ones after it are lil' ducklings."

"LIKE THAT CUTE LITTLE BIRD THAT LOVES TO CARRY PEOPLE OVER RIVERS?" Papyrus inquired.

"yeah. we gotta treasure that bird." Sans agreed with a calm, respectful nod.

"MAY I TRY ONE?"

"of course, paps." Sans said with a wink, Papyrus rubbing his long chin before pointing upward with a red-gloved hand.

"OOH! THAT ONE LOOKS LIKE A WOUNDED DERPY WITH SMOKE COMING OFF OF HER WINGS-"

KRAKKA-THROOOOOM! Derpy Hooves crashed hard into the market, a cry of "MY CABBAGES" echoing out through the air as a loud "Sorry' echoed out soon after, Derpy limping by them, angrily holding up an exploded mailbag, complete with the shredded remains of what had been a suspicious package and cake frosting and cabbages all over her body, Sans raising a nonexistent eyebrow as he looked her over.

"what happened?"

"It's a SICK world we live in with SICK PONIES!" Derpy shrieked, grumbling darkly as Papyrus shook his head back and forth.

"WHAT A SHAME. THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER SEND MAIL THROUGH THE POSTAL SYSTEM."

"yeah. i'm guessing that was a Boom Boom Cake of Pinkie Pie's."

"HOW CAN YOU TELL?"

"cuz she's got a real explosive personality."

Silence for a long, long time before Papyrus wryly remarked "...I HATE TO TELL YOU THIS, BROTHER, BUT YOUR JOKE JUST...BOMBED."

Sans stiffened a little, slowly turning his head, as if truly seeing Papyrus for the first time, his mouth agape in surprise as Papyrus put a hand on his shoulder...with incredible weight behind it. "you're not paps."

"NO...I'm not." The being that was not Papyrus said. "You know who I am, Sans. And you know why I'm here. You understand why."

"gaster, come on, he's just a child-" Sans began to say, Gaster's stolen form shaking its head back and forth solemnly.

"I'm not going to harm him anymore than I've harmed Papyrus. Or that I'll harm you. I only want what's mine." Gaster explained."Now come. It's time for all of us to be one big family, Sans. The way it should be." He intoned kindly, as Sans felt a large embrace engulf him, the shadows swallowing his form as he fell deeper, deeper, deeper into the abyssal black around him...

And then, within a few moments, there was only what appeared to be Sans on the bench as he made his way back towards Fluttershy's cottage. "now then...third time is the charm."

...

...

...

...Frisk was still on the couch, fast asleep as Luna held a hoof to his head, focusing intently, her lips slightly pursed. Fluttershy stood nearby, biting her lip as the light softly filtered in through the window, bathing over Frisk in soft golden light as Luna cringed.

"This is serious. An immense block is inside his mind. Whatever's inside him has placed a mental barrier that I cannot easily break through. I will need additional help, Fluttershy." Luna sighed at last, removing her hoof from Frisk's forehead before steepling her hooves, lying back in the chair she was sitting on. "He will have to be taken to Zecora."

"taken to ol' stripeybutt, huh?" Sans's voice rang out as they turned, seeing he was stepping out of the closet, Fluttershy gasping as she slightly jumped up in the air. "what? c'mon, Fluttershy. nothing wrong with a couple skeletons in your closet. everybody has 'em."

"I take it you could simply...shortcut your way to Zecora?" Princess Luna mused aloud as he looked Sans over, the skeleton giving a cute little wink, showing off a faintly royal blue glowing eye as Frisk was softly hovered through the air and over towards him. "However are you able to do that?"

"ahhh, blue magic runs in the family, really." Sans the Skeleton remarked with a shrug. "both my brothers got different mastery over it. But Paps's spirit's tied to the trait of Bravery, so his magic comes off more orange. Me, I'm patient, so mine's light blue." He remarked with a shrug, unzipping his blue jacket as the sleeping Frisk was caaaarefully lowered down, down, and soon, was perfectly positoned right in front of Sans's form. With a little smile, Sans zipped his jacket back up, Frisk now warmly tucked away in the jacket almost like a mother kangaroo with her baby joey, as Sans patted the sleeping child on the head. "theeeere we go. all snug as a bug in a rug."

"You've been waiting to do that to him for a while, haven't you?" Fluttershy asked with a smile. "I can tell."

Sans gave her a big grin. "oh, you've no idea." He said, reopening the closet. "i'll see you two later. got a lot to do." he remarked before popping into the closet again, Fluttershy smiling before suddenly stiffening up. Something hadn't been right. What had he said? "My magic's light blue".

...but Frisk had been surrounded in a royal blue light.

"Princess Luna, I think something terrible has just happened." She realized aloud, wheeling around and looking into Luna's eyes. "We need to find Ms. Toriel immediately."

Meanwhile, Frisk was still tucked away inside the jacket as Gaster-Sans calmly walked down the forest path, heading to the abandoned Castle of the Two Sisters, the old castle of Princess Luna and Celestia. The castle was long overgrown, its steeples crumbling and cracked with trees around it drooping and saddened, everything about it giving off the air of dejection and abandonment as Gaster's borrowed form approached the front of the castle and pushed the doors open. Little Frisk was still fast asleep, Gaster's stolen form looking quietly down at Frisk, biting into a lack of bony lip.

He felt guilt. Frisk had been nothing but kind and loving to monsters like him. He'd freed his kind, he'd given his brothers something to live for again. Such a dear child.

"I..." He hesitated, gently stroking Frisk's brown-haired head. He just looked so cute, all tucked away tight and warm and safe in his jacketed body. "...he's just a child..." He murmured.

But he wanted to be whole again so dearly. To just be himself. Before he'd only been able to hold onto the material world in little bits and pieces, barely able to manifest for more than five minutes. But now with Sans and Papyrus sampled...

And soon it would be three with Frisk. Out of everyone in the Underground, four had the strongest physical connection to him. He'd been scattered in pieces across the Underground, and had barely managed to scrape enough of himself together for this wild, desperate plan. He needed four souls, and the pieces of himself within them: Sans, Papyrus, Frisk and Alphys. With Papyrus, his physical form would become more stable. With Sans, his mind would get more stable. With Alphys, he could get back his Soul. And with Frisk would come his heart, his compassion. He needed that. He needed to feel again. To just love someone.

"You're only feeling remnants of a man who once was." He murmured to himself, gently taking Frisk's sleeping form out of his jacket and laying him on a table as his visage began to shift, growing taller and darker. "You don't truly feel guilty. All you feel is a shell. Intellectually, you know you should feel disgusted. But you don't truly feel it. With the child claimed, you will. With the child claimed, you will feel again. Be almost utterly whole again. It's everything you want, isn't it?"

He now stood tall, a large skeleton in a dark cloaked robe with a silver undershirt, his form lean and faintly thin. A black crack ran up his eye, another running down to his mouth from the other eye, his skeletal hands having large holes in the center as he gently laid one on Frisk's head. "Believe me." He spoke softly to Frisk. "I'm truly grateful. With this, I'll be whole again. And you'll never be alone." He offered, shadows beginning to rise around Frisk as his SOUL was exposed...

Gaster flinching as he reeled back, cringing as he clutched at his chest, feeling his remnant of a Soul, his pale imitation flinching. Damn. The soft light of Sans and Papyrus within him were objecting. They were almost utterly overpowering him. Perhaps he couldn't claim the child yet. He'd need more raw power. Perhaps Alphys would do. Her Soul was rather weak-willed in comparison, and would provide the boost needed.

Ah, well. For now he could at least do one thing with the child. Carefully lifting the child up, he placed him between the folds of his coat as he buttoned it up more, the little one nicely tucked away inside him as he softly enjoyed the gentle movements of Frisk turning ever-so-slightly in a peaceful slumber. Sighing, Gaster sat down against a nearby wall, and softly drifted off to sleep himself to join the child in dreamland...

TO BE CONTINUED...

[cookiehusky799]

Things I noticed about Varian and a short story of how I got into the series

He may be socially awkward but he’s still being sassy. Which is a way to cover up his awkwardness sometimes.

He does that quick eyebrow rise thing when emphasizing a word. Ex: “Flynn Rider, I believe I promised you...a secret.” He did it at the word “promised”. He did it again in Secret of the Sundrop, where he’s talking to Arianna. “What a happy family reunion this will be. For both of us.” Go back and watch it and you’ll see what I mean. I know he did it in Great Expotations when him and Cassandra are cleaning in the hallway. But it was an eye brow waggle because he was showing of to Cass. It’s more with the eyes than the eyebrows. And of course being sinister during the first slip up in The Alchemist Returns.

He is a bad/good liar.

He crosses his arms when relaxed or confident. Same as putting his hands on his hips.

His hair does get in his face when he’s not turning his head.

Avert gaze when upset.

Fiercely determined.

You can he’s tense sometimes by his shoulders.

Goes crossed eyed on the verge/ passing out... or getting hit. Raps accidentlly hit him with Herz Der Sonne’s journal in The Alchemist Returns. (I know she didn’t mean to.)

He’s a kid at heart.

His cowlicks sometimes are not there in few scenes. I noticed that in Queen for a Day. I’m hoping he still has them because it gives him that child appearance.

He sometimes forgets to put on his googles when experimenting. (Varian, you need to protect your eyes!)

I’m starting to think he’s left handed. That’s my guess, we didn’t see him writing.

His pupils shrink from sheer panic.

“I am sure...” noticed in What the Hair?! and Great Expotations.

When Rapunzel makes him a promise again in The Alchemist Returns, Varian automatically thinks she’ll turn it down. He does this to avoid getting hurt....and not to trust her promises.

He is no quitter.

Fascinating is his word.

In The Alchemist Returns, after saying he’s not concerned about Corona and Rapunzel got suspicious. You can see Varian tense up as she says, “You don’t care about Corona?” Varian tried to cover his mouth during the second slip up. (To be honest, I didn’t know what he was doing with his hand.)

He can be slick all he wants but he remains clumsy.

Being an alchemist, he is almost always engulfed in light.

He is really creative when making/ revealing things dramatically and entrances.

His googles changed a little since What the Hair?! The googles had another piece near the leans but throughout season one it was gone. I know they were still trying out his design, but I like to think he was thirteen going on fourteen.

He doesn’t approve his father’s decision but he’s running away from the biggest mistake in his entire life.

I love in What the Hair?! he had his foot slightly up, another indication he’s still a kid.

He seems to like his name because he’s saying it a lot. ( I know he told Eugene his name again but he just look so happy when he said it.)

 He had a sudden burst of confidence when he was the bad guy.

Clenched fists when upset/ angry.

I bet he’s glad to have bangs so he has something to hide like Fluttershy.

I swear, whenever Varian bares his teeth I hear a wolf snarling.

Whenever danger comes flying at him, someone has to get him out of harm’s way. Even when Varian doesn’t know it. The boy freezes up like Bambi did in Bambi 2.

It’s clear that Varian doesn’t have any friends in Old Corona.

Varian doesn’t want to see himself a failure.

I think the real reason why most people started falling in love with him because he’s cute. When I first saw him, was in somebody’s amv video like I mention in my first post. I didn’t think too much of him. I mean, I knew about the series from my movie’s fan site (Balto) I came across the song, Ready as I’ll ever be in a few fan made videos of movies like Balto, Lion King etc. There was an map of the song in Warrior cats. (Warrior cats is a book series. I used to read them but I stopped.) I want to think it was song that got me into the series, but I think it was Varian. I remember before watching the series I looked at clips of Varian not all of the them. No, first I watched two animatics of the series. I’m so glad I got into this show. Of all the tv series I watched in the past, this is the most fantastic show hands down. I joined the fandom during the season 2 hiatus. I got the movie but not Happily Ever After. I’m planning to get it once the series ended. 

Ok, that’s all the stuff I noticed in the alchemist. I had fun typing this out.

[purfectmlpblog]

...alright fuq it lemme explain my thoughts about the finale spoilers lol

Don’t worry, I WILL be posting this under a read-more so PLEASE turn away and ignore this now (especially with some “spoiler” tags on if you use ‘em) if you don’t want to be spoiled for the finale until it officially airs. I just can’t contain my thoughts no more after ponderin’ them and who knows when it’ll officially air in English (’cause slow schedules can be a pain to deal with lol) sooooo... yeah you’ve been warned xp 

...Ooooh boi, well admittedly I kinda skimmed through what the whole plot was about behind the last three episodes (I was moreso focused on all the stuff happening for “The Last Problem” so lol), but I’ll try to keep it brief for the most part:

-So... that whole thing about Grogar being the last “big bad” was just a total lie... since apparently it was just Discord masking himself as the guy just to give Twilight one last battle to face? ...Ehhh, I get that he apparently had “good intentions” but this just seems to be pushing it too far even for Discord’s standards tbh... like these are his friends now (including Fluttershy, his best friend) so why would he allow this much risk to be thrown at them for the sake of just teaching them a valuable lesson about overcoming obstacles? ._. Then again, this IS Discord we’re talking about so him pulling some shady stuff like this is to be expected, I guess? Idk...

-As another twist to the trio of bad guys... NONE of them get redeemed at the end (not even Cozy Glow... who again, is nothing more than a whiny child compared to Chrysalis and Tirek :P), as they all pretty much get blasted with the same stone spell that Discord was under for what I can presume to be forever. I mean... had Sombra been placed in Cozy Glow’s position then I guess I’d be a bit more satisfied with this kind of ending for them instead of feeling questionable about it (’cause again, Cozy’s young age ^^;)... but at the same time, for what it is it’s at least a refreshing change of pace from just having them all instantly forgiven and befriended by all the main heroes. Now that would’ve been cringey... >_<

-We got a reaaally big group of cameos from many past ponies/other creatures from the show to aid in the final battle, including Sunset and a few of the MLP movie characters like Tempest, Capper and Skystar! o.o A shame that Captain Celaeno couldn’t have been added along with them but still, pretty cool to see that particular trio regardless along with my girl Sunset ❤️ about time the main show acknowledged her importance to Twilight -.-

-Moving onto the big finale itself, “The Last Problem”, we cut ahead to I presume to be a couple decades or so since the last episode... where Twilight and her friends are all grown up and leading their own lives as Twilight’s pupil (Luster Dawn, was it?) comes to prepare herself for her own first friendship lesson. Surprisingly, unlike past finales it’s not so much a really heavy or action-packed episode but more of a “relaxing breather” kinda filler... yet still pushes the feels the more we get to see the aged-up cast and realize how this truly is the end for our heroes :(

-We’re also given a nice flashback to Twilight’s coronation as Equestria’s new leader, though it didn’t go according to plan it still provided some heartwarming feels to teach that friendships will always remain solid even if some end up moving far away. Awww ;w;.

-As for the “Grown up” designs themselves... I’m kinda torn, tbh lol

On one hand, I do like Rainbow’s, Fluttershy’s, and AJ’s older looks just fine. AJ’s especially gives me the feels looking at it ‘cause of the shawl... really hits in that poor Granny Smith is no longer around by this time :( at least she’ll always keep her memory strong in her heart ❤️

As for Twilight, Rarity, Spike and Pinkie... ehhhh ^^;. Rarity’s sparkly shawl is rather pretty though that big grey steak in her hair kinda clashes too much with the regular purple imo, Pinkie’s beehive look could’ve been fine if they just took out all that random junk in her hair, and while part of me kinda likes the “ethereal princess-y” vibes of Twilight (despite the rather dark implications that she’s gonna outlive her friends now ;-;)... the fact that she still sounds like her old dorky self when speaking kinda kills the effect for me... plus idk if only a couple decades in the future would be enough to make her this tall as an alicorn, I mean even Luna (who’s older than her) is alot shorter so it’s just a little off-putting to me to see her so “Celestia”-sized ^^;. And as for Spike... yeah, I don’t even know what’s going on there, so... let’s just move on, please lol.

So then we get to look over how everyone else in Ponyville’s doing, with so many new species living there now, some old kiddos grew up like the CMC and the Cake twins, Starlight and her friends (plus the Student 6) continuing to run the friendship school together, and apparently some canon couples started to thrive during this time too including Lyra and Bon Bon, Big Mac and Sugar Belle, and... Pinkie and Cheese? o.o 

...Um, wow lol Wasn’t really expecting that considering that most of Cheese and Pinkie’s previous screentime together (which was only in like, two episodes?) wasn’t really that romantic from what I can recall, but guess the writers decided to just throw it in anyway ‘cause it’s a popular ship? lol I mean, not like it’s a bad one or anything but it still feels a bit randomly-placed in a narrative sense imo ^^;

Speaking of their daughter (Lil Cheese, I think?), while I do think she’s cute, part of me is kinda disappointed that they didn’t really get more creative with her design like they’ve done for Flurry Heart and the Cake twins :c. Color-wise she looks okay but... why just make her a recolor of her mom’s filly design? .-. Even putting her hair in some pigtails or something would’ve worked better imo.

-Some more design nitpicks I had were certain weirdly placed hairstyles like Pumpkin Cake’s and Diamond Tiara’s, as well as why Gummy the alligator just looks like he resized into a giant than legitimately grew into an adult lol. Also this might also be nitpicky but why exactly is everyone (minus Twilight) so old-looking with grayed hair and/or eye bags (ex. Rarity and Sugar Belle), when a couple of them have school-aged children at this point? .-. Hell, even most of the Mane 6′s parents didn’t look this old (including Twilight’s, and they’ve got a granddaughter lol), so I’m kinda confused by this type of design choice tbh.

-I don’t really remember if they explicitly stated what happened to the old princesses during this time since they didn’t show up again, nor what the final fates of Shining Armor and Cadence were (save for a brief shot of Flurry Heart having her own stain-glass window in the throne room). Idk, just would’ve been nice to have gotten more explicit about that ‘cause I don’t wanna think of these poor royals being gone now with just Twilight being the leader now ;-; 

-I guess there was also a couple “implied” ships thrown in too like Fluttershy and Discord (though that one might be more “loose” to interpret, depending on how much you like the ship) and apparently AJ and Rainbow Dash seem to be having something “deeper” going on considering they specifically walked in together when all the other Mane 6 walked in individually into the throne room. Hmmm...?

-And lastly after a bit more filler and than a montage song of the Mane 6 harmonizing together one last time, we get to close off the entire episode, season, and series with one final shot of the heroes standing on a sunset-y hillside together, saying goodbye to Twilight’s student who goes off on her own friendship adventures... and then the screen fades to a book closing as a call back to the very first episode of the series over 9 years ago... where the exact same book opened up to start off our beloved show to begin with T-T

....aaaand yeah my feels exploded over again, sorry T-T. Despite the lil nitpicks I had here and there (and how I wish certain plot holes could’ve been handled better in hindsight), this was still a really sweet and thoughtful way to end MLP: FiM with one last batch of fluff like this... the end of a good 9-year run of the show which’ll surely leave a special place in every fan’s hearts, including mine ❤️

Though again, like I mentioned before I still won’t be considering any of this actually “canon” in the main universe I’m setting up, which is all basically an AU at this point since I haven’t really been keeping up with the show as frequently to care much for sticking with the main canon :p. For my fellow content creators, please don’t be afraid to keep working on your own next gens and such btw, even if some of it might be contradicted in this particular finale I’d say anyone is free to make their own interpretations however they want, canon or no canon~ ;p

  Hope y’all understand that well and I hope you guys have a great rest of your day! 😃 

[earthnashes]

Rock’n’Royal!AU Brainstorm 1: Roles

Alrighty so I still don’t quite have a name for the band but meh, I guess we’ll figure it out as we go! Wanna talk about some of the characters anyhow. C:

----------------------------

The Band: Goes by the name of Rock’n’Royal, I decided that the band that Twi leads is almost entirely indie, in which they don’t have a record label or anything of the sort and make their own way through the industry. Since starting, the band has reached a staggering amount of success and has been approached several times with the offer of a label, but those offers are ultimately turned down in favor of doing things their way. The genre of music they play is generally classified as “rock” or perhaps “alternative rock”, but the band is too experimental and collaborative for it to be stuck in one specific niche.

----------------------------

Twilight Sparkle: The cute dork who somehow managed to elevate herself into rock stardom, Twilight is the lead singer, guitarist, and what’s essentially the manager of the band. Twilight in this AU is far more confident in her abilities, sometimes to the point of being borderline cocky, but when she isn’t on stage she’s still the same bookworm who gets flustered at some of the sweetest gestures and will gladly talk your ear off about the newest scientific discovery: the fans eat it all up. She’s known as “The Princess” or “Your Highness” to her fans; not something she came up with, but she goes along with it.

Trixie Lulamoon: The loudmouth of the group and every bit the showoff, Trixie plays the keytar and is the secondary vocalist. She’s also the primary lyricist of the band: Twilight can sing and can write the general tune of the song, but when it comes to lyrics she’s... pretty bad. Given her talent for talking up hype, Trixie’s often in charge of promoting the band however she can, whether that be blogging about their tours or making posters or bragging: the band has skill, but if it weren’t for Trixie’s constant promoting and networking they wouldn’t be as well known as they currently are. Twi might be the leader, but Trixie’s often the one who is in the limelight and in front of cameras as the voice of the band (Twi’s still a bit camera shy). She’s referred to as “The Great and Powerful” by their fans. Yes, she is definitely the source of it.

Big Macintosh: The big, big, big boi of the group and the only stallion of the band, Big Mac provides his talents in the form of drumming. Sometimes the group does acapella, in which he provides the bass and even sometimes lead vocals. Mac rarely speaks and is known as the silent one of the group, but give him a pair of drum sticks and he’ll go wild. Like his sister, he can play one hell of a banjo. He’s often referred to as “The Gentle Knight” of the band: looming, silent, protective presence, there’s no real need for a bodyguard with him around.

Fluttershy: The newest member of the band, Fluttershy brings to the group her talent with the bass guitar, violin, and piano. Fluttershy’s known Twilight for most of her life and her inclusion into the band started when Twi asked Shy to play the violin for one of their tracks. The song went viral and, when it came time to feature it in a concert, Twi asked Fluttershy if she’d be willing to be the one to play her own part: it wouldn’t be the same if they got some random player to do it. She agreed, and despite her nervousness of being on stage, once she got to playing all of it momentarily disappears. The crowd ate it up and kept asking about the “quiet little fae” playing the violin, and it eventually escalated to Fluttershy becoming a part of the band officially. Nervousness aside, Shy does like the attention she gets but in small doses, so while she’s willing to play on stage she often opts out of interviews or, when she does go, she’s seen clinging to one of her bandmates (most often Twilight or Big Mac). She’s known to the fans as “The Fae” or “The Maiden”.

Applejack: Despite being best buds with Twi and the sister of Big Mac, AJ isn’t actually a part of the band. Well... at least officially. She often acts as the band’s tour-bus driver and, when Twi freaks out a bit, the band manager. She’s the one who helps keep everyone in line and focused on the task at hand, so I guess that makes her more of the manager than it does Twily (who mostly focuses on scheduling and making sure they make appointments on time). She may not be an official member but she has played with the band some, able to take up bass and one hell of a banjo and even vocals. As far as the fans are concerned, she’s as much a part of the band’s official lineup as anyone else. Known for her sincerity and honesty, she’s sometimes called “The Honest Knight” or the “Noble Mare”. There’s also, of course, “Country Beef”, of which both Apple siblings are referred to as. The fans love them some muscular Apple farmers.

Spike: Young roadie of the band and near constant companion to Twilight, Spike helps set up and tear down the equipment for the band’s shows and to keep the band on schedule. He’s resourceful and reliable and takes after Twi’s need to keep everything on schedule, but unlike Twi he’s able to roll with the punches more and, if something does go off schedule, figure out a way to remain on task on the fly. Spike also handles the mail the group gets, ranging from fanmail to inquiries to bills, so on. I’m also considering making him the band’s merch artist: I can see Spike being talented at art for his age and they allowed him to design some of their merch. Spikey works more behind the scenes but he gets his fair share of attention; Twi isn’t afraid to brag about him.

Rarity: Upcoming fashionista fresh out of college, Rarity’s the mare who has the skill and dedication to make it, now she just needs the chance. She runs her own online boutique that has been fairly successful, but she wants to aim higher, to work in the fashion industry and hopefully alongside some of her idols. When she lands an interview with one of the biggest name-brand boutiques in Equestria, she hits a creative block that lasts for weeks and leaves her stressed and nearly pulling her mane out. Rainbow brings her to a concert that helps her out of that block, but when the interview ends badly thanks to some stuffy stuck up unwilling to give her a chance, she finds her start in a way she didn’t anticipate: she becomes Twi’s band’s costume designer for their upcoming tour.

Rainbow Dash: An aspiring athlete pursuing a career in professional sports (and to join her dream team, The Wonderbolts), Dash is Rarity’s roommate and best friend since childhood. She works at a weather factory to make ends meet but trains and practices as often as she can to keep in tip-top shape in hopes of scoring a place on the Wonderbolt’s armature team the next coming annual tryout session. She also has a surprisingly entrenched grasp on painting, so much so that she has a decent online following for her work and even offers commissions as a sort of side-hustle for some extra cash. RD is supportive of Rarity’s endeavors into her career (and vice versa) and often acts as a creative buff for Rarity, helping her out when the stress gets to be too much. Her latest success of pulling Rarebear out of a funk is bringing her to her favorite indie band, but she didn’t exactly expect it to go the way it did! That’s alright though: that just equates to a road trip, so of course she tags along.

Pinkie Pie: Works at the bakery Rarity and Rainbow frequent, Pinkie’s as sweet and as excitable as she always has been. She’s known the pair for about 4 years now, providing cupcakes and coffee all throughout college, and they’ve been good friends ever since with the bakery being the unofficial “hangout spot” for them. When Rarity snags the job as the band’s costume designer and asks if Rainbow and Pinkie want to come, Pinkie is almost forced to go by Donut Joe; of the four years she’s worked for him, not once has she taken any vacation days and it’s about time she takes some time away from work. I’m thinking in this AU Pinkie might be a bit of a workaholic, if only because she might be one of the main sources of income for her family ever since her father fell ill. This is subject to change but we’ll see.

---------------------------

Celestia: A retired music icon who has taken up politics and opened up her own school, Celestia was once known (and still is) as the Queen of Rock. Celestia’s school is well known for their stellar Magi-science program and their arts program (including music), and while she no longer personally teaches there she still does visit the school often and offers workshops and mentoring. She is one of the sources of Twilight’s desire to become a rockstar, the others being Shining Armor (who had his own indie band before ultimately disbanding for the military) and Luna. She doesn’t have any official say in what the band does, but she is a source of advice and wisdom who’s willing to offer a tip or two to help the band succeed.

Luna: Retired music icon who’s settled more into the musical world than Celestia has, Luna was once (and still is) hailed as one of the best drummers in Equestria. She and Celestia were a trio-band with Discord back in their hay-day, with Celly as the vocalist and guitarist, Luna as the drummer and songwriter,  and Discord as bass guitarist. While both have ultimately stepped away from the limelight, Luna found her own calling in being a professional songwriter and lyricist. Like Celestia, Luna holds workshops and mentorship programs at Celly’s school. Whereas Twilight became Celestia’s star pupil, Trixie became Luna’s, and the two’s friendship and eventual collaboration into a band was born out of a friendly rivalry from it.

Discord: Retired music icon who has found his calling in musical management, Discord was once part of Celly and Lulu’s band (called LCD). He was primarily the bass guitarist but he’s well-known for being able to play almost any instrument in existence. No one really knows how he managed that, but there ya go: due to his talent he’s often hailed as the “Lord of music”. When the band ultimately disbanded in favor of retirement and pursuing their own careers in other areas, Discord remained interested in having some part in a band and, surprisingly, became a professional band manager and head of his own record label company. Given how spontaneous and chaotic he is, one would think this wouldn’t really work in the music industry... but to everyone’s surprise, it has. He isn’t quite mentor material like Luna and Celestia, but his own methods of teaching and guiding seem to have an overall positive effect, even if sometimes there’s controversy when he’s near.

------------------------------------------------

Apple Bloom: The youngest member of the esteemed Apple family, AB is just as enthusiastic about music as she is apple bucking. More over, she’s far more interested in how the technology of music works than actually playing it, though she has quite the soft spot for the banjo and its simplicity (thanks to her older siblings). Apple Bloom often is made to stay home with Granny Smith when her older sibs strike out on tour, but this time she really, really wants to go. And by george she’s gonna make it happen!

Sweetie Belle: The young sister of Rarity with an affinity for music, Sweetie Belle swears that one day she’ll be a rockstar. She got hooked onto this notion after seeing a Rock’n’Royal concert on TV, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the lead singer as she shred on the guitar, or the very pretty blue mare playing some sort of piano-like guitar and flipping her mane like it was an art. And in that moment, Sweetie knew exactly what she wanted to be when she grew up. In this AU I’m thinking Rarity’s parents are a bit more... neglectful, than they actually are in canon (or in my headcanon), so Sweetie lives with Rarity. That means wherever Rarebear goes, Sweetie goes, and because of it she’ll soon get to meet a couple of kids who’ll become her bestest friends.

Scootaloo: Young little spitfire who’s actually related to Rainbow Dash in this AU: they’re cousins! Scootaloo looks up to big cuz’ RD and mimics just about anything she does, and that includes listening to the music she’s into. Scoots is admittedly not that big of a fan of Rock’n’Royal, if only because their music isn’t exactly “punk” enough for her, but she likes their music well enough and she has to admit, they all look super cool. And hey, RD likes them a lot, so clearly there has to be something great about them, yeah? Fan or nah, she’ll get a surprise of her life when Rainbow Dash invites little cuzo on a long road-trip with her and her friends.... with the freakin’ band themselves. And of course she’s gonna go... if her moms say yes, of course.

[taiblogcomics]

Blueblood Is Thicker Than Water

Hey there, Weird Autumn. More ponies? More ponies! I don’t care how far behind we get on everything, more pastel horses must be reviewed! Especially if they keep putting out special issues like this~

Here’s a cover:

Oh, Deviations. So it’s a collection of DeviantArt pieces compiled into a book~ No, in fact, it’s much better than that. It’s basically IDW’s answer to Marvel’s What If...? series from ages back. This issue is, essentially, “What if Celestia had taken on a different protege instead of Twilight?”

Indeed, we start at that moment when Twilight’s magic went awry. Celestia agrees that Twilight seems very talented and powerful. But what if she turned her attention to a student that needed more guidance. Perhaps she ought to give a closer education to this fellow: Prince Blueblood~

And thus do the years pass, with our most conceited and self-involved of protagonists. I’m sorry to say, the years as Celestia’s pupil do nothing to alter his personality from just the way you remember it. He’s terrible and awful, and even Celestia’s legendary patience has begun to crack. So she sends him off to Ponyville to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration, maybe make some friends, get an attitude adjustment. If only he were another, purpler protagonist, maybe this would work~

On the flight, Blueblood dismisses the required reading--The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide--because of its boring educational content, and instead has the guards fly off and make a stop in Manehattan to refill his shampoo supplies. As such, the trip takes many hours longer than is necessary. In fact, it’s dark by the time they arrive. Applejack comes running up, figuring he’s been sent by Canterlot--and she’s right, but not for the reason she’s hoping. See, she no longer needs an event organiser. She needs a SWAT team. Because, of course, Nightmare Moon has risen from her thousand-year sleep and plans to conquer Equestria~

Blueblood bluffs his way into convincing Applejack that he’s totally there to help with the crisis, and turns to his real strength: diplomacy! Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to have acquired this skill yet, and Nightmare Moon just bucks him into the side of a house. He dismisses the taunt that the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can destroy her, and turns his attentions to his own plan: pampering! To Applejack’s consternation, he gave up on that Nightmare Moon business hours ago, and she’s just been helping him feel good in his new home. Guess how thrilled she is about this~

Applejack storms out, and Blueblood then bumps into Fluttershy along the way. He immediately proceeds to hit on her, which makes her very uncomfortable. Fluttershy tries to excuse herself, since she’s protecting some animals, and Blueblood decides to help protect her himself--by using the animals, including his own little pom dog Bunny, as a meat shield. This is the limit for Fluttershy, who calls him out on his behaviour, which is amazing for a pre-character development Fluttershy, so you can tell how awful Blueblood is~

As Fluttershy moves off, another pretty pony catches Blueblood’s eye: Rarity. Now that’s the sort of elegant pony he’s used to. His casual flattery certainly butters her up for a while. But he still has no intention of helping, and while Rarity might buy into his junk for a bit, she’s still actually a good pony and wants to help defend the town. Blueblood takes back his scarf and lleaves her behind, wrapping himself in her magic-repelling cloth to protect himself.

The pegasuses of town, led by Rainbow Dash, fly down and attempt to contain Nightmare Moon with their wind power. Blueblood agrees to supervise, since that’s a role of minimal effort, but when Rainbow picks a bad time to call him “friend”, he pulls her from the group to notarise an official document regarding friendships made, and in the loss of Rainbow Dash’s strength, the wind barrier falls apart, and Nightmare Moon escapes again.

Now thorny vines have erupted from the ground and are grabbing random citizens. Nightmare Moon demands the captured civilians tell her how great she is, and Pinkie Pie volunteers. Her pun amuses neither Nightmare Moon or Blueblood, who declares her a party pooper. There are some things you just do not do, and this is one of them. Pinkie is very upset, and the others around her agree: Blueblood’s worse than Nightmare Moon here~

Everypony agrees on this, and Nightmare Moon is legitimately upset about being lumped into the same category as such an unpleasant pony as Blueblood. She actually sits down and apologises; she just wanted everypony to love the night as much as she does. And they assure her they do think the night is beautiful. Nightmare Moon promises to apologise to her sister as well, and proves her thanks by banishing Blueblood to the moon instead~

A short epilogue, done in Katie Cook’s style, finishes the comic off. Blueblood rapidly gets bored with nopony on the moon to pamper him, and instructs his little pom dog to construct a town for him. Bunny complies, but stealthily lays the town’s foundations to spell out “HELP”, alerting Celestia to what’s happened to her wayward protege~

What a fun issue. It’s good to have a What If with a bit of comedy every now and again.Certainly, the darker sides of “What If the Mane Six didn’t get together?” have already been explored on the show. And you got Nightmare Moon to reform without even using magic on her. Nice work~

The issue also includes a few extras, mostly showing the process of sketching and layout to inked, final page, as well as some of the writer’s thoughts on why they picked that moment to Deviate. That sort of thing’s always worth checking out~

[domain-of-friendship-blog]

10: Potpourri

"Hey... wake up. We're here."

A soft voice and a gentle nudge caused Sunset to stir.

Instinctively she began to stretch, only to be quickly reminded of the confines of the car as her hands reached the ceiling. In the few years she'd spent in the world on the other side of the mirror portal, she hadn't had occasion to take any long road trips like this, and so wasn't used to sleeping in the car. As a result, she found herself dimly surprised she had nodded off at all, let alone stayed that way for nearly the entire trip.

Groggy and stiff, the pillow that had been mushed between her face and the window got tossed over her shoulder into the back seat as she fumbled with the door handle for a second before pulling on it and stumbling out.

The daylight reflecting off a series of large buildings made Sunset squint. They looked surprisingly modern and industrial, composed primarily of corrugated metal and painted brick, the gaps between them bridged in places by wires higher up and pipes running along the ground. The small parking lot into which they had pulled was otherwise empty, tucked away in a nook between two of the buildings.

Freed from her prison, Sunset reached as high as her arms would go, her efforts rewarded when her back emitted a satisfying pop.

"You need a minute?" Tank pointed his thumb at a set of double doors on the nearby wall of the building. A sign next to it read Singularity Labs - Operations Center B. "Your friend should probably be in here somewhere with Penny and the doc."

Sunset shook her head. "Let's go."

The doors opened up into a hallway lined with what looked like offices and conference rooms, judging by the messy desks and long tables respectively. Tank poked his head into one of the former. "Hey, where's Doc Mobius?"

The woman inside looked up from some papers on her desk. "Oh, hello, Mr. Abrams! He should be in conference room A at the end of the hall. He's expecting you."

"Thanks!" He flashed her a smile before turning away.

Sunset tilted her head at him as they continued down the hallway. "So how do you know all these scientists, anyway?" she asked.

Tank patted the pommel of his sword over his shoulder. "After I found Lightbringer here, I wanted someone to analyze it for me and ended up bringing it to these guys. When they realized how unique it was, they decided they wanted to see the thing in action to collect more data, so they asked me to be their go-to freelancer whenever they need stuff done. Doesn't hurt that they were impressed with me for finding it in the first place," he added with a smirk.

While that sounded like a story she needed to hear at some point, an entirely different idea pushed the thought aside, an impish grin creeping its way onto her face. "So what you're saying is they were really pleased with your big sword, is that it?"

"I mean, I guess that's one way to - " Tank stopped mid-sentence as the realization struck him, narrowing his eyes at Sunset. "...really?"

Sunset stifled a snicker.

"...and the thaumic flow has ceased completely? You're sure?"

Voices carried into the hallway from the open door of conference room A. It was largely undecorated, featuring the same brick walls painted white, linoleum tile floors, and drop ceiling as the hallway. Sunset and Tank quietly stepped inside, noting three figures staring at a marker board as they did so. The better part of it was covered in complex-looking equations that Sunset doubted she could decipher on her own in a hundred years.

"Our instruments all confirmed it," said one of the three, idly twirling a marker in his hand. "And we're getting similar reports from the other sites."

"But what does it mean?" asked another, her purple wings twitching nervously.

"It means somebody ought to be looking behind her," said Tank.

In an instant, all three whirled around.

"Sunset!"

"Twilight!"

The two girls immediately dashed toward one another, colliding with a quiet 'oof' as they embraced.

Instead of her usual outfit, Twilight wore a slightly oversized white lab coat, a pair of holes cut hastily into the back for her wings. Her long purple hair was damp, suggesting she had showered recently, for which Sunset was slightly envious.

Twilight backed up only just far enough to look her friend in the eye. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine," Sunset insisted, offering a reassuring smile. "Just a little stiff from the long car ride is all."

"Splendid work, my boy!" Mobius clapped his hands together. "No troubles on the way, then?"

Tank shook his head. "There was a minor kerfuffle with a bandit when I first found her, but nothing beyond that."

Twilight's pupils shrank. "You got attacked?"

"Uh... kind of?" Sunset grimaced apologetically. "But we took care of him pretty quickly, so..."

"I can imagine you girls have a bit of catching up to do, so why don't we come back to this later?" Penny set her marker down on the table. "Have you two eaten? I can send for some food if you'd like."

Tank's eyes lit up. "Actually, food sounds like a great idea."

"Yes please!" Sunset agreed.

*******

Sunset and Twilight sat across from one another, happily munching away at their first proper meal since their arrival. A platter of deli sandwiches, half empty, sat in the center of the conference room table. It was flanked by a bowl of fruit, pitchers of various drinks, and a large bag of potato chips, each one more depleted than the last.

"Oh, before I forget... Have a look at this, Sunset."

Twilight wiped her hands with a napkin and reached into her pocket, producing a familiar device.

"The magic sensor?" Sunset asked through a mouthful of sandwich, which she finished before continuing. "I'm surprised that thing made it through the portal in one piece."

"I am too, but I'm really glad it did." Twilight held it out to Sunset. "Do you see anything strange?"

Sunset peered at the interface for several seconds before replying. "No, it looks normal to me. The only thing it seems like it's picking up right now is Tank's sword."

Twilight blinked, glancing down the table at him for a moment. "I was wondering what that was. Do you know why it's reacting?"

Sunset looked up at Twilight. "Because it's a magic sword that glows and fires bolts of light on command," she deadpanned.

"Uh... okay." Twilight hesitated, fiddling with her glasses for a moment as she attempted to get her train of thought back on the rails. "Anyway, I had to recalibrate the sensitivity based on the density of this world's ambient magic. See what happens when I turn it back to the settings I was using when we were at school before." She fiddled with a couple of dials before showing the sensor to Sunset once again.

Sunset nearly choked on a mouthful of fruit punch. "What? It's reacting to everything! The whole display is lit up!"

"That's because this world is completely full of magic," Twilight explained. "It's literally everywhere - in the ground, in the people, in the air... and now it's in us, too. Energy always flows from high to low concentration, and it seems magic is no different."

Sunset leaned back in her seat, idly tapping the rim of her cup. "Is that why we're stuck ponied up like this? It doesn't usually happen on its own, or last nearly this long."

Twilight nodded. "That's my best guess. The people here are accustomed to it, but we're not, so our bodies are reacting to the sudden influx of magic by using our pony forms to burn some of it off." She glanced over her shoulder at her wings, flapping them gently to illustrate the point. "I don't know what would happen without them, but we seem to be fine so far."

"Well... we do, at least."

Sunset hadn't meant for that to sound quite so dark. She winced as she watched Twilight's gaze fall to the table and stay there. With a sigh, she stood up and moved to the seat beside Twilight, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. "Hey... we'll figure something out, I promise. We always do."

"I've... been trying not to think about it too much," said Twilight in a low voice, "but it's a stroke of luck that we're both here now, isn't it? The others could be anywhere - lost, hurt, scared and alone..." She shivered at the thought, leaning closer to Sunset.

The two suddenly grew quiet as something a little different began to fill the air, interrupting another conversation going on nearby.

"Fair enough, Doc, but I don't... think that... uh." Tank trailed off as he began looking all around the room. "Wait a sec. Where is that music coming from?"

*******

RARITY: I once thought that I knew what my fate had in store Now the future is shrouded in haze Though my life has been spared, am I now to be trapped In this world for the rest of my days?

FLUTTERSHY: Though the people are nice and the animals warm Still I can't help but feel a little cold Somewhere out there my friends might be lost and alone Who knows what their tomorrows may hold?

RAINBOW DASH: I don't care how much danger may come I will fight for as long as it takes This weird world better bring on its best I won't lose when my friends are at stake!

APPLEJACK: I'm sure scared, I'll admit, but I gotta be strong Home has never been so far away But my friends trust that I'll always be by their side That I'll do all I can, come what may

PINKIE PIE: Yeah, at first I thought maybe this place might be fun But I sure got myself in trouble fast There is sunshine in me keeping my head held high But I don't know how long it'll last...

SUNSET SHIMMER and TWILIGHT SPARKLE: This world seems ever vast and unknown But no matter the fight, we won't fail Friendship binds us in all that we do When united as one, we'll prevail!

*******

Sunset and Twilight went quiet once again, hands still clasped together.

Tank blinked. "...What the hell did I just witness?"

Penny tilted her head, the sandwich in her hands long forgotten. "I... haven't the foggiest idea."

Mobius adjusted his glasses. "Fascinating...!"

Sunset took a deep breath as she let go of Twilight and turned to their hosts.

"I'm going after them," she declared.

"...Uh." Tank quirked an eyebrow. "You're what now?"

"Five of our friends are still out there somewhere," she explained, crossing her arms. "They don't know any more about this world than we do, and if that bandit was any indication, there's every chance they're in danger. We're going to rescue them."

Penny set her sandwich down on her plate. "Sunset Shimmer, are you really sure you know what you're proposing? There are hundreds of portals all across Nexus; if what we understand so far is accurate, they could have emerged effectively anywhere."

"Such as the far reaches of the Frontier, hundreds of miles from civilization!" offered Mobius with just a little too much excitement. "Or the blistering Kasarosian desert, the frozen wastes of northern Itantea, or even the dense jungles of - ow!"

He stopped as Penny kicked him under the table and pointed at Twilight, whose face was gradually draining itself of color.

Sunset shook her head. "I don't care. Those girls were there for me at the lowest point in my life, and I don't know if I'd have made it out otherwise. They never gave up on me, and I'd be throwing away everything I've learned about friendship if I turned around and gave up on them."

Tank stood up. "You've got spirit, sure, but that's not going to be enough. You have no money, no clue where to go, and basically no combat experience as far as I can tell. If you try to go on some grand adventure to rescue these friends of yours, all you'll do is get yourself killed."

Sunset smirked. "Then it's a good thing I have an ally who can help me with all that, isn't it?"

Tank sighed, raising a hand to his forehead for a moment. "Look, hon. I sympathize, don't think I don't... but traveling the whole world looking for five people is going to take a very long time and a very large amount of money, and I don't have either of those things right now." With another sigh, he crossed his arms. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you."

Sunset's ears folded back as her confidence faltered. If Tank wouldn't help her, it wasn't terribly likely anyone else would, either. If she had to do this on her own, it could be years before she was ready to even set out looking for them...

"Oh, pish posh! Of course you can!"

Tank blinked. "Uh. Doc, what?"

Mobius stood up and pressed a button on a nearby radio. "Bring it in, please."

"Right, uh, right away sir," came the radio's slightly muffled reply.

"My boy," Mobius began as he turned back to Tank, "if the tale these girls tell us is true, we are at the forefront of a phenomenon bigger than any in recorded history, and I believe their presence will be required for us to get to the bottom of things! As such, Singularity Labs is prepared to offer you a most handsome commission for retrieving them safely."

Twilight raised a hand to her cheek. "Wait, but... weren't you just going on about how dangerous it'll be?"

"Oh, I make no illusions about that," said Mobius. "Scientific breakthrough is rarely without risk! A fellow scientist like yourself should be familiar with that, I would imagine."

Twilight bit her lip as the incident at the Friendship Games resurfaced in her mind. "More than you know..."

If Mobius noticed the melancholy in Twilight's voice, he gave no indication of it.

"So, uh." Tank put a hand on his hip. "Exactly how 'handsome' are we talking here?"

Mobius smiled as an attendant entered the room and placed a fabric bag on the table before backing up. "Have a look for yourself!"

Sunset leaned over the table for a better look as Tank opened the bag and peered inside.

He gulped. "Yeah, that... is a very large amount of money."

Sunset's eyes widened at the contents, a multitude of brilliant, finely cut gems in a variety of colors. Each one appeared to display a number when viewed at a certain angle. This was their currency, then? The largest denomination by far were the colorless ones she assumed to be diamonds, more numerous by far than any of the colored ones.

"Our offer is this," said Mobius. "There hundred thousand up front, plus another hundred thousand upon the safe return of each of the first four girls. The last will be another three hundred thousand."

"...Dude." Tank stared into the bag. "You're... literally offering me a million gems."

Penny crossed her arms. "Uncle, you had better be absolutely certain about this. I'm sure I don't need to remind you how tight our budget is this year."

"That won't be a concern for long once I start sending reports on all this to our members on the Council," said Mobius. "And, I might clarify, that offer is for both of you together," he added with a look at Sunset.

Sunset shook her head. "I don't care about the money. We can spend my half on whatever we need for the job."

Mobius grinned. "So what do you say, my boy? Think about it - your decision here today just might make history!"

Tank stared a moment longer at the bag of gems in front of him before turning to Sunset, her face hardened with determination.

He shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Sunset's shoulders slumped as she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Splendid!" Mobius beamed, his pure white eyes practically sparkling with excitement.

"So what happens now?" asked Twilight.

"We need to look for clues before we can begin the search in earnest," explained Penny. "It won't do to go wandering willy-nilly. Singularity is part of a network of laboratories I can call on for information; I plan to gather and catalogue as much local news from them as I can."

"The sudden appearance of brightly-colored teenage girls with wings and pony ears must have made a splash somewhere or other," said Tank.

Twilight perked up. "Oh, I'd be happy to help with that!"

Penny nodded. "I was hoping you would."

Tank turned to Sunset. "Meanwhile, I'm going to head into town and get you some gear with our down payment. You're going to learn how to fight."

Sunset nodded. She didn't relish the prospect by any stretch of the imagination, but she would stand by her decision - if her friends needed her, she would do everything in her power to save them.

"But we should start on all this tomorrow," said Penny. "You two have had a rather trying time of things, I'd imagine. Let me show you all to your rooms so you can get some rest."

Sunset rubbed her neck idly. "As much as I'd like to get started right away, that car trip wasn't exactly relaxing..."

Penny turned to Mobius. "You, meanwhile, have work of your own to do. Once she hears news of anomalous behavior from the portals, the prime minister is going to want an official statement from the lab, and it would be in our best interest to have something prepared ahead of time."

"Too right, you are," agreed the doctor. "No time to waste!"

With that, he scurried out the door and down the hall.

"That should keep him busy for a while," said Penny. "Now then, let me get you two set up over in the guest quarters. There should be plenty of rooms next to the one we gave Twilight..."

*******

Sunset stared down at the plain white pajamas she had been issued, finding herself impressed that they were genuinely comfortable.

The term "research campus" she had heard bandied about earlier that day suddenly seemed rather apt; outfitted as its facilities were for daily living, Singularity felt very much like a well-stocked university, albeit with significantly fewer lecture halls. It made enough sense in hindsight; the place was a few miles out from the nearest actual town, having been built around a naturally occurring portal, so such amenities were far too useful not to have on-site.

Her gaze shifted to the night sky out the window. She hadn't noticed the sun setting; as far as she could tell, it had just gradually grown darker over time until the stars came out. She made a mental note to ask someone about that later, as pondering it on her own was making her shudder a bit. This wasn't just a different planet or anything like that (although that would have been plenty enough to give her pause); it was a completely different... dimension? universe? plane of reality? Whatever she wanted to call it, it operated under very different rules than she was used to.

Granted, she was less of a stranger to the concept than most. She had done it once already when she found a way to escape Equestria, but if anything, her foreknowledge only made things more frightening. The context could hardly have been more different; she had been working alone before, for one... and having done at the very least a modicum of research beforehand, not only did she have a fair idea of what to expect from the other world, but she had also maintained a degree of control over her movement to and from it. None of those things were true here.

If that scenario had been like stepping into a wind tunnel, this was more like getting swept up in a hurricane.

She shuddered again.

Contrary to her earlier complaint, she had ended up spending most of the afternoon looking around the facilities of Singularity Labs and answering curious questions from the scientists. While she and Twilight had been reassured that they were by no means being held against their will, they were strongly advised not to leave the facility proper. It was a recommendation Sunset had little trouble taking - where would she even go, and to what end? - but it meant that for the time being there was little else for her to do with her free time.

Unfortunately, though answering questions all day had left her plenty tired, she found herself unsure if she was actually ready to sleep. Instead, she quietly opened her door and poked her head out into the hallway.

The building was predictably quiet this late at night. Twilight was in the room adjacent to hers, and Tank had been given the one opposite, across the hall.

Would either of them even be awake?

Sunset crept quietly over to Tank's door and knocked. A few seconds later, it opened.

"Oh - Sunset?" Tank blinked. "I figured you'd be asleep by now. Everything alright?"

"Yeah, no, uh. Everything's fine," said Sunset, running a hand through her ludicrously long hair. "Just... not quite ready for bed yet, I guess."

Tank took a step back, opening the door further as he did. "Did you want to come in?"

It felt odd to be entering a guy's room late at night, but Sunset stepped inside nonetheless. As Tank closed the door behind her, she realized this was the first time she'd seen him outside of his armor, which was propped up against the wall next to the desk. Instead, he was wearing just a green t-shirt and shorts, which had a side effect of making the scarring on his cheek much more prominent. Sunset had made a point of not bringing it up in case it turned out to be a sensitive subject, but now she could see that it stretched much further than she expected - not only down his neck but over the collarbone, leading out of sight beneath his shirt. What could have left a scar that big?

She shook her head. It really wasn't important right now.

Tank took a seat on the bed and motioned for Sunset to take the chair at the desk. "Nervous?"

Sunset held up her hair with one arm for a moment as she took her seat. "At the risk of implying I haven't been ever since I woke up in a crater on an alien world? Yeah, I am."

Tank chuckled. "Fair enough. I guess I'd probably be more worried if you weren't."

Sunset tilted her head. "Have you ever done anything like this before?"

"You mean, taking on a rescue mission? Sure, a few times." Tank leaned back, propping himself up with his arms. "But nothing on a scale anywhere close to this. Doc wasn't kidding when he said your friends could have ended up in some really scary places."

Sunset busied herself with plucking a couple of bright red hairs off her pajama pants instead of replying.

"...Let me level with you for a minute, Sunset." Tank sat up. "Nexus is a large and dangerous world, and it's likely going to take us a long time to find all your friends. There is every chance that we won't be able to bring them all back alive, and you need to be prepared for it if we find out we were too late."

A chill ran through Sunset's body, causing her to shiver. Like Twilight, she had been doing her best to keep her thoughts away from the heavier implications of their situation, but she knew she was going to have to address it eventually. She had faith in them, of course she did... but anytime they had been in danger in the past, they had gotten through it by working together and relying on one another.

Separated as they were... she was a lot less confident.

"I know," she said finally, her fists pressed firmly into her thighs as she spoke. "But I'm not giving up on them, no matter what. I owe them that much."

"There's that spirit again." Tank smirked. "Still not good enough all by itself... but it just might pull you out of a dark spot someday. Never let go of it."

Sunset nodded, but said nothing else. A moment of quiet passed between them.

"Well, thanks for that, I guess. Sorry if I disturbed you or anything," Sunset said finally as she stood up. "I'm gonna go see how Twilight is doing."

Tank rose to his feet as well. "No, no, you're fine. Just remember to get some sleep, alright?"

"Of course." Sunset made for the door, but stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot. Tank?"

"What's up?"

Sunset turned to him and smiled. "Thanks for your help."

Tank shrugged slightly, smirking again. "Hey, don't give me too much credit. You saw how much we're getting paid for this, right?"

Sunset rolled her eyes. "I meant in general, but sure, that too."

Tank seemed to hesitate for a moment. Taking a step forward, he held out his hand, his smile more genuine than usual. Sunset looked down at it for a moment and smirked as she too stepped forward, gently wrapping her arms around him. Caught off guard, he tensed for a moment, but his smile soon resurfaced as he returned the hug.

The two waved to each other as Sunset closed the door behind her on her way out.

She soon found herself staring at Twilight's door. A part of her felt a little guilty for hoping her friend was still awake when she should really be getting some sleep, but she knocked nonetheless. A few seconds later, a pair of purple eyes peeked out at her from behind the door.

"Sunset? What are you doing up?" asked Twilight.

Sunset crossed her arms. "I could ask you the same thing."

Twilight pulled the door the rest of the way open. As Sunset stepped inside, she glanced over the desk in the corner, which featured a pair of open textbooks and some scrap paper covered in notes.

Sunset blinked, raising a suspicious eyebrow. "Wait, you... didn't somehow bring your homework with you, did you?"

"No, of course not!" Twilight shook her head. "I'm working on translating my formulas for the scientists here so they can adapt the principles behind my magic sensor to their technology. They think it might help us figure out what happened with the portal."

"And did they tell you they needed this by tomorrow morning?"

Twilight's ears drooped. "Well... not exactly..."

Sunset climbed onto Twilight's bed and sat with her back against the wall. "Then I doubt they meant for you to lose sleep over it."

"But this is really important," insisted Twilight, her wings fluttering as she spoke. "They came to me for help even though I barely understand what's going on, and I don't want them to think I'm not taking it seriously."

"My statement still stands, though," said Sunset. "You won't be much help to them if you're dead on your feet tomorrow, now will you?"

Twilight bit her lip and looked over at the books on her desk, a thought suddenly surfacing in her mind. "Hey, I could say the same to you. Aren't you supposed to start training tomorrow?"

Sunset rubbed the back of her head. "Well, yeah, but..."

Twilight smiled softly. "You're nervous."

Sunset huffed. "Of course I am. Who wouldn't be?"

"That's my point." Twilight climbed onto the bed and took a seat next to Sunset, a yawn escaping before she could continue. "Well, that and... you're not alone."

Sunset sighed, her gaze drifting to the ceiling. Sure, she was nervous about the prospect of having to fight without all her friends by her side (and using a real weapon to boot), but the more she thought about it, a part of her relished the thought of finally being able to do something about the situation. The prospect of going from being largely helpless to having at least some control over her situation was reassuring.

She gasped as something heavy fell onto her shoulder. Warmth filled Sunset's cheeks as she realized it was Twilight; without a problem in front of her to solve, the day had finally caught up with the poor girl, already out like a light.

Immediately, Sunset began pondering how to sneak away without disturbing her friend, but she was interrupted by a yawn of her own. To be fair, she decided... if Twilight wasn't bothered, how much did it really matter?

In moments, her head rested atop Twilight's, the both of them sound asleep.

Previous Chapter

To be continued on Fimfiction!

[binderreviews-blog]

Unpopular Opinions #1

Hello Everyone, my name is Binder and I have an opinion, an unpopular one.

First, let me begin by saying that this blog post is a test run. I am testing the waters with this to see how things may end up. In light of that information, please provide me with constructive criticism or ideas on how to make things better. With that out of the way, let's move on to our topic.

Starlight Glimmer in the My Little Pony Generation 4 TV show.

She’s been heavily criticized by many for a multitude of reasons, and I’m here to say that I don’t agree with any of them.

When she was first introduced to us, many fans were skeptical but watched all the same. We saw nothing of her except in the Season 5 Premiere and Finale. Fans were ok with that; at first. When it came time for the Season 5 finale to end, people voiced their hatred of the idea of Starlight becoming Twilight's pupil. The reasoning I see behind it is that fans were too quick to deduce her to be a Sunset Shimmer clone. With that thought came the accusations of Starlight just being another foil for Twilight. Now I love both Starlight and Sunset as characters, but I can see the concerns. The reason I look past those concerns, however, is because Starlight is the more believable character. Sunset was introduced in a rushed way and had no development until the final moments of the Equestria Girls movie. (I'll have some things to say about that movie and it’s many sequels in a later review) Starlight, however, received little development in the Season 5 Premiere but received a lot of development in the Finale. She was more flushed out in every way. Also, unlike Sunset, who magically turned good at the end, Starlight held a grudge and left to fight again. It was only after Twilight stepped in and pulled Starlight into the future with her, did Starlight's feelings start to waver. There's that, and there's also the fact that Starlight doesn't know how to start fresh. She's afraid to try and better herself because she's afraid of, for lack of a better term, relapsing to what she was. Sunset immediately was proactive in her reformation. I personally believe that Starlight's story is more believable. In all honesty, I think Sunset's development was more shoehorned in. It was forced over the course of 2 Movies. Starlight was developing all throughout Season 6, and even now, with Season 7 premiering just weeks ago, we still see Starlight learning and getting more character development. Sunset has taken a backseat, and while I enjoy Sunset as a character, I think that it’s a good thing. Also, I personally think that it could be cool for Twilight to introduce Starlight to Sunset, just to see their interactions. Maybe bring Sunset back to Equestria for a short while?

Anyways, with that unpopular opinion out of the way, let’s move on to my next unpopular opinion regarding Starlight. People seem to give the show staff a lot of crap because of them pushing characters off screen just so others are forced into the hero role. This seems to hit Starlight the most. While I understand their problems, the hate towards starlight and the staff is unwarranted. I say this because this kind of stuff has been happening since Season 1. Do you think we’d even have a show if the writers hadn’t pushed Celestia offscreen to make Twilight the Heroine? Likely not. Another reason why I don’t agree is literally every season Premiere and Finale going up to the Season 4 Finale pushes characters offscreen just to show Heroism in others. Part of me wants to go into much more detail, but I have a lot more to talk about, so I’ll make a supplement post about it later on, and it’ll be linked (HERE). Anyways, With the Season 6 Finale pushing characters offscreen… let’s be honest here. The whole episode actually makes the most sense with Starlight being the main focus. I say this because Trixie would have been too hot-headed, arrogant, and scared to lead them all into the changeling hive. Thorax never even wanted to go back to the hive, and Discord was way too reliant on his powers to make a believable leader, and he wasn’t thinking straight because Fluttershy was taken. Starlight makes the most sense. Also, all the characters being kidnapped without notice makes sense too. Every pony in Equestria is basically considered blind at this point because they hardly ever notice things. That, and with Celestia and Luna being captured easily, it only makes sense that Twilight would be no trouble. Think about it. Celestia and Luna live in the capital of Equestria, in a castle, surrounded by guards, and they’ve been captured or overpowered, multiple times…. That includes Chrysalis. Getting past an unguarded castle at night should have been no problem for her. There’s also the fact that the other members of the Mane 6 were captured as well. Here’s how that was done. Applejack would likely have been working alone in the Orchards (she's done it before). RD could have been smacked out of the sky (it's been done before). Rarity is likely working alone in her boutique late at night. Pinkie and Fluttershy might be the only ones that are less believable because of the Pinkie sense and all of Fluttershy's animals. However, if they were studied by changelings for long enough, it is believable, considering they've been gone for 4 seasons. Think about it. The changelings didn’t resurface until Season 6, and we only saw them because of Thorax. Now that we have that explained, let’s move on.

Alright, let’s end this on one last unpopular opinion. I see everyone criticizing the writers for having no plans for after Season 3, and that Starlight was conjured up on the fly, yet in some instances, the show staff write, record, and come up with ideas nearly a year before production starts. I remember seeing somewhere that funding and ideas for Season 4 had already begun in late 2012. That was at the beginning of Season 3. Starlight was an idea that was born from the writers wanting to put Sunset in Equestria, without actually putting her in Equestria (at least I think. There’s no real evidence there, just my opinion). And let’s all admit it, we all want to see what would happen if Sunset stayed in Equestria for an extended period of time. This is their middle-ground because Sunset is more or less exclusive to Equestria Girls.

That’s all I have to say on Starlight as of right now. If I have more, I’ll update this, or make a new post, but for now, this is my opinion, however unpopular it may be.

(Criticism is welcomed with open arms! I’d love to hear what people have to say about Starlight or any of the points I’ve made here!)

[taiblogcomics]

Fifty is Nifty

Hey there, granaries. Well, here we are. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has been running as an ongoing title from IDW for 50 issues. Fifty issues. That’s damn impressive for any comic, let alone a licensed book based on a children’s cartoon. And this comic knows it, too~

I mean, check out this cover:

Sure, it doesn’t have anything to do with the issue, but if you can’t have a nice celebration of your milestones, what good is a cover? Maybe in that way, it has everything to do with the issue. Also, Applejack, c’mon. Everypony else has a party hat, including the princesses. You could at least try~

So, if you recall our ongoing story--and no, they have the artistic integrity to not interrupt the narrative for their milestone, which is nice--Discord had reinvented himself as Accord, spirit of order and brainwashing. Canterlot’s on its last few free minds, and even Luna and Twilight have become part of the hivemind, which is where we join the story now...

Everypony’s suitably creeped out and disturbed by the two brainwashed princesses, who are at least non-threatening physically, and allow the rest of them to escape on the train. Now, see, that’s worrying. When the villain just lets you go after taking two of your most powerful members, that means that he knows he can get you at any time in the future. It’s very worrying.

While the remaining Mane 6 take time to make sure all the refugees are entertained--and I can’t believe I just used “refugees” in a description of a plot in a My Little Pony comic, but here we are--Starlight Glimmer takes some time out to talk with Celestia about the recent events. Her pupil’s pupil, you see. Celestia’s quite distressed, what with losing her kingdom, her pupil, and her sister--and this nagging idea that Accord might be right.

Celestia’s worried that Accord’s successes have proven his attempts at bringing order prove his way is better, but Starlight protests that tyranny and manipulation are never the better option. And Celestia recalls the time where she faced a tyrant version of herself from another universe, back in the “Reflections” arc, and Accord reminds her a bit of that version of herself. Starlight points out that chaos and order aren’t the same as good and evil. Order is a goal that can be achieved through good or evil means. After all, she tried to enslave a whole town in the name of order, but she knows now she was wrong to do so. Or how about that time magic water exaggerated everypony’s personalities in negative directions? Or that evil book that made Rarity go nuts over design? Point is, this happens a lot. But even when driven to opposite extremes, their goals remain the same. So.. what do Accord and Discord have in common? What’s their shared goal?

Okay, so here’s a twist: once in Ponyville, they decide to bust out the Elements of Harmony. Apparently they can just go and pick them off the Tree whenever they like! Like, what the heck. But never mind. Accord shows up, finally having figured out how to pop out of nowhere like Discord, and sincerely invites the attempt to “Harmonise” with him, as it were. Celestia passes around the Elements, taking the Element of Magic for herself, and they blast the unholy order out of him.

Except that it doesn’t work.

Except that without Twilight, the Elements are practically useless.

Except that in the failure of the Elements, the six of them are now also under Accord’s thrall.

In fact, at this point, Starlight is the last free-thinking being in Equestria, which at least shows how impressive her shielding magic is. Thinking fast, Starlight convinces Accord to play fair--that is to say, to convince her he’s right with words rather than force. Finding the idea amusing, he agrees to the challenge.

Accord is convinced he’s already won. After all, Starlight’s friends are now his. Starlight, however, disagrees. See, friendship isn’t about order. Friendship isn’t about being the same. It’s about being different and being friends anyway. After all, Discord was different from everypony, but still managed to find friendship. He’s faked sick, travelled through time, and resorted to every trick in the book just to keep said friendships. And all these ponies? They’re puppets. They’re him. Not one of them is a friend.

Accord admits defeat, and bows out gracefully to Starlight. And suddenly, just like that, Discord is back. The minds of all the ponies are clear, and even more than thanking Starlight for saving them, they instead thank Discord for being him. The way Discord is is just the way they like him. After all, friendship isn’t about order. Friendship, my dear readers, is magic~

Oh, you thought we were done? No, not quite, my friends. I mean, we have to do something a little more than just wrap up the story, right? It’s the fiftieth issue, after all. So, how about a second entire story? How about it’s illustrated by Jay Fosgitt? Yeah, here’s a book that contains both Jay Fosgitt and Andy Price art. What more could you ask for~?

So, how do you start such a story? Well, it’s Celestia’s birthday. Is that enough of a fiftieth issue milestone for you~? Anyway, everypony’s invited, even Discord. Fluttershy gently chides him for not getting her a present, but frankly, he’s right. What do you get somepony like Celestia? What could be a suitable enough gift? Fluttershy slyly challenges Discord to find out~

At the party, Discord pretty much blatantly asks what she’s missing in her life. And she has no idea what to tell him. Instead, she basically continues to solve her guests’ problems instead of taking the day to relax. She even gives up the last slice of cake to a filly who was late. Discord continues to observe her.

Discord comments on his observations of Celestia’s unfailingly self-sacrificial attitude towards even her party guests, frustrated. Fluttershy comments that it sounds exhausting to put yourself out there so constantly, and you can see the lightbulb turn on over Discord’s head. In fact, I’m surprised that didn’t happen literally~

Celestia collapses in her room as the guests file out, finding a package addressed "For The Pony Who Has Everything”. Fortunately, inside is not a Black Mercy flower, but instead a little music box with a statue of Celestia on top. She winds the box, and while it does play a nice tune, it also seems to be full of sleeping gas, and sprays a puff in her face, knocking the sun princess out.

When she comes to, she finds--to her shock--that the sun is already up. Discord appears and announces that he did that for her. See, here’s the thing. He found out what she needs most: a day off. It’s all taken care of. There’s three other princesses to handle things, and the failsafe makes the spell only work for as long as she wants it. She’s even completely diguised as a fairly average-looking pegasus, so nopony will try to give her preferential treatment.

So where’s a princess to spend her day of freedom? Why not Ponyville, the town of the true average pony experience~? Discord agrees that this might be interesting, and transmogrifies himself into a pony as well, though he’s still rather odd-looking. They land in Ponyville, and are greeted in the traditional way~

And by “traditional way”, I mean a long, loud gasp by Pinkie Pie, followed by a parade. Once the celebration ceases, they move on to Sweet Apple Acres, interested in learning to applebuck from Applejack herself. While she doesn’t quite master it on the first go, an apple nevertheless does fall from the tree and performs an Isaac Newton on Celestia, to her delight. They drop in on Fluttershy for a literal bear-hug, and get some flying tips from Rainbow Dash. After removing herself from the ceiling, she then asks for a dress from Rarity. Something daring and unexpected, in black perhaps~

As Discord reunites with the princess over a bowl of ice cream in Sugarcube Corner, she comments that Discord was right on the money. She never would have admitted to herself that she needed a day off, even. Discord replies that it’s a friendship lesson he’s known all along: it’s all well and good to take care of others, but you also have to take the time to take care of yourself. As they head into the sunset, hoping to catch the train back to Canterlot, Celestia thanks Discord for his present and his friendship, then warns him if he ever pulls a stunt like that music box again, he’ll spend the next century as a bird feeder. He says he knows--after all, that’s not really the sun setting, but a balloon full of lava monsters he rigged up. Oh, Discord~

What a lovely way to have celebrated the 50th issue of a great comic. I don’t think I need to say anything more, other than both stories were very satisfying reads. Here’s hoping for another 50 issues more~

Yeah, this big celebration is only a simple milestone. Next issue, something very mysterious seems to be going down. I honestly can’t tell you more than that~