Argyle wakes up in Bridlewood with no memory of who he is or how he got there, with a strange stallion looming over him! Who is Alphabittle, and why is he so protective of the dangerous earth pony who wandered onto his lands? As Argyle unravels the mystery, will he be able to discover who he was, but even more, who he might have been ... and is it too late to reclaim a life set aside?
An entry in the Ancestral Tribute contest.
Possibly the first Argyle/Alphabittle story, at least that I could find! And for some bonus alliteration, let's throw in some amnesia! I wanted to create a loophole where Argyle didn't have to die, and got to live his best gay life somewhere else in Equestria. This fic is marked M/M, for the Alphabittle/Argyle ship. The title is a quote taken from a poem, "Seventy Years of Sleep #4" by nikka ursula.
Can I please get a link?
11361187
https://cardiamachina.co.vu/post/187132533998/love-time-stops-doesnt-it-are-we-not
I feel a little foolish! I've seen the quote mentioned everywhere, but I didn't realize - it's actually a poem, not a fanfiction! I'll amend my description, but here's a link to the poem! It's very beautiful.
Which might have more impact if his own internal narration hadn't been calling him that for a while by that point...
I mean, that's what he'd been doing before...
Yeah, this doesn't quite mesh for me. You present a fascinating concept, but the pieces don't connect convincingly for me. It'd also be nice to see Argyle return home in the modern day, or at least watch the DDR match. Still, this is a touching if shakily integrated bit of romance and mystery. Thank you for it and best of luck in the judging.
And to those downvoting every comment because the story dared to be about a relationship between two male characters: Get a life. And that's coming from the guy who makes Magic cards out of pony content every Sunday.
11361237
My logic was, we the readers know that's Argyle; the picture on the front page is him, the story description is is about him. and it felt way more annoying to read 'the blue earth pony' or 'the unknowable entity' ten times. My idea was (and I'm not sure if it was successful!) that the realization of 'wait, who's Argyle?' is supposed to throw us off too, since the story has been affirming that this is Argyle the whole time. But,maybe that didn't quite come across! 
Ha ha, I did notice that too!
11361260
And I'm sure, like most people, Argyle is able to resolve his own inner dichotomy to himself; he's not really lying to Sunny, he's just not telling her the full truth just yet, when she's too young to handle it. Kind of like Santa Claus not being real! 
Haha, nice catch here too! I chuckled at that little plot hole, but I thought it might be interesting if neither of them figured it out, either.
And I agree, I would like to see Argyle find Sunny again! But, 1. I was afraid it would be cheating the nice, complete feeling that the ending I chose had. The pair are reunited, and despite the bittersweet circumstances, they are united after years apart. 2. I was also afraid it might disqualify itself from the contest, since it would return Sunny to the forefront of the story! But, I do think it would be a very nice sequel!
Anyway, tl;dr at myself, but thank you so much for your feedback! I'm sorry it didn't quite mesh, but I appreciate you reading it and commenting all the same.
I'm sad to see that the 'downvoting because gay' movement is still happening, I forgot that that was a thing in the months I've been gone. 
An adorably sweet story, and I can only hope Argyle and Alphabittle are happy together through the years, even as Argyle has to leave Sunny behind. Any chance for a sequel with a reunion of the father and daughter?
I think the premise on this one is a little shaky. Well… more honestly, I think the story needs more contemplation and polish because you’re dealing with a couple of really weighty topics (e.g. love, war, and whether or not abandoning a child is the right choice) at the same time and the end result seems to fall a bit short of doing that justice. Everything you’ve done right suffers for it.
Oh, those hyphens…
11361316
Thank you very much! I think a reunion definitely has to happen, I strongly doubt that Argyle would be able to stay away from his daughter when she comes to Bridlewood with her new friends! He would miss her too much.
11361350
)
Thank you very much for the early feedback! I'm sorry the story didn't quite work for you, but I appreciate the time you took to read and comment anyway! (And you'd be frightened by how many hyphens were in the first few drafts!!
11362100
Agreed!! Imagine him holding himself back while his daughter makes a bet with Alphabittle-never
I love this so much. The reveal did geniunely surprise me and the pacing and writing both felt pretty good to me. It's a bit short, but frankly, it has most of what it needs.
Choosing to stay and leaving behind his Literal Teenage Child feels like it'd be a bad decision from argyle, and... realistically I don't see him salvaging that in the future. I don't know. This feels it'd be a lot on Sunny. I hope they would be able to reconcile still?
11368494
I agree that it wasn't a great decision by Argyle, and he's in a very rough spot here. Would Sunny be able to keep something so huge as ACTUAL unicorns a secret?! I think he justified it to himself by saying he's protecting her, but I doubt Sunny would see it that way.
Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
It's also hard for me to write, because I want to keep Argyle alive without destroying the canon of the movie, LMAO!
So I have to work within the constraints of 'he can't go back for her' while trying to make him a good dad, haha! He's just doing his best! 
An oddball ghost happened across your fic and read it. Have a review!
11429304
Thanks for the review!