Inky Quill has a doctorate in history and an idea. The Summer Sun Celebration turns 1000 soon, and it’s the perfect time to write a book. What better way to commemorate such a nice, round number than by comparing Equestria in the first days of the Celebration to Equestria now? It’ll get ponies involved in history, be a nice tie-in, maybe teach them about the long-lost Princess Luna. (Ponies, Quill knows, have disappointingly short memories.) Besides, Celestia’s ruled for a millennium. It’s not like anything’s going to change anytime soon.
In other news, Twilight is about to move to Ponyville.
Cover art is edited from Marshall Chipped’s May You Live in Interesting Times. Not originally conceived for the My Little Pony Renaissance Contest, but since it inspired me to finish it, I'm entering it anyway.
I do love ponies getting to see the mare behind the mask when dealing with Celestia.
Well, then I have good news!
Is it wrong that I ship it?
Much easier to trademark, which is why I don't bother with it.
Quite a few possibilities there, from other cities lost to the ice to self-important naming schemes.
Oh, that's going to be hilarious when looking back. Also, I do like this take on Cadence's first days in the Empire. She never asked for this.
I'm going to assume Inky is so shaken by this latest blow to the status quo that she forgot about the post-Discord interview.
Heh. That's the thing about time battles. No one outside of the fight notices it.
Where did they even get the milk?
This makes a terrifying amount of sense.
Yeah, that whole event wasn't well-thought out. Living through it must have been equal parts terrifying and deeply frustrating.
Reasonable expectation.
And poor Inky, a victim of her own success. Glorious stream of consciousness down whitewater rapids. Thank you for it. And I can just imagine the inevitable reaction when some new world-shaking event hits Equestria just as this book hits shelves:
"Sunset WHO!?"
There have got to be so many parts of Equestrian society that are exasperated at that.
"This amazing, world-altering thing happened! But it's gone now, a random librarian solved it."
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Goit. Originally, I didn't have the post-Discord interview and added it in later rewrites. Slipped through in editing. Although I like this assumption enough that I almost didn't fix it.
Ahh, this was amazing. I love it.
I think you're missing a "not" here.
The past is never dead; it's not even past.
Or, in Inky Quill's case, it's deliberately shamming. It's playing dead! Look out, it's gonna rip your book's throat out!
This was a hilarious read, I love it
Imagine it's so good that I was laughing before the punchlines! (already knowing how history went helped)
I haven't read the story yet, but in my background the phrase "May You Live in Interesting Times" is a curse. Peaceful times, successful times, happy times are boring times. War time, failure times, sad times are interesting times.
I'm impressed you two managed to keep it to fifteen minutes
The previous ruler had a bit of an ego and some plans to expand
This is the sentence that told us that Inky Quill is a pegasus, why I feel the need to point this out I have no idea
You're not
There might be, just because they're not openly showing themselves doesn't mean they don't exist or maybe they just don't live in Equestria for personal reasons.
Or just to avoid becoming a Prince(ss) and getting harassed every five seconds due to Celestia and Luna unintentionally making it so that every Equestrian thinks "Alicorn = Prince(ss)"
And this is the sentence that finally gave us a gender on Inky Quill, still no idea why I feel like pointing this out
Soooo, should we tell Inky about everything that transpired for Twilight to get said apprentice?
This equation is correct
She somehow believed that "Friendship = Power" even without magic, and that if she was the Principle of a school that teaches friendship, it would make her the most powerful around...
Only she didn't have any friends just people she tricked into doing what she wanted so even if "Friendship = Power" there was no way she would get it.
And seeing as she is a minor, lacks the education needed to run a school, and that Celestia is not as naive as Twilight and would put two and two together rather fast, there is no way for her to have ever really become the Principle of the school.
So really her entire plan was doomed to fail from the get-go and being a child (a very cunning child, but still a child) she never really thought things through and realized this
That is still weird to me, I mean taking a vacation I would understand, sticking around for a few more decades in the background to help Twilight actually learn how to run a nation I would understand, but telling someone that:
"Well you've been doing a great job saving the world, getting tricked by a child (a cunning child but still a child), and no one's ever really taught you about diplomacy, economics or really anything really related to how to run a nation, but you can totally handle running a nation.
Especially if you get help from a baker/party-planner, an athlete, a farmer, a fashion designer and an animal caretaker, all of whom, just like you, have absolutely no idea how a nation is run"
Yeah I just can't understand the thinking... though that does kinda explain why things apparently went down the drain by the time of the G5 story
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It really is easier to pretend the abdication never happened. It's irresponsible, doesn't make any sense (especially for Luna), and by any sound logic is destined to result in a colossal failure in short order. It's impossible to justify. I quietly ignore it for my own sanity.
Sweet puckery lemons, this all happened over three years?
It's pretty funny to remember how, for all that the big dramatic things mostly make sense in canon, most of Equestria probably reacted to them with a confused "huh?" well after the fact.
Also, I get the reactions towards the end -- in-universe and out-, I feel like the huge dramatic invasions started to get kind of humdrum after the fifth or sixth time.
Still, Inky Quill really lucked out -- recording major history like this right as it happens is an opportunity most historians would kill for. Literally, I suspect.
It's honestly kind of funny how, for all the mess that Starlight caused, none of it actually affected Equestria itself or had any impact on the actual timeline that the show happens in.
Funny thing is that that was basically what I'd been assuming the school was going to be when the first teasers popped up.
I can just picture the foreword now. "As hard as it may be to believe now, five years ago almost nobody in Equestria knew that Princess Luna, the Elements of Harmony, Discord or the Crystal Empire ever existed. Times sure change, huh?"
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Yeah, that's the thing for me as well. In and of itself, Twilight taking over Celestia and Luna's roles is a perfectly sensible conclusion to the show in general and to Twilight's character trajectory in particular. What doesn't make sense is
Well, the beginning was slow but it was a great story, Too bad that just when it was almost over, then suddenly something happen, well, at last the show is over so there should be time to finish it, or divide it in volumes.
I also wonder if there will be a chance to interview Chrysalis or Cozy Glow
I love the creative cursing in this story. Friggernaffy just sounds like something an exasperated pony would say.
AHAHAHAHAHAA
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR THIS STORY
That sounds exactly like it'd be living through year 1000 onwards.
Giant squids invading Manehatten, oh, yeah, happened yesterday, Elements talked them down and now we know there's another nation just on our doorstep. Hey, you want one sugar or two with that tea?
I ship them if only for the caos
Hilarious and one of the luckiest historians ever. Suffering is the path to greatness, she should learn.
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As a fan of Bacon Horse I approve! Although she would be just a footnote at this rating. Maybe get a small chapter ir ascended.
This story is a masterpiece and I NEED MORE. I feel like having Twilight's reaction to the book or the aftermath of the book could be awesome.
This is a great story and it's good tat Inky Quill finally managed to find a solution to her problem about what to do with her book.
"Inky, I have to go save the world again"
"
"Babe no I'll have to write about that too
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It’s not quite fair to say that twilight had no training at at all. It can be easily assumed that Celestia had been grooming twilight to be a princess for a long time. while she spent most of her childhood at Celestia’s school, she probably got pretty well trained in politics. Especially as Celestia’s personal student. Not to mention, after becoming a full princess, she probably got all kinds of extra training.
As for the other elements, they were probably mostly there for moral support because twilight had to move away from all of her friends to assume control (Why not just move the capital to ponyville?).
But yes, Luna absolutely should have stayed on the throne. Celestia has been running the nation alone for 1000 years, so she absolutely deserves to retire, but Luna just took back the throne less than 10 years ago! It would be perfectly understandable for Twilight and Luna to become the diarchs, and after ~100 years of shifting duties over to Twilight, Twilight takes full control. THAT would be a smooth transition of power.
Also why the heck did they take a vacation just a few weeks before they retired? Like BRO be patient.
Also apparently the alicorns aren’t ageless or someone killed them because they’re gone by g5. Twilight’s rule meant nothing because the world descended into the opposite of friendship :(
Basically just the 2020's