This story is a sequel to Hope
Here you will find the stories about the residents of Pasofino, and the ageless realm of Equestria in which they live. Each chapter is meant to take but a moment to read, and may or may not be in chronological order. I have made an attempt in every tale to highlight the time period.
(These are side-stories to the trilogy of Order from Chaos, Justice, and Hope.)
(image magicalness courtesy of alexstrazsa and snowdrop and skyshine courtesy of wentox / wento)
(Psst. It liiiiives.)
Chapters (11)
Wooo! Smudge up in dis bitch!
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*Looks at your avatar*
*Looks at Kintobor/Worker*
*Looks back at avatar*
Oh. My. Lord of Nightmares, source of all Chaos.
I think I feel faint.
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May I say, that your avatar/name is brilliant? Because it is.
And glad to see Worker continuing.
And so, Worker's story continues. I wasn't entirely sure how much of Seasons 2 and 3 were canon in your setting, I assumed Cadence might be in there, but I wasn't a 100% on Princess Twilight. Due to Twilight's lack of appearance in this story, I'm guessing she is ruling her own country like Cadence. Also nice of you to continue with a plot you had previously established in the last story.
I do like the idea of what the Nightmare appears to be in this fic, and I like that Worker and Luna will be working together to defeat it.
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Yes. You may see other familiar faces or names appearing from time to time.
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^_^
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Twilight is mentioned in Hope. Celestia approves of her literary talents.
2399086 *eyes avatar* *eyes own avatar*
I feel this confusing urge to destroy you utterly.
I wonder what would happen if Wily was thrust into Worker's already-established world...
Dear Celestia... the implications.
Squee, so excited! The Nightmare teaser was one I was particularly interested in seeing resolved, so I'm super glad it's first!
Excellent continuation. Can't wait to see where this story goes.
I won't deny, I fangirled a little at seeing this crop up. It wasn't what I expected based on the description but I'm by no means dissatisfied.
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There will be a variety of tales here. The next update will likely cover the appearance of a new character or two in Hope, but don't worry, the thread about Nightmare has not been dropped.
I understood far too much of what he was saying...
Och, Skean, settle down, hae a pint! *raises Guinness*
2449260 Me too, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Heehee... Skean and Bulwark are adorable together, and it looks like Bulwark is taking a page from Saber's book about answering to yourself after all.
*grins* Oof, but it's grand to hear that slang again. I miss my family out there.
HOLEY SHEET THIS IS GETTING INTENSE.
I approve. Proceed.
Houuuu? The origins of King Sombra, I assume, and of the possible second time the Nightmare has surfaced? (I assume second because Somber Dream is sort of Celestia's pupil at this point, unless Luna was referring to somepony else.) Very intriguing. I wonder if the Nightmare itself is the "Lord" Somber's reporting to, or if the voice in the back of his head is the Nightmare and the "Lord" is some other terrible Big Bad? Curiouser and curiouser. Can't wait to see this particular thread continued, though I did super love the wedding interlude.
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I might be going on a limb, but if my understanding of canon and the dark light in which some people see it in, I'm guessing the next chapter would touch on Star Swirl the Bearded?
I could be wrong actually. But I don't think I am.
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You mean This?
Annnd now there's this massive gap between last update and today.
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Yes. Yes, there is. A gap that continues to be delayed by broken PCs, job issues, and family life. But a gap that will, hopefully, be closing. I have much planned. The problem is finding the time to literally put those plans on paper.
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Good luck.
Freakin' cliffhangers.
You continued the story and didn't tell me?
Well, all is forgiven thanks to there being more : D
Will post thoughts once I've finished reading them.So, I enjoyed the first chapter. No time wasted in giving the reader a clue as to what the main antagonist is going to be in the story, which is fine by me. Would have been nice to just get some slice of life in Pasofino before a new action arc but, hey, I'll take what I can get.
Second chapter is more of what I was hoping for when I saw "side stories" advertised in the synopsis (and do capitalize that "i" in your picture credits), except it never really stays on any single character's viewpoint long enough for me to feel like I got a good grasp on the miniplot. A little more time with each one to get to know them better would have been nice and, for all the pomp and ceremoney that's implied for the wedding, there isn't actually much in the way of establishing what these earth pony traditions are.
Third was my least favourite. It felt completely removed from the other two, no doubt in part from the move to Canterlot. I can see how the Nightmare is fitting into this one, as was mentioned in the first chapter, so at least there's some thread tying them together. Celestia seems to have forgotten the last time she saw magic involving glowing eyes, it was for the dark arts that Sombra used (who this Somber fellow's name seems to share a more-than-passing-resemblance with). Luna is naturally worried, being that she's found herself at the beck and command of eldritch powers before, which is good. Celestia seemingly ignoring some rather important history in that regard is not. The chance you could have used to provide a good basis for why she's so dismissive of Luna's apprehension appeared in their argument, which was most unsatisfyingly glazed over in the viewpoint shift to Somber (not to mention I'm a sucker for a good bout of verbal fisiticuffs).
Overall, I'm interested in finding out where you're planning to head with this, but my initial enthusiasm upon discovering you were continuing the storyline has been dampened somewhat.
I do so love the idea of the CMC growing into a larger organization with local chapters and handbooks and the like.
Ooooo, Luna and Worker vs. the Nightmare? Excellent.
Ahh, background for Skean, nice. I've been wondering about him since he showed up in Hope.
Interesting, so Sombra is both serving a potentially evil master and being corrupted mentally by the Nightmare (who might or might not be that evil master). Evil overtime, it would seem.
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...you do realize that this is the original Sombra, right? Over a thousand years ago? Not Canterlot, Luna hasn't taken her lunar vacation yet, etc.
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...You do realize they specifically bring up Princess Twilight in the first chapter, who most definetely took her seat of power after Luna's lunar vacation?
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Blame it on the author. These side-stories jump about. Skean & Bulwark's take is before the events in Hope. The first story is after Hope. The third is before the first episode, when the palace in what is now the Everfree was still occupied.
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Well, that explains why things felt disjointed.
I can safely say I'm enjoying this.
Liked and faved. More soon?
I love the idea of Nightmare as a separate malicious entity, and the CMC becoming a larger organization.
I'm also kicking myself for not rechecking your stories in so long.
You certainly succeeded in making Sombra forboding, and the last line was a stroke of genius.
The begginings of the wedge between Celestia and Luna seem well portrayed, with Luna sensing a potential threat and Celestia placing a somewhat naive trust in Sombre.
It seems as though Luna is more accustomed to deceptions and thus trusts others less.
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I doubt it, as Starswirl the Bearded was the mentor of Clover the Clever, asistant to the leader of the Unicorn tribe Princess Platinum, in the time before the three races were united and Equestria was founded.
It is extremely likely that Celestia and Luna were not around at that point, given that they were not mentioned and how the three tribes had their own leaders.
Or, perhaps, Celestia and Luna were around but had not risen to a state of prominence...perhaps they became Alicorns later?
Per my blogpost, yes, another chapter is coming soon. I will be spending my holiday break editing another chapter about Nightmare and/or Somber Dreams, whichever is closest to completion, and hopefully posting it within a week or two.
Much love, folks.
Well, I said I'd get to reading these eventually, and now's the time. I find I'm liking the stories well enough, but the jumping around the timeline is kind of disorienting. Unlike Ion below, I had no problem figuring out in the second chapter and beyond that these stories weren't in chronological order and weren't all taking place after Hope, and I can see the connecting themes, so I wouldn't call them disjointed either. Nevertheless, going back and forth between so many time periods is still throwing off the whole flow of the story (so much as it can be considered a single story at all), and obviously as we've seen, just because I understood what was going on doesn't mean everyone will.
I think each chapter would really benefit from some kind of text either in the chapter title or at the start to indicate where and when it takes place. But that's just my opinion.
It's a good thing Twilight's still around so she can be put on trial too for finding an old book in the sisters' old castle and casting a transformation spell from it in last week's episode. Deja vu!
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Holy crap, really? I've been behind on my Pony (as well as with the Horsewords, obviously) but was that a plot point? Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.
Off topic, but I just realized why Eggman calls himself Worker. Robotnik. Robot. serf labor. Laborer. Worker.
And how is this related to that Somber fellow and the scattered events of the first two chapters??
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These are scattered recollections, bits of story arcs that weave through the Worker-verse. Somber's appearance was when the Everfree was still home to the sisters. Skean & Bulwark's interlude happened shortly after Worker & Skyshine's wedding. And the Luna & Worker - They Fight Crime! arc is the only one with two chapters so far, and happens a year or two after the events of Hope.
Woah, surprise update. Hurray!
Okay...so that first half was all a nightmare scenario? It wasn't actually real?
4383905 Eeeyup.
It was a little disorienting after the time away, but a quick scan reminded me of where we are. Happy to see an update!
Edit: Fixed!
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Fixed, thank you.
Eesh, you never pull punches.
Woah, this chapter.
That said, it feels weird to have had a Luna POV section in the part of the chapter that was Worker's dream. Or am I missing something about how the chapter played out?
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That's dreams for you, I guess. I got the same comment from another reader, but I often have dreams wherein I play a minor part, or no part at all. *shrug*
Even after this time (and a read of the frankly fantastic "past sins") the story and its players are still captivating.
um, if Lunas princess of the night and little snowdrop here her proijay but shes unable to stay up past 12 how do her lessons work?
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I'm a little confused. I had no part in the story that is Past Sins.
As for lesson time, you'll have to wait and see.