poor scoot D:

If what I think just happened actually happened, then... Well, Scootaloo's awesome.

Wow. Never thought I'd be so glad and sad to see that complete tag. This story was all kinds of amazing and crazy; made for one hell of a wild ride. Here's hoping your next story is even better!

How did I know it was going to end like that? xD I knew it would end with the universe ending. I saw no other way. xD

I can now put all my feelings about this story into one simple phrase many others have just used. WTF!!!

I...did she... wait, but that would mean... huh?

I am so confused right now.

Okay, so... It's over? Huh. Yep, I'm confused. This ending was kinda... unfulfilling. Maybe if I read the whole thing again it will make more sense...

this ending?

*twitch*

Okay, now that the story is over, this is all Trevor has to say:

WTF. That was the most ridiculous story that Trevor has ever read. Ever. Maybe if things were explained better, in more detail, or in better chronological order, it would be a really great fic, but right now? It's just a jumbled mess. Did ANYPONY understand what happened? ANYPONY? No; no one has, and that's what made this fic fail. Sorry, but an ending that NOPONY can follow? Kinda pointless story. There's just a lot more detail and everything that's needed.

~ Magical Trevor, Minstrel of Equestria

Umm, wow.... that was good.

It's like traveling across a multidimensional spiderweb that connects with itself in every direction yet never returns to the beginning due to it being infinitely large. If that makes any sense.

Hmmm, I think you have an infinite loop error somewhere in there....

In all honesty, this was amusing, but a bit painful. While I take pride in understanding all of the time traveling mumbo-jumbo - (I used labeled pieces of paper to represent ponies, categorized by timed and switched them around. Hooray visual learning!) - when it came to the spacial rending and parallel universes, I got lost. I suppose I can settle with that quantum mechanics thing about every possible outcome existing in parallel and therefore infinite universes which helps me tie in Scootaloo, but man oh man, I feel like I need a physics degree to fully understand this.

This story is pure evil. Thoroughly Entertaining, but evil.

You didn't tell us many things. Many, many things. I hope you do later... Like what happened to cause the death of or how was born. (in at least one universe)

That story leaves me with a feeling of "eh". Very clever in the arrangement of time travel and whatnot, but it resulted in a story too disjointed to have any real emotional impact on me. Maybe if I had read it all through in one sitting it would have more of an effect, but I'm not going to read it again now.

>>16866
Tell me, oh magical minstrel Trevor, were you not entertained? I'm not going to lie, I have no freaking idea EXACTLY what happened, but that hasn't stopped me from freaking loving this fic. Its probably one of my all time favorites, simply because I have read few other things that have made me so immersed and engaged with what was happening. This made me laugh, freak out, excited me, and entertained me and was above all fun.

Also, it really isn't that hard to understand, once you allow for the alternate universe ploy. As I see it (and I'm probably wrong), twilight discovers time travel in order to fulfill the instructions of a future event Rainbow Dash that told her she was supposed to discover it, setting off the events of the story, as they try to complete the paradox loop by fulfilling the events that logically would be applied via causality, and also to create rainbow dash and AJ's relationship because it results in the birth of Scootaloo. Twilight only had to do all this because at some point a future rainbow dash had gone back in time to ensure AJ's survival at the hands of some accident, and that was only possible because Scootaloo began the whole process by enabling that first rainbow dash to go back and alter original history and have all the stories events actually happen, and result in her birth, effectively closing the causality paradox loop. And apparently this caused a shit ton of multiple universes to start to bleed together, and so multiple universes happened, and basically Scootaloo was borne of a paradox and became a fucking Time Lord only more amazing... or something

I'm reading this shit through and through again... must make sense of it. Author, if you bother to read this, let me say that I deeply enjoyed this story. it was just amazing to read. And I'm must say, the bit at the end, about how energy and matter can never be created or destroyed, so how did the universe begin, and all the connotation that goes with that premise, and generally your whole perspective on whatever you would call the components of your story; damn was this a thought provoking mindfuck, and i've never enjoyed reading it more. keep up this great work!

>>16926

See we need you bronies who understand these things to spell them out for the ones who don't understand! I appreciate it Risky

....
Friggin horseapples.
Alright, let's see if I have the multiverses aligned at least.

In one universe, Rainbow Dash travels back in time, convinces Twilight to create time travel, and begins a relationship with AJ.
Later, AppleJack dies, and distraught by AJ's death, RD breaks through the time barrier to stop time travel.
This creates the split between universes.
Scootaloo is born in one universe. (IDK how)
The tear caused by RD's time travel at causes a paradox-wave that allows portions of matter to cross between universes. Scootaloo crosses universes at this time, and is left behind when the tear closes.
Scootaloo comes to realize her inter-dimentional power and using a Rainbow from one universe, allows RD to travel back in time and create the multiverse, and Scootaloo herself in the process.
And finally, Twilight(s) from the many universes, and outside of them, were more or less a footnote that Scootaloo put down before she/they actually effected anything important. (Namely, Scootaloo's birth, as explained above.)

...So...In this light, this is not a "Twilight plays with time travel" story, but rather THE MOST epic "Scootaloo: Origions," story EVER.
I'm totally going to read this again.
...Right after I sleep for the next day and a half.

This really should be longer. There are several chapters worth of exposition and explanation for the author to explore. They should, like, get on that.
This is the most fascinating Scootaloo story I've read so far. This is the most elaborate time travel story I've read so far.
My head literally hurts now, so I'm gonna take an aspirin.

Ever since I was a child Back To The Future has been a treasured favorite and I never miss Doctor Who so this story was a real treat. You had me entertained from start to finish! I loved the character progression of each unique set of Dashes, AJs, and Twilights within each of their "parabolas of doom". They reacted cannon to their true character and oh my gosh this isn't a fic about shipping, crazy Twi (which I immensely enjoy when done well ^_^b) but only the singly most E P I C Scoots fic E V A R! Lovely twist there and for those who had a hard time following I suggest a re-read with

This could use a companion side story about and !

fuuuuu- you just killed my brian.... HOW DOES THIS WORK?!?!!!!

What the FUCK is that it i have been reading this amazing story for THAT ending... Jesus Christ that was the worst ending to any fan fic ever you did not explain anything.
very disappointing
not impressed

The ending was pretty disappointing, really. But it was a good bit of mindfucking nonetheless :D

...Wha...?

Wow. I'm simultaneously blown away and very confused. I'm not sure what to make of this ending...on one hand, you did build up to this in the last chapter, and I think all in all it's a pretty epic ending, it just feels a little short is all. Like...boom, there's the end. It felt like it came out of nowhere.

Then again, my head was spinning so much from all the confusion in the last chapters maybe I just can't bring myself to handle such a tidy little wrap-up for this story.

I'll be honest, you lost me with that ending. Then the comments got me back, both through the content and giving my mind enough time to digest what actually just happened. The image of the Mobius strip is quite helpful here.
In short, I think I get it. I'm not sure. You may want to throw in one last appendix just to help out those of us who didn't provide our own visual aids.

I think if you had just followed one of the rainbow dashes, twilight sparkles and scootaloos instead of switching between them, this would have been a better read

I did expect some negative reaction to the ending for a few reasons.  It is not the nice little 'and they all lived happily ever after' ending that most non-grimdark pony stories end with.  I can understand people wanting that.  Feeling that the ending was sudden, I can see that too.  The way everything constantly shifts around combined with my miraculous inability to write did quite a number on the pacing.  Just plain not liking the ending, sure I can buy that.

But I really don't understand the people who felt the ending wasn't enough.  The ending was, quite literally, EVERYTHING.  In my quest for the most convoluted plot I could muster, I appear to have failed a fair number of readers by making it more incomprehensible than I intended.

To those of you who still want to understand the story prior to the ending and are having difficulty, think of yourself as insane Twilight.  Listen to Scoot's advice.  Everything works off of everything else, each gear turning the next.  If you have a blindspot, but the gear you are looking at is still turning, then you know there is a functioning chain of cogs filling in that gap.  ASSUME it works, and then piece together how.

To those of you who still want to understand the ending and are having difficulty, think about Scoot's cutie mark.

Totally dig it, I even understand the majority of it. The only thing I dont understand is the scooter(How it relates to the only clue that the "split from reality" twilight had to show her that they were able to get past her.) I understand the whole thing from start to end, the repeating of time travel, the sending yourself back over and over, (even the death of the second applejack), the insanity of a twilight stuck in a world of pinkie pies, and the ever suicidal rainbow dash. Hell, I even remotely understood the whole scootaloo thing with her time travel(though sad as it is to separate her like that). I cant seem to bring my self to understand the scooter >< IT ELUDES ME!

>>16866 I understood it just fine. I look at humanity from an outsider's point of view, so I've got practice for time. Have you ever read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? Time travel and its consequences are a rather prominent theme in the later books, and I think that they helped me understand it.

Sure, I had slight difficulty keeping track of which one was who and where they were when they weren't, but the actual story was easy to follow for me.

Never mind, being a good reader I went back and reread the part, even looking for her cutie mark to get an understand of what it looked like. I totally understand where the scooter comes from. I feel stupid for missing it the first time. XD

All in all super fantastic read. I love it, then again Ive always been a fan of heavy sci-fy that makes me feel intelligent when I read. Not to mention the plots and other things that just make it so intellectually challenging to read that you cant stop until you understand it.

Ow... My brain.

This was incredibly enjoyable to read, an while I am a little sorry it's over now, I don't regret the ride.  Scootaloo is now most powerful pony ever, and Dr. Whooves is weeping in his TARDIS at not being the most inscrutable time lord anymore.

As for making it more comprehensible, perhaps a "Super Deluxe Chronological Edition" where all the scenes are copypasta'd into their proper order, with different colors/fonts/whatever to differentiate universes?  Or don't, I liked it just fine this way, but it might appease some of the "I don't get it!" readers.

Loved it. I've been meaning to read this for a while, and I just read it in a day. A masterfully woven plot! I haven't enjoyed a good story like this since LOST. Many aren't going to understand it, but to be able to weave this around itself like you did, is very impressive. And in the end, it all starts again. Just like a mobius strip.

sonofabitch, just tried to read all of the chapters so far in one go. My Brain hurts.
This is still epic, though!

I totally get it! It was so confusing before, but this ending makes all sorts of sense, in a way I can't understand. I love you for writing this with intent and purpose, at first I thought you were purposefully trolling, but this is amazing. Thank you!

Well, gave up reading for a coherent narrative and began to read for the pure mind-f*ckery... and then Scootaloo created the mother effing universe... or looped it... Hell if I know. There's something simultaneously compelling and repulsing about a story like this... on the one hand there's the implication and hope that, somehow, there is an understandable logic to this tale, an understandable arc. On the other though, this understanding seems to be buried beneath layers of mind f*ck and the potential that, really, there is no true reading despite the author having the implied understanding or their own plot.
Still, an oddly fun ride. Just think that, mayhaps, I did want that happy ending. I tend to like them and all.

>>17095 it's perfect but sad

Sir I'm going to say this. I made it through 11 chapters of your story, and I have to stop reading, not because it's bad, oh no no no it's a damn good fiction, very original. But am too stupid to continue reading it, I will pick it back up in the future, but I am currently to derp to read it

Hmm.

I can't say I disliked it, but then again I've never been much of a fan of time-travel shenanigans.

After a certain point, my natural desire is to say "f*** it" and stop trying to link it together.

That's the reason why it would be very difficult for me to ever write something like this.

Then again, seeing as I am not you, this is not terribly important.

I'm getting the vibe that the joy of this fic comes not when you read the ending and see what happened in the end, but when you think about it an hour later and suddenly it clicks.

You think "Oh! That's what that meant!"
Satisfaction with a story comes when closure is obtained. It's just that this story makes you find the closure yourself, after giving you all the things you need to find it.

At least, that's my hypothesis. Maybe I'm just spouting nonsense, but hey, at least it sounded cool, right?

I... I just don't know. I've been following the story, but I think I skip every second sentence just to stop my brain from melting. I do think that you've done some amazing and intelligent writing here but... I just... can't GODDAMNREAD IT!! Without blowing up my mind of course. I'll try again one day.

To quote Princess Luna, "The fun has been doubled!"

You........this.............holy manure...............You good sir have just written the single best fic ever. That's it I can't read pony fics anymore after this due to them feeling inadequate. I can't even properly express the levels of how awesome this was reading through it all. Good sir I tip my hat to you, not since Infinite Crisis on Infinite Earths have I felt this elated or geeked out this much. Sir I thank you for this magnificent ride and all the effort you went through in making it, it is quite possibly the best story I have ever read in......well in all of my working memory.

I was intrigued and fascinated at the beginning, then I just got confused when the alt-U Twilights showed up. The ending was just kind of "meh". You might as well have just written "It all worked out in the end, I promise".
I'm sure it all works if you map things out correctly, but the point of a story is to communicate and amuse. Not to give the reader enough hints to fill in the story on their own. And especially not to handwave f/f pregnancy with "It's a paradox, it doesn't follow the rules!" You failed to communicate, and I didn't enjoy that.

I know what you're thinking: "It would all make sense if you just thought about it! You have to put some effort into reading this story!" You know what I'm hearing? "I'm smarter than you! If you were as smart as me, you wouldn't be asking these questions!" I only wish I were smart enough to send myself back in time and tell myself not waste my time reading this fic.

>>16866 Bitch, please! Don't sit there typing out a whiney little rag of how you didn't get it. If you didn't want to read it or couldn't understand it, nopony here was stopping you from going and doing something else. Don't rip on something just because you're unable to wrap your feeble mind around it! Dabble in all the bitchery you want, but not where love and tolerence are the norm. To put it simply: If you don't like it, you don't gotta read it.

>>17112 Wow, I didn't know anyone liked those obscure books where time has little meaning! But then again, most everyone seems to like Dr. Who(oves). I haven't watched it yet, it's still to manestream.

>>17697
I already replied to a comment of yours on EqD, but this one brings up a point that wasn't over there.

The f/f pregnancy was not hand waved.  It wasn't even covered.  The details of how Dash was impregnated were skipped entirely because they aren't relevant.  Dash and AJ wanted a foal, and they did something to get one.  This is NOT the first pony fic to have a f/f pregnancy, and there have been dozens of plausible explanations.  I didn't see the need to pick one, because there were much more important factors to Scoot's origin than what biological mechanism was used.

>>17708
Thank you for defending me, but he or she is not entirely wrong.  To some extent, I have failed to communicate correctly.  Also love, tolerance, etc.

Congratulations. From the sound of it, you have just created the world's largest literary jigsaw puzzle.

>>17117

Good, can you please explain it, then?  I get most stuff, but am still having a little trouble wrapping everything up.

And that's how equestria was made!

>>17716 To your reply to me: Yes, love and tolerance, peace and friendship. I guess I DID kinda explode there... eh heh... I have a slight problem with doing that, and I apologize. And to the whole f/f pregnancy thing, when a mare loves a mare, and they want foals, there's a bank where you can make a withdrawl. Or, to keep it in the family, There's always Big Mac (since I assume Dash was the birth-mother. If it was actually Aj, then I am so very sorry for saying that.) And having one parent being an earth pony would explain why - in canon - Scoots can't seem to fly well. Also:

>>18199 Love and tolerance.

I think I get what's going on, at least mostly. Scootaloo existed, but couldn't have existed because Applejack died (and thus they didn't decide together to have a foal, probably through a sperm donor or Applejack herself being magically transformed) and Rainbow Dash couldn't change the past on her own. Because she was a paradox, she basically became stuck outside of time, and in that "outside of time" place, she was able to alter it. Like the time travel before, where the time travelers' actions always happened, changing time had also "always" happened, even though things looked different now, because Scoot always existed to do it. Is that about right?

The only thing I don't understand is why Scootaloo is absent in the ending. I'm guessing that Twilight thought things could be fixed by Scoot just not telling Dash about what happened, but Scoot herself knew that if she was around at all, Dash would have figured it out. Not quite sure how that would have worked out (wouldn't she needed to exist in order to stop herself from existing?), or why Twilight still remembered her, though. Could somepony please help me on this bit?

>>18278
Up until the ending, you're fairly accurate.

I really REALLY love the clicking feeling of things suddenly making sense and I just want to nudge you closer to it... maybe this will help.  Scootaloo isn't exactly absent in the ending.  Remember the bit about "something doesn't stop having an impact as soon as it's over" or whatever the exact wording was?  Scootaloo's cutie mark means A LOT.

I have a feeling like my brain understands this, but also that I couldn't explain it for the life of me. Good enough. Usually I do well with time traveling stories. This hurt my brain.

>>18311
Are you saying that Scootaloo IS the universe?

So, as I see it, Scootaloo accidently the universe.

I'm not going to try and understand it past this for fear of my head imploding.

Mine countenance whereupon reading this piece of literature:

So Scootaloo is still around, but nobody can remember her except Twilight. My best guess is that she's still hanging around outside of time.

I guess it's that I have some gears missing, so to speak? Before the end, Scoot plans to live a normal life with Dash. Twilight told her she couldn't tell Dash about any of it, for Dash's sake. I don't quite understand why it would break her heart, but there's a few possibilities that would work (Applejack dying before Dash changed time, if the current Dash doesn't know about it, and Twilight having to separate Scoot from Dash to keep the timeline working, and the suicidal Dash). But Twilight assumes that Scoot WOULD be able to go and live a normal life.

And then Scoot doesn't do that. The timeline changes so that she wasn't born at all. Scoot herself was probably the one who did this, so something happened between her plan to be with Dash and her decision to make the end timeline, where she wasn't born at all. But it's not shown happening and I can't guess at what it would be.

I'm trying here: Scoot would have always been born, always changed time so that Applejack didn't die and she could have been born, and then always changed time so that she wasn't born. A Mobius strip also has no identifiable starting point, just like Scoot in the current timeline. But Scoot does have an origin, because the old timeline always happened. Since she always does have an origin, it doesn't matter that in the current timeline she doesn't, because all of them and the changes in them always happened. It's okay if she writes herself out of this timeline, because she doesn't need to come from this timeline to exist. Since a Mobius strip also has no identifiable ending point, Scoot also probably cannot die in this timeline, but that's just a guess.

A line drawn through the center of a Mobius strip always connects with itself, like the eternal recurrence of the universe at the end. So Scootaloo is strongly connected with the universe itself. Possibly she actually IS the universe, like someone suggested, but I don't quite see it. More likely, she's still outside of time and keeping all the events in order, but because she's part of the events too, everything is still working on its own, because it has to. So she's sort of a time god, but not a "god", because a god is an outside force while she's still part of the machine?

All I want to know is, WHAT THE HELL DOES HER SCOOTER HAVE TO DO WITH IT? It's been driving me crazy for hours!

What the hay did I just read?

I really enjoyed the story but I did not like the ending not for the fact that some people think it not enough but for the fact that the universe had to end a would have like a more happy ending but there can't always be one, right? all in all good story.

I'm pretty sure the scoffer is the only part of this that still alludes me :/

Scooter* damn autocorrect ^_^

Doctor Whooves: from a non linier non subjective view point this time line still makes my head hurt!

This was... amazing, unlike anything I have ever read. (Yeah I don't do much sci-fi).
Still, the storytelling was brilliant. Throughout the story I was stunned, entertained, confuzzled, laughing, having epiphanies all over the place, and then again and again.
This must definitely be the most convoluted ponies fic so far, and even better, possibly the best Scootaloo one to date.
That is to say, I love you. Please have my non-paradoxical babies.

I don't know if I'm just too stupid to get this story but... I really have no idea where the last chapter leaves me
The story just feels way to open-ended, without enough explanation on how for example Applejack died (appearently) and how SHE did something unforgivable to Rainbow Dash and what not
My explanations on why I feel like this would be: You are a VERY gifted writer and I can't follow you, you're a big fan of Deus Ex Machina or you want us to make up our own versions. If the latter is the case, I think there are too many loose ends to actually start filling them on our own.

In the end, I leave this Fanfic with a feeling of utter confusion

still, anyone here gets the scooter reference. What does it have to do with anything?

I am ashamed. I couldn't do it. After just a few chapters my brain no worky...

Well... I was with you all the way until "Scooter." Even then, I said "Meh... I missed something is all. I'll check back on that one." I think I've figured this one out, though. It "existed" because it existed. Another Paradox.
Then, suddenly "There was never a Scootaloo."
"Ok, what just happened?"
I get the paradox birth, I get that she was warped into the past after a certain age, given amnesia (or was an effect of the paradox), went about life in Ponyville as seen in the show, ALL the events described in this fic occur (Including becoming the paradox master), she helped good Twilight defeat Paradox Twi... wait...
How... exactly... did Twilight (The good one) end up outside time? Scootaloo I understand, but Twilight?
Also, in order for current events in Ponyville to exist, everypony had to be aware of Scootaloo. If she "disappeared," they wouldn't forget she existed. Yeah, they'd notice that she's gone, but they wouldn't have completely forgotten about her...
Unless you're breaking the cannon, in which Scoot truly never existed, never met Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, never chased after Rainbow Dash, never released Discord, never altered reality, and as such, your own fic would then never happen. Oh please tell me you didn't just pull a Sonic 06!

In response to comments about the scooter:
Future Scootaloo had her scooter just before the incident.  Then she was launched into the air and fell back into the past empty-hooved.  She did not have her scooter, and yet we can plainly see in this fic and during the show that she does have it.  The scooter doesn't actually affect the events at all, and isn't particularly necessary, which is why Scoots mentioned that it was foalish of her to retrieve it.  Fortunately, psycho Twilight didn't notice.

In response to responses to the ending wherein the reader gets the impression that Scootaloo is gone now and that's it:
When I wrote the ending, I was worried about the reactions it might get.  I was surprised by some of them, but THIS PARTICULAR reaction is one of the ones I was expecting, and is in fact important.  It's been long enough, and reading the comments is asking for spoilers anyway, so have some junk relating to the ending.  Still, warning time.

WARNING, THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS SPOILERS AND ALSO PRETENTIOUS BULLSHIT

1)  Scoots is not exactly gone, and the story is not exactly 'over.'
2)  History cannot be changed.
3)  Paradoxes don't follow the rules.
4)  Scootaloo is a paradox.
5)  Scootaloo can change history, or at least cause it to be changed.
6)  Matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed, so the universe cannot begin or end.
7)  Scootaloo can begin or end the universe, or at least cause it to begin or end.
8)  Scoots repeatedly tried to get psycho Twilight to understand.  THIS IS THE CRITICAL POINT.  This fic is actually two things that should usually not be.  It's a self-insert and an audience-insert.  YOU, THE READER, are psycho Twilight.  I, THE AUTHOR, am Time-Scoot.
9)  You ask questions (psycho Twilight asks questions) about how exactly something works.
10)  I usually don't directly answer you (Scoots doesn't directly answer), instead giving you metaphors and cryptic hints.
11)  You don't, and indeed can't, understand it (psycho Twilight does not reach an understanding) and so we are at an impasse.
12)  If, try as you might, you cannot understand something, one solution is to start over.
13)  I, in a desperate bid to help you understand (Scootaloo, in a desperate bid to help psycho Twilight understand) force you to start over and re-read the story (Scootaloo ends and begins the universe, forcing a fresh attempt at it all).
14)  How do we cause things that cannot be?  Paradox at the critical point.  Scoots needed to be born, so a paradox was placed that allowed that.  Univese needs to end?  Need a paradox there, too.
15)  In keeping with the theme of closing loops, we paradox the universe out of existence by removing the paradox that gave us the need to perform the reset in the first place.  Scootaloo removes herself, causing the "never heard of her" ending, and the universe resets under the weight of that paradox.
16)  You read the story again and ask more questions.
17)  I give more indirect answers.
18)  Lather, rinse, repeat.  The story loops until you understand.
19)  It's all a perfect, self-contained loop, that bridges across the entire history of the fictional universe and even reaches outside of it to involve the author and the audience.  Look how cool I am, transcending the medium to do something that is so much more!  LOOK AT MY PRETENTIOUS BULLSHIT!

They say you're pretty much never supposed to do a self-insert, but paradoxes don't follow the rules.  I am Scoots.  I am the paradox.  I don't follow the rules.  Besides, I thought it was a really cool mechanic, weaving the real world into the story like that, but the effect didn't work because I'm a bad writer.  The worst, even.  Let this be a lesson to you.  Self-inserts are bad, m'kay?  They cause paradoxes and/or the end of the universe.

I accidentally my brain.

>>21622
If you are Scoots, and we are psycho Twilight, then the story is about you trying to get us, the readers, to understand the story.
In other words, the story is about us reading the story. An impossibility, a paradox. The story itself is a paradox. We'll never understand it, but we keep trying over and over again, a Mobius strip of impossibilities.
My brain hurts, do I at least somewhat get it?

I GET IT NOW! :D

Uh... huh... so it wasn't just a story of time travel and paradox... the story itself is a paradox...
Wherein, the only reason it existed in the first place was because it had to happen in order to make sense later.
I missed the final meaning in the statement about the universe starting over as well. You meant "Go back and read again."
I'm proud to say though that this particular "Twilight" ALMOST had it all figured out!
Too bad I got hung up on Paradox space. So... you did sort of pull a Sonic 06.
"It didn't happen. REBOOT!"
Still, (and maybe I'm looking too far into this) she couldn't retrieve the scooter until she gained her paradox powers, but she clearly had it in cannon before the fic. I guess she could move between the folds to drop it at her old/new home, but that is.... oh.... that is pretty boneheaded...
"HOW COULD I NOT HAVE SEEN SOMETHING SO OBVIOUS."
Cue Starwars Cantina music as we rinse and repeat. So... What would happen if "Twilight" finally understood?
Would time then proceed further? Would Scootaloo return to a normal, peaceful life and the world would live on?
I love stories like these, but I admit that I can't stop going back over and over until I finally get something. Twilight and I are actually pretty close in that regard.
You did a fine job with this story. You actually wrote it very well. The ONLY thing that probably would've helped was if you tried to keep things in a slightly more time oriented fashion. Not that I didn't enjoy trying to figure out when a certain event took place, but somethings just couldn't be placed.
Also, subtle hints sometimes get lost in confusion, and there was definitely a lot of confusion. Maybe I will keep a chart next time I read it. Kudos for an amazing read that made me work my mind far harder than anything else I have ever read or done.

Well, this was certainly on the most confusing and most complex stories I've read so far. I like fanfic that requires thinking, but I wasn't expecting that much of it. At the beginning it all looked like a normal time-travel story. Then it started to get confusing and for the rest of it I was like this
Quite a story you have here. I managed to put up with some events and timelines, lost it and gave up with others. Still can't understand everything and got many holes which I hope will be mostly filled when I re-read it again.
Perhaps it would make more sense if written in more chronological order but that would ruin the story and character development as the whole thing was anything but not chronological and straight timeline. This style of writing certainly makes it more interesting to make out even if it's a bit chaotic.
Hope you've got planned another story of this magnitude for the "future" (Onecan never be sure after reading this) times because what you done here is amazing piece of work.

I hate my english and stupid mistakes
Well, this was certainly one of the most confusing and most complex stories I've read so far...
...
Hope you've got planned another story of this magnitude for the "future" (Onecan never be sure after reading this) times because what you did here is amazing piece of work.
Sorry for the extra unnecessary comment, it's stronger than me.

So, where's the beginning of this story? And how does it fit in with cannon? What was the catalyst for all these events? All BS "we have to do it because it already happened" aside, what exactly started all this time shenanigans and why? I'm guessing it's probably some other BS answer, like "I started it. I'm the author, and I'm not aloud to exist in the story, yet I do. Therefore, events need to occur that accommodate that." And probably some similar BS is also involved, concerning me the reader not being able to exist, etc...

Is this it? Is this the entire purpose of this story? To find a logical way of throwing yourself into the story?

>>22487
Okay, now THIS is a reaction I did not expect.  All sorts of questions about the what, this is more of a why.  The 'purpose' of this story is the same as pretty much every other story.  To entertain.  I tried to do that by providing a bowl of time noodles for readers to feast upon that just so happened to reach outside the bowl and have a little bit going on outside the story.

The reasons any character does anything are not BS.  They fit perfectly in this model of time travel.  We can't actually manipulate time, so we can only guess at how it would actually work.  There are dozens of different interpretations.  For this story, I chose to use the 'nothing can be changed' model where every event has already happened.  The catalyst that causes the events IS the events in this sort of model.  Think of it like going back in time to realize you are your own grandfather.  Clearly this means you already went back in time to have been your grandfather to have caused yourself to be born in the first place so that you could go back so that...

There IS no beginning and there IS no end.  It's a perpetual, self-sustaining, self-contained loop.

>>21622 I still don't get it.

But I'm just gonna roll with it. That seems to be the best option right now. I have the options of:

A) Reading this over and over until I understand it.
or
B) Just rolling with it, and move on to the next fanfic on my list.
I choose option B. Maybe someday in the far future I'll re-read this with somebody that actually understands the concept of time travel and parodoxes and all that crap. But until then, I'm just gonna roll with it.

Okay, I've just read the whole thing in one sitting.

Let's see if I understand it at all:

From my viewpoint, this can all be summed up very simply. Paradoxes don't follow the rules. If we accept this as true it all makes a sort of sense. Scootaloo is a paradox. She was caused(born) due to a paradox and caused herself to be born by creating that paradox at the beginning of time(as it were). This requires that there be an ending to the universe to provide a casual link to the event of her causing her own birth with the paradox she created. This means that the universe is linked and, therefore, endlessly looping. The mobius strip cutie mark and the vague statement about energy not being created or destroyed and the universe having no real beginning or ending are the final pieces of evidence that prove this.

In essence, the universe begins with Scoot's birth(caused by herself) and ends(and begins again) when she causes herself to be born to  make the universe work again, thus causing the end of the universe to occur again, thus causing the beginning of the universe to occur again and so forth ad infinitum. A closed causal loop that creates and destroys no energy and therefore both exists and doesn't exist.

On a sidenote, if we extend this idea further, this means that there are an infinite amount of these closed causal loops in existence(which are at the same time nonexistent) which both proves quantum mechanics and blows my mind the hay up.

In conclusion, all the confusing time travel only served as a means to cause the end of the universe so that the beginning of the universe could occur again.

And in conclusion to my conclusion this means that NONE OF IT REALLY MATTERS because none of it can effect anything but itself.

Reflection on the storyline aside, I am very impressed with the manner in which you wrote this story. You managed to reduce me (someone who considers themself intelligent and able to follow things quite well) to a keening wreck at points. The timeline(though not really a line as it turned out) was well-written and very well thought through. There were some good, and great, moments of comedy along with some good shipping, sad moments and dawww moments. I commend you most highly!

Wut

I only got through the last few chapters because I was expecting a nice sensible diagram explaining it all. Breaches of causality are fine and to be expected, but this?

(Still was awesome though, with the masses upon masses of timelines, I was just expecting to be able to make sense of it in the end and feel all clever, and so the ending was a let-down)

"......................?!" I would like to think of myself as a highly intelligent individual, and I could somewhat keep track of what was going on and had some assumptions as to what was going to happen, but as I continued to delve into this masterpiece, my expectations were shattered and I became flabbergasted at how often the story changed perspectives. Towards the end I simply could not keep track of the number and "tense" of characters at any given "moment". Then the concept of paradoxes not following the rules and the Mobius Strip came into play, giving me a little more freedom to play with the possibilities of certain events and outcomes, but to no avail. There were several things that I though I had nailed down, such as some unknown event causing Applejack's death, which in turn denied the possibility of Scootaloo being born, which, again, in turn caused her to make sure that she was born, etc. but I digress. Maybe if I wasn't trying to solve this amazing puzzle at a quarter 'till midnight, I might have an easier time. Even though I am quite familiar to paradoxes, such as if one were to create a time machine, then go back in time to stop themselves from doing so, meaning that they had never made one, resulting in the fact that there was nothing and no way to go back in time, making the time machine becoming invented again (or in the first place). Either way, bravo, good sir, bravo. You have defeated me, and my mind is officially fucked. I commend you, I rarely find anything on the internet, let alone a fan-fic about My Little Pony, that made me use my brain this much. You are truly an inspiration. -With High regards, A Very M.A.D. Man

To put it in simple terms for myself more than anything else. If a story needs appendices to be read properly. It's not a very good story.... I understand your desire for a convoluted plot, more power to you for making a silly, nigh-incomprehensible mess of a story.
Nothing against your writing style itself though. If your writing were to be applied to a story which wasn't so hard to follow I might actually pay more attention to it =/ But this just left me feeling silly for actually spending time reading it. Not too sure why people are rating it so high :P I'd give 4.5/5 for writing and 1.5/2 for the story itself.

Scootaloo caused herself not to exist to start the universe anew right?
Scoot kills AJ?