Ask Princess Quasimodo Quartz

Hello... one last time. My name is Princess Quasimodo Quartz. I am the daughter of Crystal Queen Mi Amore Cadenza & Prince Consort Shining Armor. I am also the Queen of the Changelings, and I am mother to some of the most wonderful children in the world. This mirror will lose its magic soon, so... goodbye. I love you all.

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This is a project that has been in the works for a very, VERY long time. When William6208 turned in his resignation from our project as the leading sketch artist, it became clear that the Ask Prince(ss) Quasimodo Quartz blog was not going to last. From there, I knew that I could not let StarryOak's and my plot developments go to waste. So at the same time as I had begun to collate our untold plot threads into a series of Tumblr posts to elucidate what we'd been planning, I also began to make a checklist of the characters who had appeared in the Tumblr, and would appear later on had the project continued. I alluded to this in a Journal entry in February 2017. I would make a character collage like Friendship Is Magic produces every season!

The sketchwork for the characters you see here progressed fairly regularly from February 24 2017 to April 27 2017, interrupted briefly by my visit to BABSCon 2017 and meeting StarryOak in person for the first time. I begun the task of converting them to Paint.net artwork pretty quickly afterwards, although this was interrupted by the commencement of artwork of my own next generation to stand alongside the likes of StarryOak's The Future Is Magic and Miracleverse and Lopoddity's Pandoraverse. There were times in mid-to-late 2017 and in early-to-mid 2018 when I was completely inactive, attention needed in real-life (and politics) or distracted by other projects (like The Elements Of Friendship). But I persevered, and you see the fruits of this labor!

This is dedicated to you, my followers and StarryOak's, the followers of Ask Princess Quasimodo Quartz. I can't say for sure if anybody still cares about this Tumblr blog since it's been a year and a half since we officially called it a day for our favorite transgender half-changeling princess. But to anybody that still has their ear to the ground, this is one last hurrah for you, for your time, and your questions for Princess Quasimodo Quartz. Thank you for your patronage, and all the love to you and yours!

If you want to see each of the characters individually, check the description in this picture’s DeviantART post. I am NOT crafting a bunch of links attached to character names all over again, sorry

DeviantART link

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MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 4/?

After such an episode, Quasimodo Quartz decides to spend a bit of time getting to know her new friend Cute Curiosity. They have ice-cream together at a local ice-cream shop, getting to share stories together. Quartzy finds out that Curiosity carried a lot of issues herself despite appearing to be so self-assured. No matter what she does, the Crystal Empire seems to hold her in the highest esteem just for being half-dragon. She is simply loved too much. She wants to be loved for herself, not for what her mother is. Quartzy takes her hoof and assures her.

(pictured: Tiffany Treats, ice-cream salesmare of the Crystal Empire, drawn by StarryOak)

Meanwhile, after so many years of moldering away in the tundras, Sombra’s horn has built up enough malice in the surrounding landscape to construct golems out of snow, ice, and boulders, marching on the Crystal Empire. While her family and friends go forth to fight them off, Quartzy is told to stay behind as her wheelchair in such snowy environs would not be conducive to mobility. Feeling useless, she stands by the Crystal Heart and waits for her loved ones to be successful. She receives word that not only are the golems persisting beyond any equine determination, but her loved ones are becoming overwhelmed.

Initially despairing, Quartzy looks around at her subjects, at those praying at the first Crystal Queen’s enshrined horn, and a fierce protective desire rises in her. She channels her magic into the Crystal Heart, and a bubble-shaped shield propagates out, undoing the magic holding the golems together and causing a glow to encompass the horns of Sombra and the Crystal Queen. The horns regenerate into a colt and a filly, respectively, evidently reborn versions of Sombra and the Crystal Queen. They cling to Quartzy and call her their mother. Skyla eagerly decides to name the colt Benitoite (’Ben’ for short) and the filly Carnelian Carnation (’Nelly’).

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Mod Amras had a baka moment and completely forgot that he had a copy of Tiffany Treats crystallized on his hard-drive.

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Coda

As an addendum to the final installment of the “Pulling the Plug” posts, I the mod Amras Felagund would like to thank every one of you who decided to give our little experiment the time of day. Like a changeling feeding off of love, your patronage and adoration of Quartzy gave our Tumblr its lifeblood. But sadly, both of our artists, @starryoak and @64supernintendo, moved on to other full-time projects, necessitating us to pull the plug.

But all is not lost. You can provide fanart of scenes that were elucidated upon in the Pulling The Plug posts I’ve written. StarryOak may be providing character designs for characters who had not yet appeared in the Tumblr. And I myself am kicking around the idea of a “Thank You!” crowd picture to send this Tumblr off with a smile. It officially lasted a hair over three years, and it was a blast to work on it while it was.

So I won’t say goodbye, and to quote a great wizard, “I will not say ‘do not weep’, for not all tears are an evil.” Instead, I will leave you with a picture I’d drawn of Quartzy and her fillyfriend back in December 2015.

DeviantArt link

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Also, some random tidbits that I forgot to mention in previous posts:

sketch of Roxie, the adopted Diamond Dog daughter of Quasimodo Quartz & Cute Curiosity

* The Sisterhooves Social teams that would have appeared were deliberated upon as well: Team ‘Royal Quartz Sky’: Quasimodo Quartz, Skyla, Royal Beauty Team ‘Prism Wing’: Rainbow Dash and Feathermay Team ‘Scooter Rush’: Scootaloo and Sugar Rush Team ‘My Marefriend Is Forcing Me To Do This’: Flame Burst and Muddy May Team ‘Lovely Starlight Bloom’: Starlight Twinkle, Moonlit Bloom, Love Letter [although Moonlit Bloom wanted to name it “Team ‘Daughters of Twilight Sparkle’”] Team ‘Rusty Ribbon’: Blue Ribbon Beats and Brass Apple Team ‘Rough & Tumble’: Autumn Tumble and Golden Tales Team ‘Dipping Diamond’: Diamond Tiara and her half-sister Dipping Dots [from StarryOak’s SilverRich ship] Team ‘Milk & Cookies’: Milky Way and Jinglebread Team ‘Sea Spray’: Mother-of-Pearl and Sprinkle Medley [Chrysalis and a random changeling] Team ‘Crowned Jewels’: Corona Borealis and Corona Australis Team ‘Soothing Seawaves’: Aloe Allure, Lotus Blossom, Vera Veil Team ‘Sunshine and Rainbows’: Henrietta Days and Puppysmiles [cameos from FO:E b/c StarryOak is a huge Fallout fan]

* At a certain point in the blog, probably around the point that Simbad is brought into the story, it would have been revealed that Aloe and Lotus, the spa ponies from Ponyville, were actually Changelings all along, playing the role of sisters to their secret-keeper Vera Veil. They’d have been spa-drones, the last two in existence after Chrysalis’s genocide of them after using them as a tool in slaying her own mother, Queen Vespa.

Aloe as a spa-drone Changeling

Lotus Blossom as a spa-drone Changeling

* There was actually a reference to Regal Rust in the Festival of the Fireflies post. The newspaper in Citrine Column’s Crystal Empire Times had a “MIRROR THIEF” headline, foreshadowing that whole “Dust ‘n’ Rust” story arc.

* Also to make an appearance in “Dust ‘n’ Rust” would have been Lightning Dust’s ex-girlfriend Midnight Strike (a fellow mare in Wonderbolt Academy) and her daughter with Midnight Strike, Beatbox Blast (who is technically Rainbow Dash’s granddaughter).

Beatbox Blast, Lightning Dust’s daughter and Rainbow Dash’s granddaughter

* There would have been appearances by Cadance’s adoptive Earth Pony parents, who would have doted upon their granddaughters, who they nicknames Mia Cara Quarza, Mia Cara Ciela, and Mia Cara Bellezza.

* It would have been revealed that Royal Beauty has a pet Black Moor goldfish called Ruki, hence the character of Angler Amethyst.

* The character of Opal Bloom Junior would have eventually transferred from identifying as a filly to a colt, but still keep his name of Opal Bloom.

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MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 7/7

Beetlebrain, covered in edible gold luster

Back in the Crystal Empire, a long-running gag character, Beetlebrain the Changeling, comes to the forefront. He’s been the elephant in the room for a VERY long time, not being able to transform himself and still maintaining a persistent presence in the Crystal Empire. He declares his fealty to Quartzy in a very roundabout fashion, still seeming to believe that he needs to maintain his “disguise” in front of her. While she is alone with Beetlebrain, though, she is swept away by a dark blur. Upon being deposited in the snowy wastes, she looks up to see that her captor is none other than her mother Queen Chrysalis herself.

Beetlebrain runs off through the Crystal Empire to tell everypony that Quartzy has been kidnapped, taking the time to “reveal” that he’s been a Changeling spy this whole time. He is astonished that nopony was surprised, but persists that Quartzy needs to be saved. The Changeling Queen and her hive have seen better times, for sure. She is utterly woebegone in the twenty-odd years since she’s last been seen, and her drones are even more gaunt and starved than ever. But now, Chrysalis has put together a plan involving her long-lost son Quasimodo. Since ‘he’ has shown a powerful affinity for the Crystal Heart, Chrysalis will use 'him’ to overthrow the Crystal Empire, a powerful source of love to feed off of in anticipation of their overthrowing of Equestria. She minces no words; once Quasimodo has squandered 'his’ uses, Chrysalis will kill him.

Beetlebrain finds his way to Quartzy, with Skyla, Royal Beauty, Cute Curiosity, Benitoite, Carnelian Carnation, and the rest of her family and loved ones. Chrysalis senses Quartzy’s love in Beetlebrain’s belly, and attempts to siphon it. At Quartzy’s behest, Beetlebrain gives the love, and in a flash, he becomes a beautiful glistening creature. The wave of love propagates out from Beetlebrain, all of the Changelings save Chrysalis being affected by the wave and transforming into the shapes they took in To Where And Back Again, Part 2. Quasimodo Quartz is affected as well, becoming a more beautiful doe-like creature, the holes in her legs disappearing (though still needing her wheelchair) and her mane and tail becoming much more fabulous. Chrysalis, overwhelmed, weakened, and not understanding what love truly is, is brought into custody at long last. Quasimodo Quartz becomes the new Queen of the Changeling Hive, along with being Crown-Princess of the Crystal Empire.

[This idea for Quasimodo Quartz to become the new Queen of the hive was conceived long before Thorax and To Where And Back Again, but after that two-parter aired, StarryOak and I decided to incorporate that into the story of the blog. She is absolutely enamored of the deer-like designs of the new Changelings…!]

Now, at this point, the Tumblr would have ended, but StarryOak had the idea of an “epilogue” some time after we’d finished, where Quasimodo Quartz would speak to the mirror again some years later. Though she is infertile and will never birth a clutch of Changelings, she & her wife Cute Curiosity have adopted many children of many races. Her Changelings have taken up the mantle of birthing Changelings themselves, and when her time has come, Quasimodo Quartz will produce a 'royal jelly’ to feed to one to become the new Queen in her stead. Royal Beauty & Cascade Glimmer have tied the knot and given birth to a foal, an Alicorn foal whom they named Flurry Heart. Having a child with such prominent wings drives Royal Beauty to distraction. Sugar Rush has a little sister now, Skittle Splatter. Flame Burst and Muddy May are closer sisters than ever. All in all, the world is stronger and more loving than ever.

Skittle Splatter

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Afternoon reblog

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MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 6/?

The Grand Galloping Gala is coming up, finally a time for a breather from all the drama in Quartzy’s life. She brings Cute Curiosity, her little Cutesaurus, as her plus-one. The Wonderbolts are present as well, Soarin & Spitfire with their daughters Flame Burst and Muddy May. While there, Quartzy introduces her girlfriend to others, like her distant cousin Prince Léon.

Quasimodo Quartz: “Umm… hello, Prince Léon. I am -” Prince Léon: “Princess Quasimodo Quartz. Yes, I know of you. Word has reached us back home of your accomplishments in the Crystal Empire.” Quasimodo Quartz: “/blushes/ Yes well… I have been dealing with some problems. But, I would like to introduce you to my marefriend, Cute Curiosity, the chief librarian of the Crystal Empire.” Cute Curiosity: “Uhh, g-good evening, Prince Leon.” Prince Léon: “Hmm… /kisses Cute Curiosity’s claw-hoof/ Enchanté.” Cute Curiosity: “/blushes/ You have quite the dashing physique, Prince Leon. You must be quite the charmer to the ladies.” Prince Léon: “/blushes embarrassedly/ If - If you’re coming on to me, Miss Curiosity, I must say that I’m flattered, but I’m spoken fo - ” Cute Curiosity: “CanIscanyourskeletonpleaseI'dliketoknowmoreaboutAlicornanatomyplease~!” Prince Léon: “…beg pardon?” Quasimodo Quartz: “Ohh, I’m terribly sorry, Prince Leon. She… gets like that. It’s… her idea of an ice-breaker.” Cute Curiosity: “Offer still standing~”

(One idea that we’d kicked around was that Prince Léon would be revealed to have been assigned female at birth. Quartzy realizing in hindsight that she could have opened up to him via letters to support one another, but not lingering on it.)

Flame Burst in her dress for the Grand Galloping Gala

Moonlit Bloom in her dress for the Grand Galloping Gala

Quartzy is swimming in love and congratulations at having been coronated as crown-princess, though she still hesitates to accept this. Royal Beauty meets with her ‘nemesis’ Cascade Glimmer (Fancy Pants & Fleur-de-lis’s daughter), and their long-standing hatred of each other ends with the pair of them making out in a corridor. Flame Burst meets Honeysickle, a mysterious young Unicorn mare, in a corridor at the Gala, not wishing to take part in this, least of all with her hated and “retarded” little sister “Wormy”.

Flame Burst: [having extracted herself from the festivities] /sigh/ Where the hell are you, Sugar? Mysterious Unicorn mare: Sugar Rush…? Oh yes, your marefriend! A real catch, isn’t she? Flame Burst: [jumping] Gah! For the love of Celestia, don’t scare me like that! And… how do you know she’s my marefriend? [angry] Have you been stalking me?! Mysterious Unicorn mare: I happened to notice the two of you entering this Gala hoof-in-hoof. You were walking noticeably slower than her. I can put two and two together. Flame Burst: [rubbing her foreleg ruefully, grumbling and glancing aside] Hmm… Maybe… Mysterious Unicorn mare: My name’s Honeysickle, by the way.  Flame Burst: Flame Burst. And, don’t you mean ‘Honeysuckle’? Honeysickle: No it’s definitely Honeysickle. [looking at Flame Burst’s wings] Well… look at how stunted your wings are. You must be a very poor flyer. Flame Burst: [baring teeth] Screw you, you bitch! It’s a genetic problem and I can’t do anything about it! [ears droop] Is it any wonder I don’t have my cutie mark yet…? Honeysickle: Funny story; my elder sister has a much fuller set of wings. Strong, broad, able to carry a great deal of wind beneath them… Flame Burst: [glowering] If you think that that’s going to make me want to be your friend, you’re not helping your case. But Faust above if I wouldn’t prefer you as my little sister. Honeysickle: [chuckles darkly, using her magic to unhook her dress and remove her contact lenses all at once, revealing heterochromatic eyes with black sclera] Flame Burst: [jaw drops as Honeysickle’s wings unfurl] Honeysickle: [grins savagely] No… No, you really don’t.

Honeysickle

So yeah, this Honeysickle is revealed to be Muddy May’s shadow, her equal and opposite from a world of Shadows. In this world, there are “shadows” of people from the world of light, who bear basically the opposite personality traits and who carry traits that are lost in ponies of light (Honeysickle’s elder sister, Flame Burst’s Shadow, has the full wings that Flame Burst lacks because of a birth defect). This was an idea for a project that StarryOak wished to do before and that I proposed bringing into Ask Prince(ss) Quasimodo Quartz.

Anyway, Honeysickle kidnaps Muddy May and retreats back into her shadow-world, the Princesses of the Crystal Empire entering as well with Flame Burst, Sugar Rush, and Angel in tow.

In the shadow-world, Quasimodo Quartz meets her Grady Twins-esque shadows, one a pony and the other a changeling. The pair of them are aloof and arrogant, utterly despicable in their unjustified self-assuredness. Quartzy realizes that her self-doubts are not bad, but perhaps overblown. The shadow of Flame Burst is a snivelling grovelling servant to her little Alicorn sister Honeysickle, and Flame Burst is utterly furious that Shadow Burst has the full majestic wings I mentioned earlier, trying to pull them off.

Honeysickle: For being my elder sister’s Caster, you are remarkably dull-witted. A Shadow bears those pieces which the Caster lacks. You were born with stunted growth in your wings; therefore, Shadow Burst’s wings are full, and powerful. Whereas I am brilliant and canny… /smirks evilly/… and the single worst example of a pony you could ever meet.

Shadow Burst, Flame Burst’s Shadow

Honeysickle’s evil plan is to turn the worlds on their heads, make the shadow-world dominant over the world of light.

Honeysickle: We are the Shadows. You are the Shadow-casters. Your identity is intrinsically contingent on our own… and yet, it is nothing that happens to us that determines when Shadows are born, live, or die. It is you Shadow-casters who ensnare the breadth of our lifespans. It is my intent to change that, however much Amalgor may loathe that intent.

She holds Muddy May captive, seeking to twist the knife in the sides of both Flame Burst and Muddy May.

Honeysickle: [holding Muddy May in her magic] It’s true, isn’t it, “Flamey”? You said it; you’d rather have me as a sister, rather than little “Wormy” here. Flame Burst: [teeth bared] YOU LET MY SISTER GO! Muddy May: [almost crying] Flay-Burrs…! Honeysickle: [grinning savagely] Tell her, or she dies. Did you not say that? Flame Burst: [eyes widen] /gasp/ Honeysickle: Clock is ticking, 'Flay-Burrs’~ Flame Burst: [tearing up] I… I…! [beat] Flame Burst: …it’s true, Muddy. I did say it. Muddy May: [lips quivering] F-F-Flay-Burrs…? Honeysickle: [lets Muddy May loose] There, was that so hard? All you had to do was break her little heart. But really, what does it matter to you? After all, you’d rather have ME as a little sister. Remember, it was you that said it.

Flame Burst sees past her insecurities about her tiny wings and lack of a cutie mark, rising to Muddy May’s defense and pounding Honeysickle down, with aid from Angel and from her Shadow who despises Honeysickle. Flame Burst earns her cutie mark in protecting the ones she loves, and she does indeed love her sister deep down. Honeysickle attempts to salvage her grand plan by gloating to the neutralized gods and goddesses of Equestria who’d been drawn into her shadow-world, but is laughed down by Luna…

Honeysickle: I’m afraid you’ve run into a small roadblock, all of you. I am evil, more than anything anyone has ever faced. You’ll kneel before your Shadows and become the true Shadows. I am your new ruler, one beyond you. Luna: /laughs/ Honeysickle: [pauses, glaring] What did you say, Worm? Luna: You… You really think that you’re the most evil being that has ever been? [smirking] Honeysickle: [stomping hoof] I AM! May I remind you who is captured here? Luna: Oh yes, powerful, one who has to neutralize us to cast us down is truly all-powerful. Honeysickle: I AM POWERFUL! I AM YOUR NEW- Luna: I have been more evil than thee, long ago. And yet, I lost. Honeysickle: And that’s why I’m the better. I won’t! Luna: That’s not the point. You’re not more evil than anything that has ever been. Discord was once dictator of the world, cruel and horrible, for times immeasurable, beyond time and above any of us in power. Discord: I wasn’t going to point that out. I was enjoying the show. Honeysickle: SHUT UP! Luna: I attempted to create eternal night as NightMare Moon. I almost doomed the entire world to die in the cold, unrelenting night.

So yeah, Honeysickle finds out that she’s actually quite low on the Sorting Algorithm of Evil after all. And that’s how she’s defeated.

Meanwhile, Quartzy is engaged in a deal-with-the-devil scenario with Amalgor, the most powerful entity in the shadow-world, who attempts to barter a trade of Quartzy’s undesired Changeling traits with something of his body parts. Quartzy refuses, a great moral victory and acceptance of what she is. Especially given that Amalgor is the Shadow of Starswirl the Bearded, having bartered so many pieces from so many other creatures over the years that he’s effectively his own being, a draconequus of his own making. But since Amalgor had been cheated by a Changeling known as Simbad in ages prior, a Changeling of the hive of Chrysalis’s grandmother, he’s nursed a special resentment towards Changelings. But as long as Quartzy refuses to engage in his game, he is effectively powerless at making her a lesser being.

Amalgor

Simbad, for his part, was alarmed at the breakdown of Shadows entering the world of light, fleeing from his solitude in the castle in Everfree to warn everypony of the pending disaster. This was the breaking of the wish he’d made to Amalgor as reward for beating the shadow-draconequus at his own game. His “eternal freedom” from the hive meant he would never die, but seeing the Shadows return to the world of Shadow-casters… he flew to Canterlot posthaste. He was wary of Quasimodo Quartz at first, the great-granddaughter of his old Queen, but he followed her back to the Crystal Empire regardless.

Simbad

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Afternoon reblog

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MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 5/?

With her protection of the Crystal Empire, Quasimodo Quartz becomes much more loved by her subjects, although she has come down with a cold because of exposure as a result of the golems’ incursion. Skyla buries her under a mountain of her plushies in an attempt to raise her spirits, and letters wishing her well and news articles from Press Patrol adulating her begin to pile up as she never imagined. The love from her subjects begins to mingle with her half-Changeling biology, aiding in Quartzy’s recovery. One day when Curiosity is visiting, Quartzy nods off, and Curiosity plants a kiss on her forehead…

After she’s recovered, Cadance holds a conference to declare the crown-princess to the Crystal Empire: Quasimodo Quartz. This is met with relatively positive reception, but the vocal minority which despise this move takes its toll on Quartzy. On top of feeling unworthy of the crown, the vocal hatred wears her down, leaving her open to a kernel of darkness that crept into her from Sombra’s horn: a miasma. She is consumed, and transforms into the NightMare Mongrel, which rises up to destroy anypony who would dare to love Quasimodo Quartz.

Everypony in her family is called up to the Crystal Empire who was not present for the announcement of her coronation as crown-princess, in an attempt to cleanse her of this new NightMare. Word is sent to Sunrise Shimmer for her Daydream form to purify Quartzy, but there is no response. Moonlit Bloom applies the Elements of Harmony to various friends and family members, attempting to use the Element of Magic herself like her mother had before her, but it proves useless. Cute Curiosity reaches out to the Mongrel, declaring her love of Quartzy. The Element of Magic appears on her head, and the other Elements appear on others connected to Quartzy, such as Regality and Press Patrol, and the Mongrel is dispelled.

Holding the half-Changeling princess, Cute Curiosity reassures the weakened princess of her love. Quartzy hesitates, wondering why she is worthy of any love if she causes so much hurt. The Lettuce twins Romaine and Iceberg appear, explaining that Quasimodo’s current circumstances are a miracle. While her conception is a constant in the multiverse, she is miscarried in most, stillborn in others, or left to die by her mother Chrysalis in others. She only exists in this state in an extremely small number of timelines, and is only truly happy in a minority of those. She should cherish whatever love she comes upon, because she is such a rarity. After a hesitance, she accepts Curiosity’s love, confessing to reciprocating it.

Sunrise arrives, having only just gotten their message. Fluttershy had gone into labor with their child (it is about nine months in-universe since the “Dust ‘n’ Rust” story arc) and she had been seeing her wife through childbirth. She presents a photograph of their daughter Sunlit Orchid, over the moon with her “precious little ray of sunshine”.

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Afternoon reblog

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MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 4/?

After such an episode, Quasimodo Quartz decides to spend a bit of time getting to know her new friend Cute Curiosity. They have ice-cream together at a local ice-cream shop, getting to share stories together. Quartzy finds out that Curiosity carried a lot of issues herself despite appearing to be so self-assured. No matter what she does, the Crystal Empire seems to hold her in the highest esteem just for being half-dragon. She is simply loved too much. She wants to be loved for herself, not for what her mother is. Quartzy takes her hoof and assures her.

(pictured: Tiffany Treats, ice-cream salesmare of the Crystal Empire, drawn by StarryOak)

Meanwhile, after so many years of moldering away in the tundras, Sombra’s horn has built up enough malice in the surrounding landscape to construct golems out of snow, ice, and boulders, marching on the Crystal Empire. While her family and friends go forth to fight them off, Quartzy is told to stay behind as her wheelchair in such snowy environs would not be conducive to mobility. Feeling useless, she stands by the Crystal Heart and waits for her loved ones to be successful. She receives word that not only are the golems persisting beyond any equine determination, but her loved ones are becoming overwhelmed.

Initially despairing, Quartzy looks around at her subjects, at those praying at the first Crystal Queen’s enshrined horn, and a fierce protective desire rises in her. She channels her magic into the Crystal Heart, and a bubble-shaped shield propagates out, undoing the magic holding the golems together and causing a glow to encompass the horns of Sombra and the Crystal Queen. The horns regenerate into a colt and a filly, respectively, evidently reborn versions of Sombra and the Crystal Queen. They cling to Quartzy and call her their mother. Skyla eagerly decides to name the colt Benitoite (’Ben’ for short) and the filly Carnelian Carnation (’Nelly’).

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MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 3/?

Arriving in the interrogation chamber, it is revealed that the ponies who broke into the Palace were Lightning Dust and Regal Rust. Sunset Shimmer (now known as Sunrise Shimmer) and her wife the Fluttershy from the human world have evidently been summoned as well, their adopted daughter Mocha Sweet in tow as well. In the course of the interrogation, it is revealed that Regal Rust is Sunset Shimmer’s illegitimate daughter with Prince Blueblood, making her Regality’s half-sister. Also, Lightning Dust reveals that she’s Rainbow Dash’s daughter with Spitfire from another timeline.

Long story short, in her original timeline, Rainbow Dash never left the Wonderbolts Academy after the whole ‘return of the Crystal Empire’ thing, and her absence from the circle of Bearers of the Elements of Harmony led to a war with the Griffons. In a battle with an unrepentant Sunset Shimmer, Lightning Dust Dash ended up going back in time to circa Sonic Rainboom, witnessing her mother’s Rainboom at the climax of the episode. She decided to set the future to right by playing the role of total prick to coax Rainbow Dash into returning to her group of friends (the episode Wonderbolt Academy), and has since been searching Equestria with her girlfriend Regal Rust to find magic mirrors that could possibly send her back to her timeline.

(pictured: Lightning Dust (above) and Regal Rust (below), both by StarryOak)

Regal Rust, for her part, had been searching for magic mirrors in the hopes of reuniting with her mother and giving her a piece of her mind for abandoning her. Sunrise transforms into her angelic Daydream form, putting her in her place for being a little shit. Human Fluttershy (who looks like an Earth Pony) seems to be distracted by something, and her wife Sunrise questions her about this. After a bit of beating around the bush, Fluttershy blurts out “Sunny, I want a baby!”.

Since learning that Rainbow Dash and Spitfire, two mares, had a biological daughter in an alternate timeline, she had been filled with thoughts of having a biological daughter with Sunrise. Sunrise hesitates, not quite sure what their daughter could be if they conceive one, since Sunrise is neither a human or a pony, but the physical manifestation of Harmony itself. Fluttershy assures Sunrise that no matter what their daughter is, they’ll love her. Quartzy overhears this and begins to question her self-loathing. Lightning Dust returns to her home timeline and reunites with her mothers and her own next-gen Mane Six at long last.

Mocha Sweet (in the human world)

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MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 1/?

…well, this is unfortunate, but I unfortunately have to announce that we are pulling the plug on Ask Prince(ss) Quasimodo Quartz. The three of us who worked on this Tumblr have moved on to other things, so it feels like it would be paddling against the tide to try to continue work on this blog. On behalf of the three of us, I am really truly regretful that we were unable to show you what it is that we were going to do in totality. But, StarryOak and I had discussed greatly what we would plan to do through to the conclusion of the Tumblr, so I will divulge what Starr and I had planned for the Tumblr’s future, so that nobody is left in suspense.

The following set of posts have had their dialogue entirely hashed out by StarryOak and myself.

We begin with a mini-arc that I dubbed Meet Cute (Curiosity), a multi-meaning title as you’ll see in later posts.

Keep reading

[ask-quasimodoquartz]

Afternoon reblog

[ask-quasimodoquartz]

Coda

As an addendum to the final installment of the “Pulling the Plug” posts, I the mod Amras Felagund would like to thank every one of you who decided to give our little experiment the time of day. Like a changeling feeding off of love, your patronage and adoration of Quartzy gave our Tumblr its lifeblood. But sadly, both of our artists, @starryoak and @64supernintendo, moved on to other full-time projects, necessitating us to pull the plug.

But all is not lost. You can provide fanart of scenes that were elucidated upon in the Pulling The Plug posts I’ve written. StarryOak may be providing character designs for characters who had not yet appeared in the Tumblr. And I myself am kicking around the idea of a “Thank You!” crowd picture to send this Tumblr off with a smile. It officially lasted a hair over three years, and it was a blast to work on it while it was.

So I won’t say goodbye, and to quote a great wizard, “I will not say ‘do not weep’, for not all tears are an evil.” Instead, I will leave you with a picture I’d drawn of Quartzy and her fillyfriend back in December 2015.

DeviantArt link

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MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 7/7

Beetlebrain, covered in edible gold luster

Back in the Crystal Empire, a long-running gag character, Beetlebrain the Changeling, comes to the forefront. He's been the elephant in the room for a VERY long time, not being able to transform himself and still maintaining a persistent presence in the Crystal Empire. He declares his fealty to Quartzy in a very roundabout fashion, still seeming to believe that he needs to maintain his "disguise" in front of her. While she is alone with Beetlebrain, though, she is swept away by a dark blur. Upon being deposited in the snowy wastes, she looks up to see that her captor is none other than her mother Queen Chrysalis herself.

Beetlebrain runs off through the Crystal Empire to tell everypony that Quartzy has been kidnapped, taking the time to "reveal" that he's been a Changeling spy this whole time. He is astonished that nopony was surprised, but persists that Quartzy needs to be saved. The Changeling Queen and her hive have seen better times, for sure. She is utterly woebegone in the twenty-odd years since she's last been seen, and her drones are even more gaunt and starved than ever. But now, Chrysalis has put together a plan involving her long-lost son Quasimodo. Since 'he' has shown a powerful affinity for the Crystal Heart, Chrysalis will use 'him' to overthrow the Crystal Empire, a powerful source of love to feed off of in anticipation of their overthrowing of Equestria. She minces no words; once Quasimodo has squandered 'his' uses, Chrysalis will kill him.

Beetlebrain finds his way to Quartzy, with Skyla, Royal Beauty, Cute Curiosity, Benitoite, Carnelian Carnation, and the rest of her family and loved ones. Chrysalis senses Quartzy's love in Beetlebrain's belly, and attempts to siphon it. At Quartzy's behest, Beetlebrain gives the love, and in a flash, he becomes a beautiful glistening creature. The wave of love propagates out from Beetlebrain, all of the Changelings save Chrysalis being affected by the wave and transforming into the shapes they took in To Where And Back Again, Part 2. Quasimodo Quartz is affected as well, becoming a more beautiful doe-like creature, the holes in her legs disappearing (though still needing her wheelchair) and her mane and tail becoming much more fabulous. Chrysalis, overwhelmed, weakened, and not understanding what love truly is, is brought into custody at long last. Quasimodo Quartz becomes the new Queen of the Changeling Hive, along with being Crown-Princess of the Crystal Empire.

[This idea for Quasimodo Quartz to become the new Queen of the hive was conceived long before Thorax and To Where And Back Again, but after that two-parter aired, StarryOak and I decided to incorporate that into the story of the blog. She is absolutely enamored of the deer-like designs of the new Changelings...!]

Now, at this point, the Tumblr would have ended, but StarryOak had the idea of an "epilogue" some time after we'd finished, where Quasimodo Quartz would speak to the mirror again some years later. Though she is infertile and will never birth a clutch of Changelings, she & her wife Cute Curiosity have adopted many children of many races. Her Changelings have taken up the mantle of birthing Changelings themselves, and when her time has come, Quasimodo Quartz will produce a 'royal jelly' to feed to one to become the new Queen in her stead. Royal Beauty & Cascade Glimmer have tied the knot and given birth to a foal, an Alicorn foal whom they named Flurry Heart. Having a child with such prominent wings drives Royal Beauty to distraction. Sugar Rush has a little sister now, Skittle Splatter. Flame Burst and Muddy May are closer sisters than ever. All in all, the world is stronger and more loving than ever.

Skittle Splatter

[ask-quasimodoquartz]

MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 6/?

The Grand Galloping Gala is coming up, finally a time for a breather from all the drama in Quartzy's life. She brings Cute Curiosity, her little Cutesaurus, as her plus-one. The Wonderbolts are present as well, Soarin & Spitfire with their daughters Flame Burst and Muddy May. While there, Quartzy introduces her girlfriend to others, like her distant cousin Prince Léon.

Quasimodo Quartz: "Umm... hello, Prince Léon. I am -" Prince Léon: "Princess Quasimodo Quartz. Yes, I know of you. Word has reached us back home of your accomplishments in the Crystal Empire." Quasimodo Quartz: "/blushes/ Yes well... I have been dealing with some problems. But, I would like to introduce you to my marefriend, Cute Curiosity, the chief librarian of the Crystal Empire." Cute Curiosity: "Uhh, g-good evening, Prince Leon." Prince Léon: "Hmm... /kisses Cute Curiosity's claw-hoof/ Enchanté." Cute Curiosity: "/blushes/ You have quite the dashing physique, Prince Leon. You must be quite the charmer to the ladies." Prince Léon: "/blushes embarrassedly/ If - If you're coming on to me, Miss Curiosity, I must say that I'm flattered, but I'm spoken fo - " Cute Curiosity: "CanIscanyourskeletonpleaseI'dliketoknowmoreaboutAlicornanatomyplease~!" Prince Léon: "...beg pardon?" Quasimodo Quartz: "Ohh, I'm terribly sorry, Prince Leon. She... gets like that. It's... her idea of an ice-breaker." Cute Curiosity: "Offer still standing~"

(One idea that we’d kicked around was that Prince Léon would be revealed to have been assigned female at birth. Quartzy realizing in hindsight that she could have opened up to him via letters to support one another, but not lingering on it.)

Flame Burst in her dress for the Grand Galloping Gala

Moonlit Bloom in her dress for the Grand Galloping Gala

Quartzy is swimming in love and congratulations at having been coronated as crown-princess, though she still hesitates to accept this. Royal Beauty meets with her 'nemesis' Cascade Glimmer (Fancy Pants & Fleur-de-lis's daughter), and their long-standing hatred of each other ends with the pair of them making out in a corridor. Flame Burst meets Honeysickle, a mysterious young Unicorn mare, in a corridor at the Gala, not wishing to take part in this, least of all with her hated and "retarded" little sister "Wormy".

Flame Burst: [having extracted herself from the festivities] /sigh/ Where the hell are you, Sugar? Mysterious Unicorn mare: Sugar Rush...? Oh yes, your marefriend! A real catch, isn't she? Flame Burst: [jumping] Gah! For the love of Celestia, don't scare me like that! And... how do you know she's my marefriend? [angry] Have you been stalking me?! Mysterious Unicorn mare: I happened to notice the two of you entering this Gala hoof-in-hoof. You were walking noticeably slower than her. I can put two and two together. Flame Burst: [rubbing her foreleg ruefully, grumbling and glancing aside] Hmm... Maybe... Mysterious Unicorn mare: My name’s Honeysickle, by the way.  Flame Burst: Flame Burst. And, don’t you mean ‘Honeysuckle’? Honeysickle: No it’s definitely Honeysickle. [looking at Flame Burst's wings] Well... look at how stunted your wings are. You must be a very poor flyer. Flame Burst: [baring teeth] Screw you, you bitch! It's a genetic problem and I can't do anything about it! [ears droop] Is it any wonder I don't have my cutie mark yet...? Honeysickle: Funny story; my elder sister has a much fuller set of wings. Strong, broad, able to carry a great deal of wind beneath them... Flame Burst: [glowering] If you think that that's going to make me want to be your friend, you're not helping your case. But Faust above if I wouldn't prefer you as my little sister. Honeysickle: [chuckles darkly, using her magic to unhook her dress and remove her contact lenses all at once, revealing heterochromatic eyes with black sclera] Flame Burst: [jaw drops as Honeysickle's wings unfurl] Honeysickle: [grins savagely] No... No, you really don't.

Honeysickle

So yeah, this Honeysickle is revealed to be Muddy May's shadow, her equal and opposite from a world of Shadows. In this world, there are “shadows” of people from the world of light, who bear basically the opposite personality traits and who carry traits that are lost in ponies of light (Honeysickle’s elder sister, Flame Burst’s Shadow, has the full wings that Flame Burst lacks because of a birth defect). This was an idea for a project that StarryOak wished to do before and that I proposed bringing into Ask Prince(ss) Quasimodo Quartz.

Anyway, Honeysickle kidnaps Muddy May and retreats back into her shadow-world, the Princesses of the Crystal Empire entering as well with Flame Burst, Sugar Rush, and Angel in tow.

In the shadow-world, Quasimodo Quartz meets her Grady Twins-esque shadows, one a pony and the other a changeling. The pair of them are aloof and arrogant, utterly despicable in their unjustified self-assuredness. Quartzy realizes that her self-doubts are not bad, but perhaps overblown. The shadow of Flame Burst is a snivelling grovelling servant to her little Alicorn sister Honeysickle, and Flame Burst is utterly furious that Shadow Burst has the full majestic wings I mentioned earlier, trying to pull them off.

Honeysickle: For being my elder sister's Caster, you are remarkably dull-witted. A Shadow bears those pieces which the Caster lacks. You were born with stunted growth in your wings; therefore, Shadow Burst's wings are full, and powerful. Whereas I am brilliant and canny... /smirks evilly/... and the single worst example of a pony you could ever meet.

Shadow Burst, Flame Burst’s Shadow

Honeysickle's evil plan is to turn the worlds on their heads, make the shadow-world dominant over the world of light.

Honeysickle: We are the Shadows. You are the Shadow-casters. Your identity is intrinsically contingent on our own... and yet, it is nothing that happens to us that determines when Shadows are born, live, or die. It is you Shadow-casters who ensnare the breadth of our lifespans. It is my intent to change that, however much Amalgor may loathe that intent.

She holds Muddy May captive, seeking to twist the knife in the sides of both Flame Burst and Muddy May.

Honeysickle: [holding Muddy May in her magic] It's true, isn't it, "Flamey"? You said it; you'd rather have me as a sister, rather than little "Wormy" here. Flame Burst: [teeth bared] YOU LET MY SISTER GO! Muddy May: [almost crying] Flay-Burrs...! Honeysickle: [grinning savagely] Tell her, or she dies. Did you not say that? Flame Burst: [eyes widen] /gasp/ Honeysickle: Clock is ticking, 'Flay-Burrs'~ Flame Burst: [tearing up] I... I...! [beat] Flame Burst: ...it's true, Muddy. I did say it. Muddy May: [lips quivering] F-F-Flay-Burrs...? Honeysickle: [lets Muddy May loose] There, was that so hard? All you had to do was break her little heart. But really, what does it matter to you? After all, you'd rather have ME as a little sister. Remember, it was you that said it.

Flame Burst sees past her insecurities about her tiny wings and lack of a cutie mark, rising to Muddy May's defense and pounding Honeysickle down, with aid from Angel and from her Shadow who despises Honeysickle. Flame Burst earns her cutie mark in protecting the ones she loves, and she does indeed love her sister deep down. Honeysickle attempts to salvage her grand plan by gloating to the neutralized gods and goddesses of Equestria who'd been drawn into her shadow-world, but is laughed down by Luna...

Honeysickle: I'm afraid you've run into a small roadblock, all of you. I am evil, more than anything anyone has ever faced. You'll kneel before your Shadows and become the true Shadows. I am your new ruler, one beyond you. Luna: /laughs/ Honeysickle: [pauses, glaring] What did you say, Worm? Luna: You... You really think that you're the most evil being that has ever been? [smirking] Honeysickle: [stomping hoof] I AM! May I remind you who is captured here? Luna: Oh yes, powerful, one who has to neutralize us to cast us down is truly all-powerful. Honeysickle: I AM POWERFUL! I AM YOUR NEW- Luna: I have been more evil than thee, long ago. And yet, I lost. Honeysickle: And that's why I'm the better. I won't! Luna: That's not the point. You're not more evil than anything that has ever been. Discord was once dictator of the world, cruel and horrible, for times immeasurable, beyond time and above any of us in power. Discord: I wasn't going to point that out. I was enjoying the show. Honeysickle: SHUT UP! Luna: I attempted to create eternal night as NightMare Moon. I almost doomed the entire world to die in the cold, unrelenting night.

So yeah, Honeysickle finds out that she's actually quite low on the Sorting Algorithm of Evil after all. And that's how she's defeated.

Meanwhile, Quartzy is engaged in a deal-with-the-devil scenario with Amalgor, the most powerful entity in the shadow-world, who attempts to barter a trade of Quartzy's undesired Changeling traits with something of his body parts. Quartzy refuses, a great moral victory and acceptance of what she is. Especially given that Amalgor is the Shadow of Starswirl the Bearded, having bartered so many pieces from so many other creatures over the years that he's effectively his own being, a draconequus of his own making. But since Amalgor had been cheated by a Changeling known as Simbad in ages prior, a Changeling of the hive of Chrysalis's grandmother, he's nursed a special resentment towards Changelings. But as long as Quartzy refuses to engage in his game, he is effectively powerless at making her a lesser being.

Amalgor

Simbad, for his part, was alarmed at the breakdown of Shadows entering the world of light, fleeing from his solitude in the castle in Everfree to warn everypony of the pending disaster. This was the breaking of the wish he’d made to Amalgor as reward for beating the shadow-draconequus at his own game. His “eternal freedom” from the hive meant he would never die, but seeing the Shadows return to the world of Shadow-casters... he flew to Canterlot posthaste. He was wary of Quasimodo Quartz at first, the great-granddaughter of his old Queen, but he followed her back to the Crystal Empire regardless.

Simbad

[ask-quasimodoquartz]

MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 5/?

With her protection of the Crystal Empire, Quasimodo Quartz becomes much more loved by her subjects, although she has come down with a cold because of exposure as a result of the golems' incursion. Skyla buries her under a mountain of her plushies in an attempt to raise her spirits, and letters wishing her well and news articles from Press Patrol adulating her begin to pile up as she never imagined. The love from her subjects begins to mingle with her half-Changeling biology, aiding in Quartzy's recovery. One day when Curiosity is visiting, Quartzy nods off, and Curiosity plants a kiss on her forehead...

After she's recovered, Cadance holds a conference to declare the crown-princess to the Crystal Empire: Quasimodo Quartz. This is met with relatively positive reception, but the vocal minority which despise this move takes its toll on Quartzy. On top of feeling unworthy of the crown, the vocal hatred wears her down, leaving her open to a kernel of darkness that crept into her from Sombra's horn: a miasma. She is consumed, and transforms into the NightMare Mongrel, which rises up to destroy anypony who would dare to love Quasimodo Quartz.

Everypony in her family is called up to the Crystal Empire who was not present for the announcement of her coronation as crown-princess, in an attempt to cleanse her of this new NightMare. Word is sent to Sunrise Shimmer for her Daydream form to purify Quartzy, but there is no response. Moonlit Bloom applies the Elements of Harmony to various friends and family members, attempting to use the Element of Magic herself like her mother had before her, but it proves useless. Cute Curiosity reaches out to the Mongrel, declaring her love of Quartzy. The Element of Magic appears on her head, and the other Elements appear on others connected to Quartzy, such as Regality and Press Patrol, and the Mongrel is dispelled.

Holding the half-Changeling princess, Cute Curiosity reassures the weakened princess of her love. Quartzy hesitates, wondering why she is worthy of any love if she causes so much hurt. The Lettuce twins Romaine and Iceberg appear, explaining that Quasimodo's current circumstances are a miracle. While her conception is a constant in the multiverse, she is miscarried in most, stillborn in others, or left to die by her mother Chrysalis in others. She only exists in this state in an extremely small number of timelines, and is only truly happy in a minority of those. She should cherish whatever love she comes upon, because she is such a rarity. After a hesitance, she accepts Curiosity's love, confessing to reciprocating it.

Sunrise arrives, having only just gotten their message. Fluttershy had gone into labor with their child (it is about nine months in-universe since the "Dust 'n' Rust" story arc) and she had been seeing her wife through childbirth. She presents a photograph of their daughter Sunlit Orchid, over the moon with her "precious little ray of sunshine".

[ask-quasimodoquartz]

MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 4/?

After such an episode, Quasimodo Quartz decides to spend a bit of time getting to know her new friend Cute Curiosity. They have ice-cream together at a local ice-cream shop, getting to share stories together. Quartzy finds out that Curiosity carried a lot of issues herself despite appearing to be so self-assured. No matter what she does, the Crystal Empire seems to hold her in the highest esteem just for being half-dragon. She is simply loved too much. She wants to be loved for herself, not for what her mother is. Quartzy takes her hoof and assures her.

(pictured: Tiffany Treats, ice-cream salesmare of the Crystal Empire, drawn by StarryOak)

Meanwhile, after so many years of moldering away in the tundras, Sombra's horn has built up enough malice in the surrounding landscape to construct golems out of snow, ice, and boulders, marching on the Crystal Empire. While her family and friends go forth to fight them off, Quartzy is told to stay behind as her wheelchair in such snowy environs would not be conducive to mobility. Feeling useless, she stands by the Crystal Heart and waits for her loved ones to be successful. She receives word that not only are the golems persisting beyond any equine determination, but her loved ones are becoming overwhelmed.

Initially despairing, Quartzy looks around at her subjects, at those praying at the first Crystal Queen's enshrined horn, and a fierce protective desire rises in her. She channels her magic into the Crystal Heart, and a bubble-shaped shield propagates out, undoing the magic holding the golems together and causing a glow to encompass the horns of Sombra and the Crystal Queen. The horns regenerate into a colt and a filly, respectively, evidently reborn versions of Sombra and the Crystal Queen. They cling to Quartzy and call her their mother. Skyla eagerly decides to name the colt Benitoite (’Ben’ for short) and the filly Carnelian Carnation (’Nelly’).

[ask-quasimodoquartz]

MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 3/?

Arriving in the interrogation chamber, it is revealed that the ponies who broke into the Palace were Lightning Dust and Regal Rust. Sunset Shimmer (now known as Sunrise Shimmer) and her wife the Fluttershy from the human world have evidently been summoned as well, their adopted daughter Mocha Sweet in tow as well. In the course of the interrogation, it is revealed that Regal Rust is Sunset Shimmer's illegitimate daughter with Prince Blueblood, making her Regality's half-sister. Also, Lightning Dust reveals that she's Rainbow Dash's daughter with Spitfire from another timeline.

Long story short, in her original timeline, Rainbow Dash never left the Wonderbolts Academy after the whole 'return of the Crystal Empire' thing, and her absence from the circle of Bearers of the Elements of Harmony led to a war with the Griffons. In a battle with an unrepentant Sunset Shimmer, Lightning Dust Dash ended up going back in time to circa Sonic Rainboom, witnessing her mother's Rainboom at the climax of the episode. She decided to set the future to right by playing the role of total prick to coax Rainbow Dash into returning to her group of friends (the episode Wonderbolt Academy), and has since been searching Equestria with her girlfriend Regal Rust to find magic mirrors that could possibly send her back to her timeline.

(pictured: Lightning Dust (above) and Regal Rust (below), both by StarryOak)

Regal Rust, for her part, had been searching for magic mirrors in the hopes of reuniting with her mother and giving her a piece of her mind for abandoning her. Sunrise transforms into her angelic Daydream form, putting her in her place for being a little shit. Human Fluttershy (who looks like an Earth Pony) seems to be distracted by something, and her wife Sunrise questions her about this. After a bit of beating around the bush, Fluttershy blurts out "Sunny, I want a baby!".

Since learning that Rainbow Dash and Spitfire, two mares, had a biological daughter in an alternate timeline, she had been filled with thoughts of having a biological daughter with Sunrise. Sunrise hesitates, not quite sure what their daughter could be if they conceive one, since Sunrise is neither a human or a pony, but the physical manifestation of Harmony itself. Fluttershy assures Sunrise that no matter what their daughter is, they'll love her. Quartzy overhears this and begins to question her self-loathing. Lightning Dust returns to her home timeline and reunites with her mothers and her own next-gen Mane Six at long last.

Mocha Sweet (in the human world)

[ask-quasimodoquartz]

MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 2/?

After befriending Cute Curiosity, Quartzy would return to her home and field further Tumblr questions, at which point it would officially come out that Queen Chrysalis is her mother. She fears that the Askers despise her, but her parents come in and reveal that they know about her magic mirror and that none of them hate her. After a bit of bonding with her parents, Quartzy is told by Cadance that she is going to be involved in the Sisterhooves Social, which has in the past several years escalated to a national spectacle for all of Equestria. This is in the interests of Quartzy meeting ponies outside of the socially backwards Crystal Empire, ponies who will be much more open-minded and forgiving about her half-Changeling heritage.

At the Social grounds, Quartzy and her sisters Skyla and Royal Beauty are a great number of groups of sisters from throughout StarryOak's TFIM/Quartzverse. Twilight's daughters Starlight Twinkle, Moonlit Bloom, and Love Letter; Soarin & Spitfire's daughters Flame Burst and Muddy May; Rainbow Dash and her sister Feathermay; Rainbow & Pinkie's daughter Sugar Rush and the adopted Scootaloo; Sugar Belle & Night Glider's daughters Milky Way and Jinglebread; Dinky & Pipsqueak's daughters Autumn Tumble and Golden Tales; Applejack & Caramel's daughters Blue Ribbon Beats and Brass Apple, etc. Also among them are a mysterious mare named Mother-of-Pearl and her "sister" Sprinkle Medley, who seems to be a Unicorn and not a Pegasus as she normally is...

Rainbow Dash’s sister, Feathermay Dash

Starlight Twinkle, Princess Twilight Sparkle’ & Flash Sentrys eldest daughter

Love Letter, Twilight and Flash’s second daughter

Moonlit Bloom, Twilight and Flash’s third daughter

Blue Ribbon Beats, Applejack & Caramel’s elder daughter

Brass Apple, Applejack & Caramel’s younger daughter

Milky Way, Sugar Belle & Night Glider’s eldest daughter

Jinglebread, Sugar Belle & Night Glider’s youngest daughter

Autumn Tumble (below) and Golden Tales (above), Dinky & Pipsqueak’s daughters

Mother-of-Pearl

This would have been a way to expose the Tumblr crowd to the broader world of StarryOak's characters, and see their dynamics. Twilight's daughters are incredibly dysfunctional; Love Letter bums off of Starlight Twinkle's multiversal adventures for her "hardcore romance" novels (read: porn) and the pair of them despise each other, while Moonlit Bloom drives the pair of them to distraction with her desire to be Twilight Sparkle 2.0. Flame Burst despises her little sister Muddy May for being... well, it would be initially thought that Muddy May is a Unicorn, until the camera pans down and we see wings as well. Turns out she's not an Alicorn, though, but a Pegacorn, and the horn on a Pegasus body kinda gives her a bit of a more... simple mind. Muddy absolutely adores her big sister, oblivious to Flamey's resentment. The only reason Flame Burst is doing this Social is because her fillyfriend Sugar Rush put her up to it. (She actually named her Social team "Team 'My Marefriend Is Forcing Me To Do This'", which Skyla would continually make snort-inducing jokes like "Team 'My Marefriend Is Macking On Me After This'".)

Flame Burst, Spitfire & Soarin’s firstborn daughter [pictured in her Gala dress]

Muddy May, Spitfire & Soarin’s secondborn daughter

Angel, Fluttershy & Bic McIntosh’s son

Also present despite not being involved in the Sisterhooves Social, are Regality Blueblood, son of Prince Blueblood & Trixie, Quartzy's best friend; and Fluttershy & Big Mac's son Angel, who is Muddy May's boyfriend. Applejack and the incumbent mayor of Ponyville are also present butting heads.

Quartzy and her sisters' team basically performs midway on the leaderboard, but at least they do better than her cousins the daughters of Twilight, who are so dysfunctional that they placed dead-last. The top of the board is taken by Autumn Tumble and Golden Tales, who pass the medal on to Quartzy as a means of providing a boost to her esteem. Around this time, we learn behind Quartzy's back that Mother-of-Pearl and Sprinkle Medley are Changelings, the former being specifically Queen Chrysalis. Before any Askers can inform her of this, though, Quartzy is informed that she must return to the Crystal Empire at once, alongside (surprisingly) Rainbow Dash and Regality. Two ponies attempted to break into the Crystal Palace and require questioning by the princesses.

[ask-quasimodoquartz]

MOD: Pulling the Plug, Part 1/?

...well, this is unfortunate, but I unfortunately have to announce that we are pulling the plug on Ask Prince(ss) Quasimodo Quartz. The three of us who worked on this Tumblr have moved on to other things, so it feels like it would be paddling against the tide to try to continue work on this blog. On behalf of the three of us, I am really truly regretful that we were unable to show you what it is that we were going to do in totality. But, StarryOak and I had discussed greatly what we would plan to do through to the conclusion of the Tumblr, so I will divulge what Starr and I had planned for the Tumblr's future, so that nobody is left in suspense.

The following set of posts have had their dialogue entirely hashed out by StarryOak and myself.

We begin with a mini-arc that I dubbed Meet Cute (Curiosity), a multi-meaning title as you’ll see in later posts.

Panel 1: The interior of the Crystal Empire library, as provided over Yahoo Mail. A table labeled "Returns" sits at the right end of the landing, and Quartz (facing screen right) stands beside it levitating her soon-to-be-returned book. The tabletop is empty save for a magic-circle. (Starr will draw up the table and its magic circle, but feel free to do a quick mock-up.) The presence of the mirror in Quartzy's aura of magic indicates to us that we are still seeing her from beyond the mirror's perspective. Her eyes are idly glancing at the mirror, and though she has a dull expression on her face, she at least doesn't look sad. In the background behind the Crystal Princess, SOME CRYSTAL PONIES mull about the bookshelves. Among them, in the background of the right half of the library, we can see CUTE CURIOSITY, the half-dragon half-Crystal-Pony librarian. She has not yet noticed Quartzy; she is speaking with Press Patrol. QUARTZ: Because Uncle Spike saved the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Ponies have grown to love any and all dragons that visit us up here.

Panel 2: Quartzy has placed the book upon the magic-circle'd tabletop, the magical aura around the book dissipating. Her eyes glance down at the book, so she doesn't notice that Press Patrol and Cute Curiosity have finished their discussion, and the latter has just noticed that Quartzy is in the library. Curiosity's mouth forms a perfect "O", eyes behind her glasses widening slightly. QUARTZ (cont'd): Some, more than others, it seems, as one had settled down with a recent migrant from Fillydelphia's own Dragon Town.

Panel 3: Cute Curiosity trots off-screen to screen-right, smiling brightly. Quartzy's eyes have returned to the mirror, on which we can make out the question from the last update. The magic circle beneath the book has begun to glow, a clear aura forming around the book as well as it begins to turn translucent. QUARTZ (cont'd): Granted, there is more than one half-dragon that calls the Crystal Empire home, but our chief librarian is perhaps the most notable, if only because of her...

Panel 4: Quartzy glances off-screen to screen-right, her pupils shrinking and her ears falling back. The magic circle tabletop is now completely bookless, the magic circle itself beginning to dim. QUARTZ (cont'd): ...oh no... I thought I could...

Panel 5: Cute Curiosity practically bounces in from screen-right, having evidently jumped the entire flight of stairs onto the landing in front of the "Returns" table. Curiosity balances on her front hooves as she beams up at Quartzy with a fangy grin. Quartzy takes a step back, looking all the world like she'd rather be somewhere else - anywhere else. CURIOSITY: Princess Quartz! I heard you talking about me just now and... Why are you carrying that mirror around, Princess? QUARTZ: You wouldn't believe me if I told you...

Panel 6: Curiosity casts her eyes up and to our right, raising her right forehoof (foreclaw?) in a practiced lecturing posture. Quartz rubs her right foreleg with her left, glancing down and to our left. In the background, the CRYSTAL PONIES (and Press Patrol) begin to take notice of the scene unfolding at the entryway. CURIOSITY: Oh you'd be surprised, we get a lot of weird things in this library. The last librarian was always talking about glowing eyes and ghosts. I wish ghosts would have some sort of bones to study, it would be so much easier for forensic magic and fossil records would have an idea of what they really looked like!

Panel 7: Curiosity's head turns to 3/4 profile, mostly so that we can see that she is quirking one eyebrow upwards and the other down. She points the same forehoof at Quartzy's mirror, where her eyes are also fixated, and the wheelchair-bound Princess follows the half-dragon's gaze and pointed hoof. CURIOSITY (cont'd): .... but I'm getting off topic here. That mirror right there was what we were talking about, right?

From here, it only got so far as the dialogue that Starr and I had pulled together as a pseudo-RP. I was writing for Quartzy, and Starr as Cute Curiosity.

Quasimodo Quartz: “Well… It’s like there are ponies behind it that are talking to me.” Cute Curiosity: “Ghosts? Telepathy? Magical transmutation of ponies into an enchanted mirror? A two way mirror with somepony on the other end? Possessed mirror? Is it an image of you that has been enchanted to respond? Can it talk to me? Or can only you hear it? /pokes it/ It looks solid, but does it ever let you poke through it?” Quasimodo Quartz: “Well… I’ve never poked it, but… It seems like written notes of some sort appear on the surface of my mirror. I can only guess that beings from a higher dimension are watching me… and judging me.” Cute Curiosity: "Judging you? Is there some sort of contest? What’s the prize? Are you winning? Did you already win and you’re showing off the mirror as a prize?“ Quasimodo Quartz: "No… Judging me as kindly and beautiful, and… I don’t understand why. I’m just a wretch in a wheelchair uncomfortable with her own body. Why are they so kind to me?” Cute Curiosity: “Well, you’re a very fascinating pony… changeling… what would you prefer? Pony, Changeling, Ponyling? Nymphfoal? Or would you like to invent a new word? Ooh, that would be really groundbreaking! We could do a study on the new species that you are!…. /a bit of a nudge and a goofy grin as she is leaning a little close to her to indicate she’s thinking about that skeleton thing, although the viewers dont know that/” Quasimodo Quartz: “/ears drooping/ Please, I don’t want to talk about that…” Cute Curiosity: “Oh… But you’re just such a unique specimen, it’s such a shame for you to think so badly of a scientific marvel! You are completely unique, there’s nothing quite like you! It’s a crime to let such a fascinating discovery go to waste!“ Quasimodo Quartz: "But… I don’t want to be special or fascinating or unique. I just want to be a normal mare!” Cute Curiosity: “But… but, what will happen to the science! The discoveries! The skeletal structure! You’re so important to the scientific community! You’re already an amazing mare! Just with a infinitely more unique skeleton!” Quasimodo Quartz: “/crossing a foreleg across the other/ M… My skeleton is horrific, deformed. It’s not worth studying…” Cute Curiosity: “No it’s not, it’s beautiful! I assume, anyway. Since you won’t let me see, I can’t tell you, but it’s obviously amazing just judging by what I can guess from your appearance! And you have a really nice eyeshadow on, by the way. I like the color. It’s really nice.” Quasimodo Quartz: “No! No no no no no no no no… You’re just trying to butter me up for that spell! I really don’t want to do it! It’s hard enough to love myself without knowing how mangled I am inside!” Cute Curiosity: “I don’t have to show you them, I promise, complete scientific confidentiality… at least until after your death, anyway, which is basically confidentiality, right? And it would only take a few minutes! Just one… well, actually, I’d need about a dozen to get a full three dimensional model, but it would be perfectly safe!” Quasimodo Quartz: “/backing away towards library doors/ No… please… I’m not just a sack of bones… I’m not just some amoeba on a slide to be examined at your leisure…” Cute Curiosity: “I don’t think of you that way at all! You’re a beautiful mare, and I really do like you..  I mean, sure, I would love to study you and it is really disappointing that you won’t just let me take a scan. Which would only take seconds, but I do want to be friends with you! I wouldn’t study you after taking the data if you don’t want me to! I only need that, and then we can be friends! We can hang out! I want to be friends with you! Please let me be friends with you!” And that would probably be a mini-cliffhanger until the next post, to let questions roll in along the lines of “Be her friend, Quartzy; she’s not a bad pony… dragon… dracony?”. Y'know, things like that. Quasimodo Quartz: “/sighs/ As forward as you can be with asking for other ponies’ skeletons… I know what it’s like to want a friend more than anything in the world.” Cute Curiosity: “So you’ll be my friend? Please tell me you’ll be my friend! /ping/…. What was that noise?” Quasimodo Quartz: “That was the mirror. It makes that noise whenever a new question… pops up. /eyes widen slightly/ They must know you’re here. The Askers must see you.” Quasimodo Quartz: “I don’t know, Miss Curiosity… I don’t know if we have any shared interests, any places we would spend time together… I’m a princess, you’re a librarian. The Crystal Ponies love you, and they… hate me. I don’t know if our friendship will work… /smiles tentatively down at C2/ but I will give it a try.” Cute Curiosity: “Oh my Celestia! /she suddenly pulls in Quasimodo Quartz: for a very tight hug that pulls Quartzy’s head down slightly so she can nuzzle her/ We’re going to be best friends!” Quasimodo Quartz: “/smiles awkwardly and pats Cute Curiosity: on the back/ Yes. We can try…” Cute Curiosity: “This is going to be so amazing! A real friend! I’ve never had one of those before! I’m going to have a friend! And we’re going to have so much fun! We can…. um…. I… I don’t know what friends really… do… /ears fold down and her ear spikes droop/” Quasimodo Quartz: “/with a friendly hoof/  Well, we can find out together.”