Challenge #01076-B344: An Unsettling Necessity

@callmegallifreya - possibly not what you were expecting when you submitted the prompt… but necromancy all the same

Challenge #00356: Average Ordinary Every-Day…

When your special talent is not having a special talent, and why it’s awesome

Storybook Slate could do a little of everything. She was the most helpful pony in Ponyville.

And yet, every morning, she would be touring the town seeking odd jobs to help with. Towing her tool cart behind her. Every day she was doing something different. Helping ponies everywhere.

Naturally, the Cute Mark Crusaders found her fascinating.

They caught her on a rare day off, when she was doodling in a notebook about whatever caught her fancy at the time. She got her latest thought down and put her tools away. “Hello, girls. Do you need help, today?”

“We were wondering if we could ask you something,” said Scootaloo.

“About Cutie Marks,” clarified Sweetie Belle

“And how you can know what your talent is,” said Applebloom.

Storybook poured them each a drink and said, “You girls had better sit down…”

“Ugh, a long story,” Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

“No dear. A sad and disturbing story.”

All three fillies’ eyes went wide as she pulled up her skirt to reveal a…

Bare.

Untarnished.

Blank.

Flank.

Applebloom fainted. Sweetie Belle screamed. Scootaloo began to hyperventilate.

“You… never… got your Cutie Mark?”

Storybook helped Scootaloo breathe into a paper bag. “Yes, I was teased in school by those who thought a Cutie Mark was the be-all and end-all. And yes, it was horrid. And for a while I tried what you girls are trying. Anything and everything to find my special talent. That’s when a funny thing happened.”

They were rapt, now. Almost breathless. Their drinks, unregarded, attracted butterflies and bees.

“I was a little good at everything. Not talented. Not specially. Just better than any pony who didn’t have the talent for it. I could be useful everywhere. I could turn my hoof to anything. And I loved it.” She covered her blank flank once more. “There’s a few of us. One’s a janitor at the Canterlot palace. He’s a lot more bold about it than I am. But since I never found a calling… I go where I’m needed and I like it that way. Today, I’m a writer. Tomorrow? Who knows? I could be catering with Pinkie Pie or an animal care assistant to Fluttershy. Or I could be helping Bubble Dream deliver parcels.”

“Bubble who?”

“You like to call her ‘Derpy’. There’s lots you don’t know about our silly blonde mailmare. Like - how her special talent is blowing bubbles in the most fascinating shapes. And they stay that way until they pop.”

“But she’s a mailmare…” protested Applebloom.

“Not every talent pays the rent, dear. Not every talent is useful. But I can assure you girls of one thing.”

They leaned forward.

“You have one. As unique as your good selves.”

That mutual sigh of relief should pay for some small sins.

“So we will find it one day,” said Sweetie Belle. “But the way you put it? I wouldn’t mind bein’ a blank flank for ever.”

“You should try the karaoke contest across town,” said Storybook. “You may surprise yourself.”

“Aw, but we were going waterskiing over a shark tank,” protested Scootaloo.

“Now that I think about it, Karaoke doesn’t involve so many doctor’s bills,” said Applebloom.

They galloped off to the cheer of, “Cutie Mark Karaoke Crusaders! YAAAYYY!”

Storybook Slate poured their unfinished drinks into saucers for the butterflies and bees. “I don’t suppose you want to hear this one?” she said to the dancing insects, “it’s about a pony who travels in time…”

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My first AMV in forever and it gets auto-banned in Germany before anyone gets to see it 9_9

Please enjoy it while it’s still there.

Who’s Your Favourite?

It’s inevitable, really.

The instant you mention you like My Little Pony, you get asked “Who’s your favourite?”

Isn’t it okay to love them all?

I don’t choose favourites. The things I love, I love equally as much. Love is a fountain that never diminishes, to me. It should be shared as such.

Which is why my imaginary harem contains a shapeshifter, a giant purple talking crab thing, and three different versions of the same fuzzy blue dude with a tail. Oh, and the Lou Ferigno(?) version of the Hulk.

Yeah. I embrace weird. Deal with it.

[For those of you actually interested in such things, that’s Odo from DS9, Pilot from Farscape and the comic, movie and Evo versions of Nightcrawler]

It was the same with the Muppets. Though I had a definite affection for both Kermit and Gonzo, I loved all of them for different reasons.

And now it’s the same for the ponies in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

I don’t have a favourite. I love them all.

I even want some redemption episodes for Gilda and Trixie.

Hell, I’m writing a fic in which the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally discover their talents. With the help of an OC I’ve carried over from a previous fandom.

I embrace weird like all the things I love. With equal fondness.

So, please. Stop asking me which one is best?

Changing Worlds

I thought I’d take a break from OWS for a bit to discuss my writing. It is why I started this blog in the first place. Thinking of something to write every day has had me quasi-geared towards finding material for my blog. Great.

But it’s been keeping me from my indfic.

Thank goodness for fanfic.

I love writing fanfic. There’s so much less one has to explain, keep straight, or look up. An admired writer once told me, “It’s fanfic. You can make [character(s)] purple if you wanted to.” [FYI- that writer is Donna Barr and we were communicating via email of my depiction of her character, Stinz Lowhard.]

But… I like being accurate. Sure, you could make character X purple. Or put them on the moon. Or make them walk across the ceiling for the lulz… but would they still be character X? Or are you making a new character based on the character you love?

This is where cannon meets fannon. It’s also where Movie vs Book tends to raise a lot of fire. When you change the environment that something is depicted in [even if it’s a transition from prose to stage] things have to change.

You can’t always find an actor that looks exactly like X should. And you can’t always write character X walking into world Y and have it turn out to be a good story.

So when my figment, Sara Louise Adrien, wanted to be a pony [I have a strange relationship with my creations] I had to really think about things. The things that made her wonderful in my X-Men: Evolution fics could not translate directly into the land of Equestria.

Verbally abusive mom? Ponies aren’t abusive moms of any kidney. This is a world where ponies are (mostly) nice to other ponies and, if not fully befriending - at least accepting. So I couldn’t put Jaqui in a horse skin and have it work.

So… Jaqui became a dragon. Literally. Who has yet to appear in my fic. Dragons strike me as being a lot more… physical… than verbal, so she’s both a dwarf dragon and obsessed with exactness. And Sara, now Star Wishes, is a lot more high-strung and strung out than her mutant version, as a direct result.

Absentee dad? Er. The story surrounding Sara’s adoption is still unravelling in my head [I’m debating whether or not Dragon-Jaqui destroyed Star’s village in the final act of the Dragon-Equine war and was forced to adopt the only survivor…] so I’m currently not mentioning dad at all. I have another debate as to whether or not pulling a long-lost dad out of my butt at the end would make for satisfying narrative.

Pretty much most of this got thought out before I put finger to touchscreen [I write on an iPad - it goes everywhere with me] to place the first words in my story.

Even if you’re writing fanfic - where the world-building is unnecessary - there’s still a bit of history and continuity to consider. Some you may know. Some, you may draw conclusions for from things mentioned or shown in cannon [that which we see or is stated by Word of God (the creators of said work) ] to create your own or shared fannon [stuff the fans hold to be true, regardless of what the work explicitly states or the creator has said].

For instance, back when I was running Realm of the InterNutter [it’s down and out for the count, until such time as a sufficiently large mallet can be found] I had the fannon town of Heirelgart for Evo!Nightcrawler to grow up in as a well-rounded individual. It also had centaurs in it, which explained why an entire town could be so casual about a kid with blue fur and a tail. I was happy to share Heirelgart with anyone who asked - or gave credit - and it was entirely up to them as to whether or not they wanted the centaurs with it.

Give it a decade or so and Nightcrawler’s home town may be mentioned in cannon as being Heirelgart, just because it got around :) I like that idea. I’m not going to squeal “copyright” or sue for millions. I’m going to grin like a smug little bastard ‘cause something I made up is Out There. But I digress.

Fannon or cannon, I like to stay as consistent as I can to make the story read true. And I’m an obsessive-compulsive, sometimes. Which is why I sent Laura Faust a note asking if there was a Cutie Mark Code writers as anal precise as me could use.

Of course I’m going to share any reply. I’m not selfish.

Anyway. I was trying to make a point, wasn’t I?

Um.

The point I’m trying to make, I guess, is no matter what changes you make when writing something, the work comes out better for those changes making sense. If only sense to you. You are your first audience when you write. That’s why so much writing advice boils down to, “write what you love to read”, because you’re going to be re-reading that sucker ad infinitum to make sure it’s all good.

And if you can’t please yourself with what you make, how can you find anyone else who likes it?

I did the quiz

http://www.bronyland.com/pony-personality-test/?q=MTg0M3wxMjU1

Apparently, I’m most like Twighlight Sparkle.

So… why is Hasbro stepping on free advertising on youtube via various people already spending money on their stuff…

…and not going after the people ripping off their product like these two examples I found in a dollar shop?

Nostalgia For Never Was

Remember all those sitcoms where people helped people out? The dream worlds like The Waltons or Leave It To Beaver? If a Neighbour was experiencing trouble, the whole neighbourhood pitched in to help.

I’m more convinced than every that it was just a dream. An impossible utopia that everyone pretends was real so they can say, “things were better when…”

In the real world, some busybody Neighbour would have reported the Cleavers to CPS because their kid was out of control.

Yeah, I’m still a bit bitter about the fence thing.

I watch some shows for fun. I watch one to escape my worries. That one, I wish was even a little bit real.

That show is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

It’s the same kind of dream world, where mean people - narrow minded people - are rare, if not nonexistent. A place where anyone can find employment based on skill and aptitude, rather than academic qualifications. A place where any personal quirk is accepted and tolerated.

If everyone on the planet actually worked towards some kind of mutual acceptance, mutual help, etc. then the world might just be a nicer place in which to live.

I guess that’s why they had to destroy the OWS camp. OWS were showing the world that they didn’t need the infrastructure we’ve been told we depend upon. They were living outside of The Holy System. Thumbing their noses at Authority and not backing down, giving up, shutting up, or going away.

If we lived our lives like the never-was Cleavers, Waltons(disregard the anti feminist stereotypes, please), or even ponies, there wouldn’t be a need for OWS in the first place, because people who got too greedy would be condemned instead of praised.

I’m not saying it’s perfect. I’m saying it’s something to strive for. Act better towards each other. Act with compassion, empathy and tolerance. Think a little about what other people might want before you take for yourself.

OWS made a functioning city within a city. We can make a functioning society out of the tattered remains that selfishness and mean minds have left us. It all comes down to three words:

“Need some help?”

Practice using them for a better tomorrow.

“Her eyes are up there, pal.”

I did it. I created humanised pony art.

Why I did this:

I’ve been browsing the internet fan art scene for a while and the humanised portraits are either porn or of little girls. I’ve also been thinking about what they’d really be like if they were people.

Fluttershy is shy for a reason. Amongst other cruelties like not finding her talent until she was expelled from her home, she -ah- ‘developed’ early. And large.

Girls who gain certain attributes early in real life are often singled out for all kinds of wrong attention, and if they develop large attributes, they can forget about having a good reputation. Or being talked to, face-to-face.

Therefore, Fluttershy looks down and covers up. Only her friends have helped her to allow herself to wear something a little revealing, once in a while.

She still has to rely on Angel to help the men realise where her face is, though.

[My Little Pony Friendship is Magic belongs solely to Hasbro and the cartoon designs are the genius of Lauren Faust. I make no claims on anything but my own work.]

{Edit: Not five minutes after I set this into my queue, mass speculation began about the relative builds of the humanised Mane 6. Oy}