Self-Indulgent Author's Note Hullabaloo: Chapter 12 edition · 11:05am Jan 16th, 2013
You know what’s fun? GIANT TREES MADE OF HORSE SEX.
Fluttershy's dreams are even worse.
Yep. Time for notes!
• I’ll be honest: I’m not too happy with how this installment came out. I don’t think it’s awful, but there’s a lot of stuff in it that I’m not pleased with. I could never quite describe the Forest Ponies in a way that did justice to what I pictured in my head, and I’m not sure I gave the whole thing the right sense of danger. And generally, this one just didn’t feel like it came together the way the others have. It was basically me working in a different genre from the other chapters, which makes the installment stand out in both good and bad ways.
• Having said that, I don’t regret the shift in style. I liked exploring a different side of things, and it’s important to switch gears sometimes and force myself to write something different, or I’ll stagnate. We learn more from our mistakes than our successes, and I learned a lot from this chapter.
• So as you may recall, the concept of Pip having nightmares first surfaced quite a few chapters ago, before Sleepless in Ponyville revealed that Luna could enter dreams. Apparently there were already some fics out there where she could do just that, but I had never heard of them. So I was very pleasantly surprised when Luna popped into Scootaloo’s nightmare and announced, “GREETINGS, FLIGHTLESS PEGASUS. IT TURNS OUT I HAVE DREAM POWERS. BRING FORTH YE FANFICS.”
The original plan for Pip was a lot longer and more convoluted, and would have involved him heading to Canterlot (at this point I think the only Ponyville residents I haven't considered sending to Canterlot are Winona and Racially Oppressed Mule) to attempt a rescue and thus redeem himself in the eyes of whatever system of personal honor an effeminate eight year old subscribes to. Hopefully it’s less stupid than the Noble Dragon Code.
But then Sleepless aired and I was all, “Holy shit, Hasbro says Luna can dreamwalk! Fuck you, additional subplot!” Much like the previously-discussed Diamond Tiara subplot (and a couple of other ones I could mention) this storyline would have eventually been cut for streamlining purposes, and also because it was dumb. Luna's dream powers gave me the perfect avenue to resolve Pip’s issues much more quickly, in a way that seemed pretty awesome.
• This chapter was intentionally written in a very stream-of-consciousness way, something I don’t normally do. I thought it would help replicate the controlled randomness of a dream, so I sat down with no idea of what would happen, aside from Pip eventually finding and confronting some sort of apparition of Silver Spoon. The rest just sprung up as I traveled along with him. I don’t think the technique worked very well, but it certainly helped contribute to the feeling of general strangeness in the chapter.
• Dream logic played a big part in how this one was written. When you’re dreaming, you just kind of accept a lot of things that don’t make sense, and if you bother to think about them, your mind creates fictional memories or thought processes that justify them. It makes no sense for The Forest to be the entire world, or for Pip to be able to see with no sun or moon, or for him to know that something bad is at the end of the path, or for him to be unable to stop walking. But Pip somehow knows these things inherently, and accepts them completely, because that’s just how dreams work.
• Luna’s dream powers are probably the only major contribution season three will make to this series. Not because I dislike the season (quite the opposite; it’s on track to be my favorite of the series) but because I planned the story during the aeons-long hiatus. It’s too bad, because I would have loved to do something with Babs Seed. She’s in a unique position since she’s been one of the Mean Girls and one of the CMC, and that could lead to some interesting interaction between her, Silver, and Sweetie. Plus, what if Babs had been the offering? Forget Twist, Babs would have just beaten the crap out of everyone in the Gallery until they let her go out of fear.
BABS SEED BABS SEED SHE BRUTALLY ATTACKED. AND WALKED OUT OF THE GALLERY WITH HER HYMEN INTACT
Superior milkshake drinkers.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha you sir made my day with that.
... I might steal this blog idea. I think it helps the reader understand a great deal of the author's intent and would help the shit out of me because what I write and what I intend tend to be opposite things.
"Haha! Fuck you subplot!"
"But Gravy I thought we were friends!"
"Lol nope! C'mere quick fix!!"
Not dissing... Just kinda funny.
I really couldn't help but imagine the trees to be nastier than you described them... I mean if I took your word literally from the story they kinda sounded like a vaguely tree shaped orgy of rabid cripple ponies...
But I'm pretty sure everyone who read it added their own little gruesome details to their appearance in their heads...
I know I did.
WH40k is great at making your brain darker.
"Dream logic played a big part in how this one was written. When you’re dreaming, you just kind of accept a lot of things that don’t make sense, and if you bother to think about them, your mind creates fictional memories or thought processes that justify them."
Unless you can do lucid dreaming...
"BABS SEED BABS SEED SHE BRUTALLY ATTACKED. AND WALKED OUT OF THE GALLERY WITH HER HYMEN INTACT"
You are a riot, I find it that you have a great sense of humor!
fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/154/e/4/my_little_shattered_memories_by_lucas47_46-d525sc4.png
s3.amazonaws.com/bronibooru/28919b72f1023b812a71ac11c596ce72.jpg
This doesn't have any sense if you know nothing of Silent Hill shattered Memories, Metalica, or Neil Gaiman's The sandman