My Little Alicorn: Some Random Junk · 9:14am Mar 5th, 2012
Note: Nothing on this post is serious. This is just me killing time while I take a quick break from My Little Alicorn. Feel free to not read a single thing on here. Oh, and possible spoiler warning.
I first discovered Friendship Is Magic back in April of 2011. A short time later, I stumbled across Equestria Daily, and through there the brony community at large. The sheer amount of content being produced was staggering, and even more unbelievable was the amount that was actually good. For every bad piece of art, poor quality remix, or unreadable fanfiction that crossed my path, there were at least two more waiting for me to read/listen and enjoy. So naturally, I eventually wanted to join the ring and contribute something of my own.
And of course, the first thing I wanted to do was turn the entire Mane 6 into fillies. Hence, the unproduced "My Little Fillies," a sort of prototype to what would later before "My Little Alicorn." Only about five or six paragraphs were written before I gave up and retooled the whole story, and those were not-so-sadly lost thanks to a computer virus. I just though I'd throw out what it was, for that one guy who hasn't got enough pointless jibber-jabber to read.
The plot involved an antique clock Celestia sent to Twilight to look after while Luna's room was being renovated. (It had been turned into a storage closet during her banishment.) Naturally, Twilight decides to show it off to her friends, but Pinkie and Spike are unable to join in due to other obligations. However, while trying to turn the thing on, Twilight hits a switch that causes the five in attendance to turn back into fillies, and when she tries to stop them from getting any younger, accidentally breaks the clock altogether. Pinkie and Spike would then discover what had happened, with Pinkie trying to keep the fillies in line and Spike trying to figure out how to fix the clock. An attempt to write to Celestia backfires when she angrily renounces Twilight as her student over the mishap, leaving the poor unicorn filly despondent. The CMC would get in on the act by helping the fillies finish their actual jobs while keeping what's happened to them under wraps. And Spike would soon learn that Celestia has been acting strange since just before the incident, with Luna fiercely keeping anypony from seeing her.
Finally, the truth would come out at a party at Sugar Cube Corner. The fillies would all be cheered back up thanks to the events of the fic, when Celestia, still angry at Twilight over what happened, would enter the shop. Pinkie would epically tell her off for how she's treated Twilight, only for the big reveal: "Celestia" was actually Luna using a disguise spell. The REAL Celestia had accidentally activated the clock herself before it could be sent to Twilight, and Luna relocated it so she could deal with her sister without her breaking the thing. Thus, when Twilight broke the thing herself, Luna angrily pretended to be Celestia herself, placing all the blame on her for stranding her with a baby Celestia. But in the end, things would work out, everypony would turn back to normal, and a happy ending for all!
Did you get all that? No? Then you know why I dropped this thing faster than a hot potato.
It only took a short time to realize I had a mess on my hands. There were far too many things going on at once, and none of the plots I had thought out were worth the 1s and 0s in a Word .doc. So, after a few false starts, I just decided to focus on the most interesting part to me: the relationship between Celestia, Luna and Twilight. Oh, and it had to involve Celestia turning into a filly, because hey, it's cute. I also kinda went on a Trollestia and Lovecraft kick around the same time, so I rewrote most of the plot devices to include those things. So instead of a clock, we had the pony Necronomicon. Instead of an accident, the regression happened because of a backfired prank. And the whole thing was only to star Celestia, Twilight, Luna, and Blueblood, along with a few OCs to fill in other roles. It was going to be only eight chapters long, and end on a fairly simple note.
Man, did THAT go wrong in a hurry.
The problems began again when I hit Chapter Four, with the introduction of Spike and the rest of the Mane 6 into the plot. The entire thing happened because of one thing: I wanted Pinkie Pie to be tied to the Arcanus E Draconus. Why? Because I was a moron and thought it might be a tad funny to have Pinkie's family descend from a mad sorcerer. But then the wheels started turning. What importance would it have to the plot? Well, none, so I'll tie her in to Twilight searching for the cure. But how will the two interact? Well, Pinkie will go to Canterlot. But wait, why would Pinkie head all the way to the capital by herself? Wouldn't the rest of her friends be curious or worried? (This was before Season 2, so yeah, the Friendship Express wasn't established yet.) Well...they all go over there together! But why? Um...Uh...Because they think Luna is evil!
And then I realized that, if Pinkie's ancestor was going to be the author of such an evil book, he had to be more than a namedrop. So I started creating a backstory. And then I added a little more. And a little more. Pretty soon, I had enough material to make a whole other fic, and the storyline was pretty much consuming the entire fic. So, I tried to kill it at Chapter 10 by infodumping Kuchen's backstory and tying up all the loose ends. But then I had to justify Pinkie being there again, so....well...let's just say the story probably would have been easier to write if I hadn't made that stupid, stupid choice to include her.
Other than that, Celestia and Luna had a few other things that got cut. Most notably, Celestia's entire plot was altered. Originally, she was going to be placed in the castle's day care service, where she could be watched while Twilight and Luna did their own things. There, she would have made friends with two other fillies, only for them to prove to be tools of their noblepony parents trying to earn favor with the princesses by treating Celestia's "niece" well. This got cut after I realized it was stretching the masquerade a bit too thin. On the plus side, cutting it let me do the Bookdor bit in Chapter Five (my personal favorite scene in the fic), so it was worth it. Luna's general story was unchanged, but there was also going to be a subplot involving an unscrupulous ERS agent trying to worm his way into her good graces/bed so he could take over the entire agency. Needless to say, that idea got nuked as early as Chapter Three.
Twilight's story was largely unchanged, but her role with the sisters was somewhat expanded upon. Originally she was just the mediator between the two, keeping the peace until a cure could be found. But then the good part of Pinkie's subplot interfered. Suddenly, Twilight had a genuine mystery to solve. Even better, I figured she would probably side with Celestia more than Luna, and actually made her a part of the conflict rather than just orbiting it. And in the next chapter, we're going to see her and Pinkie adopt even more heroic roles.
As for Blueblood...well, his plot did change, which is why some of the later parts are being held up. I still can't decide quite what to change the end of his storyline to. There's no doubt he will get his comeuppance, but just what it is I'm not quite ready to pin down just yet. But let's just say his bits are going to start tying in much more closely with the rest from now on.
So...yeah. If you've been reading this much, thanks. If not, I understand. I just wanted to give this blog thing a test drive during my short break. The next chapter should be done between the 11th and the 13th at the latest. So...I'll see you then.
glad to see someone else who's story got away from them. keep plugging.
The original plot seemed promising though I can see why you'd drop it. It seeme like something that keeps growing the further you get with know sign of stopping.
I can only speak for myself but I'd totally love to see the Mane 6 age-regressed again. What a shame that you discarded the idea, but at least
we got this little sequence in chapter eight, which had me on the floor laughing my head off.
Well, I'm glad you made all those little decisions, since the final product has turn out to be one of the best fanfics I have ever read, and it just keeps getting better and better!
Interesting. And here I thought I was the only one who goes completely off-plan when he starts writing.
I have to say, even though it's been more work for you, I do like how the story has gone with the changes you've made on the fly. It's really given you the space to explore the complexities of Royal Sisters' relationship with each other, and with their subjects. It has been an enjoyable ride so far, so thanks for your hard work.
