COMING ATTRACTIONS!!! · 8:44pm Jul 2nd, 2013
Wow, my first blog post. I don't have that many followers and probably can't be bothered to come up with a whole bunch of stuff to blog about, so don't expect this to be a regular thing anytime from here until lord knows how far in the future. That said, I figured that this would be a good place to put up some ideas for upcoming fics I have planned. Since most of you are probably readers of what has essentially turned into my pony magnum opus, Fate/Twilight, I guess you could see this as the list of all the stuff that keeps getting updates of that story pushed back so...sorry about that. These entries are basically divided into two categories: things I'm really excited about and have already started on or will start soon and things that I've had popped up in my head, but have yet to crystalize into anything resembling an actual story. So without further ado...
Savage Skies
Fluttershy was on her way to Zecora's, but was intercepted and pursued by a pack of timberwolves. However, she is saved by a mysterious young colt who has apparently been living in the forest for a long time. Fluttershy tries to get the colt to return to Ponyville with her, however, he is less than enthusiastic about the prospect of living amongst other ponies, as he has been born with a rare condition that has led to him being ostracized in the worst way possible.
This is the big one that, for those of you who read my notes on the latest chapter of Fate/Twilight, kept getting that story bogged down by hiatuses that ranged up to half a year in length. Again, sorry about that. This is my big story and I've invested a lot of time and effort in it and it still isn't getting close to done, as I've pointed out before, it's already over five-hundred pages long. It involves, among other things, martial arts, inl-depth investigations of non-unicorn magic, and a little speculative world-building on the side. I'll be posting the first chapter later this week (hopefully), but have been doing some rethinking of how to organize this story. That initial synopsis basically covers the first few chapters of the story and I've been dabbling with the idea of chopping this story up into smaller, more digestible pieces and airing them as a series of stories, rather than one big whopping one. I'm really considering this since the genre tends to shift between story arcs, meaning I could end up with more than the mods would approve, the same thing with character tags really. I'm really hoping this one gets a positive reception.
Dragon Wings and Other Things
Well after Twilight's ascension to alicornhood and her elevation to a Princess of Equestria, a certain sense of normalcy has fallen back upon Ponyville (at least, as much as can be expected to be normal for Ponyville) as Twilight settles into her role as princess. However, Spike has been doing some growing up in the meantime and is beginning to have some concerns regarding his nature as a dragon raised by and living among ponies. Spike must learn what it means to be a dragon and how his nature can help and hinder him from coexisting with his pony friends, even as signs of a new romance bloom on the horizon and he discovers the wonders of flight and magic.
In case you were wondering, this is a Spike/Dash story framed (at least initially) around the old concept (at least insofar as the relatively small list of Spike/Dash stories can have anything resembling an overused concept) of Spike and Rainbow bonding over Spike learning to fly. Another major part in this story is my intend to use it as a means to explore some of the qualities and ideas about how dragons function in the world of Equestria, including some what I hope are novel thoughts on the matter. This one might be a little while in coming as I haven't fully realized a full plot for it, but have already started working on the initial chapters.
That Which is Taken
Coal Dust is a pony living two lives. Most of the time, he's a well-paid and respected mechanist living in Canterlot, having managed to make a fine life for himself in spite of the fact that he's a pegasus with the severe disability of being unable to fly. However, he has a secret. He also happens to be one of the most skilled thieves in all of Equestria, infiltrating the estates of the Canterlot elite and making off with their most valuable heirlooms without leaving a trace of evidence. Canterlot and the ponies who occupy its upper-class is full of secrets, secrets that Coal Dust loves to learn and then liberate from their owners. However, when he comes into possession of a particular artifact of incredible power, he sets into motion a series of events that bring his carefully constructed life crashing down around him and could potentially alter the face of Equestria forever.
This is a story that grew out of the germ of an idea came about as an answer to a particular question about the episode, Magical Duel; namely, how did the super-powerful alicorn amulet end up in a random curio shop where Trixie could just waltz in and buy it? So, at least in part, this is the story of how that particular set of circumstances came into being and the wider implications surrounding what Trixie did. In spite of how this sounds, this story isn't about Trixie (at least, not in any meaningful way) and she will, at best, be a minor figure in it.
Pushing in the Right Direction
Lightning Dust confronts Spitfire after the events of Wonderbolt Academy as the two of them discuss what will happen with an aspiring would-be Wonderbolt's future on the line. Finding the answer requires a good, hard look at the events of the past week and just who was really responsible for what happened.
This is something I wrote up after Wonderbolt Academy came out and the first of the "aftermath" fics surrounding the episode's conclusion started to pour in. I noticed that quite a few of them took the path of being rather sympathetic to Lightning Dust and giving her all kinds of tragic or meaningful backstories to explain her behavior and motivation at the Academy. This story was primarily written out of the fact that I noticed that a lot of people seemed to ignore one of the principle figures responsible for much of the conflict in that episode, namely Spitfire, who exhibits what could be seen as a ridiculous degree of negligence regarding Lightning Dust's behavior and then is allowed to pull an almost complete 180 and change her mind about how well Lightning Dust was doing without anypony calling her on it. This one-shot is actually finished, but I'm waffling on whether or not to actually post it as I'm not entirely satisfied with how it came out. The execution feels kinda clunky to me on this one, so what finally makes it onto the site could be quite different from what I originally wrote.
One Awesome Mom
Scootaloo's family has always been a source of speculation and confusion. It doesn't help it that the filly in question has been rather tight-lipped on the truth about her parents, even with her best friends or her idol, Rainbow Dash. What little is known seems odd, to say the least. She lives with her Aunt Ditzy and her cousin, Dinky. She has a life full of love and more familial affection than a filly of her awesomeness can usually stand. Though her aunt has a low-paying job in the Ponyville Postal Service, neither Scootaloo, nor her young cousin, ever seem to be lacking in any manner. Just what is the truth about Scootaloo's family and why is she so keen to hide it?
This is a fun little scootafamily one-shot that I've started work on in approaching a semi-novel idea regarding Scootaloo's family. I say semi-novel because the idea has been floated at least once before (that I know of). She's been depicted to be an orphan, an unloved or underloved child who's been neglected (if not outright abused) by her family, and was even once depicted as having been adopted and raised by chickens. This is planned to be my attempt to throw my hat into that particular arena. Scootaloo is one of my favorite characters in the series, not in the least because her lack of any kind of background or family information means that her life outside of her time spent with the Crusaders is a fertile ground for all kinds of ideas.
Phantom Thief Scootaloo
Scootaloo is hiding a big secret about her family. No, they're not dead. In fact, they're very much alive. No, they don't abuse her. In fact, if anything, they tend to dote upon her a little too fondly. Nope, the reason Scootaloo doesn't talk about her family is because of the family business. You see, her parents are two of the most-wanted ponies in Equestria, highly skilled thieves who plunder the vaults of the rich and famous and loot priceless treasures from museums all across the country. Their skills are so great that it's said that not even Celestia herself could apprehend them. However, this is a family business and Scootaloo is next in line to carry on the tradition. There's just one problem though. Scootaloo isn't entirely sure she wants to even be a thief like her mom and dad. However, she still has to get ready for that most important of family traditions, the all-important First Heist, where Scootaloo will make her first efforts to join her parents in their thieving ways. She's been training her whole life for this. But is a filly without her cutie mark really ready.
If you just read that (which I hope you did), congratulations! You've officially read the sum-total of all the thought that I've put into this particular story so far. This originated as an idea I floated when Pen Stroke, known far and wide as the author of Past Sins asked for ideas for a one shot story that didn't involve Nyx or anything remotely related to the stories about her. It seemed to be one of the more popular ideas on that forum thread. But given the fact that Pen Stroke has not contacted me about using it, I'm assuming that he either found an idea that's more interesting and that he likes better (highly likely) or that he thinks (as I now do), that this was clearly an idea to large for a one shot story (maybe some combination of the two). Since I originally came up with the idea without actually considering writing it, this remains an idea, nothing more. If this appeals to someone who might like to make their own crack at it (since I'm not entirely sure I'll actually get around to writing this one), feel free to do so. You don't even have to credit me with it since if you put more than a minute of thought into the actual plot of the story, you'll have officially done more work on it than I have.
Dark Tidings II: Curses Come Home to Roost
An alternate Lunaverse story. Not long after the chaotic events of the Grand Galloping Gala, Trixie and her friends find themselves tasked with a difficult mission. They have been called upon by Princess Luna to travel to the province of Latigo and aid Viceroy Night Light in investigating a series of mysterious and dark events taking place on his estate. Rumors abound that the Viceroy has been cursed for his recent misdeeds and is now reaping the consequences in a way more horrifying than anypony could imagine. But curses aren't real...are they? As the Lunaverse Six investigate the goings on in Night Light's mansion, they soon find that things are much more serious than they ever believed possible as they contend with a mysterious magical force that terrorizes the mansion's residents. But they have to work hard and fast as the curse, if that's what it really is, only seems to be growing stronger and more terrible. Perhaps some help from an unexpected source could shed some light on the matter.
I've done a lot of reasoning out on how this story will go, but haven't begun any actual writing on it for a couple of reasons. The first of which is that I'm waiting for the Season 2 Lunaverse stories to start coming out so that I can see when and where to drop this in as since, even though RainbowDoubleDash ruled this series of non-canon for the Lunaverse in general, I'd like to keep it as close as possible in sync with the events occurring in the canon Lunaverse. The other reason I've held off is out of respect for RDD's unilateral ban on any new material relating to the Night Court after the huge brouhaha over At the Grand Galloping Gala (which I, by and large, seem to have missed). And since this story largely concerns Night Light and the fallout over his actions in that story, I figured it would probably fall under that category even though it is a non-canon fic. So this story is on the back-burner for the time being. Also, while it takes place in the same alternate Lunaverse as Dark Tidings, it will mostly concern Trixie, the other L-Six, Night Light and his entourage, and one surprise mystery guest (who may not turn out to be that much of a surprise) rather than the characters I introduced in the first story.
And that concludes my rather lengthy list of ideas that I have sitting at the ready right now. I don't know what I'll blog about in the future, but I'll try and make sure there are no more multi-month delays on Fate/Twilight. We'll see. That's all for now.
