Sassafras

I'll be honest: I never thought I'd write a story about Pinkie Pie. She's not exactly one of my favorite characters (please don't hate me if that's why you read the story), and I've always found the idea of writing about the "Mane Six" to be... treacherous, for lack of better words. I mean, they're so well-established, so well-ingrained in the minds of fans that it doesn't always leave a lot of room for character development or exploring a side of them that the show hasn't already touched on, save for situations that a kids show wouldn't air. Yet one night I found myself listening to a playlist I've setup for working on a flash project (shameless plug) when a lyric from 'Smile' struck me rather hard:

There's one thing that makes me happy and makes my whole life worthwhile / And that's when I talk to my friends and get them to smile

And I got to thinking: "What if Pinkie couldn't get her friends to smile?" I started going through scenarios in my head, both what would cause such an issue, and how Pinkie would ultimately react to it. I decided very early on that I didn't want to do a suicidal kind of thing; far too depressing for her character, and not really something I felt like doing. Yet I continued to think on it. I won't write any (more) potential spoilers here, but suffice to say I did originally think of it ending differently. If anyone is curious as to how, I wouldn't mind answering a few questions, here or on a separate blog post or something.

Or.

OR.

For anyone interested, I will be attending this year's BABSCon in San Francisco, April 3-5. I'm not exactly a star here, so I'll be just a regular guest milling about with the rest of the event's attendants, but if you can find me/coordinate with me a place to meet and chat, I'd love to talk about any one of my stories (published or otherwise) or even the animation I linked to above if that managed to catch your attention. My nametag will say "Venates" just like it does here, and I'll be wearing a pin on my front bearing my profile picture:

I'd go into more detail, but I'm hesitant to for privacy reasons. I also may or may not be in an Octavia cosplay on Saturday, just for shiggles. Maybe. I've never really done cosplay before, but I've also never really had a reason to, so this will be interesting.

I also apologize in advance, but I'm afraid I won't be meeting anyone outside of the convention center, so no grabbing a bite out at a favorite burger joint or anything (even though I love local burger joints). I hope you understand.

In the meantime, I don't know for sure when you guys will be seeing something from me again. These story ideas come to me in an instant and burn until they're in text; there's really no controlling that muse, and I hate trying to force it. That said, I do have a basic outline for a sequel to Ponies Protecting Ponies written up. Before I act on it though, I might need a little... motivation.

Wink wink, nudge nudge.

I'll post pictures if I can take any good ones! Stay golden!