The Next Big Story · 11:22am Jun 20th, 2016
My keyboard fingers have been itchy lately, and that can only mean one thing: I'm hankering to start another long-term project.
The trouble is, I don't know what I'd like to write. Not for lack of ideas, mind you. Oh no, the issue is, in fact, quite the opposite. I have too many ideas, such that I don't know which of them I'd like to work on. So with that in mind, I'm curious to know which of my ideas my followers would be most interested in!
Blueblood of El'Bia: A sequel to The Colour You Bleed. A year after Blueblood has been established as the Equestrian Ambassador to Aloa, Princess Luna visits him with a request. El'Bia, a nation neighboring Equestria and Aloa, has been acting strangely lately. They're an entirely Earth Pony nation, and distrustful of other races so, since Blueblood can effectively pass for an Earth Pony, Luna asks him to visit the country on a diplomatic mission, where she hopes he will discover just what is going on. While it would keep the heady tone of the original story, it would have a more action-oriented component, as Blueblood actively travels across the massive El'Bian desert.
A Place For Us: Many years ago, in the distant nation of Mitaan, a zealous cult waged war on the halflings of the nation. Forced to flee or lose their lives, Derpy Hooves, Lyra Heartstrings, Carrot Top, and Seafoam journey all across the world, pursued by the madman Salem, to the one place they know they can be safe: Equestria. The story is fairly dark in tone, as its main conflict revolves heavily around genocide. The darkness would be balanced by the strong companionship between the protagonists, and it would involve a good deal of world building--both of the country of Mitaan, and of the world as a whole.
The Pianist, The Pirate and the Toymaker: Meadowlark Smiles is a pony in search of... something. One of the only Bat Ponies he's ever known or heard of, along with his brother, he has long felt alienated in the world of ponies, and confused about his origins. In an attempt to find out more about himself and his place in the world, he travels to the east. There, along the southern coast of the Eastern Islands, he meets two more Bat Ponies: The Toymaker, an asocial crafstman, and Brighteyes, a fierce pirate who believes himself destined to rule the world. Meadowlark finds himself in the center of a conflict between the two, and must organize the loose coastal communities of the Eastern Islands into a force that can repel Brighteyes, and put an end to his madness once and for all.
The Seven Trials of Trixie Lulamoon: After accidentally insulting a powerful Griffon sorcerer, Trixie is cursed to blight the land she walks upon. Desperate to find a cure, she sets her eyes upon the Griffon's homeland, Zohannon, and the legendary Fruit of Life hidden there. With the help of the would-be hero, Roses-Upon-Saffron, Trixie must overcome seven great trials and navigate The Sea of the World to find the Fruit of Life. Heavily inspired by Persian mythology and set in an even more fantastical world, Seven Trials is a more directly adventurous than the others, with its darker elements set aside in favour of focusing on heroism, high fantasy, and good old-fashioned snarking.
The Autumn Invasion: Babs Seed may have gotten her cutie mark, but that doesn't mean her friends have yet. In one of many bids to get his cutie mark, the youngest member of the Manehattan CMC ropes them into helping clean out the attic of his doddering old neighbour. While there, they discover that his neighbour is, in fact, none other than the original Raygauntlet Rodeo, of Raygauntlet Rodeo's Laser Worldventures! What's more, they discover that he's been following a terrible plot. The Changeling Invasion of Canterlot was not the true invasion at all, but a feint meant to lure the ponies into a false sense of security. The real invasion is of Manehattan, that very autumn! With Raygun Rodeo kidnapped by the Changelings, it's up to the Manehattan CMC to stop The Autumn Invasion before it starts! The Autumn Invasion is a pretty purely adventure story, with almost no dark elements whatsoever and a tone more comparable to The Goonies than a spy story.
The Sequel to Bitmore Theater: This one is less fleshed-out than the others, mostly built upon a core concept without the meat-on-the-bones the others have. With the romantic elements squared away and Diamond Tiara roped into tenuous redemption and awkward friendship, Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle are happily dating. So it's only natural that, when Pip comes to the CMC asking them for advice on how to get a cutie mark in Monster Hunting(OR, Sweetie Belle mentions that she misses having adventures and kind of regrets the Phantom being a fake, OR Silver Spoon comes to the CMC admitting that she doesn't really know what her cutie mark means and needs their help figuring it out), Silver offers a solution. Specifically, she volunteers her Uncle(Technically, Second Cousin Once Removed, by adoption) Nightingale Smiles, Personal Guard and go-to errand adventurer to Princess Luna. Conveniently, it just so happens that Nightingale has a small, easy job that he could take Silver and her friends along with. The relationship between Silver and Sweetie would still be a major element, but it would also follow the relationships of the group as a whole as they get comfortable with one another, and a significant subplot would involve Diamond Tiara becoming more comfortable with the CMC as HER friends, rather than just as friends of her friend. There may or may not be further shipping involved. The context of all those relationships would be different, however, as the core plot focus would be adventure rather than pure romance.
There's also the possibility that, if it were demanded enough, I could get off my duff and finally finish Our Eminence.
Finally, as a very, very unlikely alternative: I have recently begun developing an original setting and series of stories I call Jack Tales, An example of which can be found here. If you guys are interested in reading some original stuff, I could focus more of my efforts there! I likely will be anyways, but hey, if people like it I could make it a priority.
You can shout your opinions at me in the comments below! Or, if you're more interested in doing it sciencey-like, I've made a survey you can take to measure interest!
Please note that just because one idea is more popular, doesn't inherently mean that's what I'll decide to work on. Ultimately my personal enjoyment is a big part of dedicating myself to a project, but at the end of the day I like making my followers happy, and writing something that you guys are interested in would make me happy as well.
I'd read any of these, but were it put to a vote, I'd strongly favor the first one. :D
Although I am tempted to jump for a sequel of a 2011 fic, A Place For Us sounds the most interesting, although also the most difficult to execute well.
I am on ponygrad on this one. Heart would love the sequel, but brain says "A Place For Us" to have even more potential. The Autumn Invasion looks cool as well...
I will happily read whatever you decide to write, Master Kegisak!
*quietly votes for 'The Pianist, The Pirate and the Toymaker', because the Smiles brothers are AMAZING... and he wouldn't mind seeing anything else involving them hanging around Silver Spoon some more either...~ ... failing that, Our Eminence returning would be just as wonderful!*
Our Eminence!