Author's Notes For a capital offense · 11:24pm Jan 7th, 2018
IN WHICH I MAUL ENGLISH AGAIN
Hi. Thanks for reading & clicking. I was very pleased with the reception that Comma Comma got last year, so I decided to write a follow up. It's been sitting completed for a while, but only now am I posting it. Why? Eh, it's raining outside so why not? Allow me to give context to some of the "story", such as it is.
Before I start with the rambling, this story marks my very first time writing Starlight Glimmer. I like her character, so I hope I did her justice. Moving on...
This whole thing started when I recalled the time back in college, about 15 years ago, when a girl I knew was talking about the time she and her classmates acted up so hard it literally broke their teacher, who suddenly became very quiet, rocking back and forth on her chair, repeating the phrase "Ponies... pretty ponies... pretty ponies..." According to my acquaintance, she never returned to class. So, that's where Starlight's insane gibbering comes from.
It also made perfect sense to at least show the effects of whatever level of desu. I couldn't keep it mysterious like in the original story, since that would be retreading, and I'm guilty enough of that in my Burritoverse.
As is usually the case with me, there are a few references. In addition to the real anecdote, this time I threw in a shout-out to an infamous hentai (in a Rated-E story; ain't I a stinker?) called "Words Worth". I've only ever seen clips because I don't watch porn, but my understanding is it involves an anthropomorphic horse whose catchphrase is "Your resistance only makes my [PINGAS] harder (or stronger)!"
Desu is of course a reference to one of the original "Rules of the Internet" (I think it was #11?), which was itself a reference to the manga/anime series Rozen Maiden, which I really do need to watch soon, especially given my history with ball-jointed dolls.
I shouldn't have to explain the pun that is the story's title -- I think y'all are smart enough to get it. However, the chapter title is a reference to the album and song by Jazz pianist David Benoit. It also fit the theme and tone of the story.
Just to show how long it's been since I wrote this story -- the final modification date on my original .rtf document is 2017/11/11 (although, as always, I made some additional edits after pasting the story; it still sat 100% finished but unpublished for about a month until now) -- I threw in the most obvious Star Wars reference imaginable and forgot about it until a reader pointed it out. Yet another reason I love it when readers point out the many shout-outs I make; sometimes even I'll forget about them.
Twilight also briefly assumes the role of the put-out mother in the Beatles' song "She's Leaving Home" when she complains about Spike skipping home. It's a reference I didn't realize I had until after I wrote it.
"Chufty" as the nickname for the royal guard is a reference to a famous Let's-Play of Sonic Unleashed by medibot et al. You should look it up. "Chufty" was shorthand for "Chuffleguff", which is what medibot decided to name the big dark blob monsters you fight at the end of most of the game's night stages.
I think that's all for now. I will upload a Mayor Mare story on January 20th, 2018. It takes place in the Crystal Empire, so I guess it will be a followup to this. Look forward to it!
Peace Out!
