Lost Marbles!? What Happened To You? · 3:35am Jan 21st, 2019

Howdy, y’all.

I’ve been silent on FimFic for a very long time, and this blog post has been a long time coming.

In short, I’m done writing fanfiction for this site. I’m not 100% done with ponies or with creating fan projects, it’s more like I’m focusing my time on things more related to developing my artistic and visual storytelling skills. I’ll still watch season 9, still make the occasional pony comic, and I’ll definitely check out the next generation whenever it comes, but I feel ready to move on.

The pony fandom was the very first to really enrapture me and win my love, and I don’t think any other show or cartoon may ever be able to do so in the way Friendship is Magic has ever again.

I have a lot to say before I feel like I can close the chapter on my fimfic days. I want to say why I liked the show so much and give some thoughts on the stories I wrote, and fill you in on what projects I have coming in the future.

To keep things concise, I’ve broken them down into separate sections. I have a tendency to be rather verbose and go on tangents (just ask anyone who’s ever spoken to me), but I’ll do my best to keep each section to the point for everyone’s sake.

*WHY I LIKED THE SHOW

The world

The world of _My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic_ felt very equally fantastical and dangerous. It was as Dawn Somewhere put it best: “Small pony in a big world.” While within the confines of Ponyville or Canterlot, the ponies were safe, and the world just beyond their borders were the wilds. As long as the little ponies stayed together, their camaraderie and numbers would protect them from the giants and dragons that inhabited the world beyond their town.

Going out of town and off the beaten paths was a huge risk, and several episodes of the early seasons had the ponies struggling against a world that would devour them whole. Dragons and diamond dogs were both threats to any pony that crossed their paths, and chaos gods and bug queens were always present in the shadows, ready to wreak havoc at the first opportunity.

All of these threats would eventually be overcome, not by any lone pony, but by the elements of harmony - the friends the show centered around. No one pony could complete the journey, but banded together, they were able to survive.

It was this sense of being so small in an big world that made the ponies and everything around them so much more fascinating. This aspect of the show has definitely diminished greatly, as it’s more of a “big pony, little world” scenario. Ponies have built skyscrapers, cities among the clouds, and there world more greatly resembles ours than any fantasy setting it started off as. The world has slowly lost its edge, and with that, a lot of the wonder, mystery, and potential that captivated many fans early on.

The characters
The main characters are all pretty great. Some may be more popular than others, but I think that each of them would make great role models, and I admit that I sometimes see aspects in these characters that I myself want to emulate. And I don’t mean the elements of harmony traits they’re given. I believe they all have much more admirable traits that should be taught, but marketing and magic can’t really make more attractive than the simple “loyalty, honesty, etc.”

I’ll go through each main character and what it is about them I feel is so admirable about them:

Twilight Sparkle
Our favorite book horse is the element of magic, but to me, she’s much more of an interesting character for since we explore the world through her eyes. She’s always constantly learning and trying to improve herself and her understanding of the world. Her inquisitiveness is her best trait and what I liked most about her. The writers did a good job using this as her strength and weakness in a few episodes. She doesn’t always want to know, she needs to know. And when something doesn’t make sense or she can’t put two and two together without some logical error, it’ll drive her bonkers. And when she’s uncovered new discoveries, she’s quick to obsess and can get quite manic without Spike around.

Speaking of Spike…

Spike
He gets a lot of shit from fans, but I think Spike is a great example of what a good friend can be to you. They can be your anchor. Someone to encourage you in your pursuits and cheer you on when you learned a new spell. Someone to bounce ideas off of and to honestly tell you, “that’s pants-on-head retarded” when something you’re up to is quite pants-on-head retarded. He’s kind of like a more personal and flawed Zecora, before she was completely swept under the rug by the show.

Speaking of rugs…

Rainbow Dash
I keed. Rainbow Dash may or may not munch rugs, but she’s always pushing herself to be better. Of all the main characters, she is the only one that really had a set goal and a desire to achieve it. Ultimately, we know she gets into the Wonderbolts, but it’s the fact that she worked her ass off to become the speed demon she is to get in that should be admired. She may be brash because of the huge sense of self-confidence, but that’s because she’s more than earned that confidence. She trains constantly and has pushed herself to achieving great things.

If I practiced running so much, became one of the fastest humans alive, and suddenly surpassed all known records and ran so fast that rainbows shot out my ass, you’d better believe I’d be confident in myself and would be proud to be me.

“Hey, do you know who you’re talking to? I can run so fast rainbows shoot out my ass. What have you accomplished recently?”

Speaking of accomplishments…

Rarity
She started off as my favorite, and still kind of is. Much like Rainbow Dash, she’s a hard worker, but instead of pushing herself to her limits, she’s more about being industrious.

At the start of the show, she’s already made progress down the path of success. She’s got a boutique, a clientele, and has started getting noticed by several fashion magazines. This wouldn’t have been possible if she didn’t take steps towards that success every single day.

Another trait she has in common with Rainbow that I feel is a good trait to emulate is that she’s comfortable with herself. I think she does this better than Dash, actually. If you try to degrade her or say that she’s anything she’s not, she’ll confidently roll her eyes and blow air between her lips before continuing on her day. She knows she’s an excellent fashionista and a wonderful pony all around. Dash would probably need to prove herself in a display of sportsmanship.

Of course, she’s still subject to fits of sobs and weakness, but those usually require some sort of public humiliation (like in Boast Busters) or in a personal failure. Overall, she’s been my favorite not only because of these traits, but she’s also one of the most bombastic and dramatic of the group. When she’s upset, she lets everyone know, and with a gravitas none of them can match.

Speaking of gravitas...

Pinkie Pie
Ask any one of my friends which of the mane six I most closely resemble, and they’ll tell you that Pinkie Pie is my spirit pony.

Correction: Ask any one of my friends that is familiar with MLP:FIM and they’ll tell you I most resemble Pinkie Pie. I’m a very upbeat person who can find humor in almost anything and can’t stop laughing once I’ve gotten started.

I like Pinkie Pie mostly for her optimism and positive attitude towards life and everything in general. She may crank everything up to 11, but she cares.

Also, she’s probably read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” at least a hundred times. She remembers birthdays, little facts about other ponies, and does her best to make them feel like they’re the center of the world. Although she does take it too far and that she can end up irritating the other character, she’s an overall positive character that I can’t bring myself to hate. She just has fun with everything that so joyful that when I go to draw something pony related, she’s usually the first to come to mind.

Another thing I find absolutely admirable about her though is her people skills. While she may not have the charm, class, or manipulative abilities of Rarity, she’s got a way to make friends. She’s not afraid to put herself out there to make friends, and because of that, she’s got a social life many of us could only dream about.

She may take rejection pretty hard (hey, who doesn’t?) but at least she’s not a recluse who hides in her own little hidey-hole.

Speaking of...

Fluttershy
Honestly, she’s always been my least favorite, but one I kind of relate to more than I’d care to admit.

She lives in her secluded little corner of the world and gets along following her low-stress lifestyle. She’s really only interesting to me in the show when she’s shoved out of her comfort zone.

But what do I like about her?

Uh…

...oh crap…

She’s… cute?

Well, she is a pony who does well on her own and that doesn’t really need the approval of others, or is the reason she keeps to herself is because she’s afraid of being rejected?

I think I’m digging to deep…

Uh….

Speaking of digging holes…

Applejack
Much like Rarity, she’s industrious. However, while Rarity has a vision and a goal that keeps evolving and changing as the amount of success her industry brings her, Applejack’s work and goals remain constant: keep ponies fed and the farm floating financially.

While I respect AJ’s character for being a hard worker, I appreciate her more for her integrity, dedication, and reliability.

Of all the ponies I’d trust with my life, if I ever wound up the protagonist in some god-awful displaced fanfic, it’d be her.

When Applejack gives her word, it means something, and she’ll either work herself to death or not come home until she’s accomplished what she’s said she’d do. (Applebuck Season and The Last Roundup). The amount of trust and loyalty this pony has earned is unmatched, and if anyone had to replace Mayor Mare when she was found dead with a marble lodged in her throat, I’d put my money that the pony that would replace her would be Twilight (oh wait, she already has), but then after royalty, AJ would be the next pick.

Speaking of next pick...

Trixie
It’s obvious.

Trixie’s great and powerful.

Stories by Lost Marbles reviewed by Lost Marbles

Now that I got the actual canon stuff out of the way, let’s go back over my fan works and how I feel about them.

A Game of Kings and Pretty Pony Princesses

Honestly, I love and hate this fic equally.

I love how much fun I had writing it and how much fun I had discovering and exploring my sense of humor.

I can’t believe I seriously wrote this:
(from chapter 4)

Marcus turned to Godiva. “Now, Godiva, I have a few things to talk to you about, I do. These ponies are people here, they are. So no petting or touching them.”
Godiva stopped tugging at a wedgie. “What? But I want to play with the ponies!”
Marcus crossed his arms. “Godiva, these aren’t like ponies back home, they’re not. Who knows? Even scratching one of them behind the ear could be a social taboo, it could. So I don’t want you petting, hugging, mounting, or anything else of that nature, I don’t.”
Porthos snorted and the King chortled. “You said ‘mount’.”
Godiva shot them a glare before continuing her whining. “But they were all snuggly-wuggly with each other when they met Fluttershy!”
Marcus remained unmoved. “Between close friends things are different, they are.” He walked away from Godiva and didn’t see her stick out her tongue.
“Now, Porthos.” Marcus looked up at the rat that was twice as tall as he was. “No getting drunk.”
“I can’t make any promises,” said Porthos as he adjusted himself in his pants, like a true person of culture.
Marcus crossed his arms, again. “And only one drink.”
“OH, SOD OFF! I’ll drink as much as I want.”
Marcus didn’t flinch as he locked eyes with Porthos. Time stood still.
“Fine,” Porthos said, “I’ll meet you halfway. No more than fifteen.”
“One.”
“Twelve.”
“One.”
“Ten.”
“One.”
“Seven.”
“One.”
“OH, FOR THE LOVE OF PATRICK, LET ME HAVE FUN!”
“One.”
“FIVE!”
“One.”
“THREE!”
“One.”
“Two?... Please?”
Porthos was begging. He no longer towered over Marcus. At least figuratively.
“One.”
“DAMN YOU, YOU HAT-WEARING, POETRY-SPEWING, MOSS-BRAINED, SNAKE-SKINNED, SKINNY-ARMED, JELLY-BONED, LIMP-WRISTED, STICK-THROWING, DAISY-SNIFFING, CLOVER-PLUCKING, TEETOTALING, SHEEP-TWADDLING, ARSE-LICKING, SPINELESS, TASTELESS, GUTLESS GOBSHITE! LET ME DRINK!”

The characters were fun, the banter was fun. This was a joy to write from beginning to a small portion of the very end.

And why I hate it…

It’s my first work of fiction… ever.

I rewrote the prologue and first two or three chapters multiple times. It’s incredibly messy in spots and sometimes I feel maybe a bit quick on the tone changes in places. The ending in particular really got away from me and really went dark. I’m still kind of embarrassed of what I wrote.

What was supposed to happen was a game of tug-of-war using Princess Celestia as the rope between the portal of two worlds, and the portal shuts on her neck, leaving her body in Equestria and her head elsewhere. She’d still be alive, maybe a bit peeved, but it would have been comical. What I wrote was… oh god, so god damn stupid and dark. How did it even turn out that way?

I’ve thought about rewriting this, and if I were to, I’d tell it from Princess Luna’s and Twilight’s point of view, and I’d start it of much much later in the story progression. Or at least really speed up the first half of the story.

I would have changed the origin of the Mouse King and his court as well. In my original take, they were supposed to be individuals who copied themselves on a supercomputer that exploded and pieces of it scattered into many different worlds. In order to keep them in top shape so that they could recapture their homeworld, they would play a game of chess with the inhabitants of the worlds they suspected parts of the supercomputer were in, and thus they’d pretty much just conquer world after world, looking for parts of their computer/selves, then leave.

If I were to rewrite it, I’d have made a lot of changes to their origin, and the endgame would have been significantly different. Celestia was still going to lose her head for a time being, but it was going to be a fantastic goofball adventure with floating castles, giant snake gods, a battle of three armies, and ultimate sacrifices. Just talking about it makes me want to write it out, but I’ve come to the decision that I just don’t have the time or crayons to write out this epic a second time.

I put so much work and time into this story that I can’t help but love it - warts and all.

Twilight Sparkle Play Hot Cockles

Funny enough, I wasn’t smoking weed when I wrote this.

I have no idea why I thought this was so funny, but it was. Someone put this in a clop group and that just blew my mind.

My jaw was slightly open when this realization came to mind: “Someone fapped to this.”

Eating Me Alive

Whenever I read a comic, a story, or a review of a comic or a story, I constantly find myself thinking “I wouldn’t do that, I’d do this!” or thinking how I’d tackle a subject. Really, it’s how I got most of my ideas.

I forget I wrote this half the time and only remember I wrote this when I check my profile and I see it’s one of my higher-rated stories and just think… “Huh, oh yeah, that exists.”

Discord’s Discombobulating Discounts

Based of a 24 hour comic idea I had.

I think an editor of Equestrian Daily pointed out this stories biggest flaw best when he said “You’re title is about the store, but your story follows Rainbow and Pinkie giving everyone a laxative. It’s misleading and disgusting.” Okay, he didn’t say it like that, and if he did he’d be wrong. It wasn’t a laxative, you figurative wanker, it was a drink mix that just gave the pony who drank it a temporary case of the butt trumpets.

I feel this story had the most wasted potential of all the stories I wrote. Discord opens a store in Ponyville. That’s a great set up for a series of unfortunate happenings! Instead, I go for the fart juice.

Hi, I’m Mr. Meeseeks!

Another story brought about the “I can do it better!” train of thought.

Are displaced stories still a thing? I know anime caught on with their isekai genre.

This story is actually one of my favorites. Not in the actual content, but some of the writing and just the overall direction I go to shit on a genre I didn’t much care for.

This line still cracks me up:

Damn, that lady was hanging out all over the place. The speed dating booth lady was dressed up as Captain America, at least from the waist up; nothing was covering her buttcheeks. It was like a piece of floss caught between two Christmas hams.

I don’t care if this story got hated on, I still think it’s funny. I smile every time I think of this line like I watched a fat kid failed at doing a cartwheel, fell down, and farted.

Mr Cake Masturbates

Ooooh boy. This one.

There was a trend where people were writing “X Masturbates” stories and I noticed that most of them where 1,000 words long exactly. I thought it was some kind of prompt or joke I wasn’t in on, but I still thought to myself “How would Lost Marbles approach this?”

So I wrote this masterpiece:

Then he remembered what Mrs. Cake had worn for him on his birthday. Oh Celestia, yes. You’re mine now. Take it, Luna. Take all of it, you filthy whore.

Honestly though, the “Pinkie Pie Masturbates” one is really touching. I think someone like Short Skirts and Explosions wrote it. You know, someone with real writing talent.

Winds of Wintercrest

This story was the result of a futile exercise in brevity. I mentioned before I’m a bit long winded and have a natural tendency to go on tangents, so I tried to write a story with as little as necessary.

Inspired by a certain song, I thought up a tale of sorrow and woe caused by love and jealousy that involved monsters and mountains. I wrote the first draft of the entire story in a week and took a few more days to edit it.

It’s one of my more somber and serious attempts at writing and I liked it so much that nothing I felt my art skills were inadequate to give the cover art justice. The imagery may be a bit forced, but I really liked how this story turned out and can’t think of anything corny to say to spoil the mood.

Pinkie Pie’s Murder Pies

Oh, this is a hot pile of garbage.

It deserves every downvote it gets.

Basically - Spoiled griffin royalty visiting Twilight on a friendship bullies pinkie into getting her a meat pie, and through a serious of poor decisions and misunderstandings, she ends up killing a pony to put in a pie to abate the griffin prince and keep pony-griffin relations.

It’s stupid. Don’t touch it. I’m upset I even wrote it.

The Itch

My friend: “(while discussing what is required to make a full and compelling story) I mean, you couldn’t write a whole story about scratching your ass.”

Me: “Hold my beer.”

Woebegone

The story that slowed my output to a crawl.

It started off fine, but the more and more I tried to write this story, the harder it became.

Maybe Woebegone is very bad luck, because during the time I was writing this I was facing some personal troubles. I finally squeezed an ending out of my behind. I’m not satisfied at all with what came out, but I’m satisfied that it’s over.

It was the one story I told myself I had to finish before continuing the next one, and that ultimately just sucked out the fun of writing for a long time.

Coltislava

Also titled “Wer am I” in my notes. Kind of gives away the twist I had in mind. Or does it?

Inspired by the wonderful Brahm Stoker’s Dracula, it’s a story about Bonbon on her first mission told through her reports to S.M.I.L.E. It would have continued after her first assignment and been told through journal entries, newspaper clippings, and more reports as a mystery follows Bonbon from the distant, lonely mountain town of Coltislava back to Ponyville.

This story is actually one that I really, really want to work on. I have an idea of making it into something to be my last “hurrah” and contribution to the pony fandom, but I’m not making any promises or declarations here. I just really loved the idea of this story. My first take on horror and it was such a fun and refreshing write.

Claymore

“But Lost Marbles,” you may ask, “there is no story listed as ‘Claymore’ by you.”

That’s right.

Because I didn’t publish it.

If you’ve been following me during Novel November or whatever it was called, I was hard at work churning out a new story. It was about an earth pony who gave up his heart for the power to move mountains, but it ended up costing him more than his heart and he couldn’t take it. In his madness, he was sealed away and forgotten about.

He’s unwittingly revived over a millenia later by Sweetie Belle, and then the story unfolds as both Sweetie Belle (his hostage) and Twilight (his pursuer) discover who he is, what he’s done, and struggle to find if he deserves redemption or damnation.

As much as I liked this story, it’s the one that killed writing for me all together, and in fact why I didn’t log on to fimfiction for a long time after NaNoWriMo (oh yeah, that was what it was called) was over.

This story was just a source of disappointment to me. Not for what it was or the quality of the work, but I’ve come to a very hard part in my life and was facing joblessness, depression, and other things.

I had to look myself in the mirror and ask me “is writing pony fan fiction what you really want to do in your spare time?”

The short answer was “No.”

Pony fanfics gave me a lot. And I discovered it when I was in the worst spot I had ever been in life. It was a great escape and I enjoyed so many stories that everyone put out there of all skill levels. It finally made me take a chance with being creative, and I wrote the many stories that we’ve reviewed (and more that haven’t even been published or mentioned here!), but I felt that while this was a great way to dip my toes in the creative world, this wasn’t the pool I wanted to swim in.

I wanted to get into the cartooning jacuzzi. And I didn’t have the time to jump from one body of water to the next. I have a full-time job, adult responsibilities, and what free time I have left can only be divided so much.

That is why I put down the pony pencil.

For a while, I felt ashamed and thought I just “failed.” But it was after time with friends and reflecting on what I really wanted that I realized that this was the best choice for the direction I was making. But by the time I made that realization, I had already left this account silent for months on end, and I felt ashamed for that.

This blog post was simmering on my back stove for a long time, and everytime I’d go to sit down in that cartooning jacuzzi, I’d get that little nag about unfinished business in the pool. Sometimes I could quiet that voice, and other times it’d just rumble and would let me focus.

So I come to you to let it out, all the stuff that has been bottled up deep inside me for so long. I feel much better now that I’ve relieved myself in your pool.

If you want to see me, I’ll be in the jacuzzi.

What now, Mr. Jacuzzi Man?

I’m doing my best to develop my art skills every day. I’ve also set myself a schedule to make a comic every week.

You can find me over on my deviantart here (Some a-hole already took “Lost Marbles”)

Or you can check out my website here

I’ll still make pony content on occasions and check in on this side of the pool, but nowhere near as often as I used to.

Thanks to all of you and stay awesome.

Since you've read this whole thing, here's a pony eating icecream.