Backstory: The Alchemist, part 1 · 7:50pm Nov 3rd, 2021
The genesis of this story goes back to 2016, long before I'd ever watched the first episode of FiM (early 2020). At that time, I saw a piece of artwork showing a wizard walking. That's it. Just walking with his staff and a cape billowing out behind him. Something about that image inspired me to figure out who he was and why he was in a rush to get somewhere. So I started writing. I stopped the story at just over 4k words with notes about where I wanted to go next. I never got back to it, and so it sat.
Fast forward 4 years to September 2020. I was looking at some old files in Google Docs and found that story. As I read through it, I realized it wouldn't take very much to turn it into a pony story. After all, it was also set in a fantasy world with magic. So I lost the staff, added a horn, and started to write a new story. That source material was the basis for The Alchemist from the beginning to a bit past the scene with the money changer. So about 5K words. Fortunately, this time, I kept writing.
Something else interesting about this story is how much it grew during editing. I've talked previously about how every story seems to get longer with editing. The version of The Alchemist the pre-readers saw was 12K words long. By the time the editing was complete, the story had expanded to 22.5K words. Some of that was due to additional scenes being added in the first half that covered Windflower's training. But the majority of the expansion happened as part of an almost complete rewrite of the entire Canterlot sequence. It had some problems, and the only way to address them was to just rewrite it from scratch.
As usual, the final story is better than what I started with. Editing can be, no, wait, who am I kidding? Editing is painful, but the results seem to be worth it.
I'll also toss a little foreshadowing in here. There are some references to Windflower and her journal in an upcoming Dark Steel spin-off story. But that's nothing compared to how the history of the journal comes into play in a future Quicksilver & Misty story. Windflower was instrumental in the defense of Princes Celestia and the castle, but the journal will one day be critical in attempting to save all of Equestria.
TRAILER
EXT. STREETS OF CANTERLOT - DAY
Individual and groups of happy ponies going about their normal day in the city.
CUE UPBEAT MUSIC
NARRATOR (V.O.)
Life for ponies has been good the last few centuries.
When problems arose, the princesses or the Elements
of Harmony came to the rescue.
But something is coming...
EXT. STREETS OF CANTERLOT - NIGHT
Ponies screaming in panic and running left-to-right. Some glance back over their shoulders.
CUE OMINOUS MUSIC
NARRATOR (V.O.)
Something thought long gone has survived a
millennium. It has returned, and it's intent is evil.
INT. ROOM IN CANTERLOT CASTLE - NIGHT
Princess Celestia, Luna, and Twilight sit at a round table with Quicksilver and Misty. The table is covered with books and papers. They are having an animated conversation in the background.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
But a journal written by an alchemist long gone may
hold the key to stopping the malevolent presence.
If only the best and brightest Equestra has to offer
can figure it out in time.
FADE TO BLACK
Now I’m curious exactly what kind of threat could be recognized by Quicksilver and Misty from their reading of Wildflower’s journal.
Also, I’m assuming Celestia has always had the capability to become an alchemist but never chose to study that field. On second thought, I may be mistaken.
I also experience “word count creep” while editing or revising stories. The advice Stephen King received early in his career, “Second draft = first draft minus 10%,” just doesn’t apply to the way I write. Ideas and inspiration come to me gradually —inspired by what was written before.
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I think (hope) you will find the answers to those questions intriguing. Unfortunately, it'll be a while as I've decided the story needs some significant work (I've learned a lot about writing since the draft was completed) before it even goes into the editing queue.
I'm a dabbler in the written arts and most of my work thus far is in the form of descriptive scenes, some small bits of dialogue but nothing real cohesive.
Anyways I am a big armchair history fan so historical fiction like this is always a treat. I'm with Misty in the being disappointed that we don't get to see what happens next
.