- In Memoriam -
There’s been a lot of rumors flying around about whether or not this story will continue as planned, and I figured it was time to put these rumors to rest. For those of you who haven’t heard: Tootie Tales, the actress responsible for portraying Derring-Do, was found unconscious in her trailer and was rushed to the hospital under critical condition. Despite their best efforts, the doctors declared her passing at 8:43, 29th of March 2013, at the young age of twenty seven. The autopsy report states that she passed of natural causes, in her sleep and without any pain.
Needless to say, the cast and crew have been devastated by this sudden and unexpected loss. Tootie Tales was originally known for her unbilled work as Rainbow Dash’s stunt-double and look-alike, and it’s hard to predict how her loss will affect season 4 of the official My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic television series (Firefly, the actress who portrays Rainbow Dash, is more than capable of performing her own stunts as needed). There’s been some talk about finding a replacement to finish up the series--all of Tootie Tales’ action-oriented scenes were completed well in advance, but it will be almost impossible to find somepony who can do justice to her quieter, character-oriented performances. This side project was her first real chance to come out from behind the scenes and into the limelight, and nopony could have predicted the originality she brought to the character.
The exact cause of death remains undetermined, and the project has been put on hold until a proper investigation can be conducted. I know there are a lot of rumors about unsafe working conditions and I can assure you they are completely false: every precaution was taken to ensure the actors safety, and they knew the inherent risks of performing their stunts themselves. It is true that Tootie Tales and Firefly (the actress who portrays Rainbow Dash) did experience a mild illness during filming of the jungle scene, as well as some minor frostbite and light-headedness from the high-altitude and cold weather of the arctic mountain scene, but they insisted that it was a small price to pay for filming in such genuine, realistic locations. As I’ve said before many times, this is just one more sign of the dedication she had to her work. The fact that Tootie Tales was also struck on the head by a falling zeppelin anchor while sitting on a crate of special-effects explosives the day before she was admitted to the hospital is a complete coincidence, as her medical report shows in full: immediately after the eight-ton anchor was removed from overtop of her, she claimed it was “nothing at all” and insisted that filming continue uninterrupted. The cast and crew all agreed that she was cheerful and pleasant for the rest of the day, and that she voiced no complaints whatsoever that could possibly indict the director or producer in a court of law.
Those of you familiar with the fanfiction industry’s recent history will no doubt know that this story is actually loosely-based on a much older story (a silent, black-and-white fanfiction from nineteen-twenty-three) that also experienced considerable delays and financial setbacks. Two other fics were attempted in the decades following, both of which were canceled due to the untimely deaths of the actresses portraying Daring Do. I know the fanfiction industry has it’s fair share of superstitions and legends, but claims that the first movie was financed almost entirely by the black-market auction proceeds of a jade seapony idol is, of course, completely irrelevant to the issue. I ask you all to remember Tootie Tales for how she lived, rather than dwell on the nature of her death.
From the desk of Duncan W. Rose
1rst April, 2013