What if, in an alternate, magicless world, Twilight was a delusional hobo, imagining her magical adventures?
Twilight is a vagrant, living on the streets of a bleak city, but she doesn't let it bother her. Unfortunately, that's because she's not fully aware of her surroundings. This leads to some rather unusual and uncomfortable conversations with others.
Twilight makes an epic adventure from Canterlot (a spot under a random bridge) to Ponyville (a city park) at the request of Princess Celestia (a police officer) to make some friends.
In this world, there is no magic, no unicorns, and no pegasi except in Twilight's mind and in folklore; every pony is an earth pony. The story is, perhaps unadvisedly, played mostly straight.
Chapters (2)
for one thing, it ruins the story outright stating it is all in her head..............
another thing, then there would be no earth ponies at all if there is no magic. not sure what you call them at that point. earth ponies have magic.
You're taking an interesting idea here and running with it. I can totally respect that. The grammar and such look fine to me and this seems like a story that's worth exploring. I think I'll keep an eye on this one, just to see where it goes.
@aeppel...
I would also advise adding the Sad tag as well. Being homeless by itself is a soul-crushing social "status," and NEVER a funny thing to joke or make light of. Combined with severe mental problems (such as your adding delusions &/or dementia to your protagonist), it may even fall under Dark.
This looks like it'll be interesting. I do enjoy stories where the main characters are... well, not what they believe.
3732729 I can agree with the Sad tag, but Dark is really pushing it. This isn't a mental disorder that is causing harm to others, and it is not cruel or scary enough to warrant it. Dark is reserved for stories that are worse than those involving a delusional hobo, unless that hobo is the Joker.
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The Dark tag may be warranted depending on how bad things get (e.g. Fluttershy is a sex worker who's desperate enough to do, ahem, "tricks" with animals for clientele and is mistaken by Delusion Sparkle as a vet - though IMHO at that point you're skirting the Mature tag if you get too descriptive.) Let's see how it goes.
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As long as we all agree that the Sad tag is a must for this fan-fiction, that is an important point for any story that includes homelessness in its theme(s).
As for the Dark tag, yes I agree that it is dependent upon the overall progression and storytelling of this fan-fiction. "Dark" can be defined by a cruel/gritty environment &/or society as well as character interaction, as well as portrayals of scenes and characters.
The Mature tag is also a valid point, depending upon the story's direction.
It will be the Author's call, of course, since he/she (hopefully) knows the overall direction that the story will go.
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I've added a Sad tag, but I don't intend to go in a dark direction with this fic. I agree that homelessness is an awful thing that people have to deal with, but I really am not aiming to explore the sad or dark parts of insanity or homelessness, and I may be in over my head by introducing those elements.
The comment about the Joker, however, introduces an interesting thought. While his character is insane, it doesn't prevent writers from introducing him as a villain without a lot of redeeming values. This would seem a bit callous towards the insane, but it's done anyway. I'm just saying it's possible to talk about serious topics somewhat irreverently. However, the last thing I want to do is say something particularly offensive, so please let me know if I don't treat the issue with enough respect. Seriously, I really don't want to stir up trouble.
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That would be an especially dark twist, but my idea for the rest of the mane 6 is actually rather ordinary. I want this alternate world to be bleak, but not outright dark or bad. In fact, I'm just drawing inspiration from our world (polluted cities in particular). The cities can be really miserable to live in, but people can still lead enjoyable lives and tend to ignore some of the worst aspects.
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Good point with the earth ponies thought, but as you said, I'm not sure what you would call them. Possibly ordinary sentient ponies.
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Thanks! I appreciate the comments.
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So more like The Fisher King rather than anything else. That works!
This deserves way more attention than it got.
Awwwww snap. This is coming along wonderfully.
I could make a rainbows make me cry joke now about Dash, but I won't.
Well that was depressing.
More, please.
Oh, I hope there's more to come this is amusing, and rather original, at least going by what I've managed to devour from the archives so far.
Thanks for the encouragement, everybody. It helps motivate me when I know people want more. That said, who knows when the next chapter will be done. I had a partially completed version of chapter 2 in-progress for months.
3733546 I haven't watched the film, but from the summary that seems fitting.
4121962 Hopefully this will get more views as I add more chapters, and thanks for the sentiment. I know you posted this before I released chapter 2, so I hope it matches your expectations.
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4847348 Hopefully it's not too depressing. And thanks!
4869589 Thanks! Yeah, I haven't seen another "what if" where the events of the pilot episodes are reinterpreted in a different way (as opposed to showing modifications to the original events, which is probably more common). There might be something buried in the archives, though. There sure are a lot of stories on here.
4879264 I've noticed! And I have a lot of catching up to do, after shunning such a wonderful series and world for so long >.>
Anyway, this story is certainly bookmarked and I'll be eagerly awaiting further updates :3
Cool, but it would make more sense if everybody was human.