Never The Final Word (Vol. 1)

by horizon

As If This Wasn't Meta Enough (Skywriter's "Hoardsmiths")

Author's Note:

[Slice of Life] [Meta]

This is a continuation of Skywriter's Hoardsmiths (2670 words, [Slice of Life]).

HOARDSMITHS SPOILERS: It's a quasi-parable about a group of crazy ponies who admire a local dragon's treasures, set up camp outside his cave, and start a subculture around it for the joy of creation. It is, of course, a metaphor for My Little Pony fans themselves, written in the wake of Hasbro's C&D of a popular fan project as a reminder that we're ultimately making art out of someone else's property.

As Applejack wandered through the Hoardsmith camp, marveling and shaking her head, she suddenly stopped dead.

"Rainbow Dash?" she said, jaw dropping.

"Oh! Hey, Jackie," Dash muttered around the pencil she was frantically scribbling with. She smiled but didn't get up.

"What're you doin' here?"

"What does it look like?" Dash spat out her pencil and grinned. "Just writing the most awesome story in the universe." She gestured around them. "It's about here."

AJ opened and closed her mouth. "But Dash, ya write Daring Do fiction. Ya sell Daring Do fiction. Tarnation, you're good at that. Shouldn't you be off earnin' a living instead of bein' here swapping stories with hoardsmiths who won't give you nothin' but praise?"

"C'mon, AJ, this is art." Dash's grin broadened. "Pure. Unfettered."

"You could do that out there, too."

"But. C'mon. Dragons! They're super awesome! They're chock full of, um, allegory and stuff!"

A unicorn tourist wandered by while they talked, raising his camera, taking photos of the stalls in the surrounding artists' market.

"Well," AJ allowed, "it is true that dragons are the most awesome things pretty much ever, I reckon. But if you're writing a dragon story because it's allegorical, it's not really a dragon story, right?"

Dash rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. "Okay, yeah, you got me. But stories don't always have to be direct metaphors about the people who write them, right? Can't you just enjoy them on their own merits?"

The blue pegasus and the orange pony gave a significant glance at the camera. The tourist wandered away. Applejack glanced out at the horizon and coughed.

"Don't know what came over me there," she mumbled.

"Oh, it's this place. It does that to you. You'll get used to it."

"I might, at that. There's something seductive about being here."

Dash smirked. "Welcome to the Horde."

Comments

[Skywriter]

Finally, a place to collect all those really cool flash-fiction comment replies...

[PonysaurousRex]

I know I'm going to like this. And the little I've read so far is already very promising.

[Blue_Paladin42]

4317397
Funnily enough, that's where Demesne came from.

[GameKnut]

I loved this story when it was written. It really took the edge off the Event.
I knew, in my heart, it was doomed the moment they announced they'd be at EVO. Too big an event, and one with cash prizes at that. =(

Never saw this, though, so thanks. There's nothing quite like leaning on the fourth wall.

(side note: ever click favorite when you mean to click read later? it feels awkward.)

[Pearple Prose]

This is literally the best idea for an anthology I've ever seeeeen o:

Will read in a bit.

[journcy]

The blue pegasus and the orange pony gave a significant glance at the camera. The tourist wandered away. Applejack glanced out at the horizon and coughed.

horizon i swear to god if i ever meet you in person i'm gonna have to sock you in the stomach before i do anything else

[Sozmioi]

I think my Glass Blower after-ending would fit in here. Is it still in your inbox?

[horizon]

4319943
I don't recall it ever being in my inbox! Did you send it to Cold in Gardez maybe? If you sent it via Fimfic PM you should be able to pull it from the sent folder of your messages.

But I'd love to see it (and add it in, if you want).

[horizon]

4319382
Give me ten minutes' advance warning. That way, when you approach I can fling a copy of My Harshwhinnial at you and flee while you're on the floor uncontrollably convulsing.

[Prawo Jazdy]

4320256 Is that a reference to something in particular?

[horizon]

4320389
Oh man. You haven't read My Harshwhinnial? You don't know what you're missing! (Literally — because you haven't read it, and I'm not going to explain.)

You should totally drop what you're doing and read the story, which the Pony Fiction Vault curator called "a piece of fan fiction that just floors you". I know that's a good thing because most fanfiction is read while you're in your chair!

[Lurks-no-More]

Oooh. Now for this chapter, I want to up-thumb this story twice.

[Phoenix Quill]

Sometimes I see what you are working on, and I hate you.

Because of the whole, "Why didn't I think of that?!" thing.

This is one of those times.

Keep it up!

[journcy]

4320256

fair enough.

[horizon]

4321315
It's an open anthology! If you write a continuation, feel free to sling it my way.

[Cypher]

Heh. Meta meta fiction. Good job not making this chapter longer than it needed to be. And good idea on the anthology, I think it's a clever way to show appreciation. Keep up the good work!

[Monarch Pony]

Meta-ception! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p-DA0zvuQ8

[Fome]

I prefer the Alliance.