No, it just got thigh-deep into Prince of Darkness territory, and neck-deep into In the Mouth of Madness territory. And those movies (particularly the latter) go to some very, very strange places.
This has gotten quite interesting. Thanks to so many stories I've read and movies I've watched I have a pretty good idea on how this will end. Well 2 ideas. Not gonna share them since I tend to be right on predicting these sort of things. Wouldn't wanna make a spoiler should I be right now would I? I await the final chapter expectantly.
I'm gonna make a big reflection and feedback journal when I finish this off, and I'd very much like to hear what those predictions were (even if one of them is on the money) when it comes time.
I gotta' say, this is overall a really interesting story. I really liked the idea of the Mane 6 + friends going up against one of the most terrifying movie monsters to date, and loved how you worked the thing story line to fit into the MLP universe.
There is one issue I do have, however. How it jumped from one series to another within the same story just didn't sit right with; how you jumped from The Thing to Lovecraft kinda' gave me genre whiplash. Don't get me wrong, though! I am enjoying the story so far, and I look forward to the resolution...it's just that when to started out as a The Thing crossover, and then add the Cthulhu Mythos to the plot it just seemed to take away from the story you had started...
You're far from the only one to take issue with the story's directional change. I'll address it more when the story's done (which will be soon!), but in short it was basically something I figured would come up when I tried to adapt all three movies to the story (however thematically similar they might be), as opposed to just sticking to The Thing,
I have no doubt of this. I suppose it's my own fault though; I came in expecting a The Thing crossover that overall stayed true to the overall plot of the movie, even though I saw that this was would be a combination of three stories of a similar genre. I mean what you're trying to do is interesting. Adding your own twists and turns to the story, and trying to original with the story; that's the sign of a very creative writer. However, because you're trying to do this with stories that have a very strong fan base that have a "pre-Reese's Peanut Butter Cup" mentality about their "chocolate" mixing with the other guy's "peanut butter", that's why you might get some hatin'...if that made any sense.
Regardless, I can't wait to see the ending, and how things get resolved.
Y'know, it seems to me like this is a story which thrives on subverting cliche. Not overtly, but moreso with this chapter. It approaches the very concept of storytelling from an outside perspective, which reveals certain holes that different kinds of stories are prone to fall into. Outside of this fic, the general consensus is that happy endings are par for the course where My Little Pony is concerned. The Grimdark stories are what they are because they tend to turn that classic canon expectation on its head. Indeed, that's what I expected going into this story and skimming over every update. From the very start it seemed like all of it was leading to a requisite doom. But with these latest chapters it seems to take one more step back, this time looking not just at the show the stories are based on but at the particular genre this particular story is cut out to be a part of. Indeed, at this point subverting the "happy ending" cliche has, itself, become something of a cliche. There's a sense of a writer indulging in horror for its own sake, which by itself isn't necessarily any more valid a technique than making everything cheerful just because. It would be really quite easy at this point to simply let the plot wind down to a conclusion which matches the tone of the previous chapters, the genre, and of course the cinematic work which it's paying homage to. But isn't that the easy way out? How thrilling would it really be to watch Twilight and her world torn apart by eldritch abominations, since that's exactly what the readers expect and even, in some cases, desire? How creative would a writer have to be take this plot and upend it, actually acknowledging that even such tremendous evil can be defeated? How dynamic would it be for the Little Ponies to earn their paradise by overcoming a corruption which is as vast as their world is wonderful, even when the story itself is driven down a road we've seen end at the same brick wall again and again? How neat would it be for this to actually end as a "My Little Pony" story, to come full circle and arrive at the happy place where it began, rather than just another straightforward descent into darkness? Though of course it would have to WORK as an ending, which is exactly what would make it such a test of the writer's skill. I don't know if that's where you're headed, Relaxing Dragon, but you deserve to be commended for making a story which invites this kind of speculation. I have to admit, I'm partial to happy endings, myself. They always seem so much more interesting to me... I suppose that might mean I'm not "deep." But where the good guys are concerned, isn''t success generally harder to achieve than failure? And in my experience, hardship usually makes for better stories. The alternative triggers the Sad Trombone sound effect in my imagination.
Alright. Consider me motivated. Last chapters going up momentarily. Definitely gonna get back to you on this comment in the journal I'm going to write tomorrow. So, uh, you know... stay tuned
Oh dang, I'm two chapters behind and didn't even realize it! D: Well, at least it's finished now, right?
Why is she surprised by this stuff indeed. You've done a great job depicting desolate loneliness here.
I love how there's no way to see any of this coming. :D
WAIT. WAIT WHAT THE FUCK HOLD THE PHONE WHAT THE FUCK
Oh yeah, this has actually been foreshadowed, hasn't it?
What in the serious, actual, no-bullshit fuck is going on.
This is so ridiculously meta.
deus ex machine? You mean machina, right?
Missing a closing quote after "all involved in this".
"able to being": you mean 'begin'
There's a 'straitened' that should be 'straightened', though it's not setting off my spellcheck. Odd.
Yes, chew the words! XD
I knew it would have to end this way, with some great power just restoring everything, after all that had happened. AND YET IT'S NOT OVER
Ooh, it's fighting back!
Oh-hoh! It's not possible, when dealing with someone with this kind of power, to know if you've actually taken control of that power or are just playing along with their game!
I've been wanting to write this for a while. I really loved the story, all the suspense and horror. It was going to be my favorite fanfic.. up until Chapter 9. The beginning of Chapter 9 sounded promising - Twilight in a hospital, but then the story took a different turn and it didn't feel like what happened before is related to what happens from Chapter 9 forth.
I'm sorry but the 'conductor behind everything' idea is stupid. It and the change of turn in the fic is what ruined it.
I absolutely loved this chapter. We had the climax from Prince of Darkness at the mirror portal and Cane messing with the protagonist from In the Mouth of Madness.
If it wasn't intense enough before, it sure has turned now! o:
Now Donald Pleasance! Throw the axe!
so this turned from a the thing crossover to some sort of silent hill thing?
OK, I really should start replying to comments on here.
1400312
No, it just got thigh-deep into Prince of Darkness territory, and neck-deep into In the Mouth of Madness territory. And those movies (particularly the latter) go to some very, very strange places.
1392978
Fun fact: My original outline of this story pretty much ended just like that. Minus the Donald Pleasance priest, at least.
1400751 And then she wakes up with the Burger King in bed with her.
You've been working in this story for nearly a year. Do you feel the end is near?
1406839
I can assure you, the end is quite near.
I can also assure you that, were it not for my rather staggering laziness, this would've been over and done about four months ago.
1407229 Well, thank you. And please don't take me as imposing, I absolutely LOVE this story. You are a terrific writer
This has gotten quite interesting. Thanks to so many stories I've read and movies I've watched I have a pretty good idea on how this will end. Well 2 ideas. Not gonna share them since I tend to be right on predicting these sort of things. Wouldn't wanna make a spoiler should I be right now would I? I await the final chapter expectantly.
1416036
I'm gonna make a big reflection and feedback journal when I finish this off, and I'd very much like to hear what those predictions were (even if one of them is on the money) when it comes time.
I am kind of hoping for a bad end, so far I am not disappointed ;)
1432027
Thanks! I'm happy to hear that.
The liking the story part, at least. The movie part, less so. Time to let a little Carpenter into your life.
Look, you can start right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4j2J2I9Rj8
I gotta' say, this is overall a really interesting story. I really liked the idea of the Mane 6 + friends going up against one of the most terrifying movie monsters to date, and loved how you worked the thing story line to fit into the MLP universe.
There is one issue I do have, however. How it jumped from one series to another within the same story just didn't sit right with; how you jumped from The Thing to Lovecraft kinda' gave me genre whiplash. Don't get me wrong, though! I am enjoying the story so far, and I look forward to the resolution...it's just that when to started out as a The Thing crossover, and then add the Cthulhu Mythos to the plot it just seemed to take away from the story you had started...
Other than that, it really was a good read.
1440718
You're far from the only one to take issue with the story's directional change. I'll address it more when the story's done (which will be soon!), but in short it was basically something I figured would come up when I tried to adapt all three movies to the story (however thematically similar they might be), as opposed to just sticking to The Thing,
I have no doubt of this. I suppose it's my own fault though; I came in expecting a The Thing crossover that overall stayed true to the overall plot of the movie, even though I saw that this was would be a combination of three stories of a similar genre. I mean what you're trying to do is interesting. Adding your own twists and turns to the story, and trying to original with the story; that's the sign of a very creative writer. However, because you're trying to do this with stories that have a very strong fan base that have a "pre-Reese's Peanut Butter Cup" mentality about their "chocolate" mixing with the other guy's "peanut butter", that's why you might get some hatin'...if that made any sense.
Regardless, I can't wait to see the ending, and how things get resolved.
Y'know, it seems to me like this is a story which thrives on subverting cliche. Not overtly, but moreso with this chapter. It approaches the very concept of storytelling from an outside perspective, which reveals certain holes that different kinds of stories are prone to fall into.
Outside of this fic, the general consensus is that happy endings are par for the course where My Little Pony is concerned. The Grimdark stories are what they are because they tend to turn that classic canon expectation on its head. Indeed, that's what I expected going into this story and skimming over every update. From the very start it seemed like all of it was leading to a requisite doom.
But with these latest chapters it seems to take one more step back, this time looking not just at the show the stories are based on but at the particular genre this particular story is cut out to be a part of. Indeed, at this point subverting the "happy ending" cliche has, itself, become something of a cliche. There's a sense of a writer indulging in horror for its own sake, which by itself isn't necessarily any more valid a technique than making everything cheerful just because.
It would be really quite easy at this point to simply let the plot wind down to a conclusion which matches the tone of the previous chapters, the genre, and of course the cinematic work which it's paying homage to. But isn't that the easy way out? How thrilling would it really be to watch Twilight and her world torn apart by eldritch abominations, since that's exactly what the readers expect and even, in some cases, desire? How creative would a writer have to be take this plot and upend it, actually acknowledging that even such tremendous evil can be defeated? How dynamic would it be for the Little Ponies to earn their paradise by overcoming a corruption which is as vast as their world is wonderful, even when the story itself is driven down a road we've seen end at the same brick wall again and again? How neat would it be for this to actually end as a "My Little Pony" story, to come full circle and arrive at the happy place where it began, rather than just another straightforward descent into darkness?
Though of course it would have to WORK as an ending, which is exactly what would make it such a test of the writer's skill. I don't know if that's where you're headed, Relaxing Dragon, but you deserve to be commended for making a story which invites this kind of speculation. I have to admit, I'm partial to happy endings, myself. They always seem so much more interesting to me... I suppose that might mean I'm not "deep." But where the good guys are concerned, isn''t success generally harder to achieve than failure? And in my experience, hardship usually makes for better stories.
The alternative triggers the Sad Trombone sound effect in my imagination.
1461289
Alright. Consider me motivated. Last chapters going up momentarily. Definitely gonna get back to you on this comment in the journal I'm going to write tomorrow. So, uh, you know... stay tuned
Oh dang, I'm two chapters behind and didn't even realize it! D: Well, at least it's finished now, right?
Why is she surprised by this stuff indeed. You've done a great job depicting desolate loneliness here.
I love how there's no way to see any of this coming. :D
WAIT. WAIT WHAT THE FUCK HOLD THE PHONE WHAT THE FUCK
Oh yeah, this has actually been foreshadowed, hasn't it?
What in the serious, actual, no-bullshit fuck is going on.
This is so ridiculously meta.
deus ex machine? You mean machina, right?
Missing a closing quote after "all involved in this".
"able to being": you mean 'begin'
There's a 'straitened' that should be 'straightened', though it's not setting off my spellcheck. Odd.
Yes, chew the words! XD
I knew it would have to end this way, with some great power just restoring everything, after all that had happened. AND YET IT'S NOT OVER
Ooh, it's fighting back!
Oh-hoh! It's not possible, when dealing with someone with this kind of power, to know if you've actually taken control of that power or are just playing along with their game!
YEAH!
So glad there's a chapter 11!
I've been wanting to write this for a while.
I really loved the story, all the suspense and horror. It was going to be my favorite fanfic.. up until Chapter 9. The beginning of Chapter 9 sounded promising - Twilight in a hospital, but then the story took a different turn and it didn't feel like what happened before is related to what happens from Chapter 9 forth.
I'm sorry but the 'conductor behind everything' idea is stupid. It and the change of turn in the fic is what ruined it.
My exact reaction to the last line. "THROW THE AXE!"
I absolutely loved this chapter. We had the climax from Prince of Darkness at the mirror portal and Cane messing with the protagonist from In the Mouth of Madness.
.......I'd say this broke the fourth wall, but the whole damn BUILDING'S now just a crater.