"They take da' pain out, make it somethin' good, somethin' good. Wear yer' blues well, colt, you gonna earn every drop of em'. Yer' gonna be tangled up in blues," the old stallion told Blues, presenting him with the saxophone.
Blues himself tells us of his life after that day and as he explores what it means to be "painted blue"; to hope, to fear, to love, to lose. He tells us as he learns what really makes a stallion a stallion, what it's like to leave something you love behind, and what risks one must face in life or risk becoming nothing at all.
All of this, Blues tells us, takes place against the background of critical moments in his life and as he travels the scope of Equestria from Manehattan to Ponyville and Appleoosa. All the while the songs he learns from his pain mingle with the one his mentor, Moody Blues, revealed within him...something unbelievable the old pony did to bring it forth.
Aaaaaaah. I remember reading this a while ago when I found it on Equestria Daily.
One of my favorites. Great job with this.
Magnificent......
deep, touching, well thought out, well written.
Stories like these keep me coming back and looking for the gems.....
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Yes, I posted this a while ago, but I'm moving towards placing all of my stories here. I'm very glad you found it, and enjoyed it so much!
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Thank you, that means a lot to me. I worked for a very long time on this one, nearly a full month, and it seemed ponderous at times. I'm very glad that you found it worthwhile.
Manly tears. Also, you've enstilled in me a tremendous desire to dig out my old Lead Belly albums. Bravo.
Only four comments?!?! Bullshit. I was only planning on reading one chapter, but ended up reading the whole fucking thing in one sitting bro. I wish I could write something half as good as this. It was sweet, sad(I mean parts almost made me shed manly tears) and triumphant, it blended all those elements into a a fine paste and sprinkled it with great pacing, great grammar and amazing character development. Well, enough ass kissing, thanks for making this and normally I'd end a gushing comment with movie casting choices, but I'm stumped, so kudos to you.
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Thank you so much!
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Wow, such wonderful praise. I tried very hard to make sure that Blues came out as a believable character...I'm very glad you think it worked!
A beautiful story, marred only by some tense changes here and there (and also one or two missing apostrophes and the like).
I must commend you for fitting so many of Blues's in-show appearances into the story. I rewatched several relevant scenes with a renewed appreciation. Also, loved the running gags ("the most beautiful mare I've ever seen", and all the Deus Ex Machinas).
Excellent work.
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I'm very glad that you enjoyed those gags. I worried over them terribly!
I apologize for the errors. This is my longest fic, and like all of them I don't have an editor or proofreader (except for the most recent). All of these first stories have that problem, and I'm not proud when I find one.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
This. This right here *sniff* is awesome. I shed many a manly tear while reading. As a musician who's firmly rooted in the blues, I really want to thank you for doing the 'history'/'legacy'/'gravitas'/'aura' justice here. You rock!
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Thank you so much! I'm not a musician myself but I have worked with many and I had hoped that I had caught the feeling of "road weariness" and the connection to the music they all report to me. I'm very glad that you think I did and that you enjoyed the fic!
I laughed, I cried, I listened to blues playlists. This story is brilliant, just brilliant. To put the emotion of the blues so well into a written medium... Good work, Descendant.
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Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! This is my second most important fic, and that it's still receiving such favorable feedback almost a year later means a lot to me!
I read this a couple months ago. Favorite fanfic. Touching, meaningful, insightful.
Could you give some music suggestions?
Dang it... Even though I'm listening to something else at this instant, it does hit the right emotions I guess.
Alcest - Autre Temps
Alcest - Là Où Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles
Wolfing through your stories... count myself as a fan of yours
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Well, the story title was based on Tangled Up in Blue by Bob Dylan... umm, apart from that I'm sure that any sort of classic bluesy jazz would fit the bill!
I'm glad that it has meaning for you!
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Very glad to have you as a dedicated reader!
You probably won't find all of my works to your taste (nobody does, as they are so different from each other), but I'm very glad for all and any feedback you might want to give. Let me know if all of the "Thanks!" messages get annoying...
...
One of my favorite background character fanfics. Like a few others, I wound up creating my own playlist as I read this...Sidney Bechet for the sadder chapters at the beginning, and Fletcher Henderson and Glenn Miller for the latter chapters.
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I'm rather appreciative of the fact that the story is good enough that you'd take that extra effort.
As a musician that plays music from the heart rather than structure or theory, this story has a special place in my heart. It definitely holds true that emotions can be expressed, relieved, and even overcome with music. After 6 years of playing bass and rhythm guitar I can finally pick up an instrument and play something that doesn't make ears bleed anymore.
Your character development throughout the story was very progressive as well as definitive. From a lost colt looking for his mark in life to one that has built off of experiences to a well rounded and respectable being. Nice guys may finish last, but the wait is always worth the turmoil it took to get there. His struggles are believable as well as hitting close to home with what he went through with his first marefriend. It never feels nice to know that you've been cast aside for petty things such as looks. It has been almost 2 years for me, but I have faith that fate is holding something good for me down the road, so to speak.
A spelling mistake I noted in (I believe it was) 2 of the chapters you used "base" instead of "bass" for the part of the band. Bass in music verbally sounds out like base, but is spelled like the word used for the fish. I forgot to take notes as I was reading, so I can't be of any more help here.
Overall this is one of my favorite stories I've read on here. The character can be related to easily and it hits on several emotions for life events that I have built off of myself, including going off to live on my own in several places and unfortunately having heartache from those I've held the closest. I found the dryness leaving my eyes as I read a few of the chapters. Keep up the excellent work!
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I've received a lot of compliments about this story from musicians, and it does make me feel good to know that I have created something that resoantes with people in a certain craft.
I'm glad Blue's character development was well done in your opinion. Oh, and I can sympathize with your experience... I really can...
Thanks once again for the grammar catch. I had thought I'd caught all of those but, like the baffling tense-changes, I can't seem to weed them all out!
I'm glad that the work had meaning for you on multiple levels. Thank you so much for taking the time to read ad reply!
I know I said I was going to get around to reading all your stories,but I haven't found the time...
Until now!
To the next chapter!
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I look forward to your thoughts! Thanks for reading and commenting!
I commented on this way back when on EqD, but I think this is still worth my leaving my thoughts as memorial to this tale.
As a musician, there's a certain magic to the craft, something that is completely foreign to non-musicians, but anyone can feel it when it's there. Artists from Beethoven to Clapton and back have had it, the ability to make you forget where you are, to exist for nothing but the music for the brief span that it's playing. It's the ability to make emotions real, to make pain tangible and bearable, to make joy live and moments last forever. I don't know that I've ever captured that myself, but it's the goal we all try for. It's the language with no words that everyone in the world speaks.
You managed to accomplish that feeling in words, which is just phenomenal. Every time Blues stops the action to think, to feel out who he is and (especially!) wonder if Taffy is ready to accept him, the whole story just stops, and you're so in the moment that you can almost feel it yourself. This story is so sad and awesome and tragic and hopeful; it's just pure catharsis. I actually feel cleansed when I finish it, every time. THAT is the same magic.
Mares, man... mares...
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I recommend you start with the birth of the blues masters:
Hubert Sumlin, JJ Cale, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robert Cray, and BB King, to name a few.
That should get you started. ;)
For some modern stuff, check out Hugh Laurie's piano jazz/blues album. Yes, seriously.
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I think that I remember a comment very similar to this one back on DA, as you said you saw and replied to it there first. It means the world to me that you are still moved by this story all these long months later. The story celebrates it's first birthday in two weeks, you know!
You used such poetry in that comment, thank you so much for taking the time to write such an eloquent bit of praise. I truly, genuinely appreciate it.
How the hay did I miss this background pony story??????
I'm guessing this is the Old Dance Hall and Blue mentioned in A Sweet Taste Of Cake?
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It most certainly is... The New Blue Flag is the rebuilt dancehall that Carrot and Cuppy first met within and a decade later, the same one that they were on their way to when "other thoughts" went through their heads. This story was my first to be placed on the "Recommended Stories" section of TVTropes if you have any interest...
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I just can't believe this one and A Cup Of Joe has been up since November and out of all the
views that they have, that they have 160 thumb ups between them, and some actually thumb
downed them!! And A Sweet Taste Of Cake only has 65????
Personally I'd like to see more background stories, but your the writer, I'm just a reader,
and it's your choice not mine!
I just sat down and read this story in one session.
I just sat down and experienced the life story of Blues.
Everything about this story just breathes life. It's depressing, uplifting and downright hilarious at times. I could spend the rest of this night breaking my head trying to scramble together the words to describe how much I enjoyed this, and completely fail to do so. The emotions you managed to convey are just astounding... The messages true and honest. The gags, hilarious.
But like I said, I simply do not have the ability to properly tell you how this made me feel, so I will leave you with this:
You are a master of words. This story genuinely moved me and I dare say I feel a better person for having read it.
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I am extraordinarily happy that you took a day to read this work. It is indeed very important to me, and I'm very, very glad that you feel that it accomplished it's task of telling his story. Thank you so much for taking the time to read, the time to comment, and especially for the praise!
Damn, I knew I should have waited untill weekend before i started reading this. One does not simply stop reading a good story.
On a side note this is not the type of story i normaly read and therefor my judgement is not to be taken seriously however i did find it very entertaining, which is the main point of a story in the first place.
For example I really enjoyed Rainbow Dash and her reaction after she crashed into Cake. I imagine her running in place and looking back and forth similar to how she does in "May the best pet win!" after she gets stuck in Ghastly Gorge.
I can sympathise with Blues at this point aswell, I know the feeling of having a bad day and when you finaly find that little something that makes everything good again something out of hoof comes and ruins everything and you end up just staring, too crushed to even cry.
However I 'think' I noticed something amiss here, Penny got her cutie mark here in the last chapter but i have a faint memory that Blues said she had gotten her cutie mark earlier in a monologue around chapter 5? I may have missread or my mind may be playing tricks on me however. Also a thumb-rule of mine says a story should never have to end with 'end' or 'the end' because if the reader doesn't understand that the story ends here without these then the story doesnt end in a good way. There is, however, exceptions to this of course.
// Sphex
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I think that what you're seeing is how Blues begins his mental letter to Moody by telling him that Penny got her mark, but how it takes through chapter seven to explain how it happened.
I'm very, very glad that you found some scenes so vivid! Thanks for taking the time to let me know, and I'm sorry to keep you up on a weeknight!
Well T.D., it's 2 AM in Korea, I'm wide awake for some damned reason, and sleep seems bound to allude me for several hours yet. Sounds like a re-read to me.
That was a good start. I really want to know where you're going to take this.
Blues really lives an unfortunate life... Nothing seems to go his way...
"I mean, in Celestia's name, we had rehearsals for the theme song alone for three weeks beforehoof!"
Part of me thinks Blues will get a happy ending, that he'll find the mare for him, but his constantly horrible luck suggests otherwise...
Ahhh, that was great. 3 more chapters, you say? I look forward to them
That, sir, was adorable. I hope things work out for Blues
Now that I think about it, this story reminds me very much of Two Ponies. And that's high praise; Two Ponies is one of my all-time favorites.
Yet another fantastic story, T.D. Your characterization of the OCs was written beautifully. The story-telling was fantastic. Again, as with A Cup of Joe, words fail me when it comes to trying to describe how much I enjoyed this.
I'm also of the opinion that this and A Cup of Joe are criminally underappreciated on this site. Both are excellent stories, full of depth and emotion rarely found in stories. Yet neither has many views or thumbs. A shame, that. More people should read these stories.
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Sorry that I only just caught your comment. I hope you eventually got some sleep, and that you enjoyed the re-read!
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I have to admit that I've never read Two Ponies, but if you're suggesting it then it simply must be extraordinary, and I will try to find the time.
I'm very glad that you enjoyed this as much as you did A Cup of Joe! Writing for the background characters seems to be a "sweet spot" for me. My suggestion would be to try A Sweet Taste of Cake next, if you're looking for something similar. I'm very glad that you enjoy my storytelling style, as my narratives are what I consider the background of my work.
You're not the first to say that they're surprised by the relatively small audience these stories have, and I've come to accept that. My writing style isn't for everyone. I'm just glad that almost everyone who reads my works enjoys them. Thank you for taking the time to read and to comment!
Lovely, just lovely.
I really enjoy your work. I think this one was another I read on Fanfiction.net oh so long ago. It just felt like an old friend as I read it through and cried along with Blues a few times.
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Could you mean DA? I don't have a FanFiction account. Either way, I'm very glad that you got re-united with this old friend. Thanks so much! I'm glad it remains emotionally powerful after multiple readings as well!
That was so beautiful it hurt. As a blues man myself I gotta tell you you caught the spirit of the blues perfectly
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Aha! Praise from an bluesman! I believe that's considered good luck!
Read this a while ago when Chris's blog covered it. It's actually one of the few stories that I can remember the details of very clearly, which speaks to how much I enjoyed it. Didn't like the fact that you were tying in plot-points, but I certainly can't blame you for playing to your crowd on that count. Really didn't like the ending—I felt it really gutted the strength of the journey—but I still loved that journey nonetheless.
Weird. The more I think of it, the more little bits I remember I wasn't so keen on, yet my memories are still overwhelmingly positive. Is it plausible to have nostalgia for something you read about six-or-so months ago? I guess it's just been that kind of year, but anyway, thanks for this one, I truly enjoyed it (even if I apparently tried not to).
-Scott
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I have to admit that yours is perhaps the most intriguing (and baffling-ina good way!) comment I've received on this story!
Could it possibly be that a story, like life, is a combination of parts that we enjoy and dislike, but in the end, we're just glad that it has happened? In any case, I'm very glad that, despite whatever qualms you may have had with it, that you have fond memories of reading the story... and I'm especially glad that you took the time to comment today and get in touch! Thanks!
A wonderful piece of work. Thanks for sharing it.
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I was very glad to! Thanks for reading and commenting!
"Kidney stones?"
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Heh, indeed... they are only funny in retrospect...