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A holiday tale in which Cheerilee learns the true meaning of the word "wassail"; Granny Smith fails to learn the true meaning of the word "polymath"; and somehow, amidst it all, three flowers finally begin to put down roots. Happy Twelfth Night, everypony.
Now with a Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi!
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Excellent work as per usual - and perfectly timed, as it popped up at a very conveniant moment!
I thought it was derived from "weis heil", a greeting/blessing that roughly translates to "be healthy".
Then appropriated for use as magic healing words in Eragon.
Wowee, some of y'all're fast readers.
I'm going to assume that this is dirty somehow, and you can't stop me.
This was good and sweet, as always. I noticed a few stray references to humans -- at least one "man" and one "person". Are you playing at something, or holding a less strict level of ponification, or did they just slip through the cracks?
5469292
I count "person" and "people" as canon-acceptable when used in moderation, as the show has done it in the past. The one "man" was indeed an error of transcription and is now fixed.
EDIT: My first statement notwithstanding, one instance of "person" was due to another editing pass glitch, and is also fixed.
Oh, Skywriter....
If I wasn't already following you I would follow you right now. I might even unfollow you just so I can follow you again.
This story is beyond beautiful to me, and well into transcendent. It speaks to my heart, to my traditions, and to my beliefs about the world more profoundly than any I have read in some time. I cried in joy, unashamedly, at possibly the longest speech Mac ever gave, and at the depths it and the rest of the tale revealed of how the Apples, and earth ponies in general, came to be what they are.
Sometimes I write sonnets when inspired by stories, but this is not a sonnet-Muse. Instead it is a soul-healer, a balm to spirits weary of the commercialism and shallowness of how some approach the holiday season.
But not I: there is no need for such balm in me, or at least very rarely. I am like the Ghost of Christmas Present of Dickens' tale of redemption, alive and vital and sharing the joy of love all the year. But... while I might not need it today, I see - oh, do I see! - how much it is needed by and for others, and so I give what and when I can, and foster the feeling. This story is something can show to others as part of that.
Thank you.
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote
Really wonderful work as usual, Chan. It was a well done blend of more somber, with your usual comedic bite. I would have liked to see a bit more when Cheerlie returns to the Old Mare, have a bit more ritual coinciding with with wassail clearing her up, as the end felt a bit rushed there. Still, wonderful story.
My best to you and Feech in the new year!
I'll admit it - I had to look up what a catafalque was.
A really solid piece of work, overall.
It's always edifying to go digging into old songs and find out what they were about at the time.
Good Story
But when I saw "wassail" this came to mind...
I am familiar with the need to prove something, and to devote a significant part of one's life to it. It also seems to me that the envelope served it's purpose quite well.
Happy Twelfth Night.
Granny cheats. That cagey old mare wants grandfoals, and knows a good thing when she sees it.
This warmed my soul. Great work with the characterization - I read every word of dialogue in each character's voice in my head, and it all sounded spot-on. I'm also a big Cheerimac fan, and it's wonderful to see them together in a way that adds to Cheerilee's internal struggles without becoming the focus. It feels natural. Happy Twelfth Night!
This was a good character piece I quite enjoyed. Have a meaningless picture to indicate my general approvalness.
i.imgur.com/BNjm7M0.png
--arcum42
There's not much I could say that hasn't been said already. I try not to parrot other people's opinions - even if I happen to agree - but I just want to say "wow". I'm a bit of a tumbleweed myself, so I can see where Cheerilee is coming from. I think I learned a few things; any kind of knowledge like that deserves a like and a moustache.
"She is, in fact, pronging, leaping with all four hooves"
Isn't it "pronking"?
Man, that's good stuff. Your turns of phrase are always so pleasing to my ear.
5470441 It is indeed. I was going to mention the same thing. : D
Sublime as always, Skywriter. We're blessed to having you writing for us. On that note, I hope 2015 will kind and generous to you and yours.
Granny mostly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Er...
Well...
I don't really think I liked this. It felt... Hm.
The beginning, up through Granny Smith's conversation felt a lot like a generic, "City bad, country good," kind of story. That's practically what Granny Smith says. Cheerilee, who had made her decision and did not seem particularly conflicted over it, suddenly is, in a way that feels jarring. She is pretty clearly unhappy living here, but then Granny tells her that the only reason she wants to leave is because there is something wrong with her for wanting to, and suddenly Cheerilee is all confused.
The wassailing bit itself felt, rushed. Maybe it's Cheerilee's mildly hungover POV, but that sequence felt very cluttered. And Big Mac's speech mostly just left me confused. And then everything is happy and solved at the end, when it seems like, if anything, things would be murkier than ever.
I dunno, but this story just really didn't do it for me, I guess.
5471486
It was certainly not my intent to say "country always good, city always bad"; it depends on the pony in question. The point the story is trying to make, and which perhaps I could have made more clear, is that Cheerilee doesn't particularly like the city; she never really speaks of it in positive terms except for in the vaguest ways. Had she accepted the job, in a few weeks Cheerilee would be unhappy in the city and be pining for the country. She's not happy living anywhere, because she's not happy with herself and who she is, and that's the home she needs to find. Granny's words notwithstanding, it's not in my mind as simple as the old Country > City chestnut, which I tend to find grating as well. Anyhow, thanks so much for your input!
5471495
Might be why the last bit left me feeling more discombobulated than anything.
I do wonder if this is the muscle relaxer talking...
It seems very weird to NOT like one of your stories.
It's not really what Granny said however, so much as Cheerilee's reaction. Granny thinking it's better to live in the country is not remotely surprising, considering, it just seems that Cheerilee going from being fully ready to leave, to suddenly second guessing herself this way felt off.
5471520
'Saright! I can't win 'em all!
Anyway, it's great to hear your thoughts.
A little heavy on the Wicca, which I find as uncomfortable as making ponies Christian. I'd like to think that if ponies have religion, it's one they came up with themselves. Still, very well written, and I do like Cheerilee having some depth of character.
5471540
I couldn't think of a good ponified word for "Yule" that would make clear the real-world cognate of what I was referring to. Can you help?
(EDIT: Oh, heavens, "Muletide," but that's distractingly silly.)
5471569
Really, "Yule" is the least of it, as much as it's been misappropriated and watered down over the years. The thing that really crossed the line for me was the completely gratuitous drop of "an it harm none," in a place where it didn't even make sense. That and the Apple Mother (Dam?). Everything else was pretty much an import of traditions, which is pretty well established as a thing that happens.
If you really wanted to go by the show standard, though, you could go for "Muletide"...though burning a Mule log could be considered questionable.
5471605
You're not going to believe this, but "an' it harm none" was completely unintentional and I totally forgot that was a Wicca thing. I'll remove it. I literally was just having Mac say "don't go following traditions that mean sacrificing ponies to the old blood gods just to feel a connection."
5471659
Well, that makes "we do it now just like we did then" a bit more disturbing.
"Rockefeller Canter" gave me pause. I guess it works as a reference to Canterlot, but it still feels like an odd bit of the place name to ponify. (Of course, I can't think of anything better...) The use of "glaciere" as a nativity stand-in, that I loved.
I have to look askance at the district-approved book of carols. If nopony knows what the words mean, then teach them the meanings. Are you or are you not a school district? How many more bits would a few footnotes or a glossary on the inside back cover cost to print?
Your writing has me incensed at organizational policy in a fictional universe. That's definitely a good sign.
I do like a crochety yet wise Granny Smith, and it's refreshing to see a wise elder whose advice isn't perfectly suited to the person being advised.
Catafalque is a fantastic word and I thank you for introducing me to it.
You have done for Cheerilee what you do for every character. You've made her a person, imperfect, complicated, multidimensional, and altogether more real than the source material. Thank you for this story of curing wassails her.
5471700
Hyperbolic language, m'dear. I don't think any of that actually went on!
5471730
"Curing wassails her," ugh!
The reason this story exists is that I heard someone making that substitution ("carol" for "wassail") in real life, and I was inexplicably bothered even though I didn't know enough about wassailing to even figure out why I was peeved. So I looked into it, found that there was a history there involving apple trees, and it led naturally to a ponyfic. At least it wasn't a school, in my case!
Damnit Skywriter, stop being so good at this!
...Or don't. Definitely don't.
5472068
I struggle with not being a crappy writer EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Haven't read it yet, but I must ask: Why did you go with Jeffrey C. Wells on EQD?
Damn I love the taste of wassail. It really does taste best when you've just come inside from freezing your ass off. But the recipe I have is non-alcoholic.
5472591
Continuity with my other works online, mostly.
"Give it one more go of being an honest-to-goodness earth pony afore runnin' off to the city and pretending to be a unicorn for the rest of your life." Racist Granny!
Well, I learned something new today. And it was a pretty good read.
5471495 I had a similar issue with this story, but not over the "city/country" thing - the scene with Big Mac solved that problem by showing that Granny Smith is wise, but by no means omniscient. My problem is that Cheerilee not fitting in with Ponyville, especially at her job, is brought across perhaps a little too well by her inner monologues - she's too convincing at selling the reader the idea that she's basically a bad fit for her job, as well as constantly having to censor herself (and no, that one line by Big Mac about everyone having to do that does not solve this problem - it might have served its purpose a little better if he gave actual examples, things he refrains from saying). This is something that gets basically no resolution in-story, and I can't help but think that it's going to bite Cheerilee someday - having to constantly put on a mask and sell yourself as someone you feel you aren't goes way beyond the usual white lies and evasions of everyday life.
5472721 I have to admit, that was my first thought at that line as well. I have to wonder how that scene might have played out if Cheerilee wasn't an earth pony.
5472905
Cheerilee definitely needs to address this point better, I'll agree. But it seems so ingrained into her character--the tendency to fume in secret, I mean--the two times we see her do it (In Hearts and Hooves and the original EQG) that I thought it would be overly sudden to propose a permanent resolution after one night of thinking about it. The story definitely leaves her in a place where not all her problems are solved.
This was really good! You should totally make another story like this for unicorns and pegasai. I've read lots of stories about what it means to be an earth pony, but hardly any of the others. I felt you did a great job pushing Cheerilee's frustration, anger, and acceptance through.
I wrote a review of this story. It can be found here.
I made an account just to follow you, Skywriter. Well, and to comment and such but I did so after reading this fantastic winter's tale.
Originally found ya through EqD posting a Celestia Hates Tea comic. Got here, read that one and.. entirely failed to stop. Thank you for kindly sharing your craft with us! Now I'm off to read the rest of the collection..
Oh, and Derplicity has become headcanon for me; it all makes sense now..
After looking at this story on the front page for the fifth time today and having experienced the same phenomenon five times, I feel it only fair to share that I can only hear the title pronounced in the following fashion:
5474590
I had some criticisms that I didn't quite feel up to posting, but they dovetailed nicely enough with TD's review that I posted them in the comments there. (Briefly: I liked the story, but TD's global-level critiques are spot-on -- but I don't agree with his scene-specific ones much at all, so who knows what your takeaway should be.) (Sorry for the double notification, TD.)
Based on your comments here, though, I suspect at least a little of this is just us having an irreconcilably different perspective on the sorts of things that this story is themed around.
5474635
Welcome to the site! I'll take advantage of the opportunity of the opportunity to rant at somebody impressionable to say that another of Skywriter's stories was one of the three that convinced me fanfiction could be not only worth reading but really good. It remains perhaps the best fic on the site, at least in my eyes. (Read this one first though, it's short.)
Deep.
This is a rare story where one of the highlights came early on and without dialogue: the way that you described Ponyville's Hearth's Warming celebration from Cheerilee's point of view made it feel like a real, warm, breathing, inviting event that anyone would want to go to, that would breed memories across generations, and certainly felt like something Cheerilee was having trouble giving up. No wonder she wanted one more holiday season in Ponyville before moving!
I disagree with some of the, ah, constructive criticism in the comments several up from this one. I felt like Cheerilee's thought processes and internal conflict were spot-on. Cheerilee is a slightly untrustworthy narrator who thinks she's more of a bitch than she actually is, and she's trying to convince herself that she has reasons to leave even at the same time part of her is trying to find reasons to stay. The lifestyle choices of our childhood almost always influence our adults lives in a combination of conscious and subconscious ways: for example, someone who moved a lot as a child may be prone to heavy migration as an adult, or hate for the idea of moving and thus someone who sticks to one place forever. Cheerilee seems to be more of the former, and Granny Smith realizes it in her own, country-style version of psychotherapy.
Really, I have no issues with the story at all. Big Mac's long-winded speech felt like he was reciting an old family tale rather than "talking," so it felt completely spot-on and sensible to me after a half-second of consideration. Everyone felt well in character, from Granny Smith's blunt manipulation to Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Piety. ... Pinkie Piety. Now there's a fun turn of phrase!
Ahem, anyway, I'm a person without many traditions at all, and yet I read this story wrapped up in a blanket on the coldest night of the year and it warmed my cockles while bringing a smile to my face. What more can I ask for?
Seriously? A story about wassailing and *this* hasn't been posted in the comments section yet?
C'mon Fimfic; yer lettin' me down,
.... oh, it was a really good story, too,
5478199
Stop reading fanfic and go answer my message on Meetup; how else am I supposed to know when it'll be ok to throw money at the group?
5474635
Hi, and welcome to FiMFic! Glad you liked my stuff enough to take the plunge.
5478280 Yeah, as soon as I saw the word Wassail that's the first thing that came to mind for me. I saw the California Raisins Christmas Special way too many times... And, Skywriter's comment section isn't the right place to discuss silly meetup stuff! I just replied to it, though.
5478340
Eh, no worries, I don't mind a little cross-conversation. The signal-to-noise is at fine levels right now.