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Zap Apple Smash 2210

Joined June 2012
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    Zap Apple Smash's Stories (2)

    • A Hard Bargain
      Lunaverse. Ditzy is approached by some ponies from Manehatten with an offer they doubt she'll refuse

      20,731 words · 1,559 views · 123 likes · 5 dislikes
    • Make Wubs not War
      The story of how Rarity met Vinyl Scratch for the first time.
      1,684 words · 100 views · 17 likes · 0 dislikes

    Set in The Lunaverse. Ditzy Doo is a loving mother, a good friend and a dedicated mail mare. She also happens to be the Element of Kindness, something that can lead to a pony getting some unwanted attention. This starts to become a problem when she is approached by some ponies from Manehattan with an offer they doubt she'll refuse. What will happen? How will the Elements react? And what part does Big Macintosh play in all of this?

    First Published
    1st Jul 2012
    Last Modified
    11th May 2013

    Comments ( 221 )

    #1 · Chapter 1 · 46w, 1d ago · · ·
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    Well finally got around to contributing to this website. Now I wanted to do this story for a few reasons. Firstly I really like this universe  RainbowDoubleDash created and the stories that are already part of it. Secondly I like The Lunaverse group for its quality and for the sheer principle of what it is (an open-ended colaboration of Authors to create a single narritive vision). Lastly it gives me a chance to try a new spin on one of my favourite characters. :eeyup:

    chronologically speaking I see this story taking place after the events of Musicians and Dreamers but aside from that I'm keeping it flexible (I would say that episode 13 is looking kinda lonely but that's only because 13 is my favourite number :derpytongue2: )

    I'm still getting the hang of this website's set up and I want to make sure that this story fits in with the rest of the universe so all feed back is welcome.

    #2 · Chapter 1 · 46w, 6h ago · · ·
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    > She also happens to the Element of Kindness,

    I think you accidentally a word, lol

    #3 · Chapter 1 · 46w, 6h ago · · ·
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    I like this story so far keep it up:moustache::moustache::moustache:

    #4 · Chapter 1 · 46w, 6h ago · · ·
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    Well color me intrigued...

    My only complaint: I don't think that Trixie would throw Ditzy out of her window, even if she was interrupted. Among other things, she's pretty close to Ditzy, probably closer to her than any of the other L6 except maybe Lyra.

    FUN FACT TIME!

    In Longest Night, Longest Day, when Trixie was under the offense of poison joke and trying to keep herself amused, I had her sing a few lines from I Don Quixote. But I originally wanted her to sing a song related to New Orleans, and one of the songs I was considering was the one used here. I also almost used "House of the Rising Sun."

    #5 · Chapter 1 · 46w, 6h ago · · ·
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    Only criticism I'd give was that it needed some better structuring and scene transitions. Also it kind of lurched to a stop.  Other then that seems solid and I'll definitely be following it.

    #6 · Chapter 1 · 46w, 6h ago · · ·
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    where this goes i have no idea, but i'm stickin' around to find out:eeyup:

    #7 · Chapter 1 · 46w, 6h ago · · ·
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    This is pretty interesting, I'll be sure to keep an eye on it :pinkiehappy: And your Pierce is perfect!:trixieshiftright: Need a few more puns but pretty ncie nonetheless!

    You should get a proofreader though, there's a few spots where you dropped words (like when Trixie comments 'Did you how big he was', forgetting the 'see' in there ).

    #8 · Chapter 1 · 46w, 5h ago · · ·
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    >>838415

    This wasn't intended to be an act of malice on Trixie's part. It was more of a knee jerk reaction to Ditzy catching her singing in the shower. Kind of like when you slam the door in a friend's face when they catch you do something embarassing. Though at least she remebered to sign the clipboard. :derpytongue2:

    #9 · Chapter 1 · 46w, 4h ago · · ·
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    Oh, dear. Castor Cut is about to make a big-ass nuisance of himself. Good thing that there are some members of the Apple Trust :eeyup: who are almost respectable.

    #10 · Chapter 1 · 46w, 3m ago · · ·
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    Well I wasn't expecting to see this when I got up this mourning.  Good potential concept and off to a nice solid start.  Definitely needs some proofing work though.  Anyway, welcome to the club, such as it were.

    I do have one personal concern though.  There were a few spots where Big Mac felt far too wordy to me, most notably when introducing himself to Trixie.  It's perfectly okay to have him say more than yup/nope, but his responses should still generally be short and direct.  I'll give you the benefit of the doubt with your interpretation, but you should considered having Big Mac mostly 'speak' through actions or by having others speak for him based on there own perceptions.

    #11 · Chapter 1 · 45w, 6d ago · · ·
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    Looks interesting, and the character at the train station definitely seems ominous already.

    A couple errors I spotted:

    Trixie turned to where Pierce was looking and saw what had to be the biggest stallion she had seen in her life. To top it off he was bright red and idly tossing hay bales on to a wagon as if it was nothing. He stopped and turned to the two unicorns, his eyes half lidded and almost looking. “Morning Pierce, Morning Ms Trixie.”

    Almost looking what?

    The train pulled into Ponyville Station. When the conductor gave the all clear, passengers started to give the all clear. No paid particular attention to three stallions, one slightly below average size flanked by two larger ones, walking out.

    I think you mean 'no one'. Unless you're introducing a character named 'No'.

    #12 · Chapter 1 · 45w, 6d ago · · ·
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    A few errors, but intriguing start!

    #13 · Chapter 1 · 45w, 6d ago · · ·
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    Hmm. Interesting. I'm intrigued and looking forward to seeing where this is going. A couple of things, though, that I think might be improved:

    1. I would agree with Emerald Bookwise that Big Mac is unusually talkative here. I think it'd be better to write him as communicating more with gestures or actions than being chatty.

    2. If the short pony (buying the tickets) is the Duke (whose descriptions so far have been along the lines of 'well, he's brown and he's short'), then this doesn't quite mesh with his characterization thus far. Duke Greengrass handles almost everything of this sort through proxies; he wouldn't actually come to Ponyville himself (he'll show up briefly in Carrot Top Season, but as part of an even that was planned long before he'd ever heard of the Elements). His whole plan to grab the Elements is supposed to be a secret (and he doesn't know that Trixie found out about it; he fell for her whole 'I'm going to frame Lyra out of jealousy' scam and thinks that's why Octavia failed), so showing up in person would endanger that. He's also not really the cackling villain sort. He can be funny and enjoys teasing others, but he wouldn't be all 'so, boys, ready to commit some horrible villainy?'

    (If it's not the Duke, then just ignore this bullet, heh).

    3. On a smaller note, I think it might be best if this story wasn't #13 but was two or three down from Carrot Top Season. It just seems a bit odd to me to cluster all the political episodes together (Musicians and Dreamers, this one, and Carrot Top Season).

    #14 · Chapter 1 · 45w, 5d ago · · ·
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    >>839510

    >>843417

    Thats a valid point you two made and I will definitely relook this chapter and work on keeping Big Mac quieter. There may be special occasions that forces Big Mac to use more words than usual but he is still at heart a pony that doesn't like to use words if he can avoid it.

    On the second note, not to give too much away, the short pony is not the duke, he's not even involved with the canterlot nobles. From what I've seen this would absolutely not be the Duke's style to come in person and I promise you that this is one scheme he isn't involved in. I will be giving the Manehattenites a formal introduction next chapter.

    #15 · Chapter 1 · 45w, 5d ago · · ·
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    >>844228: Awesome. Looking forward to the next chapters!

    #16 · Chapter 1 · 45w, 5d ago · · ·
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    >>844228

    And that is perfectly fine.  Episodes like Ponyville Confidential show us that given the right motivations he can speak up a storm.  Much like the character of Silent Bob though, for such scenes to have proper dramatic weight Big Mac needs to keep it short and simple all the rest of the time.

    #17 · Chapter 1 · 45w, 5d ago · · ·
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    This shall be interesting! :pinkiehappy:

    #18 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 3d ago · · ·
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    Duke Bluegrass...:rainbowlaugh:  I love it.  I'm really liking this one.

    #19 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 3d ago · · ·
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    Ch2 looks pretty good.  Parley is shaping up to be a great villain, I already feel like slapping the sleaze a good one.  Still not quite sure how the two seemingly desperate plot threads you've got going sync up, but I'll give it some time.

    Noticed that you also updated Ch1.  Skimmed for anything obvious, but was disappointed that Big Mac still seems overly chatty.

    #20 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 3d ago · · ·
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    Ah, I get it. I was reading the chapter going "but wait, where's Carrot Top?"

    For some reason it took me to the end there to realize you meant it as a reference to "carrot and stick."

    "No but Applebloom's convinced the rest of the class to join in." Dinky explained. "They've tied Trixie up and Scootaloo said something about 'Water-boarding' her."

    Aw, and Trixie's normally so good with kids...

    #21 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 3d ago · · ·
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    >>858810

    Yeah I was doing some corrections and cutting back on some of minor Big Mac dialogue but I'm still working through it so that I have Big Mac talking less but that the needed information across. I'll let you know when the revised version is up.

    #22 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 3d ago · · ·
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    'Water-boarding'?

    I'm not familiar with this term. Do I want to be?

    #23 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 3d ago · · ·
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    >>859109

    To quote wikipedia "Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over the face of an immobilized captive, thus causing the individual to experience the sensation of drowning". `

    So no it's not something you want to be personally familiar with.

    #24 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 3d ago · · ·
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    >>859144

    Okay, so incredibly unpleasant but nothing that requires me to break out the brain bleach (like a few other things I've regretted asking about).

    #25 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 3d ago · · ·
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    keep it up

    :pinkiehappy:

    #26 · Chapter 1 · 45w, 2d ago · · ·
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    i laughed when i saw the Princess and the Frog referance. genius.

    #27 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 2d ago · · ·
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    Stonghold Construction & Arcitecture

    Should probably be "Stronghold"

    #28 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 2d ago · · ·
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    I like it, and I'm interested to see where this is going. Keep it up!

    I am highly amused by Trixie's being captured by the foals. They can be vicious when they want to be. :-)

    #29 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 2d ago · · ·
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    Except Scootaloo might just want to try wakeboarding, or something.

    #30 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 2d ago · · ·
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    Hmm, I sense trouble. I hope Big Mac's not a knowing partner and simply wanted to help a friend.

    Also Duke Bluegrass, ally of Fancy Pants?!:moustache:

    #31 · Chapter 2 · 45w, 2d ago · · ·
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    I wonder how Scootaloo would even know what water boarding is in the first place.....

    #32 · Chapter 3 · 45w, 8h ago · · ·
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    And now we start to see a bit of overlap between the story lines. Let’s see what happens next.

    Just a few notes.

    Bounty Hunting is a legal profession in Equestria, albeit it one that is licensed and regulated (like in real life). Anyone can apply for a Bounty hunting license but they have to pass a background check and a basic competence test. The bounties are government sanctioned and the bounty hunters are required to follow the same laws as everyone else. While you can make a living from it if you are willing to travel across Equestria to hunt the bounties down, most bounty hunters have day jobs and just collect on bounties that come into their area.

    The reason that bounty hunting was made legal was as a way to compensate for the lower number of law enforcement in the rural areas because having bounty hunters in an area would make that area undesirable to criminals that already had bounties on their heads and it gave individuals law enforcement could deputise if the extra pony power was needed.

    Caballerian is language spoken in Caballeria which is the Lunaverse equivalent of Spain. There is also a Caballerian speaking minoraty that lives with in Equestria. On a side note, I don't personally speak Spanish and have had to use a translater so sorry if the translations are off.

    Lastly, I have gone back and revised chapter one because I realised that I had made Big Mac a little too chatty and I had accidently made Pokey Pierce's nickname Pierce when it is in fact Pokey (not sure how I missed that one). It's more or less the same but  any thoughts the revised chapter is welcome.

    #33 · Chapter 3 · 45w, 7h ago · · ·
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    Love Caballeria. I'm adding it to my list of fanon MLP place names.

    One of these days I'm going to post the whole thing for the benefit of other writers.

    #34 · Chapter 3 · 45w, 7h ago · · ·
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    >>874535

    Personally, I think it'd be more fun if we didn't get a translation for what Plomo was saying, and just had it be in Spanish

    (Also, don't feel bad about not speaking Spanish. I myself only speak two languages: English, and Bad English).

    #35 · Chapter 3 · 45w, 6h ago · · ·
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    Oh, goody. Time for Big Red to bust some melons.

    #36 · Chapter 3 · 45w, 3m ago · · ·
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    >>874535  good chapter,  i can help you with the  spanish dialogue

    ."¿Por qué son nosotros pérdida de tiempo? ¿Por qué no agarramos sólo al monstruo y somos hacemos con ello?"

    should be

    "¿Por qué estamos  perdiendo  el tiempo? ¿Por qué no simplemente  agarramos al fenómeno  y termimanos con esto?"

    "Cobarde débil." never heard   of that one ,

      "maricon" isn't exactly the same but is a good alternative.

    "Ah juro que voy a la piel que poco...."  is  "Ah juro que lo  voy a desollar  vivo a ese pequeño ...."

    "¡Yo DEBERÍA ROMPER CADA HUESO EN SU CUERPO ESTÚPIDO!"  

    "¡ DEBERÍA ROMPERte CADA HUESO de tu CUERPO  , boludo!"

    ( I am from argentina so  some of my structures are a bit different compared to other spanish speaking countries , but it was mostly in neutral )

    #37 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    Buddy Bounties? Okay, now I'm game. :coolphoto:

    Though it seems like your doing a bit too much at once, I get that someone is going after Ditzy and/or Cherilee, Mac and C are on the counter, and Trixie is not nearly as drunk as she should be by now. But as for how it all connects, I'm a bit lost.

    #38 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    I'm not sure yet exactly how the plotlines will come together, but things are proving to be quite interesting so far. I wish caramel good luck with Wind Whistler!

    #39 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    Well Mac seems to be a nice person in this (and a bounty hunter which is sort of cool). I assume either the job offer for Cherilee is legit and coincidntial or its not but Mac isn't aware of it. It could be that after trying to get at the elements one at a time only to be stopped by Trixie the big bad is deciding to try two at once on the grounds that one will distract her from the other.

    Alteratively Mac is being an amazing chess player here with the bounty hunter bit being entirely to get trixie's attention to the current bounties which will presumably include on the 'business pony's' working on ditzy thus warning her whats going on.

    #40 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    >>874690

    Yeah that could be fun. I'll try that out next time I have Plomo dialogue.

    >>876068

    Thank you so much. :pinkiehappy:

    I'm always reluctant about using languages I don't know because translate programs tend to be literal instead of grammatical so I'm really grateful if someone who knows the language looks it over. I've made the changes you suggested, though just to check is "No digas palabrotas." The right thing to say if you're telling someone to watch their language?

    #41 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    >>878115 yes ,  "No digas palabrotas."  is okay .

    #42 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    >>876962

    Buddy Bounties?

    For some reason I can't help but think of Scrubs for some reason. :derpytongue2:

    Yeah I realise things seem unconnected at the moment but I promise as we keep going, the plot threads will start joining up. The problem was that if I didn't start all these things now stuff that would happen later on would seem to come out of nowhere.

    #43 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    Hmm, plot thickens. I liked Big Mac, there, but a bounty hunter?

    ...

    I really love that!:eeyup: As for not speaking Spanish, I speak English, Klingonese and I can conjugate 'Amo' from Latin from high school about 15 years ago...:derpytongue2:

    #44 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    I speak English AND French :pinkiehappy: maybe I should include more drunk Trixie in my stories? :trixieshiftright:

    another excellent chapter. Between the two of us we can really bring out the 'Servile Snarker' side of Pokey out, he's turning out to be lots of fun isn't he? Basically just have him take jabs at Trixie while still doing his job! :trixieshiftleft:Even when she constantly question why she keeps him around.

    Caramel, Big Mac: they fight crime. :rainbowlaugh: that's frickin' amazing! Though Caramel seems a bit too... skilled for a simple farmhand/part time bounty hunter. Think he ran from a bounty on his head?

    #45 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    >>879565

    Either that or he's ex-military who had been screwed over by some higher ups, or both. With a last name like Chance-A-Lot, it would make sense. (If Lyra and Trixie got their last names from the mysterypack he can too)

    Pokey is such fun to write, I'm so glad you brought him into Lunaverse canon. Personally I think Trixie secretly likes having him around, though it would be cold day in Tartarous before she admits it. :derpytongue2:

    And we can never have too much drunk Trixie :pinkiehappy:

    #46 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    >>879663 Oh god... Caramel is Face to big Mac's BA Barracus, unless big Mac's the van :derpyderp2:

    Glad to see someone having fun using Pokey!

    #47 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    >>880004

    Oh Big Mac would definitely be more than just the Van, maybe with some Hannibal thrown in :eeyup:

    Though I can picture it now.

    :eeyup: Nnnope, I ain't getting on no air ship fool

    Though that would just leave us short a Howling Mad Murdock :pinkiehappy:

    Or Caramel could be Sam Axe to Big Mac's Micheal Weston though if that were the case I'd need to introduce mojitos to the Lunaverse as well as another character to be the trigger happy love interest.

    #48 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    >>880278 Murdoch? Just throw in Screwloose! What we need then is a proper Hannibal :derpytongue2:

    also my next story has Trixie drinking a mojito.

    #49 · Chapter 3 · 44w, 6d ago · · ·
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    What the crap Big Mac........a bounty hunter? Thats a cool idea!:eeyup:

    #50 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 1d ago · · ·
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    And now things are starting to get interesting. Let’s see where it leads.

    In regards to Cheerilee's POV, I can't personally speak for teachers but my dad is a doctor in a small town. His car had been stolen and set on fire by some locals (don't ask me why) and though the people responsible had been caught and prosecuted he had made it a point not to find out who they were. When I asked him why, he explained that chances are that someday he was going to have to treat one or all of the people responsible. That was what came with the territory of being a doctor and frankly it was easier for him not to know.

    I think being a teacher is similar in that you can't control who your students or who their parents but you still have responsibility to those students regardless of personal feelings. I'm not saying that Cheerilee shuts her eyes to potential threats but she's not going to start thinking the worst of people at the first suspicion.  

    Side note, it was suggested that I leave out the translations for what Plomo says and just have the Spanish, any thoughts?

    #51 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 1d ago · · ·
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    First, at some point, these people have to learn that acting against the Bearers is an incredibly stupid move, especially in the Lunaverse.

    Second, I kind of want Post Haste's bat. It's a cool bat. Also, 'love and tolerate the shit out of you' with a bat like that is brilliant.

    #52 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 1d ago · · ·
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    I like that bat. :pinkiehappy: And now I'm really curious about Big Mac. I'm pretty certain he's a friendly, or at least a neutral, but you've successfully piqued my curiosity.

    #53 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 1d ago · · ·
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    A few errors I spotted:

    Ditzy was busy doing some housework, taking the time to take in the world her mail mare job was providing for her and Dinky. It wasn't fancy but it was warm (mostly) and it provided them with everything they needed (so long as they were frugil).

    The spelling is 'frugal' I believe.

    Trixie lead Cheerilee to her lounge. The teacher declined the offer for a drink as she made herself comfortable on the couch.

    'Led' is the proper past-tense form of 'lead'.

    Cheerilee pursed her lips. "You know my father used to have a bounty hunter license." She paused I don't think he ever caught anyone though. I think he just kept renewing his license cause mom liked it. I remember she would her flank him, saying 'I've got your bounty right here'. Then they'd send me to go play at the neighbour’s house."

    You're missing an opening quotation mark after 'paused'. And what do you mean 'she would her flank him'? 'She would show her flank to him' maybe?

    Trixie stared and then opened her mouth, not sure of what she was going to say, but then closed it again when cheerilee raised her hoof.

    You need to capitalize 'Cheerilee' here.

    The next day was another bright and sunny one as Ditzy headed to the post office, her spirit considerbly lighter than it had been the night before.

    You need an 'a' in 'considerably'.

    "Thank you so much for the offer." Ditzy said sincerely. "But Ime and Dinky have a good life here in Ponyville and I don't think now is the right time to move."

    On the one hand, proper grammar would be 'Dinky and I' as in 'I have a good life here' rather than 'me have a good life here', but I tend to give a fair amount of leeway on these things when they occur in dialogue. Either way, 'Ime' isn't a word, much less a first-person pronoun.

    Silver Script stepped out of the post office, carrying a baseball bat that had the words "Love & Tolerance" written on it.

    "If you don't leave right now, I'm going to love and tolerate the shit out of you!"

    No errors, this is just plain awesome!

    #54 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 1d ago · · ·
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    >>909327

    Found and fixed. Thanks for pointing them out. What it was suppose to say was "Shake her flank at him".

    #55 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 1d ago · · ·
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    #56 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 1d ago · · ·
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    :rainbowlaugh: That was awesome! You just made love and tolerance totally badass! Oh wow, this is just great. Keep up the good work.

    #57 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 1d ago · · ·
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    Ha! I like tht bat. It's like the fan appreciation bat from...

    ...huh, I forget where. I want to say Megatokyo.

    And Cheerilee's opinions seem spot-on.

    #58 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 1d ago · · ·
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    thats a win:moustache:

    #59 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 1d ago · · ·
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    Damn. It's definitive. I bucking LOVE the Lunaverse.

    Meinos Kaen

    #60 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 1d ago · · ·
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    Sliver Script isn't going to get the chance to love and tolerate anypony. A largish red earth pony will have beaten him to it.

    #61 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 22h ago · · ·
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    Actually as a teacher I find it important to know what the parents of a student are like especially if that student is having trouble in school and also if said parents are capable of assisting them as well.

    Anyway though very nice story.  Could maybe use a bit of expansion in some places but overall a very entertaining story.

    #62 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 21h ago · · ·
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    Nice, always a fan of badass Big Mac, can't wait to see how he handles the troublemaking trio.

    #63 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 18h ago · · ·
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    Silver Script, you better swing by the school and make sure Dinky is allright, that's where they'll strike next!

    Also 'Night Court' is two words.

    Ponyville has a motel now?!

    #64 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 18h ago · · ·
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    Sounds to me like the villains are going to try and kidnap Dinky to try and get Ditzy to work for them which is a spectacularly bad idea. Not only will Ditzy go balistic but I think she might be at school so Cherilee will be protecting her, Trixie is rather fond of kids particularly Dinky and the CaraMac crew are keeping an eye on them, if Snails is at school at the same time then Raindrops will be falling on their heads as well.... I cant wait.

    #65 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 15h ago · · ·
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    >>911752

    Good point.

    Thanks, I'm glad your enjoying the story so far though are there any specific places you feel could do with expanding?

    #66 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 15h ago · · ·
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    >>912707

    Thanks I'll remember that.

    Well the town appears to get tourists so you would assume that there would be some form of accomadation available though I doubt they would have a hotel.

    I grew up in a town of only 500 people that still managed to have six motels catering solely to the tourist trade.

    #67 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 14h ago · · ·
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    >>913514 There wasn't one as per The Night After. Though don't worry, I'll drop a construction site for the motel in Where There is Smoke.

    #68 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 14h ago · · ·
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    >>913642

    Thanks, can't believe I forgot about that :facehoof:

    #69 · Chapter 4 · 44w, 13h ago · · ·
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    "I'm going to reason with ya"

    "Do I really need to point out that you have 'Reason' painted on the side of your shotgun?"

    *Blam*

    #70 · Chapter 4 · 43w, 6d ago · · ·
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    >>909159 Your father's a good man. :twilightsmile:

    Also, yeah. Splitting up the Bearers of the Elements, literally the only thing stopping Corona, is getting to be redicupid. A combination of ridiculous and stupid, there. I mean... is Greengrass that short-sighted?

    #71 · Chapter 4 · 43w, 5d ago · · ·
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    >>918698 Thanks :twilightsmile:

    Really i don't think Greengrass is shortsighted but he is just more concerned about getting leverage. He probably thinks once he gets his hoofs on one element, he'll be able to either use it to get hold of the other elements or he'll be able to get what he wants before Corona get's here.

    In regards to others wanting to get hold of an element, some are actually just shortsight but others are probably not that concerned over the threat Corona presents.

    We the reader know that Corona would have probably leveled Canterlot if the elements hadn't stopped her but for all the general public know's Shining Armour's defence could have been enough to stop her.


    #72 · Chapter 3 · 43w, 3d ago · · ·
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    Sorry to be only just now getting around to this, I'd beena bit preocupied.  Also, I know my crtitique of your first chapter mignt have come across as a little harsh, but I think you're really improving, especialy your Big Mac; you seem to finally be getting the hang of how to write him.

    The bounty hunting angle caught me off guard, but I think I like, and I think I'm finally starting to see how the two plot lines will intersect.  Anyway, got some other stuff to do right now, but I'll try to be back for the next chapter later tonight.

    #73 · Chapter 4 · 43w, 3d ago · · ·
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    Pretty good chapter, could use some more thorough proofing though, notably there seem to be several superfluous instance of the word 'a'.

    Loved the bat though I think narratively describing the text branded on it then having Silver Scrip speak those same words in the next sentence was a bit repetitive.  I might have shortened one or the other to just "L&T" or else something like this.

    Silver Script stepped out of the post office, carrying a baseball bat, and bellowed, "If you don't leave right now, I'm going to 'love and tolerate' the shit out of you!"  He then stroked a hoof across those same words that were engraved into the implement.
    What you've already got though is just fine if you really prefer it that way.

    >>913642

    That was always the one thing that really bugged me about The Night After.  I'd have bought the idea that what with it being the Longest Night Festival and all that all the rooms were booked, but I do think there should have always been a motel/hotel/inn of some kind.

    #74 · Chapter 4 · 43w, 2d ago · · ·
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    i don't like where this is going....

    #75 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 1d ago · · ·
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    I was almost tempted to call this chapter "When stuff starts to get real" but I decided against it.

    Sorry for the delay on this chapter but I was out of the town the last week doing job hunting in the city I'm planning to move to. But I am pleased to say that the trip was a success and so returning home after landing a job I decided to celebrate with either alcohol or ponies.

    Tough choice I know but naturally, being a sane, well adjusted, hot blooded male between the age of 18 and 24, I chose ponies . :yay:

    In regards to the smoke bomb. While the existence of pin release smoke grenades in Equestria is unlikely I’d say that considering they do have fireworks it’s safe to assume that wick lit smoke bombs could still exist, though considering that unicorns can block it with magic and pegasi can blow the smoke away with their wings I think it lacks military use outside of guerrilla tactics as seen in this chapter.

    #76 · Chapter 4 · 43w, 1d ago · · ·
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    >>934343

    Yeah I will definitely consider shortening it from now on later references but the joke didn't really work unless I had Love and Tolerance both times.

    #77 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 1d ago · 1 · ·
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    Oh, my. I should think that Ditzy will be greeted at the train station by Big Macintosh, Dinky and three veeeeeeeeeeeeery injured idiots. Let's hope he's NOT gentle with them. Let's also hope that he makes AJ drink a tall, cool mug of Shut-the-[boxcar]-up.

    #78 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 1d ago · · ·
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    very good chapter , poor . dinky has been kidnapped again I hope she dosent become princess peach.

    "Escuche estrechamente. Haré preguntas. Usted dará respuestas. ¿Comprende?"

    should be

    "escuche atentamente , voy a hacer preguntas y usted contestara ¿entiende?.

    #79 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 1d ago · · ·
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    >>946018

    What did Applejack do? Applejack hasn't done anything bad in this story!

    I told ya, we don't return apples ya haven't used

    She's entirely in the right here, you should never accept any attempt to return food!

    #80 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 1d ago · · ·
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    >>946039

    Thanks for that, I've changed it now.

    Yeah I think the problem is that Dinky is such an easy target for the bad guys to use. That said, while I did get her kidnapped in this I like her character too much to see her constantly getting kidnapped.

    #81 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 23h ago · · ·
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    You know, much as we love to hate Greengrass in this series, at least he knows something about subtlety.  Frankly, Parley should consider himself lucky Ditzy started by asking questions instead of breaking bones.  ...Something tells me that Big Mac won't be so considerate.

    #82 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 22h ago · · ·
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    Aww yeah, Big Mac and Caramel, the dynamic duo. They gonna buck some shit!

    Spotted one noticeable mistake, otherwise fine language.

    Big Mac scooped Applebloom up into another quick hug. "Love ya sis." He then turned to Caramel. "Home. Now."

    "You got it boss." Caramel replied as he stood beside Dinky. "I'll catch up after I get her home."

    Applebloom, maybe?

    #83 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 22h ago · · ·
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    Man, Silver must have a reputation if everyone freaks out whenever he carries a bat.

    #84 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 21h ago · · ·
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    >>946178: Yeah, Greengrass would be quite unhappy when he heard about this. Setting aside all the political problems this could cause him (now Luna and her allies and the Court have an excuse to watch the Elements more closely; investigations of them could lead to his schemes since he's also tried his hand at nabbing Elements, etc.), it's just... they're being sloppy. Even Flim and Flam did their evil deeds out of sight, weeding the farm at night (and trying to summon an Ursa there also at night), and then taking Apple Bloom into an old, labrynth-style monument. It's an insult to every duplicitous schemer in the Court that Parley and co. would try a hare-brained, out-in-the-open brute force scheme so fast.

    On the other hand, now that they've foal-napped Dinky, I think Flim and Flam will be getting some company in jail shortly. And Apple Bloom and Dinky can start a 'we got kidnapped by Night Court lunatics' club! Hurray!

    Enjoying the story. Can't wait to see the ending!

    #85 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 19h ago · · ·
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    Okay, so can these guys get their jaws broken, preferably with teeth knocked clear outta their heads?

    And Big Mac is an educated badass. Also, Ditzy... *Sigh* My love for Trixie is balanced against Dinky. Darn you! ;)

    #86 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 19h ago · · ·
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    >>946047

    Her objection to Big Macintosh's attempts to take out the trash (so to speak) seem.........ill timed, all things considering. That being said, I should think that when Luna figures out what's been happening, we're in for an epilogue wherein the following note from these jerks and their boss appears in the paper: "We killed ourselves. We also chopped ourselves to pieces and threw ourselves in the trash." (Note: said note will be in Fancy Pants's hoofwriting.)

    #87 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 19h ago · · ·
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    The weird thing was that I that the strange thing was that it wasn’t coming from any of the nearby chimneys but was instead it was coming from the same direction as...”

    Either 'The weird thing was that' or 'the strange thing was that'. Both at once is redundant.

    Now I'm going back to reading the chapter.

    Edit: Second error:

    "Eescuche atentamente , voy a hacer preguntas y usted contestara ¿Entiende?"

    'Escuche' has one too many 'e's.

    Edit2: Man, I want to borrow Silver Script's bat right about now.

    >>946919

    It will not! Fancy's not that sloppy. :P

    #88 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 17h ago · · ·
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    Why do I have a feeling that when that train comes, it will have a pony on it (perhaps from Fancy Pants's or Greengrass's factions) with a notice saying, "We updated the bounty list, and Parlay is totally on it"? Then Big Mac can put his bounty hunting license (mentioned a while ago, but not used yet) to very nice use. :-)

    (Also, I have a sneaking feeling that Big Mac might know Ox and/or Bear from one of his Canterlot adventures, heh. I can see them getting along fabulously when they aren't on opposite sides).

    #89 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 15h ago · · ·
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    I really hope this ends with lots of pain for those three bozos.

    Poor Trixie, she keeps getting bucked in the face :p

    #90 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 14h ago · · ·
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    L!Ditzy's MamaRage is the Lunaverse's FlutterRage?  I can dig it.

    Caramel and Mac making an awesome crime fighting duo?   I can dig it.

    Trixie being reasonable (for Trixie) get's her popped one?  She's going to get a complex  about that.  :trollestia:

    #91 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 12h ago · · ·
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    Wow:rainbowderp:

    #92 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 9h ago · · ·
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    >>946178 >>946474

    Yeah the difference between Parley's crew and the Flim Flam brothers is the fact that Parley's crew are mobsters as opposed to con-ponies.

    The thing about con-men and politians is that they have to be subtle because otherwise they lose the ability to get people to trust them which is vital for them to function. Mobsters on the other hand (or at least the ground level crew) aren't really that subtle and even though they want to avoid the law where posible they work almost exclusively on fear, brutality and the occasional bribe.

    Chances are that their direct employer is crime boss or someone who isn't looking to use the elements in a political sense but is more interested in holding an element hostage (thus making the other elements worthless) until their demands are met.

    This powerplay is stupid and will come back to bite them but they did it thinking that they will be back in Manehatten, well paid and out of the line of fire, before anyone has a chance to stop them.

    #93 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 9h ago · · ·
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    >>946324

    I don't really think that it's Silver Script's reputation so much as the fact that unless that persons in a sports team you generally don't know how to react to someone turning up at you place carrying a bat.

    >>946893

    That is very tempting. In fact the only reason Plomo's jaw wasn't broken yet was because Big Mac needed to pump him for information

    .>>947245

    That would be cool. Or if they didn't get a bounty to collect, I'm sure Big Mac would be willing to improvise.:derpyderp1:

    (Yeah I could totally see those three getting together, knocking back a few cold ones and having a good laugh together. Big Mac does seem like the type to be a great friend to have around if he's not working against you.)

    >>947855 >>948132

    Yeah I do feel sorry for Trixie having to endure so much pain just to try to be a good pony. I think the problem is that it's also so darn entertaining a lot of the time.:trollestia:

    (And trust me there will be pain for the Parley's crew, I promise you.)

    #94 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 8h ago · · ·
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    >>949552

    and yet everyone so far can immediately think of a reason Silver would want to take a bat to them.

    #95 · Chapter 5 · 43w, 7h ago · · ·
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    >>949552  Yessir, Trixie's "personal growth" pains are highly entertaining, and probably the surest way for her to learn, the poor thing.

    #96 · Chapter 5 · 42w, 6d ago · · ·
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    I was kind of enjoying this fic.  It just seems to be taking the darkness of the Lunaverse down an unfun path.  

    #97 · Chapter 5 · 42w, 6d ago · · ·
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    Why are all the foals getting abducted in the Lunaverse? Are children 20% more abduction prone in this world?

    #98 · Chapter 5 · 42w, 6d ago · · ·
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    This chapter was just... wow... I mean, I knew they were going to probably try abducting Dinky, but I really didn't expect that trio of scum bags to go so far as doing it so blatantly in the middle of class.  Figured they'd at least try and pretend they we're there to pick her up first.

    Also, I really like how even panicked, frightened, and capable of violence against her friends, Ditzy is still considerate enough to give the unconscious Trixie a pillow.

    Anyway, here are some more specific thoughts, and a few obvious grammatical corrections.  I'm going to seriously suggest you get yourself an actual proofer though, as this isn't really my forte, and I surely missed quite a bit.


    Trixie opened the door to find Ditzy and Silver Script standing there, the post master still carrying the baseball bat.
    "good ol' L&T" such an artifact should never be addressed by so bland a descriptor as merely "the bat", or at least not in this particular scene.  It's just fine when it's later mentioned at SAA.

    Big Mac came over, took one look at Silver Script and one look at the bat the post master was carrying. "Worker being harassed?"
    Except here, here it should be once again addressed as L&T.

    By the way, I do love how everyone except Big Mac keeps assuming Script is planning on using it on them.


    Silver Script disengaged from the hug and opened her wings
    A short search was unable to confirm one way or the, but I had been under the distinct, though possibly wrong, impression Silver Scrip was a "he".  This might require some head canon realignment on my part.

    Big Mac fastened the badge that showed he was acting in official bounty hunting capacity.
    Hmm... not so sure he should be flashing a badge when presumably he isn't actually acting in an official capacity since last we heard there weren't any actual bounties involved.

    The weird thing was that it wasn’t coming from any of the nearby chimneys but was instead it was coming from the same direction as...”
    delete that it was.  Also, add a comma before the "but", and delete that quote mark at the end.

    Ditzy shot out the window before Trixie had a chance to stop her. When she arrived at school she saw all the students as well as various adults were outside as the smoke that was coming out of the school started to dissipate.
    While you can keep this the way it is, I think it would be better if you separated these two sentences with a scene break, or at insert an additional paragraph or two in between detailing Ditzy's panicked flight.

    Also, the second sentence could use a few commas and an extra "the"...

    When she arrived at the school, she saw all the students, as well as various adults, were outside as the smoke that was coming out of the school started to dissipate.

    the rest drowned out into in comprehensible sobbing
    should all be one word.

    So unless you want us to send that little brat back to you one piece at a time
    Given her profession I think should twist the knife, such as it were, and say "mail".  Also, this is a frighteningly grim threat, that firmly resolves just how irrevocably nasty these fellows are.

    "Listen closely. I will ask questions. You will give answers. Understand?"
    I feel this should be shortened to "I ask, you answer.  Now!" or something similar.  The following bit in Spanish is just fine being wordy though.

    She picked up the suitcase and started head for the door but
    "to" before "head" and comma before "but"

    #99 · Chapter 5 · 42w, 5d ago · · ·
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    Well, then. Let's see...

    Fear the postmaster with the baseball bat! :rainbowlaugh:

    Big Mac is badass.

    Hmm, class about griffons, neat... WAIT A SECOND! This is shortly before my story, in which Cheerilee was wrapping up a unit on griffons... :pinkiehappy: You are awesome, sir

    Ooh, smoke grenade? Seems a bit dark even for the Lunaverse, but whatever.

    THEY TOOK DINKY?

    Big Mac, go. Do anything and everything you see fit. :twilightangry2:

    Lol at Trixie, sad at Dinky

    :rainbowderp: So, yeah, the alternate title fits very well, and another well-done chapter!

    #100 · Chapter 6 · 42w, 5d ago · · ·
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    Now I will leave it to your imagination how long Dinky had to keep her ears blocked. I'm thinking ten minutes but that's being optamistic about how long Plata would last.

    Also that fight was also over a lot quicker than I expected it would be but frankly, Big Mac is like a pony Mike Tyson, one hit and you're down.

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