The Tasty Treat has never done better business since its grand re-opening, but as usual Coriander Cumin watches his life with eyebrow raised and disbelieving grunt ready and waiting. So when Saffron Masala persuades him to sample a bit of local culture and attend the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant in Canterlot, he's not exactly leaping at the chance the way she is. After all, one of them needs to keep their hooves on the ground.
Even if it is covered in bitterly freezing snow. Uncomfortably familiar snow, come to that...
Chapters (1)
Huh...a nice little story, I'll say that
Barely, and I mean barely fits into New Horizons categories though
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I put it in because of the worldbuilding around the fictional land of Indrabhumi, which is emphatically outside of Equestria, and because of Coriander's flashbacks to his life there. But it is a bit tangential, I'll admit. I'll bear that in mind in the future.
Also, thanks! I hope you enjoyed it.
Ugh, why haven't more people read this? This is fantastic!
The whole time, I couldn't help thinking how much of this you didn't need to do. You didn't need to make him a war vet. You didn't need to give him a wife and son. But you did, and it turned out so splendidly. This story is so rich! You're really freaking good at this.
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Late as I am in replying... Sorry about that, by the way...
I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, though I must admit your enthusiasm surprised me. This didn't go very far at the time, so I figured it was just an OK experiment before moving on to other projects. Since you've said this, though, I'm reconsidering. Perhaps I'll even submit it to Equestria Daily, see what they think.
Also, thanks! A pleasure to know you got so much out of this.
Excellent work! The fleshing-out you've given Coriander, backstory and story and relationship with Saffron thoughts on Equestria and all, and the whole piece ambles along in a gentle and poignant way. Not bad at all.
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Interesting. I originally wondered if it was a bit meandering, to be honest. Sure, I wanted to get a lot of stuff in there, but sometimes I think I get a bit overindulgent. Thank you for the comment! I'm glad you were satisfied.
A fascinating tale of the hidden depths and unguessable past of that cynical stallion. Wonderful stuff. Thank you for it.
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Oops, sorry! I overlooked this initially. Thanks for the comment!
This was awesome. Truly gave Coriander new life. It's like he's not nearly as much of a dick as I considered him in the season 6 episode.
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You're welcome, and thank you for commenting.
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No problem.
You put a lot of thought into fleshing out their backstory.
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I'd been itching to tackle these two characters for a long time, and to try my hand at a little worldbuilding. Thanks for the comment.
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What were your inspirations for their backstory, if I may ask? It feels like a lot of it was based on personal experience.
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No personal experience, I'm afraid; most of it was a mixture of sources from my research. For instance, I researched Hindu mythology and eastern astrology, which was how I came up with the country's name "Indrabhumi" from Sanskrit (for "Indra's ground"; Indra is the name of a major Hindu deity, but in Buddhism it's also the name of a Heavenly General, sometimes represented in the Eastern Zodiac by the horse). Also, the "Kalki" reference is to an incarnation of Vishnu, sometimes depicted as a white horse.
Most of the rest was very vague inspiration from India's turbulent 20th century past seeking liberation. That's mostly where I got the idea for a divided country with a clear class system, hence Coriander's marriage to someone of a higher class not meeting with approval.
And of course, there's the show itself. I created deliberate parallels with the Hearth's Warming pageant (the ice dragons and the windigoes), selling the idea that Coriander's heritage and Equestria's own had much in common despite how different their traditions seemed.
Ultimately, it was sort of a potpourri of multiple influences: mythology, history, and the show's canon. I hope that answers your question, and thanks for taking an interest.
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That's a great method of worldbuilding.
An oddball ghost happened across your fic and read it. Have a review!