It's December 24: Hearthswarming Eve. While most ponies are doing some last-minute shopping, or trying to get that last bit of work done before a glorious week off, the homeless of Manehattan are all scheming up ways to avoid the annual post-New Year's blizzard. Some will head south to warmer climates. Some will rely on the kindness of others. But Lima Bean?
Lima Bean has a foolproof plan all her own.
(Cover art done by the always amazing TJ Pones! If you don't follow him, you should!)
(Inspired by The Cop and the Anthem by William Porter, with additional inspiration derived from Red Skelton's portrayal.)
Featured on December 15, 2018! Many thanks to those of you who read it to give me my first feature!
Chapters (1)
This is really great. A comedic story with bits of sadness and heartbreaking moments, but a happy ending
The cover art is cute. I just wanna give her a big old hug. Also, I was happy to read that everything works out in the end in this story.
Good job! Keep up the stellar work.
A good ending for Lima sounds great. As long as we forget about all other homeless people who didn't get that.
Usually I set things on fire.
People are useful, as they can still walk around for a bit while on fire. After one falls, you just light up another one!
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This seemed interesting, so I read it on a whim. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The jokes were well set up, and the plot carries that holiday spirit of positivity in spite of everything. One question, though. Is Bindle okay?
9347972
Well this was her story.
Glad this had a happy ending. I was getting some Matchstick vibes from this at points, and I have...issues...with that story, the same issues Sir Terry had. So I’m glad it didn’t go that way.
9348125
It's a case of values dissonance. To the people of the time, going straight to heaven with a pure soul is a far better fate than living on the streets and letting her soul wear down to a corrupt nothing.
But nothing beats "I have given her the greatest gift of all - a future."
9347972 Sometimes you have to be glad that a starfish got thrown back into the ocean.
It seems that luck did not leave her after all.
Good story :)
As someone who was familiar with the source material, it's surprising to see the ways you've chosen to diverge from the original. The protagonist in the original was a refined gentleman. The gender reversal is unimportant and expected, but you've made it a plot point that the mare in this story is both and appearance and in spoken word, dirty and uncultured. It's an interesting choice that i can't say I agree with, but that I assume was made to adapt it to a modern audience who wouldn't relate to a homeless person walking around in a tuxedo and speaking as might an Oxford gentleman.
Going into this, I was most looking forward to seeing your handling of the scene where he approaches the lady, she's receptive to his advance, and he gives a sincere and heartfelt apology for the misunderstanding, while she cries at the loss of a man of such courtesy and gallantry as he walks away stoney-faced, as if leaving a pile of gold on the street because he couldn't carry it. You removed that scene completely. Why? Because of the gender reversal? Because you thought a stallion accepting the advances of a mare wouldn't come across the same to a modern audience? Was it because you couldn't reconcile it with your "dirty and uncultured" rather than refined gentlemare protagonist? It's a shame that you couldn't work this in. It was by far the most emotional and memorable moment in the original story. That scene made the story.
Instead of a man with a happy childhood full of fond memories, saddened by the loss of things he feels he can never recover...and yet who through all his hardships insists above all else that he hold himself high, and act with dignity and decorum, despite being on the precipice of despair over how far he has fallen...a man who continues to conduct himself with grace and poise, and yet who cries himself silly over the loss he has endured. You've taken all this away and replaced it with mere pity and victimhood? "Oh, woe is me for I endured such hardship as a child. But I was a good mare taking care of my mother and it's not my fault that the big bad greedy man took away my job!"
I'm sorry, but I'm not sure you understood the original story.
Finally, you've completely changed the ending. The original was a downer. Immediately upon working through his inner turmoil and resolving himself to fix his situation, the protagonist in the original was arrested for no very good reason through no fault of his own, and despite his sincerest apologies and assurances was thrown in jail, the end, roll credits, too bad. Instead, you've predictably chosen to have your mare "rescued" and handed a "lived happily ever after." Instead of an unhappy ending through no fault of his own, you've given her a happy ending through no fault of her own. It's...nicer I suppose. But it doesn't tug at the heartstrings like the original did.
You've crossed your 't's and dotted your 'i's, but you've stripped the story of the meaning and depth that made it so memorable. You've modernized it in ways that leave it empty. Instead of a man who retained his dignity through and after his fall from grace, then being damned the moment he chooses to redeem himself, you offer us an unremarkable mare who endured hardship and who is then saved through happenstance.
I apologize. But I don't think you understood the original story.
9348699
Or maybe, rather than being to stupid to "understand the message of the original" he wanted to write his own story inspired by the original instead of just being lazy and copying it verbatim with the human exchanged for ponies?
9348699 Just a moment, here. Remember, this is this story. If it were identical to the other story, it would not be this story after all. It would be that story.
The filly you used for your cover art is cranium combustingly adorable.
Having to pay for a dine and dasher out of your paycheck sounds ridiculous. Do they expect staff to tackle these people?
9348956
Thanks! All the near-death-inducing adorableness credit should go to TJ Pones. He is a master of the cute arts! Check out his stuff if you want to see more of it!
9349108
Perusing his stuff right now.
Such cute
My dome's blown
An excellent story with a heartwarming ending! Thank you!
A story as great as this has become the best of my season. That is why I can not reason; why this story is tagged as sad when all I feel is glad.
Not a happier tale have I read in too long, this story has filled my day with song.
9348699
Actually I think it's based on an old Mexican movie by Cantinflas, since the film is about a homeless man, who at one point in history also has the same idea of going to jail and comes up with exactly the same thing.
1Romper something and the grocer tells you to go.
2 Trying to steal something and not get it.
3 Send someone to prison for throwing a stone.
4 Although the part of the restaurant is very different because it begins a fight that ends in revolt and ends up escaping out of fear as the situation is out of control, although with a full stomach.
After that he ends up giving up trying to prison and the story continues
I haven't read this yet, but I loved the O Henry story. Can't wait to read the pony version!
9349315
I'm sure the story has been redone many times, but he mentions the story by title, The Cop and the Anthem and the author by name. Double checking, he's also linked a comedic adaptation. I think that may be the source of the difference of opinion here. That version he linked as his 'additional inspiration' has a swapped protagonist. It's a parody, with an established character from somewhere else being substituted in for the role of the protagonist, rather than actually playing the character in the original story. Kind of like...imagine if you were to film a version of Star Wars, except with the character Jean "Luc" Picard from Star Trek playing "Luke" Skywalker. Not, the actor Patrick Stewart playing the character of Luke Skywalker...but rather instead replacing the character of Luke Skywalker with the character of Jean Luc Picard. That's what the adaptation that the author of this story linked as his inspiration, is doing.
Here's the original screen version. It's famous largely because Marilyn Monroe was in it, although Charles Laughton who played the protagonist was very famous too.
9349929
This reminds me of the saying "there are no original ideas" everything is always based on something , but I must say that although the films seem very different to me, Although undoubtedly unites them one similar.
I find the film very funny, although I would like it to have better subtitles. My understanding of English is only 75-80%, maybe less and i'm much is lost.
9349108
Saw your stories title in the featured section and thought of a short story I saw as a kid.
As I read the description, I was happy to learn where you got it from.
How the hell did THIS monster come out of THAT glorious pony's loins? Yikes.
PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT
d'aww
9348699
Or maybe, just maybe, this isn't an adaptation of the original story? Maybe, and stay with me here, this is a different story entirely? One about a homeless pony? One that takes place in Equestria? One written by a different author? I mean, I might be crazy, but I'm fairly certain that this isn't the story that inspired it.
9350539
Read the story description. He attributes it, links two different versions, and states that these were his inspiration. I think it's pretty reasonable to point out and discuss divergences from the source material he is literally citing by name in the story description.
Anyway, you seem to have missed later discussion. Apparently he took a lot of inspiration from a parody version.
9350713
A parody he specifically mentioned in the fic description. Not sure what the issue is.
9350794
You tell me. I'm not the one freaking out and downvoting people for having the audacity to talk about how this story diverges from the story that inspired it. This story is significantly different in tone and character from the original, and in ways that as I explained in great detail, I think significantly detract from its emotional depth. Do you any of you want to discuss the comments I actually made? Or are you just angry that I didn't drop a pile of praise on the author?
If all you have to offer is "gee, this story is different than the source material" yeah, no kidding. That was my original point that I made in the first place. The question here is, why were these changes made? They didn't improve the story, they detracted from it. They replaced a complex character with a simple one. They replaced a character who chose very deliberately to live his life in a certain way and who made deliberate choices, with a character blown around in the wind by circumstances and then "rescued" like any generic damsel in distress. Elements were removed that made the protagonist admirable and likable, and new elements were added that made the protagonist unlikable. The vastly contrasting personalities of Soapy and his sidekick were removed and instead we get Lima Bean and Bindle who feel like the same pony with the same personality speaking with the same voice.
Why? Why were these changes made?
@Harmlesskitten13: I understand that you didn't want to end on a tragic note, and so you tried to give us a happy ending, but do you see how it converts a heartstring-tugging bait- and-switch surprise ending into a fairly generic "and then the damsel was rescued" sort of ending? I understand the gender reversal, but why did you remove the encounter with the girl when it gave Soapy a moment to shine? I understand that you were heavily influenced by a parody version of this story, and so we ended up with a low-class character living in her element instead of a high-class character living out of his element, but do you see how it resulted in reduced contrast, both between character and environment as well between protagonist and sidekick?
Soapy angrily refused to accept charity and was offended when it was implied that he'd stolen from a church...because dignity despite his circumstances was at the very core of his character. He has standards and yet we're left wondering at the irony that he spends most of the story trying to break the law in order to get into jail and yet is so very deeply bothered by the idea that people might think he's actually a bad person. Whereas you introduce Lima Bean by telling us how she's been scamming people. Why did you remove likable qualities from the character and turn her into a sleazeball? Do you see how that reduces our attachment to her?
What was the story you were trying to tell here? Why did you reduce the emotional depth of your protagonist?
Maybe you have reasons. Maybe they're good reasons. But I think these are legitimate questions.
9350914
Honestly to me it just seems like you're being incredibly salty because this fic had the audacity to take concepts from another story without directly copying that story. Literally all of your complaints boil down to "it isn't the story that inspired it". So? Does that mean that stories about wizards in school need to be Harry Potter clones? If I make friendship power a system of magic, do I also have to copy the tone and themes of MLP, unable to do what I want to do with the story because being inspired by something somehow traps me into recreating the original? I personally find that to be incredibly stupid.
Well, now i don't know what to feel. Reminds me of everything wrong in the world and just how close most people are to taking the worst of it. Good story, bad feels.
That was beautiful. And a much better and more complete ending than the original. Though I do wonder what happened to Bindle. Happy Hearthswarming!
Featured in December for Rated 'E' for Everyone
Well this was a lovely and entertaining story I just read
Surprisingly and pleasantly good.
Oh sweet Harmony, that was amazing.
This was a very nice story. Happy Holidays to you as well.
I honestly love how the ending is much happier than the original ending. Furthermore, Lima Bean is much more fleshed out as a character than Soapy. Good job on this.
That was amazing! I really hope that there's going to be a sequel to this story.
I love this. Especially since what Lima was attempting to do actually does happen in major cities across the world. In fact, it's quite common in my country for jails to open their doors to homeless people for a night.
Featured in December for Twilight's Library
Ah, what better tale for the season than one of capitalism! (And a little bit of police abuse).