Sand mining is a vibrant industry in the United States. A fair share of states hold a stake in the name of sand, and while most rules of the dunes are followed, profits find a way in the margins of the law.
Nestled between the sister-cities of Conway and Myrtle Beach, a sand mine opens for its annual operation.
An entry for Admiral Biscuit's 'Not-a-Contest'. Group here.
An audio reading by StraightToThePointStudio.
On Goodreads thanks to the work of Facedeer.
âCharming, and a very believable glimpse into a small part of an unfamiliar, but very real world.â
âBobbles
Chapters (2)
Good story, I really liked it. Feels different then most PoE stories as well.
...I had zero idea sand mines were a thing. Though, the banter between the two was particularly strong and set a good picture of how pony-human relations work in the wider world. It felt normal where most Pony-On-Earth stories feel uncanny.
For some reason Sandpiper ended up with Lisa Ortiz's voice.
Happy new year. :)
When demand far out-strips legal supply that's when opportunities for less scruple-less people abound. Since not every type of sand can be used for various task and some are better than others demand is further increased
I really enjoyed this and loved Sandpiper! I liked how you brought these two characters together, too. It was really warm and very much about friendship. Just as it should be.
There is a company called S. M. Lorusso & Sons that started in my hometown that does Sand & Gravel, along with some other stuff.
They've been in business for at least 70 years.
Nice story. Kind of short. Would enjoy more.
I know that there was at least one beach that was stripped of sand overnight. They never caught the criminals. Anyway, thank you for inviting us into this glimpse of your world.
This is some good Slice of Life, sir. Charming, and a very believable glimpse into a small part of an unfamiliar, but very real world through the medium of a cartoon pony on Earth. I like it!
Very very nice, I love all these new stories Biscuit's prompt brought us.
10010056
Sand is a HUGE industry. Especially for concrete.
Would love to see a sequel
Just by giving this fanfic a first glance made me realize that I HAD to read this! Not even a minute after I went after it and read the story top from bottom and my GOD! This is a true masterpiece! I have a feeling that Admiral Biscuit probably had their heart melt just from the wholesomeness of this story! Well put together, grammar is superb, very miniscule amounts of problems, and overall; it's some top notch stuff! I hope ya didnt mind but I just had to make a little reading on this! Stuff as good as this shouldn't be left unnoticed! Definitely deserved the Feature Box Mention!
Audio Link: https://youtu.be/RTjBbajEwnk
(I don't mean to offend anyone with this comment!)
Wow! Thanks to all of you for reading and commenting. This has been a real pleasant surprise to wake up to, and a fantastic one to end the year on! I really appreciate all of the support for this story in particular, but I also appreciate the fact that some of you went out to check out some of my lesser works!
Before I get to replies, I'd just like to thank the Admiral one more time for this opportunity to write this! Without his 'not-a-contest' and his great personality to push my heart into this story, we wouldn't have the story here today. I'm really proud of how this one turned out, and I love that the majority of you seem to echo that!
10010054
I greatly enjoy the fact that you really liked the story! What feels different about Sandpiper such that it feels uniquely separate from other PoE fics?
10010056
Hi Ice! Sorry for pretty much ignoring you for most of the year; it's been a rough while for a lot of us I think, but I'm glad to see you writing new fics and reading mine, too! How did Sandpiper feel normal? Was it the dialogue? I'd really like to know how to escape Uncanny Valley in the future!
10010136
Economics is fun! I'd like to address that more in my stories... but that's aside. I'm glad to see you picked up on exactly what I was going for in the first half of the story.
10010150
Hey, what can I say? I kind of live and breathe for friendship and magic! I'm excited to hear that whatever I've done really did help tie the cast together, and that you got some warmth out of them!
10010219
The building blocks of civilization really do turn a profit, don't they? Thanks for sharing!
10010261
10010438
It was all my pleasure! I'm happy that my slice of the world was made just a little more interesting to you folks on the outside!
10010712
WOW! That was an awesome surprise. I listened to the reading as soon as I could, and I'm just floored by how well you've captured the feeling of the characters. You did a fantastic job of bringing out the life I filled the story with, and I really appreciate your comments about the nature of the writing; I really am proud of this work, and I'm especially ecstatic that you found it profound enough to push out a reading this quickly!
Thank you all so much! And again, happy New Year! I hope this was a nice fic for you to enjoy the end of 2019 with, because I really did put a lot of faith in Sandpiper, and she's become more of a gift than I ever could have possibly conceived on my own. Thank you all for the support!
10010850
Heyo, Oddball. Yeah, same here. Winter break from uni gives me time to crank out fics crazily and work on things like I haven't been able to months. Gotta maintain that good GPA and all, y'know? Like you said, aside from busy-ness it's generally been kinda rough. I'm not one to top writing.
I don't think I've ever read a story of yours that fell into it, tbh. Admittedly, some of Admiral Biscuit's works have. It does have to do with the dialogue, and how it focused on normalization of pony-human interactions. A lot of the awkwardness was the result of natural emotion between characters than from a reader being confused. Stuff like ponies having guidebooks to learn to fit in or not eating meat was touched upon, and pony names often reflecting talent, and the human being unfamiliar (but still comforting) about why that would upset the pony so much. Many of Biscuit's stories tend to just have the ponies as normal without offering the reader the adjustment time, so it can create an uncanny feeling if it's not a subgenre you seek out. (I tend to avoid Pony on Earth and Human in Equestria just out of general lack of interest, but will dive into bits that seem exceptional or relevant to G1 and the like.)
So, a lot of it did have to do with dialogue/setting dynamic.
10010712
Just listened to your reading and it was fantastic!
As I understand, there is 'Fracking sand' which is more expensive than just plain ordinary sand too. (checks Google) Ah, here we go.
Odd coloration for a thestral.
Those random, short duration midnight thunderstorms are some real doozies.
I don't like sand...
...
(Oh come on, you all know how that meme goes by now.)
I come from the land of sand: the NJ Pine Barrens.
Fortunately, illegal mining of it isn't common, because it's almost impossible to get out of this state and they'd be caught because there are government agents EVERYWHERE. Even in my bathroom closet! Say hi, George! George says 'hi'.
It's like the Soviet Union, but crappier!
South Carolina, resident here (orangeburg), but can we have more of Sandpiper?
just Listend to the reading by StraightToThePointStudio
awesome story, instant fave and like :)
So, would you say Sandpiper has gotten involved in some
shady dealings?
10012763
Good catches! Thanks, and happy New Year!
You do know you set it up for a sequel.
This is super cute! Glad you wrote this and that I found it!
Hecc, I used to live there.
I've lived in MB and worked on Farrow Parkway, and lived in Conway and worked in the same plaza as the Walmart on Church Street.
Also yuck I hate the word thestral...
I think I just found myself a job
But it's not sand mining
đ
I knew illegal sand mining was a thing, but I thought it would only be on the outer reaches of civilisation.
A thestral would be a perfect pony to help with mining, though.
Yay batpone!
Awww...
Sandpiper: *chuckles* "I'm a little bat, featherbrain!"
Good story!
I enjoyed reading it.
nice story, good jobđđđ
11057400
Thank you, glad you liked it!
Huh. Well, thanks for writing, but I feel like I'm missing something about this chapter. What, if you don't mind me asking, inspired its addition to this story?
Nearly-again happy nearly-new-year, though. :)
11098479
Part of me was still very attached to Sandpiper. I felt it best to just send the letter, even if it didn't need to be seen; it's been a rough, almost story-less year from me, and I suppose that's as clear a reason I can make for giving Sandpiper one last word. I hope this didn't end up being too jarring of an addition, but even then, I'm glad the main meat of the story holds up well-enough.
But yes, for the most part, happy nearly-new-year!
11098491
Ah, righto; thanks for the information. And not a problem, I think.
Also, good luck next year, story-wise and in general!
:)
What a sweet leader.
Happy new year to ya!
10010261
They're stealing entire islands in SE Asia.
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/jul/01/riddle-of-the-sands-the-truth-behind-stolen-beaches-and-dredged-islands