This story is a sequel to Happy Adventuring, Twilight!
After storming out of Ponyville in a fury, aggravated with those who refuse to understand why he does what he does, Pennington Inkwell decides to blow off steam in one of his favorite haunts: the Everfree forest.
As he travels deeper into the forest than he has dared in past times, Pennington discovers what appears to be an abandoned, run-down carnival. Abandoned, that is, with the exception of a mysterious pony who insists upon calling herself a cat. Crazy? Maybe. But as he is lured deeper and deeper into the mystery, the spirit of the carnival begins to take hold, bidding him to stay a little longer... Will he ever make it home?
((Carnival Cat is used with permission from Sand Josieph on youtube. The original video, "Carnival Cat vs. Ponyville, can be found on youtube. This is a tie-in to my other story, "Happy Adventuring, Twilight!", which I would highly suggest you read for a better understanding. However, the story will be able to stand on its own, so if you only came for the Carnival Cat, ENJOY!))
Hmmmm..... Interesting. Like so far
Intriguing! Is Sludge going to only speak via sock puppets?
2677822 Well, it wasn't until today that I actually saw your comment on the youtube video about Sludge only speaking through puppets...
So, first of all, I'm glad I didn't actually use any kind of dialogue for sludge in this first chapter! Secondly, I was thinking that since you mentioned that Sludge "absorbs" ponies (In your own words, " "She" never speaks and can only communicate via sock puppets of the victims "she" has absorbed."), I was thinking about maybe she keeps skeletons and/or skulls somewhere in her body, and she can talk using those. But that's just my idea. I kind of wanted things in the Carnival to sometimes have an evil secret just beneath the "skin," and this would go even more strongly for Sludge, since she often does Cat's dirty work. Aside from that, only Cat can understand the gurgling noises she makes.
Those were just my thoughts, though. If you had anything in mind, please tell me!
That was good, and its getting interesting. And it seems Pennington will meet Carnival Cat soon, so the next chapter should be interesting.
One thing,
I think that the "humans" should be "ponies", just mentioning it because it jarred me out of the story for a second.
2901485 Thank you!! I hate making mistakes like this! Sometimes, if I don't pay attention to what I'm typing, stuff like this happens.
Wow....Just only that: WOW! Maybe it's me not reading too much fan fiction, but, seriously dude: great!
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Can't wait for more!
Oh yay! I was afraid that Pennington would be completely immune to any of Cat's tricks which would have kinda sorta undermined her as a villain to be wary of, which Zecora seemed to paint her as. Otherwise she's just a nuisance that simply needs to be turned away until she just gives up. I looked forward to reading more. ^^
One thing I might like to suggest is that instead of simply saying that she is a cat when Pennington tries to point out that she's a pony, just like the ones in Ponyville, she could state that she's "A cat of the Everfree", which would indicate what she believes herself to be and to drive home the point that she's not from Ponyville. It also feels like a title she would give herself: She's not just any cat; She's a Cat of the Everfree Forest.
Also the line "(A miracle that seemed to flicker under her gaze, as if the entire carnival weren't sure itself of whether or not it was real, itself)" sounds little redundant. Might want to consider removing the latter "itself".
3019170 You have no idea how glad it makes me to know that I'm not messing up in some horrible way!
I've been more than a little nervous about how I could introduce Cat and how exactly she would act (Though I was overjoyed to see the animatic!! It really helped me understand her a lot better!), so that's really a load off my shoulders! And yes, this is just the beginning of Pennington's descent into Cat's world: hook, line, and sinker.
I know that, as more of a crossover than a written version of your original idea, this isn't exactly following the same course of events that your original story did, and I would LOVE to do a full adaptation/novelization of the actual story some day, but if you spot ANY kind of mistake/misrepresentation with Cat, please let me know! I would hate to make a mistake with someone else's OC, especially one as well-developed and established as she is!
3019589 Thank you! I made the change to Cat's line and removed the extra "itself" (I tend to use redundancies when I'm not paying enough attention to what I'm doing...
)
Fun Fact: The organ the Cat plays is most likely a Wurlitzer Theater Organ which can, in fact, very easily replicate an entire orchestra. This can usually be done by allowing one key to activate another key, like the auto harmony function on some keyboards. As one key is pressed it also presses a number of other keys depending on the key signature set in the organ via a switch. Since most organs usually have more than one row of keys (and each row can be subdivided to control independent functions) it can deliver a wide range of instruments at the same time. Instruments like the drums are usually controlled via built in timer mechanism. The more you know! :D
3028896Using for my story of her!
Hehe...I just noticed that there's currently more "N"s in the title than necessary. XD
3085502 Facepalms hard...
I fixed it. Thanks for letting me know!
I really like this. Very interesting.
great ! keep it going !
Awesome. Well done. I like how you had Cat tell the truth, just not the whole truth.
A new chapter, finally!
Why does every villain want to twist Pennington's mind?
He's been through enough already.
~Feeling Both Happy And A Bit Disgruntled, Your Huge Fan, PC
Awesome! Can't wait to see Sludge in action. :3
Bet if Pennington knew about the scary mask guy being around it would give him even more reason to NOT leave the Cat's park! I take it Cat's ability to turn into a parasprite swarm won't be making an appearance? I haven't really mentioned that ability much (perhaps a few posts here and there) so if you don't use it I'll be fine.
Y'know, considering that Daring Do is an actual character, it would be kinda funny to have the line with "Daring Do wouldn't let something like that stop her..." turn to something like "Daring Do didn't let something like that stop her..." Granted that would probably only really work if Pennington acted as AK Yearling's publisher. Which would probably wreak havoc on your timeline here! XD
About damn time. You have no idea how rare it is to find good Carnival Cat stuff. She's one of my favorite OCs... It was bad enough when her official blog stopped updating. I have to say that this story is one of the best I've read about her. You have no idea how relieved I am to see it come back to life.
4401242 I'm glad you like it, Sand!
So, I have to ask, I found a nice entry about Cat and her backstory here, and I was wondering if this was accurate.
If so, it's an absolutely brilliant backstory!
4411731 Can't say for sure if it's accurate or not (weird, I know) but I can say for certain that a disastrous wedding was involved. Even my own story here on FiMfic has a few holes in it! Let's just say that all she wants is to hear the vows she never got to say.
May I ask if the other parts of the song are going to make an appearance? 'Cause those parts really show the kind of mentality that the Cat has. A bit of sweet, a bit of vain, and an undertone of possessiveness.
4411949 Okay, wondeful! So I'm not going to be too worried about trying to stay close to that particular backstory. I'm always glad to get your word on Cat!
The other parts of the song will definitely be making an appearance! I'm afraid that that particular motif managed to get away from me, but I'll quickly return to it in the next chapter or two!
I wanted Cha'Qued to win, for once.
~PC
4449801 Well...
Yeah. The thing is, Sludge isn't organic. (I haven't checked with Sand on this, but it's a popular theory that Sludge is actually made from the oil for the rides.) And Cha'Qued works almost exclusively with flesh and blood and bone. That was why he had to create veins of blood just to hold that body together enough to move. He was literally toying with something that wasn't in his domain while on someone else's home turf...
I guess the best metaphor would be trying to hold something heavy off the ground with your arm fully extended from your body... while you have a 300-pound weight attached to your neck keeping your face a foot off the ground.
Sludge put him on and he went:
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Cha'Qued: Look deep into my eyes. There's no escape. A new comrade serves as my vessel.
4451012
Cha'Qued: Oh, GODS! What is this thing MADE out of? Here, take it back!
Sludge:
Hehe...there are advantages to using more than simple mind control. Emotional manipulation makes the target vulnerable, sometimes to the point where mind control doesn't even need to be used! That sort of thing is harder to reverse because there's no "spell" to dispel. And Sludge is really cute! Though I would imagine it making the skull into a puppet and then have it come to life, much to her confusion. Having a puddle of slime lose consciousness feels...weird.
May I ask how much sludge you have in Sludge? In my head it's got enough to fill out the entire Tunnel of Love (It's how the boat is going to be move in the PMV). The part where Cat charges across the park would have been a great place for Cat to travel via parasprite form, or are you saving that for a later part?
4454806 Well, I kind of picture Sludge being about a volume of about 12 cubic meters, maybe a bit less. But she kind of grows and shrinks depending on the situation.
As for the parasprite thing, as good an idea as it is, I'm afraid that I don't think I'll be able to use it. Not for any personal reason, but I actually have an in-universe established association of parasprites with draconequui. So I'd love to, but unless Cat is planning on changing her species any time soon, I don't think I'll be able to utilize that idea.
4454867 Ah, OK. I was thinking along the lines of her being a spirit and she can go all parasprite like vampires go all bat. They're not real parasprites, just fragments of her soul. Looking forward to seeing what surprises you have in store! :3
4449957 Hey Sludge, I'll gladly take Cha'Qued off your hooves, err, paws. a day out here with the mask on would be LESS crazy than any other day.
Good chapter can't wait for the next chapter
By the Gates, an update!
OH YES.
Wow, great work. And I loved the way you left the end open if Cat returns.
Finally an ending into one of my favorite stories. Great to see you still typing away!
7594639 I'll admit, I was gone too long. I'm going to pace myself a lot more slowly, this time. I don't want to get sick of my own stories, again.
This. I am amused by this.
Most excellent.
10/10.
Very dark and macabre. Most satisfying, Sir Inkwell, even to my own twisted self.
'Tho, the Cat's defeat could have been bit more... Boomy.
9.5/10.
7762950 I suppose you're right. I was trying to stick as closely to the original animatic as I could, but I do think I could have done better with the climax than the usual crutch of "Rainbow lasers and everything's okay again."
Watch your back Pen.
4451012
Yuri called
I’m pulling a gun
Talk about a predator cat.