Cypress Zero: Inspirations and Persistence · 12:43am Apr 7th, 2023
It feels weird knowing you’re at the end of the universe.
Here we go talking about ponies again...
Cypress Zero was something that consumed me. I’ve spent extended periods writing stories, of course. But CZ was something that really stuck with me. I’ve always wanted to write a sci-fi story of my own world and characters, even before I had ponies in my life.
I’m very young. And it makes writing about the things that we can’t foresee all the more desirable.
I went into CZ wanting to accomplish one of my longest-set writing goals. I wanted to write a piece of science fiction that I could call my own. At the same time, I wanted to meditate a bit more on what writing pony fics meant to me. I wanted to write a very pony story that fit in its own far-flung future, and what exactly the consequences might look like.
CZ has a lot of rules and themes. A lot of small details that carry over throughout, which I hammer into the story in overwhelming quantities. Reiterating over, and over again, until just maybe, I can break this ridiculous barrier of communication that prevents me from really saying how I feel about life, how our emotions define us, and just how important pony is to me.
I don’t have any vices in my life, except for pony. I don’t think there’s any sweeter taste to the universe than this.
Ultimately, CZ was written with one real goal: to write a sci-fi pony fic that captured the exact emotions that make FiM mean what it does. The rest came afterwards: natural, organic writing at its finest. Writing with heart, no matter what.
I’d like to think I achieved that.
There’s nothing more motivating than the desire to inspire.
Credit goes to a few published works for molding the foundations of Cypress Zero:
Hinterlands (https://www.fimfiction.net/story/429737/hinterlands): This was the real inspiration that drove everything to the starting line: after reading this, I finally had the right roots to write my own self-contained adventure fic. It became the heart of the start, and without it, I don’t think I would have put so much effort into the interplay between characterization and world-building.
The Stars Beyond the Veil (https://www.fimfiction.net/story/4238/the-stars-beyond-the-veil): This fic has lived rent-free in my mind for the greater part of the past few years. It’s ultimately what kept the embers of desire burning for me to write characters in a sci-fi setting.
And last, but definitely not least:
Semantic Error (https://www.anonpone.com/quest/semanticerror/):
A long, long time ago, I became heavily invested in the works of a CYOA-runner named thebathwaterhero. Fokienia’s origins are very deeply connected to his character, Silent Night, found in this particular CYOA: CZ (and C0) wouldn’t be here without her. She’s a wonderfully written character, and her second name serves as the root of inspiration for the story’s recurring theme of trees.
Plenty of references and inspirations from popular media are in this fic, but a few are so involved that they’re worth noting.
Elite Dangerous and Delta V - Rings of Saturn: practical technology level, and limits of magic.
EVE Online and Starsector: major influences for descriptions and world-building.
Space Station 13: various code branches aside, the general setting of a typical SS13 station was a big spring of inspiration: what ponies might do in their everyday life aboard a space station was just too perfect a reason to look to SS13. From the various departments, to the chain of command, and the pursuit of technology through groundbreaking-science, SS13 was a great basis for world-building. Telecrystals and atmos techs all the way. Since 2014, the pieces of its setting have clung to me, and I’m happy to apply it to ponies.
Barotrauma: the grittiness of the technology of Barotrauma had a subtle role to play, but it was influential all the same: Cypress is a mix of clean and dirty, and I always had Barotrauma’s claustrophobic submarines in my head as a visual reference.
Alien (1979) and Prometheus (2012): minor world-building, but mostly helping me set the tone for actions and sequences.
Blade Runner: It goes without saying. Both Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Fokienia may not have struggled the same way, but without Blade Runner, you would not have her.
All of these came together to help me write about an optimistic world in a metal-woven future.
But the most special thanks of all... the other ponies.
Norris, for everything. This story wouldn't exist without him, and he deserves all the thanks in the world for any enjoyment we’ve brought you.
Rambling, for the incredible show of support. I really can’t put to words just how much Rambling continued to inspire even after setting me on this journey with Hinterlands. There is something very pony in Rambling’s heart, and I implore you go look at those fics.
Tundral, for being a very pretty mare, providing us with a lovely illustration of Fokienia, and continuing to be an important friend during everything I endured during the writing of CZ.
Shanaar, for creating Searing Cold, and giving me the perfect base for the kind of kirin story I wanted to tell.
The hard, helpful advice—and even encouragement—of the Fimfiction thread. Thanks, Anons.
And of course, you. Thanks for reading this. I didn't want to blog too hard, but I have to be honest: I’ve been fighting depression for the last few years, and becoming more recluse in the process. But I always thought about you.
Thank you very much again for reading and giving me the drive to keep going: just being here to read this pony fic and this blog about the soul I put into it means this was all worth it.
Persistence.
There was a point where I believed I wasn’t going to make it. In fact, there were a lot of points where I thought that.
I had to fight a lot of doubts to get through this story. Not just to finish it, but to really believe in it. From writer’s block, to crippling doubt over the state of the characters, CZ forced me to go through it all. It is definitely the hardest I’ve ever worked on a story, and the hardest I’ve gone on trying to reinforce themes of friendship and magic into my stories about the world of MLP:FiM. I think what really made it work by the end, was that moment when it clicked: the characters were fighting for the Cypress they wanted, just as much as I.
We all impart a bit of ourselves into the characters we create. Increasingly, I’ve tried to push all of what I believe to be good into my characters. This extends beyond CZ, but CZ... My ponies have high highs, and low lows. I have high highs, and low lows. I went through a lot of those in the process of writing, and it makes for a lot of emotional moments. Miraculously, I don’t think I lost any of myself in the process of writing this story, even though it really felt like it during the harder half of 2022. And I think that’s why the emotional highs and lows you can experience on the journey through CZ stand out. I like to keep things real, to show things as they are. At my best, I don’t let it linger, and instead drive the negatives to optimism. At my worst... it’s not important to CZ. Because CZ is all about the better half of me: optimism. An optimism that isn’t blind, because it acknowledges the failings around us. But it also argues that things can be better if we fight for them. But not alone: together.
Some things really are worth fighting for. Persistence.
With the backing of friends, I finished Cypress. With the backing of friends, Fokienia saved Cypress.
After writing this story, I really do feel like I am what I say I am. Having a sense of self—caring more for my ego—is more important than I realized, and it’s going to take me a longer time to come to terms with it. But all the way there, I’ll have my friends. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.
You can see where I’m going with this by now, I hope. CZ and Fokienia are a reflection of the best of me, and I’ve wanted nothing more in my life than to share that with others, to show them that they can persist and excel, and be inspired and motivated to keep going. To create. To make friends. To live.
Thank you very much for being alive. Every little experience, every little interaction, that’s what Cypress is about. That’s what life is about.
I hope you take something away from this. I’m not a very smart person; I’m really more emotional than anything.
But when being emotional means I can write something as profound as Cypress Zero, well...
I’m still getting used to it. I don’t exactly want to feel on the edge forever.
But I know that a lot of people seem to like what I do.
And I want you to come away from my fics that way.
Thank you for joining me and Fokienia.
And that Space Kirin, too.
Long live pony. Be well.
It was a pleasure to be a part of this story--in and out of your creative process, the entire way. Thank you, for bringing it out of your head and into this world.
That is some beautiful reflection on yourself, on path you made, and how it changed you. Thank you.
I can very strongly relate to this. This is a pony fandom after all, and if fanfiction doesn't underline same themes as did the show, and do not pass and carry this torch, and maybe transform it somehow, something just might feel off, doesn't it?
Pony is magnificent.
And you're awesome! Really loved your prose. Be a great writer that writes from the heart.
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Wouldn’t be here without you.
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Thank you very much for the kind words; I appreciate it a whole lot. I’m glad you liked my work. Thank you for reading.
Every author goes through that. Once the new-idea glow wears off, you get plagued with doubts and start second-guessing yourself. You need to stitch the interesting scenes together to ensure the characters get where they're supposed to be and the obligatory nature of the writing makes it feel boilerplate and uninspired. Your emotional lynchpins suddenly feel tacky for no reason you can guess. A day or two with few words put down makes you feel like the rest of the process is going to be like that, taking forever. The best thing to do is, ultimately, just keep pushing. Work until you're out of the mire. Climbing a wall like that can a rough, boring slog... but the view from the top is magnificent.
Congratulations on reaching the top in style, and I'm glad I could be an inspiration.
I have finally finished reading Cypress Zero. It was a memorable experience.
Truth to be told, I had a hard time motivating myself to continue reading. I have a difficulty with reading long fics (strange, I know), so everytime I saw an update in my tracker I just ignored it. But I felt there was always something more about the characters, and the story itself, that I didn't want to miss, and I am glad that I continued following Cold and Fokiena's journey up till the very end, because of the values that they, and others with them, cherished and fought to preserve. Thank you so much, Odd Sarge, for this amazing journey. Your writing has inspired me.
Indeed, long live pony. *salutes
There's something weird yet warm about seeing that Rambling's Hinterlands also inspired you to write your own adventure story - because that same work inspired me to do the same. Beautiful stuff.
Based Silent Night enjoyer.
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I love her so much
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