Story ideas · 8:28am Jan 2nd, 2013
I am certainly lazy when it comes to writing, but on the other hand I have more story ideas than I have any right to. So here are the ones that have been languishing on my computer during 2012. Use them if you want to, just drop me a line so I am able to read what I envisioned and see if it holds water.
First are the ones that I have written to some extent, and I might actually go back and work on.
- A short fic where Twilight Sparkle researches the effects of alcohol consumption first hand, written in the style of a research paper. I have most of it written, but connecting her drunken ramblings with the rest has been a challenge.
- "Hell Butterflies", where Fluttershy accidentally joins a biker gang, and in doing so learns to let go of some of her inhibitions. It would pay homage to various depictions of Biker Gangs in popular culture, such as Easy Rider, Full Throttle, that Simpsons episode, Mad Max, etc. I have the first chapter pretty much complete (revisions pending), but I can't seem to plot out a story that leads from it. A shame, since I quite like the OCs I created for this one.
- "Contact", where Carl Sagan goes to Equestria, and debates cosmology with Celestia, our place in the universe with Twilight Sparkle, teaches Applejack how to make an apple pie (from scratch no less) and so on. It would be a homage to all things Carl Sagan, but I can't quite seem to get his voice right, and I refuse to put out a sub-par depiction of one of my idols. Another shame, since I have various ideas plotted out, and I feel that some were quite interesting and introspective.
- "Scootaloo Del Ocho", a "Chavo del Ocho" parody (written in english) with Scootaloo as Chavo, Sweetie Belle as Quico, and Apple Bloom as Chilindrina, and various other ponyvillians as characters from that show. The whole thing only exists as individual scenes (Scootaloo bucking a ball at Celestia, Applejack hiding with 14 months of late rent, Rarity hitting Applejack after Scootaloo does something to her and Cheerilee's class), but whenever I try to draw a larger plot it either comes as "Chavo replaced by pony names" or a depressing portrait of a post-economical-downturn Ponyville, and I want to do a funny story with Scootaloo and not so well off ponies.
Next are things that only exist as abstract concepts that I have given up on for various reasons, but that I still think are nice concepts I would like to see working.
- "Fallout Equestria: Ground Zero" is a FoE based fic. It follows an average office drone whom, after being fired for being a Zebra sympathizer, is mugged and falls into a coma. During that time the Mega Spells fall, and he wakes up two weeks later into a destroyed Manehattan, where he must learn how to survive, while battling with this new and shocking reality and with the fact that his previous life, which he hated, is actually over. I wrote two chapters of this, but then decided to turn the whole thing into an Interactive Fiction. I then learnt to program Inform 7, and got overly ambitious with designing a PCG engine with various survival-related subsystems since I didn't feel like designing various rooms with small variations in different buildings. While eventually programming an IF language from scratch on Java to better suit my needs I finally noticed how ridiculously complex the whole thing became I noticed how ridiculously complex the whole thing became and scraped it. Still, this Walking Dead/28 Days Later concept applied to FoE still sounds like a very good idea, specially since so few fics try to explore the immediately post-war wasteland.
- "Fallout Equestria: Wastelander Survivor Guide" is another FoE fic. This one is set many years before the original FoE, and follows a world-weary raider that decides to turn his life around. He meets Derpy and helps her to research and write her guide, and in it becomes a better pony and redeems himself. I feel this would make for a very good story, but the prospect of trying to fit it with FoE (and probably also Project Horizons) canon was simply too daunting, so I left it be.
- "A Song of Love and Chaos", an adaptation of "A Song of Fire and Ice" in a MLP setting. This was actually my first fanfiction idea, but it is absurdly ambitious, and I would most certainly have burned out and/or made a fool of myself had I went forward. It would throw the MLP characters in ASoFaI roles and go from there, with, for instance, Fluttershy as Daenerys, the Apples as the Starks, Luna as Queen Beyond the Wall, Celestia as Cercei, Twilight as Tyrion, and many others. I actually have a full character conversion sheet including minor characters, and how their upbringing in this new Westeros setting affects their MLP personalities. It would follow loosely some beats of the original story, such as Ned's fate and Twilight being hated by all, but there would be more of a push for the Mane 6 to get together and unite against the Discorded Ones (the Cold Ones from the original) using the elements of harmony, and how hard harnessing them is in this land torn by war and house rivalries. But honestly, if George Martin can't finish it after two decades, what hope would have I?
Finally, here are some random, undeveloped ideas. Proceed at your own risk.
- "My Little Market: Stocks are Magic" is the tale of six brave investors as they battle the evil Nightmare Friday and prevent the terror of Eternal Bankruptcy by harnessing the power of the Elements of Capitalism, that is, Accountability, Risk Management, Seed Funding, Speculative Frenzy Avoidance and Long Term Returns, which all come together to form the Element of Profit.
- "Fringe: The Equestrian Conspiracy", where Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie investigate Fringe Magic threats against Equestria with the help of Granny Pie, the greatest scientist ever, who was actually in an asylum for the last 10 years. Spoiler alert: Pinkie is actually from another dimension, since the original Pinkie is dead. Also, Derpy is Astrid.
- "Quantum Flux", a Sci-fi fic starring Derpy. In it she is revealed as a trans-dimensional entity, floating between multiple quantum probability realities. Her eyes are misaligned since each is looking at a slightly different reality. It is also why sometimes she is Derpy, and sometimes Ditzy, or even other names. Of course, she never knew about it, pinning her mistakes on her clumsiness, instead of the nature of reality for her being malleable and able to change before her very eyes. It all comes crashing down one day when she eventually transits into a reality where Dinky was never born. She discovers the truth of her existence and goes in a quest to rescue Dinky by changing the very nature of the multiverse, and finally collapse the wave function of her existence.
- A fic based on "Metamorphosis", by Franz Kafka, starring Rarity. One day she wakes up to find herself transfigured into a horrible mule, while facing various issues due to an economical downturn on her Boutique. She now must trust in her friends to adapt to this new reality.
- A fic based on "The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas", by Machado de Assis, starring Blueblood. After his death he goes over his various grievances and regrets in life, while trying to impart something from his poorly enjoyed life. Would work as an erratic side fic with very short chapters.
Whew! It is actually very releasing to put all this down and in the open. In a way, it frees my mind to go forth with the things I already put on my plate, so I don't overeat, and don't wind up getting too full on ideas and end up becoming sluggish and sleeping while simply digesting them, instead of appreciating the true flavors of a well savored idea. And to don't overexert metaphors.
Over from the follow, for which thank you, but I have to say...
...that this is one of the most wonderfully interesting story ideas I've come across. Part of me wants to steal it, but I'll be a good little writer. I DEFINITELY want to see what you have for this, though. It sounds excellent.
Oh hey, someone else has heard of The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas. I've been trying to decide which classic book I want to read next based on recommendations, and put together a huge tournament to weed them out. Bras lost to Ben-Hur in the second round.