Poison Smoke as a concept · 11:18pm Jul 19th, 2013
As I said in the Author's note of "Sunrise and Sunfall", I do not promote smoking. I myself do not smoke, Sanji called it an "unhealthy addiction" in Chapter Three of the story, but most of all I want to clarify that the "Poison Smokes", as I call them, are different from normal cigarettes. They are not addictive and our scientists have assured me that they have no negative effects on a ponies health. Rainbow Dash told me that smoking them is still not a pleasant experience, though (Quote They taste bad and feel weird... Unquote (Quote ...but those wings were totally awesome Unquote)).
And now that that's out of the way... Let the ramblings begin! A fair warning, my train of thought tends to derail rather quickly and occasionally picks up an orphanage on the way. I have been told, however, that my burning orphans have a certain entertainment value.
I think the Poison Smokes were one of my better ideas from this story and they were actually the idea that started it. When I read FMP's Set Adrift chapter, all I could think of was "Oh no! Without cigarettes, how will Sanji's enemies know when they're royally screwed?" In the last few days Ihave found several things about them that I think make them a great original idea.
1.) Rainbow Dash with giant gemstone wings.
2.) They can be a convenient plot device, for example to show Rainbow Dash with giant gemstone wings.
3.)They are not overpowered. They give a (more or less) random boost for a short amount of time and you can't use them very often, because you don't want to write smoking ponies. Seriously. The ponies don't have a reason to use them often, either. They're unpleasant, and there's no need to use them for anything except fights.
...Or flying competitions.
...Or studying their effects, apple season and flying practice.
...And maybe presenting new dresses, party games and flying in general. There are a lot of reasons, I get it!
4.) Still, if you ignore the previous lines, they are also a good way of emphasizing the importance of situations. If I ever see a trail of deep blue smoke rising from Fluttershy's head, I'll know that horseapples have officially hit the fan.
I think that's enough rambling for one blog. Feel free to use Poison Smokes in you story, with two conditions:
Firstly, it has to make at least some sense why a pony would even get the idea to burn a dangerously annoying plant and inhale the fumes.
Second...ly, tell me! I'd love to hear your ideas of the effects on different ponies. It will come up in my story later, but I can tell you that even the effects on a single pony will vary depending on the situation the pony is in, so there's nothing saying that the same ponies can't experience different effects, too.
Anyway, until next chapter or next blog, whatever comes first.
5.) I find it delightfully ironic that I have ponies smoking a herb which's name consists of the words "Poison" and "Joke". Seriously, it's like the writers of the show want us to make silly fanfiction.
1222278 They kinda do.