Authors notes for "Hygiene Matters"

This one is going to be remembered for the yellow smiley face band-aid, isn't it?

I suppose there are worse things to be remembered for. At least it's funny. But it was, quite literally, a last minute inclusion. I was typing out the scene, and had just finished the gag of the nurse swabbing the wound with the wipe held in her muzzle, when the image of the smiley face band-aid came to me. There was no way I could leave a visual like that out. Comedy gold...

But it wasn't supposed to be there. I'd come up with this as a "shaggy-dog" story. The punchline for the whole thing was going to be the pun. I'd created the whole story around the pun. In fact, the pun came first, and the rest of the story was built later. Truth be told, I'd spent quite some time looking for a pun, just so I could build a story around it.

Yes, I am a rather depraved individual. I like puns.

Consider it a homage to the works of Spider Robinson, particularly the "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" series of stories. Puns feature quite heavily in his works. I've lost count of the number of hours I've spent with tears in my eyes, laughing with his characters. I feel that the core message of the "Callahan" stories fits extremely well with the MLP:FIM world. "Shared pain is reduced, while shared joy is increased." Isn't that a rather cool way of thinking about the magic of friendship?

Now, on to the good news. I have another idea for a short story, and thanks to the fact that some of my friends are doing NaNoWriMo, I'm joining them for "write-ins." Writing as a social gathering, who have thunk it? But it does mean that I have time set aside to write, and no excuses not to. Expect another story posted by the end of the month.

Thanks everyone for reading. "Hygiene Matters" has had the biggest and most positive reception since "The Broken Mare." I appreciate it.

I wonder if there will be a run on yellow smiley faced band-aids in the supermarkets and chemists...