A Small Detour... (Fragility) · 4:57pm May 11th, 2012
As it turns out, stress is not a good inspiration for writing stories about silly, happy ponies. Its more of an inspiration for the darker side of someone's mind.
This "monstrosity" I ended up working on finishing in the last couple of weeks is the result of- okay I can't really rationalize it. It's a horror story, or "Grimdark" as some will insist on. And I'll acknowledge up front that Grimdark has just about no place in ponies. Hell, if it wasn't for the solid, positive reception, I'd have taken True Nightmare down already.
That being said, it's a finished work that's gotten some nice reactions out of the few I've shown it to so far, so why not? As soon as I can get someone to give it a cursory grammar/plothole review, I'll be submitting it here. Read it or not, just acknowledge that its far from what I would call "normal" for ponies. And that after this, I think I'm gonna smack myself any time I come up with another piece so dark that's still intertwined with ponies. Feel free to smack me too, should I forget this.
Just to put it in perspective, here's the disclaimer at the top of every chapter and in the description:
Disclaimer: Parts of this story may contain graphic depictions of some not-so-pleasant things. This is where the tags come in. Any chapter marked with the [Dark] tag in boldface includes some example of this.
And readers so far have thanked me for the heads-up.
Seriously, after writing this, I should be all for sunshine, rainbows, and slapstick cartoons.
I'm a fan of Grim/dark so you have my attention...
Personally, I can find enjoyment out of GrimDark, but only if, I repeat, ONLY if it ends on an upbeat note. A story about the pointless struggle to survive, only to end with the entire party being wiped out tragically, would be an example of a story I would drop kick the author in the face for. Also? That ****ing Snuff Fic depicting Luna slowly going mad and committing suicide.
Just tell me right up front. Will this story have a happy ending?
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All I can say (without too much spoiling) is that it'll have A happy ending.
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*Sigh* I'll give it a shot, then.
I often find that Grimdarks go a bit.. err.. too far somtimes. Cupcakes is an example...