• Member Since 11th May, 2014
  • offline last seen Dec 31st, 2018

MasterZadok


A self-taught writer, I have written a couple short stories for college and would love your critiques and feedback to help in my goal of going from writer to author.

More Blog Posts3

  • 432 weeks
    Epic Rap Battles of Equestria: Starlight Glimmer vs. Sunset Shimmer

    EPIC RAP BATTLES OF EQUESTRIAAAA!!

    STARLIGHT GLIMMER!
    VS.
    SUNSET SHIMMERRRR!

    BEGIN!

    SG:
    Well hello, Sunny darling, I’m so pleased to have you here
    You’ll try to challenge me? Then I’ve nothing left to fear
    I’m the mayor of Our Town, a city under my rule
    And in the other corner there’s the bully of a little high school
    A rap battle you say? I’ll knock you out of the park

    Read More

    4 comments · 682 views
  • 510 weeks
    Reflection of Sunset

    "Sigh!"...

    Read More

    0 comments · 549 views
  • 514 weeks
    Hello, Reader.

    Well, the bulk of Aurora Song is completed, (minus any editing and/or critiquing from an actual proofreader) and I figured I might as well put down a couple more thoughts for you, Reader, and basically just chat.

    Read More

    1 comments · 442 views
Jun
14th
2014

Reflection of Sunset · 4:42am Jun 14th, 2014

"Sigh!"...
Well, how to begin? This particular story was quite an interesting development. For one thing, it grew and surpassed the popularity of it's sister story within only a couple hours. Perhaps that's because it didn't have any OC's or maybe it's because it was short enough that people figured it wouldn't eat into their schedule. Either way, I enjoyed writing this story not for any points, but because it was the kind of story where I felt like I was learning something alongside the characters. Like Drossel Meyer, it becomes a more real experience that way and I'm glad if I was able to share a little of that adventure with you, Reader.

You might not believe it, or you might have no trouble believing it, but this image was the inspiration for a lot of this story. The feelings, the opportunity for history and depth, a lot of it was captured in this simple idea; that Sunset Shimmer was a character with history. Not only that, but she was a unicorn from another world. How cool is that? And, can you imagine her transition phase?
If one thing gets under my skin, it's a wasted story opportunity. So, I don't know what came first, the need to redeem the "Disney-cliche-high-school-drama-of-new-girl-who-beats-mean-girl-school-bully" that was EG, or the need to redeem Sunset Shimmer. Actually, if you'll remember that quip in my last blog post, Sunset's Shadow first stemmed from the idea of having the M5 and Sunset meet Twilight's doppelganger. Just for sherry and giggles and as a prologue to how EG2 should start. As soon as I looked for more motivation behind Sunset, however, she stole the spotlight. (Sorry, Twilight, but you're the "star" of every season premiere and finale. Let Sunset have a turn.)
It was more of a challenge than I thought. First of all, Sunset wasn't designed with a very good timeline. I had to invent my own based off of the comics and what little lore she WAS given. Still, I think things fell into place nicely. This is just a prototype, but because I came up with it, I would ask that you repect my cannon and not steal any ideas of mine, Reader. Oh, whatever, just give me credit:
The idea was that Celestia was scouting for potential new wielders for the Elements of Harmony because she could not bear to fight her sister, Nightmate, again. Thus, she looked for unicorns that might at least glimpse into how to use something like the Elements. Sunset Shimmer was a good candidate, but as soon as Twilight got her cutie mark (an image of the Element of Magic itself!!), her attention and focus changed, causing deep pain for her former student, who now saw herself as the "prototype". This introduced a beautiful plot element, the megalomania. Of course, the drive to be better turned into a lust for power turned into banishment turned into the bully Sunset Shimmer we got in the movie. As for the timeline, I figured this was just a couple years before the events of S1, and then each MLP season was one year of Sunset's in Canterlot High. (makes sense, three years, three pictures in the office.) Still, it was a thorn in my side that the Elements would manifest AFTER her "running away". I hope no one noticed that I kind of skipped over that in my story, but I theorized that Sunset had made a few secret journeys back and heard the good news about Twilight.
I don't want to bore you, Reader, so there are only a couple more things that I wanted to say. Actually, come to think of it, I may have already covered a lot of this in a discussion forum somewhere with a concerned Redditor. I'll just take this oportunity to say that Snips and Snails were a mistake and, thus, conveniantly omitted in my version of EG. Sure, they made good human fools, but the demons!? Please! As if Sunset Shimmer would share power like that! Especially in demon form!! *huf* *huf* I'm alright... just had to vent...
Nope! Who in their right minds tells a school kid to rebuild the front of a school!? These aren't legos!! You need a mason to do that job unless you want the front of your building to look like a mass of pancakes that someone bucked together!! *huf* *huf* Now I'm good... I will say that I almost wrote the opening/closing scene of this story to involve Sunset using a little bit of magic to repair her damage. The effect would startle her and instantly let loose the flood of ideas that drive her almost insane in my short story.
All kidding aside, I really wanted my characters to be as cannon as possible. This involved Sunset having some logic to her, the M5 being wary, but friendly, and what someone would think if they had gone through those events. I saw a scared girl. Tormented by the kind of fear that can only be felt when someone who has had every confidence in themselves suddenly betrays themselves. You can't hide from the face in the mirror, and every time you see your reflection, it stands there, accusing you on how weak you are. How you failed and how your failure will hurt everyone around you. Sunset couldn't reveal her deepest darkest secrets to the M5; she just met them, really. And even if she did want a friend, she couldn't put them in harms way.
I don't know what EG2 holds in store for us. I've heard that Sunset Shimmer is confirmed and even has a singing role, but I don't know if my imaginary cannon is anything like what Hasbro has in store for our beloved characters. Already, the Rainbow Rocks shorts have portrayed the same shallow characters and reactions that the first EG writing had. (I even tried to redeem those by explaining why they're going super-equestrian) I'm worried that, even if I tried to take this opportunity to redeem the story for the sake of it's beautiful potential, it will only get knocked down by the "true" cannon. Doesn't matter. Had fun.
And, once again, thanks for listening, Reader!

-MasterZadok

Report MasterZadok · 549 views · Story: Sunset's Shadow ·
Comments ( 0 )
Login or register to comment