And Now For Something Completely Different

First off, let me just say: I really wasn't sure I would ever write another story on here. Octavia's Reprise was a lot of fun, and I'm very proud of that story, but it's something that just kind of came to me while listening to The Living Tombstone's music. I heard a story, and I just had to tell it. It's not often I'm struck by that kind of inspiration, and I wasn't sure it would happen that way again. I turned to other sources of music for new ideas, or even sequel ideas (not much beyond bouncing a story based on Ludo's Broken Bride about), but it all felt... forced.

Cut to a few weeks ago when I stayed home from work due to illness. In my state, I could bring myself to do nothing but watch Netflix all day. So much Archer. So. Much. Damn. Archer. While watching it, an idea I had once came back to the forefront of my mind: a story about the Background Six being members of a spy agency and having their own adventures.

For those unfamiliar, the "Background Six" ordinarily consists of Vinyl, Octavia, Doctor Hooves (Whooves, Time Turner), Derpy, Lyra, and Bon Bon. Now, if you've already looked at Ponies Protecting Ponies, then you know that this roster is a bit different, namely in regards to Vinyl and Octavia being replaced by Amethyst Star (better known as Sparkler in some circles) and Carrot Top (Golden Harvest). This was done for two reasons: first, I've already done a story with Vinyl and Octavia. I love them as characters, I really do, and I'd enjoy working with them again, but I wanted to try working with new characters on this one. Second, you just don't see that much of them in the show, and when you do their presence is really obvious; this makes it hard to do a story with them just hanging out in the background. So why Amethyst and Carrot Top then? Because Amethyst is seen with Lyra early in the first episode, and Carrot likewise with Bon Bon. That's it. That's all there is to it. That said, I had fun working with them, and I hope they make for a fun read as well.

The premise for this new story is that these six characters are in the background of almost every episode, so what might the story be like if they had a significant yet unseen role in the events of every episode? When I started writing this, the intent was to essentially make a parody where each chapter covered an episode, and the story would continue on-and-on each chapter in an episode-like fashion. When I finished the first chapter, it was almost ten thousand words long, and the second almost double that. I quickly realized that in just the show's pilot I had a full-fledged story. I broke it down, and I now present the first consumable section of the story. I know for Reprise I updated once a week, and despite the fact that the story here is essentially done, I will be taking a bit more time to make sure each chapter is up to snuff.

So what about the episode-like structure? Well, that depends. I think I'll be waiting to see how this project is received. All things depending, this itself could be a sort of pilot to a little miniseries, or I could even make follow-up stories about some of the bigger events on the show. There's a world of possibility out there, and I do have a few ideas, but I'm not going to exert myself on any of them just yet.

In addition to Archer, this story was inspired by spy stories like those by JohnPerry's Mission: Implausible series, and by the character interactions found in Aragon's Long Story Short, Things Went Down (though that story puts the characters in a much more, er, negative light than I intend to). And while the premise was initially to be a parody, and it still is, as I went on I found things gradually getting more serious than I intended. That said, because I take the canon, follow it close, and then throw it in a blender, I still hope that people are able to read this and chuckle while thinking, "Yeah, that's clever, I could almost see that happening." I'm sure stories like this aren't exactly uncommon, but either way I thought I'd give it a try. After all: it's not like stories featuring Vinyl and Octavia as its main characters are uncommon either.

So why something so different from Reprise? I wanted to try something new. Don't get me wrong, reception on Reprise has been largely positive, and I'm grateful for it. I'm sure some out there would want me to simply write more stories like it, or at least more stories featuring Vinyl and Octavia. Do a sequel. And I hear and understand all this. I just want to stretch some different muscles, and see how I can do with a different set of characters and a new setting. Heck, some of the characters on this team don't have a largely established personality, and others that do I still mess with a little. That's the fun of working with the background ponies, I think: everyone knows who they are, yet they can still be whoever your story needs them to be. Hopefully my interpretations go over well. Much like Reprise, these aren't even necessarily my head-canon personalities for these characters: it's just who I needed them to be for the story.

Long story short: Ponies Protecting Ponies will be a very different story from Octavia's Reprise, but it's one that I think holds a lot of promise. I hope you all will give it a chance :)