Stories I'll (Probably) Never Write, #3! · 2:46pm Sep 12th, 2015
I've been thinking a little about clowns lately.
Hey, wait, come back!
...Well, for those of you still with me, here's another idea I'm not going to put time into, but would like to get out of my head.
The premise is Pinkie Pie goes to the carnival one day of its monthly visit to Canterlot to restock her supply of cotton candy, help some random kids win a rigged carny game or two (she has her ways), and of course, see the clowns! She notices a new brightly-colored entertainer stepping out of the tiny car, one whose orange, puffy hair she recognizes in a blink.
She sits back and observes the debut of the circus's newest volunteer; Dazzie the Clown.
It's not quite a disaster, but the kids stop laughing and start clinging to their parents/each other when Adagio fires her signature slasher-smile at them, Pinkie cringing. ("That's supposed to be a smile?!")
Pinkie approaches Adagio after the show (scaring the daylights out of her by popping out of nowhere, naturally) with a barrage of questions. After getting a Pinkie Promise from Pinkie that she won't tell anyone about today, Adagio hesitantly explains that she actually loves comedy. Her line of thought was that, if she could make people laugh, she'd be adored for doing something she enjoys, and as her career as a comedian died when her sense of humor proved too dark for most of the comedy club, being funny without saying a word seemed like the next best thing. (For drama points: possible bitterness in that that makes two cases in which she can't use her voice anymore...) Part of the idea came because she knew she had the hair for it. Plus, a fondness for make-up and brightly-colored clothes?
Pinkie assesses Adagio's act, how she had to hand props to the other clowns while juggling in the background or pulling things out of her hair for most of the show. ("The mallet was pretty impressive, though!") The biggest issue, Pinkie tells her with utmost sincerity, was the grin, (though her laugh is almost as bad) Adagio's being all wrong for making anyone else smile. Pinkie quickly deduces that Adagio has trouble expressing feelings other than those commonly seen in megalomaniacs, and opts to try to help her be the funniest, fluffiest, cheeriest clown she can before the carnival's next showing!
From there, shenanigans as Pinkie tries to instruct in the basics of smiling and laughing in ways that don't make children cry. Or teenagers. That one grown man probably just had something in his eye... It would probably go wrong quite a few times, until Pinkie opts to try practicing well away from innocent prying eyes.
Whether or not they'd keep the comedy training secret, I have no real preference on either way.
I picture a lot of awkward, silly bumbling on the part of both, Adagio clearly new to anything other than magical singing in terms of getting a reaction out of an audience, Pinkie mostly new to instructing someone in the ways of just having some fun, getting flashbacks to some of Sunset's more cringe-inducing moments when they were still trying to get her to lighten up a bit. This wouldn't necessarily have to be a ship, but it easily could be.
Eventually, I figure it would culminate in a big performance at the carnival where Adagio and Pinkie (having volunteered right along with her) do an act they worked on together, making everyone laugh and cheer with delight! After the show, however, Adagio wonders if it was both of them they were cheering for, or just Pinkie, who she knows easily overshadows her in terms of being funny. Hollow feelings are denied and ignored until they bubble into resentment for the person that taught her to really smile, which, Pinkie being Pinkie, makes her want to know what's wrong. Adagio probably snaps at her, saying that nothing had changed, that she was still just a living prop to someone else, exactly like what she'd always done to Aria and Sonata when they sang, the confession making her break down in tears.
Pinkie manages a little smile anyway, explaining that it's not about who the crowd likes most, and it never should be, it's about being happy making everyone else happy, that that's a clown's whole purpose. ("Maybe some people won't laugh as hard for you as they do for somebody else, but so what? If you're doing what you love and at least one person smiles, you're doing it right.") Most importantly, Pinkie points out that Adagio telling her what was bothering her was a good thing, because it means she's shown she can share her feelings openly now, even the ones that hurt, that having been something they struggled with during the 'Pinkie's Clown College' part of the story.
Her priorities adjusted, Adagio starts trying to be a clown for the sake of being a clown, finding happiness in wacky antics pretty much for their own enjoyment, she and Pinkie terrorizing the town cheerfully clowning around together. Roll credits.
I will not write this because:
-The premise feels iffy to me, because Adagio does make a few cute smiles in RR, (the apologetic one after grabbing Sunset's hand comes to mind) and it's possible she knows full well how to at least fake a normal grin. Pinkie might pick up on that anyway, but still.
-Too many Dazzling fics from me already, and I haven't even finished most of the ones I've started.
-This goes double for Adagio-centered fics. I guess I can't help having a favorite Dazzling, but I hate feeling like the others are being left out too much, and I can't think of much for Aria and Sonata here other than one or both having coulrophobia.
-It feels kind of one-sided, like there should be something Adagio is helping Pinkie with at the same time. Maybe it's Pinkie herself having trouble showing when she isn't happy, preferring to hide it away and mope by herself, Adagio doing her siren thing to bring those negative feelings to the surface to be dealt with?
-Time
-I had the idea of letting this be a one-shot, but Sucker For a Cute Face showed me what happens when I try to do that when there's a solid enough base on which to keep building, more-so with a chance of shipping involved.
EDIT:
Yes, it did kind of start with this picture:
The real question is what about stories of other Mane6 falling for Adagio? We have one ongoing, ideas for two more, but what about Applejack? Or Rainbow Dash? Or Rarity? Sunset Shimmer counts too, I guess.
You'll hate me for this, but how about a story comprised of One-shots where someone falls for Adagio for different reasons? It ends with a lesbian harem and few confused sirens.
3386779 In the name of all the other crud I'm working on, I refuse to even consider the idea!
Five or six one-shots that somehow got tied together Diamond Tiara Likes Dating Sims-style might make for some funny shorts, but I like to think I've learned my lesson in regards to "No, really, this'll just be a simple chapter..." and then going for like 15,000 words. Or more.
3386976 Sure, keep telling that to yourself
Take it from someone who suffers from severe writers block- cherish the inspiration while it lasts. It might not last long.
I like this idea, but I feel like Cheese Sandwich should show up in a clowning-based fic, maybe the clown Dagi has to put in his place for some reason.