Signal Boost! NorrisThePony is a pretty great author, reviews, and art · 2:14pm Jun 28th, 2016
Hey folks,
So, in addition to writing about ponies, I love to read about them too! It's a virtuous circle – I read, get a cool idea, then shamelessly repurpose it in my own fics!
So, like, theft, I guess. But imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!
Today we're going to read about an author I intend to steal ideas from admire: NorrisThePony.
Say 'hi' to the nice people, Norris.
Norris has been around the fandom for a little over two years now, and he's managed to pump out nearly 400,000 words, so he's a fair bit faster at this writing thing than I am. He also focuses those words in fewer, longer stories than I managed to.
It's two of those stories I want to chat about today: Dusk Falls and Synthetic Bottled Sunlight.
Dusk Falls
Dusk Falls is set before Nightmare Moon's banishment, though the exact timeframe isn't clear. It's over a thousand years ago, and the society Norris paints seems familiar – ponies back then had pretty well-developed cities, at least. No eeking out a living on squalid farms.
All is not well between Luna and Celestia, and the sisters agree that a break is in order. In order to give Luna a chance to shine, Celestia heads out for a year-long vacation in the relaxing, resort town of Dusk Falls. But what should be a quiet town away from the hustle and bustle of capitol life turns out to be at the heart of an ancient plot, and Celestia has stumbled into the clutches of something ancient and evil.
I won't spoil the rest, but Dusk Falls flows through a variety of genres with the ease of water. What starts as historical fiction quickly turns to intrigues, suspense and finally adventure. Norris presents his characters well – both Celestia and Luna are fully realized, but the character who really steals the show is the villain and her scheme.
You guys know I sometimes like to paint, and the villain in Norris's Dusk Falls was so inspiring I had to try my hand at her. So hopefully Norris won't mind a few visual spoilers, as well as the her name:
Hydia at Dusk Falls
I took some liberties with her depiction. Sorry, Norris.
So if you're in the market for a mid-length pony novel, I'm happy to recommend Dusk Falls as an introduction to Norris's other works.
Synthetic Bottled Sunlight
Norris's ongoing story is set in modern Equestria, a dozen years after the return of Nightmare Moon. Events didn't pan out happily this time around: Celestia was forced to kill her sister.
Wait, I hear you say. There's a dozen stories with that premise. And you'd be correct.
What sets Synthetic Bottled Sunlight apart is what happens next. Rather than just mope or whatever, Celestia has the gall to get herself captured by some ambitious ponies with an eye for fixing the world in their image. No time for monarchies here! Power to the people ponies!
Except it turns out democracy is pretty horrible when your leaders are a pair of populist demagogues. It's like Brexit, as told by ponies, except in real life Celestia doesn't escape from prison and launch a long-shot effort to regain her crown and restore peace and harmony to the world.
Yeah, sorry Britain. You guys are screwed.
SBS is ongoing, but Norris (unlike, say, myself) manages to update his stories with some regularity. If you don't mind starting an incomplete story with an evocative concept and excellent writing, Synthetic Bottled Sunlight is for you!
Hey~ Fan of Norris' stuff, but I haven't touched those...
Norris I beat you to your own promo blog with my eldritch powers. Haha.
4053522 Same.
I'm very much looking forward to SBS finishing up, because I enjoyed the original, one-shot version. :B
Thanks for the heads-up! Sounds just like the sort of thing I like but have a hard time finding!
Thanks for the recommendation! I've downloaded DF and am tracking SBS.
Dusk Falls has been on my RIL list for a while. I'm glad you recommended it, because it just moved up!
"Hi to the nice people."
Seriously though, wow. Cold in Gardez, I honestly can't thank you enough for the recommendations and the kind words. And the fanart! Wow, that looks absolutely awesome! Hope you don't mind if I link it in the story's A/N with credit given?
I'm particularly pleased that you enjoyed my depiction of Hydia in Dusk Falls. The reception she would receive was my biggest dread when writing the story. I've honestly always thought my depictions of villains to be the weakest point of my writing, so hearing you say the opposite is a nice surprise indeed.
No comment as to whether SBS reflects any of my personal commentary on society.
Anyways, I'm relatively dreadful at responding to compliments and not sounding like a pretentious egoist, but thank you very much for your high praise. Your reputation and talent considered, it genuienly means alot.
4053523 And here I am, dreadfully late to my own surprise party. Curse you, real life!
I imagine you commented before the blog post was even posted. I'd bet you have a snarky reply to this comment chilling out in the nethervoid, ready to go.
4054117 Me having a snarky reply is as likely as the sky having clouds, I'm hurt you would even suggest such a thing.
4054117
>Hope you don't mind if I link it in the story's A/N with credit given?
Please feel free :)
Synthetic Bottled Sunlight's first chapter was originally a standalone piece for... some sort of contest, wasn't it? Or was it part of a Write-Off? Back after the S5 finale, when people were writing stories about all the various worlds where various villains "won."
I'm not sure what Flim and Flam have inaugurated in Equestria can properly be called "democracy." There are elections, certainly. I'm sure Flim and Flam ensure that every vote is counted. Sometimes four or five times, if necessary!
I've never read a NorrisThePony story. I've noticed there seems to be a division of readers into short-story readers and people who only read novel-length stories. I've seen writers who write only novels, and seen no names I recognized on their follower lists.
Ah Dusk Falls. A story that spent way too long on my read later list, then immediately earned a spot on my favourites.