A Conspicuous Collection · 10:01pm Jun 14th, 2017
She meant to leave it only at a glance and a polite word or two, but Applejack couldn’t help but feel drawn down towards what Inkie indicated as Pinkie’s collection. It only held five items. A gem cluster with more colours than Applejack could name, a clear, almost transparent gem, a smooth rose gem, a dark round orb, and a curious, bright pink gem that demanded Applejack’s attention. The last and pinkest of the gemstones was unpolished and raw, given only a vague heart shape, but its every surface shone. The collection seemed deliberate in the extreme, precise compared even to Blinkie’s well-ordered items.
“That’s a curious set of gems, ain’t it?” Applejack asked, though she wasn’t sure who she was asking, exactly.
Inkie licked her lips. She gave Applejack a long look. Perhaps she thought as Applejack did, that maybe they were intruding on Pinkie’s privacy, but where she hesitated, Blinkie did not.
“She didn’t have a collection of her own, not until a few years ago. She wasn’t very interested in the idea of owning gems or rocks of her own, she said, but she changed her mind.” Blinkie shrugged. “She picked six gems off the shelves a while back, and that’s all she ever did.”
Excerpt from Taken for Granite, A Conspicuous Collection. The last fic I wrote before my hiatus. I always forget whether I wrote TaB or TfG first, because now I remember that period as a bit of a blur, but I am fond of both the stories, for different reasons. I'm pleasantly surprised every time I re-read this one.
Writing goes on. I don't have much to say about it. I never was good at hype and marketing. I'll likely make a proper June update in a week or two with some more substance, but the short version is that the words are probably ~80% complete, and what I have so far is by and large edited to completion, so we're looking at a summer release, probably. Maybe I'll get lucky and it times well with the end of season 7 or 8 or whatever we're on atm.
Hooray for grassroots marketing! Sit back and let others do it for you.
I still smile every time I read it. And looking forward to seeing what you've got up your sleeve.
4571245 Hah, I don't expect there'll be much of that, but I'm not complaining either. I just don't know how to deal with this. The idea of trying to actively get the word out there requires confidence that I don't have, and I'm trying to understand my own motivations.
4571283 Aw, well, hearing that makes my day a little brighter, thank you! The first part, I mean.
I was going to say something about the heat death of the universe regarding the pace/timing of this next fic, but, y'know, I'm starting to see the light at the end of the plastic tube here. I'm very, very happy I didn't give people estimates, because back in February I thought this'd be done by May.
Hope you still feel like reading it when it rolls around! Even if only a handful of people give it the time of day, it'll have been worth publishing. It'll be fairly niche with the whole S2 tag and stuff, so. Or maybe I am being pessimistic.
And maybe I'm ranting and rambling because I am supposed to be abed.
Oh, taken for Granite, I remember that story. I like Twice as Bright a bit better but Granite is still pretty enjoyable.
I enjoyed that story. I may reread it soon. Thanks for the reminder.
4571684 Aw, thanks! I think many people gravitated towards TaB in preference because it's more chipper and such, so I don't blame you! It's definitively the one I've re-read the most.
4572522 Really glad to hear that! And hey, you're redder and...bull-i-er than I remember, where'd AJ go? The balance of the universe has been upset!
4574362
Bulking up and covering oneself in Red Delicious skins does things to a figure.