Why Flopsy Mopsy, hidden hero, she who will become Songbird Serenade? · 8:22pm Jan 17th, 2019
In The Movie, Songbird Serenade is a generic celebrity with a noticeably foreign accent, nothing more than a MacGuffin—but her song in the movie, especially in the scene where's she's singing it in a cage and Twilight rolls by, hints at a rich though unpleasant past as an immigrant.
To me, she is more than meets the eye, this pony who would pen a song about seeing a rainbow and pain in the falling tears of a princess. This is what intrigued me into writing the history of Flopsy Mopsy, who’d one day become a star. (Okay, that and my fascination with dance music and the high-energy DJs who run the decks and whip party-goers into a frenzy at clubs and at raves.) I saw a nascent musical genius. A DJ? Likely. A songwriter, eventually. And a secret hero. Somepony who after meeting Nightmare Moon finds herself inextricably changed, compelled to help ponies in need but horrified by the impulse. A Knight of Equestria, in a land that does not have knights. It’s not what she wants to be known for—even if that’s her special talent. In each story, she’s forced to deal with her actions and grow... imperfect.
As a author, it's a fun challenge to write with constraints. No matter how important or successful Flopsy Mopsy will become at her special talent, no matter how many times she earns her "knighthood," even if she becomes partially at fault for a disaster, she must become a pop star and be known only for that. Becoming a pop star is no mean feat, either, and I had to work that aspect hard. In the end, it becomes about the magic of friendship in unexpected ways. If you liked my deep background stories about Aurora Midnight (Starlight Glimmer), The Queen of Cliffside (Sunset Shimmer), or Sunny Daze (Princess Celestia), you'll get that gritty vibe and more.
Discordant Harmony is the second published of five stories in a series I’ve written about the Flopsy Mopsy. Because they are all written to be standalone (with all necessary reminders to know what happened in previous stories), it’s fine to read them in any order, and as I publish them, I'd recommend reading them in reverse order. In a sense, this drills down to particulars of the story of a character you know and would want to know more about. Weird, I know.
Filly, Separated includes Flopsy Mopsy as a secondary character.
Awesome
Good concept, except Rainbow is about Tempest.
She's not a MacGuffin. A MacGuffin is a plot device that moves the plot forward, and Songbird Serenade has nothing to do with the plot.