Author Interview » MrPeaches' "Wonka Vs. Applejack" [Royal Canterlot Library] · 2:12pm Jan 25th, 2019
Today's story goes down better than a Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar.
Wonka Vs. Applejack
[Adventure] [Comedy] [Crossover] • 14,202 words
Zap Apple season's in full swing on Sweet Apple Acres when a most peculiar visitor arrives -- Willy Wonka, world-famous candymaker! Thinking that the apple will be the perfect ingredient for a new line of candy, Wonka tries to convince a hesitant Applejack to part with some! But with Wonka things are never quite straightforward; when interdimensional magical mechanics and a legendary tree enter into the picture, our heroes might have been safer battling Hornswogglers, Snozzwangers and rotten Vermicious Knids!
FROM THE CURATORS: There's no getting around it: this story came completely out of left field (or perhaps fell from the sky in a Great Glass Elevator). "I was extraordinarily skeptical of this story when it was recommended to me," RBDash47 said in his nomination, "and delighted to find I had a great time with it." "Wow," Horizon said. "At the beginning of this story I was wondering if I'd make it through to the end. By the end of Chapter 5 I had favorited it." FanOfMostEverything couldn't resist either: "It took a while for me to warm up to this fic, but once I had, it was melt-in-your-mouth good."
Everyone agreed that the author presented their audience with a pitch-perfect Willy Wonka. Present Perfect was "absolutely in love with this piece the moment Wonka showed up. It's truly a triumph of character voicing." RBDash47 was just as impressed at how "the author succeeded in capturing some essence of Wonka, some spirit of the mad chocolatier, and did a passable job of blending both the movie's and the books' interpretations of the character and the Elevator."
Even better, this larger-than-life candymaker turned out to be a perfect fit for the magical land of Equestria. Horizon felt the author truly nailed the crossover: "It's got such a gorgeous understanding of the themes and tones of both of its sources. (It's an E-rated adventure! How often do you see those?) And the way it meshes pony canon, Dahl canon, and original whimsy is stellar." FanOfMostEverything enjoyed how "the pastel deathworld of Equestria and Wonka's OSHA-violating whimsy combined in a magnificent blend of wonder, mortal peril, and candy (which, since it's Wonka, is itself a blend of those first two)." RBDash47 isn't usually a fan of HiE, but thought "this might be the first 'human in Equestria' fic I've ever read where not only is the human's presence not jarring, it feels right." Present Perfect agreed that "it felt like Willy Wonka was honestly meant to be here and have this adventure."
In the end, AugieDog summarized the curators' feelings as effortlessly as the author captured their imaginations: "Unlike your average chocolate Easter bunny, this is solid fun from top to bottom."
Read on for our author interview, in which MrPeaches discusses big brothers, everyday adventures, and riding bulls.
Give us the standard biography.
I don’t like talking about myself much; it’s not a very interesting or uplifting tale, and the sad parts aren’t the kind that make an interesting yarn. I just think of myself as one person of the seven billion currently alive.
How did you come up with your handle/penname?
I blurted out a silly-sounding name to myself, and it happened that the first one I thought of made me smile so I used it! I’ve been using it for 10 years and counting.
Who's your favorite pony?
Woof. That is a difficult question. First of all, when I say “favorite pony,” I’m kind of just picking one out in particular from a very very large 1st place podium, and it can change by the day!
I think at this season in time it’s Big Mac, for one specific reason: in Brotherhooves Social, after the episode’s shenanigans, Big Mac lets on that he’s seeing himself left further and further behind by Applejack and Apple Bloom’s amazing accomplishments. He’s now feeling obsolete, one-note - suddenly a very small pony in a world that recently got a lot bigger. I found that to be a very powerful and relatable feeling, and I feel it puts what we saw from him in the Tantabus episode in a different context.
What's your favorite episode?
The Saddle Row Review! That got the most belly laughs from me.
What do you get from the show?
I feel that the most outrageous and counter-culture thing a creator can do today is unashamedly present a world where things can be good, and bright.
What do you want from life?
A nice little place in a nice little town, and only enough money so that I don’t have to worry about bills, and can save up for something nice now and then.
Why do you write?
Stories allow us, in some small way, to travel to other worlds and go on amazing adventures. I want to leave this world with more adventures for people to enjoy.
What advice do you have for the authors out there?
Shut up and write. No, not later. Are you writing? Do writing. Go.
What inspired “Wonka Vs. Applejack”?
To be honest with you, I wanted to give myself a fun project that was also a surprise to me, and I think crossovers are really fun. I assigned a number to every pony on a spreadsheet and used Random.org to pick one. I then used some random pop culture character picker I found online and got Wonka! The ridiculousness of it made me laugh for minutes. It was a fun exercise.
Do you see regular commerce opening up between Equestria and the world where Wonka lives?
I never really saw Wonka as particularly business-oriented (although I confess that it’s been years since I read the books) -- Wonka was largely interested in the pursuit of rare ingredients, and is no doubt on his way somewhere else. Charlie, who runs the factory now, probably will become friends with Twilight. I don’t see much interaction with the Wonkaworld and Equestria happening apart from that, but can’t say I’ve rightly thought that far ahead either!
Did you find it difficult to mesh Dahl’s harder edge with the more-than-a-little-squishy style of My Little Pony?
I… think I was mostly just putting both things together, trying to be as faithful to each as possible, and play them out the way I thought they would. The question of whether stuff meshed is one for the readers.
Why did you seemingly join the site only long enough to post this story and then have never logged in again?
Welllll… heh heh. Um. So imagine you’re a courier in the Old West. Your job is to ride your trusty horse from town to town, delivering packages and mail. Now imagine your horse is a rodeo bull. That’s kind of my existence.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Sorry for the gap. :( Honestly that anybody read this thing at all is more than I could have asked for. I’m really trying to get this bull to behave! Thank you, thank you, to everyone, for everything.
You can read Wonka vs. Applejack at FIMFiction.net. Read more interviews right here at the Royal Canterlot Library, or suggest stories for us to feature at our Fimfiction group.
Oh man, it's great to see this fic featured!
Is it the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka, or the Johnny Depp Willy Wonka?
5002388
Judging the picture, Wilder. Either that or original book Wonka.
EQD did it first.
5002425
Oh, yeah, original book Wanka was pretty cool, but Wilder's Wonka was the best
5002540
IMO it was kind of a blend of Book!Wonka and Wilder!Wonka. I didn't detect any Depp!Wonka, although I only saw that movie once a long time ago under protest so I wouldn't necessarily recognize him!
This is one of those stories that all too easily slips past the crowd, since it's a one-story author.
But not you. Huzzah!