Conceptions and Creations: Runaway Train · 5:05pm Jun 30th, 2019
A while ago it dawned upon me that I will never get to all my ideas. More recently, I decided that I didn’t want those ideas to simply disappear. While I could still create them in an original format in the future, maybe, I think another good way to ensure the stories never go away is to summarize them publicly. And so here we are, giving this a try. Every now and then I’ll post a little something like this describing a story I once wanted to write, but now don’t think I’ll ever get to.
These are only general concepts, mind you. I’m opening them up for discussion. If someone feels like they can do the job justice, I wouldn’t be opposed to letting another author try and write them. This is, in essence, my attempt to say goodbye to those ideas that I enjoyed enough to want, but didn’t have time to do. Our first story was to be titled Runaway Train when I first conceived of it.
As you can imagine by the art above, the story would have starred Twilight’s father, Night Light. Set sometimes before Season 3, it would begin with Night Light abruptly recognizing that he has become distant from his daughter. They rarely visit one another, both being too focused on their respective duties, nor do they write or share much of any correspondence. He begins to despair that he’s been a crummy father until Twilight Velvet reminds him that if it really bothers him so much, why not go visit Ponyville? Inspired, Night Light takes a long vacation from his boring desk job (I never specified what that was, only that it was entirely uneventful and probably related peripherally to astronomy) and do just that.
Except when he arrives in Ponyville, he learns Twilight has just left on some big adventure with her friends. This comes as a shock; Night Light knew Twilight was a hero for defeating Discord and Nightmare Moon, but the idea that she regularly goes on dangerous adventures? He doesn’t like it. So he decides to pursue her and talk some sense into her, maybe find a way to convince her to lead a less dangerous lifestyle.
What follows is a series of unfortunate events where Night Light pursues his daughter’s trail for weeks, possibly even months, with luck and circumstance always keeping him just one step away from finding her. He crisscrosses all of Equestria, and as he does he witnesses the aftereffects of Twilight’s passing. In this way, Night Light comes to know his daughter: her achievements, her value to society, and her fears, all through talking with those she has affected and seeing the change left in her wake. In the process, he inadvertently has his own adventure, uncovering a secret group (Nightmare cultists? Sombra loyalists?) who want his daughter for some devious means. He will ultimately, and entirely accidentally, manage to stop this threat without Twilight ever knowing it exists.
It all culminates in the final scene, where a weary but much wiser Night Light is back in Ponyville, knocking on the front door of the Golden Oaks Library to at last see his daughter, who just that morning managed to get home. At no point does Twilight Sparkle ever make an appearance in the story, but by that point Night Light is content with her choice of lifestyle and is ready to come to terms with it.
So that’s it, the first one. I don’t know how many of these I’ll do, or if I’ll do any more of them, but there it is. Feel free to discuss at your leisure.
Hi.
I choked back a small sob and have goosebumps.
Given "Once Upon a Zeppelin," I have to wonder if Night Light had to talk Twilight Velvet out of the adventuring lifestyle. Her pregnancy with Shining might have been what finally convinced her to hang up her proverbial (and possibly literal) spurs.
This does sound like it would have been great, but executing it well would have been difficult.
5081958
Yo.
5081961
From just that?
5081971
I believe there are some stories out there suggesting as much. I haven’t read any of them, but I’m pretty sure I’ve spotted a few in passing.
5081972
Yes, the implementation would haev been quite the challenge. All the more reason for me to want to do it. A shame I never got the chance to try. That said, if I had tried it when I first conceived it, I probably would have bungled it up pretty badly.
5081974
How are you?
Daaaang, that would have been a good story.
I know the feeling of having all those ideas that may never be written. Notebooks everywhere.
5081985
Good, busy, and struggling to maintain a writing quota that feels more and more out of hand.
5081987
I’m thinking I may peruse my old list and see if there’s any others I want to toss out as ‘not going to happen’ like this one. It’s like ripping off a band-aid.
5081995
Ok
That would be an awesome story honestly.
Night Light needs more love in general. <3
Sounds like it would have been a pretty awesome and wholesome story.
That would have been amazing.... oh well such is life.