Today Is Gonna Be the Day · 7:54pm Jun 27th, 2020
Oh look! It's Shellstrings 2020 Edition!.
In all seriousness, though, this is the fic that I was working on so heavily back in April. The "result" of that one blargh poll thingy that I did. Hell, it's only three months late. But who's counting, right?
Yes, most of this was worked on in April. I could have stayed steadier with it, but I got... distracted. Jee, I wonder how/why.
Per the norm, the fic is intensely stuck in the "Prologue Phase." I swear to Nietzsche, I am too in love with the concept of slow, cold openings. I almost always conjure up some grand narrative to a long-ass epic saga in my mind and thus I put so much time and effort into the initial setup, establishing the foundation so that (in a dreamly scenario) marsupials can "come back" to where it all begin and think: "Zounds! What a journey this ends up becoming!" It's always pretentious. It's always stupid. And I always end up friggin' doing it.
Since we've danced similar dances to this before, lemme attempt to be a bit transparent about a story for once. Yes, this a long!form!fic. Yes, if I put a full commitment to it, it will take quite a while to finish. Nevertheless, my supreme hope is that pure, unfiltered, good-ol'-brony nostalgia will be the fuel to putter this pedantic-ness forward.
The essential plot is that Trixie and Starlight are zapped back in time to Season One of My Little Pony: Friendships is Magic. They'll be forced to "live-out" the episodes while doing silly!adventurous Back to the Future Part Two shenanigans in the background. They'll also get to have lots of slice-of-life moments with Twilight Sparkle and the gang long before alicorn wings, friendship schools, and other beloved themes got immersed in the poni poni poni phenomemon.
The formula will likely be as such:
-Multi-chapter "Acts" titled after episodes of the actual show, to give us a frame of chronal reference
-In-Between "Arcs" that add fanfic lore between the original episodes
-Standalone Slice of Life "Oneshot" chapters, adding meat and lettuce to the whole train wreck.
Because--as we all know--I never completely and utterly fail when attempting time travel stories or Trixie fics.
The title is a long... lonnnnnnng-time running gag from Pre-Skirts time. I first used it as a title of a TNBA fanscript I wrote in 1999 starring Batgirl. Then, in 2002, I re-used the title for a Gary Stu Resident Evil fanfic that I had a hella fun time writing. Since then, it became a go-to title to purposefully "re-use" in each fandom I make fanfic for. I was going to use it for a longform EqG future-verse superhero fic starring Cherish Lynne, but that idea fell through the cracks. So, here's my official use of it... in all its fuzzy showmare glory.
Some of y'all might be taken back by the themes, visualizations, and name-drops in the first chapter of this fic alone. Let's just say this story isn't waxing nostalgia just for early-broniness, but lemur-ness as well. Nietzsche help us all.
There've no doubt been countless blarghs written about this year. Assuming we survive it all, there'll likely be entire books written about it as well. I consider myself lucky in a lot of respects (although I dunno how long that luck will last). That being said, I like to think I owe it to a fuzzy blue showmare for getting me through the first half of it. I mean... she's no cookie-cutter guitar-playing high schooler in a dress, but she's worked well so far. Good on her.
And good on y'all for being supportive and kind to me all these years. Yes, even you.
It's more than I deserve, and someday I hope to give back in some way or another. I've been listening to the music y'all marsupials suggested to me a few blarghs back. While it's a slow-going process, I have started a playlist of the tracks I enjoy so far. Here's to seeing that increase over time.
At the end of the day, what I get out of this fandom is the same thing I put into it. Lots of creative energy, enthusiasm, and kaizo-ness. Yes yes yes... there's the cringey stuff too, but now I've got an alt for that. I've got an alt for damn-near everything.
I think sometimes about how so many of my stories these past few years have been stupid crack!fics or gratuitous exercises in masturbatory self-centeredness. And my only excuse is... I've done it all. (lulz). Long, epic, grim!dark fics with pretentious narratives? I've done that. Adventure yarns with emphasis on the journey over the goal? I've friggin' done that. Even (half-baked) attempts at smut? I've friggin' done that and then some.
I've written so many Nietzsche-damn horsewords over the years that I just... wanna settle for what I enjoy. I've always pushed for "write what you enjoy" as a main motivating factor. But, I suppose--at this juncture in time--it's my supreme channel of motivation. I'm the living example of Shit!Posting "success" on Fimfic. Sturgeon's Law personified through hair, tentacles, and body fat. I hold as much pride in that as I do in conquering heartburn after Chinese take out. And yet, in time, all things fade.
The universe is a pretty cruddy pond, the longer you look at it. Inevitably, it's gonna encroach upon the digital niche that one considers "sanctuary." And vice versa, I suppose. It's not ignorance that I encourage, but rather a simplicity of perspective. Keep what you lurve at the center of your attention: pastel ponies and nuanced charm. That's a good place to start. You can move on to princesses and crossdressing stories later, but do it on an alt. To quote Radiohead: "Immerse your soul in love." But since I don't intrinsically believe in "love," I'll posit: Immerse your soul in kind-hearted neckbeards." I've applied that to my life, and it's worked for me throughout the years. For the most part.
There's a reason I fell head over heels for this fandom. For better or worse, the reason's still there, all around us. And while some (or more than some) of the cherries are rotten, at least the trees are still well-rooted. F'naaa? Just be grateful to have baskets. Me? I like to fill mine with tiaras.
Hahahahaha.
Ha...
Anyway, here's Wonderwall.
-SS&E
Eeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhh.....
Think Imma sit this one out. You started to lose me at Starlight/Trixie Tuvix deal because that whole concept of characters fused into one body just... makes me uneasy for some reason. And now I learn it's going to be one of those, "Hey, remember when this happened in the show? Well, here's what would have happened if MY character had been there!" type deals, only with canon characters instead of an OC... except it is an OC because it's Starxie. Or worse, if the Back To The Future Part 2 comparison is accurate, they don't actually do anything but sit in the background and occasionally drop a sandbag on Gilda's head.
Dude, love ya like a brother from another mother like no other, but this one ain't my cuppa tea. Best of luck on it, though!
Oh hai there
This is such a chad move honestly. I'm so proud of youuuuuuu~
This sounds like a bunch of funzo. :)
You really do have an absurd number of alts. I'm not entirely sure why Blue Harvest actually exists, while two of your other alts exist for one story each, only having additional stories because of a chapter limit built into the site.
Ye