Interview with the Red Parade · 9:53pm Jun 28th, 2020

Interview with The Red Parade
Nailah as Snow Heart
The Red Parade as "Red Parade" or "Red" for short.

Snow Heart

Snow Heart wasn’t sure how it had happened or why, but she was totally and utterly lost in the middle of nowhere. She remembered it had started off simply enough. She was looking for her little sister, Frost Heart. But now she was in this valley of nothingness with only the silence to keep her company. She felt the wind whipping at her white mane, as it flowed back against her as she sat there on her hindquarters. She looked to the empty vaste horizons beyond, wondering just where Frost had gone, and what she could do to fix it. She certainly wasn’t expecting company. And yet, a strange pony had showed up in this moment of quiet. One whom she knew.

Red Parade

Through the fog there was the distant roll of a snare drum, and from the trees a pony appeared. The earth pony didn’t look all that special, but he wore a strange black jacket and hat, with a black feathery plume sticking out of the top. There was a strange black marking that covered his eyes, as if someone had taken a paintbrush and painted over them. A decorated baton was in his right hoof.

Red smiled at her with a nod. “Hey! What’re you doing out here?”

Snow Heart.

Snow Heart tilted her head towards the sound of the voice calling out to her. She gazed at him, dumbfounded for a moment or so.
“Red? I think the question I should ask is what ARE you doing out here?” she looked to him, puzzled. She remembered Red, he was a chill guy, with a lot of heart, pretty shy though, honestly to her that just made him all the more adorable. Ahem. She tried to remember to answer his question.
“You know, same ole same ole, trying to find my little sister. She ran away a whole year ago now, and despite all my efforts to find her, it’s like she’s gone. But I feel it in my heart, she’s out there somewhere. If only...I had been a better big sister, none of this would’ve happened. So...um, what brings you HERE?”

Red Parade

Red shrugged, twirling the baton around his hoof. “Wandering, I suppose. Not much else to do nowadays, besides procrastinate anyways.” He tossed the baton in the air and tried to catch it, but it slipped from his grasp and fell in the dirt with a thud. “Huh. Gotta work on that.”

He shrugged again, picking up the baton and dusting it off. “Anyways. Guess I’m just searching for something. Don’t quite know what yet, but I’ll know it if I find it.” He scrunched up his face. “If that makes sense.”

Snow Heart.

“It does make sense, and don’t let Boss catch you procrastinating or your ass will be grass.” she chuckled, and booped his muzzle. “Nice baton. Can’t say I’d be any good with one, never was into that sort of stuff. So Red, want to sit down and just talk? I could use some company. So...I know it’s sorta awkward and not expected, but could I like interview you? Be kind of cool to interview a famous pony that is also my friend. Well at least I think we are friends?” she asked herself, almost bewildered and puzzled. She didn’t really know what Red thought of her, and it wasn’t like she could read his mind. That’d be weird.

Red Parade

Red raised an eyebrow. “Heh. I wouldn’t quite call myself famous, not by a long shot. Besides, fame’s an overrated little thing anyways.” He sat down on the log, setting his baton aside. “Plus, you’re pretty cool yourself! You’ve got some great little things in your writing, and it always makes me smile. Your reviews are great too,” he said with a wink. Or, probably: Snow couldn’t tell because his eyes were blacked out. “And I’m not just saying that because you’ve reviewed my work.”

They laughed at that. “I wouldn’t mind an interview, though,” Red continued. “What questions do you have for me?”

Snow Heart

“Well coolness is something I try for but I wouldn’t say I’m anything special. Just a mare doing her best to write good stories. And provide insight to others to help them better themselves. I’ve never liked attention, when the camera is on me, well I get VERY nervous at being judged. So that’s why I started this whole interview thing. I don’t want the attention on me, when there’s so many other amazing authors out there that deserve a bit of the limelight. Besides I have nothing interesting to say about myself, at least not yet!” Snow Heart paused, and wrapped a wing around Red.
“So what made you join the site in the first place, and how did you get into mlp? Okay shoot me two questions at once.”

Red Parade

“Fair question,” Red replied. “Let’s see. Like many others I used fanfiction as a way to get into writing. In some senses it’s a bit easier because you are working with pre-established characters and settings, but I quickly found that it can also be a lot harder in its own ways. Because so much is already established, you have to be really, really good to go against the grain and get away with it. In a sense you also face some limitations of what you can and can’t do without angering the audience, and even then it takes skill to not make your work cringey or boring.

“I’ve also found that strangely enough fanfiction critics can be harsher and more critical than writers of original fiction from my brief stint doing that. I’m guessing it’s because the fanfiction writer is a bit more defensive of their fandom whereas the author has more free reign over their world in original fiction, but I digress. As for MLP, it was one of the big ones when I started fanfiction writing. I mean, it had its own dedicated site for crying out loud. That kind of marked the point where I decided where I wanted to base my writing.

“So I learned a bit about MLP, mostly through fanfic readings, and got to know the genre. And… well, I guess the rest is history.”

Snow Heart

“Interesting. Most people know my story, it all started with Rainbow Dash, and the rest is history. So I won’t really dive into that. No one wants to hear me ramble on for hours about how amazing she is. So I guess my next question is one I normally don’t ask. What made you interested in being a reviewer? Or maybe you just wanted to get to know this bat mare better eh?” she teased him, but using her forehoof to rub into his mane and make him look frazzled snickering to herself.

Red Parade

Red batted her hoof away, rolling his eyes… or, she thought he did. Again, it was really hard to tell through that weird black bar. “Hah, hah,” he said dryly. “To answer the question, I’ve definitely taken advantage of the group in the past. Heaven knows it’s hard to find a good, active review group nowadays. That group used to be the only place where I could get good feedback. I signed up because I figured it’s time to start giving back to the community after they helped me out, you know?”

Snow Heart

“Oh I’m fully aware of giving back, mostly because it’s what I pride myself on. So many ponies like me, and I still don’t know why. I suppose I might not ever know the answer to that, and that’s okay. I am just glad I can help others in any way I can. It’s part of what makes me me, and why I’ve got a heart on my flank. Have I ever told you the meaning of my cutie mark? The heart represents my passion, and the snowflake represents how I am calm and level headed. (most of the time.). So that’s why I decided this was a good cutie mark for my pony sona. And the bat ears, well that’s another story for another day! But it is certainly nice to talk with a fellow reviewer. And I know what you mean. Getting feedback on stories is like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s rare, and valuable. And I’m always glad to help if I can.” Snow Heart paused and thought of her sister. She sighed before shaking her head.
“So Red...I know this is probably awkward for me to ask, but is there anything about the man behind the pony you’d like to say?

Red Parade

Red tapped his chin in thought. “Can’t blame you for asking, I guess. But there is a reason why I have my eyes like this,” he said, pointing to the black bar. “It’s because I have a bit of social anxiety. I make a big effort to keep the Red Parade side of myself away from the personal side of myself. And yes, they do cross over at times, and someone could probably nail me if they tried hard enough. Nothing’s ever gone from the internet and all that.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “But to answer your question, I don’t think there really is. I’m me, and that’s enough.”

Snow Heart

“And that’s totally understandable. I mean if someone asked me about the author behind Snow Heart I would either stumble over my hooves or write an essay about my life story, and well they would want a summary not a book. So sometimes it’s best to leave it to one’s imagination. But to me both of you, both Red Parade and the mysterious man behind the pony, are pretty cool. So tell me, what advice would you give a new author joining the site?”

Red Parade

“Now there’s a good question. Let’s see… I think I covered this briefly before, but there’s a lot of advice out there. My biggest takeaway is that you have to find what works for you, and the best way to do that is to write. Make mistakes and learn from them. Don’t be afraid! Cheesy as it sounds, failure really has a way to make us stronger.

“Everyone has a different style, and everyone has a certain voice that they want to write with. So I guess my suggestion would be to feel it out and develop your voice. I don’t think your style is something that’s like a buried treasure, in that it’s waiting to be found, and once you find it you’re good. I think that it’s more like a sword. It’s something that you have to hone in and sharpen, and with time and practice you’ll find it.

“The next point I can make is that nothing you write ever really dies. Projects may not pan out, but that doesn’t mean you have to throw everything away and start from scratch. For example, one of my early projects was called ‘the River,’ but it never panned out because I lost interest in it. But I’ve realized that I’ve actually been writing out this story through things like speedwrites, and that I’ve taken those ideas and integrated them in new concepts, to the point where that story’s basically been told under a different name.

“Finally, take feedback and know how to use it! Trust me, I know how much it can hurt to have a particularly scathing piece of criticism because I intentionally try and surround myself with people who I know are hard to impress. But the reason I do this is because I know that what they have to say is valuable. And yes, taking feedback is a skill in and of itself, but please don’t just look for empty compliments if you want to get better.

“My biggest point is that you have to find what works for you. Speedwriting and sporadic oneshots work for me because it’s how my brain works, it might not work for you but that doesn’t make you any lesser than me. We’re all different, and there’s no solid formula for writing success that everyone can follow. So take your time and feel it out, make your own path, and sharpen your style.”

Snow Heart

“Sword anthology. Good stuff. And in a way I could agree to that. Every writer is different. No two writers are the same. Or we’d all be writing the same sort of stories and nothing would ever be unique. I find what I try for most is what I call “the heart of the story” I always desire my stories to have a message. And one of my hardest messages I learnt from being an author was going to a real writer’s group, and hearing the novel I’d been working on for years was well a piece of garbage to the point, they took me it was best to scrap it and start over. THAT HURT. But years later I sit here an accomplished published author, and only after I thought long and hard about it, did I realize they had points, so I rewrote my story from the ground up. And I like the new verison, so yeah in the end, listen to what people say, even when it hurts like hell. Also like go buy my book. KIdding! But anyways. Back to what we were doing. What were we doing again? Oh! That’s right. I guess I asked you most of my usual questions, so I think we can wrap this up now. Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

Red Parade

“Sure. Everyone who’s reading this should go check out Nailah’s work and give her headpats! And while you’re at it, you should join the Quills and Sofas server too, it’s where I usually hang out when I’m not wandering about random forests.” Red picked up his baton and tapped the round end on Snow Drop’s head. “Stay awesome. I think that’s all I’ve got to say!”

Link to TheRedParade's Fimfiction: https://www.fimfiction.net/user/302575/The+Red+Parade

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