Interview with Holtinater · 1:10pm Sep 28th, 2020
Interview Rp Style with Holtinater
Snow Heart by Nailah
Steel Bolt by Holtinater
Snow Heart
Snow Heart sat within the caverns of a dim and dreary cave, she had been looking for her sister for what felt like forever. Even though really only a few days had passed. She sat near the warmth of the fire, as she tried not to shiver. It was cold and dark where she was, and it wasn't wise to travel right now. However she couldn't help feeling lonely, wishing she had someone to keep her company, though she imagined that's exactly how her younger sister had felt for years, and she never noticed.
Steel Bolt
Suddenly, a pony came rushing in from the entrance of the cave. A white coated earth pony with a blond mane, though most of it was obscured by the winter clothes he wore. Despite them and their attempts to keep the cold out, he was shivering, and was tempted to sit by this unknown pony to bask in the fire’s warmth. He took a few more steps inside, then halted. She didn’t seem to be of any danger to himself, but a Royal Guard must be ever vigilant, even if they’re off duty. Especially if they’re with a unicorn. And… wait, were those wings?
“Who are you?”
Snow Heart
Snow Heart looked to the pony that entered the cave, she felt the slightest relief spreading across her face. "My name is Snow Heart, and might I ask who you are and what brought here?" asked Snow Heart, her bat wings, and tufted ears clearly visible, though she seemed friendly enough.*
Steel Bolt
Still on high alert, he took a step back. She obviously wasn’t going to attack him outright or she would have done so already, but that wasn’t exactly a basis for trust.
“I’m assuming you mean Princess Snow Heart? I think I would have heard of a new Princess being crowned, especially one that’s a… thestral as well. So how about this time you actually tell me who you are, huh?” His legs were tensed up, ready to flee if he had to. He may have been a Royal Guard, but he had seen enough cocky guards go up against Luna to know that alicorn strength, magic or otherwise, was not something he ever wanted to go up against.
Snow Heart
"Very well. My name is Princess Snow Heart, and the reason you likely haven't heard of me, is well I havent' been a Princess for that long. And the bat wings...I'd rather not go into that right now. I assure you I mean no harm. I am looking for my little sister Frost Heart, she's a pegusus, and she ran away from home. I'm terribly worried about her, because I'm the reason she left." explained Snow Heart, sulking a bit, as she felt teardrops running down her face. How couldn't she have noticed her pain? Was it too late? Would she ever find her?
Steel Bolt
He had to admit, tears always worked on him. He tried to tell himself that she could still be plotting something, and that villains were certainly getting more and more clever as time went on, but he knew he was grasping at straws. He sighed as he tried to relax a bit, taking a few steps forward. Still a little wary, he kept his distance, though he did want to support this mysterious mare. *
“L-look, I’m sorry about your… sister, but if she’s out there, the best thing for you to do is wait this storm out. Best case is that she’s found shelter as well. And worst case… Well, either way, there’s no use in you going out there.”
He glanced back to the entrance of the cave and watched for a moment as snow fell violently from the blizzard, knocking visibility down to nothing. Looking back to the mare, this “Snow Heart, newest Thestral Princess of Equestria,” he realized that she could really use a friend right now, not a Royal Guard.
“I’m Steel Bolt, by the way. My friends call me Steely.” And he finally approached the fire, sitting across from her.
Snow Heart
Snow Heart whimpered and didn't move from her spot. She didn't even want to move right now even if she could. She knew she needed to rest, but she was worried about Frost. She looked over to him. Why did she have these wings? Did she truly earn them? Was the world spiting her for not paying closer attention to her sister's needs? She felt guilty...She watched as he sat down across from her.
"Steel Bolt, it's nice to meet you. I wish it was under better conditions then this. Tell me about yourself, I know it's a lot to ask, but what brought you to mlp?"
Steel Bolt
“What brought me into mlp? I’m afraid I’ve never heard of—“ His eyes glowed as he was filled with the infinite knowledge of his author. “MLP, of course! Gosh, it was so long ago, I can hardly remember. I definitely found it through YouTube. I forget how, but I was somehow a fan of Sonic, even though I’ve never even played any of the games. I found the video by AnimatedJames (a now discontinued channel) where he pits Rainbow Dash up against Sonic to see who was faster. It’s very dated in its humor now, but it was funny enough back then to warrant some investigation on my part. Found some more videos on YouTube, and eventually found those “watch-along” videos that used to be legal. The rest is kinda history. I think I caught up in Season 3, and was just as mad as everyone else that our little Twilight was now a Princess.
“Now, for some reason, I never got off the YouTube train, and so when TheLivingTombstone, WoodenToaster, and pretty much everybody else left to go do other stuff, I had less and less reason to stay, so I eventually also left, sometime around late Season 7."
Snow Heart
"Oh I see. Interesting to hear." Snow Heart nodded, as she felt slilghtly relieved by his simple presence. She didn't know why, but she always felt better when she wasn't alone. Her writer hated being alone, being alone for so long, when she found mlp she found a home, a family and many friends that cared for her. Snow Heart looked over towards the stallion* "Sorry about all the fuss. I'm a bit of a mess as you can see, but I'll get better." she spoke. She tried to think of what to say. "So um...who is best pony?"
Steel Heart
Steel Bolt whistled, then let out a hearty laugh. “Well now, isn’t that a bit of a loaded question? Best of the Mane 6? Obviously Applejack. Her Element of Honesty has affected me more than Rainbow Dash’s Loyalty, or Pinkie’s Laughter, so it’s gotta be her. But, as for best pony in the whole show, it’s gotta be Sunburst. I was gonna include Discord, or Thorax, or Gallus, but they’re not exactly ponies. As a gay guy… er, straight colt… wait. As Steel Bolt (the straight colt) and Holtinater (the gay writer), we’ve gotta stick with our boys on this one. Other characters are fun and have a lot of depth, but Sunburst is hooves/hands down the best of the pony boys. Non-pony best character gets a bit more complicated. Galbar is my favorite ship, so I’m probably gonna have to go with Gallus, though it's still a super tough call.
"If you don’t mind me, or uh, us I guess, asking: Who do you think is best pony?”
Snow Heart
"Hmm that's a lot of ponies. My favorite pony? Well hooves down it's Rainbow Dash. Many ponies don't know, that my writer she used to be one of "those" ones that didn't like ponies because it was girly, but Rainbow Dash always had this tomboyish charisma to her, and I really like her colors. So like one day I decided to give the show a chance because of Rainbow Dash, just so happened the episode I saw was "Rainbow Dash gets a pet." and I've been hooked ever since." Snow Heart blushed darkly, hoping that he wouldn't hate her for knowing her shameful past. Ponies were like her life now, now she couldn't imagine not being part of this fandom.
Steel Bolt
Steel rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed after his long tangent. "Yeah, I think we all had that "I can't watch that, it's too girly" phase. I mean, it's a colorful show with an all-female cast (and i'm counting spike, he's got a female voice actress) and lessons about friendship every episode. It's pretty girly. But as soon as I was able to look past the colors and the (really just too high-pitched) voices, I saw the incredible amount of depth this show actually had, and fell in love." Steel scooted a bit closer to the fire. The author half of him was not used to going out in a blizzard mostly-nude.
Snow Heart
Snow Heart smiled at him, and petted the spot next to her. "The fire might be warm, but body heat is the best source of keeping warm in these conditions." she spoke, though she'd understand if he'd rather not. After all she was a Princess, and he was just some guard, and she might bite him. Not that she ever bitten anyone, at least no pony she was aware of biting...maybe a certain earth pony had some love bites but that was different.* "Tell me Steel, what inspires you to write?"
Steel Bolt
Steel considered her offer. On the one hoof, she was still a relative stranger, but on the other hand, it was cold. Decision made, he scooted closer and leaned into her, already feeling a bit better. He sighed as he considered his answer.
"What inspires me? Wow, all the hard-hitting questions today, eh? Well, I guess it's obviously my love for the show and the incredible writers it had. I feel like, whenever I come up with some crazy theory about how magic works, or how certain situations will play out, I'm paying homage to them. Thanking them almost for making something so great and full of depth. There's so many little questions left unanswered by the show, I feel that leaving them unexplored would almost be an insult to those who created them. That's part of the reason I love changelings as much as I do. Lotta depth with love-sucking shapeshifting alicorn bugs. How could I not chase that thread?"
Half of Steel was very surprised at how comfortable a pony could be, but also firm and steady. If she wasn't a stranger and half of him wasn't gay, he might've blushed. But she was and he was, so he didn't. He wanted that fact to be very clear, especially to anyone reading— er, watching... whatever.
Snow Heart
Snow Heart wrapped her bat like wing around him to provide him with warmth. Even though they were strangers, she saw no reason for either of them to freeze. Secretly she wondered if a certain earth pony would be jealous of her cuddling another. Even if it was for strictly not freezing their flanks off. "Hmm I see. Changelings are quite fascinating. I have a very good friend of mine that is a changeling. She's quite the energetic one too." Snow Heart allowed them both a bit of a reprieve before asking her next question.
"Tell me, what advice would you give a new writer just entering the frey for the first time?"
Steel Bolt
Steel Bolt answered immediately, "Rule #1 with anything, especially hobbies like writing, is to have fun. If you're not having fun sticking to a schedule, don't. If you're not having fun writing ponies, don't. If you ever find yourself not having fun, stop doing what you're doing. Reevaluate where you are and what you want to do. Don't be afraid to take breaks, whether they're a few days, a few weeks, or even years. Don't focus on the size of your audience, or audience retention, or anything like that. Focus on you.
"Do you want to write? Then write. Do you want to get better at writing? Join groups about getting better, read books about getting better, accept criticism from your peers, and always, always, always practice. If any of that seems like too much, don't do it. Go as slow or as fast as you want. Writing isn't about anyone else but yourself, so if at any moment you feel like this isn't for you, stop.
"This goes double for receiving dislikes and bad comments. If you had fun writing what you wrote, then don't pay attention to them. If it's not constructive criticism, ignore it. It's not about them. It's about you. I'll say it as many times as I'll have to in order to drill it into everyone's skulls."
Steel bolt took a deep breath and sighed, then blushed as he realized he just went on a rant again.
Snow Heart
Snow Heart listened to him eagerly, even though she felt experienced as a writer herself, there was always new things you could learn. She thought and pondered about what to ask next. At least it wasn't as cold with him here. "So this question might be awkard but is there anything about the writer behind the pony you'd like to tell us?"
Steel Bolt
Steel turned his head, looking behind him. "The writer behind the— right! Yes. Uh, I don't really know. There isn't a lot to tell, really. 18 year old caucasian Californian who recently got into college, which is neat. Working to be a math teacher, though of course english teacher did cross my mind. Besides that... I dunno. As I said, there's not a lot to tell. I'm not a very complicated person. And, for the record, neither am I, Steel Bolt. Worked to be a Royal Guard, got in, and that's about it."
He looked back to the mare who was cuddling him. For warmth, of course. "Though I guess I might be alone in the whole "simple backstory"
department, eh?"
Snow Heart
"A teacher? That is SOOOOOO cool." *she screeed. Her writer had gone to college to be a teacher, but she never finished....bills and stuff. It was complicated. "I don't think I've ever told my backstory in an interview. Maybe I should..." she pondered. "There's a lot to say, but all you really need to know is I'm a hard working female and I work my flank off in everything I do. I'm 31 years old, and have an amazing bf who I adore, and I write, draw, and sew. And I do these silly interviews on the side." she blushed.
Steel Bolt
"You might do silly interviews, but I agreed to it, so it seems like we're both a pair of silly fools." He nudged her lightly in the barrel. "Eh, eh?"
Snow Heart
She nudged him back, and booped his snout "You're silly, but I like you. That's why I asked to interview you. So many of you are interesting to me and it's honor to get to know you a bit better." Snow Heart smiled, her warmth, and caring heart enveloping her fully, and she seemed to glow.* "Hmm...why don't you tell me about a story that has inspired you. Doesn't have to be mlp!"
Steel Bolt
Steel sat in silence as he really wracked his brain for stories he'd read. "To be completely honest, there aren't many stories in the human world that have inspired me an awful lot. But in MLP, I have plenty. First of all, Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons. It's super long, super graphic, and has a few too many protagonist deaths, but it is hands down the best thing I've ever read. Legitimately changed the way I view the world. Gotta give it credit for that.
"But, as for where I take inspiration for my writing, I don't take significantly from any one story, or even author. I'd recommend checking out Parker, Semillon, and Phoenix Dragon, who all have great series that I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. If you'd like to know more about my tastes, I've got a very organized list of bookshelves dedicated to types of stories and which ones I think are the best. In fact— Oh, I'm rambling again. I swear, If you'd let me, I could talk all day."
Snow Heart
Snow Heart chuckled. "Imagine if I got interviewed. I don't know if the world could survive such a thing. But I don't really have to worry about it, since interviewing myself, that would be rather silly and awkward. Plus I don't like talking to myself, even if I do have a bad habit of it." Snow Heart blushed. she found she was starting to feel better, even if only for now. She knew her sister was out there somewhere, but right now, she wasn't alone, and she took solace in that. I'm not alone. Not anymore. Now, there's so many people, so many ponies that want to know me, that want to read these interviews, and I'm helping others be noticed. She was tearing up again, but this time happy tears* "So my dear friend is there anything you'd like to ask me?"
Steel Bolt
Steel looked to Snow suddenly. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm afraid I haven't made for a very good friend here. Talking about me, me, me all night long. Um... uh..." He was grasping for a topic. Any topic would do. As the silence stretched on, he latched onto the first thing that came to mind. "What's your favorite memory?" As it left his mouth, he realized how weird of a question that was for someone he had just met. "I-I mean, we're stuck here in this cold cave, and you were sad, so... I just figured..." He trailed off there, knowing that no matter what he said, it still wouldn't make any of this less awkward.
Snow Heart
"Favorite memory? Well...that's a tough one. I guess two things. First of them being my book. When I was a young Snow, my father was told I might not be able to write, and I could barely read. It wasn't until middle school after I lost my step mom, that I finally tried to write a book. It took me multiple attempts, I lost count, but then I stumbled upon the idea for "A Wolf's Journey" which the anniversary of it being published is this FRIDAY. Woot! But that's probably one of my greatest memories, getting to hold my book in my own hands for the first time, despite everyone telling me to give up, I never gave up on myself."
"The second memory is probably meeting my bf in real life. Ever since I met him, it's like I'm not the same person I was. I've changed. I've become a better version of myself. For the longest time I wanted someone to care about me, I had gone through a rather rough divorce, and often I wondered if anyone could understand me or even want someone like me. You know something used is not as good as something new. But he showed me what it was like to truly feel like a Princess, and that memory is something I feel every day. <3 
Steel Bolt
Steel is amazed with this imaging process that must be going on with Snow's horn. "Wow... Is that your book? That's awesome. It's one of my many dreams to be a published author, so it's super cool to be talking so casually with one. And, if there's one thing I've read from the over 50 changeling stories I've read, it's that love can really change a person/pony/changeling/whatever."
Snow Heart
Snow Heart giggled like a school filly, and blushed darkly "He's amazing. But I think I've kept you long enough. You don't wanna hear me ramble. Trust me! But before we lay down for the night, and hope the blizzard passes...is there anything else you'd like to say? To the general viewers?"
Steel Bolt
"Something to the viewers?" He looked behind him again. "Oh, right. Other viewers. Uh, well besides following Rule #1, always make sure to follow Rule #2: Believe in yourself. Can never go wrong with a little bit of self-confidence."
Link to Holtinater's Fimfiction: Holtinater
"If you want Snow Heart to interview you, get in touch - and be sure check out Nailah's Reviewer Mansion
Sounds like the season's getting to snuggle time