I figured it couldn't hurt to have a thread to discuss some ideas that we're tossing around our head if you want. Get feedback and whatnot on what you think might work It might help people get some ideas of different non-pony creatures, from Discord to sea anemones.

3470461 I was considering doing Tirek, while trapped in Tartarus or a dragon in his home.

3470495
A dragon it's more interesting - I think the whole point of the contest is showing viewpoint of a different species.

I am thinking about writing a love between a gryphon and a pony...

3470693
I daresay Tirek falls under the description "Not a pony", so he fits just fine

3470693 Ooo, romance. I bet there'll be a variety, from romantic couples like yours, to viewpoints of the whole nation.

3470700 He does, I think he's just saying the dragon might highlight it better than Tirek would; you can create and tailor make a character to prove your point as opposed to having to use an already made one.

I was thinking about writing from the point of view of the Bison. The premise would be set long before the events of Over A Barrel and focus on the traditions of their tribe and how they clash with the world of colorful equines.

I'd write the point of view of a Griffon, obvious I know. I could write a Slice of Life story about a Griffon who won a medal in a competition, but she wonders to herself how ponies were able to win Gold and Silver in the Equestria Games.

3471428 Dang, I totally forgot about Bison existing :P I'm writing about zebras, changelings, deer, and seaponies myself, but there are so many others I totally forgot about.

Dragons, dragonequui, griffons, bison, bat ponies (depending on things), centaurs, Scorpan (I dunno what he is), chimeras, manticores, phoenixi, heck, even Ahuizotl and Cerberus could be written about. THE LIST IS ENDLESS! Really makes you think about how huge this can be.

3472143
What about livestock (cows, pigs, etc.)?

3472159 There's so many possibilities! Heck, super advanced writers, why not write about that frog orange from Boast Busters?

Was thinking of writing a story from the point of view of a griffon who has grown up hearing tall tales and scary stories about Celestia and Nightmare Moon, and then when Luna comes back, he is freaking out. Or something like that. Eh, it's a work in progress.

I'm rather tempted to try something involving Fluttershy's songbird choir. I have a couple of semi-formed ideas in that direction, though whether they'll ever become any more than that is anyone's guess...

I know the basic outline of my story (it's about a Timberwolf for anyone who's curious); now I just need to get all the different pieces put together and write it.

3472415 Write write write! I'm always of the opinion that you should get the writing done as soon as you can with these contests so you have time to make changes. Which is weird, because I procrastinate everything else.

3472412 That's definitely an interesting idea. Can't say I've ever seen a fic like that, well, anywhere!

3472308 Sorta like the zebra from Fallout Equestria? Sweet!

I can't wait to read all of your stories! I'm really really hyped for this contest :P The whole outside perspective thing is a marvelous idea Couch.

3472143 I think that's what I like most about the contest, while it limits you to a basic subject it also let's you choose from a large variety of characters/species meaning that the there could thousands of stories written about them. Also, good luck with your story!

3472443

Apparently. Someone else has mentioned that to me as well when I was rattling off the idea. I am not completely familiar with FoE, so

I'm gonna get some Windigo love up in here.

3472835 The zebras see Luna return and basically think she's still Nightmare Moon and running Equestria.

3472704 Yeah. Even now people are naming creatures that never even crossed my mind. Windigoes for instance.

3472933 Do et. Windigoes are awesome creatures not written about nearly as much as they should be.

I'm going for a world that is outside of Equestria, but is Equestria all the same. This will be someone watching a Pony for the sake of choosing them for a greater task, to be something that will benefit Equestria in a universe that few can fully comprehend.

I've put a lot of thought into this over the past day or so.

The one thing we can't forget is that there are two sides to this challenge -- obviously there's the perspective character, a non-pony, and somehow we have to make this story about their 'otherness.' But what I hope people don't forget is that this challenge is about ponies as well; that is, it's about ponies from the perspective of the non-pony. It's not enough to just do a story about a gryphon or dragon or whatnot -- the story itself must say something about ponies.

However! I like to say that "Stories about ponies are stories about people." Really, what are ponies but people, in odd bodies and with special abilities? Beneath that they are just as human as we are, so if you manage to write a story about people, I think you're acquitting yourself well.

So that's the big challenge from my perspective -- we have to write a story using an unusual POV character, but the story isn't about them, it's about them looking at another society. Themes of exclusion, acceptance, difference and the exotic will all do well in this contest.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with. I'm excited to get started writing.

3470461
One idea I've been kicking around is the reaction of outside nations and the creatures in them to some of the events that happen in the show.

Imagine Nightmare Moon's return from the perspective of any creature outwith Equestria. From an Equestrian perspective, it's a matter of "Oh no, Nightmare Moon has returned and stolen away Princess Celestia! The old legends were true!"

From a zebra/griffon/donkey/whichever perspective, "SWEET SKYFIRE/SEVEN HOLY MOUNTAINS/REGION-APPROPRIATE BLASPHEMY OF CHOICE, THE SUN'S GONE OUT! WHAT THE HELL IS CELESTIA PLAYING AT?"

Or Discord's reign of chaos. From an Equestrian perspective, "Crap, so that's who that strange statue in the royal gardens was of." From an outside perspective, "NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN, EQUESTRIA, BLOODY HELL."

There's opportunities for world-building, playing around with the different sentient species we've seen thus far, for laying out how the nations and species interact and work together in a time of crisis. Put a group of bickering heads of state around a table and let the palaver unfold.

3476771

I was just thinking about that side of the challenge last night. With my story half written, now I'm not sure that it's a pony fic from the viewpoint of a couple windigos, or a windigo fic that happens to have ponies in it...

Definitely a part of the challenge to keep in mind.

3476771 I think it's good to remind people of that. I've found that talking about social issues in Equestrian society is easier than it might sound; for instance, part of my story is talking about a zebra enslaved to ponies (like 1200 years before modern day). So I think things like that really serve to show Outside Insight on ponies ^.^

3476794 Sweet Skyfire? I'll have to remember that :P That would certainly be an amusing idea for those of us who know what is going on though XD

3481632
Glad you approve! I'm working on it right now, though I can't guarantee any intelligibility. Or intelligence, for that matter.

3476771 Very good points. My songbird-based idea (which I think I am going to go with now) is already throwing up some questions I confess that I hadn't really consciously considered before. As a simple example: just how wide is the division between flying and non-flying pony races to a bird? And does Fluttershy's relatively ground-based (for a pegasus) life make a difference to how "her" birds see her? Discovering how to answer questions like these is going to be fascinating.

3472933 hey, i forgot about those
3472143 i really like the idea of dear but i all ready have my idea
3476460 wait what

anyway my idea is about a gryphon. predictable i know. but im adding some mythology about gryphons and yah. so hopefully it will turn out well.
also, it sorta kinda plays out like a season finale so i don't know if its slice of life

3485060
Ya, that's about the reaction I'd expect from that. It'll make sense once the story is out.

It's interesting to see that there doesn't seem to be anyone doing a fic from the minotaur perspective. That's my non-pony protag of choice. Probably not Iron Will, maybe a relative. Dunno yet.

I think it'll be fun to write a business minded minotaur dealing with ponies that are - on one hand, complete gullible rubes with bits to spend and on the other, are competition that take bits away regardless of flawed and stupid business models.

3486618 this sounds interesting
also, there are like infinite creature in the mlpverse so its not that surprising that no one posted bout a minotaur. i mean, someone could be doing it and just not have posted about it.

3487661 lol
makes me think of flutter tree

So I've decided to write an original species. I'm curious, is anyone else trying to do the same?

3489856 Ooo, interesting. What's it going to be like? I'm not making up a new soecies, but that definitely sounds interesting.