This is a thread for Petunia Paleo, the filly who we saw at the beginning of "The Fault in Our Cutie Marks" and who found the ponysaurus skeleton and has paleontology as her special talent:

I don't think she was already discussed here, but there where so many fanfic ideas and basic concepts gathered for her already on Derpibooru, that I thought about collecting them all and posting them here, to discuss them and to provide a source of inspiration for authors who want to write about her or seek inspiration in general.
Here we go with the list:

1. Alternate Universe fic, where Petunia has the same cutie mark, but her special talent is being a crime investigator

This idea came by the obversation I made that Petunia must have some sort of instinct to find bones of prehistoric animals in the ground, because she already seemed to know that the ponysaurus skeleton is buried under her sandbox, judging by that eager expression she had.
Another user answered me that she can smell the fossils in the ground and then we developed the idea that, in another universe, she could be able to smell corpses of murder victims too, therefore always finding their bodies to examine them and find the culprit.
Original discussion on Page 1:

https://derpibooru.org/1244104?scope=scpeb58b884c97e5f17ac43b02bff3a7824c879e00a3

2. Another Alternate Universe fic where Petunia is a serial killer, not a paleontologist

3. Fic where Petunia is actually a pirate

I can't say it with 100% certainty, but I think we don't have many pony pirate fanfics, so that story could maybe fill into a niche.

4. Same as above, but combining being a pirate and paleontology

During digging season, Petunia searches for fossils, the rest of the year she is a pirate on the high seas to steal treasures and money she then uses to finance her expeditions and paleontological work.

5. Petunia is a necromancer and has the ability to bring the bones she finds to new, undead life

6. Paleontology is not her only special talent, Petunia somehow is able to summon demons/ancient gods

Depending on what kind of fic you want to write, she can either control them or is unable to control them. Alternatively, it's an ability she can't even control, so she ends up unintentionally summoning demons all the time that then cause trouble.

7. Crossover fic with the manga/anime "Berserk", where Petunia ends up with the "Brand of Sacrifice" and goes on a journey to find and kill the pony that gave it to her

Link to current discussion about this idea between me and justanotherponi on Derpibooru, for reference: https://derpibooru.org/1246315?scope=scpeb58b884c97e5f17ac43b02bff3a7824c879e00a3

8. Alternate Universe again, Petunia is a princess/member of a tribe of warriors (fic would be set far in the past, obviously) and wears the bones of prehistoric animals she finds in the ground as armor.

Idea inspired by this picture: https://derpibooru.org/1246659?scope=scpeb58b884c97e5f17ac43b02bff3a7824c879e00a3

9. A story where Petunia meets Thestra (or vice versa)

Both young fillies, both very similar cutie marks, both special talents that have to do with bones..... And both of them was helped by the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
They would go very well together as duo in a fic and they sure had to tell each other a lot. Could be taken into pretty much any direction or genre; simple Slice of Life, Comedy, Romance, Adventure, Horror.....

10. General fic about her life and adventures as paleontologist

Now that Petunia has discovered her special talent, how does her life continue and how does she set hoof as a paleontologist?

11. Jurassic Park crossover fic

I have a feeling that Jurassic Park crossovers were done plenty already, but I include it for good measure.
Maybe Petunia is so fascinated of prehistoric animals that she ends up magically cloning them?

Two more ideas that are only tangentially related to Petunia, but still have potential:

12. Horror fic. The skull that Petunia found is actually a dragon skull and it turns out that Ponyville was built on an ancient and holy dragon burial ground. When Petunia dug up the skull, she disturbed the dragons that are buried there and now they want revenge and come back from their graves to attack the living.....

This would be a fic centered around Petunia and her parents, when they try to survive the attacks of the undead dragons.

13. The exciting pirate life of Petunia's parents

A story playing with the idea that Petunia's parents were pirates once, based on their interpretation of Petunia's cutie mark, that they had pirate clothes ready for her and that they have cutie marks that would fit to pirates.
Might again fill a niche if pirate fics are rare.

Eventually, I want to write for Petunia myself, I'm just busy with my other projects right now, but I wanted to share those ideas and basic concepts, for those who can need it.
And of course to discuss ideas for fanfics about Petunia Paleo in general!
There are already a lot of ideas and concepts here, but I'm sure we can do even better!
What kind of fics would you write for Petunia Paleo?

5493826 Every character has potential, it's just whether or not as writers do we choose to pursue them. Either way, that filly is still absolutely adorable...

5493845

I think you could say this about the mane characters. Or side characters with significant roles like Tender Taps.
But it really differs for background ponies. A background pony just standing somewhere won't inspire to as many fics as a filly like Petunia with an impressive and exciting special talent, that happens to even introduce something new in terms of world-building.

What would you write about Petunia specifically?

5493860

A background pony just standing somewhere won't inspire to as many fics

Lyra

5493826

Petunia is the fifth Pie sister

5493873

Lyra was an interesting case, yes. Her unique way of sitting raised many speculations and her constantly hanging out with Bon Bon did too, so it was bound to happen that she gets a lot of fics, something that is harder to achieve for today's background ponies.
But I was speaking about cases where a background pony just literally stands around somewhere and does nothing. If a background pony does something interesting or peculiar, it carries a lot of fanfic potential.
And Petunia does just that; she has a new special talent we never heard about so far, she revealed that paleontology is a thing in Equestria and allowed us to have an insight in what prehistoric creatures once lived in "Equestria", even allowing conclusions about how the ancestors of ponies in prehistoric times looked, all of which added a lot of world-building to the show.

5494038

Happy and so full of ambition and lots of hinted badassery! She deserves to get a lot of fics!

5494255

Fossils are essentially petrified bones and can therefore qualify as rocks. I can see that work.
Pinkie's lost, little, filly sister..... What could her parents have brought to giving away their fifth daughter?

5493826

I kinda liked her parents, for some reason. It was oddly adorable how they were willing to support her career as a pirate even though they were concerned about it.

I may also steal their manes for some OC designs at some point.

5497478

The episode strongly hinted at it that they were pirates once too:

13. The exciting pirate life of Petunia's parents

A story playing with the idea that Petunia's parents were pirates once, based on their interpretation of Petunia's cutie mark, that they had pirate clothes ready for her and that they have cutie marks that would fit to pirates.

Might again fill a niche if pirate fics are rare.

They probably already saw her as a future pirate and were proud of her for it, hence why they had the clothes ready, then tried to hide their disappointment when it turned out she isn't destined to be a pirate. That's why they reacted so awkward at the end.

5497265 imma just assume ya are already working on a fic for her? I mean, you've already gave this filly a lot of ground to stand on.

Heck, kinda starting to inspire me to write another little one shot for creations sake, lol.

5498526

imma just assume ya are already working on a fic for her? I mean, you've already gave this filly a lot of ground to stand on.

Sadly (and surprisingly), no. Not yet. I got largely interested in the "Berserk" crossover (or ponification) idea, but currently, I am struggling a bit with getting into a proper writing schedule of writing my fair five hours a day (and it will fail again today, because I just slept too long and have to buy groceries now because I'm devoid of food and that while I should already writing for 25 minutes D:) with the two projects I'm working on right now.
And only once I have that schedule of daily writing set in stone in a way that it really works and I won't get distracted from it anymore, I can start to think of other projects to write and see how I can fit them in (or when one of the current fics is finished, but that will be a while).
So, Petunia has to wait until I can write for her.
The thread here is mainly to inspire other folks, so that Petunia gets the attention she deserves and hopefully becomes one of the big ones in the fandom. Because I can't supply the fandom with Petunia fics alone. But many can.

Heck, kinda starting to inspire me to write another little one shot for creations sake, lol.

Which of the ideas? The pirate one? Or did you get an own idea for Petunia?

5498604 eh, I tend to be a more reflective writer (or so I've been told.) So I might do something that involves a little back story or something, usually when I write one shots their is never a solid plan in mind....

At least you are keeping yourself on a schedule, I write a fic about once every year, lol

5499199

Let me know if you need any help for a fic about Petunia Paleo, I gladly lend a hoof! Or just put it here in the thread for discussion, brainstorming and such. That's what the thread is there for.

5499404 yo yo, I'll remember ya name.

Now we have a group for Petunia Paleo!^^

https://www.fimfiction.net/group/211989/petunia-paleo

You can discuss story ideas for Petunia here:

https://www.fimfiction.net/group/211989/petunia-paleo/thread/302868/story-ideas-for-petunia-paleo