Pinkie stopped shaking the bag, laid it on the table, and spread it open. "Okay everypony," she said. "Draw."
Everypony looked expectantly at Twilight. Twilight frowned. "What?"
"You go first, darling."
"Yeah, since you're a princess an' all."
Twilight glared at her friends. "Seriously?" With a sigh, she reached a hoof into the bag and came out with a tile. She turned it over, looked at it, and let out a loud growl of frustration. "YOU RIGGED THIS STUPID GAME!" she screeched at Pinkie.
"Huh? No I didn't," Pinkie said. "I Pinkie Promise!"
"Whut's got a burr in yer butt, Twi?" Applejack asked.
Twilight slammed her chosen tile on the table for all to see:
FLASH SENTRY
The others blinked. Then, Rainbow snickered. "Heheheh...HAHAHAHA!"
"Oh, come on, darling," Rarity said with a smile. "It can't be that bad. Have you really given this Flash Sentry fellow a fair chance?"
Twilight frowned. "Well...okay, I've only really talked to him once," she admitted.
"Well...maybe if you spend more time talking to him, you'll start to like him," Fluttershy offered.
"Yeah, Twilight! Besides, remember the no-complaining rule!" Pinkie juggled a hoofful of speckled beans, grinning dangerously.
Twilight sighed. "Okay, fine, I'll try to hook up with Not-My-Flash."
"I'm not even gonna touch that one," Rainbow said. "I guess I'll draw next."
Pinkie shook up the bag again, and Rainbow reached in. She drew out a tile, took a look at it, and let out a loud whoop, doing a flip in the air.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy said softly. "Who'd you get?"
Rainbow laid her tile proudly on the table.
SOARIN
"Of the Wonderbolts?" Twilight asked, blinking. "Wow. That's...a good match for you."
"Yeah it is!" Rainbow said, grinning. "Having Soarin as a boyfriend would be awesome!"
"Good luck, Dashie!" Pinkie said. "Who's next?"
"Why don't you go next?" Applejack suggested.
"Hmm...okay!" Pinkie handed Applejack the bag. Applejack shook it up, using her hoof to mix the tiles carefully, then spread it open and offered it to Pinkie.
As Pinkie reached her hoof into the bag, her back started to prickle. "Ooh, my back's itchy," she said.
Twilight tilted her head. "That one's...lucky day, right?"
"Yep!" Pinkie stuck her hoof in the bag and pulled out a tile, laying it on the table.
CHEESE SANDWICH
"I KNEW this game was rigged!" Twilight declared.
"Uhh...how could it be rigged, when Ah shook the bag up mahself?" Applejack pointed out.
"I swear it's not rigged!" Pinkie said, frowning. "There's a couple dozen names in there! It'd be impossible to fix the game!"
"Why don't I draw next?" Rarity suggested, as Applejack shook the bag up again. Rarity reached a hoof in, drew a tile, looked at it, and stared flatly at Pinkie. "This game is rigged," she declared.
"Let me guess, you drew Spike?" Twilight asked.
Rarity laid her tile on the table:
SPIKE
"Why was Spike even IN there?!" Rainbow cried. "He's not even a pony!"
"Dragons need love too," Pinkie said. "I couldn't just leave him out. Besides, I put Discord's name in there too!"
"You did WHAT?!" Twilight cried.
"Oh my goodness," Fluttershy said.
"You'll never convince me this game isn't rigged now," Twilight said.
"Ah'm sorry, Twi...Ah just don't see how it could be rigged, when Ah've got th' bag an' there's no way Pinkie coulda known whut order we'd go in." Applejack handed the bag to Rarity, who shook it up for her. She reached in, and...
THUNDERLANE
"Huh. Don't reckon Ah've said ten words t' Thunderlane afore," Applejack said. "This'll be...interestin'." She looked at Fluttershy. "Your turn, sugarcube."
"I...I don't know if I want to..."
"Eternal farting," Pinkie whispered ominously.
"Eep!" Fluttershy dove into the bag and fished out a tile, nearly dropping it. She looked at it and blinked, then laid it on the table.
BIG MACINTOSH
"And that PROVES the game isn't rigged," Pinkie declared smugly.
"How does that prove anything?" Twilight asked.
"Because I ship Big Macintosh with Cheerilee," Pinkie said simply. "If I'd rigged the game, nopony would've drawn Big Mac!"
"Who...who would mine have been if the game was rigged?" Fluttershy asked.
"Bulk Biceps," Pinkie said without hesitation.
Twilight deflated. "Okay okay, so the game probably isn't rigged." She looked at the tiles on the table, a sour frown on her face. "Are we really doing this? I mean, are we really going through with this? And if you say 'eternal farting' one more time, I'll give you infinite trots."
"Well I'm in," Rainbow said. "I never thought of Soarin that way before, but now I'm kinda excited!"
"I...don't mind," Fluttershy said. "I mean, Big Macintosh is very nice."
Rarity sighed. "If nothing else, I suppose this will resolve the matter of Spike's crush once and for all."
"Ah ain't wussin' out," Applejack said. "Last thing Ah need is somethin' fer Rainbow t' hold over me."
Twilight sighed. "Okay, okay...I'm in too. I guess I'd better make arrangements to go to the Crystal Empire so I can visit Flash Wiener."
"Yay!" Pinkie cheered, clapping. "Okay girls, you've got one month to figure out how to make the stallion you chose your special somepony. Remember the rules, and have fun!"
"Yay," Twilight said in a quiet, flat tone.
"Please don't steal my catchphrase," Fluttershy said. She turned to Applejack. "Um...is this okay with you? Me and your brother?"
Applejack shrugged. "He does need a marefriend," she said. "Ah don't think he'll ever bother t' get one on his own."
"Well...good luck, everypony," Rarity said with a tight smile. "I'm off to...figure out how to proceed..."
"Won't you be the first one to th' finish line here?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ha ha, very funny," Rarity said, tossing her mane.
Twilight sighed. "See you girls later," she said, flying off to her castle.
"I'm gonna head to Cloudsdale, do some research," Rainbow said.
Applejack shifted. "Ah, uh...gotta handle some stuff at home afore Ah start."
"I'll come with you," Fluttershy said.
"And I'm off to find my Cheese!" Pinkie said happily.
You know, I shouldn't be surprised that people would go with the most generic of pairings. Well, fingers crossed that the pairings will change over time.
*sigh*
All old ships we've seen a thousand times(except for AJ and Thunderlane, that's a new one to me), all safe bets...
Still, put it to a vote, and majority rules, so I can't complain. Here's hoping that you find some interesting ways to frame these relationships. Try to explore aspects that are rare. Can't say new, since they've all be done, but you're a really talented author, so I'm confident you'll come up with something good.
Applejack and Thunderlane, that's gonna be a fun one to explore.
This chapter had me laughing throughout as well.
This might be more interesting if it really was randomized, as opposed to voting.
Im with Twilight on this one guys.... TOTALLY RIGGED!!!!
-Flash Sentry
I'm okay with this as long as Flash has an actual personality.
-Soarin
Yay! The only ship that I actually support on this show was chosen!
-Cheese Sandwich
Kind've predictable, but I can't wait for the complete chaos these two will cause in Ponyville.
-Spike
I honestly don't really see this ship going anywhere, but it's your story.
-Thunderlane
Interesting, the slacker and the workaholic. Can't wait to see how this pans out.
-Big Mac
I personally think this pairing is a bit overdone, but again, it's your story.
4950352
Well it's either that or make spike a pedophile cause guess what, Dragon only turn to adults at the age of 200 which is the most common age in any type of dragons in any franchise.
4950398 You're complaining about things as if (a) they're my fault (they're not, it was decided by popular vote) and (b) assuming just because certain ships got voted into the story, they're automatically going to stick. Just...wait and see what happens.
Such imaginative pairings. I guess if nothing else, it's nice to see the Flash hatred fading. He couldn't have gotten elected Twilight's plumber a year ago, much less her likely boyfriend. Except now I can't stop mentally singing "Flash Beagle", with "Flash Wiener' instead.
"I never thought of Soarin that way before..." Why must you turn this story into a house of lies!?
Am i the only one who hoped one of them would get Time Turner?
Oh well I will keep reading to see what happens though Cheese Sandwich does not excite me. Which is weird of course I liked the character I just don't as Pinkie's love interest. Just too similar for my tastes. It is like dating your other sex doppelganger except that it is not the male version of you (so you don't get that weird dating yourself vibe which at least makes it weird). Still it isn't ba just a little bit boring and I do realize that it was due to the masses speaking so good on you for sticking to your vote.
Like you said who knows things can change...
I loved Twilight's reaction to getting Flash. The pairings were fairly generic, but that isn't your fault, so I can't complain. Now for the real challenge, coming up with ways to make all of these ships new and interesting again. Maybe you could have readers vote for which tactics each mare should use? Just a thought.
4950455 Actually, I voted for Time Turner for Twilight, and I was REALLY hoping he'd overtake.
4950520 Nope, voting only applies to the pairings, not to what happens next.
4950294 I bet most of the people who voted for AJ / Thunderlane(including me) have read Calm Wind's The Weight of Responsibility, which ships those two.
Woo! I can't wait to see how this story pans out. SoarinDash is my OTP. As for the other ships, I'm okay with those.
Pinkie x Cheese lingers on the canon/fanon line,
Rarity and Spike I don't care if they get shipped,
Fluttermac is a bit used but I love the ship so I'm okay with that,
Thunderjack I have a bad habit of expecting after reading that story up there ^,
I don't care who Twi gets shipped with
After reading Let's Be Evil, I know you'll do a great job with this story.
4950528
Rats. Oh well, I'm still looking forward to the next update.
OH COME ON!! Why would they choose Flash?! He is pretty much the butt of a joke. So many more ships better than Flashlight.
SoarinDash...typical. Hope you make this one unique. Same for FlutterMac.
Really glad for the Sparity. love that ship.
AJ and Thunderlane? interesting. i'd like to see where this one goes.
Huh...time for the first ever...
Keradon's Trivia Time!
This is where I generate an unusual factoid that a fic makes me think of. I will link main source I heard it from, along with one other corroborating source.
Today's trivia generator is:
If you mean simply a case of 'infinite walking' where a pony trots along endlessly, Then that's fine. Inconvenient, but fine.
But if you mean ... well... the medical condition.... while not infinite it IS possible for it to last a long, long time.
Like, years. It's ...not pleasant.
Warning: While mostly SFW, the reference links can contain commentary and info that can be disturbing. Discretion, as always, is advised.
References: Rob Dyke's Seriously Strange - Unexplainable Diseases
CDC Listing
And now an actual on topic comment:
While most of the ships are kinda already well built, structured, sunk and re-shipped frequently, I'm curious as to how you'll be constructing these.
Twilight seems ... disdainful of her native 'verse's Flash Sentry. This can be a start of something unique, or it'll crash and burn horribly. I am intrigued as to which it will be.
The other old ships seem standard, though I'm curious as to how you'll handle them.
AJ and Thunderlane ... mostly unexplored. Kinda curious.
I wonder if you'll have a few failures that'll result in new pairings afterwards.
Now I almost wish the votes were rigged... We would have had a "Big Guy, Tiny Girl" trope here. Add that to the fact that apparently Bulk is afraid of butterflies (during the song "Heart's Stong as Horses") and we all know what Fluttershy's cutie mark depicts.
4950294
Agreed, it's unfortunate but hopefully they'll jumble up in time. I think I'll give the story time and check back in a few chapters rather than wait on sporadic updates to the generic pairings.
The author is talented and the potential is certainly worth keeping tabs on, but the pairings (i.e. the whole point of the fic ) hold little interest as they stand. Look forward to see how it progresses in the future.
Jesus, really? People voted for this? All the most overdone ones? What the fuck?
Great, here I thought this would be interesting... I'm out.
That was a surprise. People could vote for something funny, or try and read something new, and the results show the fan favorites are, well, fan favorites.
Mythril will have to burn some neurons to create original and interesting tales between those pairs. Then again, if "Evil" is a benchmark, we shouldn't be worried - good things are coming.
Welp, I'm happy about Cheese and Pinkie. Honestly, I would have been cool with ANY Pinkie ship. I just don't like seeing other CHEESE ships. Here's hoping that one sticks.
Don't blame me for the other pairings, dudes. Every single other one I picked was a rare pair, including Twilight and Stellar Eclipse.
Good luck. I'll be interested to see how this goes.
4950731 People weren't told NOT to pick generic pairings. I tried not to, but couldn't resist Pinkie and Cheese, and even then, I worried that it went against the intention.
We'll spike is in for it now
AHHHH DAMMIT there goes my discopie and my raripants. *sniffle*
I think time Turner would be more voted if he was the Doctor. That's all what shall happen? Not. A. Clue!!!!!
And may the odds be ever in their favor!
Fluttermac-not so much as a fan of this, but I'll deal with it.
CheesePie- I don't know why, but this is going to be interesting. What if Cheese isn't ready for a relationship?
FlashLight- I really like Flash Sentry. Twilight you barely said hi to him.
Soarin/RainbowDash- YAY!
AppleLane- That's certainly new, but I've only heard of AppleSpike or Appple/Caramel.
Sparity- Why am I not surprised, it's a fan favorite. It's probably going to be harder than it sounds because Rarity likes to do things with STYLE!
So who's starting off first?
This is worth it just because I love Twilight's thoughts on Flash Sentry. Hopefully this story will make me ship them more.
Also, I generally don't ship Pinkie Pie with Cheese Sandwich, which is weird because they ARE perfect together. I just can't. Honestly, I don't ship Pinkie Pie with ANYONE of the opposing gender, and since I try to not ship the mane six with each other (Inner Demons and Xenochronicle are the only ones that do so) or go the easy route to make them lesbians, I don't really ship Pinkie Pie with anyone.
It's a shame I didn't get to this in time to vote, otherwise I would have probably voted for Spike to end up with either Twilight, or Applejack. These days I feel that shipping him with Rarity is too easy, though it DOES work.
Dash and Soarin, and Fluttershy and Mac, both of them are OTP for me. I ship these HARD, so I am pleased.
However, you said FIRST round of voting, so maybe there's more to be done? We'll see.
I am...honestly disappointed with the picks . Not that they're bad, but they're just so obvious that it makes the reveal of them really boring.
I love how big its the difference of cheesepie from the others ships xD CHEESEPIE I only hope for not be easy as she thinked but I really hope it works ;3; the last pharse made me fangirl so.hard xD
Fluttermac YAY
soarindash beautifull baby but I dunno if its goimg to be easy but it would work well :D
Apple and tunder e3e I see potential here I aproove
I hope everything went well to Twily and Sent she deserves love too and I hope he can be more than good for her
Not the biggest fan of rarysoike but can deal with it :V I hope her to see how good he is with her
SoarinDash....something that I need to see more of. I'm a big fan of Soarin with RainbowDash and I don't know why it wasn't used more. I wanted to see Twilight with Discord though. Much less rigged-y.
Can't wait!!!!!!! Just make sure the "obvious" pairings are very interesting cus I've read a lot of "flashlight" and "cheese pie" fics.
4950731 Thanks for the vote of confidence in my ability to continue to write an interesting story despite what I was given to work with.
EVERYONE, look at the positive side of this. This entire Fic can end up being a "Deconstructor Fleet" of all these generic pairings. What Im trying to say is that ...................WATCHING MANY OF THESE PAIRS CRASH LIKE THE HIDENBURG COULD BE GLORIOUS!!!!!
Oh dear... Everyone voted for ships we've seen before... Dangit.
Oh well, I hope you're clever enough to make these stories different than most fics. You've already started of pretty good makin' Twilight despise Flash despite her complete lack of knowledge about him.
I noticed that most people are forgetting what Moth said. The FIRST ROUND is done. I have been keeping my eye on Moth for awhile, and if any thing I place my bits on this isn't going to end with the "Safe Ships".
MythrilMoth, don't let me down, I got my bits on you to make this interesting.You have Jake the Army Guy backing you on this and me. I'll keep my eye on this.
Mean while Back to "Let's Be Evil".....
Silver Spade
I have a feeling that and 's dates won't go too well
4950352 Well you at least got the right,
4950885 I think you're right about flashlight because 1. She likes him for the HUMAN him 2. She has barely ever said more than one word to him and 3. Well he isn't the human him.
4950276 Well thnk they wll
4950524
I was really hoping that one would over take as well, and I'm surprised both Cheese and Flash got so many when you specifically said you didn't want those two. At least Thunderjack will be interesting.
Good
one "meh!" to the parings but I know you will make a great story!
4950414 I was trying to express my opinion, not complain. I'm sorry if you felt like I was complaining.
"Not the stallion, my stash of cheese, I'm hungry!"
I was honestly hoping Pinkie would shout 'just kidding!' halfway through that and pick out some different ships, and not the ones we've seen like ten times before.
Oh well, I'll be interested to see where it goes.
4951475
I never said any such thing.
4952477 Voting closed almost 12 hours ago.
Well this should be good.