Party times are frequent in Equestria, but there are only a dozen state-wide official holidays. Those holidays have a significant meaning, connected to cosmic matters or points in history connected to significant yearly happenings. But as in the human world, there is the real story, then the fun and mythical story for added entertainment. As humans have Santa and the Easter Bunny, Equestrians have their own frivolous elements to celebrations, and stories about those fictional beings that reinforce societal values and link them to the holiday to justify the position.
(This is the first thing I finished since my aunt passed away. I've been out of the writing game for a long time. But it's time I crawl out of the mire and get back to the business of making socially-responsible pony fiction.)
Gabriel is back? And he wrote an E rated story? What strange and wonderful times we live in!
Good to have you back Gabe. Nice story bro.
Well, that was sweet. And good worldbuilding while you're at it.
So "Hearthbreakers" happened in this canon as well? And which Dead One is that?
E rated? From you? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Some variant on Hearthbreakers. Pinkie's almost-relationship with the Apples is lower key and Granny Smith is cooler to them because they're not as gung-ho Equestrian as she is. Also Big Mac isn't crushing on his distant cousin. But Pinkie is Pinkie and chaos ensued so they still move Holder's Boulder.
"The Dead One" is the literal translation of the name of one of the four red deer who slowly kill the World Ash by eating the boughs. They are Thriving Slumber, Durathrór; Thundering in the Ear, Duneyrr; The Unconscious One, Dvalinn; and The Dead One, Dáinn. Not at all coincidentally, that is the name of Creepy McCreeperson's creepy villain protagonist and completely stupid Gary Stu, who appropriately also destroys a healthy and thriving system because he's a selfish and weak little tiny-genitaled dorkus.
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6749370 Ah. I thought that might be it, but if Twilight had said "caribou" instead of "reindeer" it would have been a bit more obvious.
This was a heck of a ride. I'm glad to see you writing again as it was always worth a look. I'm excited for your next chapter sir~!
I have eleven other holidays to do plus I plan to do a variant for each that reflects how "traditional" secular holiday images get changed over time, like how Santa and the Easter Bunny are in that Guardians movie.
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6753666 If it were most anyone else I'ld say that this project was overly ambitious, however few are such refined wordsmiths such as yourself! I am intrigued by how you'll synthesize these legends together. It annoys me that so many works ignore the impact of myth and metaphor on the societies of their own worlds but instead assume that everything written or spoken must be actual, literal truth. In all honesty, it's one of the reasons I disliked the reveal that Daring Do was 'real.' I understand the Law of Conservation of Detail but I've always found it frankly hackish. Thank you for making a piece that works against this.
Indeed. I try not to get caught up in cultural mythology stuff but the "truness" of a myth outside of some historical seed tends to be how much the myth resonates with both pop and traditional culture. The Hearthkeeper reflects values important to Equestrians and slowly evolves to both reflect and embody the ideals they hold and show what they have learned about the world, like adding Pooka and Diamond Dogs.
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Gods be praised! We finally have an update! *happy dance* I literally just fanfilly squeed and my kids are giving me looks of judgement XD
Ah, wonderful worldbuilding.
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I may be on hiatus due to Fall-induced passion loss, but Kipakuta soldiers on.
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It's a subject about which both Kipakuta and I are passionate.
A nice twist on the Persephone/Hades story. Their story is often seen as tragic, but I think Hades really loved Persephone. Unlike his brothers, he never took another wife.
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I agree. He was way more... cool. He should have been king of Olympus, not Zeus.
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There was a romance/fantasy novel called "Dazzling Brightness" which was a retelling of the story. The "gods" were actually Mages with impressive powers. At first, Hades stole Persephone so she could help them grow crops in the Underworld. They ended up falling in love during their journey back to his realm. It was a pretty good twist on the story.