• Member Since 5th Apr, 2012
  • offline last seen August 4th

Cloud Wander


Be kind. For everyone you meet, life is a hard battle.

E
Source

Gummy has heard the primal call of the Ponyville River. He scurries to answer the call, but between Gummy and his goal is a town full of friendly, helpful ponies. How can a tiny alligator find his way across Ponyville and achieve his heart's desire?

Chapters (3)
Comments ( 80 )

Apologies for the title to PhantomFox ("Sunny Skies All Day Long").

"[F]linging his eager craft through the clawless halls of air" is, more-or-less from John Magee, Jr's poem "High Flight."

"Feathered Canyon" is a reference to Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now." A good name for Rainbow's house, don't you think? In contrast, Gummy's dilemma has nothing to do with America's "Ventura Highway."

Stephanos Eridanos Magnus might be translated as "the Great All-Encompassing River." My best effort at making sense of "Steven Magnet."

Pinkie's comments at the end about "messing about with boats" is, of course, a wink to Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows. And "three ponies in a boat" is a nod to Jerome K Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (to say Nothing of the Dog).

*drops everything*
Must read!

[edit]
And wasn't that worth it!
To quote Gummy: Wow! Just Wow! :pinkiegasp:

That last sentence!:twilightsmile:

Oh this is brilliant - with the happy ending, and Rarity having tea with her old friend.:rainbowkiss:

Gummy is now officially the best pony.

Oh, that was just delightful! Marvelous pun hidden in plain sight with the Oolong tea, and do I detect Stephen King references in the capitalized way Gummy thinks of ponies, along with the mention of the behavior of balloons?

See you soon in the feature box, I'm sure!

These pet stories are always fun to read.

But you ain't got to make sense of Steven Magnet, any more than you got to make sense of Diamond Tiara's cache of explosives. It's just a joke about Youtube's arbitrary auto-captions that needs to have died a long time ago.

So Rainbow Dash is Gummy's personal saviour? I can see it now: Rainbow Dash, First Mare to Perform the Sonic Rainboom in Generations, Element of Loyalty, Future Wonderbolt & Saviour to Small, Adventurous Reptiles!

Or to put it another way RDFMPSRGELFWSSAR.

More awesomeness. And I can see Dash learning to enjoy Dickens!

And at last, a happy ending! Great job using Steven, too; he's not a character that appears often in fics.

Truly a most epic story. I love how Gummy's deity is the Almighty Sobek. :rainbowlaugh:

But why, I must ask, did he choose to appear in the form of an effeminate sea-serpent?

A delight to read, as always : )

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But that's part of the fun, isn't it? Trying to make sense of the often nonsensical parts of the "canon" (quoted, since "Steven Magnet" isn't exactly canon).

It seemed reasonable to assume that "Steven Magnet" is a corruption of "Stephen Magnus" (Big Steve) since Steve surely is big (as large or larger than any of the dragons we've seen to date). "Stephanos" (from the Greek) means something like "encompassing" or "encircling". "Eridanos" (again, from the Greek) is both a real river and, in mythology, a river than encircles the world. Add a little Latin (sorry) and you could get Stephanos Eridanos Magnus (the Great River that Encircles the World)

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Here's the thing, though. "Steve's" design is clearly based on a Chinese Dragon, and Chinese Dragons are kind of a big deal. (Paired with the Chinese Phoenix; well, hello, Philomena!) Sobek, in Egyptian mythology, was one of the World Creators, associated with the Sun God, Ra.

As I hint at in this story, I think of Steve as an Old God, much diminished and eccentric, a relic of a time when the Everfree covered all the world. He was the analog of Celestia in the Old Lands, before the subtle magics of the Earth Ponies domesticated Equestria. Though reduced, he is a figure of importance within what remains of the Wild Lands. (Not unlike Tolkien's Treebeard, come to think on it.)

And I think of him less as effeminate than playful, grown childish and, yes, vain in his old age. But there was a long eon when he and his children ruled the earth. Perhaps they do no longer, but they deserve our honor and affection.

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"Stephen Magnet" was the result of YouTube's horrible caption feature naming him such for no good reason during the episode.

Gummy, if you can squeeze between the crack of the door and floor, you're not predator. You're prey!

So. Adorable!:pinkiehappy:

Gummy looked at them as if he had never seen them before. Living with THE PRETTY PINK THING, balloons were a natural part of the environment, like earth and air and wax teeth.

You have no idea how much I laughed at that line. :trollestia:

I loved this so much. Gummy, you deserve a montage song for all your hard work!

Ah, this was a fine little read! Thank you for providing it! :pinkiehappy:

Also, congratulations on making EQD! :twilightsmile:

Lovely little read, I do so love these pet stories :twilightsmile:

"Gummy congratulated himself on reclaiming his fierce alpha predator heritage as he huddled quietly in his box waiting for a group of pastel-colored unicorns to leave."

That line absolutely slew me. You have a dry sense of humor - I like it.

Was Gummy based off of krogan? I AM ALLIGATOR! GRAWR!

Next time I am faced with a moral quandry I shall stop and ask myself: "What would Rainbow Dash do?"

I love THIS STYLE OF WRITING. Really. It reminds me of Problem Sleuth.

All hail Sobek!

This story was simply glorious. I salute you, sir! :pinkiehappy:

It's interesting how he doesn't refer to Pinkie as a pony. Perhaps he knows something we don't.

:rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh:
best gummy story evur! :rainbowlaugh:

If I'm reading correctly; all Gummy wanted to do was breed? :rainbowhuh:

Well done, Gummy. A masculine reptile is the only appropriate comment. :moustache:

Brilliant. I didn't realise immediately that Steven Magnet was the river dragon, but when I did I laughed so hard I headbutted my desk. A triumph.

Poor Gummy, he gets no respect

Oh, Rarity. You may not wish to have been so coy when Ponyville River is swarming with Gummy's dumpy green progeny.

If is isn't already. Equestrian ecology is pretty darn exciting.

Yay, that was fun!

"We walked together in those Old Lands, you and I, the serpent’s eyes said to Gummy. We strode the earth as kings. We chose to share our world with the small, fast, warm-blooded ones. A mistake, perhaps. But we love and honor them. And they, in turn, must honor us and our ways. The relentless and unforgiving ways of the Predator."-Steven Magnet

Gods own speed, you magnificent sonuvabitch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlaXIRTjNfo

Also, I think Steven is a mix between a Fjord Linnworm and a Jiaolong. AKA a great big dragon who protects the waters of his territory.

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It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life.

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Gummy: I tell ya, I'm all right now, but last week I was in rough shape. I went to see my doctor... Doctor Vidi-boom-ba. Yeah...I told him once, "Doctor, every morning when I get up and look in the mirror I feel like throwing up. What's wrong with me? He said, "I don't know, but your eyesight is perfect."

yes, swimming... lol
i wounder if the gender ratio is as far off as it is for the ponies.

This is one of the best stories on the site.

Stealth, cunning, guile… these are my inheritance. I AM ALLIGATOR! GRAR! Respect me, Ponyville!
“Why! It’s Gummy!” declared Rarity. “Pinkie Pie’s dear little… creature.”:rainbowlaugh:
yes swimming nothing else, just swimming:moustache:. Okay this story KILLED ME. I LOVE THIS STORY truly gummy is a fiece predetor againts the cute school ponies and pastel colored unicorns. BUT wow i love this story this is amazing. also i lov the names of everybody and just well eeverything, trully this is the explination of gummy:yay:

ps i belive in rainbow dash

This is wondefully amusing so far!

Oh ho ho my God, that last paragraph made me laugh so hard. :'D

This is one of the funnest, best light-hearted style stories I've ever read. Spectacularly written, too. And I found that Rainbow having a (very) soft side to her was perfectly in chararcter. Well done! :D

Oh my gawd. An interaction between Gummy and Dash in a fanfic that doesn't involve Dash having a phobia of him and him trying to gum her to death?:rainbowderp::rainbowhuh::rainbowkiss:
You have made a NEW AND WONDROUS THING.:heart:

Cardboard box: too small to actually contain Pinkie (probably).

Important that. She once managed to hide inside a can of soda (unopened no less)

Wonderfully well done! I just love the style in which you portrayed Gummy's thoughts. As a zoology buff, I found this story to be original, charming and inventive. Will definitely be you to my stalk watch list, now that I've finished the story. :twilightsmile:

:rainbowdetermined2: I really liked this story. Best bit was when Rainbow Dash turns out to like erudite literature (I've read A Tale of Two Cities and "Dude, make up your mind already" had me in stitches) and looking after little lost animals when no one's looking. That part would make a great story idea in itself.

:pinkiehappy: I'm impressed with the level of detail you put into the story. I didn't even catch half the references until I read the comments, but mostly I'm talking about how you depict the pony world through Gummy's eyes. The narrative switches were excellent; another good bit was when Twilight goes from deducing that Gummy is under the box to composing a letter to Celestia about it. The fact that the letter was played completely straight only made the comedy so much greater because of the strong mismatch between well-intentioned Twilight and poor Gummy.

:ajbemused: If I had to criticize, I'd probably say that making Steven Magnet appear as Sobek incognito came out of left-field. I get it now you explained it in the comments (rather cleverly too, but since I don't know Latin that well, is that what Stephanos really means or is this Canis Latinicus?), and in hindsight I rather like it, but not when it suddenly appeared in the story as it did. Also, Carrot Cake's speech seemed a little odd. His first line makes him sound like an age peer, not like a parent, and that comment about griffons and foreign food makes him seem a little racist. Was it a reference to Gustave le Grande or something? Lastly, the final section with Pinkie considering the Pony Pet Play Date didn't seem to focus on Gummy at all save for one last line. Considering we've just spent most of the fic following his thoughts, this seems a little rushed.

:scootangel: Still, it was great fun while it lasted. A fav and a like from me!

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Steve may or may not be Sobek. There may not even be a Sobek except in Gummy's mind. But, being who he is, I imagine Steve's encountered this sort of shock and awe from reptiles before, and knows how to deal with it. I thought he was kind and understanding, in the way I think Princess Celestia is, knowing that someponies are a little scared of her. :trollestia:

The "what griffons would eat" was an allusion to Gustave Le Grand, as you inferred. I was thinking of Carrot Cake as less "racist" than merely provincial. And, just maybe, with "strudel" he's moving outside of his comfort zone as a baker. With strudel, he might have to "up his game." :rainbowdetermined2:

As for the ending, I preferred to leave the end to the reader's imagination. I rated the story for everypony. And I thought Pinkie's obliviousness was pretty much Pinkie-as-usual. :pinkiehappy:

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