• Member Since 23rd Jul, 2012
  • offline last seen Yesterday

Odd_Sarge


Literally, Reckless. Ponies give this sorrel mare purpose. Be kind. Be happy. Be a good pony. 🐎 1948 - 2024

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Today, you're watching your neighbor build a wall.

Maybe today, he'll be your friend.

And maybe today will last forever.


Written for the contest A Thousand Words.
An audio reading by Pony&Wolf Productions.

“A high-quality HiE... that elevates the genre.”
—PresentPerfect

Chapters (1)
Comments ( 26 )

Good story mate, bricklaying's serious business that it is.

11206296
Yes, yes it is. Thanks, Ro.

0
0 #3 · Apr 10th, 2022 · · ·

Nice and heartwarming. Also, I dare say, missing not a single word. I liked the way you stated his foreknowledge.

Heartfelt. That which goes unsaid tells us more than what is said. Nice story!

What a cozy little story. Really enjoyed it.
Thank you for writing it!

Excellent story! Exactly the kind of thing I love, a nice, peaceful story about a working pony . . . or working person, some light worldbuilding and cultural differences.

A very lovely piece.

I haven't read a fanfic on here in quite a while now and this was really refreshing to come back to. It may have been short but it worked really well for it. Bravo, author. Very lovely piece.

Once upon a time, in an old era now dead... before the printing press was invented. Man wrote his story with stone and masonry

Its been a while since ive seen said episode, what do not forgetting her past and knowing shes a good pony mean?

That was a great story. Thank you for writing it

11209086
There isn't one solid answer. Know that this doesn't take place during an episode, and that nothing here changes what will happen.

Grade A Vitrified Engineering Brick is fun to work with? At least I think thats one of the lines they made at NORI works, for Oleum tank lining, Power station flue lining, blast furnace lining, and for making mills and houses that if they hadnt been put through the crusher or sold off, could easily have remained until the next ice age?

You cant get hodders up ladders these days? The best could move 14-16 bricks a time. At 9 lb a brick.

And even knowing whats coming, yet still he builds, else evil has already won.:eeyup:

Oh... Oooooh he knows!

Interesting piece.

Mason is a good man...I like him already.

This reads like Admiral Biscuit wrote it...are you his alt? Either way, that was a compliment...this was a fantastic story.

Ah. Saying a lot with a little here. Lovely work. It feels too substantial to really be "fluff" per se, but it's not like any of the other categories are better fits. In any case, thank you for a well-crafted snapshot of Ponyville life.

11263051
Thank you for the kind words.

And you’ve spent thirty minutes watching somepony lay bricks.

Somebody, you remind yourself.

aww, but

The most Mason has done is adopt his ‘pony-based’ name.

it's a bit spare for a pony name, but works well as a human name too, neat!

It’s frustrating, to say the least. He could do it so much faster, but he opts to be needlessly precise. In the beginning, you respected it, but three years to finish just-shy of fifty hooves of wall is downright crazy.

that does seem like a lot of time! i wonder if there are similar examples in the human world of handmade walls taking this long to build

Applejack, and even some of the town’s construction ponies, have offered to aid him, for free, no less. Of course, Mason was stubborn: he wouldn’t be three years in if he’d accepted the helping hooves.

hehe, a fun inversion of "Applebuck Season"

When his eight-hour workdays are complete, he often spends his time roaming Ponyville.

oof, i was hoping the fifty hooves of wall were a side project or something, not a full-time job

It’s something of an art to Mason, and while he’s said that he’s only done brickwork once before in his life, you can’t help but feel his talent is what brings comfort to the ponies who see him daily.

aww, don't need a cutie mark to have a talent!

“Did you leave town? I saw Spike dealing with the girls’ pets.”

hehe, this dates the story precisely in the show episodes!

“No. He’s fine. I hope.” Mason sighs, looking away. “When I got here, we were almost done with our wall. We never got to finish.”

that is the thing about crossing dimensions without any way to get back. a lot of questions about what distinguishes it from a scenario where everyone in your life has died? and that mourning is something anyhuman in Equestria will have to do in their own way

He smiles. “Good ‘ole Twi.” You scrunch at that, but he continues. “Listen… big things are coming. For you. Life-changing, like me. And I really want you to know, that you’re a good pony.” He closes his eyes.

oof, and i guess as a tagged self-insert story, Mason has watched the series and thus "knows" what is coming. and yeah, looking up "Just for Sidekicks", that comes up just before "Magical Mystery Cure"...

He laughs. You smile.

It is a fine day in Ponyville.

And it always will be.

and augh, such a beautiful note to end on!

a lovely tribute to that carefree, smaller world of Equestria that pre-alicorn Twilight lived in, not to mention FiM as a whole. heartfelt and resonant, this is an excellent example of what i was thinking of with the category "Fluff". thank you for it!

11346738
Oh, wow! Thank you very much for sharing this! Would have missed it otherwise.

11347022
Yeah, sorry about that, making sure such things don't happen is my purpose

The story is crafted as well as the wall. Which is to say very well done.

11384901
Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.

hey thats my name

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