A compilation of unfinished fanfic ideas from years ago.
As it turns out FIMFiction only allows stories to be properly submitted for publishing if they are over 1,000 words long, of which some of my old writings did not exceed. As such, this is a compilation of various stories from circa 2016 that I conceptualized and started but never completed more than a chapter of.
Enjoy the time capsule. Links to the original fics in their original forms with view passwords will be available for each fic.
The atmosphere in the diner was thick and noisy, just as it was every other night. She sat in her seat, Mare-Do-Well hat hanging over her head as to obstruct her face. She had done this dozens of times before; she had the routine down pat.
She turned around, and to her surprise, there she was, at the table right behind her. The Original.
She was half-tempted to tap her on shoulder, strike up a conversation, catch up, but she knew she couldn’t; Celestia knows how she and her little friends would react if they found out a few of their kind still existed.
The Original was holding a conversation with a scruffy old orange stallion sitting opposite her; something about her friend opening a boutique nearby. She listened in.
“Yeah, making copies of yourself always sounds like a great idea, but before you know it you’re locked in a room with 50 Pinkie Pies watching paint dry.”
She cringed, shuddering a little as she flashed back to that awful day; sitting there, staring at that wall for hours on end, her sisters mercilessly slaughtered around her, one by one… “The Day The Fun Died”, some of them called it. She was lucky to have been one of the very few who escaped.
She could hardly believe The Original was referring to that horrible event so callously, as if it were just another day.
But this was no time to dwell on the past; she was at the diner for a reason, after all.
She stood up from her seat, puller her hat over her head, and walked out the door, as to appear a normal customer leaving.
She snuck around the perimeter of the building until she reached the backlot, and there it was; the back door. She took a deep breath, grabbed the steel latch, opened it up, and walked right in.
She had to be careful; chefs and employees were everywhere. Perhaps it wasn't wise to do this during business hours, but she had already gone this far; besides, she didn't want to leave the others hanging for much longer.
When she opened up the door to the pantry, the sight and smell hit her like a brick; bread, vegetables, meats, desserts, far as the eye can see. She grabbed as much as she could and rushed out the back.
The Ballad Of Apathia, Chapter 1: Just Like Any Other Day
Now, that’s not to say I have nothing at all. I have my interests, things that keep me busy, all of that.
But it all feels so… meaningless. Robotic, I suppose, would be the term. It satisfies my need for mental stimulation, but that’s about it.
Some days are better than others. I can successfully make it between arbitrarily timed sleep cycles lost in the things my brain takes arbitrary interest in, keeping the feelings of existential worthlessness at bay.
Yet, through the hours of that day, I feel little true passion, or any kind of real thrill. Just droning along with what I’m doing while my brain remains arbitrarily satisfied, but never once truly feeling anything.
Just like any other day.
I have two triplet sisters, and I envy them both deeply.
The slightly older one is named Karma. She’s the happiest, nicest, funniest, most enthusiastic pony you will ever meet. She lives her life in a perpetual state of joy, giving her approval to everything. I look at her and I see somepony who loves being alive and feels genuine passion for what she does every second of the way.
I wish I could be like that.
Then there’s the younger one, Discentia. Discentia is sort of a harsh critic of things she doesn’t like, and many see her as sort of mean, but it all comes from a good place. Discentia loves art, of any medium, and while she can be incredibly harsh on what she doesn’t like, it only comes from a place of true appreciation for the things she loves. She cares deeply about the art forms and therefore holds them to a high standard.
I wish I could be like that.
But I’m not. I’m nothing more than an emotionless drone, pretending to have true passion for my craft when really it’s just arbitrary. It’s all arbitrary.
Who do I think I am to act like I truly love these things, like I have any passion whatsoever, when there are ponies out there with such deep, genuine connections to these thing, ones who have such more of an emotional bond with them than I do my brain’s completely random interest in them?
I desperately wish I could feel. I want to experience the elation of hearing a truly beautiful piece of music, to genuinely laugh, and cry, and feel my heart warm up, but… I don’t.
I see other ponies that are so emotional, so easily moved, with such a sense of beauty of the world, and I feel bad that I can’t be one of them. Bad that I can’t share in that experience of emotional elation, positive or negative. I just join in and pretend that I feel the same emotions, hoping I can at least appear to fit in, while my mind doesn’t see the appeal in any of it. It would rather focus on facts or numbers or having yet another existential crisis than actually feel something.
“Yes, I’ll have two large double-layered fry burgers and an extra large Lighthoof’s Lemon Lime. How ‘bout you, Scoots?”
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo stood at the counter at a Cloudsdale Burgers And Wings as they ordered their lunches.
“Hmm… I think I’ll take a large bag of hay/double cheese sliders with extra fries and a large Cloudy Cola.”
“All right, we’ll have it ready for you soon.” said the stout brown stallion behind the counter, handing them a red card with the number “15” on it.
Rainbow and Scootaloo began to make their way to their table.
Rainbow nudged Scootaloo playfully. “Great call on those sliders, kid. I’ll tell you the first time I had those…” she pounded her chest twice. “Hoo, they’re somethin’.”
Scootaloo chuckled. “Can’t wait. Hey, thanks again for taking me out today, Rainbow.”
“Aww, don’t mention it, Scoot,” Rainbow replied, nuzzling Scootaloo’s hair with her hoof. “I always love hanging out with the most awesome sister in all of Equestria.”
“Please, Rainbow,” playfully pushing Rainbow’s hoof away from her head, “I think we all know you’re the most awesome sister in Equestria.”
“Please, it’s totally you!”
“Nu uh! It’s you!”
The two laughed while continuing the exchange before taking their seats.
“Lemme tell ya Scoots, this place is somethin’. Burgers And Wings is the finest burger joint in Cloudsdale. My big brother used to take me here all the time as a filly. Way better than that lame ol’ Hayburger down in Ponyville.”
Scootaloo chuckled. “I’ll take your word on that.”
“Oh, you will not regret it. Hey, between you and me, I think we Pegasi have the best food.” The two shared a laugh. “‘Aight, I gotta go hit the bathroom. You stay here and watch for our food, ‘k?”
“You got it, Rainbow.” The two exchanged a hoofbump before Rainbow trotted off.
Scootaloo turned around and surveyed the restaurant. The place was about as populated as you’d expect a slightly-higher-end-than-average burger joint to be on a late Saturday afternoon, just about packed but not quite crowded. She observed all the ponies around her. There was a lone pale bluish-grey stallion with a darker blue mane eating a small burger, Cloudchaser and Flitter sharing a platter of fries, an adult couple that consisted of a taller stallion that shared Scootaloo’s colors with a hockey stick cutie mark and a beige mare with a flaming wheel cutie mark…
Those last two ponies struck a chord in Scootaloo’s mind. She looked back to the couple. Could it… no, it couldn’t be. Right?
The two ponies whispered something cryptic and glanced at her. Scootaloo panicked and hid behind a counter.
She was trembling slightly as Rainbow walked up behind her.
“Hey-”
“AH!” Scootaloo jumped in startlement.
“Whoa, hey, calm down, it’s just me. Why are you over here? You’re supposed to be watching for our food.”
“Hey Rainbow…” Scootaloo looked past the counter and pointed over to the couple. “You see those two ponies over there?”
Rainbow took notice. “Yeah, I see ‘em. Why, do you know them?”
“Your parents? Scootaloo, I thought you never knew your parents.”
“I didn’t. But… sigh OK, so, you know my foster mother, Mrs. Goodhoof, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, a few years ago, I think I was about nine or ten, I asked her if she had ever caught a glimpse of my real parents the night they left me at her doorstep. I’ll never forget how vividly she described them; ‘a tall stallion with a coat and mane just like your very own, and a mare with burnt beige fur and an aura of even stronger burning passion. Cutie marks of hockey sticks and wheels, symbols of sport and drive, designed for ambitious speedsters… much like yourself.’.”
Rainbow was taken aback. “Wow, you... memorized that whole thing? Word for word?”
Scootaloo nodded. “It was the only recollection of my real parents that I ever had.” She sighed and turned towards the couple again. “that is... until today, I guess.”
Rainbow sighed. “You wanna go talk to them? Don’t worry, I’ll be right there with you,” she said, wrapping her wing around the filly.
Starlight sat in complete solitude. The lights were dimmed, the air was cool yet comfortable, and a few scented torches were lit around her as to enhance the meditative atmosphere she was trying to set up. A soothing soundtrack of waterfalls and nature sounds, recommended by Fluttershy, emanated from her sound system. She relaxed every muscle in her body to the best of her ability - save for her horn, which she was using to magically levitate herself just a couple inches off the ground.
Meditation was doing wonders not only for her magic, as Twilight put her on this meditation schedule as a part of her advanced magic training, but her mental health as well. She was sleeping better, thinking more clearly, and becoming less and less anxious and... well, wracked with horrible guilt. For just an hour every day, she could clear her mind of all that plagued her and just live in her own little world, where everything was calm and all was right. It was therapeutic for the unicorn.
But that therapy was all too tragically cut off by an unwelcome knock at the door. Starlight huffed in anger. She had told Twilight not to interrupt during her meditation hours, of which the alicorn she shared the castle with was very aware. Disgruntled, she paused her music player, turned on the lights, and opened the door.
"What do you want, Twilight? You know this is my meditation hour," Starlight said rather confrontationally.
"Oh, oops. I'm sorry. I guess I didn't remember to check what time it was. I just needed to ask you something kind of important."
Starlight let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm listening."
"I was just wondering if you could maybe... step out of the castle tomorrow night, maybe for the weekend?" Twilight asked. "Me and the others are having a get-together here, and it's kind of just a thing for the six of us."
"Well, why can't you just have it someplace else?"
"Uh... the castle just feels... right, you know?" Twilight stammered. "I'm also gonna need you to watch over the Crusaders."
"Wait, those little kids? I don't know, I don't do well with responsibility, what with the..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, the cutie mark thing, but Applejack's brother and grandmare are going to be out of town and I can't find anypony else to watch them during the sleep- uh, gathering. I'm sure you four will get along just fine. They're not babies or anything."
Starlight sighed. "I guess."
"Good. I need you out of this castle by 7 PM tomorrow sharp."
With that, Twilight closed the door. With her meditation for the day effectively ruined, Starlight only knew of one other way to calm her nerves.
"Another one!" Starlight called out to the bartender, who immediately went to work preparing Starlight's next mug of cider.
"So, what's the loser brigade making you babysit their kids for?" asked Trixie, who sat right next to Starlight at the Drunken Pegasus bar, taking a sip of her drink.
"Ugh, they're having some stupid sleepover thing at the castle. I have to watch their three little kids while they're... having... I dunno, tea parties or whatever it is those six do."
"Yeah, Twi's kicking me out too," Spike added, sitting on Starlight's other side with a small cup of hot chocolate.
"Apparently this get-together is so holy and sacred that we can't even be in the same massive castle as her."
Trixie chuckled. "Yeah. Hey, maybe me and Spike can watch these little kids with you."
“Yeah! I know the Crusaders, they’re great. We’ll totally help you out!” Spike chimed in.
“Cider’s up,” the bartender chimed in, giving Starlight her fresh mug.
“Aww, thanks, guys,” Starlight said, levitating the cider to her mouth and taking a big gulp. “You know, we may not be the spirits of the very Elements Of Harmony themselves, but you guys are pretty cool,” she finished, exchanging a hoofbump with her two friends.
“Whoa, watch out there Starlight. Let’s not get too corny and sentimental. What are we, Twilight and her friends?” Trixie said. The group laughed out loud.
Spike’s eyes lit up with inspiration. “Hey, I know! While we’re watching the Crusaders, why don’t we take them out for a night out on the Crystal Empire? As the brave and glorious hero who saved the empire twice,” inspiring a groan from the two unicorns, “I bascially get special treatment around here. I’m sure if I pull some strings right, I could get the six of us a great time free of any charge!”
Starlight considered the offer. “Well, that does sound pretty cool.”
Short Description: The Mane 6 split up and embark on an epic adventure: a grand road trip across all of Equestria. The only catch? They can only spend 20 bits.
Long Description: Twilight and Applejack, Pinkie and Rainbow, and Rarity and Fluttershy pit themselves against the ultimate challenge: a grand road trip all across Equestria, seeing all the sights and hitting all the important locales.
There's just one little addendum: they only have twenty bits each to spend along the way.
Rating: E
Genres: Adventure, Comedy
Characters: Mane 6
This was actually one that got really well into the planning phase but I never actually got off the ground. Inspired by me and a few family members' 2016 road trip to Colorado.
The idea was they'd borrow these weird things Zephyr Breeze had called "Recreational Vehicles" for this trip and each team would take one, decorate it for themselves, and stuff the trailer with as much stuff as they needed before they set off. Oh yeah, see those symbols? Those were to be the logos of the respective teams: Team Charm, Team Prankster, and Team Frugal. Exactly one of those is a good team name.
Which also raises the question of how the ponies would know how to drive if this was their first experience with vehicles, and I actually originally had the challenge be 20 dollars and it took me way too long to realize that should be bits instead and...yeah, honestly this would have worked a lot better as a human story in the real world but ponies were like the only lens through which I knew how to write or do anything creative, especially given the Mane 6 were established characters with personalities and stuff and coming up with my own would be, like, hard work and shit, so yeah. This probably would've been doomed to fail anyway.
And no, I'm not a Lil Dicky fan, I just thought that would be a cute/funny title.
Yeah, this was basically going to be an extension of a Reddit conversation I partook in that I never quite got around to. Whoops.
CONCEPTION: June 2016
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Loyalty, Laughter, Kindness, Honesty, And Generosity
Short Description: What if the other Elements Of Harmony were chosen to lead them all?
Long Description: An anthology-style look as how the series might have progressed if the rest of the Mane 6 had each been chosen in Twilight's place as Celestia's protege, the leader of the Elements Of Harmony, and the eventual Princess Of Friendship.
Cover art by HorseFan999
Honestly I'm just proud of the title of this one. Another one based on a Reddit conversation that never came to pass.
A Nightmare Night You Won't Soon Forget: A Musical Fanfiction
Short Description: Everypony has plans for Nightmare Night. Trixie and Starlight prep a special Nightmare Night show, the CMC stay in an old abandoned manor, and Twilight is enlisted to investigate paranormal happenings. Little do they know how their stories connect...
Long Description: Nightmare Night is fast approaching, and the ponies of Equestria all have plans.
Trixie Lulamoon and Starlight Glimmer are preparing to put on a show of magic the likes of which Equestria has never seen: The Dark And Horrible Trixie's Terrifying Nightmare Night Extravaganza.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders strike a deal to stay in an old, abandoned, likely haunted mansion for the Night.
The Princess Twilight Sparkle and Spike are enlisted to investigate paranormal goings-on in and around Ponyville.
And on this night, where untold horrors lurk and the spirits of the dead lurk closer to the human world than ever, these three parties' stories may be closer entwined than they think...
By far the most recent one here, only being conceived of for the Halloween season if 2017.
And yes, you read that right. "Musical fanfiction". I'm not a musician nor am I friends with any, so this was really more of a hypothetical idea from the star than anything I was planning to put out, especially that year. I only had a vision of one song, and it would be called "Attention One, Attention All", and would be sung by Starlight to introduce Trixie's show. I do not remember any of the lyrics.
