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TBD · FiM Minific ·
Organised by RogerDodger
Word limit 400–750
Show rules for this event
Post-Season Party Planning
“And cut! That’s a wrap for the year, everypony!”

A wave of cheering swept around the Ponyville soundstage, and the inhabitants promptly surged forward to clap the director of Friendship is Magic on the back. Once the traditional congratulations had been spread around and most of the actors had headed over to the wrap party, Twilight Sparkle landed in front of the Town Hall set and took a moment to appreciate the relative quiet.

“Hey, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash, detecting said moment of silence and filling it in the way she was accustomed to, dove down out of the rafters of the soundstage and landed solidly to her friend’s side. “Best season ending so far, right?”

“You bet.” Twilight grinned and elbowed Rainbow Dash in the ribs. “And no fair asking me who Scootaloo’s parents are in the season opener next year. I’m not telling.”

“Oh, come on. Just a hint? A tiny little one?” Rainbow huffed and crossed her forelegs while hovering. “I swear you have an in with the writers.”

“You’ll just have to wait until we start shooting again. So…” Twilight looked around, but there was no sign of pink anywhere.

“Pinkie Pie is packing for our trip to Vegas,” said Rainbow Dash. “This year, we’ve got a sure-fire system.”

“I swear the studio just needs to make out your check to the casinos.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I can’t complain about you getting a jump on things because Spike is off to the lava diving championships in Hawaii with Ember in about an hour. Applejack is taking the family up to Montana, while Rarity and Fluttershy will be in Paris by the weekend. Every year once shooting is over, it seems like we all head to the far corners of the world to get as far away from each other as possible.”

“But we always come back.” Rainbow Dash punched Twilight in the shoulder gently. “Even someday once the show is over, we’ll see each other at the cons. Friends forever, and all that. Speaking of which.”

With a flick of the hoof, Rainbow Dash produced three airline tickets. “Ta-da! Trixie taught me that one.”

“Are you taking her to Las Vegas too? Oh. I see.” Twilight pushed away Rainbow Dash’s hoof as she tried to push the ticket into her saddlebag. “No, I can’t. I’ve got a full schedule planned this break, Rainbow. I’m booked for every minute.”

“Oh, come on! That’s all egghead stuff. Come with us to the Dark Side of the Strip and discover your density!” Rainbow added in a low, rasping voice.

“I can’t.” Twilight heaved a breath and got out her cell phone, poking in a quick unlock code. “Look, why don’t you take Trixie? She puts on a good face, but I don’t think she’s got anything scheduled. If you hurry, you can catch her before she makes it to the parking lot. Take her gambling and pranking, and I guarantee you’ll have a blast. I’ll even put up bail if you need it again this year.”

“Really?” Rainbow Dash perked up. “Well… Only if you’re sure you—”

Twilight looked down and checked her phone. “You better hurry if you’re going to catch her. The app says she just left the building.”

“OkbyecatchyoulaterTwi—” By the time Twilight blinked away the dust from Rainbow’s rapid departure, she was long gone.

“And just in time.” A familiar face under a shock of unruly brown mane poked around a nearby collection of props on the soundstage and gave Twilight Sparkle a wink. “All clear for our departure, Miss Sparkle?”

“Yes, Doctor.” Twilight scurried over to the nondescript blue box at the back of the sound stage. and floated several sheets of paper to the stallion standing there. “I made a list of where I’d like to stop off this year again, only this time, I think I’d like to spend a full week at the Library of Alexandria also.”

“No arguments here. Wonderful place, with the right company.” Doctor Whooves gave Twilight a quick peck on the cheek and a mischievous grin. “In return, I think I’d like to show you the Fire Fountains of Reculius Seven. It’s quite a sight. Provided the old girl can still find her way there and get back on time.” He patted the blue box on the side and opened the door for Twilight.

“Thank you, Doctor.” She giggled. “Olly-onze?”

“Allons-y!” he corrected. “Onward, to vacation!”

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#1 ·
· · >>georg
I don't get it. The story starts on a meta angle but ends with Doctor Whooves? What happened? Where is the conflict and the resolution? If you decided to not have one, where is the character piece? Or the prose?

You set up something, the characters being actors and Twi being the Doctor's 'assistant' but didn't use it to actually tell a story. At least, that's what I got. I don't know, I'm confused.

I hope some people would have better things to say.
#2 · 2
· · >>georg
Not a big fan of the swerve here. It feels really out of nowhere and, honestly, I feel doesn't add much to the story, and honestly kinda detracts from the real nice sense of camaraderie you'd been building up, which is a real shame. You had a real good build towards it. Thinking about it, it also kinda detracts a bit from the feeling of soft closure you had. This is the start of a story, not a story in and of itself.

That said, interactions were nice (though you might want to consider varying character personality from actor personality a bit - it is always a nice touch for some mixture there) and, like I said, you were building quite nicely to a real sense of friendship on the job, come what may.
#3 ·
· · >>georg
This one has kind of a weird juxtaposition for me. The setting is obviously different, but the character voices are fairly similar. There's enough differences that I don't really know what to expect, but the piece is too short for me to really establish any expectations, so I just kind of followed it along.

It felt a little bit maid-butlery / infodumping for Twilight to just say what everyone is doing. That said, there were also amusing bits. I liked the 'post bail again this year' bit, particularly.

Also, if Twilight has access to a time machine, I don't see why piddly little things like schedules are such a big deal. Couldn't she basically come back before she left?
#4 · 1
· · >>georg
This is a cute slice of life, and it's well-written and easy to visualize.

Unfortunately, the Twilight in me has questions.

It sounds like the inhabitants of the world are actually ponies. Otherwise, AJ wouldn't have family in Montana, etc. But are they all ponies? Either way, what's the show about, then? I need something that shows me the difference between these two worlds (like Twilight removing her horn and wings or something), or I don't feel like I understand—and thus am not connected—to either of them.

The remaining questions are tiny quibbles. Why is Twilight's time taken up in her journeys? It shouldn't take her any time at all, considering. If she has the power to do that, then why is there a show with presumably fake magic in it? And why is she unable to pronounce a single word in Prench that anypony could do on the first try, especially given that she clearly knows the other character very well?

Just sayin'. :twilightsheepish:
#5 · 3
· · >>CoffeeMinion
Ok, Post-Season Party Planning is mine, and I’ll admit to having popped it together in a fairly limited amount of time, even for a writeoff. It just struck me that the voice actors all go through this about once a year after they get together (some virtually) for several weeks at a time to do their characters, then… poof, off to other places. That’s most of their personal contact, at work or at conventions. So I thought, if FIM were an actual filmed show, what would happen in the off-season? Just a little thing where the ponies are shown after the cameras shut down.

>>Trick_Question >>Caliaponia
“It sounds like the inhabitants of the world are actually ponies.” Well… yes. It is a pony round, after all.

And as anybody who watches Dr. Who understands, just because the TARDIS is supposed to go somewhere at sometime, doesn’t mean that’s where you are going.

>>AndrewRogue
Andrew: Shifting characterizations from show standards is doable (See the Actingverse for excellent examples) but in a short, would chew up most of the word count. So, no.

>>Fenton Fenton: You’re reading too much into it. The story is not in one specific character, but in all of the characters. After all, friendship involves more than one character.
#6 ·
·
>>georg
Dang, I missed this during prelims.

I'd love to see more of this Doctor X Twilight stuff. ^^ This is a tantalizing teaser, and it strikes me as an effective sales pitch for the ship.