Author: John Perry
Description: From my studies in Equestrian hippology, I present an interview I conducted with famed mare Rainbow Dash regarding Equestrian culture and her response to her popularity amongst the brony community of Earth. It is my hope that this account will offer unique insights into Equestrian society and culture and enlighten readers intrigued by what this world and its inhabitants have to offer us.A Chat with Rainbow Dash
I would like to personally thank those organizations and institutions that put forth the time and resources that enabled me to conduct this research: the North American Institute of Research and Education, Canterlot University, the Celestial Gates Fund, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Additional Tags: academic essay, Hippology, Equestrian culture
38 comments:
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe description is pure win. I lol'd
ReplyDeleteI like the style of this. A lot!
ReplyDeletePlease do more!
So-so.
ReplyDeleteIt's a interesting take on the story, but you seem to put many assumptions in Equestria and Rainbow Dash that... well, can come as weird or patronizing to the views in the community (which your character are representing) and gushing on your on characterization of the show.
The way it was presented seemed rushed, the brony already knowing and transformed. It would have been better if we has shown how he reacted at knowing that Ponies are real, they had the way to travel and how he was adapting to his new body (which must be a freaking out experience, to say the least).
All in all, I would say: take your time, expand more the world and the way of travel, grow the character who is doing the interview and try to give it a more... alien characterization to the Ponies, not only (they are equines that talk) but more Sci-Fi, close but beyond our comprehension. Investigate how the brony community exist, down to the last dust to put a more detailed and fair view if you want the characters to spew their opinions about it.
Also, the gender separation: It need around 20% more cool.
Interestingly done. And I completely agree with Dash on the subject of shipfics. A lot of bronies are horny perverts, and it bugs the hell out of me. And before you ask, yes I'm a guy, yes I'm straight, and no, I don't enjoy perverted stuff.
ReplyDeleteWell-done.
ReplyDeleteThe style fits what you'd read in a journal or an essay, works very well. The exploration of all the technical aspects of Ponyville is really the meat of it, and that's something you have to put the most thought into to engage the reader, to build a whole world: less a short fanfic, more Lord of the Rings.
Complete with links to good RD fics. And bibliography. Oh lawd, that was a very interesting and refreshing read.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you thought things through and delivered your conclusions very smoothly. There are alternatives to your vision, but what you said makes a lot of sense. which was more than enough for me to enjoy this fully.
5/5 stars, good friend, and I'd be delighted to hear more of you. Perhaps more of this? :)
That's awesome.
ReplyDelete@Fire.Esper Oh yeah, careful with printing moral lessons unless they're explicitly stated as belonging to a particular character: people who share your opinions will get them, but the rest will feel insulted or patronized. In general, very bad idea, very common mistake.
ReplyDeleteA very well put to together composition. I once made one similar to it when I took a visit to Gensokyo.
ReplyDeleteStill, my goodness. Rainbow Dash and I share a very similar sexuality, not a care for whether we find a significant other or not, leaving it to fate to decide when we choose to love a person, vaguely bisexual/asexual, and granting no regard to the the so-called essential of life that humans find in marriage/sex:
"'It’s just that…in my culture if you don’t find another person you love within your lifetime, you’re considered something of a failure.'
'Oh,' Dash said, giving me an odd look. 'Well that’s stupid.'"
@Antiguo: I wouldn't want to talk about how freaked out I'd be about visiting Equestria, or how weird it was turning into a pony. It'd only prove that I have no composure and am not very receptive to change; I wouldn't like THAT being the image of myself conveyed to the readers. It might be why he decided to skip over it along with other things. This was about Rainbow Dash more than himself. Target topic takes precedence over details of that sort, in my opinion. The exposition I mentioned on top had a similar "don't ask" attitude to how I managed to get into the fictional land.
>complete
ReplyDeleteHmm... a bit disappointing. This story was good, and showed great potential to become a very interesting series. Oh well.
It was...pretty good, though I didn't agree with some of the portrayal of Equestria, I enjoyed the portrayal of Rainbow Dash, and the style was certainly refreshing. 4/5.
ReplyDelete@bronydash
ReplyDeleteOMG somepony that share my thoughts to...omg im not alone :<
i don't share all this shipping stuff and perverted stuff wtf :<
I for one liked how it was 'in medias res'. It allowed the author to keep to a light and short story (or whatever you wanna call it) with a clear focus.
ReplyDeleteAdding in all the other stuff about reactions and how things happened, etc., would work in a MUCH longer story, and I could see this one being an interlude/side story of that....but this works fine as it is.
Interesting, but somehow boring at the same time.
ReplyDeleteuhm, it's okay. as a written work, it's done in an interesting manner. i actually liked how, uhm, different the style was to most other fics.
ReplyDeletei didn't like how patronizing it seems to be toward humans. for being a pack hunter species that was almost wiped out due to starvation, we've done a pretty impressive job of, well, surviving. and our achievements are not to be scoffed at. we lack magic, we lack wings, we lack the 'ties to the earth' Earth ponies have and yet we've matched or surpassed Equestria. admittedly, that's because Equestria was designed to be slightly anachronistic to us.
sorry, i just get irritated at anti-human sentiment. maybe i'm reading more into this than intended. i do that a lot. sorry. we've done great things, guys, despite our ... more bestial side. be proud of being human.
sorry.
@bronydash
ReplyDeleteAwesome, so I'm not alone :D
As a writer of the odd shipfic, I suppose I kinda have to say that...well...
ReplyDeleteI'm still not seeing what the problem is.
@CoffeeGrunt There is no problem, and don't let anyone convince you otherwise.
ReplyDelete@Minalkra
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think this may be one of the issues I had as well, but I get tired of this crap in general, and the conversion bureau is one of my most hated fics in this fandom, but I don't think this is the place for that >_>
It looks quite professional (and that was the aim, I assume)(Loved the bibliography)but I would say that Equestria would know about the Elements of Harmony.
ReplyDeleteHowever I enjoyed it and would like to see similar interviews with the other mane 6
I know, but these people happily read grimdark, why not shipping? Is love not the logical advancement on friendship, in terms of magic?
ReplyDeleteI mean, I'm not stopping. I'm having craploads of fun an noone can stop me.
I love humanity. We're amazing, live with it. Dear god, shut up about the environment, turning your lightswitches off and driving a Hybrid only make it worse, bronies.
It'll get better. It always gets better.
@CoffeeGrunt Taste isn't about logic, is it? People like different things for different reasons. It's not like you can just go and decide to like or not like something.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone has to like what you like, or dislike what you don't like, couldn't be simpler... But no one's taught that in our schools. In fact, I doubt they teach it in Equestria either. Maybe we could ask?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments, fellows! This one seems to be getting a much more mixed reaction than my last couple of works, which frankly I was kinda expecting.
ReplyDelete@Antiguo:
In this story, I really tried to avoid anything about the author's (my) adaptation to being a pony or living in Equestria, because it just seemed like too much of a self-insert at that point - I really wanted to focus on Dash and the culture here. Plus, I figured people reading this on EqD would already be pretty accepting of the idea of Equestria's existence. :P
@TheDarkFiddler:
I might make sequels to this, "exploring" other aspects of Equestrian culture, but I wanted to see what the reaction to this first one would be.
@Minalkra:
I didn't mean to suggest any kind of anti-human sentiment in this, and I'm surprised it came across that way... I just wanted to emphasize a difference (well, fictional difference) between human culture (fascinated with other cultures) and non-human culture (not fascinated with other cultures). I wasn't trying to place values into that, I was just trying to work in an explanation as to why the cultures remain pretty distinct and separate.
@Brian Johnson:
"but I would say that Equestria would know about the Elements of Harmony."
...Did I suggest they didn't?
@CoffeeGrunt:
I'm just figuring Rainbow Dash isn't a major shipping fan based on her character in the show - I'm not trying to pass judgement on shipping in general here or anything. :)
I really enjoyed the style of this and its strong emphasis on how the two worlds would react to each other. I also thought RBD's opinion and description of relationships in her world was very well thought out. I always got the vibe from the show that the characters (besides Rarity) just don't care about civil unions/marriages. All in all, this was just fun to read. Reminds me of that south park episode where Earth was just a Reality Show for aliens.
ReplyDelete@Brian Johnson:
ReplyDeleteMy apologies, I now understand what you were referring to. In that case, my reasoning is based on the treatment of the mane six in later episodes - for instance, Dash doesn't get any special treatment in the Sonic Rainboom episode and none of the characters get special treatment at the Grand Galloping Gala.
There's a couple possible explanations I can think of for this: one is that Equestrians are aware of the existence of the Elements of Harmony, but don't know the names of the individuals involved (except perhaps for Twilight, since she was the leader in defeating Nightmare Moon).
Another possibility is that it's built into the culture that the individuals themselves would want to be known more for their individual achievements in their chosen fields - hence, Dash would want to be known more for her flight skills than this one-time event involving Nightmare Moon. Same with Applejack and apple growing, Rarity and fashion, etc.
Very good. I'd love to read more like this. The professional writing style was very enjoyable as well. The only correction I'd make is that you spelled the plural of pegasus "pegasus." The plural of pegasus is "pegasi." That aside, I can tell you worked hard on this. I'll keep an eye out for your name in the future.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see more work along these lines, done with the rest of the mane six.
ReplyDeleteI hope we see more of this in the future; got a big kick out of it!
ReplyDelete@John:
ReplyDeleteDashie ain't a big squishy ROMANCE fan, is what- plus, more private things ain't yer business XD
I likewise agree with those sayin' the grimdark stuff seems just as odd as the perverted, besides which at least the pervy stuff KIN be loving, where that grimdark stuff is kinda about bein' hating and it makes me sad that this is where some bronies' hearts live.
But BE that as it may, we're gonna love 'em anyhow and your scientific explorifications ain't no exception, so you just carry on with it, you hear? It's a fine thing you're doin', you keep on with it now.
AJ
Pretty decent and different in a good way.
ReplyDeleteI like how you handled Dash's romantic inclinations. I enjoy shipping in general for the d'awwwww factor but I've always had as head fannon that she's just more focused on her aspirations and not a very romantic person in general.
I would really have preferred the whole thing to be more interview-y and less like a documentary but I understand the interviewer was writing a research paper. not an entertainment article. Still would have liked more Q&A.
Also I think she would have reacted slightly differently based on on the personality you gave her and the nature of Equestria.
1: The shipping and eros surrounding her I see her brushing off as horny males, but no female, regardless of orientation would be completely put out by being considered a sex symbol. Disgust is usually more directed toward individuals who are lusting over you undesirably, but as a general cultural thing females (not exclusively) instinctively like feeling sexy.
2:Also due to the peaceful nature of Equestrian civilization I would say the grimdark stuff should not just be something she doesn't care for, but rather something she is at least a little disturbed by.
@John
ReplyDeleteGotta disagree with you there. I'm pretty sure the reason no one knows the mane 6 are the elements is because no one knows the elements exist. Just like no one knew the Mare in the Moon was real, that Luna was Celestia's sister, etc.
I do not see Celestia wanting the specific details of her sister's return to be widely known.
>“Brad Palomino? Is that a colt or a mare?”
ReplyDelete-I wonder, if by any chance this is the real name of the author of 'this' story ? ;)
>Finally, she looked up at me. “You humans are horny, you know that?”
-...HAH ! :D ...Honestly, I don't think we could answer 'no' to that... but also that humans are by nature very curious.
>“Friend, you’re in a place where mares control the sky, run most of the business, are some of the best fliers, and are the best magicians.
>Colts can have their silly romance.”
-And the army... In the series all (visible) guards appear to be male.
Soooo... it's like females have the 'administration', and males the 'army' ?
(For the most part, at least. There's always some of one side that will do what the other side do.)
>planes? All cooped up in metal tubes with wings attached? That’s boring!
-Clearly, she hasn't heard of the super-sonic jets yet, isn't it ? Like, those who can go at Mach 4-5.
>But this notion has translated into a stereotype among unicorns and Earth ponies of the pegasus as a solitary or independent being, which offers potential answers to some intriguing questions
-And those following ''questions'' are rather interesting, I must say.
So Equestria uses the same calendar as us? I assumed they'd just reached the year 1000.
ReplyDelete@Nulono
ReplyDeleteI think it's a question of convenience, really.
Creating a full calendar would probably be long/hard to do... so, most people go for the *Year 0 = Luna's banishement. So, add 1000.* or *Use our time/calendar, but change (or ponify) some/all of the events, So, add 2000.*
I think the second one is prefered for stories that are more closely related/linked with our level of technology. Like, stories with TVs, and micro-waves, and night-clubs ;).
Eu amoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeletea Rainbow Dash eu amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo amo mesmo mesmo mesmo mesmo mesmo a Rainbow Dash !!!! ♥♥♥♥