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mlplovelight · 2 years

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a group of hearthkin ponies has appeared!

i’ll explain what that is in a sec but first, bcuz this is the first in a long line of posts regarding the supporting cast of lovelight, let me explain the deal with lovelight’s supporting cast in general. this is gonna be a bit of a ramble.

so one of the big problems i’ve always had with writing fim fiction is that fim’s supporting cast is as INCREDIBLE as it is VAST. there are SO MANY characters that are SO GOOD and there are also so many different directions to take many of those characters in. it’s overwhelming!

deciding how to remix fim’s cast to fit my new au was a daunting task, so i eventually decided to just.... not. this is a CLEAN SWEEP BAYBEEEE we are starting completely from scratch, with ZERO characters from the fim show aside from the mane six.

so instead, to fill out our supporting cast, i looked elsewhere.... i looked to.... the TOYLINE. and it turns out there were literally the exact number of toyline specific characters as roles in the plot that i needed to fill. clearly destiny at work.

so i’ve remixed characters exclusive to the g4 toyline and redesigned them using pony town to boot! so let’s talk about ‘em a little bit.

these characters will get their own individual profiles slowly as they’re introduced in the story proper, but for now these group pics are just to show off my fun redesigns and as a springboard to talk about the different pony types.

specifically, in lovelight modern equestria is separated into the realms of the earth ponies, the pegasi, and the unicorns. they don’t mix. and each of those pony types are further broken down into sub-types, or “kins”, that are defined by how they manifest their magic. different kins have their own cultures, and relationships between different kin cultures in general vary depending on the cultures at hoof.

theoretically, any pony can be any kin, it’s not intrinsically tied to any specific pony type. a pony could even potentially change kins during their lifetime, tho that would be comparable in difficulty to learning like a brand new language from scratch, and a pony can only have one active kin at a time.....

or can they??

there are art and writing, legends, from old equestria that depict enormous magical beings with the wings of pegasi and the horns of unicorns. these alicorns were said to have been masters of ALL kin magicks..... but such things are probably just the realm of fantasy.

earth pony magic is derived from EMOTION, and hearthkin ponies' magic is powered by their OWN emotions; they often use personal treasures that evoke strong nostalgia or pride as mediums that allow them to focus and harness their magic.

hearthkin culture is big on family and legacy, and they are often the vanguards of archaeological movements surrounding old equestria.

applejack is a hearthkin pony! and this cultural focus on family is a big part of why she's obsessed with learning the history of the mysterious apple clan.

applejack’s emotional disorder makes her struggle to use her magic, so she prefers using custom magitech she's built out of scrap.

also honeybelle has the same color scheme of old school taco bell branding, which means she is my favorite pony of all time.

#lovelight #ramble posting #lore posting #mlp #fim #g4 #sweetcream scoops #berryshine #cherry spices #daisy dreams #firecracker burst #honeybelle

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mlplovelight · 2 years

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Ch. 6 - Ponyville

“So what do you think of Ponyville, TWILIGHT SPARKLE?”

Applejack asks you this as soon as you reach the town gates, so all you really have to say is:

“It sure has buildings.”

“Hehe, fair,” Applejack chuckles.

“Give her a break, Applejack,” Sweetcream Scoops scoffs and taps Applejack on the shoulder as she passes by. “Let her have a minute before you start asking questions.”

“Sorry, I just get excited,” Applejack rubs the back of her neck and Sweetcream Scoops rolls her eyes with a weird smile on her face.

While Sweetcream Scoops and Berryshine say their goodbyes to Applejack before taking off to wherever they’re off to, you decide to take stock of this Ponyville real quick, and yea it sure does have some buildings alright.

There’s a two-story shop on your right hoof side just as you walk through the town gate, you can tell cuz it says ‘shop’ on the sign, and even that building standing right next to you feels miniscule compared to the crumbling spires and castles of Old Equestria that you’re familiar with.

In fact, the whole town feels tiny. You can see another gate leading OUT of town off in the distance, even though you just got here! it almost feels more like a pitstop than a town, with only a small handful of buildings, and just a few ponies walking to and fro across its dirt roads.

What’s weird though is that every time two ponies cross each other in the road, they stop to say hello or even engage in full conversation with each other, some of them even meeting at a crossroad and then walking together the rest of their way. You certainly hope you aren’t expected to be that friendly, that sounds like a nightmare.

As long as no one perceives you, you’ll be good.

“Howdy, stranger!” a woman approaches you from behind and you jump literally ten feet in the air with a yelp. Well not literally ten feet, but you do literally jump. “Oh, uh, sorry! Didn’t mean to startle you!”

The woman is a very purple pony, with soft hair curled around her face like a comfy pillow, which is fitting because she looks half-asleep, despite her seemingly friendly demeanor. No wonder she’s tired though, she’s dragging a suitcase behind her that’s practically as big as her whole body is.

“Daisy Dreams!” Applejack says, grabbing Daisy Dreams’ attention and rescuing you from a potential social situation. You take the save with grace and hide behind Applejack. “It’s been a while! What brings you to town?”

“Just business as usual,” Daisy Dreams chuckles. “Gotta lug some merchandise for a friend of mine in town, you know how it is.”

“Always on the go, Daisy,” Applejack says with a smile. “You oughtta relax sometime, take a moment to smell the flowers.”

“That’s rich coming from you, Applejack,” Daisy Dreams sticks out her tongue. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were practically fused to your shop.”

“I ain’t in the shop now, am I?” Applejack crosses her forelegs and tilts her head up. She’s affecting a powerfully smug posture, you’re pretty impressed.

“Yeah? I saw you just got back in town yourself,” Daisy Dreams gives a very sinister and evil smirk. “Where ya headed?”

“I mean, I’m goin’ back to the shop NOW, yeah,” Applejack stammers and kicks her hoof across the dirt. You are no longer impressed. “But I’ll have you know I’m plannin’ a big expedition!”

“No kidding!” Daisy Dreams says. “You’ll have to tell me all about it when I’m not lugging so much cargo.”

“Will do!” Applejack nods her head. “Pleasure chattin’ with ya, Daisy Dreams!”

“You as well, Applejack,” Daisy Dreams returns Applejack’s nod, and then turns her attention to you, and while you look away to avert her gaze, you wish you had some kind of spell that would make anyone who looks at you turn to stone medusa style. “And welcome to Ponyville, stranger!”

The woman trots off and you curl your nose up in contempt.

“Is everypony in this town so FRIENDLY?” you ask irritably.

“Pretty much,” Applejack laughs. She moves to touch your shoulder, but backs off after you recoil. “Stick with me though, I’ll take the brunt of the conversations.”

“If I’m being honest,” you say sternly, “I’d rather just go to the library and be left in peace.”

“Hm, okay that’s fair,” Applejack sighs and hangs her head. What’s her problem? She perks up right afterward and points into town with her hoof. “It’s on the far side of town, up the hill on yer right over there. Building with a red roof, you see it?”

“I do,” you say, and begin to trot off before looking back at Applejack. She immediately darts her eyes someplace else as you look toward her. Again, what is her deal? She’s so weird, you don’t understand her at all.

You know if Emerald Ray heard you say that, she’d be all ‘well maybe you should get to know her better’. Fussy, pestering ghost.

Ughhhh, but you DID promise her that you’d try to get along, and you also told Applejack you’d let her give you the tour, so…

“But first, you promised me a tour,” you say, barely exerting the will power to not grit your teeth.

“I did!” Applejack’s whole posture stands up straight, like she was just possessed or something. “You really wanna take the tour?”

“Whatever, just show me around,” you sigh, eager to get on with this before you change your mind and chicken out. “But I’m limiting us to ONE random conversation with a stranger. If a second pony tries to talk to us, I’m booking it to the library.”

“Hehe, ‘booking’ it, that was nice,” Applejack laughs. You didn’t intend that pun at all, and hearing Applejack’s laughter at your unintentional joke makes you feel weird. Your cheeks get all hot, and you feel like something is going on with your stomach. But it’s… nice. It feels good to get praised.

“Yes, well,” you say sharply, drawing yourself up, “I am a master at many things, including comedy.”

Applejack guides you on the tour and quite frankly there isn’t a lot to see; there’s the library, obviously, a couple of private homes, a sweet shop, the scrap shop, and the general goods store. Oh, and a couple community centers.

What is odd to you is the ‘couple of private homes’; you would’ve thought a town would have more buildings for people to live in, but apparently most of these buildings were erected a long time ago, and building more has just never been in the cards for the ponies who live here, so most of them sleep under the stars.

It strikes you as quaint, and all too familiar. You have no idea when the last time you slept in a real bed was, probably not since you were a child but all your memories of childhood are fuzzy and\or horrifying so you’re not really sure.

The only building Applejack actually takes you inside is the sweets shop, where a vibrant cream-colored pony is standing behind the desk. She gasps when she sees Applejack and comes out to greet her, and you slouch and groan and brace yourself for another one of these awkward conversations.

“Applejack, how the heck are ya!” the pony says, grabbing Applejack’s hoof and shaking it vigorously.

“Pleased as punch, Honeybelle!” Applejack grins ear to ear, she really must be as pleased as she says. “How ‘bout yourself? Fancy seein’ you in town!”

“Yeah, I’m taking over the shop for Ribbon Heart while she’s out,” Honeybelle shrugs. “You know I hate working hard, but hey a friend’s a friend, right?”

“Yep,” Applejack chuckles. “Is Ribbon Heart already out? I thought she was leavin’ tomorrow.”

“Nope, she just took off this morning,” Honeybelle says, and you are SO LOST. “Probably gonna be a while, y’know? The rock farm is pretty far away.”

“True,” Applejack sighs. “Dang, wish I’d gotten a chance to see her off.”

“Maybe she’ll bring you back a souvenir,” Honeybelle shrugs.

“Like a rock?” Applejack says with a devilish smirk.

“Like a maaaaagic rock!” Honeybelle says with a life. “C’mon in here, girl! Make yourself at home!”

“Maybe later,” Applejack says, “I promised my new friend the tour, so I only popped my head in to say hi.”

“Oh, I didn’t even see you there!” Honeybelle gasps, and as she reaches for your hoof, you jump back and hiss.

“Good,” you say firmly. “Keep it that way.”

“Uhhhh,” Honeybelle narrows her eyes, then arches an eyebrow and looks at Applejack.

“Don’t mind her,” Applejack says quickly. “We’ve been on the road a while, nerves are frazzled.”

“That right? Really take you ‘a while’ to get to the scrap meet and back?” Honeybelle scoffs, but before Applejack can mount a retort, Honeybelle just laughs. “Whatever, it’s no big deal. Feel free to swing by anytime, I’ll be phoning it in here all day!”

“Will do, Honeybelle,” Applejack smiles. “Pleasure seein’ you.”

“You too, sweetheart!” Honeybelle gives a big smile and a wave as Applejack heads out the door with you in tow.

“Alright that was the one conversation I promised,” you grumble. “I’m heading to the library.”

“Sure,” Applejack smiles at you and nods affirmatively. Very casual, very professional. You appreciate that kind of thing. Not everything has to be a whole conversation. “I’ll be at the shop if you need anything. Er, MY shop, the scrap shop. Not the general goods store, it has the ‘shop’ sign outside so—uh, y’know, it might be confusing.”

You are trying really hard not to laugh. She almost gives you a run for your money in the ‘dumb awkward girl’ competition.

“So you sell the scrap you take from Old Equestria?” you ask, and honestly you’re not even sure why you did that, what about going to the library? Well, you’re curious so that’s why you asked, but still that’s a weird thing to do! You can’t just be asking people things!

“Mhm,” Applejack says. “I take the stuff that’s old and broken from the ruins, and I make it new again. And if I can’t figure out what somethin’ used to be, or if it’s way too banged up to go back to what it used to be, I make somethin’ entirely new.

“Ponies come to my shop and they ask for this or that thing, sometimes knick-knacks, sometimes tools, and if I have that thing, I give it to ‘em! If I don’t have it, I tell ‘em I can go get it, and then I do! Simple as.”

“That’s…” you can feel yourself about to say something really stupid and there’s a part of you SCREAMING at yourself not to finish that sentence, but your dumb horse lips just move of their own volition and cringe sound comes out of your fail mouth. “…really cool!”

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHY DID YOU SAY THAT, SHE’S GONNA THINK YOU’RE A LOSER! YOU CAN’T JUST BE LIKE ‘thAT’s rEALly COOoL’, you hear that?? YOU HEAR THAT MOCKING TONE??? THAT’S WHAT YOU SOUND LIKE.

“Thanks!” Applejack says, and she has a big smile on her face. A big pity smile cuz she doesn’t want you to know just how stupid she thinks you are. “You’re welcome to swing by, check it out if you’d like.”

DO NOT SAY YES. YOU WILL BE TRAPPED IN A BUILDING WITH A CUTE GIRL SURROUNDED BY COOL STUFF SHE MADE AND YOU’RE GONNA FEEL COMPELLED TO HAVE OPINIONS ABOUT IT. DON’T DO IT. DON’T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT—

“Yeah, I’d like that!” you blurt out FOOLISHLY.

WHYYYYYYYYY DID YOU SAAAAAYYYYYYY THAAAAAAAAAAAT???????????

“Awesome!” Applejack jumps up and whinnies, before taking off and beckoning you to follow. “C’mon, it’s right this way!”

“Yeah,” you say awkwardly, “I’m right behind you.”

You really are the stupidest pony who’s ever lived, you know that?

Of course you do. HOWEVER!

Maybe just this once you can let yourself be a little stupid.

#lovelight #mlp #g4 #fim #fanfic #story posting #twilight sparkle #applejack #daisy dreams #honeybelle #sweetcream scoops

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