At first, the addition of magic to the world didn't change much at Crystal Prep High School beyond extending the "no running in the hallways" rule to include flying. Then Twilight Sparkle transferred to Canterlot High, and she seemed to take most of Principal Cinch's patience with her. Officially, there were no other policy changes. Unofficially, Cinch cracked down on any overt magical displays or other acknowledgements of the changed world with enough menacing disapproval to cow the entire student body.
Fortunately, Cinch's own transformation made it easy to hear her coming, which meant that Sugarcoat felt entirely safe as she approached the school's materials lab. No telltale fingertip-on-wineglass sound that came with the principal gritting her teeth, nor the deep temple-bell resonance of her stomping footsteps. No, the only risk here was social.
Sugarcoat took a deep breath and opened the door, revealing half a dozen students grouped around four 3D printers. The fabrication club had been rather low in Crystal Prep's savage social hierarchy before the change. They were on the rise now, but judging by their wide eyes and dropped jaws, they'd never had a client as high-profile as her, one of the school's top students.
Now one step closer to the top...
She channeled the stray thought into her scowl. "You know why I'm here."
The ringleader, a senior boy with a forehead gem and a sad attempt at a beard, recovered first. "Cheapest ones are ten bucks."
"I'll give you three."
He tried to match her scowl. "This is non-negotiable."
Sugarcoat crossed her arms and took a deep breath. "Given how much of your merchandise Cinch has confiscated over the past few weeks, I'm amazed she hasn't already found the source. We all know it's only a matter of time. We also all know the cost of the materials. If I were you, I'd accept any price offered, because when Cinch finds out you've made a black market using school equipment and selling those, you'll definitely never make another sale." She drew out the silence just long enough before adding, "Of course, that will be the least of your worries."
The lackeys glanced among themselves, shuffling uncertainly. One of them said, "She has a point, Demand Curve."
Demand Curve gritted his teeth. "Fine. Seven dollars."
"Three."
"Six."
"Three."
Demand Curve screwed up his face and clenched his fists, but sagged. "Fine."
Money and merchandise changed hands. As Sugarcoat left the lab, she said, "It was an unnecessary hassle doing business with you."
Sugarcoat sat on her bed and frowned at the pendant in her hand. It was pretty crude, a quick-and-dirty job that had a rather pixelated look along the design's curves. Still, it was what she expected for what she paid.
She took a deep breath, shut her eyes, bowed her head, and gripped the thing tightly, enlarged fingernails clicking together in a way she still wasn't wholly used to. "I don't know if you want some nicer representation of your icon or if I need to be sincere about this. But I don't do reverence, and I don't think you want any. Besides, if this doesn't work, I'll just talk to you in person. You're not hard to find. The point is that we need to talk about Twilight."
"I'm listening."
Sugarcoat's eyes snapped open. She managed to keep herself from flinching away from the other girl suddenly standing before her, but she couldn't restrain her tongue. "You really need to work on your entrances."
Sunset Shimmer smirked. "Don't worry, I am." She looked at Sugarcoat's hands and the two-toned sun pendant within, her expression falling to a frown. "You were right, by the way. I'm not really comfortable with the whole 'divinity' thing."
"Answering prayers doesn't help."
"I don't plan on making a habit out of it." Sunset's smirk returned. "Still, based on my experience, that makes me stand out from most of this world's gods."
Sugarcoat nodded. "Valid point."
"So, what's this about Twilight?"
"I…" Sugarcoat's eyes widened. For the first time in her life, she found she couldn't say what she felt. "Is she happy?"
Sunset stared at her for a moment, her expression unreadable. "She is. Would you like to see her sometime?"
"That wouldn't be a good idea." The words came flooding back before Sugarcoat realized. She certainly couldn't stop them. "Crystal Prep is a toxic cesspool for her and anyone else who isn't an a hypercompetitive social barracuda. I was the closest thing she had to a friend there, or maybe the furthest. At least most people just treated her like she wasn't there out of jealous resentment. Lemon Zest even tried to be nice whenever she remembered there was a world outside of her headphones. But I just blasted Twilight with the same unvarnished truth I do everyone else. I'd hoped it... That she..." Words failed Sugarcoat again. She bowed her head, wrapping her arms wrapped around herself. "Long story short, I suck and she's better off at CHS."
A hand on her shoulder made her look up into Sunset's sympathetic smile. "Don't you think you're giving yourself too little credit?"
Sugarcoat shrugged off both the gesture and the supposition. "I don't pull any more punches with myself than I do with anyone else. Besides, after hearing that, do you really think I'm being uncharitable? Imagine running into that wall of text every day for the past few years. If Twilight's happy now, that means she has new friends. Better friends. Actual friends."
"You care about her happiness enough that you prayed to a god you don't believe in. I'd say that's a good sign."
Sugarcoat scowled. "What happened to not being comfortable with divinity?"
Sunset shrugged. "I'm not, but that is what you did from your own perspective."
After a moment, Sugarcoat gave a shallow nod. "Point made."
"I do think it would be good for you to see Twilight again. Get some closure, if nothing else."
Sugarcoat looked everywhere but into Sunset's eyes. Finally, she said, "I'll think about it."
"That's all I ask." With that, Sunset vanished, leaving Sugarcoat alone with her thoughts, looking at the phone on her nightstand. After what felt like an eternity, she picked it up.
After a few seconds of a far too loud ringback tone, a raspy voice answered her at the volume that had put the rasp in it. "What's up, Sugarbomb?"
Sugarcoat rolled her eyes, already holding her phone a few inches from her ear. "I've decided to go visit Twilight Sparkle at Canterlot High. I'd like some moral support, for lack of a better phrase."
"Cool. I'll see if the rest of the Ef-Gee team's interested."
Sugarcoat took a moment to translate Lemon Zest to Wranglish. "We don't even know if there's even going to be a Friendship Games this year, much less whether or not we're on the team."
Lemon made a flatulent noise. "Dude, have you even seen Cinch lately? Far as she's concerned, it's the only way to even start making up for a CHS student becoming God. There's so going to be a Friendship Games."
"Our school is messed up in too many ways to count."
"Plus, all the academic and athletic stats are publicly viewable. Y'know, so we all know who to resent most and stuff."
Sugarcoat shook her head. "It just keeps piling on, doesn't it?"
"The batshit pile does indeed not stop from getting taller," Lemon Zest said solemnly. "Point is, you, me, and three other girls—woulda been four with Twilight, woo double X—have all pretty much clinched positions on the team. I know all three of 'em, so I can ask without it being all weird and blathery-offensive like if you did."
"That was pretty 'blathery-offensive' in and of itself."
"This is true. You wanna try?"
Sugarcoat sighed. "No, you're completely right about my lack of anything resembling diplomatic skills. And I would appreciate you seeing if any of them are interested. Does Twilight know any of them?"
"Eh, kinda? Thing about a girl with her own freakin' lab to herself is she don't socialize much with anyone who doesn't come to her first, and that's pretty much just you, me, and Dean Cadence. So, when we doin' this?"
"I..." Sugarcoat's fingers drummed against her phone for a moment. "I haven't actually called Twilight yet."
"Well, get on it. No one likes the whole blushy, fidgety, 'notice me senpai' thing."
"There are times when I just have to pretend I understand you."
"Qarfleblurn!"
"Precisely. Talk to you tomorrow, Lemon Zest." Sugarcoat hung up, then stared at her phone and thought for a long stretch. Finally, she started composing a text message.
The next day, few students trickled out of Crystal Prep when the final bell rang. Most had transcript-padding extracurricular activities of one form or another. Sugarcoat was content to wait by her motorcycle until Lemon Zest walked up to it.
Sugarcoat raised an eyebrow. "You didn't bring anyone."
"Well..."
—————
Indigo Zap looked down upon her subjects from on high, the whistle in her mouth like the trumpet of a vengeful angel. This soccer team would be victorious, especially against Canterlot High.
"Yo, Zip Zap Zoodlebap! You wanna go see Twilight Sparkle?"
Indigo glanced at the side of the field and saw Lemon Zest waving up at her. She allowed herself to descend, though she touched not the base earth. "Let me get this straight," she said. "The Friendship Games are in a few weeks, and you want me to go to the enemy school to see the traitor."
Lemon beamed. "Yup."
"Not happening." Indigo's attention snapped to the field. The whistle rang out as she surged towards the offending defender. "I saw that, Frosty Orange! Branches of the Tree, are you even trying?"
—————
Sunny Flare hummed to herself as she considered the set design for the upcoming spring musical, walking from one side of the main auditorium to the other. She tsked to herself. "No, no, the blocking will never work that way." Her spellgem lit up, and with it a few select pieces of scenery, guided by her sweeping motions.
"So do you have to do the gestures or what?" a voice said from behind her.
"It helps my concentration, much like you aren't." Sunny released the spell and turned to face her unwelcome guest. "What do you want, Lemon Zest?"
"Well, Flare Bear, me and Sugarcoat are gonna go see how Twilight's doin'." Lemon grinned and leaned in close. "You in?"
"Are you going to her house?"
Lemon Zest shook her head. "CHS. We're meetin' her friends there, and since they're her friends, I figure they probably won't throw eggs at us."
Sunny blinked. "Why would they throw eggs at you?"
Lemon shrugged. "If I went to Canterlot High and I saw Crystal Prep kids, I know I'd throw eggs at 'em."
"Where would you even—" Sunny shook her head. "This entire conversation is moronic." She made a shooing motion. "Go slumming all you like. I have a lot of work to do for this performance."
"Cool." Lemon gave a thumbs up as she moved towards the main doors. "Break them legs!"
—————
Sour Sweet walked out of the girls' locker room, refreshed from archery practice and in a relatively good mood.
Said mood was sent crashing down by a hard slap on the back and a cry of "What it is, my citric sister from another mister?"
Sour squeaked, her wings flaring out for a moment before she turned to the annoyance. "Lemon Zest, please do us all a favor AND NEVER SAY THAT AGAIN."
Lemon shrugged. "No promises. Wanna go visit Twilight?"
"Oh sure, I'd absolutely love to!" Sour followed the saccharine proclamation with a flat look.
"Uh, I dunno if we actually have mind readers at this school now, but I ain't one of 'em."
Sour sighed and facepalmed, letting her hand drag over her face before saying in a measured tone, "I'd literally rather drink bleach."
Lemon nodded. "Got it."
—————
"Yeah, coulda gone better. Kinda forgot that Twilight was like the one student here who wasn't a raging bitch."
Sugarcoat considered this for a moment. "How?"
Lemon shrugged. "Wishful thinking, mostly. So, we goin' or what?"
"Yes." Sugarcoat got on her bike and offered Lemon a spare helmet. "I'm actually kind of glad none of them said yes; we'd have had to take the bus. This will be easier. Hop on."
"Aw yeah, this is gonna be awesome." Lemon sat behind Sugarcoat and gave an appreciative coo. "Oh, this baby likes you."
Sugarcoat nodded. Since the change, her bike's gas mileage had gone up, the mysterious rattle had gone away, and when the engine purred under her, it seemed like more than a figure of speech. She'd never had to charge her phone since, either. "Hold on tight. It hasn't gotten to know you yet."
Lemon wrapped her arms around Sugarcoat's waist. "Lead on, captain."
Sugarcoat revved the engine, unable to keep a small smile off her lips.
Even knowing that it was where the universe changed forever, Canterlot High still looked unimpressive to Sugarcoat, little more than a pale reflection of Crystal Prep. Given what had happened here, she wondered how much of that impression was ingrained propaganda.
She shuddered as she came to a conclusion.
"Everything okay?"
"Just took a look at myself. Too long. Not nearly long enough."
"Yeah, well save the quest of self-discovery for after we see Twilight. Oh! I see her!" Lemon Zest jumped up and down, shouting "YO! SPARKLEBUTT! OVER HERE!"
Even from the parking lot, Sugarcoat could see Twilight cringe by the school statue. She just rolled her eyes and walked towards her.
Lemon fell into step beside her. "Gotta ruin all my fun, don't you?" she said with a smirk.
"The way you define it? Yes."
Twilight was wearing a rather nice lavender-on-purple outfit and fidgeting with her hair. The girl beside her took a step forward as the Crystal Prep students approached. Twilight held out a hand in front of her, saying, "It's okay, Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow, suitably named, went back to Twilight's side. "If you say so."
"Sugarcoat, Lemon Zest, this is Rainbow Dash."
Sugarcoat nodded. "I gathered as much."
"Nice to meet ya!" Lemon held out her fist.
Rainbow looked at it like it was dipped in sewage before giving a reluctant bump. "I guess."
"Still, I thought Twilight had made a whole bunch of friends." Lemon looked around. "Where are the others?"
"Most of them are in their clubs," said Twilight, "and Pinkie Pie is—"
"SURPRISE!"
"AHH!" Lemon reflexively rammed her elbow into the shouter behind her.
Sugarcoat turned to follow the pink body spin and skid across Canterlot High's front lawn. Finally, it slid to a halt belly-up, gave a woozy thumbs-up, and called out, "I'm okay!"
"Rainbow, please!" Sugarcoat turned back to see Twilight holding back Rainbow Dash both physically and magically, the other girl's light wings spread and struggling along with the rest of her as Lemon Zest backed away. "She didn't mean it! PE at Crystal Prep is basically combat training!"
Rainbow blinked, no longer struggling. "It is?"
Sugarcoat, Lemon, and Twilight all nodded.
Rainbow squirmed. "You're putting me in an uncomfortable place, Twi. I kinda want to say something nice about Crystal Prep."
Lemon burst out laughing and clapped Sugarcoat on the shoulder. "It's fantastic! She's like if you and Indigo had some weird magic lesbian baby." She turned to Twilight. "Hey, are magic lesbian babies a thing now?"
"I... what?"
"I'll take that as a 'maybe.'"
"I like her," Pinkie Pie said from Twilight's other side.
Sugarcoat looked around the lawn, then back to Pinkie. "When did you get there?"
"You learn not to ask that kind of thing about Pinkie." Twilight shuddered. "At least, not without proper safety gear."
"So," said Rainbow, wings still spread, the better to loom over the Crystal Prep students from midair, "why did you guys come, anyway?"
Sugarcoat met her gaze evenly. "I—"
"Isn't it obvious, Dashie?" said Pinkie. "They're here to see how their friend's doing."
"Sort of." All eyes turned to the front doors, where Sunset Shimmer had spoken.
Lemon Zest waved. "Hi, God."
Sunset scowled. "I'm not a god."
"Please, you are totes a god. You are so totes a god, you're, like, duffel bags a god. Your godhood isn't even a carry-on; you've got to leave that shit when you check in and wait an hour at baggage claim to pick it up again, praying to your own luggage that it didn't end up in anomph mphmph. Mph mphph..."
Sugarcoat sighed, her hand covering Lemon Zest's mouth. "This is why it's a bad idea to let her go without headphones for more than ten minutes. She starts trying to think."
Lemon leaned her head back. "Love ya, Sugar."
"We barely tolerate each other."
"Nuh uh. You barely tolerate me. I think you're hilarious."
Sugarcoat rolled her eyes. "Why did I even bring you along?"
"Aside from needing someone with a filter? 'Cause you'd feel kinda pathetic if you went all the way out here alone just to talk to your girlcrush." Lemon gasped. "Oh snap! Did I just steal your brutal hones— Oof!" She crumpled around Sugarcoat's fist.
The Canterlot girls all gasped. "Sugarcoat!" cried Twilight.
"Nah," wheezed Lemon Zest, staggering backwards. "It's cool. I deserved that."
Sugarcoat helped support her as she got her breath back. "No. You didn't. I overreacted and—"
"Sugar. Seriously. It's cool." Lemon nodded towards the others. "Besides, cat's outta the bag."
"I... I suppose it is." Sugarcoat turned to a slack-jawed Twilight and took a deep breath. "I..." She shut her eyes for a moment. I love you. I care for you. I want you to be happy. Pretty words, yes, but they jammed in her throat every time she tried to force them out. If she was going to do this, she had to do it her way. "Despite my near-constant verbal abuse, I really do admire you."
"I— You—" Twilight's mouth worked silently for a few moments before she said, "How so?"
"It comes down to your staggering intellect. Smart as you are, you could have, should have taken the Macavallan meritocracy of Crystal Prep by storm. But you took one look at all of the politicking, the posturing, the pettiness, and you decided none of it was worth the struggle. You just kept out of it. You even became the protege of the one notable faculty member of what was until recently our most laughable rival."
"Hey!" cried Rainbow.
Sugarcoat raised an eyebrow. "I did say 'until recently.'"
"Roll with it," said Lemon. "That's the closest thing you'll get to an apology."
Dash glowered, but Twilight's hand on her shoulder made her expression soften. "Please, Sugarcoat," said Twilight, "go on."
"That's what impressed me the most about you. You could've practically ruled Crystal Prep, and you decided you didn't want it. You even left the school entirely. I can't think of anyone else with that kind of strength of character. Not even myself."
"Wow. I... Uh..." Twilight bit her lip. "Well—"
Sugarcoat held out a hand. "Don't. I know you're not attracted to me. How could you be? I was probably one of the primary motivations for distancing yourself from the rest of the student body. I just wanted to get this off my chest." She hazarded a thin smile. "I actually do feel better. Sunset was right. Besides, we all know she's a better match for you."
Everyone turned to Sunset, who was quickly reddening. "Uh... Hey! I think I hear someone invoking my name to do something terrible. I should go check on that." Her body sublimated into orange smoke, which quickly vanished in an unfelt breeze.
Twilight ran after the dust, scowling. "Oh no, you're not just—" She vanished in a burst of light.
The other girls shifted awkwardly. Lemon Zest coughed.
"So," said Pinkie, "wanna hang out?"
Dash gaped at her. "Pinkie!"
"Come on, Dashie. Don't think of them as Shadowbolts. Think of them as people!"
"Well..." Dash shrugged. "Eh, sure, I guess."
"I'd love to," said Lemon. "You guys haven't thrown one egg at me yet. Sugar, you in?"
"I just poured my heart out to my crush, who then folded space to get away from me." Sugarcoat took a deep breath. "We are getting ice cream."
Lemon Zest put an arm around her shoulders. "Fuck yes, we are getting ice cream."
Magic girl angst. Gotta love it.
That was...fun. Lemon Zest was a pure joy this entire chapter, and nearly every bit of her dialogue made me smile to outright laugh-particular at the reactions everyone has to her. And Sugarcoat's crush angst was...interesting to witness, to say the least, and the ending really ties it all together wonderfully. Especially Lemon's final line.
Human twilight is all of the adorkable of pony Twilight mixed with fingers, more adorkable and a cute little nose. That's why.
It was during this ice cream social that Criffleball was invented.
That was really very sweet. Some extra characterization of the Crystal Prep Six is always welcome, and Sugarcoat (is best crystal person) with a crush is adorable.
3d-printed Sunset Shimmer religious icons. Huh
YAY! More Oversaturated-verse goodness! The only thing better than that would be EVEN MORE Oversaturated-verse stories! And also more about Ditzy Planeswalker, but STILL!
Also, you've achieved the impossible and made me accept the word "totes" in a sentence, even to the point of laughing heartily at said sentence. "Duffle bags a God,"
This is supposed to be about Sugarcoat soul searching and hashing things out with Twilight...
But Lemon Zest was so damn good.
Well, Sugarcoat was pretty damn good too.
Great fun, thanks for letting me lend a limb n_n You know you have to write more of this now, right?
I really liked how the group interaction feels at the end. You should continue to have stories pairing these characters together. Pinkie, Dash, Sugarcoat, and Lemon Zest are fun together and I can see some really fun situations that they can play off of each other very well.
This was really interesting. I like what you did with Sugarcoat, and I feel really bad for her at the end. Still, at least she got a little closure.
From the sound of it (pun most certainly intended!), Principal Cinch has been turned into a crystal
ponyperson.This reminded me of Better Late Than Never, too, but it's clearly a story of its own. I'd love to see you continue on this track!
Don't take it personally, Sugarcoat. I think that Twilight needs to yell at Sunset a while for playing the Yenta; it says nothing about you and everything about their... er... problematic relationship.
After she's told off Sunset for her plotting, then she will try to respond to your feelings. She will likely do this by babbling, poor attempts at avoidance and badly-botched attempts to try to reason her way out of an emotional tangle for which she lacks the maturity to handle. She'll end up nervously and increasinly frantically telling you why it can't happen even though you're smart and pretty and cool and OhmysweetSunsetIdidn'tmeantosaythatloud!!!
Good job, FoME! I think that you did a good job of catching the pre-FG personalities of the Shadowbolts (as best as we can tell from toys and pitifully minimal on-screen characterisation).
7447022
Sugarcoat doesn't, but it's hard for anyone to enjoy their own angst. Lemon Zest certainly got a kick out of it, though.
7447111
That could have something to do with it, yes.
7447167
I'm tempted to put that M. A. Larson "CANON" reaction image here. Still undecided on it, but tempted.
7447175
Sunset's cutie mark doesn't print as clean as, say, a crucifix, but the demand is very high and Crystal Prep has no shortage of enterprising and ambitious students who can capitalize on it.
And really, with a pun that good, I had to use it.
7447220
That bit was one of the first concrete pieces I wrote after deciding to expand the original snippet. I'm rather proud of it.
7447264
Lemon Zest does have a tendency to steal the show, as one would expect when she's basically fanon Vinyl Scratch.
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Of course, especially given all of the allusions to the Friendship Games.
7447833 7448058 7448592
I'll definitely explore their group dynamic further in the future. It'll also be quite fun to bring more of their friends (or, in the case of the Shadowbolts, acquaintances) into the fold.
7448845
It's that "pre-FG" rider that was especially interesting and challenging. This is before they decide to band together and start pulling people out of spacial rifts, so I had to work backwards from what little we knew. It helped to consider their counterparts and the ways they twist the Elements. Sugarcoat is Blunt Honesty, Lemon Zest is Inappropriate Laughter, Indigo Zap is Blind Loyalty, and so forth.
As for the Sugarset Twiangle, the dynamic you describe actually applies more to Sunset "Unresolved Princess Issues" Shimmer, who was been avoiding serious conversations on this specific subject.
7448950
Speaking of great puns, yesterday Tabitha St. Germain retweeted this:
pbs.twimg.com/media/Co0diN4UMAAYErD.jpg
7448988
Oh dear God; just by getting that, I've proven how old I am!
7449196
I was born twenty years after Hair premiered and I still got it. (Though I did have to look up where it's from. )
Will there be a sequel, and I like to see Sugar Coat and Lemon Zest transfer to Canterlot High, they be far happier there then anywhere else.
Well this was fun and random.
Don't worry Sugar, you and LZ can go try making magic babies together!
persephonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ice_cream_fuck_yeah.jpg
Yes yes yes my favorite parallel pony universe makes a return and it is gloooorious! Also, I'm annoyed that I completely failed to discover that there's a group for this until, like, right now.
Ooooooooh. That's... interesting. Did I miss a detail in Oversaturation, or is this an earth pony power?
Well now, that's an earth pony power. Ouch!
Well, not in this universe.
...right?
7452689
Well, better late than never. Be sure to check out Group Precipitation. As the title implies, it's an anyone-can-submit setup, similar to FiO: Tiny Morsels of Satisfaction.
Until I published this story, this was an All There in the Manual detail mentioned only in the group forum.
Ha! The Petriculture Cycle reference was entirely unintentional, which actually makes me even happier with it. But no, this Pinkie isn't human Twilight's imaginary friend. She might be the party person Kwisatz Haderach—the Bene Jesterit haven't gotten back to me yet—but she's not an imaginary friend.
Now I'm imagining Sunset in the style of the Theros gods. She'd look so damn majestic with some Nyx on her.
7449196 7449230
Some songs are so brilliantly written that they persist in cultural memory long after their original context is almost entirely forgotten, even without being performed or re-recorded. "Aquarius" is one; Orff's setting of the Carmina Burana is another (and the original collection of poems is, to a much lesser extent, an example in its own right). "Aquarius" may come from a cheesy rock opera, but it demonstrates serious compositional chops.
Mayhaps this should be "Sugarcoat"? I don't think this Suagrcoat gets mentioned once in the story afterwards.
7452882
I think she'd prefer to be the Party Kumquats Häagen-Dazs. Then she'd get to live on the dessert planet Arruckus with its geoconfectionary features made of rock candy and use the Abdul Jabbar (aka the dreaded Sky Hook).
Lemon Zest really stole the show for me too, by the way.
7453355
She would, but then she'd need sustained belief to continue to exist. I don't think that's worth the cosmetic upgrade.
7455891
Typo corrected. What did you think of the story?
7463679
Yum. Arruckus. Dessert planet.
Really?
You're smiliiiing.
I am, and I hate it.
7464456
Touching, definitely heart-warmingly touching, and the right smattering of comedy to prevent the whole thing from being too over-serious.
Although my favourite part would be this particular exchange.
In all the other fanfics I've read where Sugarcoat has a major role, she seems a bit “off.” I suspect she's hard to write for, although I've never tried to write the Shadowbolts. But Sugarcoat rings true here. You've captured her brutal honesty and quick wit while still humanizing her. You also write the best Lemon Zest I've read, too. She should keep her headphones off more often.
I don't even ship Twicoat but I liked the way you wrote all of the characters.
Also, am I mistaken or is Sugarcoat using a variation of life pulse (or energy pulse) on her electronics?
7495933
Thanks! Those two were both fun and very interesting to work with. I'll definitely need to use them more in the future.
Possibly; it's hard to say. It's a more explicitly magical form of the strange event that is tool use, endowing an object with an identity and purpose beyond, say, "former limb of a tree" or "mineral aggregate." Technology isn't just made more efficient by earth-aspect people, it likes them.
7496708 That actually sounds similar to what life pulse does to plant life and minerals in my headcanon. I think the earth tribe's "special connection to nature" can lead to the stereotype that they are Luddites, but there's no reason technology and nature can't coexist.
Your the second and more Review like section In the video and the thumbnail woo- Mod Griev
A nice bit of fun.
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derpicdn.net/img/2016/3/26/1117472/full.gif
I still can't quite envision the change to fingernails/toenails you describe in this world. My brain simply doesn't want to parse it. I mean, I'm getting kind of a Hobbitism vibe from it, but that doesn't seem quite right, and I think my brain is just actively rejecting the entire concept on general principle. I guess it's always struck me as an unnecessary "change"? I mean, if it's meant to be evocative of an equivalent of earth pony magic...why? I mean, the only distinguishing features of earth ponies is their lack of distinction...
Just me nitpicking something about the OSverse I never quite got/liked.
Best Shadowbolt is sad. That makes me sad. ;_;
MEOWCH!
I think I love the way you write Zesty.
*SPITTAKE* OH MY GOD--
"Butterscotch and rum raisin. Hold the butter, hold the raisin."
Well she does have an eminent pair...
...I'll just...I'll just go...
7582536
It may help if you think of each nail as a thin, finger-sized hoof.
As for why, I wanted to make Mr. Discord the only person on the planet who wasn't changed a little, because I appreciate the irony.
And yes, I had tremendous fun writing Lemon Zest. I also had quite a bit of fun with Sugarcoat, but Lemon is just solid entertainment. Pinkie Pie plus Vinyl Scratch a la Nowacking plus intelligence and guile sufficient to be one of Crystal Prep's top students minus all sense of tact equals hilarity.
7582578
Yeah that's the part that makes it impossible for me to visualize it. My brain rejects the image because it's honestly kinda disgusting. But, your fic, your verse.
Passing over the obvious comments, I wonder if one day the city will be plagued by stray kittybikes roaming the streets looking for roller skates to snack on.
The moment Lemon Zest went "What it is, my citric sister from another mister?" was when I this became a total fave. Best Lemon Zap I've ever seen.
7582578 but...hooves are fingernails. There is no difference.
It's the bookish types; it's ALWAYS the bookish types.
Either that, or the silent types.
I don't know what story to post this to, so I'll post it here.
I really like the fact that this 'verse you've created only has one Sunset Shimmer. I'm all for the alternates of the EoH; hell, even Sci-Twi is fine. However, I really do like the idea that there's no alternate Sunset Shimmer.
That doesn't mean that I don't like the fics that have one; I actually do. Most of them seem to be shipfics, which is fine; the point is, I really feel that the world that Sunset is a part of has no alternate is because she was always meant to be connected to both.
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That was the original intention, yes. Because Sunset was a potential Spirit of Harmony and the human world didn't need one until recently, she had no analogue.
Turns out I forgot to mention that in Ovesaturation, so there are a few Group Precipitation shorts about human Sunset dealing with her divine counterpart and unwanted fame-by-proxy. I haven't decided how to feel about that, but I do kind of like the idea of a character that was never meant to exist even on a Doylist level.
We learn that Lemon Zest has got audio-tech-empathy in Good Vibrations, but what's Sugarcoat's power?
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Sugarcoat's tech empathy is probably strongest with measurement and surveillance devices. Anything that unflinchingly determines, presents, or reveals the nature of reality is going to work better in her hands. She'd make a great spy if she could ever keep to an alternate identity for any longer than it would take for her to open her mouth.
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Does that apply to her glasses? ... Could her magic apply itself to her body to correct her vision?? Nah?
Feels like it might relate to alethiomancy and enhanced mirrors...
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Sugarcoat may brutal, but she's still Honest. Though the fact that one who should see clearly needs glasses should tell you something about what Crystal Prep does to people.
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Which is what? ... That she got bullied and had eye injuries?? Or wanted to look smart? Or tried to mimic Twilight like Moondancer? Or needed to distort the way she sees the world to live at Crystal Prep?
... Should we move to the worldbuilding thread in the Group, or something?
Self-note: Wonder about Crystal Preppers' parents who we don't know.
Honestly, I'd have preferred it if Sparklebutt was attracted to Sugarcoat. The rarer ships always seem so much shinier to me.