Red Velvet Runaway

(aka the Alias/Serene Grace big fight scene)

- To recap, Alias laid a trap by pretending to bring Serene Grace’s wounded body to Red on the premise of trading a favor. Red sees through the trap, but Serene isn’t actually wounded at all (she uses a glamer, aka a simple illusion spell) and he’s now facing his two greatest enemies simultaneously, enemies he’s never decisively beaten one-on-one, and there’s a handful of Night Guards moving to flank.

- Luckily, Hauer neutralizes that last disadvantage. In the interim spent in foreign lands, Hauer’s picked up a crossbow of minotaur manufacture and gotten to be a pretty good shot with it. He wings a couple of the guards and leads the others on a chase. Which is good, because Red is stuck dodging swords and wind blasts coming at him from two sides.

- After he nearly skewers Alias, she switches to a form she claims Red can’t harm at all: the Smooze. Its amorphous anatomy makes it immune to physical damage and it’s able to sense Red from all directions.

- Serene seems furious at Red for his previous escapes from her, leaving great gouges in trees and even a rock with her blades. The upside of this is that she’s more easily goaded by Red.

- Red’s speed and the nasty surprise Alias faces of his blood’s new caustic properties keep him alive long enough to make some important observations and deductions: the way Serene follows his movements suggests she’s blind in the eye that was injured on the train fight, and Alias can’t entirely shapeshift away her nervous system, so she hasn’t actually made a complete transformation and has a weak point somewhere.

- Capitalizing on what he describes as their lies, Red Velvet turns the tide of the fight. A rapid flurry of blows against Alias’s Smooze form delivers a glancing blow to her brain, stunning her for a precious few seconds. Still harassed by Serene, Red tries to goad her into slashing herself with her own flying swords. She avoids the blade, but not Red himself, and he shatters her horn with his hoof. However, the explosion of magical energy produced breaks his left foreleg.

- All three ponies injured badly, Alias wants to retreat, but Serene Grace won’t hear of it. Her horn’s break removed her glamer, revealing her ruined eye and many other scars (some of which Red identifies as from abuse, not swordfighting, and some of them recent). It also reveals that her coat color is actually grey and her eye color is red; she’s been hiding a lot of her true nature her whole life. Serene tells Alias to cover her while she performs a ritual, and a fresh round of combat ensues between Red (with only three good legs) and Alias, concussed and having trouble maintaining forms for long.

- Serene Grace’s ritual was going to have an incantation based on the titular spell from Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, because I’m a nerd. Visually, it was replacing her horn with a steel one made from a dagger and giving her “wings” made from two of her swords, and it was also obvious dark magic. Performing the ritual was furthering the resemblance to her infamous ancestor, King Sombra, although she invokes Celestia’s name during the ritual (her belief in and love for Celestia is sincere, whatever else she is).

- Red’s desperately trying to get the edge on Alias long enough to stop the ritual, but his time is almost up by the time he grabs Serene’s last sword, lying forgotten on the ground. He attempts a leap towards her, but gets a painful surprise: Alias has taken Black Egg and White Snow’s shape (the former’s head lolling around on the body), and frozen Red’s broken leg to the ground. Red doesn’t hesitate: he cuts off his leg and then rams the sword through Serene’s bad eye and into her brain. Serene laments failing yet again as she falls dead.

- Red doesn’t think he’ll be able to finish off Alias in his current state, but it turns out Alias isn’t about to risk it. She sounds the retreat and takes off, the Night Guard following after. Hauer emerges, only a little worse for wear (although he apologizes to Red for not inflicting any mortal wounds). Luckily, he’s in good enough shape to bandage Red up. Red also has him harvest blood and some meat from Serene’s body and collects the broken tip of her horn, despite the pain and blood loss he’s suffering from. Red seems confident that losing a leg won’t slow him down for long, but is quite worried about the authorities finding him again, and insists that they adjust course, crossing over into the Everfree Forest…

Hey guys, avatar here. It’s been a while. I’m sorry for drifting away yet again. Since the last news post we had a hurricane, my other dog died, I got a part-time job as a trivia host, we got a new puppy (she’s been a real handful), and just this week my father passed away. Compounding this is my general struggle with motivation and writer’s block… ironically, getting my Master’s in fiction writing has ruined me for fiction writing. And now all this shit with Tumblr. I should be fine as long as I don’t post that one piece of fanart @thedenofravenpuff made with Black Egg and White Snow, but it’s not a good feeling for this site.

I think it’s time I accept I’m not going to finish Red Velvet’s story the way I wanted to… that said, I don’t plan on leaving my remaining followers empty-handed. Over the next few days I’m going to outline the rest of Red’s story for you all, at least let you know how it ends. If I’m feeling up to it, I may do one or two proper pieces of prose at the end. I probably won’t answer any more questions, new or old; don’t get your hopes up on that front.

Hmm... I can’t really follow your logic here, my good pony.  I’m wanted dead or alive, yes.  So legally speaking, my situation can’t get any worse.  Ever since my escape, the only consideration I make when deciding whether or not to break a law is “Is this worth drawing the attention of the authorities?”  Sometimes it isn’t, so I avoid petty crimes like shoplifting, mugging; generally I try to avoid committing crimes of passion.  Instead, I commit premeditated crimes, because they’re worth it to me.

Leaving a note for my daughter after my escape was worth it to me, although staying in the Canterlot area for longer than absolutely necessary was risky.  Breaking the Duskraptors out from their prison transport was worth it to me, although it put my life at greater risk than any other endeavor I’d yet overcome.  And hunting an Alicorn is worth it to me, because my pride demands it and because my research on the Draft won’t truly be complete until I brew an Alicorn version.

Hm, perhaps your criticism would seem justified, given I haven’t discussed my plans recently.  Let me share them with you, my little ponies.

I have three passions: cooking, psychology, and predation.  But as a fugitive from the law, I can’t cook for an audience, and I can’t properly practice psychology except for another occasional fugitive.  Through alchemy and careful analysis of my foes, I can still apply these focuses to my life, but I can’t practice them as passions.

But... my fugitive status lets me hone my nature as a predator to a sharpened point.  My time training Hauer in foreign lands wasn’t just to stay away from Equestrian authorities.  It was to toughen him up... and to get myself back to peak condition.  I plan now to put my ability as a predator to the test.  For the Draft, my favored prey is ponies.  Earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns.  In the last eighteen months, I’ve even had the opportunity to test the Draft with a bat pony and a crystal pony.  But now is the time for me to seek the ultimate prey.  My little ponies... I’m going hunting for an alicorn.

I’m not keeping Grace alive through purposeful effort.  Let me finish my story, and that should be clear enough.  But yes, she is formidable.  Every one of my encounters with her left me injured.  Every time, I was in genuine fear for my life.

I try not to be a one-trick pony (far from it), but I have one chief advantage whenever I’m pressed into combat: my speed and agility.  Between the Draft, the Mask, and my natural talents as an earth pony of slight build, I can dance around most foes.  At my best, it’s like normal ponies move in slow motion.  Many trained combatants can correct for that, given half a chance... and I do my best not to give them that chance.

Alias and Serene Grace were difficult foes for me for one principle reason - their favored tactics render my speed mostly useless.  Alias’s shapeshifting is rapid, fluid, and not quite like a changeling’s in nature; she can turn a mortal wound into a glancing blow by shifting her vitals out of the way or even repairing them as an application of the same spell.  Worse, she can see and counterattack in any direction as yet another application of that same magic.  Serene Grace’s multiple-weapon style poses a similar threat.  With each of her three blades able to move independently and freely for a good ten pony-lengths around her, I have to dodge and parry multiple blows for even a single chance at her - and then I’m still attacking one of Equestria’s most practiced fencers, so her experience at dodging attacks was (until perhaps recently) more extensive than mine.  Her technique of conjuring a flurry of throwing weapons can likewise harry me on offense - even I can’t dodge all of the daggers, all of the time.  My ability to beat these foes requires techniques I don’t normally rely on - techniques that I will disclose to you all in the course of telling this story.

Wait, I know this one.  Yeah, he wears it because it sucks up hostile magic and, like... spits it back out when he needs it to.  Or uses it to make him better at... stuff.  And his mind can’t be read while he’s wearing it.  Or his dreams.  Also, it gives him advice.  Whispers things in his ears.  You know, it’s probably pretty dangerous, but to hear him tell it, we would have been recaptured a long time ago without the damn thing.

Oh, and he hates when I take it.

Hoo, that’s a bunch.  Okay, here we go.

What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)? 

Definitely started with the fact that they were conjoined twins and unicorns.  Their names came soon after.

In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

The Windigo were a fresh new canon thing when I was designing them, so that ended up becoming core to their backstory.

What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

They’re supporting characters who ended up unexpectedly popular.  When a story gets in that situation, it’s a challenge to supply more of them to meet fan demand without twisting the overarching plot out of shape.

How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

Well, I know what happened to them after they were last seen by Red...

If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

First, consider why they do what they do.  Second, try to think how it must be like to share your very body, your limbs, with your sibling.  They have forty years of that under their belt (saddle?).  They’re a little different, but they’re fantastically talented at saving arguments for private moments and marching in lockstep (figuratively and literally).

Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

I considered that maybe the cult leader from their backstory should have escaped to give them a stronger drive post-escape, but I like the ambiguity they struggled with towards the end.  Is the goal they were chasing really even possible?  If so, were they even going about it the right way?  I think it turned out pretty well, all things considered.

What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

The inherent contrast in their nature.  They’re completely against society, fighting against it at the very heart of its nature, and yet they’re ponies who work in perfect cooperation.

What is your favorite fact about your OC?

What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

Probably story role.  Alias was the one who brought Red in the first time.  She needed to be magically and physically capable, competent, and no-nonsense.  She fell into place pretty quickly.

How did you choose their name?

It relates to her magic and her status as part of the criminal justice system.  Pretty sure I named Alias and her mentor, Alibi (a memory specialist unicorn), at the same time and for the same reasons.

What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story?

Alias is somepony who takes the weight of the world on her shoulders.  She does difficult and dirty work because she thinks she’s the only one who can handle it.  That’s not usually me, but I think we’ve all been there at least once.

Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation? 

Nope!  Wasn’t immediately relevant.  I decided after a while that Alias was trans and used her magic to transition relatively easily, but I never thought much about her sexuality.  After ruminating, I’m pretty sure she’s bisexual and afraid  of becoming emotionally attached.

What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

Alias is possibly the story’s most understated character, so she has to hold her own without doing anything crazy.  Even her physical design is kinda muted when she’s in her true form.  I have to hold back and pace myself when I write her, and I think sometimes I fail at that.

What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

Serene Grace is a perfectionist, and an inherently unhappy pony who does what she does because she doesn’t know any other way to be.

In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

The largely unexplored details of Canterlot nobility, the related lack of backstory for King Sombra, and the status of telekinesis as the “basic” unicorn spell (leading me to wonder about a unicorn who focused on thorough mastery of that basic spell).

What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

Serene Grace’s mother, Solemn Vow, was and still is abusive, emotionally and physically, making young Serene learn a glamer to hide evidence of her own abuse.  That was a pretty recent development.

What is your favorite fact about your OC?

Is there any significance behind their eye color?

I like the aesthetic and hadn’t used it yet in this setting.  It also differentiates him from his father and serves as a reminder that he’s been touched by the supernatural since birth.  Heterochromia in real life also is often linked to health problems, although that wasn’t consciously intentional.

If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

First, he’s sneakier and smarter than he lets on, and second, he’s not evil so much as raised in a culture of killing and ruthlessness.

Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

I decided to kill off his mother early and I kinda regret that.  She was potentially a more interesting character than Stormare.

What is your favorite fact about your OC?

What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

Probably backstory.  I think I started with the idea of having a convict answering asks from prison.

How did you choose their name?

It came to me pretty quickly as something that sounded like a pony name but could also have a darker connotation.  Red was designed ground-up as a Hannibal Lector-based character, so it also played up Hannibal’s erudite cooking/cannibalism angle.

In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

The pony racial differences in abilities turned out to be really influential.  I also assumed due to the near-utopian nature of pony society that they wouldn’t have a death penalty.

Is there any significance behind their eye color?

In the books, Hannibal is described as having maroon eyes, so I more or less carried that over as part of making the color scheme.  Red was originally sketched in a Pony Maker program, and it had the option of doing the eyes as pupil-less, just iris all the way through.  That became the most significant element of Red’s eyes.

Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

I don’t think it ever occurred to me that Red would be anything but heterosexual.  It’s another carry-over from Hannibal’s character - Red has a vaguely predatory sexuality with a shallow but specific type.  He’s physically attracted to female pegasi exclusively and only a certain demeanor can hold his attention for long, but of course he never feels real love at the level most ponies would.

How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

Sorry for my absence... again... so soon after the last hiatus.  My dog died in July, so I’ve been working through the ensuing drain on creative energy.  I’m one of those assholes for whom a dog is a family member in every way that matters, so it was emotionally difficult.

Well, whether you condone revenge or condemn it, everypony understands revenge.  Holding onto a grudge is an instinct that all intelligent life displays in some fashion or another.  So if you can’t understand the motive for a mean-spirited action, revenge jumps out as an option.  If the victim and perpetrator have a known connection of any sort, it seems all the more likely.

In a way, we make this assumption to comfort ourselves.  Let’s say your best friend was walking down an alley one night, and I (for example) killed him.  “I was out for revenge” may not sound comforting, but dig deeper and you’ll see why it’s assumed.  If I was out for revenge, then your friend (on some level, probably) deserved it.  It’s more comforting than thinking “I kill people totally at random,” or even “I was desperate for blood and your friend was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”  If you assume one of those latter two was my motive, then you’re admitting that bad things happen to good ponies.  And that can’t be true, after all... you’re a good pony.

Ponies who think every slight deserves revenge are a very different case, and I’ll talk about them some other time.

Yes, actually.  This was soon before my rendezvous with Stormare, so I was traveling alone.  I’d opted to travel by night and spent one day sleeping in a quiet town’s back alley.  I was awoken by a warm, wet feeling - some lout of a stallion was urinating on me.  He’d had too much cider, too early in the day, and he’d decided to take it out on a homeless pony... which, technically, I was.  I asked him what he was doing, but my sentence was barely finished when he lashed out at me, interspersing messy hoof strikes and unintelligible insults.  I could have killed him, but with my attention on him I didn’t have the focus to spare to make sure we were alone.  So I played helpless and let him hit me, waiting for a lull to assess my situations.  I needed to get back in practice at rolling with a blow, anyway.

The gambit paid off.  Other ponies were on us in seconds, restraining the stallion and tossing him against a wall.  The lout’s friends and neighbors apologized for his behavior, saw to my injuries (”luckily,” I was barely scratched) and one even offered me a shower, meal, and a bed for a night.  I graciously took him up on the offer, and when I snuck off at night, I left him a nice note of thanks.

I also made note of the offending stallion’s name.  If I’m ever back in that town, I will grind his bones into a hangover cure.