Dai Kirai stared at the flashing line on his computer while Top Hoof played in the background. The show was more interesting than his writing; then again writing was never his forte. He loved the ideas, the thinking, and the varied ideas that came with creating a whole new world. He didn’t care if ponies thought only unicorns could be great writers, it was great fun. The pegasus’ wings fluttered in irritation.
It didn’t help that what he wrote tended to be looked down upon in Equestria. ‘A show for foals’ was what other ponies called it. He wrote fanfiction, something he himself despised before coming across a certain community. But something about My Little Human was so entertaining. Lyra’s sense of humor in creating the show added levity to almost any situation. A group of six friends trying to spread harmony in a world that didn’t want it. Who else but Lyra could have thought of such a thing?
Again, Kirai’s mind wondered. So many ways to procrastinate. His newest story was about the human Robert, the ‘background’ human who worked in a factory. The rest of the fandom found him boring, that he was too honest. Robert tended to be brusque and in the last episode had accidentally insulted his best friend, Dave. But Dai Kirai couldn’t help but wonder What if they hadn’t been able to work it out? What if it split the group in half and they butted heads when the next villain appeared, if they tried to compete with each other and only made things worse?
Dai wasn’t the most creative so he set them up against Sombra, one of the worst offenders in pony history. Something about crossed worlds granted so many more opportunities for craziness. Sombra would try to enslave humanity as he did with the crystal ponies so many centuries ago.
An explosion could be heard on his television as James May tried to race a camper. Brits could be so odd at times. The camper splintered and fell apart at the high speeds James tried racing it at.
A supped up camper vs a Wonderbolt. Who thinks of these crazy things. Next thing they’ll try doing is sending a carriage to the moon.
This seemed like a good point to take a break. After staring at the computer screen for two hours, not even 500 words had been written. Maybe pegasi weren’t meant to write after all, or maybe Dai wrote the wrong genre. Slice was easier for him but seemed to be his lower rated stories. His action and intrigue story, while not particularly apt at the genre, seemed decently well received by the community. If only he could get past chapter three.
He carefully removed the microphone off his head and set it on the desk next to his computer. It was a wonderful tool allowing him to dictate and have words appear on the screen. It was so advanced it could distinguish his voice from that of whatever program he was watching. But it also mussed his mane and hurt the ear that it settled over if he used it for long periods.
Dai Kirai stood and stretched, it felt wonderful. And seeing how it was currently a commercial break, he felt it was time for some lunch.
Dai lived in a small apartment; it was literally two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. They were decent ponies, even if he preferred living alone and one was a griffon. But he could barely afford this, and couldn’t live alone and go to school at the same time. He just hoped the candied chrysanthemums he bought yesterday were still there.
The kitchen was small, it had all the amenities but couldn’t hold more than one pony at a time, and Leroy the griffon had an even worse time because it wasn’t wind enough for him to turn around in. Dai Opened up the fridge, got one whiff of what was in there and immediately closed it again. Leroy was nice enough not to cook in their apartment, as it tended to drive everypony nuts when he cooked meat. So Leroy would cook his meals elsewhere or just eat out, but he refused to waste his leftovers and would store them in the fridge.
At least the smell doesn’t make us sick anymore. The first few days had been ‘interesting’ to say the least. They couldn’t have picked a more diverse group of roomies if they’d tried. Jaden was a unicorn and while nice was always quiet, he was also calm with nothing able to bother him and only giving out one word replies. Which was hilarious with his roommate, Short Circuit, being an overly exuberant earth pony that didn’t know the meaning of quiet. Maybe Leroy wasn’t the worst.
But Dai needed food, it was two and he hadn’t eaten all day. It was a Saturday. He reopened the fridge while holding his breath and pulled out his chrysanthemums and a premade daisy sandwich, a gift from Leroy for storing his meat in a communal space.
Maybe we should get him a mini-fridge for Hearth’s Warming. He pondered as he walked back to his room, plate held in his mouth.
Dai set his plate down on his Neighponese textbook, something he really should have been studying. Summer was a nice break, but he needed to keep studying. His kanji already looked like griffon scratch, and that was from a griffon. He procrastinated in writing and used writing to procrastinate on work. Maybe this really wasn’t his special talent. The kanji on his butt said it was, but he had friends whose cuties marks turned out to be more metaphorical in nature.
But he didn’t see a choice at this point. He had made commitments, and he did enjoy it even if ponies didn’t comment. He worried that they didn’t understand or he might lose them. He didn’t buy what others said. The reader wasn’t stupid. Maybe it was just another of his failings, or maybe they just didn’t see a need. It wouldn’t change who he was though.
A few ideas sped through Dai’s head as he allowed his mind to wander.
“That’s it!” He cheered in a moment of clarity. He knew what he wanted to write, knew exactly where it needed to go. And that was all that mattered.
The noise of the television forgotten as his mind focused, missing Jeremy Clarkson’s speech for the new episode. “Today on Top Hoof. We launch a carriage into space. And James wears a hat.”