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Artwork (Digital) / My Little Pony / Brony
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Starponys: Friends with Unicorn Syndrome
At age 16, Nightlight Sparkleheart is training to become a ruling Princess. She shows a classic case of "Unicorn Syndrome": She loves math, science, and spell programming (no magic; this is sci-fi). Unfortunately, she has a hard time opening her heart to someone else. Nightlight can be quite shy by nature, but then she can love to talk about her favorite things.
Nightlight is a powerful unicorn learning under the wings of Princess Skysparkle. She is co-mentored by her big brother and Skysparkle's son. In the beginning, her big brother, White Night Shiningheart (age 26), is one of few who have managed to capture her heart. Nightlight also has Phoenix Fireheart (age 13), a small wingless dragon boy who is her adoptive little brother.
Nightlight's brother is also a powerful unicorn. She is arguably more powerful than her big brother, but she is less competent at controlling her powers. White Night is also a prince in training.
Now that Nightlight is 16, Princess Skysparkle is sending Nightlight off on a special quest. She is to live as a normal mare in a normal house in one of the nearby pony villages. To become the Princess of Friendship, she must learn to live as one of her fellow ponies, without relying on her privileges as a rich girl.
Nightlight was born into a rich family. Her brother, on the other hand, can remember when their family was struggling to buy a good home.
***
The Starpony Kingdom (Stellequestria) is ruled by three Princesses and one Prince. All four of them are winged unicorns ("alicorns") -- arguably the most powerful of their kind.
Princess Skysparkle (age 1008) is the main ruler. Her co-rulers are the following:
- her son Prince Endearment Heartwings (age 876)
- her niece Princess Twilight Teatime (age 872)
- Princess Honeymoon (age 33) (a distant descendant of Princess Stellaluna: twin sister of Skysparkle -- who got banished to the moon 432 years ago; Teatime is Stellaluna's daughter)
***
Making friends requires the willingness to be vulnerable. This is something those with Unicorn Syndrome are naturally afraid to do. Nor does it naturally make logical sense to them. Having a heart that can be broken is something Nightlight can hardly make rational sense of. Yet part of her can't help but find it alluring, like something that "hurts so good".
Unicorn Syndrome, similar to disorders on the autism spectrum, comes with an overwhelming desire to feel in control. Making friends means taking the risk that things will get messy.
Indeed, Nightlight herself is an embodiment of the struggle it takes to love a troubled person. She may scream and break things when things don't go her way. Deep inside, she doesn't like hurting anyone very much. Her sometimes terrible temper is something that scares even her.
***
Nightlight will not be alone in her search for friends. David Starlyre, at age 18, is another prince in training. He also has Unicorn Syndrome, and he was a lot like Nightlight just 3 years ago. But now he is exceptionally mature for a stallion.
Starlyre is an earthbound pony, but he still has some cartoonish superpowers. He is both an athlete and a skilled spell programmer. He cannot execute spells himself, but he can help unicorns compile spells and focus their powers. Starlyre also has some of the most beautiful lyre-playing skills. His relaxing music sometimes has a seemingly magical way of subduing dangerous creatures.
Starlyre was sent on the same basic mission three weeks earlier, and he has made five new best friends -- a circle of marefriends who are ready to welcome the new unicorn in town.
It is relatively easy for Starlyre to make friends with girls. Many girls have a way of overcoming his natural shyness. It is much harder for him to make friends with stallions. Most stallions seem much further behind in appreciating the power of friendship -- not offering the environment we really need to share our feelings.
For him to open his heart properly, Starlyre needs an environment that makes him feel safe. In reality, we all probably do -- but Unicorn Syndrome can come with an overwhelming desire to feel in control of one's own environment.
Starlyre sometimes gets obsessed with routine and organization (overlapping with OCD), a trait he shares with his friend Precious Sapphire -- though it might sometimes be more extreme coming out of him. Starlyre's form of Unicorn Syndrome sometimes clashes with Nightlight's -- and this can cause severe distress for both. Despite his obsession with neatness, he also enjoys some of the messiest games.
***
Nightlight's obsession with controlling her environment may overlap with OCD -- making for more of a perfect storm (another common attribute of those with Unicorn Syndrome, though OCD is a distinct syndrome in itself).
There are some things Nightlight gets obsessed and perfectionistic about -- arranging favorite toys, arranging favorite books, mastering favorite spells, fine-tuning a drawing, and rewriting essays and stories.
Whatever she's not obsessed with organizing, however, she may leave in a big mess. Even then, her mess may have a logical order that helps her find and retrieve things quickly. She has naturally straight hair, but she wavers between wanting to keep it neat and embracing a bedhead.
White Night, on the other hand, tends to be obsessed with organization. He doesn't have Unicorn Syndrome -- but he often shows signs of OCD. His OCD sometimes clashes with his sister's Unicorn Syndrome -- which can cause severe distress for both. Despite his obsession with neatness, he enjoys some of the messiest games.
Nightlight is sometimes prone to sensory overload, and so is Starlyre. Nightlight can get scared by overwhelming lights and sound, including lightning. Starlyre can be afraid of large crowds, especially when they are noisy. Both of them can feel uncomfortable in a crowded city.
***
In the past, Nightlight's parents seemed nearly helpless in the face of her tantrums. She is much more powerful than them. They have had to rely on their much more powerful son to discipline her. They have often been scared away from their own home. The trauma has partially reduced the parents to a childlike state, and White Night has had to act as a caretaker for them.
Oftentimes, even White Night cannot quite control his little sister. He and his parents have had to challenge a lot of common wisdom about the need to control children. White Night has learned to approach his little sister as a friend -- appealing to her desire to be a hero and a princess.
Now that Nightlight is 16, her sense of friendship has truly started to flap its wings. Everyone in Nighlight's family has had to cope with their own limitations. In the process, they are about to successfully raise a mare with Unicorn/Asperger's Syndrome -- who will become their new ruler and friend.
It will take about a year, but this is one unicorn on the verge of earning her crown and wings.
===
Starponys: Crowns of Friendship (C) and (TM) of M. Wayne Howell (starponys87@gmail.com), along with all characters therein.
Slackey Pro © Font Diner – https://www.fontdiner.com
===
Visual Description:
Nightlight is a lightish purplish pink unicorn with bright purplish pink hooves. She has darkish pinkish magenta hair with a dark stripe and a golden yellow stripe.
Nightlight's hair is straight, but it is fairly messy. It extends near the tops of her forelegs. She wears dark violet glasses with half-circle frames. She has darkish purplish violet eyes.
The mark on Nightlight's flank is the following:
A tall eight-point star that stands for the North Star; beside it are seven five-point stars that make the Big Dipper. The tall eight-point star is brightish, slightly lightish reddish pink. The eight-point star is made of two perpendicular crosses -- a tall one and a square one. To the upper right half is a triangle of light golden yellow hearts. The seven stars of the Big Dipper are white.
At age 16, Nightlight Sparkleheart is training to become a ruling Princess. She shows a classic case of "Unicorn Syndrome": She loves math, science, and spell programming (no magic; this is sci-fi). Unfortunately, she has a hard time opening her heart to someone else. Nightlight can be quite shy by nature, but then she can love to talk about her favorite things.
Nightlight is a powerful unicorn learning under the wings of Princess Skysparkle. She is co-mentored by her big brother and Skysparkle's son. In the beginning, her big brother, White Night Shiningheart (age 26), is one of few who have managed to capture her heart. Nightlight also has Phoenix Fireheart (age 13), a small wingless dragon boy who is her adoptive little brother.
Nightlight's brother is also a powerful unicorn. She is arguably more powerful than her big brother, but she is less competent at controlling her powers. White Night is also a prince in training.
Now that Nightlight is 16, Princess Skysparkle is sending Nightlight off on a special quest. She is to live as a normal mare in a normal house in one of the nearby pony villages. To become the Princess of Friendship, she must learn to live as one of her fellow ponies, without relying on her privileges as a rich girl.
Nightlight was born into a rich family. Her brother, on the other hand, can remember when their family was struggling to buy a good home.
***
The Starpony Kingdom (Stellequestria) is ruled by three Princesses and one Prince. All four of them are winged unicorns ("alicorns") -- arguably the most powerful of their kind.
Princess Skysparkle (age 1008) is the main ruler. Her co-rulers are the following:
- her son Prince Endearment Heartwings (age 876)
- her niece Princess Twilight Teatime (age 872)
- Princess Honeymoon (age 33) (a distant descendant of Princess Stellaluna: twin sister of Skysparkle -- who got banished to the moon 432 years ago; Teatime is Stellaluna's daughter)
***
Making friends requires the willingness to be vulnerable. This is something those with Unicorn Syndrome are naturally afraid to do. Nor does it naturally make logical sense to them. Having a heart that can be broken is something Nightlight can hardly make rational sense of. Yet part of her can't help but find it alluring, like something that "hurts so good".
Unicorn Syndrome, similar to disorders on the autism spectrum, comes with an overwhelming desire to feel in control. Making friends means taking the risk that things will get messy.
Indeed, Nightlight herself is an embodiment of the struggle it takes to love a troubled person. She may scream and break things when things don't go her way. Deep inside, she doesn't like hurting anyone very much. Her sometimes terrible temper is something that scares even her.
***
Nightlight will not be alone in her search for friends. David Starlyre, at age 18, is another prince in training. He also has Unicorn Syndrome, and he was a lot like Nightlight just 3 years ago. But now he is exceptionally mature for a stallion.
Starlyre is an earthbound pony, but he still has some cartoonish superpowers. He is both an athlete and a skilled spell programmer. He cannot execute spells himself, but he can help unicorns compile spells and focus their powers. Starlyre also has some of the most beautiful lyre-playing skills. His relaxing music sometimes has a seemingly magical way of subduing dangerous creatures.
Starlyre was sent on the same basic mission three weeks earlier, and he has made five new best friends -- a circle of marefriends who are ready to welcome the new unicorn in town.
It is relatively easy for Starlyre to make friends with girls. Many girls have a way of overcoming his natural shyness. It is much harder for him to make friends with stallions. Most stallions seem much further behind in appreciating the power of friendship -- not offering the environment we really need to share our feelings.
For him to open his heart properly, Starlyre needs an environment that makes him feel safe. In reality, we all probably do -- but Unicorn Syndrome can come with an overwhelming desire to feel in control of one's own environment.
Starlyre sometimes gets obsessed with routine and organization (overlapping with OCD), a trait he shares with his friend Precious Sapphire -- though it might sometimes be more extreme coming out of him. Starlyre's form of Unicorn Syndrome sometimes clashes with Nightlight's -- and this can cause severe distress for both. Despite his obsession with neatness, he also enjoys some of the messiest games.
***
Nightlight's obsession with controlling her environment may overlap with OCD -- making for more of a perfect storm (another common attribute of those with Unicorn Syndrome, though OCD is a distinct syndrome in itself).
There are some things Nightlight gets obsessed and perfectionistic about -- arranging favorite toys, arranging favorite books, mastering favorite spells, fine-tuning a drawing, and rewriting essays and stories.
Whatever she's not obsessed with organizing, however, she may leave in a big mess. Even then, her mess may have a logical order that helps her find and retrieve things quickly. She has naturally straight hair, but she wavers between wanting to keep it neat and embracing a bedhead.
White Night, on the other hand, tends to be obsessed with organization. He doesn't have Unicorn Syndrome -- but he often shows signs of OCD. His OCD sometimes clashes with his sister's Unicorn Syndrome -- which can cause severe distress for both. Despite his obsession with neatness, he enjoys some of the messiest games.
Nightlight is sometimes prone to sensory overload, and so is Starlyre. Nightlight can get scared by overwhelming lights and sound, including lightning. Starlyre can be afraid of large crowds, especially when they are noisy. Both of them can feel uncomfortable in a crowded city.
***
In the past, Nightlight's parents seemed nearly helpless in the face of her tantrums. She is much more powerful than them. They have had to rely on their much more powerful son to discipline her. They have often been scared away from their own home. The trauma has partially reduced the parents to a childlike state, and White Night has had to act as a caretaker for them.
Oftentimes, even White Night cannot quite control his little sister. He and his parents have had to challenge a lot of common wisdom about the need to control children. White Night has learned to approach his little sister as a friend -- appealing to her desire to be a hero and a princess.
Now that Nightlight is 16, her sense of friendship has truly started to flap its wings. Everyone in Nighlight's family has had to cope with their own limitations. In the process, they are about to successfully raise a mare with Unicorn/Asperger's Syndrome -- who will become their new ruler and friend.
It will take about a year, but this is one unicorn on the verge of earning her crown and wings.
===
Starponys: Crowns of Friendship (C) and (TM) of M. Wayne Howell (starponys87@gmail.com), along with all characters therein.
Slackey Pro © Font Diner – https://www.fontdiner.com
===
Visual Description:
Nightlight is a lightish purplish pink unicorn with bright purplish pink hooves. She has darkish pinkish magenta hair with a dark stripe and a golden yellow stripe.
Nightlight's hair is straight, but it is fairly messy. It extends near the tops of her forelegs. She wears dark violet glasses with half-circle frames. She has darkish purplish violet eyes.
The mark on Nightlight's flank is the following:
A tall eight-point star that stands for the North Star; beside it are seven five-point stars that make the Big Dipper. The tall eight-point star is brightish, slightly lightish reddish pink. The eight-point star is made of two perpendicular crosses -- a tall one and a square one. To the upper right half is a triangle of light golden yellow hearts. The seven stars of the Big Dipper are white.
Category Artwork (Digital) / My Little Pony / Brony
Species Unicorn
Size 1280 x 907px
File Size 256.1 kB
I truly knew I was in for an epic description upon finding this. (Lately, I've tried to go beyond my 'comfort zone' and brave trying to interpret submissions as they come in. The right names are enough to get me to at least 'look' and hope for more context clues.)
The depth of your tale is certainly increasing by leaps-and-bounds. I also appreciate how you bring up a number of aspects that can be a part of RL Spectrum Disorder. I've managed to know, work alongside with, and appreciate those on the spectrum and know of how there are all sorts of different 'triggers' and ways in which to either reduce these or create a way of making any sense of being over-stimulated by the environment less dire on overall well-being.
The one thing your story will have that will make it stand out is how, from what I can gather, you don't go around making it into some sort of 'It's about the autistic character!". There was, or may still be, a medical show on ABC, I think, where its major tagline was how the doctor was on the spectrum. This, to me, was a poor way to advertise a show as, from what I see of your story, you intend to make it a natural part of the world as it is a natural part of our world. It's nothing to be cured, amazed, or feared. It's just another way the human brain may function and, personally, it will help your story bring more awareness to the differently-abled. :)
The depth of your tale is certainly increasing by leaps-and-bounds. I also appreciate how you bring up a number of aspects that can be a part of RL Spectrum Disorder. I've managed to know, work alongside with, and appreciate those on the spectrum and know of how there are all sorts of different 'triggers' and ways in which to either reduce these or create a way of making any sense of being over-stimulated by the environment less dire on overall well-being.
The one thing your story will have that will make it stand out is how, from what I can gather, you don't go around making it into some sort of 'It's about the autistic character!". There was, or may still be, a medical show on ABC, I think, where its major tagline was how the doctor was on the spectrum. This, to me, was a poor way to advertise a show as, from what I see of your story, you intend to make it a natural part of the world as it is a natural part of our world. It's nothing to be cured, amazed, or feared. It's just another way the human brain may function and, personally, it will help your story bring more awareness to the differently-abled. :)
I feel that calling some attention to “Unicorn Syndrome” is an important part of my marketing — a focus that makes it stand out from MLP. The key theme is that those on the autism spectrum can make friends like anyone else — if they have the right attitude. Moreover, social skills are not as natural as they are cracked up to be. People on the autism spectrum often fail to fit in because of people who dislike others who are different. It’s not necessarily any more a handicap than being black.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I hope my visual descriptions of Nightlight and Starlyre paint clear pictures of what they look like. (I have added some more detail to what Starlyre’s hair looks like.) When I get to talk with real people, I get to reflect a lot more on what I really want to say.
Most of the stories probably won’t mention Unicorn Syndrome, but I feel the marketing material for the parents needs to highlight it.
Twilight initially looked like an unlikely candidate for a Princess of Friendship, and Nightlight looks even less likely at first. Ironically, it’s Nightlight who shows a strong ambition to be a ruler.
To Nightlight’s surprise, being a ruler does not confer as much control of her environment as she first imagined it would. It makes her rely even more on the power of her friends. Shakespeare once wrote, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” Her “twilighting” may be potentially worse, agitating her longtime problems with a bad temper.
In the end, the main part of Nightlight’s solution is to spend most of her time living like another pony. This is the best way she can stay in touch with what’s really going on — quietly making the friends she needs to watch over her people. It will take her big brother much longer to realize the same thing — despite his reliance on spies to gather intelligence for fighting crime and conspiracies.
Nightlight may disguise herself by wearing clothes that cover her wings and her friendship mark. When she’s less concerned about people recognizing her, she may just appear without her royal outfit. Many people may fail to recognize her when she doesn’t dress like a royal, especially if she never spreads her wings.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I hope my visual descriptions of Nightlight and Starlyre paint clear pictures of what they look like. (I have added some more detail to what Starlyre’s hair looks like.) When I get to talk with real people, I get to reflect a lot more on what I really want to say.
Most of the stories probably won’t mention Unicorn Syndrome, but I feel the marketing material for the parents needs to highlight it.
Twilight initially looked like an unlikely candidate for a Princess of Friendship, and Nightlight looks even less likely at first. Ironically, it’s Nightlight who shows a strong ambition to be a ruler.
To Nightlight’s surprise, being a ruler does not confer as much control of her environment as she first imagined it would. It makes her rely even more on the power of her friends. Shakespeare once wrote, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” Her “twilighting” may be potentially worse, agitating her longtime problems with a bad temper.
In the end, the main part of Nightlight’s solution is to spend most of her time living like another pony. This is the best way she can stay in touch with what’s really going on — quietly making the friends she needs to watch over her people. It will take her big brother much longer to realize the same thing — despite his reliance on spies to gather intelligence for fighting crime and conspiracies.
Nightlight may disguise herself by wearing clothes that cover her wings and her friendship mark. When she’s less concerned about people recognizing her, she may just appear without her royal outfit. Many people may fail to recognize her when she doesn’t dress like a royal, especially if she never spreads her wings.
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