MLP Fanfiction Audiobook: "Mythic Dawn" by MagnetBolt
Project Overview
Hello, and thank you for taking an interest in this project. I am looking for voice actors - of all skill levels, so no need to be shy - for an audiobook of MagnetBolt's "Mythic Dawn" story, set in the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic universe.
In a nutshell, it's a slice-of-life and light adventure novel, following Yet Another Six in the Ponyville School of Friendship. While the main cast consists mostly of original characters belonging to species of dubious canonicity, the tone of the story remains very much true to the show itself and keeps to being appropriate to all ages. Likewise, each chapter can mostly be treated as a self-contained episode and the project will likely be produced and released a piece at a time, rather than all at once. I should mention, however, that I am somewhat inexperienced in managing projects of this scale, so offers of advice and assistance will certainly not go unheard.
Side notes:
Reading the entire story is not required - a version with highlighted lines for each character is available here, and apart from the main cast, the role notes mention what chapter they appear in.
At least passable recording quality - this is a fan project, so I'm not going to demand a studio-grade setup from anyone, but a desktop microphone of some sort is the bare minimum. You don't need to bother cleaning up or noise correcting the auditions, though, acting quality and carrying the role is the most important part.
All the cool kids are using Discord these days, it seems, so having it is preferable. Other means of communication are available - I'm not picky - but you might end up being behind the loop otherwise.
Feel free to audition for as many roles as you'd like - while it's unlikely I'll cast the same person multiple main cast characters {though if you can make your voice individually distinct to mask having a conversation with yourself, go ham!} there's plenty of minor characters and extras who need their share of love.
When auditioning, just read the character's lines, the stuff in the quotation marks. [You don't need to read the text in the square brackets] - it's just the previous line in the story, so if the character is in a conversation, you have better context what they're replying to, and of course, you can skip the "he saids" and "she saids" - that will be the narrator's job.
On that note, roles are listed more or less in chronological order of characters' first appearance.
If you have any questions, suggestions or advice, let me know in the comment box or PM me if you'd prefer.
Penultimately, if you're also interested in another, somewhat creepier story, do check out my other audiobook project here, "The Needle".
And finally, thank you. Even if you decide not to audition for any of the roles, thanks for reading this far down. And if you do decide to audition, thank you as well - I honestly appreciate the time you take.
Regards,
Quinch
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The narrator is probably the most challenging part of the story, both because of the volume, but also because the narrator is responsible for setting the mood and pacing of the story. They will need to go from expository to casual to somber, to funny to actionny and so on, and not uncommonly switch the tone in the middle of a paragraph.
Luster Dawn was the personal student of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and she was sure of exactly three things. First, that her mentor was the greatest hero who had ever lived. Second, that Prench was just Neightalian with extra vowels sprinkled onto it to make it fancy. Third, that today was the day she was going to go on her own adventure.
Much later, after happy reunions, a quick trip to the hospital, and being chewed out by Principal Starlight for doing something so dangerous, Berlioz was outside, and mostly alone.
He took the rock out of his pocket.
He looked at it for a while, then put it down where it could see the stars and sat with it in silence for a long time.
Berlioz wasn’t a stone shaman. He wasn’t a fighter. Neither of those were what his tribe needed. His tribe needed someone who could make friends.
The standing stones had been decorated with red and gold cloth, and fires were burning in bronze braziers forming a circle around the site. It was almost like a second festival happening out in the middle of nowhere, complete with revelers who were working around the six largest stones, carving something into them with hammers and chisels. So maybe less like a party and more like a job site with extra decor and everypony dressed in robes and masks.
Princess Twilight Sparkle's personal student who'd been kicked off to Ponyville. The lead character, or at least of all the lead characters, the one that does the most protagging in the overarching story. Most of the time sounding very confident and in charge of the situation, including situations where she's really, really not. Canonically, her voice sounds like this but you're welcome to put your own take to it.
Approx. 12,000 words total.
“Is there something I should know?” Luster asked, looking at Phantasma out of the corner of her eye. “You’re not like, haunted or anything are you?”
Luster craned her neck to look at what he’d been writing. “There’s a rumor that two ponies went missing from the school, and according to what I heard they were working on spelunking cutie marks, and-- wow, you’ve got really good handwriting.”
“Right,” Dawn whispered. “Heroic speech time.” She cleared her throat. “I’ve seen all of you do heroic, brave things. Phantasma, you helped me fight off a beholder! Larrikin has gone treasure hunting!”
Rather subdued, mostly due to her childhood and iffy heritage. Has been bullied and ostracized for most of her life and generally distrusted by most ponies outside the School of Friendship, she tends to carry herself and talk in a way that hopefully does not attract attention and even in dialogue where she's at ease, she remains somewhat subdued.
Approx. 3000 words total.
“No, no, they’re really great!” Phantasma assured her. “Actually I’m pretty new at the school, and it’s just hard figuring out how to talk to ponies. This is the most I’ve talked to a pony in… in… practically forever!” She laughed nervously. “Sorry. I’m probably being weird or creepy…”
"And that’s not even the worst thing…”
[“What was the worst thing?”]
“Every year, they celebrate the Crystal Faire, everypony in the Empire coming together in love and harmony. It empowers the Crystal Heart and protects the Crystal Empire and every single year I spent the Faire in bed with a fever so high they thought I might die. And you know why? Because the Crystal Heart repels evil, and somewhere deep inside, that means me!”
Phantasma tapped her chin. “Or they didn’t want to live in a tent. I’ve gone camping a few times and it’s not as fun as you’d think. Especially in the frozen north. Mostly you just stay near the campfire and hope the other foals don’t put rocks in the snowballs they throw at you.”
A bay pony from Thestralia {the land down under, a few miles or so}. Under normal circumstances easily the most {over}confident and boisterous part of the group, but also comes into situations where she's anxious and frazzled by the circumstances. An Australian accent is required for this character, ideally exaggerated to the point of near-incomprehensibility. I imagine the perfect voice being an exercise in necromancy, being able to summon the ghost of Steve Irwin just to say "Listen, mate, do you think you could tone it down a bit?"
Approx. 4,500 words total.
“I just wear sunglasses at night because I can. They always look cool. I’m Arteria. Arteria Carpals. Shockin’ great to meet you! I was hopin’ we’d get a stallion to boss around, get some real ear-candy, right enough, but another mare’s grand too.”
“It’s like bein’ blind,” Arteria whispered. “Can’t hear a shockin’ thing, and the things you do hear are from so blinkin’ long on that you ain’t sure about th’ direction. No proper tunnels or caverns to shape th’ sound at all, and things can sneak up on ya from anywhere.”
“This is awful,” Arteria whispered. “This is the shockin… shockin shockest shockin shock!”
A diamond dog, far smarter than he may look. Somewhat laconic, when he does speak he tends to carry his point across with the least amount of words - and usually syllables. Canonically, Diamond Dogs sound like this, but you're welcome - encouraged, even - to use your own interpretation of the character.
Approx. 2,300 words total.
[“But she was trying to establish dominance over you,” Ibis said. “You could have refused.”]
“Berlioz could have said no. Or said yes and not done the thing. Or done the thing wrong. All of these are choices Berlioz could make. But that is not what is good. Berlioz cares about something too. Honor. Pony can play pony games, but Berlioz will do a good job because any job should be done as good as Berlioz can do it.”
Berlioz knelt down to press his hands against the runes. “May, please, Berlioz asks you to make one last trip. These ponies were going to be slaves, just like May, and Berlioz begs you to help him set them free.”
[“How am I supposed to sleep?!”]
Berlioz made a sound. “Lie down. Close eyes. Stop talking. Berlioz usually finds these things helpful.”
A sphinx and the most compulsively logical part of the main group, although it comes at the cost of properly understanding interpersonal relationships or, for that matter, non-boolean situations and problems. Her manner of speaking tends to be very definitive - "this is", "this isn't", "this is this and why" or "this is the question I am asking you". A slight Arabic accent would be preferred, but not required.
Approximately 3,000 words total.
“It was easy enough to deduce,” Ibis said, interrupting her as she stepped past them, the ponies moving aside to let the larger creature pass by. “You’re from Canterlot, but not nobility, you were attending school there, and you were important enough to somepony there that they were able to secure a place for you here even with classes nearly full. Ergo you must know Princess Sparkle in some capacity.”
A sphinx with an unanswered riddle was like a manticore with a thorn in its paw, restless and annoyed at the world in general.
“I’m still trying to discover what friendship is,” Ibis said to herself, pacing around her room. “How can we be friends if I don’t even know how to properly define it? It isn’t a word game like a riddle. It’s also not simple proximity. Some creatures grow to hate each other in the same conditions others become friends.”
“Just be confident,” Ibis said. “Don’t dwell on the tiny things you’ve overlooked, and instead focus attention on what you’ve achieved. You’ve made arrangements for what I’m told will be a wonderful celebration.”
A kelpie, in this case of the plant variety, which influences its personality drastically, taking just about everything in stride, although there is a chapter where they go through an existential crisis of sorts. They're almost constantly lethargic, and the voice should ideally sound like someone on a permanent caffeine withdrawal. They are also genderless, so either male or female actors are welcome, though if you can, try to avoid either high or low pitch extremes.
Approx. 2,500 words total.
“Thanks for waking me up,” they groaned. “With all that sunlight I just…” they yawned. Surprisingly, no fangs. “...I feel like I could nap all daaaay…”
“I asked Ibis for help and she gave me a book about kelpies. It was the only one she knew about. It had a lot of stuff about kelpies, but the most important thing is that it explained everything about shapechanging and me and… and everything.” Larrikin sounded defeated.
[...and if we don’t do it, it could be the end of the world.”]
“I keep all my stuff in the world!” Larrikin gasped.
The reigning princess of Equestria, but for the most part of the story just Luster's teacher and friend. Most of her lines are conversational, but there are segments where she puts her Princess Pants on and acts the part as well.
Approx. 1,000 words total. Appears in chapters 1 and 7.
“Luster Dawn, you’re a smart pony. I know you can handle it. More than that, I want you to get experience dealing with problems without spending a week in the library working your way up to it.” She smiled and lowered her voice. “And it’s probably better to start you off with a nice, friendly party than throwing you right into an evil tomb.”
[“That’s always been the case. You think we don’t matter.”]
“All of my little ponies matter,” Princess Twilight corrected. “If I’ve done something to offend you, I apologize.”
[In ceremonial tone. Ceremonious? Cereminty? Ceremental? You get the idea!]
“As Ladies and Lords of Equestria, I expect you to continue to serve the realm and each other with the same friendship and courage you’ve already displayed.”
Twilight's friend and a member of the Friendship Council. Only has a few lines chatting - or one could say engaging in friendly verbal sparring - with Twilight. High-class transatlantic accent.
Appears in Chapter 1.
“Don’t be silly, darling,” Rarity said. “I was just filling Twilight in on the latest gossip. If anything, I’m sorry for keeping her so late.”
[“Rarity!” Princess Twilight’s cheeks turned pink. “Don’t you dare! I don’t want her thinking I’m some kind of… of…”]
“Hm?” Rarity raised her eyebrows. “I’m curious what word you’d use there, darling. Because no matter what you say it’s going to imply to your student that you’re exactly that.”
“Yes, but winning the tickets is better than just asking for them,” Rarity said. “Now, I’ll leave you alone with your student while I start planning dresses.”
Royal guard. These three lines are all he has; voice reference is here, but given the size of the role, I'm not particular.
Appears in Chapter 1.
“The main reason is that when they rebuilt the palace they wanted it to fit the pony who would use it,” he said. When Dawn faltered, he grinned and continued. “But she is pretty great. I don’t really know the other Princesses very well, but I did get to see Princess Twilight in action.”
[“And she inspired you to become a guard and protect other ponies?” Dawn guessed.]
Gallus laughed. “No, three square meals a day and not having to go back to Griffonstone inspired me to be a guard.”
“She should be inside,” Gallus said, leading Dawn to the door. “Do you need anything else?”
Stereotypical spoiled nobility, oozing entitlement and sense of inherent superiority. A few appearances with a handful of lines.
Appears in chapters 1 and 7.
“Really? I don't know how you can stomach garbage like this.”
[“Please give me back my sandwich,” Luster Dawn groaned.]
“It’s hardly a real meal. I suppose if you grew up with unrefined taste like a peasant, you’d just eat anything.”
“That’s not what it looks like to me. You know what I see?” Azure asked. “I see a commoner who’s finally going where they belong. Even Princess Twilight didn’t stick around in Ponyville once she became important. She’s just shipping you off to make room for somepony with real talent.”
“How dare you touch me!” Azure growled, getting to her hooves. Her robe flashed with blue flame and burned into ashes. “I’m a noble! You’re a nobody!”
Typical fast food employee stereotype, with soul crushed into fine dust. Only has the two lines.
Appears in chapter 1.
“Ma’am, this is a Hayburger Princess,” the pony behind the counter said. She sounded like she’d spent a thousand years in purgatory. Or about eight hours in retail, which amounted to roughly the same quantity of suffering.
“If you’re not going to order, I’m going to have to ask you to step out of line for the next pony,” the worker said.
Principal of the School of Friendship. Generally welcoming and friendly, but still an authority figure capable of shooting down, if gently, more outlandish ideas brought at her. Voice reference is available here.
Appears in chapters 1, 3 and 7.
“I still think of it as Twilight’s school,” Starlight said. “I’m just taking care of it for her. And now I’ll be taking care of you for a little while.”
“I think you’re sort of going down a paranoid rabbit hole,”Starlight said. “Trust me, I’ve done that myself. There’s another perfectly rational explanation for all this.”
“You have to admit it’s sort of an extreme possibility,” Starlight said. “Even if it’s true, trying to foalnap Princess Twilight is about the worst thing they could do.” She snorted. “It always ends with a crater and ponies regretting all the poor decisions they made in life.”
Teacher at the School of Friendship. Appears in two scenes with not many lines altogether. Voice reference is available here, but since the character is aged a few decades, there's a fair amount of leeway on how the voice might sound. Basically, trust your judgement.
Appears in chapters 2 and 4.
“Everypony is special,” Sweetie said. “Even if you haven’t found it yet, sometimes talents run in a family. What do your parents do?”
“Luster Dawn, you can’t use my classroom to recruit monster hunters,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Good,” Sweetie said. “So can you tell us why you decided to come to the school? You’re the first diamond dog we’ve had here. I bet we can learn a lot from each other!”
A minor bully at the school, using intimidation and influence to extort exam questions. Cocky and self-assured in her untouchability. Has two scenes.
Appears in chapter 3.
[matter-of-factly at the beginning, leaning into taunting and sarcasm towards the end]
“I’ll expect the papers in my locker by tomorrow morning,” Silver said. “No rush. If they’re not there, Principal Starlight just might have an early-morning visit by a student who just feels so bad about cheating that she has to confess everything.”
“See you later, friend~” Silver laughed.
“You’ll get me a copy of next week’s homework,” Silver Lining said. “With all the correct answers. You’re right -- her grades really have sucked lately. I’ve had to check all her answers myself because she keeps getting stupid stuff wrong. You’ll get me the correct answers.”
A teacher at the School of Friendship. Only has the two lines. Voice reference is available here.
Appears in chapter 3.
“Pencils down,” Cranky said. “Hey! I see you back there, you wet annoyance! I said pencils down!”
“Alright you kids, stop jabberin!” Cranky yelled. “I’ve got good news and bad news. First, two of you got perfect or near-perfect scores. That’s the good news and the bad news, because the rest of you should have been hoping there was a curve to grade on!”
A teacher at the School of Friendship. Strong Southern accent. One appearance during a flashback. Canonical voice reference is here, but as several decades have passed since, you are welcome to use a different pitch.
Context: The lines she's saying are in a one-on-one conversation with Berlioz while she's planting flowers around the school, rather than in a classroom, so while she's still technically lecturing, it's a lot more relaxed tone. I'll fix the description too.
Appears in chapter 4.
[“Why are flowers so weak?” he asked.]
“Not everything has t’ be strong,” Apple Bloom said. “Probably wouldn’t survive in the wild, but it don’t have to. I’m here to tend it.”
“Plants are very sensitive. They can tell if you care about ‘em. A pony who don’t care about a plant an’ wouldn’t give it a name, that’s the same kinda pony that wouldn’t care about a pet or any other creature.”
[“Berlioz couldn’t remember all those names,” Berlioz mumbled.]
“That’s okay! Y’all just gotta remember this one name.” Apple Bloom grinned. “So what’s it gonna be?”
A derrgo, one of "bad" diamond dogs, Four lines in total, not much by way of personality, probably go with annoyed and contemptuous.
Appears in chapter 4.
“Hey!” a voice barked in the darkness. “You!”
“If dog comes to trade, go to trade quarter! Rest of city off limits to visitors!”
“Stupid high-land dog, go that way!” the derggo pointed with its axe. “And get collar for slave or else! City has rules!”
An overtly evil diamond dog. Greedy and scheming, but not actually nearly clever enough to back up his ambition.
Appears in chapter 4.
[“Trade with ponies,” Berlioz said.]
“Like parents of stupid tiny dog who spends too much time in the sun?” Tanzen laughed. “Ponies are not friends. They do not care about dogs!”
“Chief is weak,” Tanzen shrugged. “Berlioz is here now too, with pony slave. Berlioz is smart enough to know where strength is, yes?” Tanzen grinned, showing sharp teeth. “Ponies are weak.”
“No,” Tanzen scoffed. “Dogs all stupid. Tanzen go to tribe say we can finally get what we want, can finally have the respect and fear we deserve but no! Chief say Tanzen wrong! He knows nothing! He not smart like you and Tanzen.”
A few extras, each with a single line. Pretty much anything goes.
Appears in chapter 4.
“We could reduce the weight,” one of the other ponies said, quietly. “That would make us go faster, wouldn’t it? I’m in no condition to go on anyway…”
“We’re going to die!” one of the other ponies wailed.
“I can see the edge!” One of the other ponies shouted.
Random male dragon. Only has the three lines.
Appears in chapter 5.
“...Yeah?” The dragon rumbled.
“Spicy?”
“My tail?” The dragon looked back, then moved his tail so Larrikin could see it. “What about it? I didn’t trip anyone, did I?”
Guidance Counselor at the School of Friendship. Overall self-assured and confident and still a little bit narcissistic, but taking her responsibilities seriously, up to and including going on a mini-adventure with Larrikin. Voice reference is here, but overall nailing the mannerisms would be a higher priority than the voice itself.
Approx. 1,500 words. Appears in chapter 5.
Trixie sighed. “You had fun, and now you’re going to be punished. I hate this part of the job.” Trixie sat back and spun around in her chair. “What do you even want to do with your life, Larrikin?”
“Trixie has finished pumping all the water out of your stupid hole!” Trixie yelled. “Can we please finish at some point tonight? Trixie might not have had plans tonight but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t prefer to spend it inside and not in a bog!”
“Trixie considers it a small price to pay for keeping you from falling down the well of existential philosophy. It’s an even bigger and stupider pit than the literal one you were in tonight, and there’s only garbage at the bottom. It’s sort of like a metaphor, but in a very literal way.”
A lazy, self-absorbed idiot chasing get-rich-quick schemes. Projects a massively overblown ego with delusions of irresistible charm. Voice reference is available here - overacting is greatly encouraged.
Approx. 1,500 words. Appears in chapter 5.
“Well hello there,” he said. “I’m Zephyr Breeze. What can I do for you lovely ladies?”
“This bad boy can pump so much water that it’s illegal in Seaquestria! And also in Griffonstone. And some parts of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. The important thing is, it’s not technically illegal here yet and it’s a very powerful pump. With one tiny little hitch in that it needs unicorn magic and I’m not a unicorn and I couldn’t get a refund on it and I haven’t eaten in two days because I spent all my money on the pump.”
“That you’ll…” Zephyr gasped and stepped back. “You’re a kelpie?! Oh feathers, don’t eat me! I’m too young to die!”
Vice-Principal of the School of Friendship, helping prepare for an unexpected royal visit. Not a whole lot of lines. Voice reference is available here.
Appears in chapter 6.
“What’s wrong?” Sunburst asked. “Are the banners okay? I just sort of took an educated guess and went for dark red. I mean, Cranberry Day, right? So probably we should do something with cranberries.”
“Welcome to Princess Twilight Sparkle’s School of Friendship,” Sunburst said. “I’m sorry she was unable to greet you herself.”
[following an awkward pause]
“How about we go to the ballroom?” Sunburst suggested. “We’ve got food, a live band, and cider!”
A pastry chef roped into helping make a version of Vegemite in his kitchen. He's... less than thrilled by the prospect. A handful of lines.
Appears in chapter 6.
“That was yeast,” Pound said. “You have absolutely no idea what you’re doing.”
["You should be able t’ make some swirly bread an’ filled steam buns like that, right?”]
“I technically can,” Pound said. “I’m not sure it would be ethical.”
Pound smiled, trying very hard to not sweat. “I like to think… I always do my best. A chef shouldn’t excuse mistakes on his ingredients.”
A leader of a rather.... eclectic music band. four lines in total. Undefined gender, so anything goes.
Appears in chapter 6.
“Captain Neon and His Magic Band!” Neon Lights said.
“No, we’re not using that, Riff. I told you, we need to really play on the fact we’re like nothing else,” Neon retorted.
“Also we need to tell people we’re a band.”[“How many songs do you blokes know?”]
Neon Lights looked at the other band members. “We’ve never really managed to play the same once twice.”
A random bandmember. Single line. For some reason I imagine him sounding like one of the Beatles {pick your favourite one}, but really that's just bonus points.
Appears in chapter 6.
[“Captain Neon and His Magic Band!” Neon Lights said.]
“I thought we were going with Pecan Sandies?” asked the stallion on drums and theremin.
The ruler of Thestralia and as a result of all batponies. Projects a strong impression of quiet and composed - and somewhat intimidating - power and authority. Tone suggestion: https://voca.ro/kA05JiqpgXF
Appears in chapter 6.
“When you left without giving warning I was concerned you would do something foalish,” Ulna said. “There are a very many foalish things one can do between here and the safety of our home.”
[“I just enjoy learning things and digging up the truth.”]
“You’re in a good place to do so. Just be aware of the power you have. It’s fine to decide not to use a sword, but if you hold one and you’re unaware of it, you can easily hurt another without even knowing.”
“No,” Ulna said. “Because you’re a natural leader, when you choose to be one. A substitute baker. A substitute band. Improvised decor. Cider good enough to make ponies forgive a few of the rougher edges of the rest.”
Just a pony-shaped jackass. Go with the typical "I am soooo important" stereotype. Has six lines in total.
Appears in chapter 7.
That only seemed to make the unmasked pony angry. “No idea who-- I’m one of the most important ponies in Equestria!”
“I’m guarding the trail against scum like you,” he growled. “And I am important! I’m Black Gold! I’m one of the richest ponies in Equestria! I could buy your whole down and have it bulldozed!”
“You idiots are too late. Even if you weren’t just a bunch of foals up past your bedtime, you couldn’t stop us now.” Black Gold grunted. “And besides-- HELP! SOMEPONY! WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!”
The apparent leader of the "cultists", and mostly angry and resentful. Refined and cultured tone - voice reference is available here, although he's somewhat less of a caricature in the story itself.
Appears in chapter 7.
“It’s too late for that,” the obvious leader hissed. “You had your chance. You could have refused to take the throne. You could have listened to ponies who know better than you, ponies who should be ruling Equestria!”
“Both of us know that isn’t true,” Blueblood said. “There is power there. And a more useful prison than Tartarus.”
“Yes!” Blueblood yelled. “A new ruler! The kind Equestria really needs!”
Just a grumpy cultist with a slightly upper-class accent.
Appears in chapter 7.
“We’re working in poor lighting, with a time limit--” one of the chiseling ponies complained.
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