My Pretty Pony
Encyclopedia
"My Pretty Pony" is a short story written by Stephen King
and illustrated by the artist Barbara Kruger
. It was the sixth publication in the Whitney Museum of American Art
artist and writer series. An original limited artist edition of 250 was published in 1989 and was an oversized fine press slipcased book with stainless steel faced boards and digital clock inset into front cover. A trade edition of 15,000 was later published by Alfred A. Knopf and was later included in King's collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes.
pseudonym, but the author grew disenchanted with the work, and finally scrapped it entirely.
King references this concept again in the "Sorry, Right Number" screenplay (also collected in Nightmares and Dreamscapes) where a direction states that a character's "pretty pony has done its fair share of running" (indicating that they have aged relatively rapidly).
"My Pretty Pony" is also the name of a fiction
al indie rock
band in "Debasement Tapes", an episode of the TV series Veronica Mars
.
"My Pretty Pony" (2009) is also a Dollar Baby
short film, based on the Stephen King short story, directed by Mikhail Tank and starring Paul Marin (HD/SAG/4.4 minutes).
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
and illustrated by the artist Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger is an American conceptual artist. Much of her work consists of black-and-white photographs overlaid with declarative captions—in white-on-red Futura Bold Oblique or Helvetica Ultra Condensed...
. It was the sixth publication in the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
artist and writer series. An original limited artist edition of 250 was published in 1989 and was an oversized fine press slipcased book with stainless steel faced boards and digital clock inset into front cover. A trade edition of 15,000 was later published by Alfred A. Knopf and was later included in King's collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes.
Plot summary
An elderly man, his death rapidly approaching, takes his young grandson up onto a hill behind his house and gives the boy his pocket watch. Then, standing among falling apple blossoms, the man also "gives instruction" on the nature of time: how when you grow up, it begins to move faster and faster, slipping away from you in great chunks if you don't hold tightly onto it. Time is a pretty pony, with a wicked heart.Trivia
In his note on the story in Nightmares and Dreamscapes, King says the piece was originally a flashback scene included in a full-length novel-in-progress in which the grandson was now a brutal hitman reflecting on his childhood. The novel was intended to be published under King's Richard BachmanRichard Bachman
Richard Bachman is a pseudonym used by horror fiction author Stephen King.-Origin:At the beginning of Stephen King's career, the general view among publishers was such that an author was limited to a book every year, since publishing more would not be acceptable to the public...
pseudonym, but the author grew disenchanted with the work, and finally scrapped it entirely.
King references this concept again in the "Sorry, Right Number" screenplay (also collected in Nightmares and Dreamscapes) where a direction states that a character's "pretty pony has done its fair share of running" (indicating that they have aged relatively rapidly).
"My Pretty Pony" is also the name of a fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band in "Debasement Tapes", an episode of the TV series Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...
.
"My Pretty Pony" (2009) is also a Dollar Baby
Dollar Baby
The Dollar Baby is a term coined by best-selling author Stephen King in reference to a select group of students and aspiring filmmakers or theatre producers whom he has granted permission to adapt one of his short stories for $1...
short film, based on the Stephen King short story, directed by Mikhail Tank and starring Paul Marin (HD/SAG/4.4 minutes).