“Yeesh, no wonder you were hiding it,” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. “If your real name was any more girly, you'd spit perfume every time you opened your mouth.”
Gold Petals frowned. “It isn't funny!”
“I didn't say it was!”
“Then why are you laughing?”
“Cuz I don't get it!” Rainbow Dash stifled her chuckles long enough to look straight at the short-haired young mare. “What's the big deal? What are you trying to prove? Lemme guess, mares aren't allowed to partake in delivery caravans?”
“As a matter of fact, no, we're not.” Gold Petals shifted uncomfortably in her leather gear. Her voice was higher and more relaxed, but the glaring frown was as trademark as ever. “I've come a long way getting to where I'm at now, and though I may be on the short end of the stick when it comes to peer respect—you're right—these bozos are too dense to know any better. So, I get to do what I want to do. And if you so much as think of spilling the beans to them—”
“Whoah whoah whoah!” Rainbow Dash waved her hooves. “Who in the hay said that I was gonna rat you out?”
Gold Petals blinked at her. “I thought you were—”
“I was just curious, girl! I could have gone on without making you 'fess up if I wanted to. Where I come from, mares aren't told they can't do stuff because of who or what they are. If you ask me, I think it stinks that you have to go flank-over-elbow to do something you feel proud of.”
“For what it's worth...” Gold Petals grumbled.
Rainbow Dash glanced at her curiously. “So... you don't enjoy working with the caravan?”
“Well, it's okay and all, but...”
“But what?”
Gold Petals sighed. “I'd rather do that than stick around here...”
“What's wrong about this town? Aside from all the splinters you must get from living here, it looks pretty boss.”
“Maybe on the outside it does,” Gold Petals said with a grunt. “But a mare who lives here is stuck living her life inside.”
“You're serious?” Rainbow Dash sported an incredulous smirk. “I thought all the dudes did all the mining. Why do the mares have to avoid sunlight as well?”
“This place is old. It's built on tradition, and that tradition is old as well. A little too old if you ask me.”
“Ever thought of just moving away?”
“And ditch all the ponies I know and love?!” Gold Petals briefly sneered. “Heck no!” She sighed again and stared off into the mists beyond the crystals' glow. “Still, there are some who would like that...”
“How much is 'some'?”
Gold Petals bit her lip. “More than Hushtail knows, I'm willing to bet.”
“I had a chat with Hushtail?”
“Did you really?”
“Uhm... Okay. So I sat around and ate lettuce while he rambled on and on about boring stuff. But he struck me as a tender-hearted... uh... old guy. He really feels a lot for this town and the crap you guys have been through. I can't imagine him turning a blind eye to so many of his own citizens if all they wanted to do was get up and leave.”
“You fly around a lot,” Gold Petals said to her. “You strike me as a pony who is never in one place for too long.”
“What's your point?”
“My point is, you don't understand old ponies!” Gold Petals grumbled. “You have no idea just how clueless they are! There're a lot of Wintergaters in this town who would much rather leave all the mines, high altitudes, and nasty night creatures behind and go living in the southern coastal cities.”
“Are you one of them?”
“What did I just tell you earlier?”
“That you had a really girly name.”
“No, it—Unnngh...” Gold Petals face-hoofed. “Mmmmngh... One of these days, something big is gonna happen, and this town that I love is gonna flip upside down from how crazy the ponies react to it.”
“Hushtail doesn't have many years left, does he?”
“I wouldn't be too concerned about Hushtail,” Gold Petals muttered. “Sladesteed, on the other hoof...”
“Hushtail's son?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “What about him—”
Just at that moment, there was a shouting voice from the far end of the platform. “Up high! Up high! From the southwest!”
“They're coming!”
Gold Petals gasped. “Oh jeez! Oh jeez!” Clearing her throat, she wrapped her leather hood back up and galloped off. “No more talk!” she exclaimed in a lower voice.
“I don't get it?!” Rainbow Dash squawked after her. “Who's coming?”
She shot a panicked look back. “Who do you think?!”
Damn, it just sank in now how much Dash actually has left to do...
Oh that's bad. The monsters are coming. Someone get me a shovel and a rocket launcher.
Here come the monsters... Time for awesome Dash again?
She probably won't be able to fight them since it hasn't been too long since the 'episode'.
WHAT A TWEEST
I am legitimately impressed. I haven't been that OHGODWHAT since the Sixth Sense.
This story just keeps get deeper and deeper... But I like it! Onward with the reading!
-THEpandaman007
Mash is falling behind on his dashie evaluation duties -_-
And I don't like that.
IIIIIt's Dashie's Marathon Evaluation Time!
So in this chapter, we learn that I was indirectly right. The town is built on the sexist view that stallions are better than mares. We learn that Gold Petals goes with the caravan to get away from the sexism in the town. (I think, it wasn't really clear.) Also, we learn that many of the ponies in Windthrow would rather leave to live in the north than mine and live in the town. Also, this chapter ends with yet another cliffhanger-the monsters are attacking! We will get to see them sooner than I thought...These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Shamrocker! I will not fall behind, and you better read my Marathon tommorrow or I will be quite sad! I SHALL CATCH UP TO YOU, SHAMROCKER! YOU MARK MY WORDS!!
Rainbow Dash squawked after her. “Who's coming?”
She shot a panicked look back. “Who do you think?!”
THE LIBYANS!!!!
One...moar...liek...
and it shall be 6 6 6
Gold Petals just became 20% cooler (excuse the bad joke) because I hate sexism. Those stallions are jerks for being the way they are, and I'm still hoping for the ship hereby named as GolDash!
1653901
XD
Reminds me of Lord of the Rings.
“I don't get it?!” Rainbow Dash squawked after her. “Who's coming?”
She squawked? Damn, pegasi are weird.
Oh! RainPetals! Shipped...
Uhh... so, if GP's a girl, and they live in this small town, with no contact with anyone else for years on end... how did she get away with being in disguise for that long?
5079111
How did she manage it in the first place?
3837235 Eowyn?
I find that bit odd. Unlike humans, equines are a matriarchial society. both in the show and in nature. Where mares control the flow of a herd, decide what happens when, and is the big cheese. And stallions are around for fighting and breeding.
So how'd a settlement get an old tradition that completely flipped that upside down so that mares were housewives first, and domestic keepers second? With them being able to follow their special talent / calling third? Especially with how important destiny and cutie marks are to ponies.
5079111
I find it odder that their tradition that's "old" spits in the face of natural pony civilization. At least IRL, Pre-Equestria / Great Freeze, and in Equestria itself since its founding.
I knew it! Granted, the creatures didn't come at the time I thought they would, but they still came! (Well, are coming...)
6967135 IMHO the part about special talents/cutie marks wouldn't really matter. For example, there are no space-related cutie marks in the show because there's no exploration of space in it (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm way behind). In the same way, if all a pony ever knows is cooking/cleaning/whatever, that's all there is for them to eventually be good at.
/Just my explanation
7456166
You're way wrong, and way, way behind.
Watch Season 5 Episode 1 and 2. The Cutie Map pt.1 and 2. And Season 4 Episode 1 and 2, Princess Twilight pt. 1 and 2.
A ponies cutie mark has a massive impact and effect on them. In a way the power behind their special talent, and holds their ability to use that special talent. If removed well, Twilight can't use magic, Rainbow Dash has the flying speed of flying brick, AJ's physical strength and ability to use countryisms goes out the window, Flutershy's druidic powers vanish. Etc.
Cutie Marks and Special Talents are massively important to ponies.
And that's not counting the fact that in Season 4's two parter. We see that the Tree of Harmony had Twilight's Cutie Mark tying her destiny with the Element of Magic thousands of years before her birth.
Foreshadowing of the most vague variety.
02/15/2017 03:58 GMT
"And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word! TRADITION!"
Ah, the drawback of such a culture.
Yay sexism!
There are many similarities between this town and the many Appalachian mining towns in the US today, they cannot accept that things are changing and they need to diversify and find other solutions to their current problems, otherwise they will die out. Fortunately in this case, Rainbow is excellent at providing alternate solutions.
07/08/2019
20:08 UTC
Boo sexism!
Dun dun dunnnn! 🎶
Set the sails, lads! The ship is leaving port!