200, and She Said No Follow Up · 7:16am Aug 24th, 2014
So, there are 200 of you bastards now. I love you all so much.
I'm not planning anything special for this follower milestone. Yet. I may come up with something.
However, I would like to take a moment tot talk about the story that got me here.
Holy.
Crap.
At this point, She Said No has over 300 comments. 100 dislikes, and 300 likes. I expected the dislikes because of the topic I was writing, but the argument going on in the comments is something I wasn't prepared for. I wanted the story to provoke discussion, and that I did, but seriously, the amount of hate and anger displayed is crazy. I knew some people weren't fond of Celestia, I myself admit to being little cheesed at her for multiple reasons, but the amount of hate she's been getting, especially when I posted the epilogue of the beginning of the mess sorting itself out. A lot of people seem to think I was backpedaling because of the people who disliked how I did the first chapter. This simply isn't true. That epilogue was how I always intended a story like this to go, in my head at least. I never thought I'd end up writing it. but I did, and it's given me a ton of attention, both good and bad.
A few people have said they think the Epilogue is me going back on the message of free will in the first chapter. But that's not the way I see it at all. At this point, Twilight freely chose to attempt to repair her friendships, and will chose to become a princess again in the future, if she wants to. It's all her choice now. This was brought on by her knowledge that she could have saved those ponies in Fillydelphia had she chosen to go. The second chapter, I think, rather neatly and nicely highlights the important of choice. As someone in the comments of the story said, exercising free will does not exempt you from the consequences of choices. Twilight made a choice and paid the price for it. She realizes the mistake, not of standing up to Celestia, but of willingly putting so many innocent lives at risk while she could have done something about it.
Some people claim the second chapter renders moot any point I was trying to make. Really? I show the consequences of Twilight's actions, and indeed show how Twilight's actions were partially Celestia's fault. In my ind, they were both wrong for what they did in the first chapter, maybe to different extremes, but both wrong, and both right to a certain extent.
I love how many different opinions and view points I'm getting on that story, i love the discussions going on, but it got to the point of people saying things about me rather than the story that I had to make it official in the A/N that I would delete any comments attacking me personally and not the story or characters in the story. That's no OK, guys. Judge the story all you want, say it's terrible or it's great, say it has good or bad characters and lessons, but do not say things like, and I quote, "Was the epilogue written by a twelve year old?". It's not acceptable, and I will stick to what I said and delete any comments like that. I don't need it, and you don't need to do it.
Some people have been asking how the Elements could effect a dragon when magic doesn't. Well, it's clear to me that the Elements are of a completely different kind of magic all together. Remember the powers they got from the opening the box? That worked of Tirek, when he just absorbed regular magic. It's clearly a completely different thing, and there's every possibility that it could work on a dragon. As for the fire, that's my personal head cannon and I admit it was a mistake writing it like that without more details.
Comment on the story if you like, but I warn you that there are so many comments at this point I'm only skimming most of them.
However, if you would like to ask me a specific question about the story, feel free to do so on this blog. I'll try to respond to any questions I get on here. Or, if you'd prefer, I'll take PM'd questions as well.
So, those are my thoughts on the story and where I went with it. I realize many will disagree with how I see it, but I thought I should at least put it out there.
Until next time,
Kodeake out
I must say, the 20 stories right above the 200 followers has a nice complementary look to it.
I don't get why people even dislike Celestia. She's way better than Luna
We live in dire times when people argue so viciously on Fimfiction of all places. Keep your head high man, you're an awesome writer.
Yeah, I've never understood why people seem to dislike Celestial. I think it's because much like the citizens of Equestrian, bronies tend to hold Celestial to a much higher standard, some concidering her a physical goddess. True her magic is great, she controls the sun and has lived for a thousand years but I don't think of her as a goddess. Just a rather powerful alicorn. As such I am willing to accept that she has flaws just like any other pony, and she sometimes faulters and make mistakes.
Part of me thinks that she trying to ensure that equestrian has protectors capable of defending it as she may some day be unable to herself. Like her long spanning life is coming to an end or something.
I still have to read that. It caught my eye. Now to go see the controversy!
Well said all around. If you need someone to vent on, I'm happy to have my ear bent.
Psst.
'Canon', not 'cannon'.
Every time I see that, I want to smack the person who posted it.
2396684
Ironically that's what the writers seem to intend as well, she moves the sun and Luna the moon because their Alicorn magic when it touches them takes upon it's own magic and revitalizes them. (Listed in the Journal of the Alicorn Sisters, which is actually a canon book)
They didn't even become princesses by their own actions, they were asked to try and help unite them by Starswirl (who is apparently the most boss pony in all of Equestria considering all he discovered) as a representative of each pony race, which would have been fairer considering they still lived in a time where they just made up after the Windigos, with ponies like Commander Hurricane still stirring a bit of tribal violence, and they didn't like the thought of each other being the head of a United Equestria.
Well Kody, look at the bright side of things: A story of yours that wasn't TwiDash did end up getting a cr*pton of attention, just like you wished for! Granted, it probably wasn't the kind of attention you would have liked, but... Meh, close enough!
2396544
Celestia is defined vaguely enough in the show, that with only gentle strokes one can turn her mistakes into intended, malevolent manipulations. She's really easy to be made a truly loathsome villain; a manipulative one, believable, with good PR and Machiavellian mind.
It's equally easy to make her a dramatic character, very relatable; wise but not infallible, torn between personal feelings and duty, punished by fate for neglecting either. and never with enough freedom to secure both.
And if the author makes even slight mistakes, doesn't cover all bases thoroughly, it's extremely easy to have Celestia depicted in their story to bleed from one side to the other, her genuine mistakes to appear as vile manipulations.
Here, Celestia didn't try to convince Twilight nearly enough. She remained vague about the threat. She didn't argue obvious points (Equestria survived 1000 years at cost of countless lives). She could have begged Twilight and bargain, making all kinds of promises. Instead, she gives the passive-aggressive vibes of "You defy me? Fine! Have it your way, see how masterfully we botch it without you, and the disaster is all your fault!"
She apologizes for all the wrong reasons. It's like when a suppressed kid stands up to an abusive, manipulative passive-aggressive parent, the parent apologizes for "not teaching you better, and allowing you to grow up the monster you became". She doesn't apologize for steering every moment of Twilight's life, she apologizes for not talking to her = not controlling her better.
2399442 Well, at least she hasn't thrown a temper tantrum like her little sister yet
...Whoah...when i read that fic, I'll admit, I was taking it a touch seriously. In this case, yeah, i can see what ya meant and I'll honesty say it's an interesting thought exercise. What i don't get, and I'm sure you got this alot, is this. HOW was Twilight and crew's presence going to keep the dragon from frying the place? I mean, for the sake of argument, say she did go with her friends and went there. How would things have been different? In my mind, it'd only be more fatalities, especially without the actual elements being present, Rainbow Box being a question mark if you'd see them use it.
What I want to say is...you said these were the consequences of her actions, but I don't see it playing out the same way. Can we see how you saw it play out if she DID go? However reluctant...this might provide the closure some people need. Mind you, this is just a thought...and another example of "be careful what you wish for". You might want to start discussions, but be prepared for the hoards, as the internet is often not kind. Heh, kinda like Twilight herself, you may not have been prepared for how this kind of action would go, heck of a parallel, eh?
Good Luck
2400091
Depends, actually. There are multiple ways the situation could have played out. They could have intercepted the dragon before it reached this city and stopped it there, or maybe they would have been pushed back to the city but they could have held it off for long enough for the city to be evacuated. At the very least they could have saved many of the guards' lives had they gone instead of the military.
2400190
Hmmm, ok, maybe I should ask this question instead, as I feel like I didn't manage to say what I wanted to. Breaking down the Main 6's skills, it's fair to say Twilight is an incredible powerhouse in terms of spells...though outside of Tirek we've never seen it in use against Magic Resistant opponents. Then we have AJ, a high-level Earth Pony to be sure, Stamina and strength second only to Big Mac and for good reason. Pinkie Pie...yeah, Party Cannon, nuff said. RD being the fastest thing on Wings with the Rainboom to match, Flutters and her animal Skills, wrapped up with Rarity...though her contributions tend to vary.
Alright, we've seen our 6 girls take on big odds and win before, I'll never deny that. Now, about the Army though...how many do you see in the Equestrian Armed forces? The types that are there, their skills, their intelligence, and so forth? Moreover, how can they fail to get the results the main six would obtain, in a situation that doesn't call for the Rainbow of Friendship? I mean, Nightmare Moon and Discord? Yeah, needed Orbital Friendship Cannon...and less said about Crystal Empire and the Canterlot Wedding the better. But still, what I'm implying is a Dragon...in this case, seems like something they could have come up against in the past and been able to work around to about the same effectiveness of our heroes.
I mean, if not, and that combination of talents our usual protagonists have are THAT much better... I guess what I'm trying to say is, on the threat scale, I can't see how Twilight and crew could succeed that well where the Military powers couldn't. I mean, dragons have been around long before the main 6 showed up. And yeah, Twi and friends encountered a few in the past, biggest direct one was the issue with the Sleeping Dragon that gave flutters the nickname Dragonshy. What I mean is, was this event going to seriously play out this way?
Say, just for argument's sake, The Army stopped the dragon outside of the populated areas. Say, just for a minute, the only damage was to the troops, and then, nothing fatal or permanent. How would this have played out then? Would Twilight be seen in the right? Would Celestia still had a leg to stand on when they next met? How would the girls have felt then?
I know, I'm nit-picky, but I do want to know the difference here. I know friendship is an important thing, but when you hang on that bond to solve all your problems, then maybe the failure isn't on the friend you ask for help, but rather you for letting the person you call for help down. I'm not trying to bash Celestia, trust me, I'm an older sibling and I empathize with her more than you'd think. But I'd think Twilight would have been entitled to her refusal, and moreover, to the proper proactive work and protection of her friend. I know you said Celestia was partially at fault, but I feel like there was more reasons at her hooves than you may have said.
2400250
You do remember how absolutely useless the military in Equestria is, right? Think back to Secret of my Excess. The Wonderbolts were sent to deal with Spike, and they spent the majority of the episode cowering inside a tin can.
When the Changlings invaded, I'm pretty sure the M6 beat more of them trying to get the Elements than the entire Royal Guard did.
In Boast Busters, Twilight took care of the Ursa by herself before the military could even get there, assuming somepony had sent for help because that's the obvious thing to do.
Moreover, think about how useless we've seen Celestia be. She was successfully kidnapped by VINES. Along with her sister. A single magic beam from Chryssalis and she was down for the count.
In the show we've seen time and time again that the Elements, and in turn their bearers, are more effective in most situations than the guards and even the Princesses.
You also have to remember, and a lot of people seem to ignore, that they eventually won the fight against the dragon. Losses do not mean losing.And maybe, had the M6 gone instead, there still would have been losses. They're part of any fight. The focus shouldn't have been on how Twilight could have changed what happened, the focus is that she could have tried, whether she succeeded or not. She didn't even try to save anypony, which is where her guilt comes from. The knowledge that maybe, just maybe, there was some small sliver of chance that she could have saved just one life.
The military in Equstria has done nothing, as far as I'm concerned. They've never been shown to be effective, and in fact become the complete opposite when you realize the Wonderbolts are technically one of the better military units, since they were dispatched to deal with a dragon.
2400354
Not gunna lie, forgot all about Spike-Zilla incident.
And taking that into account...holy fuck Celestia DOES have hacks in her military.
You know, I drop every critique I had on this story. THAT was the linchpin that was bothering me! Ugh...but now...yeah, I still don't hate Celestia...but HOLY BUCK do I not like the decisions she's made over time. Heck, more to the point it becomes increasingly obvious the 1,000 years between Nightmare Moon's banishment and her return in terms of piece were either bought with more luck and prayer in all our world's history put together, or a LOT of sacrifices in the background with no profit or learning from mistakes to be found by Celestia's forces.
...in short, my eyes opened, and my brain got scrambled.
Still, now that "I" finally get it, thanks for taking the time to type this out. I know this must have been driving ya crazy, but I can confidently say you've got one more pony in your corner now.
...and now my brain is coming up with AU ideas...back to my musing corner.
2396544 Luna has a bigger chance of having more character development, and us fans can delve deep into looking for clues, hints, and make theories and what she did on the moon, the bigger picture to what she did before she turned nightmare.
it's been long time since I read She Said No, and then I found it again and this blog.
I saw one of your final comments on it, and it mentioned trust, Twilight thinking Celestia could handle things and your apparent failure to communicate that. Honestly I never considered that possibility, because Twilight has seen Celestia try to step into battle and fail, so she has no reason to think Celestia is passing the buck
I see, I and understand what your intentions were now. However ther's a piece of writing advice I've learned from observing a lot of recent fiction and people's reactions to comments and criticism.
Just because you're the author, doesn't mean you know what you're talking about.
People can, and will, interpret your story in a different way than you intended and sometimes if you fail to communicate things to such an extreme that you have to explain your meaning after you get the reactions that means that your message or intent was not realized.
It's the same for comedy, in the same way a joke isn't funny if you have to explain it, the meaning behind a piece of fiction will be lost if you have to explain it outside the story itself.
3663118
That was literally the entire point of this blog. Nowhere in here did I say anything about me being right nor my view on it being the only view. In fact I encouraged people to have their own perspective on the matter. When I wrote the story it became painfully obvious that I had not shown enough of what I thought I had for my message to get across, this blog was written only in an effort to explain what I had been trying to do with the story from my side.