Cliffs notes – so far
Flowers, Blossom! is an experimental work that it requires close reading; frequent narration shifts, a quasi-stream of conscious format, and a non-linear plotline make the story a challenging read. To clear up some of the confusion below are some clarifications about style and plot, as well as a brief synopsis of where the story is so far.
- Narration shifts are indicated by this symbol: ~*~ or by italics.
- Narration is in a quasi-stream of conscious style, so the text is the typed out thoughts of the characters, more or less.
- Apple Bloom’s, or any slave’s, narration is marred by misspellings and improper word use—this is because she is illiterate so her thoughts are being typed out phonetically.
- The seemingly omnipotent third person narrator, who can be either friendly or hostile, is a character you have not met yet.
- While the plot line is not linear, it is generally progressing forward. For reference, in the first chapter the CMC were approximately 11 or 12, in the most recent chapter they are about 15 or 16.
- Rainbow Dash, Twilight’s wife, is having an affair with Rarity and then later with Apple Jack; Twilight suspects something but does not talk about it or take any action to stop it.
- Scootaloo is spending more and more time with Rainbow Dash who is starting to act like a surrogate parent to her.
- Twilight is increasingly consumed with guilt about having slaves; she drinks heavily to try to overcome this.
- The plantation is starting to lose money, but Rainbow Dash is keeping this a secret from Twilight.
- University names have not been ponified. Twilight and Fluttershy are both graduates of Harvard, and Fluttershy worked for a time at Oberlin, where Pinkie attended. As a reference, Oberlin College was the first coeducational multi-racial college in the United States; it has always been known for its open-mindedness and very, very liberal politics.
- Pinkie is somewhat affluent, her father was a successful prospector and she owns a pub/saloon/showhouse/brothel in Manehattan.
- Synopsis: At this point in the story, Twilight has invited one of her coworkers, Fluttershy, her student, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo over for dinner and cocktails. Despite trying to pace herself, she is drinking heavily and also invites her slaves to eat and drink with them. She is anxious that as a slave owner she will be looked down upon by Pinkie, who to her represents everything wrong with slavery as well as the “northern” culture she came from.