Giving and Forgiving
Chapter 21: Giving and Forgiving
Dawn’s eyes opened as the first light of the sun began to stream in through the Palace windows. Rolling off the side of the bed, he stretched and yawned, fanning his wings out with a few popping noises as he rolled them in their sockets. Making his way to the bathroom, Dawn quickly went through his usual morning routine, brushing his teeth and combing out his mane and tail. Looking at his wings, the colt decided that he wasn’t in any need of preening and made his way out into the main room of the guest suite.
Looking over, he noted the door to Caramel and Fluttershy’s room was still shut. That wasn’t all that surprising. Even though his mother and (presumptive) father were no slouches when it came to waking up in the morning, Dawn was still the earliest riser in the family, waking up for his morning training sessions with Scootaloo. Dawn briefly considered going to fetch Scootaloo from the suite she and her mother were occupying. However, he figured that Scootaloo might want to sleep in, on account of the holiday, especially given how much they had eaten the night before. Even Dawn himself was still feeling a little sluggish, in spite of the good night’s sleep he’d gotten.
On reflection, Dawn figured that, while Scootaloo might not be up training, there was no reason he couldn’t go through a few practice runs himself. He’d noted a few locations he could use during the time he’d spent exploring the Palace with the others. In fact, there was at least one location that Dawn felt would be particularly suitable.
Making his way out of the guest suite, Dawn trotted down the hallway in the direction of the dining room. That was where they were expected to assemble for breakfast before heading to some other room, though he couldn’t be sure which one, to open their presents. In between the guest suites and the dining room was a second, relatively large, open room. The room itself was devoid of any normal furnishings and was probably one of many just like it, large rooms that could be set up to serve any of a variety of purposes, depending on the needs of whoever was using it. Given that there was plenty of space, the room was perfect for Dawn’s purposes.
Stepping into the center of the room, Dawn spread his wings halfway and took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it back out. With his breath, he let all his extraneous thoughts and feelings bleed out into the ether, until nothing remained within but silence. For several minutes, Dawn simply basked in that stillness, allowing it to settle and center him, relaxing him mind, body, and soul.
Finally, he went into motion, beginning with the steps of the First Form, flowing smoothly from one technique to the next, the only sound accompanying the ruffling of his feathers being the tap of his hooves against the marble floor. After the First came the Second, then the Third, and so on, until Dawn had moved though every single one of his forms, returning to his usual resting position.
Taking a moment, Dawn centered himself once again. Then he began to go through the forms a second time. This time, he put just a sliver of his magic into the motions, just enough to stir the air around his feathers to life, creating whorls, vortexes, and mild breezes that only barely resembled the devastating techniques that they were when unleashed with the full force of his strength behind them. Once again, Dawn went through all of his forms before settling down and relaxing, taking another deep breath and sinking once again into the stillness of his meditation.
As he came out of his mediation, the faint ghost of a smile played across Dawn’s face. “Enjoy the show?” he asked as he turned towards the door, easily spotting the orange earth pony mare, who had taken off her stetson in what seemed to be a gesture of respect for what she was watching.
Applejack hadn’t made any particular effort to hide the fact that she had been watching Dawn. In fact, she was certain that he’d known that she was there the moment she’d passed by the door, possibly before. “Ah’d have to say it’s a mighty fine thing to watch,” she admitted. It was the first time she’d ever really seen Dawn go through his forms. The beautiful, flowing motions were amazing to watch and Applejack had easily found herself mesmerized. In those minutes, she could see the years of effort and honest hard work that Dawn had put into his own training. That kind of mastery had nothing to do with talent and inclination, just hours upon days upon years of constant training and devoted effort. Applejack could understand that kind of dedication perfectly well. After all, it was the same kind of dedication she had put into maintaining her family’s farm.
But that understanding made a pang of guilt shoot through her system. How could Ah have ever doubted this boy? She remembered perfectly well how she’d reacted the first time she had met him. She remembered the vacant, neutral expression he’d worn when she’d thrown insults and threats at him, everything she had said being nothing he hadn’t heard before. Most of all, she remembered what he had done when she’d finally apologized for her foolishness. She remembered seeing the cold, stoic colt break down into tears and cling tightly to Fluttershy.
Swallowing hard, Applejack stepped closer to the colt, feeling a bit surprised when Dawn didn't so much as flinch at her approach. "Dawn," she said.
"Yes?"
Applejack took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Ah know Ah said it to ya once before. But Ah feel like Ah need to say it again. Ah'm sorry." Her body began to shake. "Ah'm so sorry fer how Ah treated ya. Ya didn't deserve any 'o that, but Ah tried to drive ya out, tried to..." She couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence.
"And I know I said it before, but I forgive you," said Dawn, moving closer to her, "There is no need to continue apologizing."
Applejack's sense of guilt made her take a step back. "Ah know, but It don't seem right to me. Ah did somethin' terrible wrong and all Ah could do to make up fer it was say a few words. Ah don't feel like Ah've atoned at all."
Dawn glanced upward at the skylights. The low angle of the sun meant that the light was not yet streaming down into the room just yet. However, just enough light seeped down to provide illumination. "My Master gave me my name to remind me that each day is a new beginning."
"Huh?" Applejack blinked and sat down, surprised by the sudden tangent.
"No matter what happened before, dawn comes inevitably, and with it, the promise of a new day." Dawn looked down from the skylights, his eyes, which had once been the source of the conflict between the two of them, drifted down to meet Applejack's own emerald gaze. "The past is the past. What has happened has happened. We have each done things that we regret. But, no matter how much we might wish otherwise, we cannot change that."
Applejack couldn't help but chuckle at Dawn's words. She certainly knew that to be the truth. After all, Twilight Sparkle had tried once. It hadn't exactly gone well for her.
"Even this day, Hearth's Warming, comes near the eve of the year's end. Though winter can be cold and bitter, it is filled with the promise of the spring to come after." He smiled warmly up at Applejack as he stepped closer. "We can spend our lives wallowing in the winter of our misdeeds, or we can learn to look beyond them, to the spring to come."
Applejack sniffed as Dawn gently pressed up against her. Slowly, she reached out and pulled the colt into a warm embrace. "Yer Master tell ya that too?"
Dawn nodded against her. "He did. He told me that because he didn't want me to dwell on my past mistakes or the mistakes of others." He nuzzled in a bit tighter to Applejack. "So, even though our beginning was so rocky, I don't want you to waste your time on atonement you do not need. I would much rather that we were friends now."
Applejack smiled. "Sure thing sugarcube." She gently nuzzled the top of Dawn's head.
After letting go, Dawn looked curiously at Applejack. "May I ask what you're doing up so early?"
Applejack simply shrugged in response. "Same as you. Ah'm too used to risin' early to change mah habits now. Ah'm pretty sure Bloom ain't gonna be far behind me. Farm life'll do that to ya."
Dawn nodded. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get a little more practice in before breakfast."
"Sure thing," said Applejack with a smile, taking her leave of the colt.
As the sound of her hooves faded into silence, Dawn glanced around furtively. "You can come out now."
Slowly and soundlessly, a dark-gray mare made her way out from the far corner of the room, where the shadows had been at their deepest. Her dark coat had allowed her to blend in seamlessly, making her all but invisible to Applejack.
Dawn eyed Shade Steel Curiously. “So…what can I do for you?”
Shade Steel looked vaguely out of place. Her collar was the only thing she was presently wearing. Dawn suspected that she, like the rest of the Palace staff, had Hearth’s Warming off. However, Shade Steel wasn’t permitted to leave the premises, so was unable to go and visit her own family. Dawn felt a twinge of sympathy for her. Certainly, she had made her own bed and would now have to lie in it. But after having spent so long without family of his own, he could imagine how empty she must have felt inside to not be able to see hers.
“I just wanted to say…” Shade sighed and looked away, unable to meet Dawn’s eyes for too long. Even if she realized her mistakes, she still felt on a certain, visceral level, that the colt’s eyes were unnatural, which made them unsettling to look at.
Dawn appeared unfazed by her pause, simply watching patiently as he waited for her to speak again.
“I’m sorry,” said Shade finally, “I was wrong…about you…about N-Princess Luna…about everything…I guess.”
“Is that what you genuinely believe?” asked Dawn.
“Huh?”
The colt simply shrugged. “While I would be happy to accept your apology, I would rather go without if you felt as though you were forced to by the Princesses or my friends. That’s why I’m asking; do you really believe that you were wrong?”
“Well…” Once again, Shade looked away. The feeling of Dawn’s eyes on her made her flesh crawl. “I don’t want to believe that Princess Celestia is lying about her sister or you. I believe her. But…at the same time…”
“Changing long-held feelings isn’t such a simple matter,” suggested Dawn, getting an idea of where she was going, “Even if you understand it in your head, your heart still rejects both me and Luna.”
Looking deeply ashamed, Shade nodded.
“I understand,” said Dawn. After all, he’d had similar experiences. When Fluttershy had first taken him in, he’d had difficulty trusting her. Even when he’d been first introduced to her friends, even when he had started going to school, he’d been on pins and needles, waiting constantly for the other hoof to drop, even though he’d rationally understood that he could trust them. It had taken a few weeks to simply stop flinching whenever Fluttershy had tried to initiate any kind of physical contact. And, even then, those feelings had surfaced recently during the whole fiasco with Foal Protections. Even though Dawn had understood, on a rational level, that Fluttershy would never betray or abandon him, his heart had still reacted to that initial feeling.
“I accept your apology,” said Dawn finally, prompting a sharp intake of breath from Shade.
“But…”
“You just saw the moment I had with Applejack,” Dawn pointed out, “She tried to drive me out of Ponyville the first time she met me. The second time, she actually tried to kill me and ended up breaking a wing and some of my ribs.”
Shade’s jaw dropped.
“But Princess Celestia helped her to see the error of her ways as well. I forgave her then and we are friends now.” He gave her a slight smirk. “I suppose that one of the perks of having several different ponies try to kill you is that the act itself loses its emotional impact over time. However, there is one pony who needs an apology from you much more than I do.”
Shade swallowed, having a very good idea of exactly which pony Dawn was talking about.
“Which is why,” Dawn continued, “when you finish your sentence to the Princesses’ satisfaction, I expect to you to come to Ponyville, first thing, and deliver your apology to her. I will accept your apology on that condition.”
Slowly, Shade nodded. “I will.”
Dawn smiled at her. “Thank you.” He paused to think for a moment. “I’m guessing you’re probably one of the only ponies besides us in the Palace. Maybe you could join us for breakfast.”
“I…I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” said Shade, with good reason. After all, while Dawn had forgiven her rather easily, she had a hard time believing that his friends and family would give up their grudge, especially Dawn’s fillyfriend, considering the sheer ferocity with which she had been glaring at Shade earlier.
“I understand that the others might have an issue with it,” said Dawn, “But I’ve gotten the impression that nopony should truly be alone on this holiday. But…if you’d rather not, I understand.”
Shade thought quite hard about it. “I…I’ll accept,” she said finally. Though she was nervous, the fact that Dawn himself would be vouching for her presence would probably protect her from any overt hostility. She was genuinely moved by the colt’s willingness to forgive her.
Dawn smiled. “Well, let’s go then.”
Shade nodded and the two of them set off for the dining room.
Caramel’s eyes fluttered slightly before drifting open. The faint smile he’d fallen asleep with only stretched as the blurry yellow figure in front of him slowly swam into focus. Fluttershy lay across from him, still wrapped securely in his arms, still fast asleep. If anypony had bothered to look in the room, it would have been obvious to them that the couple had engaged in some rather…intense activities the night before. Fluttershy’s mane and tail were severely tangled and mussed from the pair of them rolling back and forth across the bed. Likewise, her feathers were ruffled and he coat was matted in places. However, that only made her look all the more beautiful to Caramel’s eyes. Part of him still couldn’t believe that they’d made love to each other the previous night.
I guess I should probably start looking into getting a necklace, he thought. He figured that their courtship had been rather brief as these things went. But, more than ever, he was sure of his feelings towards both Fluttershy and Dawn. He wanted to truly be Fluttershy’s mate and he wanted to be Dawn’s father. The thought of going all the way actually made his heart skip a beat as he pulled the mare a little more tightly against him.
The slight motion seemed to stir Fluttershy into wakefulness as her eyes slowly blinked open and she regarded him sleepily. “Good morning,” she whispered before letting out a cute yawn and returning to smiling bashfully at him.
“Good morning,” Caramel returned before leaning in to plant a soft kiss on her lips, which Fluttershy gladly returned, “How do you feel?”
“Umm…” Fluttershy’s hind legs flexed a little. Their first time had been painful for her when Caramel had taken her virginity. Even though it had been extremely pleasurable after the pain had faded, the…vigor…with which she and Caramel had consummated their love for each other had left her feeling a bit…sore…in certain places. But still, she figured that she wouldn’t be limping when she finally got out of bed. “I’m fine, I guess,” she said, darting forward to kiss him again, “Thank you for last night.”
“If I recall,” said Caramel with a wry smirk, “it was your idea. So I should be the one thanking you.”
His words prompted Fluttershy’s cheeks to flush pink as she shyly looked away from him. The expression made her look so cute that Caramel desperately wanted to kiss her again. So he did. This time, his tongue darted out to her lips to tease her lightly before retracting.
Her blush intensifying, Fluttershy gave Caramel a longing look as he pulled away again. For a moment, it seemed as though they were about to start up another session of lovemaking until Fluttershy noticed the clock.
“Oh no! We’ll be late for breakfast if we don’t get up soon.”
Caramel couldn’t help but chuckle at the urgency in her voice and gently began to run his hooves up and down her back, the gentle rubbing motion helping to calm her down. “It’ll be fine,” he said, “I don’t think we need to worry too much about being late. It’s Hearth’s Warming after all.”
“I guess that’s true,” admitted Fluttershy, leaning in so that she could tuck her head under Caramel’s chin and nuzzle into his chest, “But we probably shouldn’t keep them waiting for too long.”
“That’s true,” admitted Caramel, “But we can at least rest a little longer.”
“Yeah,” agreed Fluttershy, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, taking in the sweet scent of her stallion.
The two of them relaxed and drifted off to sleep again.
In the dining room, Dawn waited patiently, along with Apple Bloom. At present, the two of them were the only ponies in the room, with no sign of anyone else in sight. Applejack and Shade had gone to the kitchen, where they were quickly joined by Red River. Nopony else was awake just yet, which meant that Dawn and Bloom, more or less, had the room to themselves.
Both Applejack and Bloom had been shocked to see Dawn enter with Shade Steel walking beside him. However, given Applejack’s own circumstances, she was quick to accept the former Guardsmare’s apology, given that they were in the same boat. Still, Dawn was a little bit worried about the responses of everypony else. Scootaloo in particular had not struck him as being especially forgiving.
True to form, when Scootaloo arrived in the dining room, followed by her mother, her eyes nearly leapt out of her head at the sight of Shade. "What is she doing here?"
"I invited her," said Dawn levelly as Shade cringed and shifted slightly to hide herself behind Applejack. It was a bit odd to see the once-confident and determined ex-Guardsmare behave like a quailing filly (or Dawn's mother, for that matter).
"You what?" gasped Scootaloo, whirling to stare at Dawn in shock, "After what she did..."
Dawn nodded levelly. "She apologized and I accepted. I invited her because her only other option was to be by herself today. None of the other members of the Palace staff are in."
"But she deserves it!" snapped Scootaloo, "Dawn! She nearly killed you! She stabbed you through the leg and you almost bled out. If we hadn't gotten to you in time..." Tears started to stream down her cheeks. "You can't fix that with an apology!" She sharply pointed a hoof at Shade, who looked like she was about to cry herself.
All of the ponies in the room were clearly torn between admonishing Scootaloo for her harsh words and agreeing with what she was saying. Only Applejack could count herself on Shade's side in the matter, given what she had done. But, at the same time, Applejack didn't feel remotely qualified to speak out against Scootaloo.
"I'm leaving," declared Scootaloo, throwing one last angry, tearful glare at Shade, "I'm not going to sit down to breakfast with a murderer." Her hooves clicked harshly against the marble floor as she stomped out.
Melon stared out after her daughter. "I don't know if I should try to bring her back or go with her," she said finally.
"Let me speak with her," said Dawn.
"She's..." Shade's voice quivered as she struggled to find the words. "She's...not wrong...I...I tried to kill you. A simple 'I'm sorry' can't make up for that."
Dawn looked at her and shrugged. "A lot of ponies have tried to kill me. Some came closer than others, just as you did. But it isn't about 'making up' for what you've done. I don't believe that forgiveness is some sort of currency to be exchanged for something. You asked my forgiveness and I gave it. It's as simple as that." He sighed. "I need to talk to Scootaloo." He fixed Shade with an intense gaze that would not allow her to turn away. "You stay put." With that, he set off at a brisk trot after Scootaloo.
Finding her didn't prove all that difficult. Scootaloo hadn't gone all that far when Dawn set off after her. Her anger made it even easier to follow as she agitated the air aggresively with her passage, the swirling currents leaving a trail that stood out clearly to Dawn's wind-sense.
Scootaloo had stopped, having apparently worked herself up into such an angry frenzy that she'd run out of breath. She was glaring fiercely out the window, staring down at the snow-covered valley below. From this vantage point, she could even make out Ponyville in the distance. Her eyes drifted upwards to the cloud-covered skies, which were delivering a special light snow on Hearth's Warming Day. Her eyes stung a bit and she wiped fiercely at them to clear away the tears. But more quickly came in their place.
Nonetheless, she wasn't so lost in her emotions that she failed to notice that Dawn was behind her. "I'm not going back," she declared with an almost haughty determination, "No mater what you say, I am not eating in the same room as that mare."
"Is it really that important?" asked Dawn, feeling a bit confused by the sheer scale of Scootaloo's rage. He had never seen her this furious.
"Of course it is!" she snapped. "You don't get it because you're only thinking about yourself!"
Dawn's jaw dropped and hit the floor. "What?" He wasn't sure he could even begin to wrap his ears around what Scootaloo was saying.
"Because she was trying to kill you, it's your call to forgive her," snarled Scootaloo, "I don't buy that for a second. Do you have any idea what it was like for me and Fluttershy, huh?"
She whirled around, glaring at Dawn even as still more tears ran down her face. "We thought you were gonna die! It was like that time with Red River and Storm Front all over again. Only, this wasn't some kind of test or weird martial arts style psychology treatment. That mare really was trying to kill you and she nearly succeeded. You think it's okay because she ultimately didn't, because it was your life on the line. But it's not okay at all!
"I NEARLY LOST YOU!" She was screaming now. "You were there in that cave, bleeding all over the floor! Even when Storm put that bandage on you, it was still leaking before we'd even gotten to the air. We flew as fast as we possibly could to get you to the hospital in time, but even then I was afraid that we hadn't made it. The doctor told us that you were out of danger, that you just needed to rest. But when I looked at you, all I could think about was just how close he had been to telling us the opposite, that it would be the last time I would get to see you before your funeral, that the only thing I would be able to do was say goodbye."
She was sobbing openly now. Dawn wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug, simply sitting as she continued to sob. "When I saw your eyes open after that," she said, "I was so relieved because, all night, all I could think about was what it would be like if we couldn't train together anymore, if I didn't get to learn anything else from you, if I never got to hold you, if I never got to kiss you again, if I would never see your eyes again." She pulled away just enough to look Dawn in the eyes. "Fluttershy felt the same way, but she didn't want me to get even more upset on her account."
Her hoof thudded against his chest. "That's why you don't get it. You think that, when you go out and fight somepony, as long as you're the only one in danger of getting killed, it's alright, that nothing else matters. But you're wrong!" She leaned in again, pressing her forehead against Dawn's shoulder. "If Fluttershy and I lost you, can you even begin to imagine how much it would hurt; not just us, but Caramel, mom, Rainbow Dash, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Twilight, Arkenstone, Red, Storm, Applejack, Ditzy, even Dinky? That's why I'm mad. Shade Steel didn't just hurt you. She hurt all of us. She terrified all of us and she would have actually been proud of herself if she'd actually done it. She apologized to you. But what has she done to apologize to the rest of us, to show that she understands just how badly she hurt everypony?"
Dawn was silent, mulling over Scootaloo's words. Her angry rant had driven home how selfish he had been. It was the same selfishness that had almost prompted him to leave Ponyville after Willow's attack, that had driven him to go face Storm Front and Red River for his "execution." Every time he had left them behind on some kind of life-risking venture, whether to Cloudsdale or Diamond Mountain, he had been selfish, putting his life at risk without thinking about how those left behind would suffer if anything had happened to him. Having friends and loved ones is so much more complicated than I thought.
Finally, he found the words to say. "You're right, I'm sorry." He nuzzled Scootaloo's cheek. "I wasn't thinking about that at all. I should have been. I'm so sorry for scaring and worrying you."
"Y-you should be," said Scootaloo with a sniff.
"Even though I know how you feel now, I can't promise that I won't go and put my life at risk again," he said softly.
"I know," she whispered back, "I wouldn't ask you to do that. But, even then...I want you to think about how we feel. I want you to try your hardest to keep living, to not just give up and let some wound that somepony else gave you end you. I want you to always try your hardest to come back to us. Can you do that?"
"I will," promised Dawn, tightening his hold on Scootaloo, "However, can you try to forgive Shade Steel for what she did?"
"I don't want to," muttered Scootaloo petulantly, "How can you forgive her so easily anyway?"
"Because I know how much trouble it is to hold a grudge," said Dawn.
"Huh?"
Dawn sighed and began to gently stroke a hoof through Scootaloo's mane. "Remember how I spent a year in the Everfree? When I first went in there, I was furious at the ponies who persecuted me. In truth, the reason I went into the forest was because I was coming so close to snapping and doing something I would regret for the rest of my life, something I would never be able to undo.
"I hated those ponies for always trying to kill me for something I had no control over. I'd always done my best to not harm anypony, to be a good colt, to not strike down even the ponies who attacked me. But it didn't matter...not to them. In a rage, I simply gave up trying, because I felt that the alternative was giving in to that rage and razing a town or two with tornados. That would have made me into the monster they always thought I was."
"How could you forgive anypony for that?" asked Scootaloo, "How could you ever bring yourself to come out of there again?"
"I almost didn't," said Dawn, "For a long time, I'd resigned myself to spending the rest of my life in that forest. I trained and refined my techniques because there was nothing else to do, no job to be had, no ponies to be around. That was fine to me. As far as I was concerned, the rest of Equestria could rot.
"For the first few months, I stewed in my anger, always thinking about those ponies that had wronged me, thinking about how much I hated them, how much I would have loved to get back at them, all while knowing that I never would."
"How did you get over it?" asked Scootaloo.
"In a sense," replied Dawn, "I didn't, not until I came to Ponyville. That's the thing about holding a grudge. After a while, I realized that holding onto my hatred and wallowing in my own pain only made me tired. My anger seemed to consume everything inside me and, when it finally faded, there was nothing left. It left me feeling empty. That's exactly how I felt when I found mom.
"By the time I met her, I'd given up on feeling anything ever again. I was tired, too tired to even be angry anymore, perhaps too tired to keep on living." He felt Scootaloo shudder at his words and nuzzled into the base of her mane in an attempt to provide some comfort. "It was mom and you and everypony else who drew me back. You gave me a home, a family, and friends, a reason to keep on living and trying. I learned how to feel again. But I also learned to feel anger again as well. You remember how well that went."
Slowly, Scootaloo nodded against him. Dawn smiled. "That's why I can't bring myself to hold a grudge against Shade, especially not after she apologized to me. Trying to stay angry with her would have only made me feel worse later. I think it'll only make you feel worse too."
Scootaloo sniffed hard and pulled away from Dawn, looking into his eyes. "Okay," she said, "I'll try."
Dawn smiled and planted a feathery kiss on her lips. "That's all I can ask. Shall we go back?"
"Sure," said Scootaloo. However, as she was about to head back to the dining room, she caught a glance of herself in the reflection of a nearby window. "On second thought, let me find a bathroom. I need to wash up a little bit."
As Dawn and Scootaloo trotted off, a pair of pegasi stepped out from around the corner and watched their departure.
"Well," said the first one, the older of the two as she moved a hoof to brush some strands of her blue mane away from her eyes, "what do you think?"
The other pegasus grinned as her magenta eyes followed the two foals. "I like them. The filly's got a lot of spirit, a regular firecracker."
"I agree-Wait! I thought we were talking about the colt."
"Who cares about the colt? The filly's the one that interests me." The younger mare couldn't help but grin. "I heard she only started learning the Gale King a few months ago, but the way she moves..."
"It's the colt that Arkenstone and Spitfire are talking about," said the older mare, smacking a hoof against her forehead, "I still want to hear your opinion on him."
The younger mare sighed in resignation. "Fiiiine," she groaned, "He's not half-bad. I'll give him that much. He's obviously been around the block more than a few times. From the sound of things, he's got a good head on his shoulders and his heart's in the right place."
"More importantly," said the elder one, "His heart's in the right place, but it sounds like he's figured out how to keep from doing wrong in spite of that."
"Maybe," agreed the younger mare, "But he's still got a ways ago. Then again, I can see why Arkenstone and Spitfire like him. I think we should let him age a few more years though."
"Obviously," agreed the older mare.
"Now," said the younger one, "Tell me what you think of little Scootaloo there."
The older mare's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "You're right about her spirit. She certainly has a few rough edges that need to be smoothed out."
"But..."
"But...I think she's worth looking at too. I've read the reports on her training sessions. It would seem that Dawn is being very thorough about hammering home the basics with her. If the way she moves now is any indication, that's going to pay huge dividends in the future."
"Time, talent, and inspiration," observed the younger mare, "She's laid out a very solid foundation. If her cutie mark is any indication, it would seem that she's given herself to pursuing the path of mastery, mind, body, and soul. I say we mark both of them as prospectives and call it good. I wonder what Sunny's going to think about them."
"Something snarky, I'm sure," said the older mare, "We'll find out soon."
The younger mare couldn't restrain an amused laugh. "I can't wait."
After that, the two pegasi quietly withdrew.
When Scootaloo and Dawn returned, almost everypony else had arrived for breakfast. Twilight and Arkenstone were seated next to Celestia, quietly chatting. Rainbow Dash had parked herself next to Melon, staring somewhat dully at the plate in front of her. Mayweather was also waiting in her seat. Pinkie Pie was carting heaps of food back and forth from the door that led to the kitchens, helped by Red River, Spike, and Apple Bloom. Even Trixie and Arcana had arrived, the two of them waiting quietly for the meal to begin. Strangely enough, Fluttershy and Caramel were still absent.
Shade was still huddled, cringing in her seat at the table under the various looks and glares being directed her way. Applejack sat next to her, occasionally giving the ex-Guardsmare a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Mayweather was seated on her other side, doing much the same from her position.
Shade looked up and shuddered at the sight of Scootaloo as she moved to sit down next to Melon, who regarded her daughter with a worried gaze. Scootaloo ignored her mother for the moment and instead focused her attention on Shade Steel, who quailed away from the filly's intense gaze.
Scootaloo's entry seemed to signal a halt to everything going on in the room as everypony's attention was drawn by the tension crackling between her and Shade.
It was Scootaloo who spoke first. "You have something you need to say," she said, "Not just to Dawn, but to all of us."
Shade glanced nervously at Applejack, then Mayweather. Both of them gave her an encouraging smile. She turned to face Scootaloo again and took a deep breath. "You're right," she said, "I owe everypony here an apology, not just Dawn. I am sorry for what I did. I was wrong and you have every right to hate me for it." She closed her eyes. "I don't know what else to say...What else could I say? Nothing I could say could ever take back the things I did."
"Ah know that feelin'," said Applejack softly. This scene was eerily familiar to her.
Scootaloo took a deep breath of her own, closing her eyes. As she let it out, her body relaxed. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was calm. "I guess that'll have to be good enough," she said, "I can't quite forgive you yet."
"I understand," said Shade softly.
"But I can accept Dawn forgiving you, so I won't fight him on it anymore," Scootaloo finished, "Now, it's time for our Hearth's Warming breakfast! Where the hay are Caramel and Fluttershy?"
"Eek!" As though they had been summoned by Scootaloo's voice, Fluttershy and Caramel came bolting in through the dining room doors, preceded by Fluttershy's squeal, skidding to a stop near where Dawn was sitting. "I'm sorry we're late everypony," she said between pants, "Caramel and I overslept.”
Shade seemed to be mostly forgotten as Rainbow’s eyes narrowed and she looked at Fluttershy with a sly smile. However, she kept her mouth shut for the time being. Seeing the look on Applejack and Pinkie’s faces, Rainbow got the feeling she wasn’t the only one who had an inkling of what Fluttershy and Caramel had been up to last night. However, they would have to wait until a more opportune time to grill Fluttershy about the juicy details. She’s soooo lucky Rarity isn’t here right now.
Twilight coughed awkwardly. “Um…why don’t we go ahead and get breakfast over with. Then we can go and open the presents.”
“Awesome!” exclaimed Scootaloo, flying out of her seat, her previous anger clearly forgotten. Realizing that everypony was staring at her, the orange filly grinned sheepishly before sinking back into her seat.
Breakfast, while rather simple, was both filling and delicious. Over the course of the meal, Shade managed to find time to apologize to Fluttershy and Caramel as well. She was amazed at the warmth of Fluttershy’s acceptance. After they’d finished breakfast, Shade figured that she’d probably intruded enough on the Hearth’s Warming gathering and had gone her own way. Though everypony’s feelings about her were still mixed, they quickly managed to overcome their unease as they entered into one of the assembly rooms Celestia had set aside for them.
The center of the room was dominated by a large potted pine tree, decorated with ornaments and streamers. Its base was crowded with wrapped packages of various shapes and sizes, some large, some small. They’d been set there by the Palace servants when the group had arrived on their first day. The room even had its own Guard detail to keep any of the packages from being tampered with.
Dawn blinked as he surveyed the massive pile of presents. Even having been told about this old Hearth’s Warming tradition, it was amazing to see such an array of colorful gifts. Even more mind-boggling was the fact that some of them were for him.
The silence that had fallen over the room drew Dawn out of his reverie as he realized that everypony was looking at him with expectant smiles. “Um…yes?”
“Fluttershy told us that you haven’t ever really celebrated Hearth’s Warming before,” explained Twilight, “So we figured that you should get to be the first one to open a present.”
Dawn blinked and looked around, his eyes switching from one pony to another. “Really?”
“Yeah! Go for it!” exclaimed Scootaloo, her wings buzzing excitedly.
Dawn turned to look at his adoptive parents, both of whom were smiling contentedly as they watched him. Fluttershy gave him a slow nod. “Go ahead,” she whispered.
Dawn nodded and turned back to the pile of presents, his eyes roaming over the tags as he tried to pick out which ones were his. He was surprised when he noticed his name on one of the larger packages. This one had been done up with violet wrapping paper and pink bows. The color scheme seemed familiar to him. He had to hover off the ground to carefully lift the package off the pile. He wasn’t sure if the contents inside were fragile, so he worked slowly. As he read the tag, he noted that the package was from Twilight, Arkenstone, and Spike.
First Dawn tugged at the bow, untying the ribbon and pulling it off. After taking a moment to study the wrapping paper, he located the seams where it had been taped down and carefully used his feathers to pull them apart.
“Yeesh,” commented Spike dryly, “He unwraps presents like you, Twilight.”
“Hush,” admonished Twilight, blushing a little.
Dawn turned to regard them with a confused look. “Um…is it alright to tear it?” he wondered.
“Yeah!” shouted Scootaloo, “No need to be a neat freak. Go ahead and shred it!”
Dawn shrugged. “Okay…” Turning back to the package, he used his hooves to pull at the paper, tearing it open to reveal a wooden box. The box was made from a rich, purple-colored wood, coated with a finish that made it shine under the light and felt smooth to the touch. It was absolutely beautiful.
“Look inside,” prompted Arkenstone, his tone surprisingly eager.
Dawn slipped his feathers carefully underneath the seam of the lid on the box and pulled it up. His eyes widened at what he found. Carefully packed in the box in segregated, padded compartments were the implements of his own tea-making set. A cast iron kettle sat in one compartment, while a teapot made from purple clay rested in the other. Between them, in their own compartments, rested four small cups, along with all the other paraphernalia needed to brew his own tea. The last compartment carried a metal canister, which Dawn carefully lifted out and opened. A sniff confirmed to him that it contained the special blend of spiced tea that was his favorite amongst all of Arkenstone’s different creations.
“This is for me?” asked Dawn, stunned as he turned back to Twilight, Spike, and Arkenstone.
The three of them nodded back at him, all smiling widely. “Keep in mind, that teapot is for that one blend of tea only,” said Arkenstone, “Don’t go trying other teas with it or you’ll ruin the flavor.”
Dawn nodded and returned to regarding the incredibly lavish gift. Even the wood the box was made of was clearly special. It took him a while to find the words, even though it was obvious what he needed to say. “Thank you.”
He felt arms around him and looked up to see that Fluttershy had wrapped him in a loving hug. “Why don’t you pick another one,” she whispered.
Dawn nodded. Already, the others were picking out their own packages and opening them. Happy exclamations filled the room as ponies uncovered their presents. It was clear that they were all liking what they found.
Applejack had given Rainbow Dash a keg of “Special Reserve” cider, something that apparently had Rainbow flying in exuberant circles. “Don’t drink it all in one go,” said Applejack with a wink as the cerulean mare finally stopped and descended to hug the keg like it was some kind of stuffed animal.
Twilight, of course, received a small library of books for her…library… As it had been on her birthdays and previous Hearth’s Warmings, the biggest challenge was finding literature that she hadn’t already acquired.
Pinkie was ecstatic to receive a package from Rarity that contained a variety of exotic treats and confections imported from Equestria’s neighbors and beyond, a package that Arkenstone and Twilight had helped to assemble.
From Spike, Apple Bloom received her own, specially made drafting set, containing everything she needed to start designing her own creations. When she saw what she had received, Bloom tackled Spike with a happy squeal and planted a wet kiss on his lips as the young dragon’s tail beat out a happy tempo on the floor.
Dawn found a second, smaller package. Surprisingly, this one was from Caramel and…”Bon Bon?” Dawn turned to look at his prospective adoptive father in confusion. He knew who Bon Bon was, of course, and had met Caramel’s employer/business partner on multiple occasions and had even had pleasant, albeit short conversations with her. However, Dawn didn’t count her as among the ponies who would have given him a present. After all, while he’d found her to be a perfectly pleasant mare, she did run a sweet’s shop, which was a bit outside his usual tastes.
Caramel laughed at the look of confusion on Dawn’s face. “Well, when Bon Bon found out you don’t like sweets all that much, I think she took that as a personal challenge. She was pretty determined to come up with a candy that you would like, no matter what. She hooved this box to me before we left for Canterlot.
Dawn frowned, contemplatively rather than frustratedly, as he eyed the box. He’d tried some of Bon Bon’s candies before. Some of them had tasted quite good. It certainly wasn’t the flavor that made him keep his distance. Rather, the sweetness of the treats always tended to make him woozy afterwards, even if he’d only had a little. It wasn’t even the nice kind of wooziness that he’d seen the adults get whenever they’d imbibed enough (but not too much) liquor. Rather, it was the kind of wooziness that had the colt marking out the fastest routes to all the restrooms and bathrooms in the vicinity in case said wooziness transitioned into outright indigestion.
The symptom was a consequence of one of Dawn’s less pleasant experiences after being taken in by Fluttershy. Fresh out of the Everfree Forest, Dawn’s constitution had been acclimated towards extremely light fare, grasses, herbs, nuts, and berries. As a consequence, his first experience with one of Pinkie Pie’s cupcakes and its collection of flours, sugars, and fats, had resulted in him spending a couple hours in the bathroom being violently ill. From there, it had been a long, somewhat tedious road to help Dawn get accustomed to the more complex foods favored in civilized communities, particularly those that relied heavily upon processed ingredients.
According to Twilight and the doctor at the hospital, there was no actual, physical reason for Dawn to have such adverse reactions to candy and sweets anymore, which had led to Twilight suggesting that Dawn’s reactions were more psychosomatic than physical. The initial impression left in his subconscious by that first experience with a cupcake had subsequently soured all future attempts to indulge in anything sweet or overly rich.
So it was with no small degree of trepidation that Dawn opened the rather fancy-looking black box and looked down at the rows of dark-brown, some almost black, orbs, their shiny coats hidden by light dustings of cocoa powder on some, cinnamon on others. Still, seeing the hopeful look on his father’s face made Dawn cautiously lift out one of the darker ones. Carefully, Dawn bit into the truffle, not feeling quite brave enough to pop the whole treat in his mouth.
His first thought was that the taste was bitter, as the soft chocolate melted over his tongue. However, that bitterness was quickly washed out by a deep, complex flavor, complimented by the heat of chili powder that had been mixed in with the cocoa. On his tongue, Dawn could taste only the slightest hint of sweetness, just enough sugar to curb the bitterness and keep it from being overwhelming. As he savored the taste, Dawn’s memory called to mind something he’d read in one of the books he’d once checked out from Twilight’s library, something about chocolate, which had originally come from the lands south of Equestria, once being used primarily in savory and spicy applications before it had been brought to Equestria, where somepony had contrived the idea of adding sugar and other methods of processing in order to create the sweet confections it was known for today. Dawn imagined that those original chocolate dishes had a flavor probably akin to this. It was deep, complex, and delicious. Dawn was shocked as he marveled at the ganache of the remainder of the piece, still pinched delicately between his primaries.
“That flavor’s something else, huh,” said Caramel with a jubilant smile.
Without bothering to respond, Dawn popped the remainder of the truffle into his mouth and closed his eyes to completely enjoy the flavor as it washed across his tongue. Even the usual richness that such candies possessed had been curbed, just enough that it melted smoothly in his mouth, but still felt light enough to keep his stomach from churning in protest.
“Amazing,” gasped Dawn after swallowing, staring in awe at the rest of the treats in the box.
“Try one of the cinnamon-coated ones,” said Caramel, giving Dawn a sly smile, “I think you’ll be surprised.
Dawn nodded and lifted one of the lighter brown truffles from the box. Once again, he took a careful first bite and allowed his mouth to explore the flavor. This one was both sweeter and richer than the dark-chocolate one he’d tasted earlier. However, that contrasted heavily with the flavor, in which dawn tasted mingled spices, like cinnamon, cloves, and cardamon, as well as a few others, which mixed with a flavor that he immediately recognized. Tea! In fact the flavor of the truffle was very close to the favorite masala chai that had just been gifted to him by Arkenstone, Twilight, and Spike, with the flavorings being mildly adjusted to again account for the flavor and body afforded by the chocolate itself. Furthermore, the sweetness was clearly from honey, rather than regular sugar. Any uncomfortableness caused by his usual reticence towards sweets was curbed by the familiar spicy flavor of his favorite beverage.
Once again, Dawn quickly shoved the remainder of the truffle into his mouth and hummed in appreciation, savoring the flavors and scents as they spread across his tongue and the aromas of the various spices were carried up into his nasal passages.
When he finally swallowed, Dawn once again felt himself staring down into the small box, looking at the truffles. For the first time, he didn’t feel the usual uncomfortable churning of his stomach that usually came with consuming such foods. Instead, he almost felt a craving, something that beckoned him to try more. However, his stomach felt more than full and Dawn decided to instead close the box and set it aside.
“Good idea,” said Caramel with a chuckle, “You don’t want to make yourself sick on stuff you actually like, like what happened with the cider.” He winced as Fluttershy elbowed him sharply in the side. Caramel grinned sheepishly as Fluttershy gave him a wan look. "Sorry..."
Dawn shook off the slight unease that bubbled up in his stomach at the memory. Instead, he set the box aside and went up to wrap his arms around Caramel's neck in a hug. "Thanks dad," he said softly.
Caramel's face sported one of the happiest grins Fluttershy had ever seen as he hugged Dawn back. Fluttershy tittered happily as she watched them, glad that Dawn's first real Hearth's Warming was turning into something truly special for him.
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These ponies are too nice, too forgiving. I'm on Scootaloo's side here. I hope that when she comes back to Ponyville, Derpy whips up a mob to either drive Shade out of town or make my dreams come true.
Really hope we get a nice fun filled chapter with all the Knights I'm really looking forward to it.
Probably not First but I absolutely love love love your stories and though i'm a drunk frat boy tonight and have class in 4 hours I joined this site simply to keep up with your stories becauise Dawn is my favoritee caharacter. Thanks for writing this series it makes me smile and my goal as Historian of my chapter his to keep every member past and present smiling and happy.
Who were those 2 mares observing Scootaloo and Dawn?
And when Fluttershy gets the morning illness
I expect that big present for Scootaloo. I really know what to think of, and want Mog to make me laughing over it.
what have i just written?
Ok, Scootaloo's argument with Dawn actually got me to tear up, which doesn't happen often. You can tell she's matured a lot since the series began. And after all that heartfelt talk, we get an amazing presents scene and Dawn's reaction. Just the image of seeing him happily chewing away at some candy made me smile. You really outdid yourself on this chapter.
5221605 I assume they are 2 other Celestial Knights.
Maybe Shade Steel will become an ally soon? Caramel and Shy are so cute together. Even if she's mad and yelling Scoots does have a good point there. Hooray for presents!
Give a few years, and it will be Dawn and Scootaloo who will be late for breakfast
A new, awesome chapter. I like it how Dawn learned a bit more about himself and what it means to have family and friends.
5221605 As it seems they have contact with Arkenstone and Spitfire, I would say that where two other members of the Celestial Knights.
Fucking hell, it's Daring Do.
And Firefly, but most people decided on that last chapter.
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The only problem in this chapter was the random extra spacing cropping up. Other than that this was an interesting chapter, and I'm intrigued onto those two, well three mystery Pegasi. Don't know if they are Knights, recruiters, or what. But they are interesting, although if they are Knights I'd be a little disappointed on the ratio of Pegies verse the other races. 1 E; 1 U; 4 P; 1 Unknown but with a name like Swift it'd be another Pegasus probably, which isn't cool. Although Daring Do would maske a good semi-canonical Knight. And I'd be sad if the Show's actual Knight leveled pony Maud Pie [The Flying, Super Strenghted and Speed Earth Pony] isn't one.
I mean seriously, Flight, Super Speed, Can toss boulders over mountains [with the force to cause a mini-Tsunami], can break pony crushing boulders into dust in seconds, and can eat diamonds, of all the ponies who could be called Knights Maude is the only one in the show that has Martial Super powers.
5222148 Why did you count only one earth pony? There are at least Arkenstone and Granny Smith.
Love the chapter! Can't wait for more!
I can guess several things:
- Studying under a knight
- Celestia/Luna giving her something
- Her dad reformed
5222163
Granny Smith doesn'the count since she's retired. She has an honorary title, but isn't active. Only Arkenstone is active. So out of 7 Knights [Earlier fic Spits says there areally only 7 Knights atm. And Granny Smith says she's retired, and was given an honorary title for being alive at her age (paraphrased)].
So if those 3 Pegasi are Knights. Which I hope they aren't, but rather those in charge of the vetting process. You have:
Earth Pony: Arkenstone [1]
Unicorn: Arcanum Lulamoon [2]
Pegasi: Spitfire [3]
Sunny + 2 mystery Pegies [4 - 6] (possibly Knights 4 - 6 )
Unknown Race: Swift (Don’t remember other part of his name) [7 or 4].
So as you can see with only 7 knights in the world. It would suck with such an ungodly ratio of Pegasi, so I hope those 3 Pegasi aren't Knights.
5222235 I can think about a certain huge gift from Rainbow, and I'm almost sure that's it.
5222332 Why can't one of those mystery peggies be Sunny?
Also, when Arkenstone introduced Granny Smith to Twilight, he didn't say "former Knight", we can't say for sure if she counts or not. Though it seems you're right, as she's not at the castle at this point of story.
5222350
We can say she isn't because she says she isn't [forgot what fic she says it, but it's the same one when it's mentioned but it's when she says the other knights gave her the honorary title "The Perilous Seige"]. And she says herself that she's retired.
And she (Sunny) can't be one of the mystery Pegies because we know her name. But not the two who were talking about Scootaloo and Dawn. As well as knowing about Arky and Spits. So I'm hoping that they aren't official Knights or it be a horrible unbalance of tribes.
That and there should be no way that Maud isn't a Knight. Any pony that's watched her would say she's a Knight and has surpassed Rooted Mountain.
5222388
Uhm.. Okay..
It's the beginning of the fifth book by the way: while Rainbow gets her extraspecial evening with Soarin', Arky goes to Granny for the first time and leads Twi there the next day.
Tbh, I don't really care about the race balance. If it's any consolation, pegasi were the 'war tribe' after all.
5222419
But the group of Masters that inspired the Knights were one of each tribe that took out an army. It was a symbol / story of pony harmony of the 3 tribes not only being equal but working together to save Equestria. Similar to the altered Hearth's Warming Eve tale of the 3 races being equal to fight off the Windigos in the creation of Equestria. 4 potentially 5 Pegasi Knights and potenially only one of the other tribes gives off the whole Pegsai Tribalism feel that was a source of conflict in Book 3.
And really I'm just peeved at that because A) it takes aay from show ponies that deserve the spot on the Knight Roster with OC's. And 2) it's counter to the over all mesage of the series that their is no superior race. As well as each race has Masters of great skill, that makes them equal (to a degree) to each other.
Absolutely beautiful, heartwarming chapter.
So I guess pegasi dominate the numbers in the Knights huh?
5222442
Seems like pegasi, due to their military roots, answer that call (from the Three Masters) much more often then others. Look, both Dawn's assasins are (were for one) pegasi too.
I don't know about Mog trying to say all ponies are equal, I take it as they are not to care about the tribe's abilities and live in friendship and harmony, one tribe helping another in one kind of problems, vice versa in other. It might sound like Elderflower's plan now, but the pegasi might be more used to fighting or something, due to their abilities (not to mention roots), so they more often become warriors?martial artists.
Look at the fifth book, the examples of not real "equalness" are everywhere: take fish taste for earth ponies and rollercoaster ride for pegasi. Some things are for one tribe, other for another. The story makes me agree with Elderflower, Unicorns are most used for ruling and moving the progress, pegasi - for protecting, and earth ponies - for working. The only error in his views is he looks at unicorns as a superior tribe. Ponies have to be equal in the way that one can do anything she wants (if she can), there shouldn't be any law that forbids an earth pony to get into government or a unicorn to work at a weather factory.
I'm too bad at English express my thoughts better
5222530
True Pegasi might be more militant. But if there's more of one race than the others. Than it's doomed to be unequal since hey'd look for their own race above others. We didn't see mixed ponies scouting Dawn and Scoots we saw two Peagsi.
When we first saw the Knights it was 1 Earth Pony that merged Unicorn Magic with Rooted Mountain. A Pegasi that had a fusion technique, and a Uicorn that had th power to destroy matter [Utter Anihillation].
Heck you have an Earth Pony that can use wind attacks / beat a Gale King practioner that's near Master level.
A majority of Knghts being Pegasi when you have many other races that are as or more powerful than Pegasi is ludicrious. Especially as prementioned. That those Pegasi were scouting Pegasi, and would be so that they'd be more likely to take on their own race makes it stupidly leaned against the other races.
Yes Pegasi have a history of being militant. But there are many Martial Artists in the other races. Heck Discorded Rarity kicked everyponies flank that got near Tom, and all of the Mane 6 kicked changling Flank for a long time until eventually overpowered. But the other Races are just as much potential of being Knights and could be better than Pegsasi. My main example for instance Maude Pie could tear any Peagsi to shreds in an Air Battle, or from the ground.
It's almost rage indcing that of the 7 Knights that 5 (potentially) are Pegasi, and 3 of those 5 haven't in any way earned their chops. As well as with the potential Awesomeness of the other races martial artists. Only 1 E and U are Knights. Even then their Earth Pony is going to have serious trouble with Terra Heart.
5222680
Heh, say more, 3 of 5 (6) of CMC are pegasi
5222706
But orgionally it was equally one of each. Those two that were added since they were colt friends of the other two, and dragons can't get Cutie Marks. That's a huge difference.
Just as it was when there were only 3 Knights 1 of Each tribe. And there was a possibility of Two of 2 tribes and 3 of another. I don't care past that if more joined, and it was temporarily lopsided. But there's a difference between Starting Equal and two fillies having Feather Fever. And a group of martial artists protecting Equestrian Harmony and peace being almost all of one race, and with Arkenstone having no pupil, and Trixie poossibly not being a Knight them all being Pegasi.
Your "Pegasi are Militant" excuse is flawed and contradictory to the Martial Artist angel shown so far.
can you kill off scootaloo
5222680 You are aware that the only reason you are against those pegasi-knights is their tribe? which makes your argument tribalist? Or rather, the extreme on the other end. You want to force some symmetry with complete disregard of their ability. At this point in time, the 7 strongest (and "good") fighters celestia could recruit were those 7. Letting go of tribalism means not caring what tribes they are from, instead of recruiting tribe-based.
5221545 for you, i'm going to quote Arkenstone:
Please stop with those demands of death after every other chapter. It's getting creepy.
5223018
Actually my comment isn't Tribalistic in nature. Nor is it against the fact that with 7 Knights there'd be more of one tribe [admittedly Pegasi than not]. But I know for a fact that Maud is more powerful than most Knights shown. And the fact that her slot is non-existant when she matcges the critera to a T urks me.
As preiviously stated on the show she was an Earth Pony that could fly by her own power rather than Technology; Had Super Speed, Super Strength, and had powers that on the show surpassed the physical abilities of every pony on the show. Even more than Darring Doo [who is just an Indiana Jones, Laura Croft Hybrid with no canonical super powers. Other than ingenuity, and disguesses.].
Having over 90% of the Knights Pegasi, ignoring that there are ponies of the other tribes that are as good if not better than Pegasi, and they are willfully treated asnon-entites is TRibalistic. Especially since a race would be more likely to indite, mentor, and train those of their race. If only to pass down their knowledge and skills. As well as it'd be easier to train those with similar magics and capabilities.
Granny Smith was given Arkenstone, since they were both Earth Ponies. Arcnum took in Trixie since she's a Unicorn and he can relate and explain things that a Unicorn would understand. Spits wants to train Dawn and she has the skills, knoweldge, and understanding of Pegasi magic to teach him.
Having it almost all Pegsai means that they would ignore the other races more often than not. Not becasue of willful Tribalism, but becasue of complacency and ease of teaching. Heck we see the two Pegasi talking about Dawn and Scootaloo as potential canidates [which they'd make good Knights no doubt]. But they don't care about the other races to Vet / look into since it's easier to relate to their own tribes abilities.
Which is why I call out BS. It's not even that there are more by a margrin. It's that what they consider the best, is ignoring other races that have as much potential as non-Pegasi. But those other races are largely ignored and overlooked.
I had no problem with a 2:1:4 Split. After all it was looking like Arcanum was the only Unicorn that Celestia made into a Knight at least until Trixie passed her training. And I knew that peeps would want Daring Doo as a Knight, even though Conanically the only Knightly thing hse does is thwart Ahlizotl [SP] by the skin of her teeth. And in the show didn't show any real martial mastery. She'd still be a fan favorite. Then you had Swift to Teach Dash since they are both the fastest Pegasi and she needs the fastest. That's 2, then you had Spits. That makes 3, and I was interested in Seeing who the other Two would be.
And yes I'm mostly mad that Maud's spot was taken by somepony who isn't anywhere near as much a pony as she is. After all she's faster than Dash. More stronger than a Princess, and is the only Earth Pony in Equestria that can use her own magic to Fly like a Pegasi without wings. How is that not one of the best Fighters in Equestria [and that she uses her powers to save ponies, cares about others, and is filled with a tranquil calm. How is that not perfect for a Knight?]
And if Maude is being overlooked. Who else is? As I said earlier. Those of a race would be more likely to Vet / look into those who are of their race to gauge their potential and train. If only becasue of the ease of training / relating their skills to future canidates. And if more and more Pegasi are brought in, that means that less and less of the other races are brougth in because they are being overlooked. Even if that oversight is unintentional.
5223096
Maud: even if we assume she is that strong in this story, there could still be arguments against her becoming a kningt. She might simply not want to fight. Until such a thing is adressed in the story, tribalist arguments are nothing but speculation.
Dawn and Scootaloo possible future pegasi Knight recruits: they simply happened to notice them. Doesn't exclude the possibility of other candidates from other tribes. We just don't learn of that in the story.
minor nitpick: 5/7 is ~71% (<3 math)
Knight training: martial arts are beeing trained outside of the Knights. The tribe ratio of the Knights doesn't mean much for general martial arts training. There could be plenty of unicorns/earth pony fighters be training elsewhere.
Although i see your point on the large number of pegasi beeing shown. Guess moguera enjoys writing about them most?
5223018 11
Forgot to add this. If it tursout that those three aren't Knights but are part of the Knight process, since they were just investigating Dawn and Scoots. And as Arky said, their is a vetting process where the potential canidates are investigated and vetted to make sure that they (the potential canidates) are checked to make sure they uphold the qualities needed for a Knight (paraphrased). And those three are part of the oversight commitee.
Then I'll apologise for jumping to conclsions, and if I came across as an ass (which I donn' mean to come across as but have probably failed). And if they are part of an OS comittee, the it'd be interesting to see if any look into Red Current (what with his sonic pierce attack. Not near Arky's power, but getting there).
If the Mountain Pillar has some similarities to the Gura Gura no Mi (Tremor Tremor Fruit) from One Piece.... Ponyville is gone:
5223207
Last comment made before I saw this.
True we don't know anything about Maud in the show yet. All we know in the show other than her Super Pony powers, is that she loves her sister and would do anything to protect her. But really is a reserved pony with a lack of facial expressions.
And yeah, they (the three) just talked about Scoots and Dawns futures and potential. While taking about Arky and Spits going on about Dawn. And hopefully those three are just part of the ponies who determine who Tia brings into the fold as Knights.
Also thanks for the math bit. I'm horrible at math ... but yeah 71% is a muc higher ratio. I mean they have temples in Goxia dedicated to training in Martial Arts. And many different races and ponies training in the martial arts with story canon showing those arts moving, mixing, and growing in Equestria. (Storm Front teaching Rumble, and SES wind kunai as examples.)
5223096 >arguing about why a canon character deserves to be a knight in someone else's fanfiction
Maud is more powerful than the knights shown by what measure? Arkenstone has demonstrated endurance/stamina as well as power, you're useless in most combat situations without those. Besides, raw power means nothing when all of the knights seem to be masters of some fighting style, which seems to be one of the requirements of becoming a knight. Not to mention that being a knight just seems to go against Maud's (shown) personality- the other knights we've seen are energetic, charismatic, and of relatively high intelligence. Maud is shown to be very passive, not taking action until it becomes absolutely necessary, her lack of visible emotion could be a sign of some form of autism or some other personality disorder.
I could just be misinterpreting your post, but Rainbow Dash isn't training to be a knight; she's becoming a Wonderbolt.
5225023
A few things:
- Arkenstone isn't energetic or charismatic. Her's reserved, calm, and is highly effcient with as little wasted movement as possible as well as a large well of patience. He only acts when nescessary, and does so in the quickest way possible.
- Arcanum isn't energetic. active to a degree yes but not energetic. He's sometimes charasmatic, but mixed thoroughly with being an abrasive ass.
- Spits is energetic and charismatic.
- Maud Pie: Has shown martial art proficiency, tossed a boulder as big as she was over a mountain past a lake with enough force to create a mushroom cloud; whose shockwave was felt miles past the blast zone and created a tidal wave. Flew (only earth pony to ever do so under their own power), and after flying used martial arts to do 13 punches (that I could hear) in 2 seconds turning an x tonne boulder into gravel.
Chewed a diamond and called it crunchy.
She invented an edible rock that made rock candy that is highly digestible. As for not acting until nescessary, and being reserved. So is Arkenstone, that's basically part of his actions in a nutshell.
As for being autistic. http://autismmythbusters.com/general-public/famous-autistic-people/, and don't forget Sherlock Holmes. She's highly intelligent, and being a Knight doesn't mean you have to interact with a lot of ponies. Just that you are able and willing to do what's nescessary to keep ponies safe. Which she is capable of doing. And you don't get super martial arts / pony magic powers without raw talent and training in Martial Arts.
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As for Dash being trained for Knighthood. Spits said a Knight is going to train Rainbow Dash, and made a passing comment if I'm remembering correctly that she'd make a good one some day.
5225414 what I meant by the only taking action when it becomes absolutely necessary was that Maud was not a proactive character. She could have noticed that Pinkie was going to the extreme to make her get along with rest of the Mane 6, and reassured her that she liked them, but didn't show it the same way Pinkie did. Instead, she waited until Pinkie had put herself in danger to do anything.
Aside from all that, I can't imagine Maud being a fun or easy character to write. IPO, she's a really overrated character, if for no other reason than how one-dimensional she is. I get it, she loves rocks.
With regards to the autism thing, I am well aware that autism shows itself in a multitude of forms, my younger brother has Aspergers.
Yes, Arkenstone is reserved, but he appears to be more capable of recognizing distress in his friends than Maud, despite being blind.
5225023
Sorry wanted to add one last little bit before I was able to go to sleep.
With my above reasons showing Maud's worthiness (and at the end Maud scene clips to resee her in action). Even ignoring the only canon martial artist with fic description of pony magic taken to its extreme. I just find it sad that a series that show cases the awesomeness of different pony types magic put uses Pegasi magic / artists than not. And this chapter makes it look like it's dumping all Knights other than two as Pegasi (active, not retired).
Since as Maud shows non-Pegasi have the potential to be insanely amazing martial artists and I want to see what they are capable of. Rather than just an ice user, and blade manifested. (I'll give cred to Red as a non Knight for peirceing sonic attacks / living spear attacks, Morning Star for reality rewriting, and Terra Heart for scaring Arky) but those are non Knights.
As promised Maud clips for analysis.
1:46 -1:57 6:03-6:16 8:08 - 8:27. Her Martial Arts chops. And only Earth Pony Flyer.
5225716 None of what Maud did was martial arts... Again though, she's a very one dimensional character, and those aren't fun to write or read about.
5225661
Sorry I didn't reply to this yesterday but I'll make it short. But as for Maud, I did think the rock thing was annoying. But I liked her for one reason and one reason alone. And that was this series. When I saw her destroy the hardest substance with her teeth and toss that boulder with force that not even Arky on his battle flash back showed. I thought "Hell YES! An IRL [to a degree] FIMVERSE Knight! That must be Rooted Mountain mastery in action.", then the flight scene I thought, "Holy frak! Not even Arky can fly." Followed by, "A thousand spear hoof strike, disintigrated a boulder!"
I was thinking like how Spits was incompotent, was fixed by Moguera. That Moguera had a reason she came across as she did, or had a master that taught her would pop up. Then my second thought was, "If she's not a Knight, and we don't see her master. Then it proves my fantheory that the Pies are a family of Power Ponies. And rock-obsessed Maud is her Clark Kent!"
Anywho sorry was longer than I anticipated. But yeah, the only reason I ever liked Maud was because of Savage Skies. If it wasn't for this series I would be peeved that the writers retconed a pony that had potential and they wasted it on "Oh! I'm from a Rock Farm so I must be Rock Obsessed." Sterotype to create cheaper dramatic tension than them making Deets and Silvy Hate Sinks to create tension for the CMC, rather than the countless other things they could've used.
5225716 Oh shit it Berry Punch on the train!
5227356
I just noticed that. But the only thing out there is rocks, desolation, and the furthest thing from good alcohol / punch that you could get. What do you think she was headed out to Pony Death Valley for?
I do have to wonder how pinkie feels about having ruined cupcakes for someone.
5229881
shattered, just shattered
THIS IS AWESOME!
It's better than than the alternative, I've seen so many other stories get bogged down with unneeded characters. sure they have their moments and they can be interesting but they really don't serve any purpose and drag the story out way too long
end " marks.
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I love your character driven narrative. How you let "one-shot" characters become larger more prominent pieces of your story because it was just right. Shades presence and influence in this chapter is testament to the quality of your writing.
Yeah, that whole "the first time always hurts" thing is a myth stemming from ancient times when women were forced into relationships with men they usually weren't attracted to. The hymen (which actually surrounds the vaginal opening rather than covering it) is not ripped during sex unless there's not enough lubrication. If the girl is into it, there's nothing to worry about.
That said, I don't think horses even have a hymen anyway, so if we're keeping anatomically/biologically correct, the issue should be moot.
7313427
WHY DO YOU EVEN KNOW THAT!?