The changeling guard took a turn and pushed out a door right out of the hive, entering the street without pause.
Moonbeam blinked as he followed with his adoptive mother. "Where are we going?"
"The school."
Moonbeam peeked behind him. "I thought it was back there? It isn't a changeling school?"
"We have one going there, but it isn't for changelings, or any one type of pony."
Samantha perked an ear. "Oh, I've created a misunderstanding. I knew Fast Change knew about this school, but it isn't hers, or the changelings. My apologies for the confusion."
Moonbeam sagged as he went. "If it wasn't a changeling school, why'd you let me get all worked up?"
The guard grinned but didn't turn. "We're ponies too. Making you a bit rattled for your preconceptions was too tempting."
They pressed on to the less opulent portion of Canterlot, where most of the non-unicorns lived. Few bothered them with a changeling guard with them, looking stern and official in his armor. "Welcome to what the locals call 'Decanter'."
"I know this place," spoke Moonbeam with a little excitement, pointing. "My place wasn't that far away from here."
Their target wasn't far from the hive and they approached an unassuming building. "Miss Shade Fire, are you in?" called the guard as he entered the front door. "I have a student for you."
A shadow pixie flitted out. "What's all the noise about?" Her eyes wandered from the guard directly for Moonbeam. "Well aren't you the most adorable little scamp!"
"That's my teacher?"
Samantha nudged her wayward son forward. "I can entrust you to see to the proper education of my ward?"
"That's a very fancy way of asking if I'll be his teacher, and I will be." She landed lightly and offered a hoof to Moonbeam. "I'm Miss Shade Fire, and I will be your teacher. Come with me and let's get some paperwork out of the way, then you can meet the others."
Moonbeam reached hesitantly for the odd hoof presented to him. "You don't care if I'm older?"
"Are you willing to learn?" asked Shade Fire. He nodded a little, still unsure. "Good, then I'll teach an old stallion if I have to, which you aren't. We'll do a few tests to see where you stand and go from there. You just be ready to learn and be a good pony in my class, alright?"
A griffon flew out of the room. "Hey, Miss..." She trailed off, seeing the two new faces. "Oh, uh, hey."
"Glenda, splendid timing. I want you to take our newest student--"
"Moonbeam," he offered with a little smile.
"Yes, Moonbeam. Show him around the class and see he's introduced. Moonbeam, this is Glenda, one of your classmates."
They exchanged greetings with equal uncertainty, but they obeyed the directions and were soon off into the classroom. Shade Fire turned to Samantha with a nod. "I gather if you're here, you know about this school?"
"Please inform me." Samantha smiled brightly. "I would gladly know more about where my son is being educated."
The guard saluted lightly. "It looks like you're in good hooves." He turned and headed back to the hive with a little whistle.
Shade Fire offered a wave before nodding. "This is Decanter Elementary. We teach ponies of all tribes how to be all they can be, to proceed to a productive life directly, or to head off to a university. We cover all the basics: History, Math, basic chemistry and biology, writing, social studies and home economics. Does that sound like what you want for your colt?"
Samantha smiled brightly. "That sounds optimal. I notice you haven't asked about our different appearances?"
"Sometimes that just happens," pointed out Miss Shade Fire. "If you're not his birth mother, I'd treat you the same so long as you love him, and I think you do. If there's more that I should know, you or he will tell me."
Samantha perked an ear at the umbrum. "Your attitude is commendable. I feel I should inform you so you can make the best decisions possible. His birth parents are deceased, and I am his legal guardian in the form of his adoptive mother. I wish him to be treated well and prepared for adult life. He is clever and driven, but that fell into trouble before. I wish to see that channeled to more productive things."
She nodded back. "I'll keep an eye on him, see what makes him stick." She got a bit of a menacing look. "If I have to, I'll scare him onto the right path."
"Does that work?" Samantha tilted her head. "Let us complete the papers, so you may resume your lessons."
They went off together to see about Moonbeam's proper induction.
Silver followed after Night with a frown on his face. He bore the foals, but was silent.
"You're unusually quiet," noted Night. "We're alone now, speak up."
But he said nothing.
Clear made a little noise, and he nuzzled her, silence still hanging over him.
They arrived at their room and Night opened the door with a deft twist of a wing. "Come on, then you'll tell me what the silent treatment is about."
Silver proceeded inside and made for the nursery to set the foals down with near-whisper promises that everything would be alright.
"So we're saying no, right?"
Silver turned on her with a scowl.
"What? That's the obvious course of action. It's not good for her, and it certainly isn't good for our forming family. I mean, you looked angry that she was even suggesting it." Night waved a hoof at Silver, then retreated from the nursery, lest the foals be upset again.
Silver followed her, still quiet.
"Enough of the quiet," she snarled, advancing on him. "Talk!"
"Or you'll hit me?" he asked.
Her mouth worked silently a moment before she shook her head. "I didn't hit you that hard."
"This isn't the first time. I doubt it will be the last. I never hit you."
Night's wings spread. "This isn't about that!"
"It never is." He turned away from her and approached the small bar that rested in their room. He normally ignored it, but perhaps that was a fine time for... He didn't know. He wasn't much of a drinker at all, and they all looked the same to him. With his magic, he snatched a cider bottle. He knew what that was!
"Silver..." Night come up beside him. "Please. I want you to be happy, and to be happy with you. Do you really think--"
Silver wheeled on her, bottle raised high, but it waved and fell, still closed. It landed with a dull thump. He couldn't hit her. "Do you have that little faith in me?"
"What?"
"I wanted her to go. I got her to go."
Night sucked a little air through her teeth. "Great, but there is no question. She can't jo--"
"It doesn't matter. I wanted her to go. I wanted us to talk, like adults. I wanted us to be a team, together... She drove a wedge and instead of accepting my... I tried to back away from it, and you hit me."
Night looked guilty for a moment. She rallied, ready to fight, but her memory of her recent battle weighed heavily on her. "You... don't want her then?"
"I wanted to talk with you." He picked up the bottle and applied his magic to the cork, popping it free with some fizz overflowing from it being dropped. Despite that, he poured a glass quickly. "You don't trust me."
"Of course I--"
"Actions speak louder than orders." He set the bottle back on its shelf and took up the glass in his magic, hovering it before his eyes.
"Don't be like that..." Night glanced off, then back at Silver. "Look, I'm sorry I hit you. I thought you--"
"Even if I was, would that make it alright?"
She wanted to say yes. She knew that was the wrong answer, at least to Silver. Being struck seemed to be a very sensitive topic to him, and she took a slow breath to regain control. "I was wrong. I'm sorry. What do I have to do to make it up?"
"Never again." He swigged the glass. It tasted of apples. He couldn't taste the alcohol that should have been in it.
She glanced between the hovering glass and the alicorn that just drained it. She was also aware that he rarely partook. "Is this that important?"
"I expect it from some... If I'm trying to convince a stranger, I may have to yell, beg, or even be slapped around to get the job done." He turned to Night. "But we're supposed to be together, closer than that. You can... Be as angry as you want, but we're supposed to be members of the same team." He gestured to the room where the foals slept. "I never forgot that. Did you?"
He turned away from her and stormed to a window to peer outside at nothing.
She watched him before taking a slow breath. "Look, I'm sorry." She came up behind him. "I'm going to hug you." He didn't object, so she pulled him in from behind and embraced his larger form. It was ridiculous in some ways, that he, the larger of the two, would be worried about being struck by her, the smaller. He, who fought the warlike anubians to a standstill. Still, she hugged him. The heart she could feel, she wanted it, and the pony attached. She still loved him. "Can we talk?"
"Always," sighed out Silver, perking an ear back at her. "She wants to join us. If it was a few moons ago, maybe, but..."
"Things have changed," agreed Night. "Between her and I, and her and you, and even her and Samantha, though one apology would make the last right as rain, so I'm only half counting that."
Silver quirked a smile. "Whether we accept or not, we should take this advantage."
"Hmm?"
"Make her face Samantha, and hopefully apologize. That was cruel, even for her. She needs a few friendship lessons of her own."
"Friendship lessons?" Night raised a brow. "Not kidnapping the spirit of a pony's mother is more than a 'friendship' lesson." She grunted softly. "Still... It's not a bad idea. If we can get a little bad water cleared, that's good."
Silver turned to her, shivering. He wanted to kiss her. So he did. He leaned in and their muzzles met in a gentle exchange and silent promise to not repeat the mistake that created that rift between them.
D'aawwwww....
It's always so good to see some resolution between lovers! The Text has been beaten upon this day!
This was good. Glad they remembered that they are married and is a team. That should trust each other and talk instead of hitting the other: points to Night and runs away before she hits me
Mmmmmm that felt a little bit too clean... The underlying problem with Night Watch seems to still be there.
Seems like a half hearted apology at best, a checked box t worse.
Enough of the quiet she demands for him to speak, Silver has a great response for that, makes NW think but she still doesn't see it as wrong. That is shown by her saying 'I didn't hit you that hard'. You still raised a han... Hoof... Wing against your spouse. Then... Man I'm losing the will to rant on this. This situation is fucked and they (Night and Silver) probably be separated by someone with common sense...
~DJ-AR
7408620 Maybe Night grew up rough. Maybe she watched her parents fighting like that. Or maybe cultural difference it's still wrong but I'm interested in why she does it maybe we find out soon
7408620 You quoted the entire chapter when you only needed the last few lines, why?
Edit: Yay fixed, nevermind.
opulant - opulent
sill quiet - still quiet
*****
I'm glad that was
resolvedaddressed quickly.Of note, I remember now that Nefertari has another human spirit in her possession, no pun intended, and likely does not want Night Watch to find out and make her release that one as well, hence her unreasonable demand. Too bad the Watches are not that easily deterred. She'll need to think of another way to keep them back without raising suspicions.
7408664 Are you sure releasing that particular spirit is such a good idea?
7408664 At least these typos can be fixed.
So the mini-arc with Moonbeam seems to be pretty much over with. I'd complain that that was wrapped up far too cleanly, but I half-expect that this was concocted largely to keep Samantha out of the way while Silver and Night work on their issues.
Still, there are a few points that I wanted to raise. For one thing, that changeling guard said that they (the changelings) are ponies too; except no, they're not. They don't have one of - if not the single most - defining characteristic of a pony, which is a cutie mark. Yes, they can make one appear via their shapeshifting, but that's as much of an illusion as the rest of their form when they do that. In their natural state, they have no cutie mark (unless this fic has changed something and I don't recall it). They certainly deserve to be treated equally to anypony else, but they're no more ponies than the local griffons are.
Also, I can't help but feel that just finding another school like that was a little too clean. So this school is a public one that requires no tuition to be paid? It isn't overflowing with non-unicorn (or at least non-pony) students with little room for more? It's just a matter of "oh hey, the answer was a few blocks down the road after all"? That just seems a bit...anticlimactic.
But no matter, on to the real meat of this chapter: Night and Silver's conversation! I have to say...this was very well-done! The scene was quite heavy in its impact, and felt very genuine in its presentation.
Silver showed remarkable restraint here, and conducted himself as well as could possibly be expected. It's hard to know how to act when you're hurt deeply by someone you love very much, because the reactions are conflicting ("I love this person" "I'm so angry at this person"), and that cognitive dissonance alone can be incredibly difficult to deal with. That he was able to restrain himself from lashing out of her is his characteristic kindness taken to its most positive place (its weakest place is passivity and self-loathing, by contrast). Instead, he gave a slow and measured explanation of why he felt so hurt.
Luckily, Night Watch was able to hear it. It was interesting that Night Watch's reaction implied that she was somewhat surprised that this was so important to Silver. I was under the impression that the sense of betrayal that would come from being struck by one's mate in a fit of anger would be universal, so her sense of surprise/disbelief was itself something of a shock. My suspicion here is that Night honestly thought of Silver as being so powerful that such a blow was like nothing to him (as indicated by that passage where she hugged him). I suppose that makes sense, but it still feels like a stretch - it honestly felt like she didn't understand that this was more due to the nature of the act than the physical damage inflicted. I'd expect that kind of literalism from Samantha, but not Night.
It's because of that that I feel like we still haven't reached the real issue of why Night Watch has been acting like this. This chapter was largely dealing with correcting her behavior, without getting into why she was acting in a way that needed to be corrected to begin with. To that end, I still think that this speaks to what we've seen demonstrated more than once in previous chapters; that Night Watch feels insignificant in terms of how much power/influence she has in the current group dynamic, and is overcompensating for that. Ultimately, that's why she wanted to learn shamanism, after all.
(I'd almost posit that she needs to become an alicorn - both for her state of mind, and to give the lunar ponies their own princess - but I honestly think that's be far to neat-and-tidy a solution to feel genuine. Not to mention, her actions so far have seemed like they'd disqualify her from the necessary level of personal character that seems like it'd be a prerequisite to achieve that state.)
So this is a step in the right direction, but ultimately Night's underlying problem remains unsolved. If she can't figure out how to reconcile her feelings of inadequacy with her current position - and in doing so learn to hold her personal feelings in check when the situation is bigger than her - then this will come up again. Silver said that she'll probably hit him again, and while doubtlessly she can't imagine doing it now, I have to wonder if he'll turn out to be right...
Of course, this barely touched on the issue with Nefertari, and when that did come up I rolled my eyes when Silver said this:
Damn it, Silver, no, she doesn't. Friendship lessons are what you give to inculcate your culture's values in others so as to make them better able to conform to said culture, and that's not the case with Nefertari, who has her own culture (and seems to understand the values of Equestria just fine; she simply doesn't hold them as her own). Yes, what she did was quite clearly an abrogation of the good relationship she had with you and yours, but treating her as though this is some sort of gap in her moral development is condescending, and is likely to only tick her off. Nefertari knew exactly what she was doing, even if she has been unwilling to explain why she did it. Other than getting her to explain it to you, there's little you can do but figure out how you want to react to that, rather than trying to make her admit that she was wrong.
Moreover, I'm still convinced that Nefertari's actions were - at least in part - motivated by frustration over how she'd been treated up until that point. Following her third defeat, she conducted herself in a way that was much more in line with traditional Equestrian values - likely in an effort to make herself appealing to Silver - and was completely ignored for having done so. She was rejected by Night Watch, and yet continued to teach her the secrets of shamanism. I fully acknowledge that a romantic relationship (let alone marriage) isn't quid pro quo for previous favors, but Silver and especially Night made it very clear that Nefertari couldn't have what she wanted most, and in doing so made it plain that there was no reason for her not to lash out.
Finally, Night and Silver are continuing to act as though there's no political dimension to what they're doing, treating this as though it were purely a relationship issue. They really need to take their heads out of the sand where that's concerned. Blue Blood knew what he was talking about when he mentioned Silver marrying someone from each race/country that he'd united - no, he hasn't done anything for the Anubians yet, but this marriage could be the start of that, rather than the finisher. They don't have to place politics over everything, but they can't afford to keep discounting it entirely either. Ruling by emotional fiat is not a good policy, even for Equestria.
The two of them don't owe Nefertari anything, but if they're going to reject her, they should do it after they've considered all of the angles and weighed all of the costs (and, ideally, spoken to the other herd members). And even then, they should just reject her, rather than treating her attitude as a problem to be fixed. Nefertari is who she is, accept it and welcome her, or give her a definitive no and let her move on.
Well, considering what he went through in the dream reality, being hit probably isn't the only issue Silver has with how Night reacted. Real or not, the experiences he gathered there left their mark on him but at least he's still moving forward.
Also, despite the heaviness of the moment, I laughed a little when Silver tried to steel his nerves with alcohol only to get simple cider instead.
7408688 Well Silver said that he stopped that and didn't want one of each race and is happy with just the princesses joining
7408723 That's a fair point, but I'm saying that personal happiness isn't the only factor to consider for someone in his position, or even necessarily the most important one.
7408740 I think the well being for a ruler is key. And I mean twilight does not marry for politics or Cadance why should he expand his already big herd while they don't? I think the crown is strong enough right now with the princesses and him and Night uniting.
7408636
Yeah sorry mate, I tried to copy just what I needed but I'm on a smart phone and once it goes past the top of the screen, all bets are off.
7408698
I assumed it was due to being an alicorn, a similar reasons why captain America can't get drunk.
7408768 Well, not all cider are alcoholic and not everything at a bar is alcoholic though his alicorn immunity would make a bit more sense since Luna exhibited that trait when she was merely knocked out by Samantha's tranquilizers which would have been fatal to any normal pony.
7408750
I agree, but I don't think that "being happy all of the time" is quite the same as "well-being." There are going to be hard choices and painful sacrifices and similar actions that need to be taken when you run a country, even in Equestria. Whether it's sealing your sister in the moon or giving up the Elements of Harmony, you can't always get what you want.
Twilight and Cadance aren't in the same position that Silver is. For one thing, Cadance is running her own nation, and its relationship with Equestria is...fuzzy, for lack of a better term. If it's some sort of vassal state (which seems most likely), then she doesn't need to worry about cultivating greater political capital, as Equestria is doing that on the Crystal Empire's behalf in return for their fealty.
Insofar as Twilight goes...I think that's more of an oversight than anything else, but likely stems from her not taking an active role in politics, particularly at the national and international levels. This is compounded by the fact that she's not married at all, unlike Silver who was already practicing herding thanks to Night Watch, and so twilight can credibly appeal to celibacy in that area, should it ever come up.
That, or she's being kept as a "spare" in case some unforeseen situation comes up and it is necessary to marry her off.
Strong "enough" is a loaded term. While there's merit to arguing that the benefits from such an arrangement are minor, and unnecessary, there's a strong case to be made that the reasons not to do this are so minor that there's no reason to leave proverbial money on the table, especially since there's no way to know when that additional strength might be needed in the future.
7408814 I just Think it seems rather ridiculous that because of a suggestion from blueblood means he has to take one of every race. Or even marry someone he does not want to. Because it seems like not even Celestia and Luna or blueblood have to do that. Luna is marrying them because she loves them and Celestia is an enigma but I think she kinda does at least Silver. And didn't they wait with Fast change because him marrying someone else would only cause dissent and trouble?
7408836 I can already see another excellent discussion brewing!
It's not that he "has to" do so. Rather, it's that the idea was a very good one, because it takes Silver's embrace of a practice that's considered archaic and leverages it into a political advantage for Equestria as a whole. By itself, having a herd is at best quaint, and perhaps slightly debauched and self-indulgent. By using it as a political tool, it becomes a method of forging closer ties with foreign nations and people, while simultaneously expanding Equestrian hegemony, all the while avoiding a war.
Yes, this might be somewhat unpalatable for the people involved, but the burden is comparatively minor, particularly when held against all of the advantages it brings.
See above. It's important to remember that this isn't something he has to do, per se. But rather, it's an idea that carries such merit that it outweighs most of the objections...particularly when the good it does benefits everyone, and the disadvantages are limited to himself and Night (and this isn't something that would seriously impact their union, as I doubt that this could possibly become a point of friction so intense as to destroy their happiness altogether).
I don't think that Blue Blood really counts for anything, in this regard; his title as "prince" strikes me as having no real weight behind it - I still think that he has that title purely because he can trace his lineage back to Princess Platinum.
Likewise, since Celestia and Luna will be part of the herd, they will be doing this, the same as Night Watch. Given that Celestia, for example, seems to have no particular feelings for Night Watch, but is able to go through with this wedding gracefully, she functions as an example for how expanding the herd further can be good politics, without being toxic to their personal lives.
What you say about Celestia here seems like it can apply to Nefertari just as easily.
Insofar as doing so simultaneously, yes, but note that they're not saying they won't do it at all; quite the contrary, marrying her too is being held as a way to further integrate the changelings into Equestrian society. If that can work for them, then why not for, say, the Anubians?
7408887
Kudos to that train of thought. Seems I don't need to say too much, lol.
Stiiiiiiiiiiiiiill, on another note the herd concept is the kind that's difficuilt to maintain or execute succesfully when you factor in all the personal wants or whatever else. (This is on a personal level, emotional level)
Commonly, stuff like what we see here would happen. But in far less extremes. The different people involved would lead to conflicts on who should be in it or not...And sometimes- scratch that... veeeeery often leading to cracks in a relationship that was originally one on one.
Outside of that, it is usually quite a good thing to do for politics- If you wish to make royal ties. But love? eeeeh. If you're going herd-style, then love ain't the biggest thing in your mind.
That much was something I understood from the Greeks VERY long ago, amongst others.
I just genuinely feel sorry for Silver more than I do Night Watch, knowing him...He will probabbly admit to this happening sometime down the line...The question is...To whom? And in what situation? The worst part? He just wanted to be happy...With his Watch.
Note, I am not saying they do not love one another. They do...But I am saying the herd-shenanigans will likely ruin that love eventually. Which I believe we see tell-tale signs of, atleast the situation worsening. This kind of thing? It rarely improves. And I hate to be 'that guy' but I do not see this relationship the kind to weather this kind of storm.
7408668
What could possibly go wrong?
7408688 You're kind of objectively wrong there. The school was invented in another story in the same universe, used with the blessings of and help of KiKi. It, and the people inside, existed before this came up, and will continue to exist afterwards. The Silver Verse is a refreshingly living place, and I did not have to make up a school conveniently for this problem.
7408909
Not at all; you raise some good points as well.
Typically, polygamous marriages are difficult to sustain because (notwithstanding economic issues that come from having such a large family) internal friction, usually due to jealousy, tends to dissolve the emotional/social bonds that would normally keep the group-members tightly bound to one another. One of the more notable ways to combat this was to engage in sororal polygyny, where a man would marry sisters rather than unrelated women.
I bring that up because it's part of what Silver is doing here, albeit likely unintentionally, and it's working quite well. Moreover, Silver and Night are already leveraging their rather libertine sexual lifestyle as well. This isn't a relationship with one male sharing his love with many females and vice versa, but rather is expected to be a grouping where most of the members are all sexually involved with each other (essentially functioning as a de facto group marriage). Night Watch has no problems being with another mare, Fast Change is pansexual, we know Luna has no problems with a male-gendered Night, and even Celestia has hinted at being open-minded. Given that, the strains involved with jealousy seem like they'd be remarkably eased...and that's without even getting into the higher degree to which ponies exhibit tolerance than most humans.
In this regard, love is considered secondary to issues of stability, acquisition, power, and other political factors. That doesn't mean that it's not important - people are still people, after all - but as a personal matter it was typically considered something of a non-factor where matters of state, which is what marriage was, were concerned. Instead, that need was sated by discreet affairs.
However, I don't think that that's necessarily applicable here, because Silver seems to have an exceptional capacity to give his heart to others, and demanding very little in return. Should he marry Nefertari, he'd be just as comfortable with her living there with him and Night (presuming that other logistical issues can be worked out) and seeing her every day as he would with her maintaining a separate residence and just stopping by a few times a week for sex. He's actually quite a good example for how political marriages can work, since he brings love to the table no matter what.
As the Italians observed: Quando Dio vuole castigarci ci manda quello che desideriamo. "When God wishes to punish us, He answers our prayers." Night Watch pushed continually for a herd to be formed, and now she's getting it. She has no one but herself to blame for things going sideways like this. It's especially ironic in that she wanted to be the one at the center of the herd, the one throwing her leg over multiple mares, and instead is fighting to not be pushed to the side (at least in her view).
I don't believe that having a herd will ruin their marriage. Rather, I think that Night Watch has some very deep-seated insecurities that she's struggling to deal with, and that this is bringing them up for her. Hopefully she'll figure out what she needs and how to deal with that, because this isn't going to go away even if they go back to a monogamous marriage. As you noted, this was all brought about by her.
7408966 I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "objectively wrong." I wasn't saying that the school was made up whole-cloth to deus ex machina the problem, just that it's presence felt too convenient, particularly with its lack of problems via finance or facilities.
7408973 Did Samantha ask about that? Should she? She enrolled her foal, and that was the end of her involvement. My parents never asked a school how their funding was doing while signing me up.
7408980 I was unclear; I meant in terms of asking if the school required a tuition. That's not an issue if the school is public, but I would have expected that not to be the case in the capital city of a country that's dealing with problems of institutionalized discrimination (or even if it was, then I'd have thought there'd at least be problems with adequate resources due to the ruling class allocating insufficient funds for the school).
7408968
Even with love being given, the chance of jealousy and whatever else is enormous. Hell. The issue is the amount of people (and kind of people) in this kind of situation and how -dominant- NW wishes to be, amongst other insecurities. As you pointed out as well. I said it once to a guy and I will say it again:"I do not envy Silver."
Honestly, you pretty much summed up why a relationship such as this wouldn't work. Atleast, not with how NIght Watch is handling things.
You can also pretty much guess my stance on SilverXNight Watch with this, I wager. To me, it has reached the point where it's akin to poison if you look over the situation. And some major damage has already been done. As much as Night Watch may improve later down the line...I don't think that will be enough, if she does. Even -Silver- has reached a certain point with her, and that should tell volumes alone. Yet...She doesn't entirely grasp it yet, or has the ability to learn from things such as this yet from the looks of it.
It's kind of amazing when you think about it...Silver, the most kind of humans/ponies and most tolerant and submissive (exagerated)...Is starting to have enough, not in the sense of wishing to abandon anything...But in the sense of starting to call NW out on her BS in a calm manner. And is even starting to reach a low point -because- of the one he loved so much.
As for the monogamous marriage...I agree. It wouldn't fix it, because...A certain desire was awakened in Night Watch. The wish to have multiple partners. I actually wouldn't be surprised if she started...Tilting from side to side, in such an occasion. Especially with her currente state of mind.
It actually also makes me wonder if it -really- is just insecurities or if something else is at play, like Text. Text has always indirectly been influencing things. This wouldn't be the first.
Or something else.
Very likely insecurities, but you still got that voice nagging in the back of your head wondering if there is something more.
The school is where Silver met Rough Tumble?
Coming to blows is always a sad state of affairs. At the bottom its where one demands to force their views on others? And at the top its because the black ops assasination effort failed.
7408887 What you say about Celestia here seems like it can apply to Nefertari just as easily.
No Night didn't agree that she could join that's the difference a family must be united in decisions
7409094
"Friendship that insists upon agreement on all things isn't worth the name." -Mahatma Gandhi
I'd say that applies to family as well.
7409022 I think they should go with the wedding and start fixing their family that they decided on and let things settle before even thinking about anyone else joining. I believe those who are joining now are probably the only ones now who be able to handle Night for the moment in a good way
7409097 Not really It's just not Silver marring neff it's also Night she should have a right to refuse
7409102 I'm not sure I agree. Silver is royalty, and has political duties to consider. Night doesn't. Their positions are not equal in that regard.
7409113 I disagree such lack of respect and consideration to your other half is ridiculous
7409100 IT would be nice if they did, but they won't. Atleast, NIght watch wouldn't at this time. And if they did, it doesn't seem likely it would help the relationship too much unless they sorted out the actual issues. Prior to actually doing this.
7409127 I think we misunderstood each other I was not talking about the weeding with Neff
7409133 Neither was I.
7409125 I don't believe it's an issue of disrespect, but rather an acknowledgment of the situation that they're in. In their personal lives, they're equals (e.g. as spouses), whereas in their political lives they're not (e.g. Silver is royalty, Night Watch is not); the problem is that they've merged their political and personal lives by making their marriage perform a political function. As such, there is grounds for saying that, in certain ways, they're no longer equals in that area.
That's the new, uncomfortable reality that they're in now, and they need to find a way to deal with it. Otherwise this won't be the last time that this happens.
7409136 Then I did not understand this part.
Atleast, NIght watch wouldn't at this time.
7409140 We see what happens and take it from there
7409141 She wouldn't be willing to go solo with Silver. And she wouldn't be satisfied with just Celestia and Luna, and Fast. That's what I meant. Not from what I can tell, anyway. I might be reading too much inbetween the lines for all I know.
7409155 I think we all are we are guessing thing's soo incredibly far off xD
7409164 Hm. Well, we are definetly analyzing the situation a lot. Lol. Nothing wrong with it, though. It's a nice way to occupy ourselves, atleast.
7409167 Indeed
7409006 I'll field this one, since I invented the problematic school in question. I always imagined it as having a fairly low tuition. It's purpose is purely altruistic, but there are expenses to be accounted for. I never brought it up because thus far it hasn't been important to the story. (kinda like the logistics of John Smith's meeting with the Canterlot movers and shakers )
7408953 I predict nothing but sunshine and rainbows.
7409185
The logistics behind how John Smith got a meeting with the Canterlot elite weren't important not only because they didn't advance the narrative (e.g. there's no point in writing scenes of someone mailing envelopes, renting a venue, arranging catering, etc.), but also because they were self-evident (or so I thought). It struck me as very easy to imagine that if an exotic figure (e.g. a human), who had just became front-page news, sent out a mass of invitations to a large number of ponies (saying to come to a certain place at a certain time) then quite a few would arrive out of simple curiosity. Hence, I felt that elaboration in that regard was not only not useful, but wasn't necessary either.
Insofar as this school's funding goes, the difference is that it seems like there's a missed opportunity here, since this would be an excellent way to show the subtle-yet-persistent discrimination against lunar ponies that is often referenced but rarely demonstrated in this story. If this school relies on public funding, finding out that it's being squeezed dry via whatever body is in charge of allocating money would be a great way to show what's happening that requires Silver, Samantha, et al to fix.
In other words, it might not have been important to the story so far, but it could have been now.
7409334 This still sounds like a thing that would not come up during his enrolling and, thus, that chapter.
7409346 Presuming that such an issue was present, I agree that it would be rather awkward for Shade Fire to - during her introduction with Samantha and Moonbeam - start talking about how her school's funding was inadequate. But foreshadowing could have been laid down; if looking at a prospective school, Samantha could have asked about class size, for example, and had Shade Fire awkwardly answer that there were thirty-five pupils to a class. Or she (Samantha) could have noted how parts of the building seemed like they were in need of repair, etc. In other words, hints could have been telegraphed to the audience.
I'm not saying that the story has committed some sort of failing in not doing this, just that it missed an opportunity. Hopefully this will be there later on.