Twilight had asked Princess Celestia if she could have a small alcove in the palace. She didn’t ask for much, just a nook for a tiny desk and some books—somewhere to study.
It seemed a reasonable request. Space in the palace was limited, certainly, but the space Twilight was given was not exceptionally valuable. It was just a small awning in a busy hallway, with barely enough room for a desk and two tiny chairs. It was loud, and it was crowded, and it was certainly far from private.
Anypony could just walk up and sit down.
Twilight had her muzzle in a book, when she noticed the other mare. The book was Theories on The Distillation of Vis In Proximity to Natural Bauxite Concentrations. The mare was Applejack.
Twilight stared. They were quite the pair, sitting across from each other around the little school desk. In many ways, they were quite similar. They were about the same height and the same age, both teenagers whose voices were not done changing and whose legs were not quite the same length. They could have been school fillies together.
But they were not. Twilight was brushed and polished, clad in silver and a ruby earring. Applejack was bare save for her bags and a worn stetson hat. Her coat was scuffy. There were bags under her eyes. She smelled like hay.
“Would you like some tea?” Twilight offered. He had a thermos under her desk, next to a stack of textbooks. “You look like you’ve had a bad day.”
Applejack nodded. Twilight cleaned the rim of her teacup with a cloth, then refilled it, and levitated it to Applejack’s side of the table. There is no dignified way for an earth pony to drink from a cup designed for unicorns, but if Twilight noticed the slurping sounds, she paid no mind. Instead, she calmly put her book away, and cleared the desk.
“You’re Applejack, right?” Twilight asked. Across the table, the other mare nodded. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how I know that. We haven’t met before.”
“It’s okay. Right back atcha.” Applejack looked around the palace hallway for a time. “I have met Rarity though. She’s a friend. In Ponyville.”
“How’s she doing?”
“She’s good. She’s good.” Applejack let out a long breath, and looked down at the desk.
“I got you something.” Again, Twilight reached down into her pile of books. This time, the book she drew out was wrapped in parcel paper, held together with string. “Actually, it’s for Apple Bloom. It’s an illustrated book about the lifecycle of fruit trees. I loved it when I was her age. I thought… you two might enjoy reading it together.”
Applejack stared at the book, and Twilight swallowed. After a moment, AJ took it and put it away. “Thanks. I was uh… gonna visit Manehatten on the way home. You know. Since I’m at the train station here anyway.”
“I figured.” Twilight shrugged, her posture stiff as she sat back in her chair. “So. What brings you to Canterlot?”
“The uh… the farm. You know I have a farm, right?” She checked Twilight’s face, then went on. “Princess Celestia gave my family the land way back when. But it’s not going so well. Ever since the railroad came in, you know. Price of apples ain’t been what it used to be.”
Twilight nodded, listening closely as Applejack continued. “Got griffons and centaurs and harpies in the big cities every day sellin’ apples for less than it costs to ship ‘em in. Everypony in Ponyville’s startin’ to feel mighty squeezed. And… I was hopin’ maybe Princess Celestia could see us to a loan until things blow over.”
“If you’re here to ask Princess Celestia for a favor, why are you talking to me?”
“Well…” Applejack gestured in Twilight’s direction. “She said no. Is the thing. She said we didn’t have to pay taxes or nothin’ for a few years, and that is mighty generous of her, but the farm’s gotta have profits to be taxed. And I heard uh… I mean, I didn’t hear. But I got a mighty strong feeling you can…”
“Fix it?” Twilight asked. Applejack nodded. “Of course.” She smiled. Applejack smiled. “Anything for a friend.”
Twilight pulled out a notebook, opening it to a blank page and blotting an ink pen on her spare sheet. “Tell me. What’s the typical price of apples in Canterlot right now?”
“Uh… wouldn’t you know better than me?” Applejack asked. She stared at Twilight for a time, and Twilight stared back. A small blush crept into Twilight’s features. “Right. Right.” Applejack letout a nervous laugh. “Don’t buy your own apples. Uh… maybe three bits a bushel.”
“And your typical price? From before you started getting squeezed.”
“Four and a half bits. But Apple family apples are way better than-”
Twilight lifted a hoof, like Celestia did. Applejack fell silent. Twilight’s pen scribbled for several moments. “And I assume your transportation costs are something in the range of 150 to 200 bits a ton? Or roughly 2-3 bits per bushel. So the majority of your costs are actually rail transportation rather than raw materials?”
“Uh… yeah. That’s right.” Applejack nodded quickly.
“Well, that’s no problem then.” Twilight smiled, and lifted her head from her notes. “I’ll have a word with the rail company. I’m sure they have plenty of unused capacity that’s just going to waste on Ponyville/Canterlot line. Easily enough for them to move your cargo for free. That should make the farm quite profitable.”
Applejack cleared her throat. “Beggin’ your pardon, but I was looking for a loan to get back on our own four hooves, not special treatment.”
“I’m not a government official, Applejack. I can’t give you a loan.” Twilight gave a small shake of her head. “I just happen to go to the same school as the daughter of Mr. Cross Ties who owns the East Equestrian Rail Company. And in any case, if the farm is losing money on each bushel sold, a loan will only prolong the inevitable. You need to reduce your costs.”
Slowly, Applejack took her hat off her head. “I’m not…” She hesitated. “That sounds like special treatment. You askin’ Mr. Cross Ties to charge us less and all.”
“Getting a loan and a remittance of taxes from Princess Celestia is special treatment too.”
“Well, yeah, but…” Applejack let out half a laugh. “She does that all the time, don’t she? Give away land, or money, or magic junk to ponies who need it. Starts towns and such.”
“She asks the railway to do favors for her friends all the time as well.” Twilight’s voice was calm, and she opened her hooves. “And I’m a friend of hers and you’re a friend of mine.”
“Twilight. I don’t think you understand. I mean…” Applejack cleared her throat. “You heard me say that all of Ponyville is gettin’ squeezed, right? Like, a lot of farms are as bad off as us or near there.”
“Yes, that’s right. The recent reconfiguration of the East Equestrian Rail to open access to the border provinces has been generally unfavorable to near-Canterlot exurb agriculture.”
“Uh… sure.” Applejack soon her head. “But the point is, lots of farms are on the brink. And you’re sayin’ we get our shippin’ for free. Does everypony in Ponyville get this 100% discount?”
“It’s not a discount. It’s a gift.” Twilight paused. Her eyes flicked over Applejack, up and down. “To you.” After a moment, she frowned. “I… thought you’d be happy.”
“I am... “ Applejack let out another breath. “I’m happy you’re trying to help me. But Twilight, what am I supposed to do when my farm’s makin’ money by the hooffull and my neighbors are strugglin’ just to get by.”
“You could give the money away.” She shrugged. “Or you could buy their farms, I suppose. Their produce would still get discounted. We do consolidations like that all the time.”
Applejack’s jaw fell open. Quickly, she pushed her hat back onto her head. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing!” her tone turned sharp and snappish. “You think I’m going to go live the high life while my neighbors starve just because some gussied-up unicorn in Canterlot decided to shake her tail hairs my way?”
Twilight’s frown deepend. “I didn’t mean it that way, Applejack. I really thought you’d be looking forward to this.”
“And what part of this would I be lookin’ forward to, exactly!?”
“If you’re a landlord—or if you can afford some hired hooves—you’ll have a lot more free time on your hands. So you wouldn’t have to leave Apple Bloom alone all day.” Twilight swallowed. “So she could come back to the farm.”
Applejack didn’t say anything for a long time. Her gaze went down to the table. She couldn’t look at Twilight.
“She…” Applejack struggled. Her voice cracked. “I just… the family should be back together. You know? Ever since Ma and Pa died. Big Mac and I have been missin’ her something fierce and…”
Twilight reached out and placed her hoof over Applejack’s. She waited quietly, until Applejack lifted her head. When their eyes met, Twilight’s expression was soft, and she reached out with her other hoof as well.
“You’ll raise her to be a good pony. You will.” Twilight’s voice was firm. “You don’t have to be afraid of the truth, Applejack.”
“Heh.” Applejack smile, even as tears started to pool in her eyes. “I know. I know.”
Applejack swallowed. “I dream too.”
Every change in price is a victory for someone and a loss for someone else. The market is a harsh mistress.
Hurray! :D
Omnomnom apple.
Goddamn it luna, how far does the rabbit hole go?
8042312
No idea she just told me to "Get the lazy rodents digging" so that's what I did buuuuut *taps two claws together shyly * I maaaaaaay have scared them a tad bit to much *looks at the hole* ya I think they are trying for Nighapole at this rate
So... at this point I really have to question if Twilight is consciously aware of Luna now, and deliberately hiding this from Celestia. With Rarity she still had plausible deniability, just two ponies who haven't seen each other before meeting one other for the first time.
Now? There seems to be blossoming friendships with ponies that Twilight has never really met before, and being done out in a public space. Unless Celestia doesn't really have an intelligence agency worth its salt, she should soon be hearing reports of this. And when that happens... well, we'll just have to see, won't we?
This certainly grows ever more mysterious and alluring and many other things.
Which is nice. And weird. And eerie. And clearly an ever-fanning apart AU. Twilight is becoming...I'm not quite sure what
"I can’t give you loan"
Missing article?
The story continues to be enjoyable. :)
Interesting that the Element of Honesty is the one who's being completely screwed by the divergence in canon caused by Luna's "advice".
Just finished binge-catching up--and I must say, I love this.
Are you writing any novels, by any chance? I'd love to read some original work by you. Your talent for writing is vast.
8042648
Oh, I agree, but it's been well established by this point that Luna is kind of a shitty teacher. At least when it comes to certain subjects.
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That's... about half of the issue. It's not just about opportunity, it's also about intelligence and talent, about the natural inequality that exists in the animal kingdom. This also delves a bit into race, or rather tribe relations. I mean, Luna has a point, what exactly can Earth Ponies do that a trained Unicorn can't? Heck, there are even spells to emulate Pegasus magic and change the seasons. It kinda skews things a bit, doesn't it?
But at the same time this inequality cuts both ways, I mean, look at dragons. They're enormous, incredibly resilient, impossibly strong, can fly, breathe a special, magical fire, change their size, potentially use magic, live for centuries at the very least, and are no less intelligent than ponies. Oh, and they can eat pretty much anything. With the only obvious drawback being a relatively drawn out childhood, that goes way beyond just not being fair.
That said, there's a reason things are so skewed in favor of the Unicorns, at least, I'd like to believe there's one. I can't help but think, back in ancient times, that Unicorns were little more than tool-using flashlights. Then they figured out how to use their magic for more and taught the next generation, and so on, and so forth, until we reach modern day. Unicorns aren't broken because they're born broken, they're broken because, much like us humans with our technology, they are standing on the shoulders of those who came before them.
But that's also the reason for the inequality between them and the other tribes. Pegasi have no higher education, no way to learn the finer nuances of their magic, they just learn how to fly and play with the weather a little bit, and that's it. Do you have any idea what you could with Atmokinesis?! Because I have a vague idea, and it includes some pretty ridiculous stuff. Not to mention what they can do with clouds, and carts, and even flying despite their wings not being able to support their bodies. Pegasi aren't living anywhere near up to their full potential.
Earth Ponies don't even get that much! There are no schools for Earth Pony magic, no wizened elders they can apprentice themselves to, no sagacious advice to follow. We know they have magic, we've seen it, but not only is it woefully undeveloped, ponies barely seem to know what it even is! Do you want to know what the big issue here is, and I mean aside from the criminal lack of education? The problem here is that non-unicorns don't even really think of the things they do as magic.
Actually go back and watch the show for a bit. Magic is the pink elephant in the room, always. It's seen as unnatural, unnecessary, unwanted, and thoroughly untrustworthy, despite the fact that literally everything ponies do is magic! It's been ingrained in the culture for so long that magic is 'unicorn stuff' that ponies have all but forgotten the other tribes have it too!
Inequality is a terrible, depressing part of life and we'd all probably be a lot better off without it. But that doesn't mean we can't fight back! Just because the universe doesn't give two shits about giving us a fair shake doesn't mean that we can't care! And ultimately, that's my point. The universe is a cold, uncaring, and thoroughly unfair place, and it is our solemn duty to do what little we can to try and change that.
Sorry, I kind of went off on a tangent there.
I really don't see what Apple Bloom's change of parentage adds to the pathos here. Maybe that's just because I actually have a little sister.
This bit confuses me. The conversation seems to jump tracks from Twilight suggesting charity/buyouts to Applejack resenting an idea that she'd slack off and live the high life. There's some missing connections here.
8043211
8043224
In real life Guilded Age, a railway company changing one supplier less was a common form of corruption. It meant that that supplier was far more profitable, so they buy out all the other suppliers until they have a monopoly on a given good. Then they use the profit from that monopoly to repay the railway company.
8043327 Right, I get that. But the quoted section doesn't really gel with that. The prose around it communicates the notion of Applejack being uncomfortable with corporate corruption, but the quoted section makes out that she's reacting to a suggestion that she... I don't know, ignore her starving neighbours and use the money to go take a vacation. She comes across as taking offence to a suggestion of an entirely different form of corruption, one which was never actually made.
8042763 Pegasus magic might be fairly well developed -- most unicorns can't do anything special, and most pegasi don't either, but Rainbow Dash has done some pretty scary things (like instantly generate tiny tornadoes and dive-bomb to explode buildings) and there's an entire *weather factory*. It's industrialized.
Earth pony magic does seem really undeveloped, though.
I had a story where earth ponies that learned to use magic were known as 'witches'. So the knowledge existed but it wasn't disseminated properly because they were still stuck in the classical model of hiding everything except from your apprentice, maybe.
And with technology apparently on the rise, and being used equally by (at least) unicorns and earth ponies, they might never bother to modernize it.
Well... why are things going worse than in the show? There wasn't even a railway in season one, right?
Applejack dreams too? Of Luna?
8043388
Well... you have a bit of a point there. Unicorn magic may be more developed on an individual level, but they can hardly match the industrial feats of flocks of Pegasi working together. In a way, magic is even more ingrained in their lives than it is with Unicorns, but they're still lagging behind at the individual level. Perhaps it's because of the way they've developed?
In any case, most of the seriously impressive feats we've seen preformed by singular Pegasi are either done by Wonderbolts or Wonderbolt wannabes, and I think that's a shame. It would be cool to see a higher learning institution open up in order to teach young Pegasi about the more advanced uses of their magic. You know, the kind of stuff ponies like Rainbow Dash have to figure out for themselves. It's pretty sad to see such amazing feats of magic reduced to mere tricks.
I honestly don't know what the heck is going on with Earth Ponies, and from some of the dialogue, neither do they really.
8043913 If you look at the Pie family, it's obvious that some of them know something.
I mean, they eat rocks. It's either earth pony magic at work, or they're all secretly part dragon (which would explain the giant egg, I guess).
8043707
They all do. All six Bearers are/will be compromised, and Luna has already explicitly conditioned them to believe her when she/NMM returns and speaks to them in Ponyville.
8043353 It seems more like she's taken offense to the fact that she'd be snapping up currently unprofitable land at lower prices and leaving the other owners either destitute with a one off payment... All because only SHE is getting Canterlot benefits while they have no way to deal with this. Not to mention other methods would still likely offend Applejack, because I doubt she's going to be happy letting them work their old lands after being forced off it like some old fashioned sharecropper/serfdom method.
8044129 The one thing I'm seeing so far that's a constant is that Twilight is still very much Twilight. She needs an improvement to her Charisma in many ways and Luna is exacerbating the issue.
8043983
This. More than honesty of spoken word, Apples seem to value Integrity above everything else. Since Applejack is receiving "Special Treatment" that her fellow farmers in Ponyville aren't, especially because the rest of them aren't in "direct competition" with her because she grows apples and they grow everything else, it wouldn't sit well with her. Unfortunately, her only other option would be to somehow find some way to cut her shipping costs either by bypassing the railroad entirely (somehow) or by buying stakes in the rail line herself and negotiate an "Owner/Shareholder Discount" of some form, both of which would effectively leave herself in a similar situation to what Twilight's offering to negotiate but might seem more "Honest" because rather than monopolizing outright, she would be incorporating. This could allow her to negotiate discounts with her fellow farmers more fairly rather than buying them out, but at the same time, she would still be in charge of a larger business and by her own actions be pushed further up the chain into a more supervisory/managerial role than what she's doing now.
8044489
Remember few things. Celestia have almost absolute authority in Equestria combined with fact that everybody know that she is GOOD. So she could use both these facts to push radical reform, especially that there is really good moral reason for this. To lead civil war you need big part of citizens to organizely revolt. Canterlot unicorns are not enough, at best they could strongly protest, nothing more.
And nobles upstaging coup-et-etat? You need support of some citizens and army for such thing, otherwise it's death wish. It would simply end with removing of rotten and stupid nobles from positions of power under charge of treason, because nobody would follow them, particulary army.
8045023 ... You assert. This story appears to posit an interpretation where Celestia does not have almost absolute authority in Equestria, which does not, in point of fact, contradict show canon.
8043966 See, I never saw it like that. I assumed that NMM couldn't cross into the dream world aspect of Luna, and thus the small part of Luna that communicates in these dreams is one who is trapped in regret and is trying to save herself when she appears.
8046231
That's possible. When she says
she might mean after she's been cured, if we cut her some slack with the timekeeping.
We then have to wonder what Luna's deal is with mucking about with the Bearers. She's already made nth order changes to the timeline due to her interaction with the Bearers, and I don't know that it makes "be Celestia's faithful student, and blast NMM with the Elements" more likely than in the original timeline. If anything, it sounds more like a setup for "oh, btw, I [NMM] am also Luna, and you should at least listen to me before kicking my ass".
8042763 I think you're assuming that the magical capacity of the average unicorn is massively greater than it is. Twilight, Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer have massive magical capacity and the ability to learn/cast almost any spell, sure, just like Maud can Crack boulders and Macintosh can haul houses. They're the apex of their tribe.
But 99% of unicorns don't seem capable of much more than moderate levitation and a few spells tied into their special talent. If they could cast more of those powerful spells written by Starswirl, or the latest weather levitation magic they would. Instead, we see graduates of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns working as traveling magicians and street buskers, while the largest, richest, most technologically advanced city in the nation is populated and run by earth ponies.
Pegasi are screwed though, you try building an industrial base in the clouds.
8044202
Yes, but the point is? Applejack didn't come to Canterlot seeking to network with local businesses and try to arrange a way to ensure that her farm made a profit. She came to Canterlot to plead with Celestia for what amounts to a handout, which is in a sense no different from the 'corruption' Applejack has a problem with. Not every farmer gets special loans, which is why Celestia didn't offer one, but Applejack sought one out. She might have HATED the idea, but she was looking for special treatment and that is exactly what Twilight offered.
Even if Twilight had arranged some fancy way to make the preferential treatment more justified or more legal, Applejack would have had a problem with it in retrospect, and obfuscating the issue with Twilight's extensive knowledge of convenient legalities probably wouldn't have endeared her to Applejack.
The thing is, Twilight wasn't willing to pretty it up and forced her to confront reality. Which, when you're dealing with the Element of Honesty, is kind of understandable- after the fact, whether it was a special loan or special transport costs, Applejack would look back and realize she was getting the kind of special treatment she detests when she looks at other ponies. She'd hate herself and whoever offered it. Now it's out in the open, and Applejack can confront the fact that she has to balance her family against her honesty. That's a truth she can live with.
8046728
Yup. She's pretty much making the best of a bad situation all around. I was merely pointing out some other options she might, once Sweet Apple Acres is back on its hooves financially, be able to look into for a more "agreeable" long term solution ("Agreeable" being subjective to AJ's sensibilities). She may hate the end result no matter what she does, but some options she would hate less than others.
I don't think Applejack is making a rational argument about corruption. I think her reaction is one of injured pride, because Twilight's offer of help contradicts her self-image of a self-made mare who's successful on her own merits because she works hard.
If Applejack had gotten a loan, she could have reconciled that with her self-image, because the loan would be paid back. She'd be purchasing a financial service from the crown and presumably paying interest for it. But as Twilight points out, the loan will not solve her problem. If anything, it will probably make things worse, because this time next year she'll be in the same position and also have a loan to repay.
Instead, Twilight offers Applejack a gift, freely given from one friend to another. This injures Applejack's pride; she's not used to accepting gifts, especially from unicorns. Twilight talks about Apple Bloom to move Applejack past her injured pride to the decision that will save Sweet Apple Acres and possibly allow Applejack to show generosity to her neighbors.
Accepting a large, meaningful gift can be hard. Some people are better at it than others. This takes place pre-"Applebuck Season", so it's a skill Applejack has not yet acquired. With the guidance of her mentors, Twilight Sparkle has realized what substantial gifts have been given her, and that makes her more ready and willing to pass large gifts on to others. Best pony.
8046887
Stupid ruining my dark, grim story with all this friendship and happiness.
8046904 As a Christian, the concept that one could be rescued from certain doom if one would only consent to accept a gift freely offered is a familiar one. :-) This is a great story!
8047151
The only way to pursue a solution to the "wage gap"(earnings gap) is to force women to behave in a way which, in an open market, they have shown a lack of desire and drive for. The only possible solution(which would likely only shrink, not close, the gap) that is not morally abhorrent is a two pronged approach- first, to make socially acceptable the idea of a stay-at-home-dad, while removing any obstacles placed in the path of this(notably ensuring the universality of paternity leave), to allow women with families greater freedom to continue working, and second, to continue, as is already the case, encouraging young women and girls to pursue whatever they desire, and make it clear to them that this includes whatever fields or successes you might feel are imbalanced.
That said- While I admit, it's possible that there is some element of latent sexism at play in this issue, I believe you have fallen prey to another problem entirely- you seem to now be assuming that such an issue must exist. While it is possible that some element comes from sexism, I find it more likely that men and women simply have different drives- even if we removed the societal pressures that act on men and women, I rather expect we would still see a difference, because there are differences between men and women. However, I am willing to bet the difference would be smaller, owing entirely to the pairing of career focused women who feel forced to put their careers on hold for their families, and family focused men who feel forced to play the role of breadwinner when they would rather spend more time when their children. Ironically, when people discuss this issue they typically focus solely on the first aspect- ignoring that you can't solve either of these problems in a vacuum.
LOL Horses + Trains = punny name
I'm not sure I understand the root of the problem in this chapter. Applejack says that since the railroad has come through the price of apples in the cities has gotten more competitive. There seem to be two separate rail lines contributing to the problem. When Applejack refers to the railroad coming in it seems to imply a line through Ponyville, especially since Luna mentioned the construction of a railroad station in Applejack's community. Later Twilight mentions that a recent line has opened up access to border provinces.
It makes sense that opening up train lines between the border provinces and the capital would increase imports, which could lead to a more competitive market. However, since Ponyville is so close to Canterlot their shipping fees should already be substantially less than those who are shipping produce much farther. Does the railroad have flat shipping rates regardless of distance? And if the line through Ponyville is new then how did they transport apples outside of Ponyville before? Did the new train replace an older, cheaper mode of transport?
Also, Luna just got caught in a lie.
Here we see that Applejack's opposition to the railroad was because it would have a negative impact on her farm and livelihood.
8047285
Yeah, there's a problem with that logic.
If they opposed the railway then the assumption is that it will give others easier access to THEIR local market, as in the ponies of Ponyville would stop buying their own produce in favor of imports.
But the story makes the argument that the problem is that it gave others easier access to Canterlot.
One, before they had the railway they had to manually carry their produce up the mountain, I doubt that was cheaper or they could simply go back to doing it to cut costs.
Two, the imports are coming from much further away using the exact same train lines that supposedly ruined their business, but to which they now have access to. It's impossible for them to be sold "for less than it costs to ship" unless the griffins or whatever are growing apples in Canterlot itself since Ponyville is so close to it, unless they are also getting free shipping or they are using an entirely different and cheaper mode of transportation, but in the later case they would be thankful for the trains making bringing their product in cheaper
Anyway, unless the whole thing is following "dream logic" or whatever, it doesn't make any sense.
You know, when I first started reading this fic, I questioned Luna's intentions in all of this, fully aware either Nightmare Moon or her disconnect with life in Equestria or her aged perceptions of life, would somehow taint her lessons with Twilight...but now I'm starting to think that was never the case, and that Luna has good intentions in all of this, and all of this is her way of trying to insure a "good ending" to the story...just done her way or she's simply not convinced Celestia can insure it herself on her own and needs the added help.
But hey, it's just a theory, a fan theory.
Whatever the case, it's pretty clear now that whatever Luna's game is, it goes incredibly deeper than we were originally led to believe in the early chapters of the story.
...wonder if Applejack is going to be getting a lesson of her own on this subject that night in dream land...
So, I just gotta ask....
Dedicated illusionist, as her special talent even, doesn't seem to have a lot of money to her name, developing a bitter rivalry with Twilight......
Is "Jump Cut," in fact, Trixie?
8047285 Well, consider the following: it's pretty well insinuated that Luna has been in the dreams of the remaining Mane Six,and so perhaps Luna simply repeated what she had been told by Applejack during one of the farmer's dreams?
8057834 I gotta say man your commentary on the story so far is top-tier. I got to ask man are you a social political analyst or something? Anywho my personal Theory on what's going to happen in the story luna / Nightmare Moon has been doing some crazy mindfuckery to the main six over the years so that when she returns she can use her secret truth code word to get them on her side.
I was honestly just waiting for the story to finish so I could binge read it but I just got too curious to wait any longer and I just blasted through the whole thing and I gotta say I honestly don't think I have ever read anything like this on this site before it is super unique in a good way I really like your version of the events that lead up to episode 1. take my like and favorite.
Too interesting and confusing so Twilight met Rarity and AppleJack in Canterlot and became friends right? Anyways I gotta say this story is great my man I lpve it, so I hope that you will continue writing it.
Taimur out
Doomed.
Really enjoyed the dichotomy between Celestias and Luna's lessons on the same subject. You are a wonderful characterist. I hope this story is concluded some day.
You're doing marvelous work here! I'm in no position to order of course, but I'd really, REALLY, REEEEEEEEEEEEEALY love to see where this goes. Please???
I need to take more notes for my own future work.
9418992
We'll see. I'm glad you liked it though!
Well, I hope you feel well-practiced in changing perspectives, because I find your presentation very engaging
Something that has stuck with me between readings is Luna saying she wants Twilight to think for herself. It's hard to tell between growing up and some of the indications that Luna's agenda might be more.... interventionist than she says.
9464332
She's certainly interventionist. Twilight must never put any part of her body in a machine, after all.
But Twilight must learn to doubt if she's to be a proper young mare.
Just a boop for this great story. Was fun to reread the chapters.
9821231
Thank you!