• Member Since 11th Jul, 2019
  • offline last seen April 23rd

_Moonshot


E

Sweet Summer is just an average filly who loves her parents, and her parents love her just as much.

Right?

Totally unedited and written in an hour as an entry in GaPJaxie's Fourth Quills and Sofas Speedwriting Competition, where it won first.

Chapters (1)
Comments ( 26 )

Seems interesting, will have to read it later. If it won first place, it's gotta be good, right?

I see why it won first place. Good work.

This story has the quality you would expect when the author straight up tells you that it was rushed and unedited, that being said, this story is by far something that I wish I could see more often.

Many people have the ability to read between the lines, but a good author, in my own opinion mind you, has the ability to ‘write’ between the lines.

I didn’t need to have the story spelled out for me.
As an adult looking through the exuberance of a small child, I saw the story the child couldn’t.

I see why this won. Good job:)

“Breakfast is on the table already! I’m just getting a small… accident cleaned up.”

Oh...she merked her husband didn't she

9819094
It was okay, I guess. I voted for Gardez's piece over mine in the finals, though! :twilightsheepish:

9819106
9819254
I am humbled by your praise. Thanks so much for reading, I really appreciate it!

9819391
Hah, maybe. My original intent was that the two parents disagreed over adopting a child and were just having an incredibly violent argument, although I didn't have the time to fully convey that within the hour.

9819254

Many people have the ability to read between the lines, but a good author, in my own opinion mind you, has the ability to ‘write’ between the lines.

You said it better then I could.

Instead of telling a story that oozed angst, the author crafted a tale told a more subtle. Which makes the signs of mistreatment feel more frightening.

I liked the story. It's the only reason why I'm commenting on it.

“It had to be done,” Luna responded. “I’ll let Celestia deal with the legality later, but I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. I couldn’t let this poor filly get trapped inside a hole like this.” She turned her head backwards, noticing that Sweet Summer had regained consciousness.

There's something in this that just makes me question Luna's actions. Never mind the safety of teleportation—what will become of the filly, after Luna dishes out her justice to Sweet's parents?
If Sweet Summer was really a one-of-a-kind, most unfortunate filly in existence, then I'd see the merit in Luna's quick action. Luna might even be able to take the filly under her own care, in that idealized Equestria.
As it stands, though, this is an Equestria where orphanages apparently exist, and in all likelihood, Sweet's going to be sent to one of them. I don't have experience living in an orphanage or living with abusive parents, but I can't help but imagine that neither is much better than the other. The trauma inflicted by the sudden change in environment for Sweet Summer just doesn't look to be the right decision.

9819654
Hey there, thanks for the comment. I enjoy the questions as much as I do the complements!

I do agree that Luna's actions can't be 100% upheld. She saw a child in need, and in a brief moment of anger decided to take action on her own, disregarding the consequences, rather than waiting for the proper authorities to step in (think CPS). I'd wager some people would think this noble, and others rash (and others yet both).

With that being said, it's my belief that there are indeed cases where abuse is so bad that any alternative option would offer a better solution. In Equestria, a world much kinder than ours, it would be my hope that there is a much better child and foster care system in place to take care of Sweet Summer. Just as CPS has measures to decrease the stress of a sudden environment change, I hope such measures would also exist in Equestria.

These are just my hopes, though, not my canon -- given my hour-long time frame I left most of the piece up to interpretation, so anyone is free to interpret Summer's past, present, and future with their own ideas.

Again, thanks for reading; I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Please, please, please, continue this.

9819535
Much, much more frightening.
The idea that she believes that accepting this treatment is the only way she can be considered a good filly, it gives a good look into her mental state. Her not seeming the least bit angry with her father after being hit simply for interrupting his work, hints at the fact that abuse is normal for her. I can fully understand why Luna feels that she needed to act.

9819974

Sadly, it is all too common for abused people to think they deserve it. Because doing so forces one to confront being trapped in a horrific situation.

9819950
Hey, thanks for reading and enjoying! What would you suggest as a continuation? I planned this more like a one-shot to be honest, haha.

9820027
Another thing to note about the fillys situation, is the actions of Luna.
Unless I missed something, we're not given the exact timeframe i.e. season number, or how long its been since her return, but Luna does seem to have been around long enough to be aware that there are legal processes that she's skipping to let her sister take care of later. How dire does she believe the foals situation to be, how strong were these nightmares, that she felt the need to essentially abduct her to get her away from that environment? Or that she feels the need to stop them from adopting?

To the author: sorry if I'm putting way too much thought into this. This story struck a chord with me for some reason, I'm not entirely sure why, but I felt the need to dig into the subtext of the situation.

9820508
It's okay, I appreciate it! I in no way expected even half the amount of discussion put into this, so I'm really grateful :heart:

I didn't have much time during the contest to put too much thought into the nightmares, but I did write with the knowledge that abuse, especially sexual abuse, is widely correlated with sleep terrors, PTSD, and nightmares.

9820596
THATS IT! Now you’ve gone and gotten me invested.
You’ve stoked that small irrational flame sitting in my chest, that forgets for a moment that these are fictional characters we read about, and makes me truly worried or even afraid for said characters. It’s that feeling that makes me love reading to begin with.

I’m worried about this filly...

I don’t mean to put any pressure on you, I’d be fine and survive if this was all we got, but I agree with GreekFreakFan, this would be cool if we got a continuation of some degree. Just to make sure she’s ok...

I do like the subtlety of this “abuse” this filly is going through, which is what many other stories like this don’t do. But here’s my own question: If her parents are abusive, why would they adopt another foal? To put that new foal into the same abuse that Sweet Summer has been going through? Or something else?



Also, I was hoping to see Sweet’s reaction to Luna giving her parents a piece of her mind after how they treated her. Would she ever come to terms that what her parents do to her is wrong? I hope so.

9820901
Hey there, thanks for reading. To be honest, I didn't dive into this too deeply during the actual writing (had an hour total :P)

I can however, offer some insight into a couple reasons why it would happen. It's a complicated mess, and I can't claim to understand all of it myself. Sometimes parents are stuck in a cycle of abuse or don't realize their misdeeds, and they think they have the ability to have more children. Sometimes, they think their actions are fair and just, or if they don't, attempt to iron out whatever cognitive dissonance happens in their heads. And sometimes, they are just psychopaths. I certainly hope and believe that Sweet Summer will slowly begin to understand, though!

9820627
Your comments are seriously improving my daily mood, just wanted to let you know :twilightblush:
Okay, okay, I'll take a look and see if anything comes to my head. I'm currently busy with university and also with writing another fic, Last Bastion, though! If I have time, I'll make it happen. And I'll bump it up even more if there's increased demand :raritywink:

9820087
Something like the consequences of Luna's actions, repercussions for Sweet Summer's parents, and how the public might react if her abuse gets out.

9820934
By all means take your time...
(remembers this was written in an hour)
Hmm...
GAH, logic, stop rebelling.
Anyway take your time, who knows where you might be able to take this if you put more then an hour. (maybe two? Radical thinking I know. lol)
Regardless, things like uni are (Luna forgive me for saying this) more important than ponies, so don’t let our excitement born from overthinking come as a distraction from things that will advance your future.

This was a good read. I liked how there were enough cues that you could get the gist of the situation even if not every detail clicks right away--me being my scatterbrained self, I passed right over one or two of the key moments. But rather than feeling like a reread was a necessity, it was just an optional way to enrich the experience, which I think is a good standard to aim for when it comes to subtlety.

Thanks for sharing this :twilightsmile:

9823495
And thank you for reading and commenting (and for the fave aaah) :)

Subtle and rather scary. I would agree with seeing a continuation. I like how you have Luna as a staunch figure of justice, even if her justice is unconventional and breaks the rules Celestia adheres to. It's something about their characters that is often overlooked.

10136450
Thank you! Luna's character was something that occured to me a little last-minute, to be honest, but I'm glad that it happened. Just came back from a 3-month hiatus, so I might take a look at a sequel, although no promises 😅 and I'm not even sure if I can write one as decent as this, too! 😅

10148486
I think that if you want to, you’ll be able to manage. Welcome back!

This is brilliant. Sequel please!

CLIFFHANGER. I NEED MORE. HOW COULD YOU?!

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