Ponyville is filled with ponies who know their place and have clear and bright futures, but that is not true for all. Zephyr Breeze, Marble Pie and Snips are all ponies whose lives are far from what they wished they were; filed with unsatisfied desires and lingering worries. They remain in the background of Equestrian life until a mysterious Unicorn offers them the ability to become what they could never be on their own and sets them loose to confront all the pain, anger and fear that secretly surrounds their hearts. Everything inside them comes boiling to the surface as they use their newfound power to make sure that the world finally sees them.
Chapters (6)
Zephyr Breeze I can understand, but how are Marble Pie and Snips "all ponies whose lives are far from what they wished they were?"
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Without going too far into future dialogue, my reasoning is based on possible subtext in each of their characters. Even in the show, these are very passive characters who are portrayed as one note for the most part and looking at everything around them I can see where seeds of resentment and anger would grow. Looking at the Pie family, Marble is the only one with no clear aim in life. Pinkie left early to follow her dream and then became a hero to Equestria, Maud left to finish her education and even found Mudbriar, Limestone is clearly the one to take over the farm when their parents pass which leaves Marble with nothing. She seems to follow Limestone's order as she has no real voice or drive of her own which stems from being so quiet and reserved alongside such strong willed sisters. To be honest, we have no idea what Marble wants because the show never tells us so I am attempting to portray my version. Snips, I'll admit, is the lesser of the three in terms of problematic volume; I see the majority of his issues stemming from social problems that the show doesn't discuss and becoming exacerbated now that he is more on his own without his best friend to share those social burdens with. Again, it does get detailed later so I don't want to say too much, but I hope that clarifies my reasoning. 👍
Something tells me Renaissance is up to something dark and apocalyptic.
What is your agenda, Renaissance? Are you truly benevolent but misguided or are there more sinister and malevolent motives in your mind at play?
Why send the ponies that these ponies are mad at to find them?
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They may be the focus of their anger, but they're also the most invested in helping them.
I made this account just now just so I could give this story the support it needs. I love this. I do feel like these three ponies deserve better and they are some of my favorites in the series. I hope it will have a happy ending especially since Marble's problems hit me the hardest. I also hope the Crusaders' "backup" is Snails. But I'm sure whatever you choose I will like. I know you're a good writer since I also read "All That We Are"
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I'm a little bummed this story isn't garnering a lot of attention because I had been wanting to write this one for a while and felt it was something fairly unique. But as long as even a few people are enjoying it, I'm perfectly happy.
Thanks, I really appreciate that.
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It seems Marble is the angriest of the three. Probably because the poor girl rarely said any words at all for so long.
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This story evolved from ideas I had based around Marble; influenced by that one scene in the holiday special where she looked heartbroken to see Big Mac and Sugar Belle together. That one little second got me thinking about her and about how underdeveloped she was out of all the Pie sisters. Breaking her down and looking at her more closely, I began to explore how a pony like her might feel given her life circumstances, the lives of her sisters and her literal lack of voice. She isn't the sole focus, but she was definitely the foundation for this story. Like with my Zecora story, I enjoy focusing on ponies that don't get much time or plot in the show because it allows me to weave my own lore for them while respecting canon events.
Just so you don't lose hope, I'm still excitedly awaiting your next chapter :)
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It's in the works. 👍
Renascence watches from across the street.
"Soon you shall see, Twilight Sparkle. I am right as much as you are."
Blame Marble and Big Mac shippers for that mess. I could understand if Marble not wanting to be a shy person, but she was happy the way she was.
So, where’s Renaissance now?
The irony of this coming from a stunt flyer is apparently lost on Soarin'.
That's correct. You think he's disgusting. Begging the universe so it won't be him or Snails who turn out to be your secret admirer. I'm sure that doesn't hurt at all.
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Here's two major problems I personally have with her, however. One, she basically tells Princess Twilight she should be a mind-reader. Renaissance can only talk like she does because HER Cutie Mark allows her to be one in regards to particular circumstances. She is drawn towards certain ponies, pumps them full of her magic and let's them loose. Her accusing stance towards Twilight shows she fundamentally doesn't understand how either of their Cutie Marks work, because Twilight's is about magic and/or her connection to her close circle of friends. Blaming her for not being able to do what Renaissance can is foolish, just as it would be foolish to say Renaissance is a moron if she isn't able to remember a spell upon seeing it only once, a skill Princess Twilight repeatedly showed throughout the series.
Two, she's perfectly willing to put ponies in danger by 'helping' her 'charges'. The fact that none of the ponies battling against her victims got more than Rainbow's concussion is because of their prowess. In fact, the trio not getting seriously hurt themselves is even more of a testament to their skill. Imagine a squad of the Royal Guard arriving to stick Snips full of spears, for example... That was a real possibility. That's what Renaissance could've been responsible for. There could've been more deaths on her head than she already has, and yet she doesn't appear to think any of her actions through. What she's doing is a lot like giving out steroids and knifes to desperate people with a grudge.
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I always found the Wonderbolts to represent more than just 'stunt flyers'. They've been shown to be more of a para-militaristic team that has origins deep in Equestria's history. They put on shows, but their organization is about teamwork, discipline and being the public face of the Pegasi. Now if someone from The Washouts said this, I would definitely see the hypocrisy; but at least from my interpretation of the Wonderbolts, Soarin's feelings on the subject are sound.
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That's actually one of the scenes that inspired me to use Snips in this. I do interpret the CMC learning their lesson in all this when Applejack tells them that it is easy to get used to treating ponies a certain way, even if they don't mean to. Even more that it's easy to accept being treated a certain way by others. They admit to not fully seeing how much hurt Snips had inside as they had become used to seeing him the way they are shown to do so in the show. My hopes in this was to evolve and grow the way these characters are seen in not only the other characters' eyes but the reader's as well, as we have grown used to seeing them a certain way in the context of the show.
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Renaissance's methods are indeed warped and defy our own conventional logic, and that is the point. She is aware that those she empowers or those they go against may die; much like SAW, she expects every pony to either survive and come out better and stronger or perish in the attempt, either way they are free from the pain that drew her to them in the first place. Twilight's struggle at the end is that in spite of how twisted and dangerous her method is, it worked, and that is something she cannot flat out deny. Outside of the good vs bad outline, the overall point in this story is the idea that there are people around us who may be hurting or dealing with things that we just cannot see plainly. Just because someone looks okay, doesn't mean that they are. When someone looks okay on the outside, we tend to see it at face value and not bother to dig any deeper because we assume the best. Twilight and her friends learn this lesson in the most drastic fashion possible. It isn't about being 'mind reader', it's about taking the time to look deeper even when you assume all is well, especially when it comes to friends and family.
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Fair point, it's at least debatable whether they're primarily stunt flyers or military operatives.
It IS a weird situation, showing off is indeed a way to draw some attention towards yourself from the Wonderbolts, but it even more depends on whether you're being stupid about it. It's also interesting that Old Rainbow Dash would've exactly acted like Zephyr did, if she'd had the skill back then. Personally, I find their relationship funny because I believe the same about their flirting: Zephyr Breeze's obnoxious courtship behaviour, I would expect from Rainbow Dash herself if she ever did crush on someone.
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Especially if you interpret Snips's blush to Apple Bloom as more than him being embarrassed. That just makes the sheer antagonism between them more painful. derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/7/10/368987.gif
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I do understand Twilight's difficulties in this story. For all intents and purposes, Renaissance's reckless, dangerous methods led to a good end, one that she intended. It's not as clean and clear as with, say, Starlight Glimmer, whose (faux) ideology led to her followers just being miserable and lying to themselves about how they weren't.
This, I have to disagree with, though. The "mind-reader" part is relevant because Renaissance accuses Twilight Sparkle of not being there for "her friends", of failing to see their hidden pain. Thing is, Twilight has little to no interactions with any of the three. Certainly not currently. Renaissance accuses her of not noticing emotional problems of people she couldn't possibly know are suffering. Normally, the Map would send someone to intervene, but Twilight can't force the map to do anything. And Renaissance herself only came to each of them because her Cutie Mark told her to. If not for that, if not for her inherent magic guiding her, Renaissance would have zero reason to come to Zephyr, or Marble, or Snips. Meaning Renaissance is blaming Princess Twilight for something neither of them have any control over.
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Oh, one more thing: If you post an answer in a different chapter than the one you're linking from, the person who made the post won't get ay notifications! If you're answering a post from chapter three, for example, and your answer is in chapter five, they won't know. That includes answers not put in a particular chapter, they're always put in the last chapter automatically. I only saw because I came back to check!
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I had no idea, good to know. Thanks for the heads up on that. 👍
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I'll bite on the interpretation of Renaissance's blame of Twilight. I can re-edit that part to better reflect the point I'm working to make there.
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Happy to help!
Hmmm.... if Renaissance is evil, and I'm definitely getting some too-good-to-be-true vibes from her, good job on not making it too obvious.