Cassie's nose twitched, then twitched again. Finally a sneeze let loose, forcing her to open her eyes. Smiling, she raised her finger to her face.
"Well, aren't you a pretty butterfly," Cassie said to the large monarch butterfly now perched on her nose. "Enjoying the garden like me? It is beautiful, isn't it? Reminds me of the one back at my old college, but I don't recognize a bunch of these flowers. I think you would like it more by the flowers instead of perched on my nose, though. It kinda tickles."
To Cassie's surprise, the butterfly blinked its overly large eyes, and flew off to the closest flower patch. Sitting up, she looked around for Princess Ink Splotch. Unable to spot the larger pony, she glanced at the sun. Pinching her brows together a moment, she wondered how Ink Splotch could be so quiet. She’d only had her eyes closed for about ten minutes, and hadn't fallen asleep. Shrugging, she put her leg back on and made for one of the garden exits to go back inside the castle.
Cassie wandered the halls for what felt like hours. The architecture and design amazed her, from the marble floors, columns, walls, and cathedral ceilings, to the exquisite busts of ponies, intricately woven tapestries and carpets, and stained glass windows. Even after seeing how ponies used their mouths, hooves, and anti-gravity aura—which could apparently do more—Cassie still wondered if some other race had helped them build any of it, maybe even a race before them.
Her little experiment had worked. There was no way the ponies hadn't realized she’d left her room by now, yet other than a few guards in a couple corridors, Cassie had seen no other ponies and heard no alarm.
"Score one for you, Padlock, and the rest of you, I guess. Looks like you didn't lie; I really can go where I want in this place."
Cassie tried backtracking to the garden, only to get more and more lost in the maze of hallways and rooms. She did find a small dining area, with some fruits and pitchers of water, which she helped herself to. However, her muscles ached, and she just wanted to get back to her room. Cassie actively looked for any pony she could find. She'd already realized they must have been told to give her space, because there was no way a castle would be this empty.
Resting on a bench in a small alcove near the bottom of some stairs, Cassie waited for any pony to wander by. Cassie's eyes lit up when muffled clopping getting closer reached her ears. Standing up, she took a step out of the alcove, almost running into the pony.
"Hi," Cassie said cheerfully to a wide-eyed mare dressed in a maid’s outfit. She noticed the maid's legs trembling, and quickly began unfolding the picture of her room Padlock had given her. "Can you take me here, please? Or to ~Padlock~?"
Briefly, Cassie worried the mare would not understand, or bolt away screaming. Instead, she reached for the picture, studied it a moment, then passed it back.
"E'hh hoys ukq jiks. Come, nuwttwe um," the mare said, passing the photo back, the fear in her eyes mostly gone.
A short time later, Cassie rounded a corner to see Padlock chatting with the somewhat familiar white unicorn guard she’d seen yesterday when she’d initially been let out of her cell. Traversing the halls of the castle while following the maid had been uneventful, although the distance proved long enough for her leg to start aching again.
Once they were standing in the hallway outside of Cassie’s room, the maid nodded to Padlock before turning and walking off.
"Thanks for bringing me back," Cassie called to the maid, then she turned to Padlock sheepishly. "Hi, ~Padlock~." To her surprise, she didn't seem mad at all.
"De, Cassie, come," Padlock said, waving at her with a hoof. She repeated the motion, this time only saying "De" a few times.
Cassie stood there, chewing on the inside of her cheek a little, with her eyes slightly narrowed. After a few moments, a smile formed. "~Hi, Padlock~."
Clacking bounced off the marble walls around Cassie for several seconds before both Padlock and the unicorn put their front hooves back on the ground, both with large grins. Before she could walk past Padlock, the mare brought out a few pieces of colored parchment. Cassie turned to the side with another sheepish grin. "Sorry, ~Padlock~, I know I should have walked out the door so they could come… ~come~… with me. I just wanted to see if I really had some choice in the matter."
Cassie took the pictures from Padlock with a nod. After a pantomiming session between the two, Cassie was surprised to learn it was only mid afternoon. Already growing weary of having to guess the time all of the time, she decided to press for a clock. Though Padlock didn’t provide her with one, she did agree to come wake her up in a couple hours, and after a little more charades practice, Padlock trotted off down the hall.
Entering the room, Cassie only briefly registered that the bed had already been remade as she flopped down onto it for a nap.
------------------------------
"I'm up, I'm up!" Cassie yelled, releasing a pillow and rolling onto her back to stare at the ceiling.
With a strength of will that could move mountains—or at least move a geologist out of a horizontal position—Cassie reluctantly stood next to the bed with a frown. She popped her dress out in a few places where it clung to her skin, then ran her hands down it to try and smooth some of the wrinkles out. The slightly sticky feeling of her clothes reminded her that her fever hadn't gone away completely, but that it was definitely fading.
A dull knocking filled the air again.
"I said I'm up… just wait," Cassie said with a slight bite. Her face scrunched up a moment before she said, "~Padlock, bye.~" She hoped with her extremely limited vocabulary that she had gotten her point across as she entered the bathroom.
Cassie stood at the sink splashing water onto her face, the cool water helping to chase away the last remnants of sleep. Wiping the water from her face with a washcloth, she gave her hair a few quick brushes before pinning it back with a hairband. Somewhat satisfied to face the world, Cassie returned to the main room, then opened the door to find Padlock chatting with two white unicorns: one she’d seen a few times, and a new one wearing the vest part of a suit, and a monocle. She had to suck her bottom lip in when she noticed his little blue mustache. Breaking her gaze from the pony, she turned to Padlock.
"~H-Hi, Padlock. Come~ in," Cassie said, opening the door the rest of the way.
Cassie stiffened when the new stallion took a few steps closer. "Cnaapejco, ieoo Cassie. Q iu Nivku Xivba. Ep qa jeya bu ummb ukq," he said, extending a hoof.
A small cry escaped Cassie's throat as she took a step back, bringing her hands up defensively. At the same time, Padlock moved forward to put herself between Cassie and the stallion, gently pushing his foreleg back to the ground and whispering in his ear.
With a small nod, the unknown unicorn said, “Ipp, Q qjzanopwiz, obr Q odzcuwns,” to Padlock, before looking back up to Cassie. “Awzzg bu dwra opwnphaz ukq, Cassie. Dwra i lhawowjp arajejc." With a dip of his head, and not another word, he turned tail and left.
"Umm, ~bye~… Mustachi," Cassie called before the unicorn rounded the corner. "~Padlock, come~."
Sitting at the table, Cassie started drawing out the idea she wanted to communicate. She had nearly finished it when Padlock cleared her throat. Looking up, Cassie saw the mare waving a couple pieces of paper over the center of the table, one green and one red. On the green one, Cassie saw images of foods they knew she could eat, her walking through the hallways, drawing, and a couple others. The red one was nearly the opposite, with food she could not eat, smashing a vase in a hallway, throwing ink bottles on the floor, and a couple others.
With Cassie's attention, Padlock laid the papers down, pushing the green one forward. She pointed to the first image at the top and said, "Gma." She repeated that for every picture on the page. Padlock then did the same thing for the red page, this time saying "Vy."
Cassie chewed on the information. She was still stuck on if it meant do, good, or yes, and don't, bad, or no. Suddenly, she smiled and moved to the other side of the room. "~Padlock, come… y-yes~?" she said, waving the mare over. Padlock's ear perked up as she jumped off the chair and trotted over with a smile. Cassie quickly moved back to the table, and spun around to face Padlock. "~Padlock, come… no~?" This time, Padlock stayed and only turned her head away, still smiling.
Waving the mare back over, Cassie sat down, scrunching her face up. She still had a dilemma. That narrowed it down by a word, but still not enough to get the exact meaning. Biting her lower lip, she grabbed a piece of paper from her stack, and with a shaky hand, she started drawing the gray unicorn she hated. The quill slipped upwards out of her grasp before she had finished. Cassie gave Padlock a weak smile as the mare set the quill back down on the table. Looking down at the crude drawing, Cassie pointed to it and said, "~No~?"
Padlock shook her head and answered, "Por. Por likju."
Cassie reached for the red page again, only to be intercepted by Padlock. "No, no, no," the mare said, pointing at random pictures, then back to the unicorn picture and saying, "Por," before wadding it up and tossing it towards the trashcan.
You know what, this is probably part of why there were so many conflicts on ancient Earth before there were translations for languages. People didn't know what the hell the others were saying and just said ‘to hell with it’.
Satisfied she now had two very useful words in her new vocabulary, Cassie moved on to what she really wanted to talk to Padlock about, for which the new words would come in quite handy.
The conversation did not go as well as Cassie would have liked, though she did learn the name of the slate gray unicorn. At one point, she stormed over to the wadded up drawing of the unicorn, and took it to the pony in the hall. She remained adamant, and eventually Padlock relented.
Though her request for the brown mare she'd named Cereal from earlier in the afternoon to come was denied, the white unicorn from outside her door she’d nicknamed Handbook had come. Cassie continued following Padlock across an open grass field in the waning sunlight, towards a door she had passed through yesterday morning, while Handbook followed.
The trip through the castle and the grassy area was much different this time. The din of life as ponies wandered the halls brought a smile to Cassie's face, reminding her of the spaceship before they’d started stasis. She’d noticed that for some reason the background noise didn’t match up with the visual references, as only guards and maids were seen, and they kept quiet. It continued out here in the field where groups of ponies were engaged in various activities, some with balls, others just lazing around, while some flew above. A chant to her side got her attention. Glancing over, she saw a sight eerily similar to a game played back at the academy. The edge of her lip ticked up a moment when she saw one pony run from one line to the other, only to get knocked on his back as he failed to break through. Her smirk faded upon looking toward the building up ahead, which closed in on her with each step.
That weird sensation flowed over her as she stepped into the lobby. Her eyes darted around to all the ponies present as she continued following Padlock to the door on the other side of the room. Fighting the urge to turn and run out of the dungeon, Cassie moved up behind Padlock, close enough that the mare's tail occasionally brushed her leg. It didn't help her nerves that a growing number of unicorn guards had lined up behind them. Distracted, Cassie ran into Padlock. Flailing her arms and staggering back, Cassie looked down at the mare, who had an apologetic smile.
Padlock held up the picture of Steel Shackle with a wing. "Cassie, yes?" Padlock asked clearly, slowly pointing at her own eye, and then to the page.
"~Yes~," Cassie responded with a nod.
Padlock walked the last couple feet to another door, and held it open for Cassie to walk through. Cassie began rethinking her plan. She had initially surprised Padlock with her sudden demand to come here. She wanted to see that the unicorn had actually been arrested, and that they were not trying to trick her about it. She was fairly confident they wouldn't have had time to set it up, as they’d left directly from her room while grabbing Handbook on the way out, and the route felt direct. Now, nearing her destination, she wasn't so sure it was a good idea.
Cassie fidgeted with a pleat on her dress, twisting it nervously between her fingers near the hip as she slowly walked through the door. Handbook soon trotted past her and stopped outside a cell not far down the hall. With every step closer, her pace slowed, and her breaths became shorter and faster.
A furry weight pressed lightly against Cassie's left leg for a brief moment, causing her to let out a high-pitched eep and flinch to the side. Cassie looked down at Padlock's smiling face. Hooking a strand of hair back behind her ear, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before releasing it and opening her eyes. Moving a half step to the side away from Padlock, she continued forward, closer to her normal pace.
A trio of unicorns rushed past her, taking positions up on both sides of the cell bars. Cassie looked nervously at them. Two of them—one on each side—had their horns glowing with that aura, the soft tinkling sound causing Cassie to tense up. After seeing the unicorns do more than just float things around, the aura had become an even bigger unknown. She didn't know if they all could use the anti-gravity aura, and then some had specialized skills like healing, or the bolts they shot her with during her capture, or if all of them could do it all.
Cassie stopped short of the cell, backed up a few paces, and bent down close to Padlock’s ear. "~Padlock, come yes." She then pointed to the three unknown unicorns outside the bars, and the pair behind them near the door. "~Bye, come no~."
Padlock shook her head, then looked up into Cassie's blue eyes while trying not to flinch away from the dead-looking right one, before finally closing her own gray eyes and nodding. She then trotted up to the guards at the cell, and after a short conversation, they cut the flow of magic to their horns and marched back out into the other hallway with the rest.
After being delayed a few minutes by Padlock for the arrival of another pony, Cassie finally made her way to the jail cell bars. A new normal pony stood opposite of Handbook, while Padlock sat on her haunches an arm’s length away on her left. Cassie’s whole body trembled looking at the slate gray unicorn, as he sat there with contempt written all over his face. She really wished she had a way to burn all his fur off.
"S-So i-it's true. You really are being punished. I just hope you don't have to go through what I went through. I hope they treat you better than you ever treated me," Cassie stated, knowing full well neither he nor the other ponies understood her. She felt a wing rest on her calf. Taking a deep breath she stood up straighter, narrowing her eyes at Steel Shackle with a twitch to her lip. "I hope that thing on your head makes it so you can never hurt anyone with your aura again! And if you ever, ever try to do anything to me again I will make you suffer! So fuck you, ~Steel Shackle~! Fuck you, ~bye~!" Cassie screamed, raising a balled fist at the stallion with her middle finger extended. She spat on the ground just outside his cell before turning and marching off to the door she came through, leaving Steel with a stunned expression on his face.
Passing into the previous hallway, Cassie's face split into a wide grin. She briskly continued through the jail, the route made easy by guards holding the doors to adjoining hallways open. Her mind played back everything she could think of since her capture, but it kept coming back to Steel Shackle. The look of contempt on his face didn't hide his anger, nor did it hide how he held himself, or the sleeplessness around his eyes. Cassie finally reached the lobby where she'd entered with Padlock and Handbook not too long ago.
Cassie looked out the open door at the last oranges fading from the sky as the smell of fresh-cut grass wafted in on a tiny breeze. She slumped against the wall, sliding down until her butt touched the floor, and held her head in her hands. Soft hiccups broke the silence of the room, and thin, glistening trails ran down her forearms. Hearing a flutter, she briefly looked up to see Padlock's hooves touch the ground. Cassie's arms shot forward, pulling the mare into a tight hug as she pressed her face into the soft fur of Padlock's neck, and felt Padlock's foreleg wrap around her shoulder. While she might not like all these ponies around her just yet, at least Padlock was not her enemy, and she decided to let go, at least for a short while.
Cannot wait to see that bastard receive some severe punishment. Hopefully at the end of a noose. This story needs more updates. Hopefully soon justice will be served and I can change my Dislike to a Like.
Good to see another update! I like how you've gone out of your way to create a written language we can see for the ponies. Keep up the fun work!
It's a little hard to follow what's going on. Just a suggestion, it would probably help if there was more of Cassie mumbling out loud what she's wanting, or even her internalized thoughts if you don't want her speaking unnecessarily, so that we can figure out the sequence and actions.
In that, she can give more of the ponies her own nicknames, where they eventually get corrected as she learns more of their language. Which can lead to more fun when the ponies finally figure out what she's calling them
Other than that, good to see this story is still alive
Ohh, it updated. Rarity is pleased.
6831209 You seem shall we say... a little blood thirsty? Wasn't he locked up with his ability to use magic removed by whatever they put on his horn? Sounds to me like he is already being punished.
6831331 He is being held, not punished. All that is merely holding procedure to keep him from escaping before a trial. (There had BETTER be a trial) And if THAT was considered punishment for the kinds of things he did? It would make me sick, or have you forgotten what he and the other Guard did to Cassie?
6831373 True. However since his magic has also been completely restricted I see it as a start to the punishment.
I do remember what he did to poor Cassie. He both verbally and physically abused her. A few chapters ago Celestia mentioned that she expected him to be punished to the maximum allowed by the regulations/rules of the guard once the investigation into his actions was completed. She did also said that some important information was missing in current reports. So one must assume that they are doing that investigation so the hammer can drop on him hard.
I for one, am glad that he is not allowed to live his life as normal while awaiting his trial or court martial.
6831462 And do not forget the emotional and psychological trauma, they always take longer to heal.
Thank you for the translations! By the way we want more updates!!!
Another amazing chapter, as always.^^
6831462
I wonder if Cassie will even be present at the trial? It's not like they really need her there and this is more or less a military trial, not some civil case. No jury, no reporters, just the facts ('mam). But this is Equestria and we don't know how it runs. We'll all just have to wait... ugh...
6831950 Since the author mentioned using the rules and regulations of the guard, I'm thinking Cassie probably won't need to be present. That is if its a military trial or court martial. They probably have enough stuff on him and the other ones, without having to have her show up.
I just remembered! Cassie drew pictures of what happened to her. At a minimum of her getting cut in the back by Steel. Padlock probably turned those over to whoever is doing the investigating.
Speaking of Padlock. I like her. Topaz you should get a picture of Cassie and Padlock made.
I would laugh if 'Fuck' was close enough to 'Buck' for Steel Shackle to understand... or maybe spitting at someones hooves is similar to saying "The mention of your disgusts me, burn in hell". Or maybe it means "You aren't worth anything, vultures would reject your corpse."
6831209 6831373 6831331 He will have his own trial in the future. I have not finalized what his eventual punishment is however. But, Truthseeker, I agree with RarityJewel. You are extremely bloodthirsty. I take it you are from a country where brutal punishment is given for any crime. Here in America (which I am using as a loose base for Equestria law) almost every crime involves just being incarcerated for a set amount of time and maybe having to take some classes. There are some crimes (depending on the state) that are eligible for the death penalty, but only for the most heinous of crimes, usually murder. I have a feeling you saw mistreatment and stopped caring what actually happened to Cassie, especially from Steel Shackle, the main culprit.
So I ask you... what crime did Steel do that is deserving of the death penalty?
6831950 Most likely his trial will be a military court martial.
6831217 Thank you. Plus, I do have a master list of words changed so that they are consistent.
6831494 Glad you like them. Updates will happen, I just don't know when.
6831898 Thanks.
6831279 Good points. I probably should have done that a little more. She names most based on the cutie mark, and has not seen all of them yet, like the orange guard she had.
Cassie's nickname > Pony real name
Cereal > Cocoa Puff
Handbook > Law Bound (unnamed in story) (the white unicorn guard)
Mustachi > Fancy Pants
Princess Ink Splotch > Princess Luna
6832111
I like her too , but I will have to disappoint you on the picture. I am no artist, and commissions are outside of my budget. If you want, you can make some of your own art with them. This blog post contains a picture I use as a reference for Cassie (and my height chart), along with Padlock's color information.
6833319 Just her yelling, and spitting on the ground was close enough to get the point that she didn't like him at all across. He was just more shocked that she could speak his name.
6833735 Well we see the main 6 again?
6834392 Yuppers. They just are just back in Ponyville at this time.
6834404 neat. I wonder if Cassie well react badly towards Twilight since she might think she was the one who arrested her.
6833735
Yeah, getting your name yelled at you with extreme vehemence and disgust from something you expected was too stupid to understand you would be kind of shocking.
6833683 Any sort of wanton cruelty or severe injustice sets me off violently. I become passionately protective of those who have been treated needlessly cruel ESPECIALLY those who are helpless. I hate those who are cruel for no reason. I see the former Guards' actions as being equal to the KKK. Both groups were needlessly cruel to somebody for just being different and that makes me sick. I have never been able to stand bullies and I have less than no sympathy and I feel they deserve whatever happens to them, no matter how severe. All bullies just need to be killed. They are worthless, heartless monsters who thrive on causing pain and cruelty and provide no use in society. They are a blight that people want you to feel sorry for... I am NOT going to pity the villain.
As far as it goes, I don’t blame her reactions at all toward that douchebag. But, at least now she got some closures that justice is being served, and one less thing to worry about for the poor girl. With that out of the way, she might be able to eventually get use to the other ponies and become comfortable around them…
C&Cs:
She’d noticed that for some reason the background noise didn’t match up with the visual references...
> Comma after ‘reason’.
And if you ever, ever try to do anything to me again I will make you suffer!
> Comma after ‘again’.
[Looking at the translation...]
Greetings, miss Cassie.
> When using ‘miss’ in front of a name, you need to capitalize it, and the same goes for ‘mister’ and any other titles.
6835412 Wow, just wow. Such hatred. So much I could say to that, but I'm not going to.
I do ask that you please re-read Chapter 7 if you think he has no reason at all, other than because Cassie is different. On another note... I never once said, or implied at all, that you should feel sorry for Steel Shackle. I only asked, what crime did he do that deserves the death sentence? Death, is not some sort of punishment you just joke around with. It is final, and there is no fixing it.
6836440 Well, she still does have a fear of equines, can't fix that in a day.
Thanks for the corrections. I fixed the miss to Miss. That explains why in my converted words document the ciphered word was capitalized.
I didn't fix the comma after 'again'. She's saying that somewhat fast without a pause in that half of the sentence. I understand that technically there should be one there, but it was left out on purpose. I'll have to think about the one after 'reason'. When I read it out loud with the comma, it just doesn't seem right to me. It could be how I am reading it. I will ask my editor what he thinks of the change.
Again, thank you for taking the time to let me know.
6837363 I do not recall there being a mention of him having a reason for his heartless cruelty. I will take a look here in a little while so I can see what I apparently missed. The part about pitying bullies was not directed at you, I got caught up in my frustration. Trust me, actual hatred would be far worse than what I wrote. I also know full-well that death is final. I used to work in Maryview Hospital and one of my responsibilities was the logging and release of the departed from the morgue cooler.
6837715 Its a big picture, can't miss it. Even though you read what Celestia said about it in chapter 9, a lot of the guard already know about that as the reason for her arrest. Plus the report from Hoofbreak Ridge referenced by the griffon ambassador in chapter 6, informs you something did happen up there.
None of that excuses Steel. Its just showing he has more motivation for his actions than simply doing the stuff because of her being different. He's still an ass that is getting punished.
6837715 Well, how about you look at it from this perspective?: You see, while Steel is indeed a giant prick, he doesn't seem like that active of a malefactor. He scared Cassie, injured her lightly (which led to complications, but still), and took no actions to help with her food-situation. I would say, however, that all this does not make him outright evil, just very unlikable since we don't see any redeeming qualities.
Now, if I was in Cassie's space-shoes, I would want Steel dead. You see? I really feel for this protagonist. To me, Steel, who really just seems like a big jerk when you look at it in a detached way, comes across as genuinely evil to me when I read the story. That means that this story makes me feel things, and sympathize extra strongly with the character I'm supposed to sympathize extra strongly with. Art, man
6837894 Oh I completely agree with your last statement. If the author was not an artist with words then I would feel no anger for the ridiculous injustice that Cassie had to endure. Nor would I be wrathful toward the two Guards who were so cruel toward what was obviously a helpless individual. I feel that I must make an addendum to your sumary of Cassie's treatment. You failed to mention the different psychological traumas inflicted on our primary protagonist, which is something that should never be understated.
Have you ever been rendered completely helpless and subjected to harsh treatment? I have been cornered and kicked in the face repeatedly by somebody I trusted as a child. I have been chased away from the dinner table by an 'Alpha-male' type person while he slapped me on the ears, head, back, and sides as he chanted, 'You little fat thing, you little fat thing...' over and over again. He chased me up the stairs and when he backed me into a corner still doing the same thing was when I learned to fight back. I pushed him down the stairs which broke his arm and then I kicked him until somebody pulled me off him. I was the only one who got in trouble. If nearby authority does nothing (which almost ALWAYS happens) you have to get mean. I still have nightmares about that shit. The bastard is dead now and I'll honest, I cheered when I heard. I still have nightmares about that shit though. Those memories will stay with you forever and the same will be true with Cassie. THAT is why I get so riled up about stuff like that.
I do not know if you have given this any thought, the mental and emotional trauma Cassie suffered when the stallion restrained her and felt up her skin, would have left similar emotional damage as a woman being raped. The author has made it clear that the stallion's intention was not sexual, but maliciously curious, however what we must keep in mind is not intention of the perpetrator, but the perception of the victim. Whether or not he intended to comit any sort of sexual assault, that is the way that Cassie perceived it.
From an emotionally detached point of view (which is rather difficult for me), I would be forced to mostly agree with your synopsis... mostly. I do think you somewhat downplayed the severity of the crimes though.
6837383
I know, but you got to admit, she is surprisingly doing pretty good with her fear of equines so far. It is actually very admirable in my opinion. If it was anyone else with a phobia, they would most likely handle it by screaming and running away.
That's fine with me. And you're welcome~! I'm enjoying the story so far, keep up the awesome job~!
6838539 Thanks.
Overall she is doing a good job. But, she also knows she needs to try and work with them. It still effects her, which you can see when she tries to stay away from most ponies if possible. Like Mustachi (Fancy Pants) at her door, and random ponies in the halls.
6838064 Right. Triggers. Well, would you then concede that it's perfectly fine for a story to not be tailored for an audience with reasons to feel sensitive about particular topics? To me, that would be like inverted discrimination, and almost impossible to avoid.
I don't think I should share any opinions about the second spoiler-covered paragraph, all the stories I've heard about false rape-accusations have left me with opinions that many might consider callous, but I will question this part:
I hope you're not saying that punishments, and their severity, should be measured by how a single party perceives something.
And while I won't say that I downplayed the severity of the crimes, I will say that I forgot harassment and neglect of duty. Real, serious, and shameful crimes, but still nothing that warrants capital punishment, I'd say.
6840255
Not quite. Also depends on whether or not that single party is the victim. I was mostly refering to the mental and emotional scars Cassie is going to have because of her treatment. As you said yourself, you have a callous mentality toward things of that nature, so any single party could be very wrong in determining punishment. In the same way you are callous, I am zealous and passionate. Having EITHER of us determine the punishment alone would be foolish. I would probably be too harsh and you would be too lenient.
6840410 On the other hand, you might be swayed by a well-acted but insincere show of regret, while I might not.
Actually, I'm a pretty emotional person, but my point is that justice and punishment should not be. Emotional, that is.
Steel committed crimes, and now he's being punished with imprisonment. I feel that's appropriate. The punishments shouldn't be more severe if Cassie's more distraught by it. Just like they shouldn't be less severe if she's less distraught by it. That would make stoic people prime targets for criminals
It could also mean that talented actors with spiteful dispositions or psychopathic behavior becomes even more dangerous than they already are.
6840426
Which is part of why America's legal system doesn't work. Well, that and the more money a person has, the less the law applies to them.
I think we may finally be on the same page. I understand what you're getting at and I believe you can see where (and why) my passionate feelings about all this come from.
6840472 No legal system really works entirely the way it's intended. After all, people have been struggling with the concept of justice since antiquity. Earlier, even.
Anyway, I think I understood what you were saying from the word go, and I mostly agree. Steel did indeed do some hateful things and is by all accounts a vile individual. It's completely understandable to feel nothing but contempt for him. But that's tied to what I disagreed with, because it sounded like you gave this story a downvote for fulfilling its objective as a piece of art and making people feel things. A bit simply put, perhaps, but, I feel, not entirely untrue.
6840559 You know... I can count on one hand the number of people who are capable of changing my mind, using logic and words. Very well. Upvoted.
6840778 I read, occasionally
So, uh, neat. What about her landing area and such?
6841001 Where she crashed has not been forgotten.
I did it! I finally read through your story to your latest chapter! Third time's the charm. It was chapter seven that stopped me the first time, then it was chapter eight the second time. Once I got through those this time though, it was smooth sailing.
Honestly, there is nothing I can say is wrong with your story, it just falls into a type I don't generally read, though I'd be hard press to define what that type is.
Bravo to you. Topaz Moon... this story presents an unusually believable HIE situation. There are communication problems, factions among the ponies, medical/drug incompatibilities, and even the ever-present danger of the wrong foods being offered or consumed.
...And to think I almost chose to avoid your work simply for the coquettish avatar you use. In fimfiction, so many writers use sex to sell their work that it has become something like a hallmark of bad or lazy writing.
6968168 Thanks. I'm glad you like it so far.
As for my avatar, its actually pretty new. Will probably go back to my normal pony one sometime soon. I like this one, but like the normal one I have too.
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Thank you for the comment.
Its partly explained in chapter 3, on how she got the assignment, and her actual job in the military. She is a geologist on the science side of her military. Her job is geology related things on the planet they were trying to get to. At this point in the story there has not really been much of a chance for her to do that. She has other skills also, slightly brought up in chapter 6.
Very limited briefings, though she has failed horribly on some of the stuff she had been told. However, fear makes people do stupid things. There were other people on the main ship for diplomatic stuff if needed, so her fear of equines was not disqualifying.
I still agree with her reaction to Pinkie standing above her while on her hospital bed. Plus, she was told by the Doctor not to do stuff like that (and not just to Cassie in my story).
Fear makes you do stupid, irrational things. She's getting better now. She started back in chapter 6 knowing she needed to get over her fear and work with them. The guards showing up just threw a monkey wrench into it.
She knows she has screwed up some, but does not think it was enough to send a military squad after her. Still, her shooting at them was a bad idea, lol.
Well, two energy pistols, one gun in the ceiling, and one that can't deploy isn't really a cache of weapons. Though, it is still weapons.
You assume correct.
Technically they 'attacked' her first when Shining Armor tried to pull her with his magic. Plus, if a military squad showed up out of the blue, after being somewhat friendly with some locals (the basket trading that started with the Mane6), you might freak out a little too. Overall, there were screw-ups on both sides, a lot on hers.
Except he went against his orders and intentionally caused harm, that's why he got the broken horn. Especially since Shining Armor had a plan to use earth ponies. Only one pony was injured (stated as a broken wing), and two others were just hit with a stun. All of which Candlewax knew were basically ok, other than the wing, as the two were recovered and brought back before he did his plan.
She wants to go back to how it was in chapter 6, no ponies around, and slowly working towards interaction/beating her fear.
She has other skills, just not the opportunity to really explore or do them yet, just some small showings in the earlier chapters.
I'm glad you have stayed reading it, and took the time to make this comment. I hope I was able to answer some of your questions. You are right in that Cassie has acted pretty stupidly so far. Hopefully the most recent chapters have started to show that she has realized this and is slowly starting to move forward, without chucking stuff.
ps: Beef and Popcorn will be back, sooner than later.
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Huh, I got no notification of this reply or I'd have responded sooner... weird. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to respond. Yes, I believe she's making progress... my reason for commenting there was in part to vent the negativity I had built up about gripes with the story to that point. It was good enough to keep going, certainly... but I needed to wrestle through frustrations with it, my apologies there... looking back at the wording, I was a bit harsh... ah well, it's done.
Whether that's a few or a cache (and where to draw the distinction) is a fair question. But... try crossing even between Canada and the States with a single weapon (I've had a knife confiscated, and I'm not an alien) and you see where I'm coming from here. As to Shining starting the conflict... well if a cop, or military, attempts to restrain you... don't start shooting unless you want to die. I simply can't stress how lucky she is that they are treating her with such kid gloves... so to speak. Well, until the jail... sort of reversed the luck at that point. Regrettable.
I still maintain that in that heated situation Candlewax is going to look around in a couple seconds and see comrades falling to unknown weaponry. You and I know, observing from the outside, that they aren't seriously hurt... expecting him to know that in that heightened moment just isn't something I agree with; things were escalating quickly. Sure he sees them recovered from the field, presumably alive. But what long term effects, and how long will that luck hold? His orders basically put their team at risk while an unknown and possibly crazy alien took potshots. He can assume she'll keep luckily not hurting anyone too seriously, but instead he acted quickly to end the conflict; I commend him. Oh well, I doubt we'll agree on that one.
As to Cassie... nah I totally accept her punching Pinkie. It was a reasonable reaction under the circumstances. I just meant that if a patient in a hospital did that, particularly after spending their time up to that point the way Cassie had... there would at least be talk of sedation and possible restraints, for both patient and caregiver safety. She wasn't showing herself to be too stable. Military training is a lot about acting in the face of fear, controlling it. I'm glad that, in recent chapters, that seems to be kicking in. Looking forward to the next update.
*wiggles non existant eyebrows*
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Those are what Fonzie's got, right?
7197299 i have no idea who he is but i guess he says ay a lot