The life of a Wonderbolt isn't all glitz and glam, but there's some of that, to be sure; making explosive entrances, roaring crowds, and – of course – the hordes of fans waiting in every city. It can get tiring, and it can get stressful, but the feeling of making such an impact on ponies everywhere is unbeatable.
For Soarin, that feeling is at its largest when he's dealing with his fans who are the smallest; he's a hit with the foals wherever the Wonderbolts go, and lately, it's started to really show. The constant requests for lessons and autographs start to get snickers from the other Wonderbolts, but it's all in good fun – until Soarin learns a little too much about one of his fans, putting the whole thing in perspective.
Unsure of what to do, or whom to trust, Soarin is caught asking himself some tough questions, and he finds the trust he once put in other ponies is as much a burden as a help.
Really there's a town in TN called La Vergne I used to live there went to high school there too
7308756 Huh. Not altogether surprising, I suppose. 'Vergne' makes me think French, and Laverna is a Latin name, so, similar roots!
Fool them both
not bad so far i will give it a woch
Why are the chapters so short?
Well, this was just a series of harsh and difficult situations wasn't it?
7310931 Chapter breaks are used for a lot of things. In this story, I use them to indicate a tonal shift, or a time-lapsed scene change.
AWWW YEAH! IT'S GETTING REAL NOW!
> scrolls down
> chapter immediately ends
FU-
Ah, the illusion of competence. It fractures gradually, one's parents going from like unto gods to just people. Then one day, you realize you're ostensibly an adult and you wonder when the transition happened, and why no one told you.
And then you find yourself trying to do the right thing, hoping that you really are, working with limited information and flying by the seat of the pants you're not wearing because you're a horse in a society without a nudity taboo.
... I feel like that sentence broke down at some point. Point is, most engaging. I look forward to more.
My only complaint is that Lawrence/Laverna has a rather tellingly non-pony name.You know why I crossed this out.Find myself immediately thinking child abuse. Even though I've got a pretty good idea what's really going on.
Nope. Just some adults really feel the need to look that way. And it's kind of demanded that you pretend you know what you're doing a lot of the time. Protip: don't grow up kids! It's a trap!
I get more intimidated by My Little Pony than Berserk. Nope, dealing with other people is horrifying.
Homelessness basically summed up.
Is that supposed to be symbolism about being unable to escape from duty?
Bang! Zoom! Banished to the Moon!
Foster parents can be troublemakers too.
Again. Communicating with others. Horrifying.
7313137 MUAHAHAHAHAHA!
Yeah... lots of people wish that things were for them. Which is why it's probably a good idea to come right out and tell them when it is. It also occurs to me that it's rare to see writing with characters that are insightful and sincere.
"Of course not! But there's no other option left for me, don't you get it? I don't have some happy family to go back to. I get it; you had some kind of great parents who were like friends to you. I don't have those, and sticking me in a house with a couple of bigger ponies isn't going to magically fix that. No one wants me, Soarin, and no matter what they tell you on those little pamplets at the orphanage, no one is going to be happy to have someone in their home they didn't ask for. Like, the Endicotts? They wanted Chaser! They had him all pegged as somepony that would do whatever they asked. They only brought me on 'cuz he told them he wouldn't go anywhere without me! I was baggage! That's what it's like. So, whatever you had... stop thinking you can share your 'happy ever after' with me!"
...Ouch.
Ouch.
... You son of a cunt.
Oh boy. Twilight's already set to tear Equestria's foster care system apart. If she finds out about this, I'm pretty sure there a certain house in Canterlot will be on the receiving end of some high-energy experiments.
Also, is it just me, or does this imply that Twilight learned the cutie unmarking spell?
As for Laverna's true biology, I get the feeling that even the changelings don't know as much about themselves as they think they do. This could be a case of atavism, mutation, or something that happens to any ling not raised in the hive. We'll have to wait and see.
This was very nice. Thank you.
Knowing when to press, when the person doesn't want to be pressed. That's a tough one. Which is part of why it's easy to ignore people that are really hurting.
Ah. When the same phrase takes on a different meaning.
Respecting Agency. It goes a lot further than you might think.
Cheese it! It's the fuzz!
Some people forget that her hair is epic.
Beautiful. A wonderful lesson and a truly happy ending. Thank you for this.
7316097
Or maybe she's the result of a pony and a changeling getting a little too friendly...
Wow, that was a rough ride.
A good one too.
7317982
Man, if I had hair like that, I'd... probably try to tone it down a bit. But it'd be crazy.
Okay, you got me.
Gee, Soarin, that's a disturbingly disloyal thought for you to ha -
https://youtu.be/Mh5LY4Mz15o?t=4m46s
~
https://youtu.be/FRkpzMDr8yA?t=52s
~
"Roll... Int + Expression.
Ooh, that's not looking too goo - "
"Ey - ey - ey! Higher Purpose."
Soarin naiveté confirmed.
That's right, only now, at this point is it so.
~
Laverna naiveté suspected
Water fowl are crazy threatening, is what I'm saying.
~
https://soundcloud.com/bleakprospects/socrates-jones-ost-got-him-now?in=bleakprospects/sets/socrates-jones-ost
I was going to make this joke on the culpability paragraph, but decided to go with the other one. Glad I got to use it after all.
The Xuincherguixe is real.
She's an orphan; we don't know who her parents are.
She's an orphan; we don't know who her parents are.
She's an orphan. We don't know who her parents are!
She'sanorphan-WEDON'TKNOWWHOHERPARENTSARE!
She's an orphan... We don't know who her parents are...
Smirks at turn of phrase
You win this round.
~
https://youtu.be/Otf9Bnm48Kk?t=24s
I'd take a stab at guessing Ver's biology...
If I thought it bucking mattered.
...
Hold on, Fluttershy, let me get you a pen and pad.
7315264
7315298
7315298
It wasn't any more fun writing it, believe me.
7316097
It's always interesting to see who has a reaction of rage and righteous indignation, versus who has a reaction of sorrow, when horrible things are brought to light.
7327482
Someone's stayin' focused.
Just got done binging the Iqqelverse. You...really don't get as many views and ratings as you deserve. I was a little stunned at how low some of these numbers were for a 'verse as long running and well developed as this.
I'll admit the changing POV gimmick threw me for a while, and it may be part of your visibility troubles. It's often a very jarring turn-off, especially for chapters as short as these. But you pull it off, and it even works into the over-arching themes in a way it wouldn't for most other settings.
Anyway, thank you for the rather large pile of stories. I had a lot of fun reading them
7470535 My pleasure. I'm glad you enjoyed it! As far as changing PoV, I wrote a blogpost on why I wrote TQ&I in the first place that may clear up for you why I did stuff like that.
7471873
I figured out why fairly soon in. You're doing it for thematically appropriate reasons, which is incredibly rare and just makes it all the more sad that it might turn people off on principle.
This narrative style really keeps things moving, which is great for what starts out pretty slice of life.
Chapter 7 was a nice way of incorporating specifics of Dash's history, and working that into the emotional flow of the story.
And apparently nearly caused a famine and riot or revolt in Ponyville for reasons that elude me. Don't forget that part.
Wasn't really expecting her to turn out to be a changeling after all, or for that matter for there to be another mystery left dangling at the end, in the form of who left her there and why. (I don't think I recognize this plot line coming up in any of the other stories, so I wonder if it will in Love is Blind III.)
The last few paragraphs of chapter 11 were a great end to the story, so I'm guessing the last will be epilogue. And so it is. A little heavy on the direct moralizing in the second half, but Celestia felt right and her interaction with Laverna, and it feels good to know things were going well.
This is a very beautiful story... I love it!!!
7664434 Glad to hear you enjoyed it. This one turned out a lot longer than I'd originally anticipated, it's good to know people appreciate the effort.
A sweet and heartwarming end to a great story. Well done! And thanks for writing it!
Aaaw she's so cute.
Stop feeding me all this sugar! LOL! I really want to know more about this little filly.
First time I heard this I was like... "I'm going to kill the one who made her live like this". It's been a while since someone has made the kind of fanfics I get passionate about. You my kinda guy bro.
Also I'm calling it now she's one of the bolts daughter.
She's a changeling?!
Calling it changeling. In any case damn this is awesome.
Bravo Soarin. I'm proud.
Unexpected how Dash acts like this here but interesting nonetheless. And I wouldn't say Dash's teachers didn't try to teach her, but more likely they just couldn't work out of the norm for her.
Excuse me? What does that mean?
Uhoh...
FUCKING CAAAALLED IT! Thought it's more complicated than that.