) Before I head off for work tonight, here is the promised preview I mentioned earlier for Peace and Isolation. Enjoy!Character Development with ponies during war fics · 8:09am Jan 15th, 2013
The following is a topic I started on my forum over at Fanfiction.
McKnight2012
Hey Poarter, your last chapter was good, having a nice show of combat outside the so far usual doses of politics. However, if there's one thing I want to bring up, its the characterization of Spike the dragon.Now, I don't know if you watch the show or not- not that I'd expect you to, or say its necessary, but it does help- but keep in mind that Spike, despite the crash course in combat training and warfare, is still a kid. Granted, he's a rather mature kid, being the voice of reason among the Mane Six, and capable of acts of courage and bravery. But he's still a "baby dragon", and still sees things as any ten to twelve year old would.
We need to understand the character's motivations and feelings in order to write these things to the better understanding of all sides here. Here, if we delved into Spike's psyche, we would see his reluctance to kill, having been raised by the nonviolent ponies. We'd also see that, as a dragon, he'd be aggressively defending Rarity, his friends and his world as his precieved horde, and fighting according to the Dragon Code, and the newly learned Sanghelli Code.
And it also goes for all the other ponies and equines here. These people are averse to fighting, avoiding combat if at all possible. That's not to say they wont' fight with everything they have to defend themselves and their loved ones. But if we have Fluttershy smacking down a hundred Orks with a Thunder Hammer in her rage, we also know she's going to weep her eyes out from the shame and fear of what she did.
If we make them all heartless killers, who are just as uncompromising and ruthless as the humans and aliens they fight alongside with, they lose the character and essence that make up who they are. So we can have them kill and fight as determined as any other soldier, but they cannot do so with the same cold calculating demeanor that has been displayed here.
In short, a pony who kills in cold blood is no longer a pony, but something much darker.
Reply 14 minutes ago #1
Any thoughts here?
Everything said in that comment is true so far and the fact that even they would fight when necessary and inevitable is too ,althought i can`t imagine them to kill someone but by accident and/or in pure rage.
Like you said
And we already have enough cold blooded murderer and soldiers.
Yep. In fact, this could be the only way to tell the difference from a normal pony
, and one who is demon possessed.
On the other hand, ponies-like everyone else- are protective of their friends and family. And when you know that there is no talking with an enemy, and they are threatening someone you care for, you will do everything possible to stop them and save your loved ones.
In a situation like this, while they won't like it, they will fight or die.
Interesting points. I'll definitely be keeping this in mind.
Dude! DON'T THINK NEGATIVE!
I have to agree here, Spike is still a kid, and a little one at that, and I don't think I could see him as a soldier. That's not to say that he shouldn't be able to fight, I would still expect him to take to the (energy)sword if his friends were threatened, but I think he would probably be a very defensive fighter, almost akin to a bodyguard. But then, maybe I'm speaking a bit to much from personal preference here, and I like this story regardless.
713815 All to true...