Yay! More Talking Heads!

I actually had this chapter finished earlier in the week, but at the request of a pre-reader, I added a scene detailing the condition of Octavia/Blinky. Obviously she's still not in good shape, but said reader wanted to know if she lived or not, so.... For the record, the song DJ/Vinyl is singing is "Untitled" by the Cure.

I actually enjoy writing chapters like this. Why? Fleshing out villains. I'm very much not a fan of one-dimensional, mustache-twirling villains, and feel they're very much outmoded when it comes to modern storytelling. After all, it's no secret that Hitler was an artist, a devoted husband and liked kids...even as he became the most hated man in history for all his inhuman actions and decisions. But you can't have one without the other; take a look at any villain in history (the historical aspect, not the myths) and you'll find they weren't all bad. The list of true and total monsters without any redeeming qualities whatsoever throughout history is miniscule at best and probably doesn't even exist.

So that being said, I can't create characters like that. Brenner, the central "villain" in my professional works, is hardly a villain, while I don't want to give away anything to blow that, I can say he's cultured and educated, unlike the stereotypical career archetype he represents. So too is Rainbow Dash (the Queen of Magic). She's doing some unsavory things - necromancy and wholesale slaughter, anyone? - yet at the end of the day, she's still just a mare looking for love (and I know a few of you are singing "In all the wrong places...."). Whether Rose will play a major influence in the Black Ponies remains to be seen, but for those in the know or can figure it out, her choice of name is very intentional.

I also had fun with the moment between Twi and Tia. Even in canon their relationship is obviously complex and very open to interpretation (and I'm not saying that just because of the original target audience.) As Twi said, when your mentor has a bigger influence in your life than your parents (see: Jedi, Sith, and [historical] Spartans), there's no real word to describe one's feelings. Maybe she just wants friendship from Celestia, as in the story Eternal. Maybe she has maternal feelings for Celestia (there's a story on FIMFiction that deals with this; can't remember the name, sorry!) or romantically (not even going there; never was a fan of Nabokov.) the fact that we can all see different hings shows how open it is.

Lastly, enjoy the relative peace that's been in the story so far. The bodycount begins next chapter.