Mantles: A Recap · 5:56am May 12th, 2016
Hey there, wonderful. Long time, no see. (If you're just here for the Mantles recap and want to skip my life-stuff, it's down at the bottom.)
My wife and I recently finished Season Five. It was cute, had lots of really great moments and very fun episodes. My wife, Ashley, was quite upset by Starlight Glimmer's redemption at the end. She hates her. Ha!
But that's not why I'm writing this blog. Things have been tough for me lately. Mostly because of weird stuff at work, but pretty much life in general. I'm a stress head, as both Skirts and Ashley can vouch for, and that makes mistakes hard on me. Like, when I mess up on stuff that I feel is important — and lately I have done nothing but mess up on stuff that I feel is important — I tend to beat myself up and freak out and get really, really, really down.
Ashley is the burning star in an otherwise dark void right now. She keeps telling me to do something I love, but then I say I don't have any time or that blah blah blah whatever excuse. But you know what? She's right. I need to do something I love.
So then "Mantles" popped into my head a while back, and I can't stop thinking about it. I am so proud of what I've written already (despite some dumb moments and lots of grammatical errors), and I am so stinking proud of the whole story arc I've developed toward its completion. So you know what? Screw it. I'm gonna finish it.
Hopefully I can get it done by September. Maybe a little earlier. I have the time, and right now I have the drive, I just need to actually do it. And I'm bad at that, so I fail, and then I beat myself up, and... yeah, see? Bad cycle. But I wrote a chapter today and I was SO PSYCHED. I started giggling like a madman when I finished. It felt so good to write again after all this time, and to revisit characters and themes and action that was once such a huge part of my life. I missed this.
I don't expect it to get any attention, but I am going to work on Mantles for the good of my psyche and creative needs.
Because it has been four years since I started the story and over a year since its last update, I imagine that even those who are interested in its continuance don't remember many details. So, after the slew of pictures below my sign-off, I have compiled a brief summary of Mantles thus far to get you ready for Chapter 12 - A Maze of Tombs, which I am releasing simultaneously with this blog post. Obviously SPOILERS down there, so if you ever plan to read Mantles (which I suggest with great bias), don't peek.
Thank you all very much for everything. You are the most wonderiffic Wonderfolk on the planet. Bar none.
Yours always,
Ponky
Mantles: A Recap of Chapters 1-11
Exclusively for Those Who Have Already Read Them
And Other People Who Don't Care, I Guess
1 - Changes
As a young adult, Apple Bloom and Harper Heartstrings, Lyra's son, are accepted to the Canterlot School of Art. Apple Bloom reflects on all the many changes in Ponyville, including the absence of Pinkie Pie, who is dead.
2 - A Sweet Reunion
On the train to Canterlot, Harper initiates a grand musical number, inspiring a shy colt named Charlie. The city is gloomier than Apple Bloom remembers. Sweetie Belle, who has lived in Canterlot for some time studying music, is afraid of the guards and reveals that Princess Twilight has exiled Celestia and Luna to the Moon.
3 - Culture Shock
It is revealed that Twilight moved to the Canterlot Castle five years ago. Since then, the Princesses have gone missing, night guards quell uprisings violently, crime has risen dramatically in the absence of a public government figure, and Ponyville is under a secret quarantine unknown to its citizens. Apple Bloom has her first day of school where she meets Creamsicle, a friendly hairdresser, and her likable history professor Dr. Cossitee. Despite being middle aged, he does not have a Cutie Mark.
4 - That'll Be the Day
Apple Bloom has a fragmented dream in which she partially recalls Pinkie's final moments. Harper is secretly in love with Apple Bloom, which she accidentally encourages him to reveal. Too many emotions lead her to a brief breakdown alone by the cemetery.
5 - His Own Drum
The first week of school passes and Apple Bloom recovers, though she avoids Harper and is always uncomfortable at mentions of or references to Pinkie Pie. Insisting that she make amends, Sweetie Belle takes Apple Bloom to Harper's apartment where they find he has been brutally maimed just for taking a gang member's spot in the school's drum line. Apple Bloom convinces him to take it to the press, shining an unwanted light on the gang, for which Harper is assassinated by an exceptionally thin, all-black pegasus in his home.
6 - One Step at a Time
Overwhelmed by the senselessness of recent events, Apple Bloom decides to go back to Ponyville. It proves more difficult than she imagined, but she gets the colt Charlie's help, who illegally visits Ponyville occasionally. She has to jump off a moving train and is almost caught, but manages to escape. Only her voice is a clue to her identity. She arrives at Sweet Apple Acres.
7 - That Makes Them Special
In an opening scene, we see Princess Twilight struggling to raise the Sun. The Captain of the Royal Guard — her brother, Shining Armor — has to help. He reports the Ponyville stowaway, whose identity is unknown. Twilight's personality is cold, feigning a sense of dignity to hide great stress. Apple Bloom awakes in a hospital and reveals the truth to Ponyville. Days later, Rarity shows her a collection of old clothes and memories in Carousel Boutique's attic, including Applejack's Mare Do Well costume. Apple Bloom is inspired to use the mantle of Mare Do Well to combat a criminal regime and remind Canterlot ad Equestria of its true, harmonious nature.
8 - The Key is Awareness
At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack rejects Apple Bloom's idea of becoming Mare Do Well. They fight over Twilight's supposed changes and Apple Bloom's past. Distraught, Apple Bloom visits Lyra and they mourn over Harper's death. Together they decide to take down the out of control gangs in Canterlot as Mare Do Well, gathering equipment (like Pinkie's old flying machine for Apple Bloom which Scootaloo fixes up and paints purple) and enchanting the Mare Do Well hat so that Lyra can see and hear through Apple Bloom's eyes and ears and talk into her mind. She travels back to Canterlot and attacks the gang that killed Harper at one of their largest meetings.
9 - To Begin a Revolution
As Mare Do Well, Apple Bloom fights several ponies using fear and martial arts. Through interrogation, she learns about the three big gangs in Canterlot: the Mangled Marks, who deal pills of a drug called "Sap"; Falcon's gang, run by a mean griffon, also in the drug trade; and the Gonne, run by a mare called Satin, who deal in high profile heists and equine trafficking. Mare Do Well becomes popular over weeks of slowly dismantling these gangs, especially the Mangled Marks whose leader is unknown.
10 - The Mantles We Don
Princess Twilight gives the order to kill vigilantes, who are popping up all over Equestria after the rise of Mare Do Well. Rainbow Dash attacks Mare Do Well, but decides to help after learning that Apple Bloom is behind the mask. Rainbow's mentions her younger brother, Silver Medal, who has taken up fighting crime in Cloudsdale. Through the grape vine, Mare Do Well invites the leader of the Mangled Marks to a meeting in the cemetery during the next full Moon.
11 - At the Right Time
Apple Bloom has a plan that involves Sweetie Belle. Silver Medal, acting as the snarky Razorwing, is climbing the ladder of griffon cronies to find Falcon. Rainbow Dash invites him to help Mare Do Well in Canterlot. He's thrilled to meet her, but before she can discuss her plan to take down the Mangled Marks, they accidentally discover a collaboration between the Mangled Marks and the Gonne on the Canterlock sky docks. Working together, they take out the gang members and rescue several kidnapped ponies.
12 - A Maze of Tombs
You'll have to read it and see!
Does this mean you'll be poking around more often? It's always great to hear your still alive and kicking. And it's great to hear you're psyched over something again! Excited Ponky is best Ponky.
Also, if Ashley hates Starlight, oh is she going to love season six...
... I feel dumb for not knowing you were back. Were you back? Who knows.
I'll have to read Mantles. I loved the Sisters Doo.
Glad to see you back. The Sisters Doo was the story that brought me into the fandom, and I'm looking forward to the rest you write.
Starlight has grown on me.
Oh, also, welcome back! We've missed ya.
And the saga continues...
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/109212453/DH%20Fingers.gif
You'll always find a reader in me, Ponky. Nice to see you around some more, I hope thing start looking up for you.
Ooh. I haven't read that particular one, but I thoroughly enjoyed The Sisters Doo and Through the Looking-glass, so knowing you'll continue this one, I'm going to give it a try
Thanks for the recap! It, ah, has been a while. :)
The only reason I haven't yet read Mantles is because I thought it wouldn't get finished. Really happy to see you so excited about writing again!
Don't let life get you down (easier said than done, I know), but I'm glad you're writing again. Have you thought about writing music again (pony or non-pony)?
Hey, Ponky! Glad you're still around, even if it's not permanent. I skipped the recap because I haven't read Mantles yet, but I look forward to reading the whole story when it's finished! Hope you're doing well!
Sweet news! (Except for the bad news; sorry you're having a rough time.) Mantles is one of the Seattle's Angels-promoted fics that's been in my Read Later folder forever, and up til now I'd condemned myself to reading an unfinished story. Thanks for making this decision, Ponky.
*ques Celebrate Good Times*
Seeing Ponky speak with rising determination brought a few tears to my eyes. It made me feel like GLaDOS in the following vid:
You should totally listen to your wife, Ponky. Doing something creative that I love, I've found, makes me feel a lot better about myself.
Also, I've now added Mantles to my list of things to read Soon™.
Best of luck, Ponky!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeee "Excited squealing continues"
Glad to have you back, Ponky. Thanks for taking the time to write more.
Woohoo!
She's right. You gotta do something you love, and it sounds like you love this story.
Oh my goodness, this is fantastic! Ah, Ponky is gonna write!!!
This is what I get for not checking my feed for a week. (How can I add emphasis to "good for you"? Hmm...)
Blamow. (idk, don't ask)
You know what? I'm gonna put aside the okay fic I'm reading currently and skip straight ahead to Mantles. (Totally wrote "Masks" the first time. That's the other MDW fic I edit for. Whoops.) Hopefully extra comments on each chapter will help keep you right on that edge of pumped-ness.
But for now, I'll just go to bed.