Under Her Wing Reviews: Chapters 6-10

Video made by Me.

Alright fillies and gentlecolts, here's a review I've been wanting to do for awhile, ever since I did the first review of this fic in fact, but I've been so distracted lately I haven't had a chance to do it.

So, for the next few weeks we will be looking at these two fanfics until I can get the reviews of them done and then we will get back on schedule with Fallout: Equestria.

In the meantime though, we're going to get back on reading Under Her Wing by Tinyweasels, enjoy, I know I do!

---Chapter 6: A Visit From Discord---

So, as we start Twilight is insisting that Rainbow Dash spends the first three weeks of her recovery at her Castle so that the staff can see to her needs and she'd be close to the Hospital. Her friends are all fussing over her and when she tries to get them to stop we get this bit of dialogue:

Her friends all stopped what they were doing and gathered around her. Apple Jewel gave her an annoyed look. "Rainbow Dash, ya just don't get it, do ya? Ya nearly died! We were all shook up deep by that and none of us is ready to lose anypony close to us like that. Yer like a sister to each of us."

Its a really sweet moment as the group shares a hug, Rainbow saying that since she was an only foal she was happy to have sisters. Its a nice moment between friends and you can really tell how much the six of them have connected.

Later on she's reading when she gets a new visitor, one she's actually been expecting for awhile:

"Hey, Discord," Rainbow said with a sigh and put the book aside.

"Hello, Rainbow Dash," Discord said, floating over to her.

"Thanks for the vases. That was a nice touch."

"Thank you. I know you're fond of visual gags. Soooo, how are you feeling?" he asked. While his true motives tended to be hard to read, it seemed his concern was genuine.

Rainbow says she's okay but that her skeleton is basically being held together by magical duct tape, which is pretty much nothing new for this fic at least. At least she's okay, but something is a bit off right now.

Discord is acting weird, well weird for him, he's less chaotic and more subdued, lacking the snark and smugness you expect out of the Lord of Chaos. So naturally Rainbow is immediately concerned and asks what's wrong, pointing out that you know, he loves chaos and this is chaos.

He looked genuinely offended. "Rainbow Dash! While I love chaos, there are different types. When I came to Ponyville the first time, did I hurt anypony? No. I just messed with their realities. Any pillaging or murders? No."

You know, this is actually one of the best characterizations of Discord I've ever seen in a fanfic, I have a few theories about Discord's true nature that I'm going to discuss in the character section of this review as it applies to both this fanfic and MLP in general.

Also, Discord's line there has more importance than is immediately relevant, but we'll get to that later.

Anyway, Discord says that he's only now getting used to the idea of friendship and wouldn't want Rainbow or any of the other Mane Six to die, which makes sense. He basically says that he doesn't know what he'd do if one of them actually died, well other than some reality warping stuff that none of them would approve of.

Rainbow tells him not to mess with anything, and then we get this bit of dialogue:

"Well, I've messed things up enough, before you were even born. I feel this was my fault."

"How could you do anything back then? You were turned to stone," Rainbow asked, looking at him curiously.

"I still had some power," he held up a mirror so Rainbow Dash could see her reflection and pointed to it. "That is all my fault."

"Discord, you didn't cause my accident. It was some stupid lazy Wonderbolts. Like you said, that wasn't your type of chaos. Even if you were somehow accidentally responsible, I know you didn't intend for me or Scootaloo to get hurt, so forget about it. It’s all water under the bridge."

With that Discord vanishes without much more of an explanation of exactly what he meant, but something about that dialogue feels off doesn't it? Something to keep in mind for the future as always, with fics you have to watch out for guns hanging on walls.

Anyway Rainbow takes a short nap and then gets back on reading, while Twilight is reading three books at once. Rainbow wonders just how she can do that and comments that she probably should've been named the Princess of Books. Spike comes in with tea and cookies and offers to help her be more comfortable, he says that he wants to make sure that everything is okay with her which is a nice sentiment.

We actually get a really nice moment here where Rainbow hugs spike and treats him more like a little brother. Its a really nice moment that shows Rainbow's character off nicely and I'm glad its in here, very nice job on the writer's part.

Rainbow then asks Twilight how much she knows about Discord and Twilight immediately jumps to the conclusion that he said or did something. Rainbow tells her what he had said earlier, which confuses and angers Twilight a little, and they're just a bit more confused by the whole thing.

Twilight pondered Discord's words. "Fluttershy told us that his developing a conscience was going to be painful and at times unpleasant for him and for us. And this looks like one of those times."

"What is it with these ancient dudes like Discord and the princesses? Can't they just say what they mean instead of always being vague and mysterious?"

Because it wouldn't be nearly as fun that's why!

I kid of course but she does have a point, especially when it comes to Celestia. Its true that if Celestia was a bit more forthcoming at times things would probably be a bit easier, but hey, she has her reasons, even if its usually just to troll somepony.

Twilight says the whole with age comes wisdom thing and Rainbow points out that Discord is only now learning wisdom, you can't really argue with that. Twilight then says that whatever Discord did he feels like its wronged Rainbow in some way and says that its remarkable progression for him, so everything is at least pretty good in that department, so they just have to wait for him to spill the beans.

Twilight offers to move Spike but Rainbow said its fine and to let him sleep. Twilight then mentions what happened with King Sombra showing his worst fear, to which Rainbow agrees saying that abandonment issues suck.

Twilight gave her a kindly nuzzle, careful not to wake Spike. "Don't worry, Rainbow. We're not going anywhere either."

Rainbow then asks for the recording of her fall, and yeah its pretty nasty to say the least. Especially the crash which Twilight describes as being like the sound of Bulk Biceps sitting on a bag of pretzels, yikes.

As she watches it Rainbow notices something odd, the rainbow effect that was mentioned during her descent. The theory here is that Rainbow had been tapping into her natural magic in order to give herself a speed boost, which Rainbow is actually pretty happy about because, you know, magical speed boosts.

They watch through to the end where Rainbow catches Scootaloo and Twilight cuts the audio before the impact.

Rainbow nodded and wiped her brow, not realizing she had been sweating. "That was intense, but awesome!"

Twilight chuckled a bit and smiled. "It was amazingly brave, Rainbow."

I've said it before, I'll say it again, I love Rainbow Dash. This chapter just shows off why, it doesn't matter her species or what world she's living in, she is loyal to her friends no matter what, that makes her a great character.

---Chapter 7: Troubling Thoughts

Well, that's troubling... you may now all groan at the pun now, I feed upon your exasperation over bad puns.

Basically everything just proceeds from there, Nurse Redheart and Doctor Grey check up on her, she gets visits from the spa ponies, and lots of freebies from the ponies of Ponyville. She writes to her father and they go over ideas for the show he's working on, pretty general stuff.

Oh look, this is back:

"And I said, 'Oatmeal? Are you crazy?'" Pinkie said as she and her friends burst into laughter.

If I had a dollar for every time I read that in a fanfic... well, I'd probably not be very rich.

Anyway, Pinkie seems to catch on that something is troubling Rainbow Dash and very briefly breaks the fourth wall by mentioning the sentence above her, subtle. As it turns out, Rainbow's dad is visiting next week, though they are confused as to exactly why this is troubling her.

Rainbow mentions the air show of course and tells Rarity about the costumes thing, which she'd be happy to help out with because its Rarity. But of course, we get to the real issue, Gilda. Rainbow asks if Pinkie would be willing to throw her another party and Fluttershy doesn't seem particularly happy about this.

Video Belongs to Hasbro.

Fluttershy of course asks how Rainbow knows that Gilda's changed and she reveals that she and her dad are in love. Obviously, the rest of the mane six are a bit surprised at this and I don't really blame them.

Rarity is actually pretty happy about this and says she's going to do research into historical Griffin military uniforms and stuff. Then she asks the obvious question, what does Rainbow think about this?

Rainbow straightened out then jumped up on her feet, starting to pace around the room awkwardly on her crutches. "It blew my mind! I mean, my old buddy from Flight Camp and my dad? It freaked me out at first. But they'll keep going along whether I approve or not, so I'm going to just have to learn to accept it. Gilda's my oldest friend, my first friend. I know we had a falling out, but deep down I know I can trust her with my dad. And I can trust Dad that he's not just out chasing younger tail. From what he said, this is his first relationship since Mom died. It's two people I've known a long time and care a lot about. I mean, better Dad date somepony I know rather than a stranger, right?"

So, basically her feelings on the matter are very complicated.

Fluttershy asks if she thinks they'll get married and Rainbow basically doesn't want to think about that because them dating is weird enough for her. When Fluttershy wonders if they'll have children, Rainbow doubts they will because of the whole different species thing, but then we get this from Twilight:

Twilight cleared her throat to get Rainbow's attention. "The hybrid offspring of a griffin and a pony is called a hippogriff. The front half is eagle and the back half is pony."

And also they need to find the Queen of the Hippos... oh wait that's the movie. You know I feel like the movie ruined a bunch of people's headcanons with that.

Anyway, Fluttershy says that's adorable and Rarity insists that they're just dating so there isn't any risk of that happening... I'm just gonna file this away for later.

The chapter ends with their slumber party continuing as normal.

---Chapter 8: A Nightmarish Night---

This is a pretty short chapter just so you know, it starts out with Rainbow outside her father's house. Inside is her father and Gilda with a bunch of hippogriffs and eggs and Gilda is Pregnant again. Basically, Rainbow gets pinned and is about to be killed and fed to the hatchlings when the world freezes and Nightmare Moon appears before her.

"You were having a nightmare, Rainbow Dash. I have been observing your dreams and those of the filly, Scootaloo, since the incident, to help you both in case either of you were haunted by the event. This dream is... not the sort I was expecting, but I felt you would not wish to follow it along to the point of being torn asunder and devoured by your siblings."

Nice to see Nightmare Moon helping with stuff.

We also learn a bit more about Rainbow's biological family, apparently in the human world she has half siblings. Nightmare says that Gilda's love for them is true and that they don't want to hurt her, which is nice.

Nightmare Moon actually offers to ruin their relationship for Rainbow, but Rainbow insists that she wants them to be happy together, which of course was the point because Nightmare Moon is being ancient and mysterious. Also as it turns out Nightmare knows about the ancient dude thing from Twilight, so there is that.

There is good news of course, we get this bit of dialogue:

It seemed odd to Rainbow that the princess seemed much more relaxed and upbeat in the dream world than her usually stoic and angry waking world appearance. "Oh—hey, Princess? How is Scootaloo doing? Are her dreams okay?"

The princess nodded to Rainbow. "Her dreams start with the fall, but they all end with a heroic last second rescue by you. She will recover from these events and they will not scar her as it would have others."

"That's good. The last thing she needs is more to go wrong in her life."

Nightmare Moon looked thoughtful for a few moments and then smiled. "If I may make a suggestion, friend Rainbow, some correspondence with her would do her well."

"Yeah, I can do that. I've been doing a lot of letter writing while laid up at the castle."

Its good that Scootaloo is recovering well and this is a nice start to where we go next in the story as well as building up their relationship. We'll get to this more soon enough.

Nightmare Moon leaves with more dramatic lines of course and the chapter is over.

---Chapter 9: An Apple a Day---

Sorry Doctor Whooves, it looks like Rainbow Dash is trying to keep you away.

Jokes aside, its been three weeks at this point so Rainbow can finally take her cast off. She is able to walk on it without any pain so everything is going pretty well at least.

"Now remember, young lady, just because your cast is off does not mean you are fully recovered," Dr. Gray advised. "You may engage in low impact activities. You may walk for exercise, but no jogging, running or bike riding. Be careful to avoid strain on your pelvis and lower back, so no heavy lifting. I'd give it another two weeks before you can begin moderate lower body exercise and at four weeks you can resume your normal high risk activities. Right now you can exercise your upper body by way of chin-ups and hand weights, but again, be careful and don't overdo it."

Knowing Rainbow, its all worth it to make sure that a filly is safe.

So yeah, you get the basic warning and Rainbow agrees to take it easy, saying that she'll survive this even if it kills her... that seems counter-intuitive but okay.

Next we get the first of a series of letters:

Hey Dad,

Just dropping a line to let you know the cast is off and I'm mostly mobile again,

the doc says I still need to take it easy for a while before I get back to my usual

crazy stuff. Rarity said she can show you the Wonderbolt costumes and she'll have

some griffin stuff sketched for you two to take a look at. Dad, I've had a lot of time

to think about you and Gilda and while it probably would have been better to tell you

two in person, I felt it was best to just say it now so you didn't have to fret about it

while you were heading to town. I'm okay with you and Gilda as a couple. I can't

wait to see you again.

Love,

Rainbow

Rainbow Dash looked over the letter and then sealed it and took another sheet of paper and started a letter to Scootaloo.

Hey Scootaloo!

I hope you're doing good and recovered from the fall. I thought I'd send a letter to see

how you're doing. I know what it’s like being different there; hopefully the other kids

haven't been teasing you too much. As for me, the cast is finally off and I can start

doing stuff again, but I have to take it easy the next few weeks and then I can go back

to my wild and crazy, normal self.

Rainbow Dash

Yeah, things are going pretty well here, though I have to comment that the way the letter is put on the page is a little weird, but that's not important, just a comment.

They're good letters that show off Rainbow's character well, she seems to have gotten over her nervousness about her dad and Gilda a bit and she shows that she really cares about what happens to Scootaloo.

So after she sends the letters out and gets some fast food, she heads towards Sweet Apple Acres, and now we get to one of the other major changes to this universe, something that is honestly one of the more interesting things the author did and they do it pretty well.

"Rainbow, sugar!"

Rainbow Dash turned in time to see a huge orange mare gallop over to her. Ma Apple had visited her a number of times at the castle, always with apple goodies in tow.

Yeah, Applejack's parents are still alive and didn't die in... whatever way they died in canon. This is a fairly major change to the show's universe and honestly, I like it, its an interesting idea and is handled very well, showing how things are changed in this universe for the better in one way at least.

Ma Apple tells her not to do anything foolish of course, Rainbow agrees and Ma Apple says that Rainbow is like family, and family is everything to an Apple. Its a nice scene and a wonderful sentiment that shows off just why I love this fic so much, its very much about family.

As I've said in my own fics, family is an important thing, both the family you're born into and the family you make for yourself. Rainbow is adopted in this universe and while she knows her human parents, she does still have a much deeper connection to Equestria and her pony family. This is a major theme to this story, and I love it.

Big Mac and Pa Apple approach and when they head back to the farmhouse they invite her for dinner, which is apparently pretty common in Ponyville. We also learn that the Apples were part of the reason Rainbow had stayed in Ponyville to begin with after she had helped with the Harvest and she had stayed for awhile leading up to of course, the events of episode one.

And its at this point we get another change, its very briefly mentioned so I'll save it for when its more prevalent.

Basically they have a nice get together with some fancy whiskey, giving a toast to Rainbow and her heroics. We also get this really funny line here:

Each leaned forward and blew out the flame and downed their shots, then Pa filled up the glasses again. It was good, so good. It went down smooth and it somehow flowed into a pony's own innate magic. She watched as the cutie marks of the Apples began to glow and she looked down and could see hers glowing through her jeans. She personally would call it liquid friendship, as a few shots of this would have Sombra, Tirek and Nightmare Moon all hugging and saying "I love you, man!”

Anyone else want fan art of that?

Anyway as it turns out the drink had been the source of great fortune for the Apple family since it was selling well and for quite a lot of bits. And then we get to the other change I mentioned, the Apple family has a member that doesn't exist in the show, a daughter named Candy Apple... and she's a Unicorn.

There's a really cute moment where Rainbow chases Candy around a little saying she's hungry for candy, and its just really adorable, especially when Granny Smith says that eating her would just spoil her appetite. We also finally get a description of Candy:

Rainbow found it amusing that the Apples had a baby unicorn. Candy Apple had been named for her dark red coat and, while unicorns normally had horns the same color as their coats, Candy's was white. So her body was the candy apple and her horn was the stick. Rainbow mused it would be interesting in years to come to see how the Apples adapted their “no magic” policy when Candy grew up.

Seriously, adorable... I wish this fic would get a sequel already, lots of potential for a sequel here.

Its a nice chapter, it really shows off the slice of life nature of this fanfic. Sure there will be more drama later, but for now its just a happy little chapter.

---Chapter 10: Loyalty Replaced---

Yeah, I know what you're thinking, how can you replace Rainbow Dash? But to be fair her current condition is not good for saving Equestria, and we'll get to that shortly.

Rainbow is now at her home and reads a note from Pinkie, apparently they sent her equipment to the human world and they even all chipped in to get her a new wingsuit. Everything is actually pretty nice, but she realizes how empty her house feels right now after all the time that she spent with others.

“Maybe I should get a pet,” she mused.

Right, a pet... uh-huh... anyway, lets move on.

She spends a few days getting her muscle tone built back up to prepare for her full recovery. A few days later she gets messages from both Scootaloo and Golden Meadow.

Rainbow Dash!

I'm so glad you're getting better, I've been really worried about you. Thanks again for saving me. I was really surprised when Lady Golden Meadow said you didn't want attention for your awesome rescue. Why? I was ready to tell everypony how awesome you are! I’ve been reading up on you and your friends and you’re all so amazing! I hope one day I can be a great hero like you.

Scootaloo

Rainbow smiled as she read the letter; it was good to know she had made a big difference to somepony. Then she read the letter from Lady Golden Meadow.

Dear Rainbow Dash,

You should have seen Scootaloo's eyes light up when she got your letter! We had been afraid that she would be embarrassed by the events of the fall, but it seems quite the opposite. She wants everypony to know about your bravery. Rarely have I seen such a turnaround in the emotional state of a filly. I think you have a fan for life! I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if we came to visit? She still is concerned about you, despite your assurances that you're recovering fine. She's worried you were more injured than you let on. It would mean a lot to her if she could see you in person.

Sincerely,

Lady Golden Meadow

This just further highlights the bond Rainbow and Scootaloo are already forming and how things are changing in Rainbow's life. After reading the letters she re-watches the recording and places the crystal with all her others, giving it the place of honor.

The next day over breakfast Rainbow tells Twilight about the letters and she suggests that they are invited to stay overnight at the castle. Rarity being rarity suggests that Golden Meadow is taken to the spa because... well its Rarity, she'd suggest anypony be taken to the spa.

You get a real feeling that Golden Meadow is dedicated to her job as the matron of the orphanage and I like it. Its actually nice to see Scootaloo in an orphanage that cares about that kind of thing as opposed to Scootabuse, but its really not the same thing as her having a family is it?

In the throne room Twilight talks about strengthening relations with other cities and species, but Rainbow doesn't seem to pay attention instead she seems bothered. When they ask her what she's worried about, she says that she's worried about what would happen if she gets called to help Equestria again.

Rainbow asks where Discord is and he appears with his ears burning and we get some more callbacks to past episodes.

While it was always amusing to watch Discord and Twilight butt heads, Rainbow had a serious reason to want him here. "Hey, everypony chill out. Discord, you're probably wondering why I called you here."

Discord whirled around and was suddenly dressed as Sherlock Holmes. "Is it because you know somepony in this room is the murderer?" he said with a dramatic flourish.

"Nooo. What's your second guess?"

"Well, nothing as interesting as my first one," Discord said as his costume vanished.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and prepared herself for the storm that was soon to follow. "Discord, I hereby give you temporary promotion to Element of Loyalty."

Yeah, the reaction to that is about what you expect, Discord is shocked, Twilight asks if she's cuh-razy, and Fluttershy is okay with it. Yeah, this isn't what you expect and not what they expected either, but its actually an interesting idea and Rainbow elaborates:

"Hear me out," Rainbow said to her agitated friends—well, except Fluttershy who looked utterly delighted. The others grumbled but settled down. "Look at it this way. I think we're all agreed that Discord's made a real change for the better after the whole Tirek thing, and we're all trying to trust him, but it's only ever going to be tiny little things we'll trust him with and our friendship will always be guarded. Let's face it, at some point we're gonna have to take a leap of faith and trust him with something big. I don't want to believe that Harmony spared him and went to all this trouble only to use him as a pawn against Tirek and then just throw him away. I want to believe that he's got some greater destiny like we do."

Well said Rainbow, but don't you know you're only supposed to take a leap of faith after you synchronize?

Video made by Tobuscus.

Anyway, Discord turns into a pony and puts on fake cyan wings calling himself the new Rainbow Dash... yeah he's crazy, but hey, its Discord. Rainbow asks if she can trust him with this since its a big job, and he seems to be confident that he can do it. She demands he gives his word that he'll do his best and he does so.

Harmony actually seems to accept this, and Discord has no idea what to do, so Rainbow tells him to be awesome since he's standing in for her and the chapter ends.

---Character Profile: Discord---

The first thing I'd like to say is that I love Discord, he is by far my favorite villain in the show just because of how fun he is. His redemption arc is amazing and handled perfectly.

Discord: Aww, are you talking about little old me? I'm flattered!

Yes I'm... Oh no, we're not turning this into a Deadpool rip off, I just finished repairing the fourth wall from Pinkie's comments!

Discord: Oh but its so much fun, especially dealing with you little fanfic reviewers. Especially ones like you who will have to deal with more than just reviews soon enough...

What do you mean by that?

Discord: Oh, what's that video clip you like to use... I know! *snaps his claw and vanishes*

Okay, so apparently Discord felt like messing with me in his own character profile. So lets move on shall we?

The way I see Discord is that while he's a being of chaos, he's not inherently good or evil, he simply is chaos. Chaos in itself does not take sides, it affects both the good and the bad, to quote the Joker:

"You know the thing about chaos is, its fair."

Yes Discord served as an antagonist, but honestly as the fic will discuss later, I think he's only there to disrupt the established order of Equestria. When you get right down to it, that's the true nature of his character, after all if he actually took over Equestria chaos would become the new order and vice-versa, so everything would just be back where it started.

Discord is based on Q you have to remember, and voiced by him so a lot of this makes sense. I'm a Star Trek fan and I know Q very well, he's the kind of character who never did anything without some sort of ultimate purpose. While Discord's doesn't seem obvious, perhaps this is his purpose, to create chaos and disrupt the established order only.

But more on this later, now if you'll excuse me I have a fourth wall to fix. *takes out duct tape*

---Final Thoughts---

I love this fic, I can't say that enough, its not perfect sure and it feels a little rushed in places but its amazing. The characterization is spot on and you just want to keep reading!

I haven't even gotten to some of the later things yet, there is still a lot more to go and I hope you all look forward to taking this journey with me. We still have a few more weeks to go on this after all.

Chapter 6 gets a score of 5/5.
Chapter 7 gets a score of 5/5.
Chapter 8 gets a score of 4/5.
Chapter 9 gets a score of 5/5.
Chapter 10 gets a score of 5/5.

Original Fanfic.

Next week, we continue our trek into fics that don't involve post-apocalyptic ponies as we revisit a story about one of my other favorite characters.

Video Made by Me

Comments

[Tinyweasels]

Thank you for the review!