Concepts & Creations – TvE: Pony at the Gates · 8:31pm Feb 23rd, 2020
That’s right, folks! Time for round three of my TvE expansion concept. Today’s character: Fluttershy. As previously mentioned, these TvE summaries won’t shy away from spoiling as-yet unwritten events, particularly regarding the end of Order of Shadows, so read at your own risk.
As usual, the background, which will include things already known from TvE:
As was established in the original Trixie vs. Equestria, Fluttershy began things more or less as she did canonically, moving to her Ponyville cottage when she was young to be closer to her animal friends. When Evilestia needed a new animal caretaker for her private gardens, she called upon our favorite butter pony to take on the job. It was a dream come true at first; she got to care for a wide range of exotic creatures and even engaged in a brief, if unsuccessful, romance with Princess Luna.
But one night Celestia came back to the castle pissed, and decided to take her anger out on the animals. Fluttershy awoke that morning to find most of them slaughtered. She tried to go to Luna, but she was nowhere to be found. Terrified, Fluttershy took what few animals she could and fled Canterlot. By taking the animals, she was effectively stealing from the crown, and so Celestia had her named a fugitive. Fluttershy survived in the wild with her animals for a time, but was eventually discovered by Pinkie Pie, who took her in.
At the end of TvE, Fluttershy ended up part of the final battle, finding herself fighting none other than Cruelles Caballeron. With Fluttershy being a poor combatant, this hardly seemed fair, but Caballeron’s orders were merely to keep her busy, and that’s what he did. But then things went… bad. Caballeron didn’t survive. Even though his death had been accidental, Fluttershy still blamed herself.
Now we get to this story.
After the events of TvE, Fluttershy moved back to Ponyville and tried to get on with her life. But ‘normalcy’ just wouldn’t return, and she suffered significant PTSD even with the help of Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who also moved back to the town. She became a recluse, afraid to even leave her cottage.
One day, Fluttershy is paid a visit by some ponies claiming to have found an injured animal. Even with her terrors, she couldn’t ignore an animal in need, so she follows them a ways out of town. She is promptly kidnapped by a small, multi-racial team of malcontents including, but not limited to, Spitfire, Garble, and the zebra Tune Grief (who was introduced in Vinyl Scratch’s OoS story). Tune Grief is not convinced the ‘new Celestia’ is as reformed and good as they say, allowing himself to be ruled by a lifetime of rebellion. Spitfire was always furious with Celestia for screwing with and disbanding the Wonderbolts for no reason and wants to see the mare punished for her crimes, reform or no reform. Garble wants Celestia taken down because he believes she’s holding the dragons back collectively.
What does all this have to do with Fluttershy? Well, these three have hatched a plan to be rid of the tyrant Celestia once and for all. Only one creature in known history has ever given Celestia trouble in a fair fight. His name is Reddux, and he’s the most powerful dragon known. He’s also trapped in Tartarus, supposedly lingering close to the gates just waiting for an opportunity to get out and wreak havoc. They only need to release him and let the chaos unfold. Even if he ends up unable to defeat Celestia, he can provide enough of a challenge to give them a chance to try.
But how to make sure Reddux lets them? With his reputation, he’s just as likely to kill them the moment he escapes and go after Celestia by himself. They need a way to appease him, to keep him on their side. Here’s an idea: feed him one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony! Right away, they’re getting rid of one of the greater weapons Celestia might use against him. Surely an offering like that will make Reddux consider their interests.
And so the majority of the story revolves around the journey to the Gates of Tartarus with Fluttershy a captive and intended sacrifice. But Fluttershy wouldn’t be Fluttershy if she just sat quietly and did nothing (well, in a manner of speaking); she listens to her captors, begins talking to them, starts to learn what makes them tick. Not to formulate a plan of escape, though that would be nice, but to learn why they’re all doing the things they’re doing. In this way, she begins to form a connection to Tune Grief.
When they at last get to the Gates of Tartarus, Fluttershy will have appealed to Tune Grief’s dignity and sense of honor, having counseled him on his feelings regarding Celestia and his lifetime of conflict. As a result, when the time comes to sacrifice her, Tune Grief switches sides and tries to help her escape. A fight ensues, leading to Spitfire’s capture and Garble ending up in Tartarus and left to Reddux’s mercy. Fluttershy, through her growing friendship with Tune Grief, will have rediscovered her true connection to the Element of Kindness. She returns to Ponyville a new mare, at last ready to take on a ‘normal’ life.
There are still some issues that never got resolved. When I originally conceived this idea, I had planned on having Spike captured as well, making the story into a bonding moment for Shy and him. This would have been tricky to implement, as it’s well established that Spike is still Twilight’s ‘brother’ and works as Rarity’s personal assistant. With neither Twilight nor Rarity moving back to Ponyville, Spike’s presence would have been contrived at best, so I don’t know if I’d have implemented that.
There’s also the matter of Jimmy Stone, twin brother of Luna’s personal assistant Nye, who lives at the Gates of Tartarus. In TvE and OoS, he was Twilight’s assistant at the Gates, and I always intended for him to become the new Gatekeeper after the events of TvE. Exactly how his part would play out in this story is unclear, but he absolutely would have to be involved in the climax as he’s the only one who knows how to open the gates.
Then there’s the Archons. As established in OoS, Tune Grief has always been on the Archons’ radar. Are we really expected to believe that he’s slipped away from their attention? Or Spitfire, who was once a highly recognizable celebrity? It’s hard to believe that the Archons don’t know that this is going on. But then, with the recent big changes in government and the need to ‘deal with’ anyone trying to stop the shifting tides of national and international policies, the Archons are pretty busy.
One idea I had was for Fleur de Lis (now the Mane Archon) to find out about these events late and, because her own people are occupied or can’t get there in time, calling on Rainbow Dash to help. The intention was for Rainbow to swoop in at the last minute and help defeat Garble and, specifically, Spitfire. But then I’d have to make sure she has more presence in the story, perhaps at the beginning with identification of her relationship with Shy (which isn't the same as it is in canon). There’s also the possibility that her arrival could take away from Fluttershy’s own successes and achievements in the story, making Rainbow’s appearance an overall detractor to the plot.
Point is, there are a lot of unknowns. Regardless, Fluttershy’s story would likely have been one of the shorter ones, as it doesn’t have the obligation of worldbuilding and would be closer to slice-of-life than adventure. It would have mostly been a character-centric piece about who Fluttershy is in this darker world and her link to the Element of Kindness, with a focus on her recovery from past traumas. It also would have been one of the earliest of the stories in timing, taking place before Pinkie Pie’s and Rainbow’s stories.
And that’s Fluttershy’s tale. Who should I do next? It’ll have to be Applejack or Rarity, as I intend to describe Twilight’s last (for reasons that will be obvious in time).
