Black Feather Development 23 members · 2 stories
Comments ( 9 )
  • Viewing 1 - 50 of 9
Recon777
Group Admin

Daisy grew up in Ponyville with her friends Rose and Lily Valley. They became friends as kids upon realizing that they were all named after types of flowers. Daisy led a fairly simple, sheltered life in her youth. When unusual things happened, Daisy saw it as a disruption to her status quo. She preferred a stable, predictable life over a life of adventure.

When Zecora moved to Everfree Forest, the residents of Ponyville were fairly upset about it, viewing her as too unusual and possibly dangerous. Daisy, in particular, contributed to the town's prejudice against her. She encouraged her neighbors to fear Zecora, and Twilight eventually turned it around after investigating what Zecora was really about. Twilight had a long talk with Daisy about her attitude, and introduced her to Zecora, showing her that the zebra was different, yes, but certainly not threatening or even scary once you got to know her.

This was a turning point for Daisy, realizing that just because she held an opinion for years, that it didn't mean she was right. It dawned on her that there was probably much more in life that she was not yet aware of. She spent a lot of time with Zecora developing a close relationship. She also started travelling to see the rest of Equestria. A couple years later during the height of the trade agreement with the zebras, Daisy was on a famine relief mission to the zebra nation where she met fellow missionary Chance. The two fell in love and married. Daisy became pregnant two years before the war started, and about nine months later, they decided to return to Equestria. About two months after returning, they had their foal and settled into an uneventful life in Baltimare.

War being declared with the zebras was a complete shock to the family. Their colt was a year old at the time, and international politics was the last thing on their minds. The Equestrian zebra citizens were quite distressed at the start of the war, fearing that the ponies would turn on them and possibly deport them. Daisy had many zebra friends at this point and lived in a neighborhood with a high zebra population. Chance could tell from what the local zebras were saying that eventually the zebras would be pressing on the Equestrian borders, threatening their lives. The local zebras feared their own government more than the ponies though, being aware that their citizenship would be viewed as traitorous. By association, Daisy and Chance's family would be priority targets as well.

As the war progressed, Chance decided to join the military as he already had connections with his pegasus sister who was in the Skyguard. He joined the reserves against Daisy's recommendations. Daisy was still convinced that the whole war was just a big misunderstanding that would resolve itself. She believed that all zebras were their friends, ignoring the warning signs from even her own zebra friends who suggested otherwise. Chance trained in combat and settled into a role in a supply convoy, where he served for a year.

One day, a group of Blade assassins hit Chance's supply convoy carrying supplies to the front lines. Chance was with three new recruits. Two were pulling wagons and two were on escort duty and armed with rifles. The zebras ambushed the convoy, killing the recruits relatively quickly. Chance kept his wits and managed to kill three zebras before his throat was slit.

News of the attack shook the foundation of Daisy's beliefs regarding the zebras. She simply could not believe it had actually happened. Once again, this was a turning point for her where she realized that what she thought she knew about the zebras was not necessarily true. Daisy temporarily moved in with a zebra couple which helped her raise her son while she got her bearings and decided what to do.

She decided to join the military and put her knowledge and experience with the zebras to good use. She joined the Reserves and trained for combat under a local military division who was giving combat courses to civilians. One of her zebra friends also had extensive combat training from decades ago. Daisy became this zebra's apprentice for two years, learning intermediate level zebra martial arts and bladed combat skills. Meanwhile, Daisy achieved the rank of Lieutenant with the Reserves and served to keep the peace among the zebra citizens who were growing increasingly uneasy with the war.

Eight years into the war, Daisy was well established in the Reserves as a Lieutenant peacekeeper specializing in Equestrian zebra relations. One evening she heard a ruckus in a house down the street shortly after sunset. She went next door to where some fellow soldiers lived and alerted them to possible trouble. Together, they quickly rallied two more soldiers and went to investigate. There were three unknown zebras standing guard outside this house with at least one inside causing a disturbance. Daisy and her makeshift squad attacked the house, her friends engaging the outdoor guards while Daisy slipped in through a window.

She saw a single military zebra assaulting a family of civilian zebras. The mare and children were tied up and made to watch as he began torturing the stallion. Daisy approached the assailant from behind and struck a hard blow to the back of his neck, catching him off guard and causing minor spinal injury. A battle ensued with Daisy taking a beating before finally making a lucky strike with her zebra blades which killed the enemy. Later, it was discovered that the family which was being attacked was an influential political voice advocating peace between the zebras and ponies. It was also discovered that the zebra who Daisy killed was a high ranking Elite. The three others in his squad escaped, wounding two of the ponies which helped Daisy retake the house.

Daisy was recognized for her act of bravery and promoted to Commander with the privilege of leading up to a platoon size team of ponies in battle. After the incident with the Elite, Daisy's zebra friends insisted that she would still be in serious danger - especially her son Dusty. She made the tough decision to place him under the care of her old friend Rose where he would attend Ponyville Elementary and be safe from possible retribution at the hooves of zebras loyal to this Elite.

When Daisy heard what Nyx did for Dusty in Ponyville a year later, she wanted some way to thank Nyx for it. She found out about Luna putting together the platoon for a mission to the bayou and that Nyx and her friends would be escorting this platoon. She requested to speak with Luna and explained the situation. Luna saw this as a great opportunity to get Nyx exposed to someone with a fair bit of wisdom and experience that would come in very handy for Nyx's personal growth. Luna readily agreed to put Daisy in charge of the mission, and the following morning they were off.

So I think my first comment will be a bit of a disappointment because it isn't really about Daisy.

It is just itching at the back of my head as I read about daisy spending so much time in and around Zebras.

So here is my question.

How is Zebra society organized especially the government and the military??????
I am not really asking about culture society religion or even political ideology .
I mean well we saw some of the decision level at the highest level ( Luna) in chapter 3. what would something like that look like on the zebra side?

what is the high command look like in Zebrica? what is their organizational structure? who basically is calling the shots?

Is it a centralized bureacuracy? Is there a king? a prince? a group of nobles? a group of priests? a cross between theocracy and technocracy with the shamans in charge?
is it all a failed state full of warlords ( this fits in with the whole famine thing, which doesnt really happen these days in any relatively modern society unless the state fails) but if it is a warlord society ( like somalia yemen afghanistan etc) how could they organize enough to be a credible existential threat to equestria?

How popular is the war with equestria in Zebrica ( IS zebrica the name of the zebra lands? if it doesnt have a name we should give it one) Is there a movement against the war or current government ( perhaps centered around zecora's family back home... your plot outline seems to hint at this.) How large is this movement if it exists? just how remote are the chances they can do anything against the main zebra government?

For that matter WHY is Zecora in Equestria? The laborer Zebras from chapter 3 can be viewed as classical economic migrants but Zecora is clearly a shaman/ healer, and highly educated.. is she a political exile?

all of whihc is to say... I think it is a good time to do some worlbuilding when it comes to Zebrica.

Recon777
Group Admin

4305238
Okay, well we can talk about all that in this thread.

As for further information on Daisy herself, I'm shooting for a personality where she is closer to, well, your personality actually. Mindful of learning and maintaining existing systems. Studies history. Doesn't like change. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Theoretical discussion is boring. Traditionalist. Detail oriented in the sense that she doesn't mind repetitive tasks because predictability is comforting. That kind of pony. Basically Big Mac or Applejack.

Just having that personality though, doesn't necessarily define her presently. She hasn't had access to all the data that she would have appreciated, since (as you have pointed out a few times) Equestria's historical archives seem to be mysteriously absent. Also, having been forced by extreme circumstances into accepting new and uncomfortable ways of life, she has grown tremendously in wisdom over the years. I would say though, that if I want to maintain a consistent personality for her, that Daisy ought to be thoroughly fangirling any sort of detail that Nyx can give her about the ancient alicorn thing. So as Nyx discovers all of this through Luna, Celestia, Nightwatch, or her own personal experiences, you better believe Daisy would be very interested in learning about all of that.

except this :

Doesn't like change. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Theoretical discussion is boring. Traditionalist.

doesn't describe me AT ALL.

I am a small "c" conservative when it comes to my daily life, i dont do drugs i rarely drink alcohol, i actually enjoy wearing a suit and a tie. I look forward to holidays, even those that are based on religious ideas i no longer believe in. I was raised with, and still poses a family centric worldview ( though i would probably define " family" somewhat differently than most people that proclaim to be family values centric) So in that aspect yes I suppose I am a traditionalist.

however....
The american politician i Agree with the most is Elizabeth Warren. I certainly don't consider her a revolutionary, more like a woman with clear common sense who cares about what I care about, but by US standards i can't imagine anyone calling her a " traditionalist" .

As for theoretical discussion, I think it is hilarious that you think i wouldnt enjoy it, given how i am asking you to write information on an imaginary society full of talking sapient zebras who can use magic. I think just about anyone on this site who writes world building stories by definition enjoys theoretical discussion. You perhaps mean in an academic sense, but even there i enjoy it. I will say that i have become more practical minded in the last few years, but that is the effect of law practice really, not a core aspect of my personality.


This in particular

If it ain't broke, don't fix it

is almost infuriating. I mean I hate that worldview! One of the main sayings of my father growing up was " If you have ever have an employee or subordinate who answers a question with " that is how we have always done it here" fire him immediately!" I was raised to question everything, not to be an annoying smartass, but specifically to fight against this worldview, specifically to live a life of continuous self improvement, one were i constantly analyze all the concepts and processes of my life and seek way to improve them.
Stasis ( If it ain't broke, why fix it) is basically the OPPOSITE of my worldview.

None of this matters of course, when it comes to Daisy. Daisy can have all the personality traits you listed, there isnothing wrong with any of those personality traits per se just wanted to clarify that they are not mine.

Oh and no need to apologize, it would be ridiculous for ,me to expect you to know all about the personality of a person half a world away who you only know through a computer screen :twilightsmile:

She hasn't had access to all the data that she would have appreciated, since (as you have pointed out a few times) Equestria's historical archives seem to be mysteriously absent.

One of the things that I like the most about the backstory you have created is that it accounts for this. What with civilization resetting several times.

Eight years into the war, Daisy was well established in the Reserves as a Lieutenant peacekeeper specializing in Equestrian zebra relations.

what did this job entail? was she like a translator? a military HUMINT ( EQINT ? hahhahahaa) collector? Is this more like a police officer that specializes in community relations with a certain group ( like how police departments will sometimes hire say, haitian americans do go talk to haitian immigrants etc) it sounds like this last option but i would like to have it clarified.

Comment posted by Recon777 deleted Sep 10th, 2015
Comment posted by onlyanorthernsong deleted Sep 10th, 2015
Comment posted by Recon777 deleted Sep 10th, 2015
  • Viewing 1 - 50 of 9