Featured on Equestria Daily August 22, 2013!
Confidence. A valuable trait. One that tempers the mind with an iron will, and swells the voice with power. An asset that sways the strong and inspires the weak. An unsinkable ship that braves the rapids of doubt, and sails her captain through any storm.
Rated "Everyone" because EVERYONE needs a little confidence. Enjoy!
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(And a special thanks to Norsepony, and his hostile critique. It reminded me when 'storytelling' is appropriate.)
Chapters (1)
I think I know what this story needs.
Seriously, wonderful. Spike's veneer of confidence was joy to behold. And it honestly wouldn't surprise me if the others unintentionally left Spike to his own devices. They all have lives and sometimes friends forget and drift.
The monocle makes him look like a pimp.
You, good sir, are a genius.
Well fucking done.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Spike, Ponyville's resident Swagon.
I thought this was going to be about a Dj or something, but I was happy surprised. Fantastic job, love it to the max
Nice, Spike finally manned up! - er, dragon'd up!
also
>>“Those ‘dusty old books’ keep a roof over my head. Of course, Twilight already used that one, so I got nothin’,”
i dun get it.
Show her, Spike!
That's right Spike, be that strong willed dragon that no mare will look down on.
Finally, a story to renew my faith in Sparity. Thankyou, I desperately needed this.
awesome !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't think love is really worth it if one partner (and only one) is required to master such skills and tactics while constantly maintaining a solid veneer of smooth confidence. Are there really that many wrong turns and pitfalls? At what point will he be allowed to drop the facade and let her love him with all his flaws and shortcomings?
But here's the only question that really matters: when does this show up in the feature box?
okay i like this story but i'm a little confused of spike and his interal conflict what exactly is it? cant really tell here
I'm not sure how much I enjoy Spike manipulating Rarity like that. But your aged-up Spike is convincing in his thought processes. You could tell he was trying his best to play it cool the whole time. The way the facade and the truth came together just for a moment at the climax worked perfectly.
Overall, it's a well written story and deserves a lot of praise.
So...sometimes when you read stories you come upon this tiny little one-shot which is so fucking brilliant that you can't stop thinking of it for days. It seems that this story will fall in this category.
Usually Spike gets a broken heart for all his troubles with Rarity. Usually all his efforts are in vain and she likes any other stallion. Not so in this fic. She actually seemed interested in Spike from the get go.
Personally though, I hate it when characters need to feign being someone else to get the girl/mare they want. In this story though - if there is ever a continuation of it - it seems more like Spike opening up to Rarity after getting her to notice him finally.
Each of Spikes actions was planned in advance, right? So how would a 'second date' go? Did he plan that too? Would Fluttershy notice Iron Wills teachings in Spike?
Regrettably this is the end of my comment. Though if you look at it a bit more closely, you will notice a little thing I added just for this comment. Because, you know, just the best for the best, right?
Holy f**kin' s**t! OOLPWOWWIRHFJB!
This is insane! I wake up late, thinking I won't make it to work on time. I'm hustlin' on the job thinkin' to myself, 'God dammit I wish I knew how my new oneshot panned out...' I come back after a backbreaking day, and see all this?!?! Thank you. Just... THANK YOU! All of you, for your praise!
I read this whilst listeing to my own playback of a cover... and it seemed to flow perfectly...
2508783
Heh! As it turns out, I was listening to 'The Man' from Guilty Gear, while writing it.
2508882 haha awesomes man XD
Well... damn. Just, damn. One hell of an interesting story here.
There needs to be one more chapter of this, it's brilliant.
Woahh....
Confidence IS the key!
I need to learn how to do that!
2504730 Everytime I hear the phrase "dragon up", I just think of American Dragon.
Wow, this is brilliant
I am actually blown away by how you managed to pull off this adult Spike's thought processes. I especially like how Spike maintains a cool swag on the outside while he carefully plans ahead on the inside.
The climax was genius, too, with the truth and the facade come together for a brief moment. Very well-done.
Have a moustache, you magnificent bastard
2690402
I'll take the mustache in stride... Because I'm cool like that...
This was a very good piece, one that had an even, measured cadence. It didn't try to be more than it was, and instead was happy at succeeding marvelously at a simple premise. It deserves more attention than it has gotten, especially from Sparity fans.
3074936 I'm beyond flattered that an accomplished author as you thinks highly of this... well, it's something that's for sure.
Believe or not, this little gif was three different things before. During my three month improvement crusade half a year ago, it went from a multi-chapter harem fic, to a multi-chapter Spike-Vinyl fic, to this. Just said, 'You know what? F**k this...'
And bam! Here we are.
Oh yeah... Good times.
Craine...
What a manipulative little bastard. But a very well written story. Though I can't help but wonder if Rarity would not have encountered stallions having read that particular kind of loathsome self-help books before… Still, considering the number of times my darling Rarity has twirled others round her hoof, a bit of redress and balance is acceptable.
lovely
I am sorry, but I did not get any of what is happening in this story.
BOUT GODDAMN TIME
AND APPROPRIATE GIF
images.wikia.com/villains/images/a/aa/50439_-_animated_dancing_gif_spike.gif
This was very good, but I don't really see why Spike ripped it up. I thought the implication was that he chose to pursue a long-term relationship with Rarity, but the only way the epilogue makes sense is if he decides to pass on Rarity all together, which is a possibility, though I don't see it hinted at. I wish the epilogue and ending gelled together a bit more. It's not like they're a contradiction, and I can see that Spike has definitely grown somehow, but since we're missing Spike's inner dialogue only at this single point in the fic when we had heard it all along, it's frustrating to be left a little clueless.
I don't get it, but then there are a lot of things I don't get... Like Will Ferrell movies.
I completely fail to understand how any of his thought processes held any relation to his actions... or confidence (except in the broadest sense of bring able to speak). The only thing I was left with at the end was a sense that you were hiding something behind the language of the story... but then again, I still don't get Will Ferrell movies.
3092397 Possibly you haven't read enough pick-up artist material to understand that he's generally acting in opposition to his feelings?
This is very good, but the final scene conflicts with the rest of the story. The entire story shows pickup artist tricks working. The final scene shows him rejecting Iron Will's pickup-artist-like advice. Which is it?
3167398 Neither.
The entire theme behind this was 'confidence'; in mannerism, speech, and charisma. To be honest, the pickup artist thing (believe me, I caught this while I was editing) was just a product of that. Ultimately, it provided the driving force for Spike's veneer. And his goal.
The ending scene was to show the readers that he didn't need Iron Will's teachings any longer. Simultaneously, it foreshadows a plethora of pitfalls and obstacles for the little bastard.
Still constructing the outline for a possible update. And I will (if updated) bring those issue to life. Because I'm a good person... *ahem*
3167600 If it's in the middle of the story, and he does still need Iron Will's teachings, that's entirely different. It probably means you're a social deviant and a cruel bastard to your characters, like me.
3167612
I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
3167398
Possibly, but that doesn't quite sound right.
The structural presentation was(is?) so muddled in... maybe not recursive, but at the least confusing sentences that it failed (at least for me) to have any real meaning. Everytime something happened Spike would have some thoughts about it before and after, and as many times as not they didn't seem to have any relation to the actions. I don't make a habit of reading stream of consciousness, so perhaps that is where the disconnect comes from. But if that is the case, doesn't that make it poor story telling? It is okay to leave the readers confused for much of the story, but by the end it needs to have some form of resolution. This did not. The journey is more important than the destination, but there must still be a destination. It meandered along until the end and... nothing. We aren't even left with a satisfying question to ponder in the absences of a resolution.
Or perhaps I completely missed it... I still don't understand Will Ferrel after all.
3167635 Huh. Not exactly sure what meaning you were searching for. I thought the message was quite clear (for entertainment value, at least) Originally, I hadn't planned to make this a multi-chaptered cluster fuck of issues with a life-changing perspective. Not until much later.
It was really a 'what if' scenario: Spike grows a pair, and I play with that idea. I tried to make as simple and entertaining as I could, but hey, different strokes and all that.
Hmmm, what to say? It is a good story, very well written, very original, and delves into interesting views on characters that make sense but are rarely explored.
And to spite all that, I really didn't care for it. Spike and Rarity both seemed far too manipulative, and I guess that just grates against the way I look at them. However, I know the difference between a GOOD story and a story I like. Just because I did not enjoy the way the story went does not detract from the fact that it was a very good story.
If nothing else, you went out on a limb and tried something different, without destroying the characters. Their actions were close enough to themselves, and justified enough to be believable. That's a win, and worth a thumbs up in my book.
It takes talent to make me finish reading AND acknowledge the good qualities of a story I don't like, so I'd better keep an eye out for other stories by you!
-Lumino
3239929 I'm humbled! Thank you for your words. I'll be honest with you, though; this is probably the only oneshot I have (to date) that feels COMPLETE. The work I have after 'Thrive' I plan to have the same quality as this. If not better. Thanks again for reading and reviewing.
Craine...
Well, I've never been a fan of romance nor shipping, and I think that Rarity's actions felt kinda forced to me... But... Everything about Spike, his inner thoughts, the confidence thing, and the story overall, was simply splendid! I really liked it, and the ending was awesome. Good story.
3275925 Hehe! Tanks of thanks to you.
I find myself feeling torn. On the one hand, this is exceptionally well written and good fun. It feels very natural and flows really well.
That said I really found myself disliking Spike in this. It feels less like his success is due to confidence and more that it's due to manipulation and that really bothered me. Especially the idea that Rarity completely falls for it.
It leaves me conflicted as to what thumb I should give it. Up because it's an excellent fic and deserves praise? Or down, for making Spike feel almost slimy in spots.
I confess I've gone with up, just because this isn' my cup of tea doesn't mean you deserve a dislike. I can appreciate how good this fic is and how much work has gone into it too much to allow my slight feelings of dislike to want to hurt it.
3304356 As proven with every comment this fic receives, 'The Turntablist' remains my most impacting thus far. To be honest, I didn't expect Spike to stir so many mixed feelings among the readers. And, really, I wouldn't have it any other way, as this was one of my better, thought-out pieces.
I tried to completely break the pathetic dragon-child-whelp-thing and mold it into... well, this. But I as I wrote my first draft, I realized without the introverted narration on Spike's part, he'd be ENTIRELY out of character. I had to make him doubt. I had to through a wrench in his plans, but still wanted him to come out on top.
As for Rarity? I always saw Rarity as the vulnerable type. You know, refined, tactful, and charming on the outside, but really insecure. Without 'telling' any of that, I'd like to think I pulled it off.
Good to know my skill for character depiction hasn't weakened. Thank you for your comment, fave, and watch, Ferret.
Craine...
PS: if you like RariJack, there's a lengthy oneshot boiling as we speak. Somehow or another, I WILL surpass 'The Turntablist'.
This is definitely rather good. My only nitpick is that I'd expect Spike to have at least picked up some knowledge about fashion by this point.
Like, fav and added to my recommendation group.
I would imagine that ice in the veins would make it very easy to stay cool.