Rainbow Dash is finally chosen for the most important run in Equestria, and Twilight Sparkle throws a party in her honor. But will she be able to cheer up an inconsolable Applejack, and make her enjoy the party?
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Raz_Fox
Joined 11th Jul, 2011 ·
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I have long wanted to see this posted here, because it has always confused me.
...
Was... was Rainbow Dash raped? And even if not, is there something even the elements can't defeat? Is, and let's be blunt, this pagan god more powerful than Equestrian Q? That's frightening. All ponies should live in utter terror and question a goddess-princess that cannot defeat something that terrible, even by proxy.
To be honest, there is little explained in the story -- the reader can suspect thousands of things, much like 893027 did, and all of them would be correct without a follow up or a note from the author.
While I'm at it, these kind of stories are enjoyable to read. I don't get why it has the adventure and dark tags, though, as there was nothing ominous nor were there any adventures to be had -- just a small conversation.
893027
Allow me to assuage your fears. No, Rainbow Dash was not raped. Other than that, I leave it up to you to consider what happened. To flit to another note, this story is actually quite old, and it was written before Discord's name was even leaked, so I didn't consider where in the cosmology that leaves the Hart. But I might propose that diplomacy is much more of a pony virtue than warfare, especially when warfare would have unwanted side effects. Something to consider.
893947
I must admit, the tags were a source of agony. When I submitted this to Equestria Daily - a very long time ago, it seems - I simply gave it the 'Grimbright' tag. Caused quite the kerfuffle. And when it came time to submit the story, all three of the tags currently on the story seemed to overlap it in some way, and yet each one would disappoint someone just looking for that kind of story. It is Adventure in the implications of the story, the unseen A-plot about Rainbow Dash, and yet there is no grand, sweeping quest in the story. It is Dark in that the plot is about some dark thing from the forest who must be placated with possible pony sacrifice, and yet the story itself rejects darkness, depending on how one reads the ending. And it is Slice-of-Life in that it's a small sliver of the main characters' lives, and it focuses around a conversation, but it is certainly not ordinary, or something one would see in the show. So, to avoid being rejected by moderation because my story was not tagged properly, I decided to hedge my bets and simply tag it with all three, hoping the discerning reader would not be disappointed.
894819
Unusual for an unfeeling monster. Especially one whose "family line" evokes the intentionally ironically-named Fair Folk and other terrible denizens of north European folklore. I guess she won, then as she was not violated, eaten, murdered or kidnapped to a realm of eternal and thoughtless hedonists.
My point still stands, however. Diplomacy is a virtue but to gamble time after time speaks of wekness or fear. There are some things worth fighting for, and freedom from fear is one of them. I like to think better of Celestia and the population of Equestria. Maybe when they develop a cold iron cannon they will be free. But that's just my take.
I'm actually reminded of author Scott Bradfield, writer of the anthology "Greetings from Earth." The story resolves nothing, appears suddenly with no explanations, presents a world with rules that cannot be fathomed, is filled with excellent dialogue that adds to the confusion and in general saps the will to be happy. Oh that is not to say you write poorly. Quite the opposite. Mr. Bradfield is a real talent and so are you. But I guess I will never get usd to cynical postmodernism that eschews comprehensibility in favor of a "vision" which the artist has and which is also laden with misery, pain and existential ennui which evokes only a feeling of weakness, helplessness in the face of an uncaring universe.
895413
I must admit, getting to hear another's interpretation of the story is really quite interesting, especially as you've approached some of the implications and come up with a rather different spin on things. I must admit that I didn't intend for the story to come across as cynical or helpless, and certainly not filled with misery and pain - the core around which the story spins is Applejack and Celestia's conversation together, after all. I certainly hope it was comprehensible enough, even if I shied away from exposition and explanation.
I must here restrain myself from falling all over myself to explain what I'd intended, because that would rather ruin things, no? Let the story stand for itself. Your interpretation is rather unorthodox, but it's what you filled in the blanks with, and even though that ends up with a grimmer story than I'd intended, I can't very well turn around and stop the story from standing on its own merits.
Thank you for your compliments, and for stopping to read the story again. I'll be reposting several of my stories here, once I fix the formatting on them to adhere to the site's standards. If you liked All Hallow's Night, please, feel free to read the others.
895615
Normally I would not insist anything of another writer because I feel a certain respectful decorum is in order. But I never get the chance to ask distant, impersonal book authors, "What does that mean? What happened? Who was that supposed to be?" And here I am, uniquely, able to ask. I think I have been tainted by scientific study and am no longer a pure English major. Mystery and ambiguity no longer thrill me, they pain me. I desire to know, to solve the uncertainties. So I ask, respectfully, for any answers you may have.
I am also shocked that you find my interpretation shocking. Maybe I read folklore with a different focus than you have but it has always been my understanding that fae creatures have a general contempt for mortals as well as a certain amount of arrogance and ego. How could I not have seen the Hart as a potential rapist (fertility gods have a certain reputation and are unlikely tone swayed by mortal refusals) or a murderer, predator or kidnapper. Pan, Kelpies, Seelie and Unseelie fae, the wild hunt. Hardly the dainty, innocent Tinkerbells we imagine in more modern times. And if they live in fear of the monster, such that they must obey its weird commands, then they are in a fundamental way slaves of the beast and should fight to be free. They may as well build a wi ker pony and challenge a chosen one to escape before it goes up in flames.
I will, of course, watch you and see further tales. You are a talent to be sure and friendly besides. But this story in particular has always made me extremely uncomfortable, and even knowing AJ can take Rainbow home unmolested does not cancel a certain primordial horror which comes of contemplating a world in which capricious fae things exist.
895715
A thought: if Celestia and Luna are connected, in some innate way, to the sun and the moon - to some, a prodigious leap, but let it be true - then perhaps might there be others like that? Perhaps a princess connected to love and affection, or a mighty sea king who rules the tides in his court and sings ancient songs of rescue? If Celestia possesses the regality of the sun, its nurturing warmth and its illumination, what would a thing of the hunt, of the wilds, be?
Another thought: the Everfree is filled with monsters. Manticores, timber wolves, cockatrices, dragons, hydras, and a multitude of things that would prey upon ponies, given the chance. Why do you think they rarely leave the forest, and do not attack the ponies that dare to live on the forest's edge? What's stopping them from going and eating little ponysnacks?
One hunt a year is all he asks, and even during the thousand years in which one of the makers of the deal was unable to bear witness, he kept his bargain.
896093
Then he is a tyrant, worthy of the same contempt rightfully given to other god concepts such as... Well, let that pass. Celestia and Luna hardly demand worship or hoops. He is just an ersatz good force, a tinpot dictator that made the rules by fiat. He could change the world and rules but doesn't. I understand your point. But Celestia and Luna seem infinitely more modern gods, accessible, comprehensible, approachable, willing to listen and bend and moderate their rule such that they are not absolutists in a formal sense. But the Hind is exactly as his ancient counterpart was, a mere product of the uncomprehending and ignorant savages that created him. An ancient tribal god and force of nature that has nothing to do with a worth of DJ turntables and electric lights.
898435
I fear I may have ruined some of the mystery of the story for any reader who ventures into the comments. Alas.
One of the more interesting things about the show during the first season, for me, was the blending of advancement, technology, with myth and legend. A show where Twilight Sparkle can drag her friend down to a mad science basement before going to save a friend from a hydra. It is a world where there are many things unexplained, and a world where both DJ turntables and a force of nature can exist.
Given what's presented in the story, thinking of the Hart as a tyrant is completely understandable. I could pull things out of my hat to explain why he's not, but that would be cheating - if it wasn't implied, I can't very well use it in the story's defense. That's why the story's open-ended, after all. If it makes you feel better, though, I never intended the Hart to be malevolent. If he were a malevolent force, would Celestia be willing to trust him?
I leave the answer up to you.
900630
Trust and fear have never been the same thing. If she cannot defeat him and if he could bring an u stoppable vengeance if his caprice so demands, then she must fear him. I always imagined his last words were mockery. But that was when I thought he raped Dash. I still think they are mockery, but now I think it is more akin to, "I'm back. Prepare to suffer again." Cynical? Perhaps. But I was only approaching the story as I felt it. Measure for measure. I am also no fan of secrets, as I said. The fact that his words are secret leads me only to believe they are hurtful. Secrets are lies by omission. That is a personal view, granted, I understand most see them as truth in abeyance unless a lie is used as a pasteboard mask to cover the fact of the matter.
The openness of the text is good for posmodernist readers with postmodernist ideals of ambiguity, uncertainty, squishy facts and no clear resolution. Maybe I'm just an old curmudgeon. It has been known to happen.