To Have and to Hold
"...absolutely not. No physical contact will be permitted. Convey this to the windigo."
Trixie nodded and focused, the light from her horn momentarily brightening as she modified the illusion. A miniature illusion of the ponies and the windigo formed in front of her, with the windigo standing several feet back from the illusory Ice Heart. After another moment, Trixie changed it again and the illusory Elements were positioned around Ice Heart. "Is this acceptable?" she asked Puissance.
"Move your friends about six inches away from Ice Heart on all sides. We don't want to look like we're keeping him prisoner," corrected Puissance.
“Got it.” Trixie made the change. When the Vicereine gave a short nod of approval, her horn flared up again, and a larger version of the illusion--large enough that the windigo would surely be able to see its every detail--appeared on the steppe between the ponies and the monster.
Ditzy fought to keep her head up. She was tired, hungry, and very cold. They had been on the steppe for several hours, standing still as the Vicereine and Trixie 'negotiated' with the windigo. Each round began with the monster sending an image, at which point Puissance would immediately disagree with some detail--the windigo's proximity to Ice Heart, for instance, or the lack of the Elements being present--and would instruct Trixie to draft a new illusion in response. She and Trixie would tweak every little detail in the draft until it was made to Puissance’s hyper-exacting specifications, after which Trixie would make the full-scale version so the monster could see it. Then the windigo would make a sound that reminded Ditzy of an awful ice storm that had once blown into Ponyville from the Everfree Forest and would create another image, this one basically the same, or maybe a fraction of an increment closer to Puissance's. Trixie's next illusion would show a similar lack of willingness to compromise. And thus ten hours had passed.
"It's like the world's worst foal custody hearing," Cheerilee had whispered to her early on. "Where one of the parties is a greedy monster with a heart of ice." She had paused. "And the other is a windigo."
Fortunately, Ditzy had managed not to laugh out loud at that.
But as time passed, even Cheerilee's occasional jokes seemed to lose their humor. It wasn't just the disorienting visions that was wearing on Ditzy, but the grueling physical conditions as well. One of Puissance's servants had shown up at around noon with bottles of ether for Trixie--an unavoidable necessity, given how much magic she was using--but nopony had come with food. Trixie had explained, when Raindrops had asked about this, that it would show weakness to take a lunch break. They needed to demonstrate that they were strong and hardy enough that the windigo couldn't just attack them and take Ice Heart by force, and they couldn't do that if they demanded an hour time-out for hay pizza. So they worked without food, and Ditzy tried to tell herself that at least it was for a good reason.
She looked over at Puissance. The old mare didn't seem affected by the cold--which hadn't surprised Ditzy; she had her fire ruby, of course, and she was a pegasus to boot--or by the lack of food. In fact, she stood solid and strong in the snow, looking straight at the windigo without flinching, as if saying she feared it not. Watching her, Ditzy could understand why Luna felt confident in her conducting the negotiations with a monster drawn straight from the deepest fears of ponykind.
"Vicereine?" asked Cheerilee. "It's starting to get dark. Can we find our way back without light?"
Puissance glanced up. "I'd prefer not to," she mused. "Trixie. Tell the windigo that we'll be going, and that we'll be back tomorrow at the same time."
Trixie nodded and wiped away the existing illusion, then made a new one that showed the seven ponies walking away as the 'sun' lowered, then returning when it rose back into the sky. When Puissance approved of it--after only another ten minutes of revisions--she put it on the steppe. “Now, if he just lets us--”
The windigo hissed again, and Ditzy felt a surge of something like concentrated anger wash over her. Even as she found herself stumbling back a step, the windigo began to move forwards.
Trixie's illusion flashed as the fake ponies used their Elements to knock the illusory windigo back. The real windigo stopped moving forwards, though Ditzy couldn't find any trace of fear in its alien, icy expression. At the next moment, the mailmare saw Raindrops and Cheerilee holding up their Elements, and she grabbed her own. "Get ready," said Cheerilee. "If it--"
"I've got this," muttered Trixie. She dismissed the illusion and returned to the prior one, with the ponies leaving at night, and returning early the next morning. Then she slowly slid it forwards towards the windigo, as if giving it a peace offering. "Come on. Be reasonable. Work with me here..."
Finally, the windigo slammed down a hoof and sent another image--this one forceful enough that it almost hurt Ditzy to look at. But it matched Trixie's; the Elements and Puissance were leaving, and then returning when the sun was high. Yes, in the windigo's illusion they were returning with Ice Heart, but still, the leaving part was the same. Ditzy's heart leapt. Come on, she thought. Trixie, Puissance, let's just go...
"It will have to do," said Puissance. "Dame Trixie, I believe the windigo will allow us to disengage. Shall we?"
"Of course, Vicereine," said Trixie. "Might I suggest that you go first? We'll stand between you and the windigo just in case it pursues us."
Puissance inclined her head and--taking just a moment to shake her wings, as if waking them up--launched herself into the air. A moment later Ditzy saw her flying back towards the hotel, towards warmth, and light, and the crystal ball that the mailmare was going to use to call her little muffin. A few moments after that, Trixie began to lead the Elements home.
As she crested a low hill and began to descend, Ditzy looked back. The last she saw of the windigo was its frozen gaze staring directly at her.
***
"Ditzy? Wake up!"
Ditzy groaned and rolled over. "Dinky, your Mama's napping. Go play with Sparkler--"
The giggling she heard wasn't Dinky's. Opening her eyes, she saw Lyra smiling down at her. "Everypony's down in a big lounge room. Want to come?"
"Lounge...?" Ditzy blinked. She remembered stumbling back into the hotel, still cold and weary, and forcing herself to take a hot shower so that she didn't risk catching cold. Then she let herself lie down for a moment before contacting Dinky, and... "Wait. What time is it?"
"The sun went down maybe an hour ago. The Vicereine's staff says dinner will be in--"
Ditzy rolled to her hooves. "An hour ago? Oh, no--I didn't talk to Dinky!" She glared at Lyra. "You should have woken me!"
"Hey, we tried!" said Lyra. "But you were out cold! So Trixie contacted her to check in. And Dinky's doing fine. In fact, she had an adventure with Scootaloo today."
"An adventure?" asked Ditzy. "What kind of adventure?"
"Well..."
***
Twilight Sparkle grunted as her horn flared a bright purple. When it was over, she took a moment before saying, "Alright, there you go. You can walk on clouds now, Dinky."
"Yay!" said the foal, bouncing up and down. "Thank you, Miss Twilight!" She turned to Sparkler and Pokey, who had escorted Dinky herself and Twilight respectively to the outskirts of town. "This is gonna be fun!"
Pokey nodded. "Now all you need is Scootaloo. Where is that foal?"
"I'm over here!"
The ponies all turned to see Scootaloo scooting up, two little clouds securely fastened to the back of her wagon. Rainbow Dash flew loops over her head, Heavy Roller trotted by her side, and a large mob of foals was hurrying to catch up with the three of them. "Sure you can handle them?" Rainbow Dash called down. "Two clouds is a bit much for one little pony--"
"Sure I'm sure!" said Scootaloo. "No problem!"
Dinky waved at the approaching group, and she helped Scootaloo untie the clouds when the pegasus arrived. "Can we go now?" she asked Sparkler. "Please?"
Sparkler screwed up her face in pretend concentration. "Hmm..."
Dinky made a pleading face.
"Well, alright. But just this once."
Dinky beamed. "YAY!"
Heavy Roller helped Scootaloo fasten the helmet securely onto her head. "Is this really done in pegasus cities?" he asked Rainbow Dash.
"Sure! We used to race clouds all the time up in Cloudsdale!" said the weather captain. "Before I learned to fly on my own, I was racing clouds day and night! Best way to travel... except for wings, of course."
"I don't doubt it," said Sparkler. She turned to Twilight. "Thanks for doing this. Ever since Cheerilee talked about cloud races in class, Dinky wanted to do one, and when you mentioned that cloudwalking spell..."
"Don't mention it. Happy to help!" said Twilight. "It really is a fascinating spell. In fact, the same principles behind it could probably be used to let ponies manipulate other intangible substances. Smoke, for instance--imagine if a firepony could just ball up all the smoke from a fire and throw it in the trash! And maybe..."
As she chattered, the two foals climbed onto their clouds. Dinky giggled at the feeling; it was like she was lying on a big comfy pillow that floated a few inches above the ground. "Ready!"
"Ready!" called Scootaloo.
Heavy Roller and Sparkler exchanged bemused looks. Pokey grinned and stepped between them. "Then let the racing... begin!" he roared.
Immediately Dinky reached down and pushed off the ground with a hoof. The cloud moved forwards and began to float down the path, quickly picking up speed as Dinky kicked down. She grinned, then looked to one side--and got a facefull of cloud as Scootaloo guided her cloud into Dinky's and knocked her back. "Hah!" said the pegasus, who was also buzzing her wings to help gain speed. "I'm gonna win!"
Dinky grinned. "Nuh-uh!" She kicked down even harder, surging her cloud ahead. "I will!"
Behind them, the adults and foals laughed as the two continued to bounce down the road.
***
Ditzy blinked. "A... cloud race?" She had heard of such things, though she'd never participated herself, largely for the same reason she didn't go flying within city limits. "Who won?"
Lyra grinned as she continued.
***
After innumerable bumps and bounces, the end was in sight--and, Dinky noted, she had a slight lead! Scootaloo had started out fast but had fallen behind, whereas Dinky had followed Twilight's advice to 'pace herself,' and it seemed to be paying off. She grinned. It was like Miss Trixie always said--being the best was awesome! All she had to do was keep driving herself forwards, aiming right at the big finish line Pinkie had set up--
Her thoughts were interrupted as another foal blithely walked across her path.
"Wagh!" squealed Dinky as she crashed into the other foal. She felt herself falling forwards, bonking her head and her hooves into the interloper, before they tumbled to the ground with the cloud settling around them. Her barrel hit the dirt with a loud 'thump'. "Oof!"
She got to her hooves, her head and horn poking through the cloud, in time to see Scootaloo cross the finish line. "Aww!" she complained. "I was so close!"
"Close to what?" A brown-maned pony with a white-and-brown coat poked his head through the cloud. "What's going on?"
Dinky looked at Pipsqueak, who was standing there... in her cloud... mere inches from her. "Nothing!" she said as she felt her cheeks flush. "Nothing important." She paused. "So! What are you doing here?"
"Um..."
***
Ditzy couldn't help but laugh at that. "I'm glad she's having fun. She wasn't too upset I didn't talk to her, was she?"
"We told her you were exhausted from helping to protect a Vicereine from a big monster. She said that was fair, as long as she gets an extra hug when you come home."
"Good." Ditzy slowly nodded. "Thanks. And... sorry I yelled at you." She frowned. "I don't know what came over me."
"A lot of us are a little on edge. Trixie thinks it's got something to do with the windigo; it's possible it can make ponies grumpy." Lyra shrugged. "But you know what the best cure for grumpiness is? Company! Come on, I'll show you down stairs. Trixie's with Puissance, but the rest of us are all hanging out!"
Ditzy yawned, but she made herself get up. "That sounds lovely. Thank you, Lyra."
As it turned out, Ditzy saw, Lyra hadn't just meant the Elements when she had said that everypony was downstairs. As she entered the lounge--which, despite the murals of vast starscapes which made Ditzy feel very small, was still comfortable and friendly thanks to the plush carpet, warm fire, and luxurious furniture--she saw that the Vault ponies were there too. Nopony seemed to be looking at her, though, so, after nodding to Lyra and watching her trot over to a table where Bounty was mixing something, she meandered to the fire and lay down on her barrel in front of it.
Ahh, she sighed to herself as the fire warmed her. Her yellow mane had flopped over her face, and she spent several moments like that, just basking in the heat and letting the fuzzy carpeting tickle her fur. This is much better.
Gradually, she became aware of the other conversations. Opening her eyes, she saw that Lyra was hanging around Bounty, watching him work and peppering him with questions. "That looks delicious!" she said. "Next you add butter, right?"
"No. Next I will make some butterscotch. It has a better texture and will--"
"Allow the cookies to rise more!" said Lyra. "Bonbon taught me that once."
Bounty nodded. "Yes." Unlike before, Ditzy noted, he didn't seem to mind the interrupted--possibly because Lyra understood what he was doing. “After that I’ll add the chocolate--”
Lyra grinned. "What will you use for the chocolate chips?"
"The Vicereine brought a supply of high-quality dark chocolate from the province of Brayzil..."
Turning to her other side, Ditzy saw TIM in a corner working on a typewriter. Raindrops was sitting down near him, reading through what looked like an Advanced Reader Copy of a book. Suddenly, Raindrops gasped. "Wha--wait, I thought that if a kelpie fell in love with a landmare, he'd be banished from his native seaweed forest forever!"
TIM nodded sagely. "Yep. Wrote that in the last book."
"But Kale can't be banished! He needs to be able to go home so he can drive out the usurpers who are corrupting the kelpie kingdom!"
Kale the kelpie? thought Ditzy.
Meanwhile, TIM shrugged. "Right again."
"Well--he won’t be banished, right? It’ll all work out?"
"I dunno. I guess you'll have to read on," said TIM, a smile spreading over his face. “In fact, you might even need to wait for the sequel to find out the answer to that one.”
"Gaah!" said Raindrops, but there was pleasure in her voice. She sighed theatrically and dove back into the book.
Ditzy rolled over and sat up. At the back of the room was a cast-iron tub in which Stream Dreams was splashing around. Bones was there too, as was Cheerilee. "...I'm just saying," the teacher continued, "The Vicereine seems to have a lot of power over you."
Stream shrugged. "So? Princess Luna has power over her--and both of us. Besides, the Vicereine owns the Vault; it’s hers by right. What would you change?"
"Have her constrained by formal laws, ratified through the Night Court, which clarify what she can and can't do in the Vault. Just as the law protects us from our highest ministers if they choose to do something corrupt--"
"Does it?" asked Stream. "I mean, if Princess Luna decided for whatever that she wanted to banish a random pony, would she really be incapable of it thanks to the law? Doesn't she have the resources to see it happen, without consequence to herself?"
Cheerilee flushed. "She would never--"
"I know. She would never choose to do such a thing. But in that case, the law preventing her from doing such is superfluous, isn't it? And if she did want to do so, the law would be no help in stopping her. As such... what is the point of the law?" Stream Dreams leaned against the wall of the tub. "In my opinion, sovereign rulers shouldn't be constrained by paper laws. If the ruler is bad, no law will protect the populace from them--and if the ruler is good, then the law will only tie the ruler's hooves and prevent them from doing good things."
"You've thought a lot about this," said Cheerilee.
"I was a princess once. I ruled countless sea ponies before I was deposed. I did give some thought to my governing philosophy."
Cheerilee slowly nodded. Ditzy saw a smile forming on her face and wondered if she was looking forward to a spirited debate. "I see. However, I have to disagree with you."
"Oh?"
"FIrst, I reject your premise that the law would be no hindrance if Luna did want to do something illegal. Were she to try, the laws she's set up would block her at every turn. Laws protecting the freedom of the press would allow reporters to sniff out what she had done--and if she tried to disregard those laws too, she'd have to find ways to shut up hundreds of nosey reporters, and ponies would begin to notice. Laws permitting freedom of assembly would allow the missing pony's family and friends to gather and demand an investigation into their missing loved ones night and day, and the resultant investigations could well expose Luna. There are literally hundreds of laws that would interfere."
Bones nodded. "Yup."
"Bones!" admonished Stream Dreams in mock-annoyance. "How could you?"
Cheerilee chuckled as Bones shrugged. "It's a good point."
"Really?" said Stream Dreams, smiling as well. "Well, even if that's true, the constraint of law can often inhibit the prompt action of..."
Ditzy tuned them out and turned back to the fireplace. To one side she heard a door open, and glancing in that direction she saw Orangerie come in with Carrot Top and a basket of oranges. Both were chattering rapidly about farm-related topics, though Carrot Top kept shooting cautious glances at the oranges, which quivered and seemed about ready to explode. Ditzy smiled to herself as Carrot Top said, "It must be nice to have a bumper crop every year. What do you do with the excess oranges?"
"Excess?" Orangerie tilted her head. "There's no excess. Any we don't eat are used for science! I dissect them to see how orange-y they are and how I can make them even more orange-y. Why, what do you do with your excess carrots?"
"...eat them?" But Carrot Top was smiling. "I've never dissected a carrot. It sounds hard."
"Nah, you just cut them into little pieces and figure out how each of them could be more carrot-y. Like, is the stem really pulling its weight? What if it were orange? And yummy?"
"I never thought about that," Carrot Top conceded. “Although… there’s a Ponyville confectioner whose mother tends to work on similar projects. Maybe I should run some of these ideas by her.”
“Yeah! With a little scientific help, you could probably be growing the most super carrots in all Equestria!”
Ditzy chuckled and was about to get up and join that conversation when she heard somepony calling her name. "Dame Ditzy," said Silver Sculptress, who had just walked into the room. She sat in front of the fire. "Hello."
"Hello," said Ditzy, shifting slightly so that the sculptor had room. "Did you have a good day?"
"Yes. I got a lot of work done on my sculpture." Silver smiled. "It depicts Commander Hurricane at his famous victory over General Bloodslash of the Griffin Empire. The Vicereine said she'll have it installed in one of her public parks in southern Califurlong."
"That's very nice," said Ditzy. "It must be fun to have so many ponies looking at your work."
Silver nodded. "Indeed."
The two were silent for a moment, with Ditzy letting the chatter from the others wash over her. Eventually, Silver asked her, "Are you still cold?"
Ditzy shook her head. "I'm mostly warmed up by now." She glanced out a small window on one side of the room. The lights from the hotel illuminated the snow-swept plains stretching away into the darkness. "It did take a while though. It's cold outside."
"You should get a warmer jacket," advised Silver. "I saw you coming back in, and you were shivering. But there's a clothier in the Vault who makes enchanted garments. They barely weigh anything at all, and they're incredibly warm. I could ask the Vicereine if it would be alright for her to make a new coat for you."
For a moment, Ditzy thought of herself prancing through Ponyville, feeling light as a feather and warm as a hearthstone as she played with Dinky. But after a moment, her thoughts caught up with her and she shook her head. "Thank you," she said. "But I like my current jacket. It's just my size, and it's warm enough for me, and it was made by a good friend." She smiled as she thought of Rarity bustling about her, wrapping her in so many measuring tapes that she'd almost tied Ditzy into a knot as she worked to find a jacket of just the right size. "Plus, my little muffin helped me pick it out."
Silver tilted her head. "But if you could have a better one..."
"But it wouldn't be mine." Ditzy shrugged. "I know how mine feels and how it moves. It's also got some good memories, even though it's only about a month old... for instance, when it ripped slightly a couple weeks ago, my daughter helped me mend it. And when I was playing hide and seek with her last week, she hid in the jacket." She couldn't help giggling at that memory. "I appreciate the offer, but I prefer my own. Thank you, though."
After a moment, Silver nodded her head. "Very well. But if you change your mind, the offer is still open."
"What offer?"
All the ponies in the room turned to see Puissance walking into the room, Trixie trotting along behind her. The Vicereine looked around for a moment before seating herself in a large chair as if it were a throne. "Please," she said, a smile crossing her lips. "Don't interrupt yourselves on my account."
"I offered to ask Threaded Needle to make a better coat for Ditzy," said Silver Sculptress. Ditzy couldn't help but note the almost reverent tone in the sculptress's voice. "But she said she prefers her own."
"Own?"
Ditz frowned. She saw a sparkle in Puissance's eye and had a sinking feeling that the Vicereine wanted to get revenge on her from her comments earlier about unconditional love. "Yes," the mailmare said, slightly more sharply than she had intended. "The jacket that I own. I like it, and I don't want another."
"Good, "said the Vicereine. She moved a wing almost imperceptibly, and a moment later her camel servant hurried in from the next room with a large pot of tea and a small tray of immaculate biscuits. "I think almost everypony should own at least one jacket that they like for weather such as this. Except for very special ponies, such as my little Ice Heart, most would find it dreadful to be caught outside in this weather without a coat."
Bounty said, in a prim voice, "Vicereine, didn't you order a big jacket giveaway during the Equestrian Games a few years back?"
"Why, yes, I did." Puissance smiled at that, and Ditzy wondered if she had been fishing for that comment. "Yes, the winter Equestrian Games were being held in Califurlong that year. I arrived early for my inspection tour, to make sure everything was up to the standards demanded of the occasion, when I learned--to my dismay--that some of the ponies in that area didn't have their own jackets. A few couldn't afford it, others had lost or torn theirs, and then there were those who did have coats, but not ones warm enough to keep them comfortable in the thick of winter. I could hardly have an Equestrian Games in which my populace stayed home for fear of the cold, so I commissioned a large order from Filly Fabric." She sipped her tea. "I made sure that, when the games began, everypony in the area could attend in a warm and comfortable jacket." Her gaze drifted into the air slightly. "It was one of the largest turn-outs at an Equestrian Games in recent history, as I recall."
"Filly Fabric?" asked Cheerilee. "They're a high-end designer firm, aren't they? I'm surprised the Games budget covered that."
Puissance waved this off with a flick of her wing. "They made a very competitive offer when they saw the large quantity that would be ordered. Also, with everypony bundled up, it wasn't necessary to have the stands heated--or to cast spells to keep that heat from leaching onto the field, which are more expensive than you might think. The extra money allowed me to add to the landscaping and catering budgets. In fact, Blizzard Twist--oh, I'm sure you've heard of her, the famous ice sculptor--debuted her first exhibits on the lawns of the ice archery fields." She sighed softly. "It was a wonderful Games. And when it was over, seeing all the ponies going home, with even the poorest of them owning a nice warm jacket to protect them from the coldest days of winter..."
The Vicereine trailed off, her voice hesitating near the end as if unsure about what she was saying. Stream Dreams leapt into the gap. "Is something wrong, Vicereine?"
"Nothing really. It's just, in the past few years I was thinking... for those ponies, if they only had one jacket and couldn't get another... did they really own it at all?" Her gaze flicked towards Ditzy, and the gray-coated mare narrowed her eyes slightly. "Perhaps this is just the ponderings of an old mare, but it seems to me that if you only have one of something that you need, and you can't get another, then while you might possess it, you don't really own it." She shrugged. "Oh, but I prattle on. Please, don't let me distract you."
"What do you mean?" asked Ditzy, before she could stop herself.
Puissance's smile returned, though it was thinner than before. "Well... it seems to me that ownership is defined by having the power to do whatever you please to the object that you own. If a pony checks out a library book, for example, while they may take it home and put it on their bookshelves, they are actually quite limited in what they are allowed to do with it. They may not write in it, damage it, or throw it away. However, if that same pony purchased that book from a store and owned it, they could do whatever they wanted with it--scribble all over it, tear out pages, throw it away or even burn it. Indeed, I would contend that if you have something which you cannot freely dismantle or discard, you do not own it.
"And so, I was thinking--suppose a pony does have a jacket, a wonderfully soft and warm one that they love... but they only have the one and cannot obtain another. Do they really own it? They cannot throw it away or destroy it, because then they would have no jacket and would have to go outside in freezing weather with nothing on. They cannot give it to a friend, or even loan it out, in case they need it later. Even when they wear it, they must restrict their own motions to avoid damaging it, move slowly and cautiously, and give a wide berth to sharp corners. In fact, they must take so much care to keep it safe and protected, that it really seems more like the jacket owns them than the other way around."
Ditzy rose. She felt a wave of cold anger washing over her, and though she told herself it was probably just residual effects from being so close to a literal windigo, she couldn't quite push past it. "I only have one jacket," she said. "And I do own it."
Puissance put a wing to her mouth. "Oh--please forgive me, Dame, if I have offended. I was only speaking hypothetically. In fact..." She brightened. "Are you sure you wouldn't like Threaded Needle to stitch you another? Even if you do prefer your own, it would surely be a relief to know, in the back of your mind, that if the worst happened and your jacket were damaged or lost, you would have another, and would not need to risk facing the cold unaided."
It was tempting for a moment, but not longer than that. Even if there were no strings attached--and Ditzy doubted Puissance would be so generous as to give her a jacket without expecting something in return--she didn't want it forced on her. And--a sullen, angry part of her whispered--she didn't need it. She worked hard, and while she didn't have a lot, she had enough to raise Dinky in a comfortable, loving environment. She didn't need the charity of a rich benefactor who cared more about scoring points than doing good.
"No thank you," she said. "My own jacket is fine for my needs. And--" she hesitated for a moment before continuing on, "I think you're wrong anyways. Just being able to destroy something doesn't mean you own it."
Puissance raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Behind her, Trixie was frantically waving her hooves at Ditzy to get her to stop talking, but the Vicereine didn't notice. "Please explain, Dame."
Ditzy almost backed down, but found that she couldn't. The Vicereine, she thought, had stood in front of the whole room and called her too poor to own anything; she wasn't going to take that lying down. "When I bought that jacket, I didn't feel like I owned it right away. It was mine legally, and I wore it, but it still felt like it was the store's or some other pony's. But after I wore it for a couple weeks and learned everything about it, every crease and fold and rough spot... then it felt like it was mine.
"You have to understand something to own it. That's why a library book isn't 'owned' by a pony; it isn't because they can't burn it--why would they want to?--but because they only have it for a short time. They don't have the time to learn how heavy it feels when they're reading it in bed, or how comfortably it rests in the crook of their leg, or how the sun glints off the cover on a crisp fall day. It's a foreign object that they can't let their guard down around because they don't really know it. But if they had it for a month or a year? It wouldn't matter that they couldn't scribble on it or spill soup on it. They would still feel like they owned it.
"And--" Ditzy realized that the words were coming out of her in a rush, but let herself be carried along--"If you know something well enough to own it, if you know every little unique detail that makes it different from every other book or jacket or table that exists, then you know it too well to want to destroy it. The reason that I take care of my jacket isn't because I can't replace it; it's because I like it, every inch of it, and I don't want to damage it. But if you look at something you 'own' and you can still think about destroying it for no reason, then that means you don't know it well enough to know why it's irreplaceable and doesn't deserve to be thrown out. And how can you own something--really own it--if you don't even understand what it is or what makes it special?"
For a long moment, nopony spoke, and Ditzy slowly became aware that everypony was staring at her. Puissance's glare seemed frosty, and the mailmare belatedly realized that she had just implied that Vicereine Puissance Noctilucent Optiebeurs-Golo, collector extraordinaire, knew nothing about the collections that were her pride and joy. "Uh," she began. "I mean--"
Then Trixie said. "Oh! Vicereine! I wanted to ask you a favor earlier. Could I have a word?"
"Of course," said Puissance, in a decidedly tense voice. "At your pleasure, Dame Trixie."
Ditzy hesitated, mouth hanging open, but then she felt somepony pressing up against her side. "Um, hi," said Orangerie. "Can we talk?"
***
Puissance scowled to herself as she let Trixie lead her into a side room.
The nerve of that mare! Puissance had tried to help her, had offered her a generous gift out of the goodness of her heart, and Ditzy's response was to accuse Puissance of being too stupid to understand the merits of her own possessions! Which of course was completely absurd. Puissance was an expert on art, gemstones, and various other luxury goods. She knew what her possessions were worth better than anypony.
Undoubtedly the mailmare was adopting the mantra of 'you know what it costs but you don't know what it's worth', the bromide used by those who wanted to imply that all the Vicereine and other rich ponies understood was jangles and bits, that they couldn't see the true value or heart of a thing. But the Vicereine cared for each and every one of her possessions; she knew its history, its defining characteristics, and all the myriad ways it could be put to use. She wasn't some import/export dealer who bought and sold without ever coming within a hundred miles of her merchandise. Her things were hers, and she made sure to wrangle every ounce of use out of them. Else what was the point?
Even jangles and bits themselves had more uses than just as currency, and Puissance was well-acquainted with those uses. For instance, she had one particular warehouse full of gems, silver bits, priceless jewelry, and other such items which she opened up every Nightmare Night for a grand party. Other provincial nobles sometimes threw parties for Nightmare Night, and Puissance understood that Trixie had even tried something similar during one of her years in Canterlot, but none of them could match hers. Puissance employed the very finest party planners in southern Equestria to turn the warehouse into a haunted house, using only the most detailed and intricate props and decorations, and then invited foals from all over her provinces to come to the warehouse and embark on a treasure hunt for actual treasure. Hundreds of foals won the lottery to participate each year, and they had the time of their lives, squeaking and running away from Puissance's almost life-like ghost illusions and vamponies, and working with each other to find the mounds of silver and gemstones that were stashed around the building.
After the treasure hunt was over, and all the foals had obtained some priceless gems or bars of silver, Puissance then brought them out to the yard, where they had a grand festival with the best concessions and the most entertaining games in all the land. The food and gamess all cost real money to use, of course, quite a bit of it--a silver bar for an ice cream cone the size of a foal's head, a hoof-sized ruby for a turn on the fastest carousel in the nation, that sort of thing--but the foals had money to spare, and they enjoyed themselves immensely. Furthermore, there were also booths to buy things for friends--such as purchasing a big candy party for one's classmates, or getting a work of art for a much-loved teacher or mentor--which were also quite popular. Most of the foals ultimately left with only a coin or two in their pockets from the treasure hunt, but with bags full of the finest candy and toys to be found anywhere. And all of them left loving her, Puissance, the most generous Vicereine ever known to ponykind.
Of course, Puissance wasn't the sort to throw a massive party just to make foals love her--though the love of her subjects was something she indeed desired to possess. But there were other uses as well. By allowing the foals to buy presents for others, and making sure that they felt good about it--for after all, they were at the best party they would ever attend--she reinforced the 'giving is good' message which was so popular with Luna and the peasants, thereby bolstering her own moral credibility. There was always a foal who would tell reporters the next day that they had traded a priceless emerald in order to provide a wonderful dinner party for every pony in their neighborhood, and how good it had felt to be so generous--and how wonderful it was of Vicereine Puissance to provide that opportunity.
Second, by making sure that some of the foals who won the 'lottery' were genuinely needy, and by directing her staff to make sure that those foals did leave with enough treasure to help their families, she helped to reduce the number of poor ponies in her provinces. So many of them refused to accept charity for some inane reason of pride, but as long as they or their foals 'earned' their wealth, such as by finding it in a treasure hunt, they would take it and would finally move off the dole and become members of society which Puissance could present to other nobles without being embarrassed.
And, lastly, she made sure that the foals of her greatest detractors were invited. Those ponies, who were always arguing that Puissance had too much money and should be giving more of it to the poor, or the needy, or her province, had been a perpetual thorn in Puissance's flank for years... but, as it turned out, they tended to shut up once they realized that Puissance had given their foals large amounts of money, only for their foals to fritter it away in sharp contrast to the generous ideals of their parents. It was easy to yell that Puissance cared too much for her own luxury. It wasn't as easy when fending off questions about what had happened to that 5000 bit windfall that Puissance had generously given their family and which had been spent on chocolate and windup toys.
So, yes, Puissance understood her things. She understood every bit of them, every facet, every detail, and every potential use--including uses which would result in her losing those things, such as by giving them away at a party. She understood things at a level that the gauche mailmare would never grasp. And she would need to make that clear to her...
The thoughts died almost before they were completed. No, Puissance acknowledged, the time was past when she could have sought revenge for that insult. Princess Luna had made it clear that she would no longer tolerate such actions, and while Puissance was powerful, she still had to obey Luna. But still, there had to be something she could do, some small way to indicate her displeasure.
Trixie was talking, Puissance realized. She pushed her thoughts away and resolved to return to them later. "I'm sorry," she told the illusionist. "But I was momentarily distracted. Could you please repeat yourself?"
***
Orangerie led Ditzy to the greenhouse. Despite the frigid weather outside--the mailmare could still see snow rising through the glass windows--the little glass room was hot and steamy. Ten or so orange trees stood in the back, all of them heavily laden with fresh fruit.
"Um," began Orangerie, looking nervous. "You don't like the Vicereine, do you?"
Ditzy frowned. "I didn't say that."
"But I can tell." Orangerie trotted around Ditzy, her horn glowing as she carefully removed an orange from the nearest tree. "My mom's an advisor to Marquis de Salade, and she taught me a lot about reading ponies. Besides, the Vicereine told us last night that she was worried that you and the other Elements didn't approve of how she was caring for us."
Not sure of how to respond to that, Ditzy picked an orange for herself. "We discussed it last night," she said at last. "We don't think she's hurting you or anything. But..."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Ditzy watched as Orangerie tapped the orange with her horn and began to cast a spell. The orange seemed to pulse and deepen in color, looking more like the one that Orangerie had fed her the previous day. When the spell was done, Orangerie turned to her. "But what?"
"Some of us are worried about you. I mean--you seem so isolated, and you don't interact with anypony besides each other and Puissance. Especially Ice Heart. Shouldn't he have friends his own age?"
Orangerie shrugged. "Probably, but it's not that simple. A lot of us had... difficulty fitting in with 'normal' ponies. The whole point of the Vault is that it's a refuge where we don't have to worry about being bullied by them. Us not having to talk to them... it means the Vault's working correctly."
"But not all normal ponies are bullies," said Ditzy. "I mean, you've all noted my eyes--but I have plenty of friends in Ponyville, ponies who treat me as well as I could ever want."
Orangerie gave Ditzy a small smile. "Of course there's some good ponies out there. I mean, it sounds like you've got some great friends. But there's bad ones too, and if anypony knew about us, they might tell the bad ones. That's why we're so secretive. Can you imagine what would happen if a pony--even a good pony--learned about us and told her neighbors? Within a week we'd have paparazzi everywhere, and other ponies who would show up to gawk at the 'freaks.'"
Ditzy hesitated. She found herself thinking, not of herself and her own eye condition, but of Alula, a pegacorn foal who lived in Ponyville. Alula had attended the Grand Galloping Gala the past year, and according to Dinky, had been approached by a noble who had run away in a panic as soon as she saw the foal--like she was afraid that Alula was going to banish her or something. That had disturbed the foal, even before the other events of the night.
But that was just one bad night, Ditzy thought. Alula still had plenty of friends who liked her for who she was, such as Firelock and Dinky herself. She didn’t have to deal with any more harassment than Diamond Tiara occasionally calling her ‘Princess Erroria’--which her father had recently put a stop to anyway. The life Alula had was preferable to living in a gilded cage… just as Ditzy’s was.
“But you’re missing out on so much,” the mailmare said. “Friends, family, love… isn’t it a big sacrifice just to stay away from the occasional mean pony?”
Orangerie shook her head. "We don't want to deal with the mean ponies at all. We’re willing to stay in the Vault in order that they not bother us anymore."
Ditzy opened her mouth, then hesitated, unsure if what she was about to say was offensive. "But you in particular," she said at last, "It doesn't look like ponies..."
"Would bully me?" Orangerie didn't sound offended, and Ditzy let out a small sigh of relief. "Oh, I know I look like a normal unicorn. Didn't even know I was a super-cool hybrid until the Vicereine tested me. But a lot of my friends aren't, and I don't want them getting harassed. Some of them--Ice Heart, Bounty, Bones--had really rough times before they found the Vault. If me keeping the Vault's secret will help keep them safe, I'm happy to do that."
"I just feel there's a balance," said Ditzy. "I mean... well, what does the rest of your family think about this?"
"My family?"
Ditzy frowned. "Yes. Your parents, and any siblings, and... you know. Your family. I mean, they know the truth, right?"
"No." Orangerie was silent for a moment. "I told mine that I was going far away to research oranges--which was true, when you think about it--but that was it." She paused. "I do miss them sometimes, but it's like Puissance says. If we tell anypony anything, our secret could be discovered. And honestly, I'm willing to give up writing them if it means I can do the work that makes me happy. You have no idea how hard it is to--"
"What?!" DItzy didn't know what to say. She had thought she'd understood that the Vault ponies were isolated, but apparently she hadn't fully grasped the situation. "You're not even allowed to write your own families?"
"Most of the Vault ponies don't want to!" said Orangerie. "Ice Heart was chased out of his home, and he wasn’t the only one"
"But even the ponies with good families, you're not allowed to write them? Or see them? Ever?" Ditzy's eyes were wide. "That's awful!"
"It is not!" snapped Orangerie before pausing and taking a deep breath. "I mean... yes, I know it sounds strange. But we're living on the Vicereine's charity, and she has the right to ask us not to contact the outside world. You know how rehabilitation clinics ask their clients see certain other outside ponies, like their bartenders, for their own safety? Well, Puissance has the right to restrict us from seeing outsiders for our own safety." She smiled again. "If it ever becomes too much, she's made it clear that we can ask to leave at any time. She'll let us go and even help us set up new lives--when she was recruiting me, she told me that, if it didn't work out, she'd buy me an orange farm in West Hyasanguia to run, and with all the latest equipment too. But she gives us so much and asks for so little that none of us want to leave. I mean, we're not to contact ponies from outside, not to bring anypony new into the Vault without permission, not to hurt each other... but those aren't big burdens."
Ditzy was about to continue arguing that the ponies should be allowed to contact their families when something stopped her. "What do you mean, not bringing anypony new into the Vault? Isn't that covered by not talking to outsiders?"
"Mostly. There was an issue a year ago when Stream Dreams and Bones wanted to have a foal, but..." Orangerie trailed off, as if realizing she shouldn't have said so much. "Um. I mean-"
"You aren't allowed to have foals?!" yelled Ditzy. "Why in Equestria not?"
"Calm down!" protested Orangerie. "It makes sense when you think about it. What if the foal weren't special like us, and grew up to bully us like the other normal ponies? Or what if he just didn’t fit in? Then what would we do? Kick out the parents along with the foal? Let the foal bully us and ruin the whole point of the Vault?" She shook her head. "So she just had a contraceptive spell put over the whole Vault, which solves the problem. Besides, the Vicereine is looking throughout all Equestria for more special foals who need parents, so that anypony in the Vault who wants to raise a foal can. In fact, she was talking recently about one orphaned unicorn foal that she found recently who doesn’t just have one horn; he has a whole ridge of them climbing up his forehead and down his back. His magic is..."
Ditzy said nothing. For a moment, she saw nothing other than a thin red mist. You were all trying to recruit me, she thought. At what point were you going to tell me that I would have to get rid of Dinky to enter? That my daughter's not welcome in your insane community? That your preferred solution would be for me to live with you and her to grow up with no mother?!
"Um, Ditzy? Is everything okay?" asked Orangerie.
"No." Ditzy turned away. "Everything is not okay. Not being able to contact the outside world is not okay. And not being able to form a family if you want to, not being allowed to raise a foal that you love, is... it's beyond not okay. It's obscene."
"Hey!" said Orangerie. "That's not--"
"It's obscene," continued Ditzy. "And I know why she does it. Bullying has nothing to do with it. She just doesn’t want to expend resources on keeping a ‘normal’ pony in the Vault. It’s only worth it for ‘special’ ponies. But that’s horrible of her, and I'm putting a stop to it." She was almost growling. "I have the Right of Approach. I'll tell Princess Luna what's going on. She'll shut this down."
Orangerie looked horrified. "But--but Ditzy, it's our home! It--"
"At the very least, she'll make Puissance treat you like real ponies, not like... like antiques that she has the right to seal in some display case!" said Ditzy. "The way she's treating you is wrong. And it's over."
"Ditzy!" yelled Orangerie, but the mailmare was already running out of the greenhouse. She had no thought in her mind besides finding Puissance, telling her off, and declaring that she would go to Luna and get the Vault shut down. Let that greedy, decrepit nag learn--
She slammed into another pony, and both tumbled to the carpet.
"Hey!" said Trixie, getting up first. "Watch where--oh." She helped Ditzy up. "Are you okay?"
"No." Ditzy shook her head. "I've changed my mind. The Vault is terrible. I'm going to tell Puissance I found out its secrets--and that she might as well shut it down now, because otherwise I'm going to Luna." Dimly, she was aware that this was rash, but she couldn't help herself. She was consumed by a cold fury, of the sort that she hadn't felt since the time that Parlay had abducted Dinky. Puissance had done so many bad things, she thought. Now it was the nag's time to know it was over.
Trixie's eyes bulged. "What?!"
"I said, I'm--"
"No, I heard you, but..." Trixie shut her eyes. "Ditzy, look. I managed to get Puissance to 'forgive' you for calling her ignorant before--by, incidentally, volunteering to perform a magic show at her great-grandcolt Scepter's birthday party next month--but you and Cheerilee need to stop antagonizing her. I know she's obnoxious, but--"
"Not obnoxious. Evil." Ditzy pawed the ground. "Trixie, she won't let those ponies have foals. She won't let them write anypony, even their own families, and if they don't agree she'll throw them out. This needs to stop."
Trixie paused. "Ditzy, to the best of your knowledge, is she doing anything illegal?"
"No, but it's immoral," said Ditzy. "If we talk to Luna, surely she'll do something."
"Yes. And maybe we should do that. We have that right. But running off to confront Puissance right now won't help anything. It'll just make her mad at us." Trixie moved close to Ditzy. "Remember what happened when Night Light targeted me? The entire village suffered. And Puissance is even more willing to use her power than he was. What do you think she'll do if we make her mad?"
"Nothing," said Ditzy. "Luna would arrest her."
"Not without a trial she wouldn't, and Puissance has three hooves in the grave already. She'd die long before she ever sets hoof in a prison cell, and she knows it." Trixie shut her eyes for a moment. "But that's assuming she'd break the law--and I don't think she would. Between Puissance's wealth and political power, there's a million perfectly legal things she could do to get revenge on us, or you."
"Like what?" challenged Ditzy.
"Off the top of my head--the apartment Silver Script rents you above the post office. Is that at market rate? Does your rent rise at a level commensurate with the other rents in town?" asked Trixie. "Because it's government property, if you're paying even one jangle less than you should be, Silver's breaking the law."
"If she audited only me, it'd be obvious--"
Trixie shook her head. "So she audits the whole postal service. She runs the Equestrian Revenue Service, she can do that. And if she does, and she turns up fraud and waste and other misuse of taxpayer bits in post offices from Fillydelphia to Los Pegasus--and if you audit hard enough, you will always find something--why would Luna object to that? Especially if Silver is actually guilty of the horrible crime of, I don't know, rounding down when he calculated your annual rent increase?" Trixie shook her head. "That's just one of her many entirely legal options. Ditzy, please. Listen to me as a pony who knows the government and who knows Puissance. If you make her mad, she'll find a way to get back at you and your friends, to a far greater degree than Night Light did. And I might not be able to protect you from it."
"So what should we do?" snapped Ditzy. "Just let her keep the Vault ponies in isolation?"
"No, but we should be careful. Which means checking with Luna first. Shouting at Puissance won't do anything but make the most powerful mortal pony in Equestria mad at us." Trixie paused. "Please, Ditzy. We barely managed when one viceroy was angry at us. Let's not shoot for two."
For a moment, Ditzy was tempted to refuse. She wanted to march into Puissance's quarters, kick her door down, and shout that her time of keeping the Vault ponies in gilded cells was over. That, she thought, was just what she needed...
But it wasn't all about her, Ditzy knew.If she did go after Puissance, her friends could wind up in trouble--if they'd ever broken the law or misused a government jangle, Puissance would find out and make them pay. And there was her daughter, Dinky, and her parents. What if Puissance went after the entire Doo family? She couldn't risk that.
"Fine," she said at last. “We’ll do it your way.”
But as she turned and began to walk off, she thought to herself, But we will do it. The Vault is depraved. And I’m going to end it, no matter what.
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I think she's being intentionally difficult in order to drag out the proceedings. Dinky is adorable. Yeah, the Vicereine should at least have some restraints regarding her authority over the vault ponies. Go Ditzy! And the truth that the Vault ponies aren't allowed contact with their own families or have foals of their own comes out! Trixie's right, they've got to be smart about this, but hopefully the Vault will become a better place! First comment!
And she's right to do so. Not for nothing is Puissance Ditzy's shadow archetype.
Bit off topic, but with how corrupt and all-powerful these government leaders are in the Lunaverse I'm surprised we havent really seen any assassin characters, or revolution types.
5401455
These are still ponies, after all. They are not noted for their hardened criminal element.
I wonder if the Vault ponies will share Ditzy's reasoning, clearly some do not. I doubt some will want to leave even if Luna is told.
I love watching Ditzy and Puissance bounce off each other. It's not often you see the Element of Kindness snap like that.
BEST PONY! AND BEST LINE!
The vault is starting to sound like Jonestown with Puissance as Father Jim Jones. No outside contact because it could lead to evil infecting our utopia. Hang onto every word I say because I have lead you to salvation. You are all special in my eyes, despite what everyone else says. Puissance takes all of the unique but downtrodden and gives a safe haven to them, all she asks in return is for complete obedience. I hope, not, I want this all coming back to bit this mare in the flank, hard.
5401469 True, I guess I just feel like their would be some civil unrest, but they all seem content to just take it. And an assassination plot wouldn't be too out of left field, we have seem several spies and multiple villains with intent to kill or who have already killed.
Guess for me it's just been frustrating watching these corrupt leaders do all this stuff and just end up with a stern talking to from Luna as punishment. Sorry if this sounds too aggressive, I'm really not trying to come off as telling anyone how to write their story. Like I said, the lack of response from equestrians over their shady government just frustrates me.
This Vault business is the sort of crap somepony
could use to explain why she should be calling the shots. I hope that those involved realize this.
So they'll at lest tell Luna about that place, and if it set off the warning bells for Economic, emotional, and psychologicl abuse check marks. Going as far as what Orange said Pruiance went for is definately evil and depending on the laws on said forms of abuse, is border-line illegal.
Although I agree in the spirit of the Vault, a safe place for the different / out cast to be safe. Taking it to the level of noone there are alowed to have young of their own, have to cast away there family, and as we've seen are made to feel indebted to the point that leaving is unimaginable. I take Cheerilee's and Ditzy's side of things. And with how Luna is, I doubt she'd cast them to the wolves. Rather she'd make them treated as ponies, with the right, privilages, and treatment they deserve. Without having to loose their families in the process, or cut off from the chance of having a family.
As for the whole, some ponies are bad so why risk it, and any non-"special" baby is a threat to the comunity, is ignorant and ignores basic sociology.
5402134
Agreed that was a pretty good line.
5408879
Yes, the Vault seems like one of those ideas that could work in theory but isn't working in practice. Though some of Ditzy's lines seemed weirdly prescient. Like this one:
Er... You do know they have friends in the Vault, right? And you've met at least two of them that are in love and dating? And this was before you found out they couldn't write their families or have kids, so what the heck are you even talking about? It's like you're right by accident (or you read ahead in the script).
5415770
5415770
Or she borrowed the omnipresent spirit of Pinkie Pie.
I think when Luna comes across that place, she'd use her thousands of years of seeing similar things to make it right. I mean as horrible as it is, Puisance isn't the only pony to think of issolating ponies for their own personal interest / ego worship. And she won't be the last to have the wealth / charisma to pull it off. So here's hoping to things working out.
mlpforums.com/uploads/post_images/img-2511318-2-133912013031.gif
Yeah, that line comparing Puissance to the Windigo was gold. I loved Ditzy throughout the entire thing. You go, filly! I liked the bit about Puissance having three hooves in the ground already, too. Quite nice foreshadowing. ;)
So I've been spending the past few days trying to figure out what say about this chapter. It opens up well enough, and gets really strong in the second half as the tension between Ditzy and Puissance escalates... in between that, however, it just sort of drags. I get that there need to be lulls, time for both the characters and audience to decompress from one event before moving onto to the next, but the middle portions of this chapter just feel padded.
Most of the vault ponies still feel largely extraneous to the plot. Yes. Ditzy's talk with Orangerie is a major plot turning moment, but the others are still really all just sort of floating around without meaning or purpose in the proceedings. I still think this story would have been far more effective with just two or three instead of SEVEN. What was even more distractingly intrusive, however, was the vignette with Dinky -- it was certainly cute and all, but it was just so bizarrely random and out of place in the middle of this chapter. If it had been Ditzy reflecting on her own memories of Dinky's antics that could have helped setup the chapter's climax, but as it stands a summery from Lyra would have more than sufficed. If you really felt the need to write the whole exploit out in detail, it would have been better served as it's own webisode side-story (or at least an interlude, similar to the flashback chapters in SFM&S).
Also...
Near as I can tell , your story should be happening sometime AFTER Dinky's birthday, wherein it was mentioned that she and her mother were going to be taking a trip up to Cloudsdale, so the existence of this spell would have probably already come up back then. It'd probably also have made for a better place for Dinky to have first caught a glimpse of cloud racing, rather than just something Cheerilee mentioned in class.
Also, while scoots, or any young pegasi could certainly use their wings for propulsion while riding a cloud, it seems to me that we've never seen clouds be quit "active" enough to move that fast all on their own. The only possible exception being the cotton-candy clouds Discord made, but those would pretty obviously be rather out of the ordinary. So I'm not sure Dinky acting like some kind of jockey really works.
Not really a narrative complaint, but Cheerilee herself seems to be going off on something of tangential fallacy. Stream said the law would be no hindrance if Luna up and decided to banish somepony at random, but I don't recall her ever suggesting Luna would do so secretly. So freedom of the press wouldn't necessarily factor in if there was nothing to actually investigate. Though freedom of assembly is certainly still a valid point in regard to citizens seeking to protest such a banishment -- though it likewise all to easy for any would be tyrant to work around such by deeming the protestors an unruly mob and having them forcibly dispersed by the police/guard.
Still, I'm in no way trying to take one side or the other myself. Both parties in this debate raise equally valid concerns, and it's interesting to see how each character colors their own argument via their own personal biases -- good work.
Now there is in exchange I never expected to see in one of your fics. Color me impressed -- double good work.
Ok, I know I'm a little late to the game....
Great story.
Trixie and the rest should just kick everyones ass, then call it a day.
Puissance is tied with Fisher as worst pony ever!
She's a friggin psychopath!
For hell's sake how can the Vault ponies NOT get that all she cares about is herself? And her things?
* How can they NOT see they're nothing more than her 'things'? At best, they're just a bunch of damn pampered pets!
)
* Not to mention that the Vault ponies are coming off as selfish, special little snowflakes, 'gee I have to do icky stuff like mow the lawn rather than use my time to be a pretentious douche-nozzel artist type' the horror! The HORROR!
* Does Orangerie really think, someone there having a normal foal, it will 'bully' the other 150?? REALLY?
* And how can they be fine with living in a place called the 'vault'?
Why not change it to 'the gilded cage'? Or 'Crazy Prunefaces' Kennel'?
("Our prices are insane!"
I'm kind of shocked Trixie & Friends havent caught on yet, that the others are just there to put up a friendship wall, to keep the prize pet away from his daddy.
I hope Derpy ends up kicking over her applecart, and it falls on that greedy old bitch.
5403955 1) most of the murderous villains are non-ponies or so gloriously insane they don't even reflect standard attitudes among ponies, or are under the control of an external force 2) sometimes having a villain breakdown and suffer for their actions is MORE satisfying than them dying (for example, One Piece does it ALL THE TIME)
derpicdn.net/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTIvMDYvMjQvMTRfMjlfMzRfODAxXzE4Njc4X18iXV0/18678__safe_pinkie-pie_animated_baby-cakes_drum_rimshot.gif
I'd criticize the obvious joke. But being obvious doesn't truly affect it's entertainment value. It just had me laughing before I got to the punchline.
These two paragraphs perfectly demonstrate Puissance's corrupt mindset. I'm sure even she believes she's being generous. But it's nothing more than quazi-generosity. Every "generous" thing she does has selfish undertones to them, taking away the generous nature. First of all, though the foals' love is not a requirement, it's obvious that she does expect their love for those Nightmare Night parties. Then there's the whole "giving is good" message. that is a good message to spread around. But it's blatantly obvious that she's doing to boost her moral credibility, not because it's actually moral. Then there are the reporters. Meaning that she gets popularity for her "generosity". And then there are the detractors. She invites them so that they can see that she his generous to get them off her back.
Now lets see why these are not truly generous acts. If she were truly generous, the love of those foals would be a bonus, but shouldn't even be something to consider in the first place. The party should be with the intent to entertain, not to expect love in return. Then there's the boosting of her moral credibility. It shouldn't matter what others think. You don't do generous acts to boost your credibility, you do it because it's the right thing to do. You shouldn't do something because it's moral, you should do something because you're moral. Then there are the reporters. Like the love, the reporters are a bonus and shouldn't be expected to spread the popularity. Then there are the detractors. This is like the moral credibility. She's doing it for her reputation more than it being right. In fact, her inviting them demonstrates that she's immoral, since those children of the nobles are wasting that money, which could be money that other poorer families, who wouldn't just waste it, could go to. So inviting them is counterintuitive for being generous.
I'm still convinced that her heart is in the right place, even if her head is not. Is it strange that Ditzy's parallel also seems like she could be Corona's parallel? Her mind is corrupt, but her heart is in the right place.