Sol Do, Rarity's hick cousin from the gem-mining town of Hiddenite, is visiting the fashionista and her friends in Ponyville. What promises to be a simple visit from a relative, however, quickly becomes a tale of love at first sight as Rarity comes to learn she's not the only mare in her family tree obsessed with finding a significant other.
New cover art provided by the awesome Sketch-Pad.
Note: This fic was not in any way, shape, or form inspired by S4E13 Simple Ways. I've had this story in development ever since the second half of 2013, believe it or not. With that said, I will be making some references to that episode in this story.
Chapters (10)
I look forward to the next chapter.
4042046 Thanks for commenting.
And don't worry, it'll come soon.
im intrigued id like to see where this goes
lol. I broke a drainage pipe once while digging as well. It was terrible; my father whipped me so bad I couldn't sit for hours. My brothers mercilessly taunted me, calling me 'Grund-pipesmesher' and other such horrible things for years to come. My mother called me a dumkopf and my sisters all just laughed at me. The worst part of it all was that I was told by my father to dig so that we could make a new septic tank - so I was punished because he didn't know where the plumbing was.
I hate them all so much... So very much.
4067637 *gives hugs*
4067927
Ack, get away, I don't want your pity!
lol. But thank you. My childhood sucked so very much, and I'm glad to be rid of it. The only family I really need these days are my Wife and cats; they don't suck.
I've got to say, I believe Applejack and Rarity shouldn't be so worked up about this. Unless Sol Do starts harassing Big Mac and such, there really isn't any problem. {Unless you count the possibility of being related.}
So, I'm rooting for Sol Do. {Honestly, I don't think Big Mac gets shipped as often as I thought he would, especially with an original character.}
It's good that you've fleshed her out and actually given her an interesting personality. I can't wait to read more.
I like Sol Do.
Sol's crush on Big Mac seems to be dangerous giving Rarity's reaction to it and the mention of a Ponyville Days incident.
I loved seeing AJ and Rarity act scared everything Sol brings out an innuendo for Big Mac.
Seems Apple Bloom and maybe Granny Smith are the only ones that support SolMac. I really want to see how AJ would deal with Sol's amorous interest in Big Mac and if the red stallion does reciprocate Sol's feelings.
It's great to see this update.
Sol Do is a rather innovative mare, what with her plan to get rid of the bats and all. She'd be great to keep around the farm, helping out in all sorts of ways. (And she's a real cutie too~) Can't wait to see her bag her stallion.
Though Applejack is showing signs of being a bit too clingy of her brother. Hopefully, she won't go too far in some regards of that.
Keep up the great work.
The chapter was great.
Cute chapter and I loved seeing Sol and Rarity interacting. It's nice to see more of their dynamic and that Rarity isn't so against the relationship, but more looking out for her relative.
Keep up the good work.
That was a nice fight scene and some rather good interaction between Sol and Mac. This romance is building up quite nicely, but what really got me was how civil Applejack was and how she actually listened to Rarity. There are quite a few authors that make Applejack incredibly hard headed and kind of an antagonist. Kudos for not doing that to one of my fav characters.
Liked the fight scene and the interaction between Sol and Big Mac.
41.media.tumblr.com/377c5bcd3a1ab8a2b6e7400de3e3f0c8/tumblr_miw0faghEn1s1fmu4o4_1280.png
Gophers are natures Ulcers...
Nice fight scene. I do wonder if the Diamond Dogs have a point though, that ridge is clearly their tribal lands. If Diamond Dogs went to Sweet Apple Acres and started gathering up apples, I doubt Applejack and Big Mac would be mollified by the argument "there's enough apples for both of us."
HAH!
I get it.
Sol's a pretty fun gal, and it looks like Mac is opening up a little bit. I'm rooting for them!
We know where you'd like him to hammer his nail, missy
I fear I can't make a dirty joke out of this part, for I would not dare sully the poetic beauty of that statement.
Really? Sol hasn't even gotten a date yet and you're already admitting to her superiority? I thought you were better than that, Rarity!
I'd mock Sol for drawing up a chore like mining as a "date", but I just realized that this implies she had a complete conversation with Big Macintosh that wasn't related to whatever farm chore they were doing.
I think that's a higher achievement than getting an actual date with him.
Pass. Too easy.
You're my hero for dropping that line, Mac. Like a BAWSS.
No. NO! Sol, you're heading into the Friendzone! You have to turn back now, or before you know it Mac will be calling you late at night to complain about how hard it is to find a good mare who really appreciates him! DON'T GO TOWARD THE LIGHT!!
That there is Apple romance for you.
5386778
Sweet Apple Acres isn't just "Equestrian land" though, and the apples aren't just some random resource that happened to be sitting there waiting to be collected. It's private property, and maintaining an orchard is very labor-intensive. So that's not a very good comparison.
5474473 You're right, it's not a perfect comparison, because the Apples do labor hard to produce those apples (unless the Diamond Dogs do some sort of rock farming earth magic like the Pies do in some stories, and actually cause the gems in the Diamond Ridge to appear).
That whole private property versus tribal property is kind of a sticky issue however, that's how people in the United States got most of the land away from Indigenous Americans, we claimed because it wasn't privately owned or "developed" by our standards it was free for the taking. It's not like Rarity or anyone else bought that land or negotiated with the Diamond Dogs, they just showed up in land the Dogs clearly claim and started digging. During the Gold Rush that action would be called claim-jumping.
5474593
I'm not saying it means they're right, but having the land specifically owned by the family farming it rather than their government is another claim to the land's resources that the dogs didn't have.
5475536 I don't know if I can agree with that statement. I doubt the tribal government of the Diamond Dogs or the Diarchy of Equestria recognize each other, and I think the layering of a private property claim as an additional legal wait would only be recognized in Equestria anyway. Your statement is certainly correct from the perspective of the Equestrian Government, which I doubt gives any weight to the legal claims of the Diamond Hills Dog Tribe in the first place, but from the tribal government perspective, we don't know. To Diamond Dogs, land being owned and worked by only one family may make for a weaker claim than if the entire tribe/community uses and works the land. Of course, I doubt these Diamond Dogs have a Property Title Lawyer, but they may say something like "More dogs on land means more rights on land" or something.
Interestingly, the Diamond Dog Kingdom in the North, which was ostensibly more civilized and probably IS recognized by Equestria, also devoted its efforts to building up one giant collective pile of gems for the tribe.
Basically, Sol Do is like the Andrew Jackson of ponies.
5476074
I have a hard time sympathizing with communal ownership in general (specifically because it's so vague and legally obtuse), but the bigger problem is that we're making a lot of assumptions about the diamond dogs' treatment of their territory based on a single statement and the legal culture of a completely unrelated civilization. For all we know what the dog said wasn't even any sort of codified or widely recognized rule, but just something he came up with on the spot to justify banditry.
In the sense that she always carries around an unusual personal affect that she uses to beat people with, yes, she certainly is.
I wonder if she likes pistol dueling, as well...
5476240 Sure, the Diamond Dogs in general do come off as a bunch of scumbags who would totally rob a pony in the heart of Ponyville if they thought they could get away with it. And yes, communal ownership is a stupid idea, that's why societies that practiced private property advanced more quickly economically and technologically, then curb-stomped those societies or just flooded then with blue jeans until the Berlin Wall fell.
But we all saw those mines they lived in, they had obviously been living there for many years, maybe even centuries, and they are like 20 feet below the surface of the Diamond Ridge. I don't think it's an unreasonable assumption that the Diamond Dog tribe think the land and all the gems within it in that one particular area are their rightful property, we all know how dogs are about marking their territory. Rarity was basically digging through their attic all those years.
5476240
5476548 Could you two take this to PMs, please? Thanks.
5476641
I got nothing else. Think we're done.
Fun story, anyhow.
Glad to see this chapter.
Nice, it's unexpected and interesting that Sol Do has them surrender the pies and retreat, rather than beat up the chimera in some action sequence, and I must say I approve, not only does it make a lot of sense, it shows she has common sense and pragmatism, probably better traits in a mate for Big Mac than just the ability to beat up a chimera.
Aw, man. Not ONLY did Sol wimp out and do the sensible thing, but she totally missed her chance to get subdued by the monster and then inspire Big Mac to crush it and save her in a berserk frenzy.
It would have been AWESOME
Huh, so the chimera now shows up. I honestly thought it had been there for quite a few years, or at least a good while. Hmmm, this was unexpected. Not bad, unexpected. Though, this could easily take place before Apple Bloom and AJ's episode. It's just something that threw me through a loop, not in a bad way, but it was nice.
I'll imagine Applejack researched them up a bit before going in. Either she had fought it at least once before, since she was able to use what she needed when she needed it, or Applejack's an even better fighter than I thought.
Still, getting to the characters at hoof. I was also surprised at Sol Do giving up the pies. She fought the dogs easily enough, but those were dogs. They weren't all that smart and ponies deal with them occasionally. A chimera is a different story and it's good to know she doesn't have 'Dash's ' mindset when it comes to monsters. Probably wouldn't have ended well unless she was able to use the environment to her advantage. It would have been extremely difficult, but either way, I don't have a problem.
Great chapter.
Great chapter.
Ah drunken confessions. It's going to be awkward for a bit when they sober up, but hopefully it'll all turn out alright.
Cute chapter. {and the usually facepalming/laugh inducing CMC shenanigans.
5741954 I actually got myself drunk to write that part.
5741976 Well
Did not know that. Haven't been drunk, but this seems like a really sober drunk kind of writing....Odd. Good still.
5742009 It didn't work too well cause I probably ate a bit too much during the day. But yeah, I went the extra mile for authenticity.
Oh, geez. When you titled the chapter as "The Inevitable Sinking", I was all braced to see Mac turn Sol down, or for some other circumstances to end their blossoming romance.
... I wonder who the pony was that Big Mac decked? And I wonder if they're still alive?
5742357
We'll never know...
This chapter was very sweet.
Sweet ending. They might not have ended up together, but it was something. Hay, maybe it won't take as long as that for Mac to fall for her. {Though, perhaps if the Apples hired a few hired hooves, they'd yield better profits.}
Great story.
Glad I got to read it.
Sorry Sol, it looks like Mac's already married. To his job.
I mean, sheesh, he could have just agreed to start dating and kept things nice and low-key. But asking you to wait until Bloom can take care of herself and Granny kicks the bucket? He just let you down easy. Like a bawss.
Lovely story. Thanks for sharing!
5922038
5922130
5922423 Thanks for reading and commenting. It means a lot to me.
How is it going to be anything like Ponyville Days? Sol Do is already a country mare. It's not like she's going to change herself like Rarity did, she doesn't have to!
Why are Rarity and Applejack so against Sol going after Big Mac? Honestly, what is the big deal? Is it the fact that they don't want to be related to each other? The only way I can see that being bad is if they have a secret relationship going on. Even if Sol and Mac did hookup, the relation between Sol and Rarity is far enough away that it isn't taboo for them to continue said relationship. I just don't see the big deal.
5742431
All we have to do is look through the mortuary reports for a pony who looks like they took a hit from a hoof sized meteorite to the face.
As apposed to getting wasted around complete strangers that can take advantage of your drunken state, in which case is perfectly fine.
6291117 They're against it for different reasons: Rarity because of the related to Applejack aspect as well as firmly believing such a relationship would lead only to despair, while Applejack doesn't want her brother marrying somepony that makes death threats so casually, even if they aren't genuine.