"H-hello? Is anypony home?"
Cheerilee's hooves clip and clop loudly against the castle's crystal flooring as she moves further and further into the palace. A long hallway greets her as she passes by the broken main doors. Strange looking wagon wheel marks, recently embedded into the floor itself thanks to a certain trickster's actions, lead the school teacher closer to a faint noise. Muffled by another broken into doors, the earth pony can only swivel around and strain her ears as she attempts to make out what is being said and, more importantly, who is saying it.
'The voice is deep,' she ponders to herself. 'Deeper than Spike's, at least... Am I about to trot into the middle of something important? Maybe I should come back later...
'... But my garden is getting to the point of becoming a health hazard... I-I guess I don't really have a choice. I hope she can forgive me for this...'
Eventually, the purple pony manages to reach the high and imposing doors that lead to the castle's inner sanctum. With a nervous gulp, Cheerilee gently pushes the busted doors inwards with the light tap of a single hoof.
Said hoof remains frozen in the air as Cheerilee's eyes behold the scene laid out before them.
Spike, his scales grey and his eyes unfocused, is standing stock still as his claw moves at a blinding speed across a piece of parchment. The young dragon is up to his chest in a pile of wrapped and ready to send scrolls, seemingly uncaring to the mess he is making. With wondering eyes does Cheerilee gaze upon the small 'puddle' of similar scrolls scattered around the room, leading her towards said room's center...
... where Big Macintosh, of all ponies, stands. A mirror is before him, displaying the image of a pony that was quite obviously not him. The mare couldn't make out who the pony was though from where she stood; only the fact that her colors were darker than the farmer's own was readily apparent.
The only other thing readily apparent to Cheerilee in this moment was the fact that Big Mac was talking.
Boy was he talking.
Not since they had first truly met over a glass of love poison had the stallion talked so much. It was shocking, it was surprising; it left the mare equal parts flabbergasted, dazed, and oh so confused.
Thus, in what seemed like the most logical thing to do, Miss Cheerilee nervously took a step forward and asked "B-big... Macintosh?"
This was a mistake on Cheerilee's part.
A horrible mistake.
For the first time since Mac's arrival with Discord, the Friendship Death Castle falls silent. Slowly, his entire body shaking heavily, Big Macintosh turns himself around.
Cheerilee stares at him curiously.
Big Mac stares right back at her, a look of pure horror etched to his face.
"E-eeyup," the farmer mutters weakly to himself. "If I wasn't sure before, I-I sure as shoot know now... There really is no Pony God..."
___________
"Ladies... I'm afraid to inform you that we may now be facing a code 'Fashion Week' scenario here."
Pinkie and Fluttershy, momentarily distracted from their galloping, turn to look at one another before looking over to Rarity.
"Code 'Fashion Week'?" asks Pinkie Pie, never slowing her pace. "W-which one is that, Rarity? Is that the code where nopony is wearing pants? Or the code where everypony is wearing last week's fashion?"
Rarity shakes her head, her mane flowing in the wind as she gallops down the Ponyville road.
"It is neither of those things, Pinkie," the fashion pony explains with a huff. "Nor does it involve actual fashion. Code 'Fashion Week' refers to my... behavior during our trip to Manehatten earlier in the year... You do remember how dreadful of a turn that trip took for everypony towards the middle of it, do you not?"
"... I remember," mumbles Fluttershy, her unused wings twitching in response to her embarrassment. "Why are you bringing it up now, Rarity?"
Rarity smiles weakly.
"... One of our friends is becoming an unreasonable mess due to circumstances out of her control, so she is lashing out at those close to her... It's almost a one to one comparison to how I acted, isn't it?"
Fluttershy and Pinkie again look at each other before looking forward, past the distant Applejack, and directly at the gliding Twilight Sparkle. Feathers are rapidly falling out of her mistreated wings, and her mane is nothing more than loose hairs and split ends at this point. If one looked closely enough, they could easily also spot the slight trail of black smoke leaving the tip of the princess' already darkened horn.
"It's not just her either," Rarity continues, making a show of nodding her head towards the franticly galloping and equally unaware Applejack. "A certain little sister we know is also getting quite bent out of shape over all this drama involving her big brother."
"C-can we really blame her though?" Pinkie Pie asks suddenly, drawing the unicorn's and pegasus' attention. "I mean, it's her family, guys. You both know how much that silly apple brain of hers likes to stop working when something involves her family..."
Though she blinks at first, her face remaining neutral, Rarity eventually relaxes and again smiles weekly.
"... 'Can you really fluffing blame me?'" the unicorn suddenly paraphrases and swears, surprising her two friends greatly. "That is what Twilight said earlier to dear Fluttershy, is it not? When she was trying to explain away her very emotional actions towards Discord? We felt sympathetic to her in that moment... and then we instantly turned around when she attacked Discord, feeling it was uncalled for."
"Well..." Pinkie mumbles nervously, very unlike the party pony. "T-that's because she was being a meanie pants to him..."
"But earlier we felt bad for her, because she is so obviously very tired and stressed," Rarity is quick to point out. "Tell me; did that fact really change at all between when she apologized to Discord and when she yelled at him for his mistakes?
"Or... when we yelled at her for her own?"
Again a silence falls between to two trotting ponies as they stare at their third.
"... My head hurts," Pinkie Pie whimpers quietly, barely loud enough to be heard. "Is Discord the meanie pants here or Twilight, Rarity? Or is Applejack for standing up for Discord, even though he may have done something mean himself... or is Big Mac... urgh!"
Slowing down, but only slightly, Rarity slides in next to the pink pony and places a reassuring hoof upon her back. This results in her awkwardly galloping upon three legs, but it was a tradeoff she was more than willing to make.
"This isn't as simple as one pony being right and the other wrong, Pinkie Pie," Rarity speaks softly to the saddened mare. "It really isn't. It's not even as simple as saying that everypony is in the wrong here, even if it is increasingly becoming apparent that this might very well be the case.
"Every single pony here right now is being influenced by their emotions, girls," the fashionista explains sagely. "Twilight's high emotions are coming from her stress, and it is something we, as her friends, are going to need to address soon here before she does something we know she'll regret. If times weren't so dire at the moment I'd suggest we try to take her aside and do what we can to calm her down...
"Applejack's wild emotions are coming from her love for her brother... and perhaps something else; something deep and personal that she is reluctant to confide in us about. This might just be my mare's intuition speaking, but I don't believe that I am wrong in my belief.
"We three are also being influenced, I'm afraid, whether we'd like to admit to it or not. How quickly did we go from supporting Twilight to yelling at her... I don't believe we were wrong in our defending of Discord, but now I believe we were not entirely in the right either. He may have been trying to help, even admitting that what he was about to share with us was only going to paint a target on his back... but Twilight does make a valid point towards the possibility of this all being part of some plan of his."
"I don't think he planned any of this," quickly defends Fluttershy, speaking up. "I really don't. H-he may have broke my trust before, but I don't think the time we spent together was all just him pretending to care. I honestly think that the pain we saw in his eyes was real, both with Tirek and now..."
Rarity now aims her soft smile at the contemplative Fluttershy.
"... And that is what is influencing your high emotions, Fluttershy," she explains tiredly around her expression. "How you've been easily able to find strength to speak up in these stressful times... Meanwhile, Pinkie's shockingly subdued emotions are simply the result of all our petty squabbling..." Tilting her head, Rarity glances at the earth pony next to her. "... and possibly something else..."
Although their eyes meet for a brief second, Pinkie quickly tries to look away.
"... Again this may just be mare's intuition speaking. I won't pry if that is what you wish, Pinkie."
Pinkie weakly smiles back at Rarity, lifting her head up once again.
"As for me," Rarity finishes with a shake of her own head. "Concerning my emotions... mine are being influenced by all the sad people and ponies I've been forced to see today." A sigh escapes the unicorn's lips. "The patrons of Sugarcube Corner, the Cakes, Discord and Twilight and poor Applejack, you girls as well... and especially Big Macintosh... Everypony is making everypony else unhappy today; it's a vicious cycle. The Cake's case gives me hope that things will turn out for the better, that the chain can be broken... but I'm afraid my heart won't be able to hold out for much longer, what with all this drama happening all around it.
"And... a-and besides that, there is a very real fear gripping me right now," Rarity admits, ears flat against her head. "A fear lingering over my mind at this time; a selfish fear, I know, but one nonetheless. It is not an unfounded fear, that much is sure, for I am most certain it is a fear I share with dear Applejack equally in this moment.
"That fear... is the fear of being critiqued by Big Macintosh; the fear of soon learning his innermost thoughts about me.
"... It would be an ordeal neither of us would t-truly survive unscathed, girls," the unicorn mutters lowly, choking up a little. "E-everypony is expecting me to become very, very violent when my sins are finally laid bare for all to see... As much as I wish that I could deny these claims with my head held high, I-I'm afraid I can't do such a thing with the utmost confidence. I can not predict how it is that I'll truly react...
"It will, more likely than not though, be a reaction unfavorable for the group as a whole. Of this I am most certain. No matter what is said to me, ladies, I am a hundred percent sure that I will act just as emotionally driven as either Twilight or Applejack, and thus doing something rash. If I do end up doing something when I am not in my right mind, know that you girls have e-every right to blame me for my actions... Just know that I will be truly sorry..."
"... O... o-okay, Rarity," Fluttershy replies quietly after a minute has passed in relative silence. "A-and... and I'm sorry too, for whatever I do when he starts t-talking to m-m-me."
"Oh, Fluttershy," Rarity quickly coos in a low voice. "I do not believe you have much to worry about. From what you have told me about your brief encounter with him; out of all the possible things he could have said to you in that short span of time when your paths crossed, he chose a compliment above any sort of nitpicks or negativity...
"... It was a rather vulgar compliment, I'll admit... but a compliment nonetheless. Whatever the secret thoughts he harbors in his heart towards you may be, darling, I truly believe that they can not be all that bad."
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie chimes in happily, sounding a bit more like her normal self. "Be proud of your booty, Shy!"
Fluttershy's cheeks turn bright red at this. She covers her now tomato colored face with her outstretched wings.
"Howdy there," roughly comments a suddenly appearing Applejack, having slowed down just enough to still be in front of the three, yet still be close to the flying Twilight. "Just gonna spell it out for ya'; I've been passively listenin' in on your conversation... I don't rightfully know what for a hill of beans y'all are actually talking about, but I'm now reasonably sure it was a discussion about Fluttershy's badonkadonk..."
Turning her head over her shoulder, the farmer shoots an unamused glare at her three friends.
"That's not helpin' mah brother right now in the slightest. Come on now; pick up the pace, ladies! Yeehaw!"
Kicking up a decent sized cloud of dust, Applejack speeds up and leaves the separated group in the, well, dust. Coughing on said dirty cumulous, Rarity shouts to her friends "Cough!! S-see what I mean, you two? From the concerned friend we know and love, to an emotional driven brute, and then back to our friend again... This just proves my point!
"We have a very serious problem on our hooves right now, girls...
"... and it doesn't involve Poison Joke."
With a rare burst of speed very few knew the fashion pony could even maintain, let alone produce, Rarity does as she's told and picks up her pace. Nodding their heads solemnly in agreement to what has just been said, Pinkie Pie and Flutteryshy soon do the very same, the former kicking up her own dust cloud while the latter taking to the skies above upon yellow wings.
Their quickened pace doesn't last long though as, rounding a corner, the three ponies quickly find themselves having to kill their speed, less they run over the suddenly halted Applejack. They slide to a standstill in front of the equally motionless pony, whose head is pointed straight ahead as her eyes stare at something the rest of the girls can't see. Confused, the three of them look around (or above, in Fluttershy's case) the orange pony only to find Twilight standing at attention in front of her, staring forward as well... at her home.
"... I hate being right," the princess grumbles loudly to nopony in particular. "I used to love being right... but nowadays it seems like me being right is literally the worst thing that can happen to a pony..."
The three ponies look at one another, silently trying to decipher their friend's cryptic words amongst themselves. Stepping around Applejack, so they could see beyond her and Twilight at the same time, Pinkie Fluttershy and Rarity try to discover what it is that has caused their friends to stop moving.
The sight of a familiar looking school teacher answers all of their questions. Cheerilee's head is bowed low, her mane falling over her eyes, as she causally trots on out of the Friendship Death Castle all by her lonesome...
... with a huge smile clearly plastered to her face.
Pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony glance back at the frustrated looking Twilight, trying to figure out why it is she seems so gloomy at this current deployment, while Applejack simply gallops away from the group and towards Cheerilee's side.
"M-miss Cheerilee," Applejack calls to the pony weakly, unsure how to properly proceed. The smile upon her lips surely must mean that something good has happened for once today... right? Big Mac, sweet old Big Mac, wouldn't dare hurt the pony she knew he was smitten with... r-right?
As Cheerilee lifts up her head towards the farmer, Applejack is soon given her heart wrenching answer.
The smile upon her lips is as large as it is warm...
... the tears upon her cheeks are as hot as they are numerous.
With a quiet sniff to herself, Cheerilee's smile grows slightly wider as she looks at Applejack, and then the rest of the gathered girls. Raising her tear stained, smiling head upwards to the path ahead, the purple pony slowly trots away with the gentle clip and a clop of her hooves against the dirt and rock garnished Ponyville road. Four of the five gathered ponies watch this with mouths agape as the school teacher's form slowly disappears into the distance.
One silent look of concern is quickly shared among the more stable ponies of the group before they all together decide to charge forward into the imposing palace before them.
___________
"Oh Spikey Wikey..." Rarity cries softly as she approaches the hypnotized drake. With a face full of concern, the unicorn gently rubs her cheek against his own only to produce no response. The little dragon continues to write on. "C-can you cure him, Twilight?" she pleads.
Twilight shrugs passively as she trots through the pool of scrolls all around her. Her eyes twitch at the mess as she replies "Eh, probably... but not right now. I don't think I could manage something as advanced as a memory spell with my mind being the way it is currently. I might end up botching up the darn thing and make it permanent for him."
"P-permanent?!" the fashion pony gives a shocked shriek.
"Yeah, permanent," Twilight replies with another shrug, her brain unable to truly process the pony's concern. "Same thing would have happened if I screwed up casting it on any of you way back when. It was a risk I was willing to take though."
Rarity suddenly feels very sick to her stomach. She tightens her hold slightly on the dragon next to her in response, unintentionally cuddling him closely to her chest. Still Spike doesn't respond as he continues to write scroll after scroll.
Meanwhile, in the air above, Fluttershy watches as Applejack slowly tries to approach her brother, and as Pinkie Pie begins 'swimming' in the pool of scrolls below, seemingly at random.
"Mac..." Applejack once again calls out weakly. Just like with Cheerilee, the farmer doesn't know how to proceed. Big Macintosh's body language isn't helping her in the slightest either, for his forehead is firmly planted on the magical mirror's surface and nothing more. Said mirror's inner image is currently that of the local apple family relative Apple Cobbler; a remarkably unremarkable brown earth pony. Big Mac is quietly mumbling words about her, both good and bad... but Applejack can easily see that his tired mind is elsewhere.
The small puddle of tears on the ground in front of him is also hard for his sister to ignore.
The younger farmer finds herself tongue-tied for words and unable to bring herself to take another step forward. Her hoof remains outstretched as she tries to make up her flustered mind.
"... Dear Miss Cheerilee..."
All heads in the room, except for the distracted Big Mac and the discorded Spike, suddenly whip towards Pinkie Pie, who now has an open scroll firmly grasped in her hooves. No one questions how she was able to find this particular message out of the Spike created pile of them, for they all knew this would be like asking why water is wet, thus pointless. Instead they simply accept it for what it is as they quickly look towards the crestfallen Big Mac. When the stallion doesn't speak up, except for the occasional comment towards the pony in the mirror, the girls decide to trot over to Pinkie Pie's side and sit next to her and the 'letter'.
Once everypony is gathered, the party pony looks over at Big Mac one last time, waits to see if he objects at all to her reading this potentially private message, and when she receives no response from him she begins to read aloud.
______________
Dear Miss Cheerilee,
Please, oh please don't come any closer to me. I'm not in my right mind today. I've been cursed by Poison Joke. My lips can't stop flapping, my voice can't stop vomiting hateful things on ponies... Please leave. Please please please leave now. I don't want to hurt you. I don't I don't I don't... Please leave before... before...
Before I tell you how much I honestly love you.
I do, Miss Cheerilee. Truly I do. Your smile, your voice, your warmth... I love it all. A day has not gone by when my mind doesn't find itself dwelling on the time we've spent together since we met. It's those happy memories that keep me company out there in those lonely fields, as I work day and night for my family. I don't think I'll ever be able to do my work the same way again if I were to ever fail to remember your beaming face or your kind heart. We even share a love of children. I do believe we're perfect for each other in every way, and I would love nothing more than to one day start a family with you. The home we would create together would be filled with the sound of tiny hooves galloping to and fro and I would be eternally happy.
But that day will never come to pass.
For I do not love you with all of my heart.
Before we met, my heart belonged to my family and my family alone. To my granny and my sisters; to my cousins and aunts and uncles and to those who I don't truly love and to those who have passed on into whatever lies beyond this mortal coil. My heart was and is forever their's, and it especially belongs to sweet little Apple Bloom.
The same Apple Bloom who often comes home crying due to bullying.
Bullying that you allowed to happen time and time again.
Before I got to know you, before we ever truly met, I thought nothing but horrible things about you. I thought of you as a hack; a halfhearted charlatan who was only truly doing her job for a paycheck and nothing more. I didn't think you really cared about those foals, and that fact sickened me. If the fear of mares wasn't beaten into me at an early age thanks to my deceased mother, I would have marched down to your school years ago and given you a piece of my mind. I wouldn't have cared that you would be crying, I wouldn't have cared if you were outright fired; my sister's life would have been made easier and that would have been all that I cared about.
But I never did. I never did and now I regret it, for the first time we met wasn't over a heated discussion... but instead a glass of punch.
A glass of love poison.
And it is this very poison that prevents us from ever joining together; prevents me from saying that I love you with all of my heart. How can I ever say such a thing, after all, if I don't rightfully know if I'm speaking from the heart or from a poison flowing through my veins? The girls said we were cured, but how will I ever really know if this is true? I never met you before the drink, all I remember is a hatred for you and nothing more. How do I know my new feelings for you are actually real? How do you know the ones you have for me are real? I will never blame those girls for what they did, I care too much for them to ever truly stay mad at them, but I will admit that they are the reason for why I am saying what I am saying now. They are the cause, but these words I speak are mine and mine alone. I at least know that this fact is true.
I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... but I will never be able to love you completely. I tried to convince myself otherwise all this time; hoped beyond hope that I was just reading things wrong, that our relationship could actually work... but all I did was lead you on. I gave you false hope when I should have just been honest with you upfront. I shouldn't have tried to fool you along with myself, and now all I've done is hurt you something fierce. I'm sorry... I'm sorry... but somewhere, in the dark recesses of my mind, you will always be known as the teacher who allowed my little sister, the filly who I love with all of my heart, to be bullied... to cry...
And nothing more.
... Good bye, Miss Cheerilee. May you one day find a special somepony who loves you for the wonderful mare you really are, deep inside.
______________
Crack!
A sound interrupts Pinkie's reading, causing the girls to turn their heads. All eyes fall on Big Mac as he again gently bashes his head against the mirror, creating cracks and drawing blood.
"Eeyup."
Crack!
"N-nope..."
Crack!
"E-e-eyup..."
Crack!
"N-n-n-n-"
The appearance of orange hooves around his barrel halts the stallion from inflicting another self injury upon himself. Applejack, embracing her brother with all her might, gently whispers, "That's enough, partner. That's enough..."
"N-n-nope..." Mac whimpers in response, his eyes shut tightly to hold back the tears and to prevent the blood from his forehead to seep in.
Staining her coat, Applejack runs a hoof over this cut, trying to clean it just a bit. "You ain't got nothin' else to worry about, Big Mac," the earth pony says to her brother. "It's all over now. We've got the cure right here for ya'! Come on; let's get you to Twilight's bathtub and we can-"
"Not happening."
The room falls silent.
Applejack turns to look at her alicorn friend.
"... What," the farmer demands flatly.
For the third time, Twilight uses her wings to shrug. "Not happening," she repeats, as if it was all that she needed to say. "I don't have a bathtub here."
The girls blink.
"... Okay," Applejack mumbles. "Then we'll just take him to your showe-"
"I don't have one of those either," Twilight quickly replies.
"... What?"
"Also no bathrooms," the princess goes on, ignoring the stares she is receiving. More and more loose ends begin to pop on out of her weathered mane. "No running water in general, actually! Fancy that! Hahahah!"
"N-no running water?!" Rarity gasps loudly at the laughing alicorn. She stops laughing at this and gives the unicorn a leveled stare.
"... It's a magical self growing crystal tree, Rarity," the alicorn deadpans. "It's not that surprising that it doesn't have one or two... or twenty of life's modern day conveniences. Bathrooms are just one item on that ever growing list."
"... Um... s-so, how do you and Spike...?"
"We've been stealing our neighbor's hose water at night to stay clean," Twilight quickly answers Fluttershy, no hint of embarrassment in her words. "It's a miracle that the tabloids haven't discovered that little juicy headline yet... As for going to the bathroom? Hahahah... hahahahah!! Y-you girls really don't want to know! Hah!
"... I hate this place..." Twilight suddenly says, switching from laughing manically to being completely serious. "I hate it, I hate it, I hate it..." She lets out a long sigh. "... No water, no heating, it sucks magic out of the environment and causes trouble for everypony in town..." Anger begins to seep into her once calm voice. "...and it's a Celestia damn eyesore!
"This is literally the worst thing that has ever happened to me, girls. I hate it... grrr... grrr!!"
With a loud growl of frustration, Twilight rises up into the air and screams at the top of her flustered lungs that "I!
"Fluffing!
"Hate!
"This!
"Bucking!
"Stress causing!
"Castle!! I hate it with all of my heart and soul! Hate hate hate, grrrrr!!!"
"Oh boo, freaking, hoo. So the spoiled little princess doesn't like her new toy... Forgive me for not being that sympathetic."
...
...
Silence.
Nothing but silence.
A deep, dark silence had fallen over the room, nearly bringing it down to a sub-zero temperature.
Once again, all eyes fell on Big Macintosh. Looks of horror were etched on four of the five mare's faces.
An equal look of horror soon appears on the stallion's face as his brain slowly catches up with his rogue mouth, detailing what exactly he had just said and to who. He slowly turns away from the mirror as he nervously looks up to the flying alicorn overhead. "O-oh... o-o-oh no..."
"..."
Twilight stops flapping her wings. With an unceremonious crash, she lands on her hooves roughly and begins to slowly trot up to Big Mac. Her face is devoid of emotion and the smoke coming off of her horn has only increased in volume.
"T-twi," Applejack begins to say, stepping into the unstable princess' path. "S-sugarcube? Y-y-you need to calm down here now. It was just a slip up! Y-you can't blame... there's no reason... j-just listen to me!"
Applejack's words fall on deaf ears as, with the simple application of magic, a pure wall of dark purple energy separates the two ponies. Twilight tilts her head to the side, using the half completed forcefield to push her friend off of the path and towards the rest of the gathered mares. The four ponies watch with scared eyes as Twilight completes the field, encasing herself and Big Macintosh within its magenta dome. The stallion backs away from the approaching princess, accidentally knocking over the mirror behind him and shattering it. The sound this action makes is ignored as Big Mac falls backwards onto his flank, somehow avoiding the glass. "P-princess Twilight," he rambles. "I... I-I..."
"..."
Twilight leans forward, looking the red pony directly in his scared green eyes...
... and then she leans backwards, falling onto her own flank and simply sitting there. Her forelegs are held firm and her form stands at attention as she stares at the now talkative stallion.
"... Well, Big Macintosh?" Twilight asks simply, her voice the very definition of cold and frigid. "... Go on.
"I'm listening."
...Does being teased for not having a magical tattoo appear on your ass really count as bullying? Especially when they seem to just ignore it ninety percent of the time.
Ohhhh......sh*beep*
Oh dear sweet Celestia... he did not just... Ok these is brutal honesty then there is NOT thinking before you speak! Give a few moments to actually THINK and Big Macintosh would NEVER, EVER, refer to Twilight Sparkle as spoiled, especially when she's stressed out. This is why Poison Joke is so dangerous, Mac isn't just saying what he feels, he's saying what he feels at the time, including things that given half a second to think on he would realize aren't his REAL feelings. He's smart enough to know Twilight isn't spoiled, that she carries the weight massive responsibility, and that when she is over stressed you do NOT make her angry.
yes, apocrypha. It does. Girls don't bully by hitting. They just use words to open your chest and shit on your heart.
I really hope Cheerilee and Mac get past this hangup.
Sudden dragonfire outbreak in the Death Castle results in every tabloid ever having an orgasm that kills them from sheer happiness.
The end.
5166115
Ditto.
5166123
wonderfully put
You have added part of a cheese sandwich to my lung from how hard I laughed at this segment, good god that was worth that line.
5166123
Actually she kinda is, I mean she's one of the few people who don't have to work at all it seems in ponyville, she's pretty much been raised in the best possible manner and has been given opportunities for things many others will never have in their lifetime. She is indeed somewhat spoiled, I mean who else can say they were raised by an alicorn babysitter, their teacher was the princess herself who raises the sun every day and the moon every night, who gave her opportunities and used her to fulfill a magical destiny that made her a hero that saved Luna...
The level of sheer, agonizing mental pain in this has now moved from finding Big Mac in bed with your wife and Labrador to seeing Big Mac going after your favorite aunt whilst wearing a pointy hat and a chicken feather belt, hanging upside down from Nelson's Column, whilst exploding all your favorite teddy bears to the tune of the Blue Danube, as below.
I really do congratulate you though, a lesser author would have run out of really nasty things to do to Big Mac by now. May your fine tribute to the Marquis De Sade never end!
5166109
Consider what happen in "Flight to the Finish" episode, then consider or speculate how many are NOT shown in the show. There is a limit to how much "teasing" you get before you snap. Children have a lower "snap" cap level then adults. It also has a long-term effect on how you'll act and hinder your ability, even IF it happens only in your childhood. Which really holds development, individual community and nation, back.
FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUU***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mac ya done goofed my friend ya done goofed. Was a good update can't wait to hear Macs honest opinion of the local monarch. And I may have cried a little to hear what he had to say to Cheerilee.
5166109
In this fanfiction, maybe the bullying WAS that severe. Consider the fact that they were willing to stoop to making fun of Scootaloo's inability to fly, coupled with the fact that Cheerilee doesn't really seem to give a rat's ass about the welfare of her students (seriously, the Gabby Gums incident? Implausible for several reasons, but one of them is that no adult thought to read the paper before it printed).
Plus, violence isn't actually a prerequisite for painful, long lasting bullying; if every day, you're met with jeers, "teasing" about how you're fat, or ugly, or a creep, etc., to the point that you're not able to make any friends...well...
Well, this chapter was a bummer... but not in a bad way (I know most folks will think I am being mean given the usual negative connotation of this particular word when used as slang); I mean I feel so bummed for Big Mac.
Though I do understand where he is coming from in his honest feelings for Cheerilee. Their first full on interaction was from the love poison incident, and giving the mind warping effects and lack of any comprehensive long term studies of its effects, who is to say that their feelings for each other truely is 100%? That said, I think there is still hope... and I think even Cheerilee knows it; why else would there be a guinine warm smile on her face even as her heart is breaking into pieces? Because he DOES love her... And while it isn't a complete love NOW, who says it can't ever be?
That is, if Twilight in her emotionally unstable state doesn't give him a spontaneous case of 'mooning'.
OOOOHHHH SNAP! OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH SNAP!
I DON'T CARE THAT I LIKE TWILIGHT MORE THAN YOU! GO! GO! GIVE HER A PIECE OF YOUR MIND! DO IT FOR THE POOR! FOR US! FOR ME! MESS HER UP! GOOOOOOOO!
This is going to be good. Don't keep us waiting. Have to know what Mac is going to say to Rarity and to Twilight.
....Meeep. O_O
-Angel of Team Angelfang
On another note, we now know which of his parents he didn't love: his mother. I doubt he was using hyperbole when he said she "beat" the fear of mares into him.
There isn't a Tragic or Dark tag to this story, but I'm having a hard time picturing Mac coming through this without hanging himself.
Everything, I mean *everything* has been a conga-line of tragedy for everyone involved, especially Mac. What's more, it isn't even humorous in a "Comedy of Errors" sort of way....simply mean-spirited. Barring a deus ex machina in the form of a memory wipe, there's no way this "Slice-of-Life" continuing to another day without leaving the town in a very dark place.
Don't get me wrong, the story is well written. To evoke any emotion, even fatigue, it has to be written well. But with how everything has developed, it seems *very* mis-tagged. It started going in one direction and, for myself at least, has become too....unpleasant to go on. I wish you luck.
5166254 Except that it's just those two, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They're the only ones who seem to actually do anything. And outside of their introductory episode, they don't seem to hold any sway with their peers.
There's bullying, and then there's two people being unpleasant to you. As far as canon seems to be concerned, that's as far as it goes.
But maybe it is that bad here. We shouldn't have to just assume that, though. If an author gives no indication that something is different from canon, it's not different from canon.
Uh oh...
I'm sure he'll be fine. He's made it this far. And Cheerilee seemed to take it well.
5166406
You've obviously never been on the receiving end. Two ponies is more than enough, especially with the 'bystander' effect in action. Sure none of the other foals paid all that much attention to DT and SS, but that doesn't mean they made any attempt to stop them or support the CMC either.
I honestly want to know what he thinks of Twilight. Maybe he'll say what what the town honestly thinks of her.
5166406
They also manipulate their peers in Twilight Time.
Ah, well I think we know now which parent it was he didn't mourn for. Assuming we take that, literally.
Big Macintosh just get the hell out of here. JUST GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!
Somebody cure Spike NOW!!!!
Big Macintosh really needs to apologize to Cheerilee the moment he's cured.
toonpool.com/user/589/files/when_the_shit_hits_the_fan_321595.jpg
This won't go well for either of them
5166109
Yes? They can't show the actual effects of harsh, pointed bullying in the series for obvious reasons - which throws canon on its ear, because that's being forced out due to marketing and doesn't actually replace the conjectural analysis. But take a look at any psychological study. Ask a former bully, such as myself, ask a former victim - ask a current victim. They will tell you the meat of what you need to know, and the science will tell you what they don't even realize about how badly they've been hurt and changed.
Whatever thoughts you might have counter to this, I assure you that you are wrong.
5166195 5166123
Wroth is correct. Twilight is spoiled. She didn't have to grow up around other ponies, she has an idealized view of the world, she was raised by a complete and unified household, had a princess personally babysit her apparently even before she was Celestia's student - leading me to believe her family is nobility. She had a big brother to protect her, parents to shield her, a babysitter to dote on her, and the effective god of their world to train and mold her for a very specific purpose.
That doesn't mean she's a bad person, but it does mean she hasn't lived. Studying hard is NOT hardship on its own. Studying hard with stereotypical Chinese parents fits that better. But Twilight was taught and raised with love and kindness and everything she wanted and needed given to her or rewarded. Compared to Big Mac, who worked for everything, who still works for everything, who has been working his whole life to this day and will eventually keep working until he dies if Granny Smith's three-hundred year old self is any comparison with how spry she still is - then yes, Twilight looks like a whiny baby who hasn't strained a tenth as hard as Big Mac, who hasn't sacrificed an iota as much as Big Mac, who will live in a castle and sign documents for eternity and occasionally fire friendship death lasers to solve problems while Big Mac breaks the earth and his back for the next few decades or centuries and he grows old enough to finally die.
So there's absolutely nothing wrong with these being his innermost thoughts. The thoughts no one's supposed to hear.
The fact the girls keep putting him in the situation where he has to speak his thoughts is essentially mental rape and is no doubt traumatizing him with each word. Surprised he hasn't pissed himself yet with the terror of being made to say more things he doesn't want being said. Especially to ponies that he's fond of, which I feel Twilight accounts for, even if he does believe (rightfully) that she's spoiled and lazy.
_________
Also, to the author. THANK YOU for sorting out the girls for turning on Twilight so suddenly.
5166700
Big Mac should have been tranquilized hours ago, both Cherilee and Mac will need to apologize to each other, and... well, Spike needs to be tranquilized as well.
I really like how Twilight hates her castle in this fic. It always seemed way too out of place and pretentious, and I just don't like the look of it even when taken by itself.
5166817
Consider that the CMC are obsessed with getting their cutie marks to the point of doing some serious damage to the town, frequently endangering themselves or others, and taking time away from the activities they actually do love to do, thus ironically making their getting cutie marks less likely. Why are they so obsessive over it? I think it has a lot to do with the bullying.
In the end they will basically be okay. They have strong friendships with each other, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle have loving families and Scootaloo has a mentor she loves, and possibly family as well. But that doesn't mean it doesn't do damage. The girls have basically stopped being friends with anyone who does have their cutie mark, even though they just hooked up with each other in Season 1, but had presumably been at this tiny school for longer than that. They're totally obsessed with this crusade of theirs. And what kind of damage does it do to know that no adult pony is going to step in and stop the bullying?
No, it's not as bad as being beaten up on a regular basis, nor is it as bad as being completely isolated from any friends. But it's not good, either.
Back to waiting... Oh well other stories to concern myself with until next week.
EDIT: Oh what do you know, it's not a comedy anymore.
Oh, chaval! Esto se esta poniendo intenso!
5166861
I do believe your confusing Privileged with Spoiled. Twilight is a very privileged individual, but she does not lord it over others, she does not demand that she be given things with out working for them, she does not act as if her privileged upbringing makes her better than anyone else.
Diamond Tiara is typical example of spoiled as she believes her family's wealth makes her better than anyone else, she sees having things not just as hallmarks of accomplishments but accomplishments themselves, and enjoys making others feel like they are less by pointing out her own privilege.
Being Spoiled is a attitude, Twilight Sparkle does not act spoiled because despite having so many advantages she does not treat others as less for not having had them. Big Mac feeling she is spoiled isn't "wrong" from a moral stand point, as I said Poison Joke is dangerous because it makes him simply blurt out what ever he is thinking at the time. Normally he would NOT just say what ever he was thinking at the moment, because while he might "feel" that way at the time feelings brought on by frustration, anger, fear, and despair are not necessarily permanent. I believe Mac is highly intelligent in his own right and if he actually thought about it would say Twilight ISN'T spoiled, that does not mean I am saying he wouldn't EVER think that, only with thought he'd realize it isn't true. But the poison Joke bypassed the part of him that would normally stop him from saying something hurtful and have him pause to consider if what he was feeling at the moment reflected the truth. Thus restating the point that Mac's particular poison joke effect is highly dangerous because he's saying things purely based on what he's feeling, a subjective kind of truth and that "poking" a highly frustrated Twilight Sparkle is a physical dangerous thing.
You're not sorry at all.
The feels in that Cheerilee letter.
Not sure exactly what was different about this chapter, but I realized that I like this story enough to give a like now.
5166397
I thank you kindly for the time you've put into reading this, and I am very sorry that you were ultimately disappointed. That goes for everyone out there, but I must also thank you for the wish of luck. Lord knows we all need it in one form or another
This fic has been such a great learning experience for me, one whose lessons I will be taking with me on my next, very similar, project. Maybe I will be able to give you something to make up for what you didn't get out of this someday
Until the (hopefully) next time!
5166861
Oh it was no trouble at all. I actually wanted them to solve it sooner, maybe even in chapter 12 itself, but I didn't think it'd be realistic. I knew they needed a moment to sort out their thoughts, or at least the time for one pony to sort out their thoughts before proceeding to address it. The ending to chapter 12 didn't allow this necessary time, due to it's ending, but I'm thankful that I was able to get this very important discussion taken care of before the inevitable happened.
Everything they discussed will be vital for the next couple of chapters. I hope you guys won't have to wait too long to see
5167312
B-b-but I actually am
I know how much cliffhangers suck for people, and as an author I try to use them in moderation... but this fic just won't allow me to! They all fit so darn perfectly
5166197
*Bows... explodes. Big Mac watches in the distance, never blinking, always staring. A small smile forms on his lips as he whispers a quiet "Eeyup... eeyup." *
Trainslation: Thanks!
5166163
Question is, can you get over such feelings in the back of your head? It would be bad enough with the worry of love poison being the real cause of their love, but with the resentment over the bullying on top of that it seems like it's a doomed relationship.
Uh oh, the ride never ends
So it's Twilight's turn next? Now's your big chance Mac, let 'er have it! Rip and Tear! Demolish her with your brutal opinions!
Was that part with Rarity talking and talking and talking and talking really necessary? What I got out of it was "Heres a wall of needless exposition to pad the word count". Was there something important buried in there? Because everything she said had already been shown.
5167384
Looks like I can count on another rare author that has their head on straight. Now if only more readers did!
Frankly, I do think that Twilight needs to be grounded (metaphorically speaking) every now and then. She isn't selfish but she does tend to perceive things in terms of her own troubles and interests being paramount and her perceptions and priorities most reasonable. I think that anything Mac tells her would be of the greatest value to her emotional development and maturity.
The letter to Cherilee is very sad but it is also plausible from canon characterisation. That is what makes it even sadder.
It seems to be the case that the more chapters you post, the more the idea that this story will likely end with big mac's funeral / banishment increases tenfold.
Since this is the town/country that at points shunned a wandering (recently homeless/jobless/ruined) showmare twice, three young fillies, several of the planet's savors (many times) for trivial reasons.
But please do keep writing!
5167831
*Shrugs* Well if you skip over it, Twilight's friends come off as jerks for their actions in the previous chapter, when they turned on her after what she did to Discord. It was also a necessary talk needed to show that the other ponies are now quite aware of the weakening mental states of two of their members, and skipping it over will make the ponies' actions in later chapters (to which there really isn't that many left) seem like stuff that comes out of left field.
And, if that isn't enough, I also snuck plenty of foreshadowing in there...
Hopefully it doesn't look like padding to you now This story has a chapter that's only 750 words long; if anything could have used the padding it's that one
You must really hate big Mac author.