Wow, this chapter was intense. Odds are Twilight is not going to be happy with Anon on the next chapter. Also, damn. Twilight is way tougher and vindictive on this story than on the canon. Quick question, is the Twilight from this story different than the canon version? Expanding on that, has Twilight toughened up due to her time as a Princess, which made her have less patience for guys like Shell or Anon, or is this version of Twilight more pragmatic than the one in the show?

5681662 There's two halves to the reason that I write Twilight like I do:

One. The timeframe for this story is set some months (half a year perhaps) following the events of season 5. Now that she has a castle and a kingdom, I try to incorporate personality traits that might set in after a few months of trying to adapt to her new lifestyle e.g. stress, general lack of enthusiasm, indifference and the 'takes no shit' attitude. My answer to you is: I guess not, but I envision her personality developing this way as within the realm of possibility.

The second half is to do with her increasing exposure to Anon. I think his personality is rubbing off on Twilight, who is already in the process of 'burning-out' as a princess. This is why she says what she means, and means what she says, making no apology along the way. I suppose it also goes a long way to explaining her pragmatism and desensitisation to violence.

I'd like to mention I really enjoyed the first 80% of this chapter. Not that I didn't enjoy the last part, but it was so intense it overshadowed what came before. I'm always a sucker for slice of life elements when they are properly inserted. The dialogue was well done and some of the best parts, as well as all of Anon's observations. You really gave life to the scenes and breathed life into the world, instead of it feeling like a stage.

Talking with Applejack is always a dicey situation when you have something to hide. Have to choose your words carefully among other things.

The last 20% of the chapter was very intense. I was honestly expecting Anon to be able to do something, but I guess as he said an Earth Pony's greatest asset is the other races don't take them seriously. Not good when the spotlight is on you. Really it's probably a sign that he should (if he could) retire, as he's worn out his anonymity as an Earth Pony, losing the advantages while still carrying around all the disadvantages.

Am I the only one who picked up that Anon basically said things in front of the Apple family that make no sense from their perspective? Talking about a third party monster when they know (and he basically admitted to) being the only one there previously. Questions will be asked.

Shame about Shell, I was warming up to him as a character and his life is basically over now. There was no way what good could have come from the interrogation could match the fact that he tortured an Element of Harmony, possibly risking the safety of the nation.

5682223

This is probably an awful thing to admit, but not even I'm happy with the way I wrote the last section. Reading it again, it sounds clunky, repetitive and, worst of all, cliched. If I find time, I might rewrite it in a more luxurious form.

The following is a spoiler for the coming chapter(s):

The saga of Shell and Spyglass is not yet at an end, so don't despair.