The Good Seed, the Bad Apple, and the Ugly Fertilizer
Dear Little Crusaders,
I somehow find it hard to believe that three children could cause enough damage to wreck two floats for the Summer Harvest Festival short of giving a foal a box of matches. And yet here on my desk sits Mayor's daily damage report, with a footnote pointing out the three of you as responsible for the damages.
While I hardly expect children to repay the debts incurred in full on this, I feel compelled to ask just what harebrained scheme you concocted that caused such carnage.
Or... maybe I don't have to. By the sound of things, you encountered a bit of a bully situation, didn't you? And instead of telling an adult so that this situation wouldn't spiral out of control, this eye-for-an-eye stunt was how you decided to handle things?
Look, I get it. Bullies will always find ways to put you down or make you feel worthless in the eyes of your closest companions. Sometimes you won't be able to run or hide from them, and fighting or tricking them will only lead to an escalated battle that, in your case, might involve property damage caught in an explosion that your little hooves caused. That is not the right way to go about this; telling someone else, asking for advice, or even speaking with them is.
Talking may not be the perfect solution to dealing with them, but it is a start. The more you learn about them from whoever you talk to, the more you find out about better ways to deal with them. You might find a way to make friends with them should you discover they're only awful for some misguided anger issues, or discover a means to have them just leave you alone. However you choose to deal with them, do anything but put them in mortal danger, at the very least.
And, Crusaders, I'm going to let you in on a small secret: there will be more 'bullies' in your life than this one. Many, many more, depending on what you do with your lives. They might be bosses, managers, agents, what have you; all of them will push you around. If you think your friends and family members are hard on you, trust me, they are nothing compared to what sits outside your home and comfort zone.
Except the pushing they do is not the same. They do not do it for detriment or demoralization; they do it to toughen you, to see your potential shine past their criticism. That is how you push back; show them your capability, make them see what you're worth. Prove to them you are someone they should respect, because if you do nothing or crumble under it, you will not get any.
I should hope to expect great things in your future, little Crusaders. Do not go down the path of mutual self-destruction, and seek the path of friendship and tolerance. The taller you stand in the face of such adversity, the more you will weather in this world.
Respectfully,
Princess Celestia
Oh, hello Lu--oof!
Luna, you didn't have to tackle me to tell me you got a new board game. I could get that news just fine standing upright.
Wait, you got Alicorn Twister?! We haven't played that in so long! How did you even find it?
Wow, that secret cubby in the old castle still works? Hm, that makes me wonder about all the other secret passages there and if they're still intact.
I agree, we should get that sorted out later. But for now, I am SO ready to finally beat you at this game, Luna.
You ready? First move... is left wing green.
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Have you met them?
5785342
"I have not, and I think it's for the best I don't. Not unless we meet in an open field. Far, far away from my castle, where absolutely nothing will break or burn."
~Celestia
I think that's a very one sided thing, Celestia. Telling an adult wasn't exactly needed, if you think about it. Where the hell are the adults anyway? Someone bullies them at Sugarcube Corner, NO ONE'S THERE. Bullied on the farm, no Big Mac or Applejack. Bullied at Carousel Boutique, Rarity isn't there. Where the hell are they? On some vacation? Maybe they should have told, but if the adults aren't helping them anyway, then what would change if they were told? I mean, at one point, Apple Bloom isforced on the floor to sleep, and nopony is seriously going to question why? Seriously? I'm imagining that all the adults are useless. I get that they did wrong, but maybe if the adults bothered to intervene then MAYBE the outcome would be different.
Alicorn Twister -- that is the ultimate in limited audience products.
One of the reasons I really like this lette series over most of the other "letter" fanfics, that instead of trying to get humor from making all the characters mean spirited and very OOC you still give them a good heart and stay close the fan cannon personalities ...just seeing events from a different point of view.
Twister? That sounds like fun. Imagine doing it with multiple ponies at the same time.
derpicdn.net/img/2014/11/4/758022/medium.png
5785393
"If one isn't aware of a problem, they will do nothing to solve it.
I don't know the circumstances as to how often their family members were around, but my advice wasn't strictly limited to just them. So long as somepony, anypony knows about the issue, in such a small community as Ponyville, word will get around to those that will do something about it. I'm pretty sure if Pinkie was made aware, she would have solved it in three minutes or less.
Or if she was aware and did nothing about it... I digress.
Anyway, bullying isn't something I can offer miracle advice for because it is something that is usually handled case by case. No one solution works for everyone, so the best I could do was tell them to seek aid and figure out a reasonable solution that works for them without causing collateral damage. Gateway advice for something like this is really all I can do short of personally visiting to sort this out.
They don't want that to happen."
~Celestia
5785630 you would think that her pinky sense would go off.
5781793 ... they were clones?
I forgot about that
and this letter is a good example of why Whiplash deserved the awards it got, even though I still have it stuck in my head
Celestia raises some good points, but some bullies do not respect you no matter how respectable you are.
Alicorn Twister...
5785630 I know that if someone isn't told, they wouldn't help, but there were so many flags that were set off. Rarity wouldn't let the Crusaders alone in their house and Applejack wouldn't let her sister sleep on the floor, even if its for her cousin. Even with the Cakes, you would expect someone to at least say something if you got your food robbed. Its the fact that, even in the small town, nopony bothered to even care to notice. I know that family might not be around, but it seems a bit off, even for them.
I mean, someone is pelting food at them, at least at some point. I mean, I can buy if its something reasonable. Rarity in the back room or something and she didn't see anything. Unless they were all being jerks and decided to wait until they actively told them. Yet, even then, how many times have they told someone about the two snobs and they still get away with shit? I mean, DT DID get in trouble for forcing them to write the article, but she didn't seem to get in trouble all too much. (Being that the CMC were shunned by the town) Again, unless this town is ACTIVELY trying to prove a point, it seems a bit obvious. They HAVE done that before. I would find it a bit odd if three fillies were actively stalking the Crusaders. Two being known bullies.
5785388 Fair point. You have impressed the Time Lords with your attitudes and policies.
5785741
The problem with this is that Celestia doesn't know about all of those flags set off and the sheer apathy of the townsfolk in the situation. As far as the damage report was concerned, three fillies wrecked two floats to try and hurt a bully. That is all.
Celestia, despite all her years of experience, still has a limited perspective on events as they are portrayed to her through these reports. While they may give her enough information to react accordingly, sometimes they won't give the whole story. The fact that parental negligence isn't mentioned once in this is proof of that.
Although, if I'm honest, there's plenty of parental negligence in the pony world beyond just this episode. Most notably, where were Fluttershy's parents the day Dash did her first rainboom? The only reason she wasn't seriously injured in that fall was an extremely fortunate bed of butterflies, but under ideal amounts of parental attention that situation should have never happened.
I'm not disagreeing with the negligence shown in the episode, but it's hardly the only instance in the show worth scrutinizing.
5786015
I think the bed of butterflies wasn't just a fortunate thing, but rather a callback to an earlier generation of ponies when pegasi could summon clouds of butterflies to carry earth ponies and unicorns into the sky along with them.
And there is ONE universal solution to bullies:
Yeah sorry but the thing older people don't get is that the modern bully will continue to bully regardless of what you say. I have a suspicion that it was the same in the past and that int he usual thing a brain dose, that older folks memories have been distorted over time. The only thing to do to get rid of a bully is beat the every loving shit out of them, make them realize if they push you they will eat their meals through a life support machine for the next three months. That's literally the only way to not be bullied. Look like, or actually be, the dude who will come in with a gun and pull a columbine with them the first on the hit list.
How did I get my bully to stop bulling me? I threatened to eat his eyes, jumped over a desk, and stabbed him in the shoulder with a steel pen. NO ONE fucked with me after I got back from suspension. That's the only way to go unbullied, be the scary one.
5786044
Exept it recuires the bullied to fit certain requirements.
Imagine if the two had their roles swapped, and you had four-six other boys rooting for the bully.
5786015 I know its not the only one to really tackle. I'm just surprised about Dragon Quest.
I mean,Rainbow ash should be the LAST pony talking down to Spike about his "status" as a dragon. I'm even more surprised by the fact Spike never told Celestia about what his friends decided to tell him. (Someone actually took a line from Dragon Quest and compared it to a few things. The quote came from Applejack. ) I'm also surprised the Celestia wasn't told about Twilight Sparkle's "spells". Why the hell does Twilight have reforming spells? Spells that can alter how a creature eats or spells that can force you to love something beyond anything else? (Love potion is separate than the Want it spell. ) That's a bit..harsh for a pony to have. If she gets mad, she can just get reform you to her needs if she wanted to.
5786214
I'll level a true story with you good folk regarding my own bullying experiences.
Twice in my life, I've been bullied. Both happened in middle school, aka that the place where we put a whole bunch of moody teens in a classroom and pray they make it out alive.
There was a small incident in Physical Ed where during our exercise, my hand accidentally brushed the ass of another student. For the month afterward, it was purported that I was gay. For the record, I'm not, but I was judged like I was.
Two bullies had tormented me during my lunch periods to the point where I felt like I couldn't talk to anyone, or even be around the few friends I had. I had to eat my meals off in a far corner of the school because they'd just trash my food. Not even eat it, just destroy it for sake of spiting me.
And I wasn't physically strong, either, so fighting was not an option. I knew if I fought, even with something like a pen, they'd just kick the shit out of me until I was left bruised and bloody.
So what did I do? I told my mother. It took about a week since I told her about it, but at that point I'd spoken with the two bullies in the principal's office, and we had the entire situation cleared up. Whatever the principal told them must have cut deep, because they actually decided to listen and not be pricks.
For me, talking worked. And even if it doesn't, you'll learn that it won't, and you'll do something else to figure out the problem.
5786389 At my school, after I used that approach, they just got 4 friends and beat the shit out of me after school. I mean that literally. They beat me until I crapped myself. So my only choice was to attempt to kill the mother fuckers with whatever weapon I had at hand. At the time it was a pen.
5785474
Causing a chain reaction that culminates in Mount Canter covered in tree sap.
On fire.
5786715
It works for some, doesn't for others. Like I said, you'll find out which way it goes. In your case, it went opposite mine. I suppose that makes me an exception if modern bullying these days is that bad.
The point I meant was that we learn and adapt from the things we do, and if nonviolent methods don't work, violent ones will. I've been on both sides of that coin, Meep; I keep a knife on my person for the express purpose of self-defense these days after someone tried to steal my smartphone. Ended up hitting him in the head with said phone, hard.
The phone still works. His head got a nice concussion.
5786928 Good for you! No seriously. I am all for not starting combat, but I go by my dad's old philosophy of "Don't start it, end it so they cant start it again." It seems to work just fine, the key is recognizing when whipping out a cut down machete and striking a guard position is warranted. After that you need to realize that if they rush you after you whipped out a concealed blade you are dealing with an idiot and a fight was inevitable anyways.
From the excellent movie Whiplash:
Terence Fletcher: I don't think people understood what it was I was doing at Shaffer. I wasn't there to conduct. Any fucking moron can wave his arms and keep people in tempo. I was there to push people beyond what's expected of them. I believe that is... an absolute necessity. Otherwise, we're depriving the world of the next Louis Armstrong. The next Charlie Parker. I told you about how Charlie Parker became Charlie Parker, right?
Andrew: Jo Jones threw a cymbal at his head.
Terence Fletcher: Exactly. Parker's a young kid, pretty good on the sax. Gets up to play at a cutting session, and he fucks it up. And Jones nearly decapitates him for it. And he's laughed off-stage. Cries himself to sleep that night, but the next morning, what does he do? He practices. And he practices and he practices with one goal in mind, never to be laughed at again. And a year later, he goes back to the Reno and he steps up on that stage, and plays the best motherfucking solo the world has ever heard. So imagine if Jones had just said: "Well, that's okay, Charlie. That was all right. Good job. "And then Charlie thinks to himself, "Well, shit, I did do a pretty good job." End of story. No Bird. That, to me, is an absolute tragedy. But that's just what the world wants now. People wonder why jazz is dying.
5785388 Yeah, like that'd make things any safer.
5786389
In my case, the bullying moment my mother loves to tell her friends about was when one of the bullies came up to me after I got off the school bus and said "You're not in the jurisdiction of the school bus now, are you?" and I responded with "No, I'm in the jurisdiction of the O.P.P." (Ontario Provincial Police) They decided they didn't want to risk it, knowing that I wasn't the type for bluster or subterfuge.
5788259
This sounds like the worlds most convenient excuse.
"Sure I like to bully them till they cry, but, uh, it's to improve them, honest! See, I'm the good guy! Who just happens to get off on humiliating others, for the greater good, of course. So stop infringing on my right to bully. Yeah."
Now that's what we call rationalizing your actions. A guy gets called out on his shit, and he spins a story to make obviously wrong behavior to be some heroic action. It's kind of sickening that he pretends as though this was the obvious outcome, as opposed to say, the kid quitting because his conductor is a sadistic jerk that likes to humiliate him.
5789024 Dunno. Did you see Whiplash?
5789379
Nope, which is why I qualified it with 'sounds like'.
Just to clarify though, I am not judging the movie as a whole, just whichever character said those lines.
5789379 I saw Whiplash, and I concur with crowscrowscrow. That guy was an utter jackass.
5789024 That there is the difference between normal people and the truly amazing people. When normal people get shoved down, they give up and stay down. When guys like Charlie Parker get pushed down, they just push up even harder. Not saying it's okay to push people down, but "It ain't about how hard you're hit. It's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward." - Rocky Balboa.
5794185
Then the rest of it doesn't matter.
Well, I am kind of disappointed in this latter, it was almost normal.
5787053 I once used a plastic spork to the hand. didnt work too well, given the nature of the weapon
5918719 I was bullied for 5 years, and it was ended in a week by talking.
6058051 I was bullied for six (second grade through eighth grade) and it only ended when I stomped on the guy's foot*... He tried complaining to our teacher, but she replied, "You've had it coming for four years. It serves you right."
Ironically, we ended up being pretty good friends afterwards. Last I heard, the guy was studying to be a youth pastor. To quote Captain jack Sparrow, "Funny ol' world, i'd'n'it?"
*I happened to be wearing a full-length metal leg brace at the time. Attached to heavy-soled orthopedic shoes.
5785541 Seconded
5786928 you know at the moment I'm wondering if the phone was one of those brick kinds that only makes calls
Hey, look! A productive, thoughtful conversation in the comments for this Fic!
You, know, during all of season one, the comments were a fucking blast to read through. I loved it, it was funny and inspiring. Sometimes a little gross, but that's random people for ya. It was the perfect display of the "Magic of Friendship," which I really appreciate.
And then we got to season two and people were (seriously) arguing, with no small amount of passive-aggression, about whether or not Shining Armor was mind-controlled or not (which, by the way, is inconsequential either way). I refuse to argue with anyone who comes at me about this topic because, frankly, I don't give a shit.
Arguing over the magic of friendship. An ironic situation if I ever saw one. Are we not supposed to be holding up the ideals of the show we spend our time reading and writing about as a community? What kind of message do we send to people who don't like the show (who already hate our guts) if we try to promote love and tolerance by fighting amongst ourselves? It's the same problem with Christians who preach love through force, but that's a story for a different time, I suppose.
I dunno. Maybe I'm wigging out over nothing, it's midnight and I'm exhausted out of my brains. It might be that people are more passionate about season two because it was so much better than all the others. But it still doesn't excuse the hypocrisy I witnessed from Return Postage on Harmony up until I'm Never Hosting a Wedding Again.
Now this thread, here, it bodes well for the rest of this series. Here's to hoping y'all didn't start some other pointless ass argument while I was catching up on TOM's latest installments. Best of luck, fellow bronies.
I REALLY hated this episode and the implications it has against people who stand up against bullies.
7951186
There's a difference between standing up to a bully and attempting to seriously injure and/or murder a bully. Besides, after making up with the CMC, Babs stands up to the Twerp Twins (Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon) in an admirable manner
Tell an adult? Sure, that will fix it.
Bullies are smart enough to bully when no adults who care are around, or where those who do care are prevented from acting in defense of the victim by various ill-conceived regulations, such as in a public school system. It's fairly common for a victim of bullying to be punished there.
8123553
You're quite right. One of these is more effective than the other. If you "stand up" to a bully and have no means of presenting yourself as a respectable threat, you are only going to get knocked down.
8123553
There's also a difference between attempting to cause serious injury and giving Sweetie Belle anything that could possibly explode.
No, do not test the limits of what could possibly explode.