Silver Spoon woke first. Though she still felt the sting of the injury she took on herself, she was alive, and mostly intact. She smiled at the impossibility of it all and squeezed the slumbering form of Diamond Tiara on top of her. "Are you awake?"
Of course she wasn't, but the squeeze and question did the job of stirring her. "Huh?" Diamond was groggy at first, but rapidly came into focus as she remembered the situation. "Silver Spoon! Are you alright?"
Silver Spoon sat up as Diamond Tiara got off of her and the two looked around together as she replied, "I'm fine, mostly. How about you? You..."
Diamond Tiara pointed at herself. "Me? I'm not even scratched."
Silver pointed at the blood on Diamond's thighs. "You were scratched! You were bleeding so much... I thought you were gonna, like, die or something."
Diamond rubbed behind her head. "Well I'm not dying, today or anytime soon. We have big plans we need to be alive for, right?"
Silver bobbed her head. "Right!" She pushed up to her hooves. "I... I don't know how... I'm so confused."
Diamond shook her head slowly. "I'll agree with that..." She rose to her full height. "Tell me everything, Silver Spoon. Every moment."
Silver dug out a ration and Diamond slapped it out of her hoof. "Put that away. We don't know how long we'll be out here!" She glanced around suspiciously. "Go on, start talking."
After retrieving the ration and tucking it away, Silver Spoon began relating the tale of her run with Diamond through the darkness. "They were never that far behind, so I just kept running. When I finally stopped, you were..." She sniffed softly, rubbing at her nose with a fetlock. "You were so still. I was scared, like, more scared than ever before." She put her hooves on Diamond Tiara's shoulders. "I didn't... We're together, like, forever, right?" She smiled nervously.
Diamond Tiara's ears fell at her friend's confession of loyalty. Would she feel exactly the same way, had the situations been reversed? She decided it was unlikely. She was the leader. She nodded firmly at Silver Spoon. "So what'd you do? Why aren't I bleeding anymore?"
Silver clopped her hooves together. "I prayed. I thought about the book goddess, and she said she could help me help you. And then you got better, and it hurt so bad." She glanced down at her still sore wound.
Diamond frowned. "What? Are you sure you weren't just freaking out?"
Silver tapped at her head a moment then it clicked inside of her. "No, no I am very sure. It's still inside me."
"Inside you?"
Silver smiled. "Gifts. She's like you."
Diamond pointed at herself. "How is a book goddess like me?"
Silver sat on her haunches and nodded. "Simple. As long as I treat her like the boss, she'll be nice to me." Diamond raised a brow, but Silver continued, "She gave me gifts, to protect myself, and to know about things, and to heal."
Diamond pointed at Silver's thigh wound. "So heal that."
Silver reached for the wound, prodding it. "I got that for healing you. I can't..." She frowned thoughtfully. "I don't understand it all, but I can't."
Diamond did a slow turn in place before pointing uphill. "We need to get to a peak and see if we can't find the capital. Did you see what happened to Dark Streak?"
Silver shook her head. "It was dark, and I was just running. I was too scared to look back." She started for the peak Diamond had pointed to, hobbling a little on her injured leg. "Do you think anypony's coming for us?"
Pinkie swung down the side of the building, rappelling with the rope she had looped about her midsection and bottom. She peered into the darkened window and pushed it open carefully before slipping inside. "Phase one complete."
A thin voice whispered in her ear, "Good, proceed to the objective and wait for further commands."
"Okie Dokie Lokie." Pinkie creeped through the hallways, avoiding the lights held by the guards when they went by. She was a pink shadow of the night, unseen and unheard. She arrived at the target, an ornate door with golden and silver filigree decorating it. She settled on her haunches only for the loud ripe noise of flatulence to fill the air.
Guards came rushing from all directions as she rose to her hooves and looked under herself to find her missing whoopie cushion. "Oh that's where I put it!"
Diamond Tiara and Silver scaled the mountain quietly through the morning. Diamond asked as they went, "Do you remember that shot you did? That was pretty good aiming."
Silver flipped an ear back. "I had my eyes closed... I'm just glad we got out of there. What were those things anyway?"
Diamond didn't know, and silence returned to them until Diamond held up a hoof. Ahead of them stood one of those creatures, reptillian snout poking free of its cowl as it looked around. It appeared alone.
Silver pulled out her bow and held it up, Diamond shook her head quickly. "Let's try talking. It's alone."
Diamond pulled herself to her full height and approached the reptile-person with a thick armor of her bravado. "Hello there. What are you looking for?"
The creature drew a dagger almost instantly. "You can't have it! It's mine!"
Diamond held up a hoof. "Easy there, friend. We're here to help, not take your things."
"Help?" He squinted at her. "How you help Gneech? Just a stupid horse."
Diamond huffed softly. "Scoff all you want. If you show us the problem, my associate and I will have it solved in no time at all."
He waved his dagger at her. "And what you want? Gneech not rich kobold."
Diamond shrugged. "If it's worth all this trouble, we can share whatever you're going after. Whatever amount you think is fair."
"What Gneech thinks is fair? Huh, you are stupid horse, but OK. Follow Gneech." He turned and scurried along the trail, tucking the dagger away as he went.
Silver moved to follow with Diamond. "He's going to try and keep it all, whatever it is."
Diamond rolled her eyes. "Of course he is, that's why we're going to get rid of him first, the moment he shows whatever it is has him so excited. I'm no dummy, Silver Spoon."
They followed after Gneech, coming to a darkened tunnel. Diamond fished out a candle and a lantern. She lit the candle and placed it carefully in the lantern before they advanced into the tunnel by its dim light. He didn't seem bothered by the darkness at all, moving at full speed.
Soon, they arrived at a massive stone door with pictures of griffons and suns adorning it. It looks quite heavy and thoroughly sealed. "See, this is problem. Behind it, treasure. Gneech knows this. Open door, horses. Not try anything funny, or Gneech stab!"
Diamond waved a hoof. "Relax, we're on it." She looked around curiously as Silver Spoon pointed up at it.
"Hey, that's the Sun King."
"Who?"
Silver Spoon frowned. "Another god, I think. The griffons like him."
Diamond nodded lightly. "Does that translate into getting this thing open?"
Silver tapped her chin before looking to Gneech. "Do you have mirrors?"
Gneech started searching pockets and produced a mirror and some flat metal that reflected light well enough. Silver took them and got to work, setting them up to reflect the light from outside down the tunnel and up onto the icon of the Sun King. Nothing happened.
Gneech grunted with annoyance. "See, stupid horses." He reached for one of the mirrors just as a dull rumble came from the door. With falling dust and the noise of stone against stone, the door began to roll out of the way, revealing the dark tunnel behind. "Nevermind..." He left the mirror where it laid and scampered forward, leaving the fillies behind.
Silver and Diamond followed at a more sedate pace. They heard an odd noise of metal striking stone rapidly for a moment. "Gneech?" called out Silver Spoon. "You alright?"
"Gneech is not alright! Help Gneech!"
They found Gneech slumped over, perforated with darts from a trap. "Gneech was maybe little too eager..."
Diamond advanced on him, nodding. "We can help, give us that dagger."
"What for?" Gneech squinted at Diamond Tiara.
"For medicine, duh."
Gneech hesitated a moment before surrendering the dagger to her. Diamond Tiara hefted it up and down, glancing at Silver Spoon, then back at Gneech. Silver Spoon shook her head rapidly. "No!" She rushed forward and swatted the dagger free of Diamond Tiara's hoof. "We can help him, for real."
Diamond hissed at her, "What are you doing? This is our chance!"
Silver Spoon put her hooves on him and said a soft prayer, invoking a wash of positive energy that repelled the darts from inside Gneech, though he still seemed weak.
Gneech nodded at Silver Spoon. "You are nice pony, yes? Gneech is poisoned, will need to rest." He glanced ahead, then back at the ponies. "Gneech lose this time, but not forget nice pony. Take what you find. Gneech must return to warren or big trouble." He rose to his feet, wobbling, and staggered off.
Diamond Tiara moved to reclaim the forgotten dagger and tuck it away. "That was dumb, Silver Spoon. We could have put him out of our misery and taken his stuff."
Silver Spoon crossed her forelegs. "That would have been, like, completely wrong. Instead we made a friend, and you got a dagger."
Diamond glanced at the dagger. "Huh, so I did, but you shouldn't be contradicting me." She huffed and stepped forward cautiously, looking for trouble as she went. "Let's not be as stupid as Gneech."
Careful and methodical searching had them avoiding other pressure plates as they came across them, but care and time were of no help against magical deterrents. The ground beneath Diamond Tiara glowed a soft cyan before she abruptly shrank, becoming the size of a cat.
Silver put a fetlock over her mouth. "Like, oh my gosh! You're so adorable, Diamond Tiara."
Diamond Tiara glared at Silver Spoon. "This had better be temporary!" she squeaked in a higher pitched voice. "Silver Spoon, carry me" She held up her hooves and Silver faithfully plucked her up and tucked her in her backpack. "There, your turn."
With a sudden rumble, the door leading out sealed itself, locking the fillies in the tunnel.
Silver's ears fell. "Maybe there's another way out?"
This tunnel has too many traps for kobolds. Clearly, two pony children should attempt to navigate it.
6190057 Well one of them has an IQ on the low end of the scale and the other can't think for herself.
this is getting vary interesting. I like the turn of this chapter.
here, since they are currently in the location she is referring to
Ha ha, is she even in the same dimension anymore?
Kobolds beware, the ponies are on your turf, and they're keeping it.
Gneech must have washed out of Kobold school. First he falls in a trap, then he gives away his weapon. Very bad form.
not
I think it would be more in-character for her to say "don't contradict me" than to say "don't, or else" So far Silver Spoon has been following her orders because they were orders, not because of any threats.
gosh
I wouldn't normally censor language, but all the ponies say gosh.
6190121 If you're judging only what the results are, and only with regard to this situation, then I suppose not, but I think that's a little too narrow a point of view.
6190156 Typos locked out of the tunnel.
Well, I has assumed DT didn't have a good alignment, but now I wonder if she actually has an evil one? It's a bit of a grey area, since that was a kobold who was planning to betray and maybe kill them if they didn't betray the kobold first. Certainly when I've played in pathfinder, we use the slogan "leave no man alive" to guide most of our dealings with NPCs we meet in dungeons, and I usually stick to a neutral alignment.
Interesting that SS, who I would have pegged for a classic Lawful Neutral before this, seems to be gently drifting to LG under the influence of Luminace. That's going to have a big effect on her relationship with Diamond Tiara. Either DT is going to have to stay at least neutral, or Silver is going to end up having to choose between the all-powerful deity that rules her life.... and Luminace.
At first I was surprised that DT calmed down so quickly in the face of her miniaturization, and willingly accepted Silver Spoon picking her up and carrying, her, but then I figured it out, it's because ponies are the size of cats and they love to cuddle.
6190161 Is it? What is cowardice if not protecting yourself when you know there is something more important you should be doing?
Fearlessness is having no concern for potential harm to yourself.
Bravery is knowingly risking harm to yourself to advance a goal.
Cowardice is failure to be brave.
It is possible to be brave for selfish reasons (such as pride), but cowardice is always selfish.
6190221
Lawful Neutral would still object to killing a helpless enemy without some sort of trial. I think both fillies' alignments would be true neutral as presented in the show. Plain, simple selfishness.
6190255 Depends on the law and the circumstances. In most fantasy adventure worlds, the "law" has jurisdiction around the relevant city states, and wilderness areas are kind of on their own. Of course, that's not true in the rural areas of powerful nations, but in a remote wilderness area like this, I doubt there is a court that claims jurisdiction over this area. There's also the fact that many nations and countries don't accord humanoids like kobolds and goblins legal protection, and killing them out of hand is seen as legal, if not a form of pest control. Also, lawful neutral characters usually treat the law as their guiding principle, but sometimes they have an alternative, personal code that may contradict the current law of the land that those characters choose to follow instead. As long as the code is detailed and the characters follow it consistently, characters can still be acting quite lawful in attitude while not following the current laws.
That said, SS doesn't know the relevant local laws, so she kind of has to go with her gut, which says healing him and letting him go is the best option, in hopes he will be a future friend. That sounds like a Good choice, and not necessarily even a Lawful one.
6190255 Oh, but I agree that both fillies from the show would have a starting point of Neutral, though I could see SS as a follower who enjoys being in a hierarchy, being LN, with DT definitely a True Neutral.
6190255 Plain simple selfishness is neutral evil.
Neutral means you think everyone should get what they deserve (but no more). Which is still possibly DT and Silver Spoon, depending on how much they believe their own hype.
6190235 Functionally no different meaning 'the actions they take will be the same' but the motivations are different. Cowardice implies you can't make yourself do the brave thing even if you want to, 'selfish caution' means you don't want to. You could have both!
6190286
I would assume she is working off of Equestrian law, and I'm sure we would all agree that Equestrian law would disapprove of killing a helpless former ally based on suspicion alone.
Lawful doesn't have to be adherence to a specific legal code, it can also be a preference for order, process and authority. Whether or not killing the kobold is a good idea, DT is not a legally recognized executioner, nor an agent of the local government. No evidence was presented, other than gut feelings. He may deserve to die, but this is not the correct procedure.
I am playing devil's advocate here, of course. I actually agree with your assessment that Silver is leaning towards a good alignment, but this particular incident does not prove it.
6190303
Well...I think that even compulsive cowardice is founded on complete self-love, but I will allow that the definitions are not the same.
Fear itself is selfish. If you value something more than your own life, you aren't afraid to die for it. If your only concern is yourself, then nothing can override your need to flee, because nothing else is important. Consider a timid mother when her child is threatened. In reality, there is no such thing as someone who can't be brave, but there are lots of people who don't have an adequate motivation.
Heh. Silver Spoon is perfect disciple material, given her experience with imperious overlords who assume all will obey their every whim. Really, Luminace will probably turn out to be a better boss than Diamond.
Don't worry, Pinkie. If anyone asks, that was Phase Two. Or Possibly Phase B. Very complicated plan. Wheels within wheels.
Diamond's murderhobo instincts are strong, but Silver takes the nicer route. It remains to be seen if that will be better in the long run, but it's certainly turned out well in the short term. Of course, now she's trapped with a reduced friend in the mysterious and still trapped ruins. This doesn't look good...
6191127 One thing is for sure, the two are about to enter the adventuring lifestyle for real, for better or worse. Which will it be?
6190235 I feel like you've sort of undercut your own argument here. If cowardice is "not protecting yourself when you know there is something more important you should be doing" then selfishness is denying that something else is more important to begin with, meaning that the two are definitely not the same thing.
Beyond that, you simply seem to be going off-topic, since Dark Streak is not "failing to be brave," so much as she's denying that there's anything worth being brave with regard to (potentially, since I still haven't read the subsequent chapters at the time of this posting).
Nevertheless, not engaging with a battle that you don't feel is worthwhile in any regard is not, unto itself, cowardice.
Delete the word "her" in that sentence.
Capitalize the first letter of the first word of this sentence.
There are two spaces between "this" and "is."
6193692 Typos thrown out of the tunnel.
6193708 I read this chapter through twice, and yet I still don't have a clear handle on what's going on...or rather, why the characters are suddenly acting the way they are. Seriously, all of a sudden it seems like Diamond Tiara is bordering on psychotic, and both her and Silver Spoon have become unforgivably stupid. The result is that this entire chapter feels like it went completely off the rails.
Let's start with how Diamond Tiara has apparently had an alignment change. Seriously, the part that went "Diamond Tiara's ears fell at her friend's confession of loyalty. Would she feel exactly the same way, had the situations been reversed? She decided it was unlikely. She was the leader." What the heck was that? So being a leader means...that she doesn't feel like she and Silver Spoon will be together forever? That she wouldn't have prayed for Silver's salvation if she were dying? That she wouldn't have been willing to sacrifice herself for Silver's sake? I honestly don't know what the story is trying to tell me, here, except that it's Diamond thinking that she's above some sort of altruism where her best friend is concerned.
Of course, that's nothing compared to how Diamond Tiara is apparently eager to rack up a body count. Her plan to pretend to work with Gneech and then quite literally stab him in the back was cold-blooded in the extreme, enough to be shocking considering that it's far and away more violent than we've seen her be up until now. Diamond Tiara can be a world-class jerk, and she has good reason to hate kobolds after they almost killed her, but at her core she's not a bad pony, so the idea that she was fine with killing in cold blood seems not just out of character for her, but shockingly so.
The real failure of this chapter, however, wasn't that these things happened, but that it didn't contextualize them. I'm of the opinion that good writing can explain anything in a way that makes it seem like an understandable progression of the story, but insofar as changes to characters go, this requires that we know what's going on in their minds, so that we know why and how they're changing. Hence why I'm always harping on about exposition. If Diamond Tiara is going through an alignment change right now, then the story isn't telling us why.
That's an opportunity lost, because that gets straight to the heart of the story, which is - much in the same manner as the predecessor tale - a coming of age story for Diamond and Silver. But where the path for Silver seems to be a slow progression towards selflessness and altruism, in rejection of her shallow destiny, the jury is still out on Diamond Tiara. We don't yet know if she'll overcome her personal demons or succumb to them, and this chapter makes it seem like the latter, except I don't know for certain because this chapter is so unconcerned with how out-of-character she's acting that I can't tell if it's just ignoring the opportunity for characterization or deliberately playing its cards close to the vest!
I'd like to give the story the benefit of the doubt, but the more fundamental the change a central character is going through, the more it should be shown, rather than glossed over. Hopefully this will be addressed soon, because the way Diamond Tiara was acting here is too big to casually ignore...especially if it means that this fic will lead to a rift between the pair as Silver Spoon becomes good even as Diamond Tiara becomes evil. Now that's a story that, if done right, could be truly epic.
Of course, that's presuming that they make it out of this dungeon, and to that end I honestly can't believe they were dumb enough to wind up there in the first place. Seriously, that they ended up in that situation is such a major act of willful stupidity on their parts that it broke my suspension of disbelief. The two fillies are all alone in the freezing cold, with no shelter available and no guardian to help them anymore. They know civilization is nearby, but that dangerous raiders might be also. Further, one of them is injured and can't move as quickly as she might need to...and yet they decide the best course is not to keep looking for the nearby city, but to go explore a cave with an untrustworthy creature, the same kind of creature that just tried to kill them? Really?
I seriously can't even guess what they were thinking, here. They were apparently motivated by greed (e.g. "figure out what he's after and then take it for ourselves"), but it's hard to imagine greed being such a motivating factor when their very survival is being called into question. How did they not try to avoid/wait out that kobold and continue on with their original plan to get their bearings and make a bee-line for the city? It honestly feels here like the story wanted to move into a "dungeon adventuring" phase, and so had things proceed to get that urge satisfied. But that came at the cost of believability.
So yeah, not my favorite chapter so far.
6194689 Diamond has a lot to learn, more than Silver, I'd say. She thinks herself above 'such petty concerns', though she when it came to action, she acted with care for Silver Spoon. Her actions should speak louder than even her own thoughts on her interactions with Silver.
On the other hand, the definition of lawful evil:
A lawful evil villain methodically takes what he wants within the limits of his code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts. He cares about tradition, loyalty, and order, but not about freedom, dignity, or life. He plays by the rules but without mercy or compassion. He is comfortable in a hierarchy and would like to rule, but is willing to serve. He condemns others not according to their actions but according to race, religion, homeland, or social rank. He is loath to break laws or promises.
That sounds familiar to me in a lot of ways to Diamond Tiara.
But wait, there's more:
Despots
Destined to rule—at least in their own minds—despots seek to impose their will on those around them.
Obedience is often not enough; a despot requires total submission. Despots are capable of collaboration and even subordination within a larger structure, but they usually get resentful if they don't climb the ranks quickly enough, and they seek out opportunities to give orders instead of taking them. Rarely, despots actually enjoy sharing power with like-minded souls; more often, their alliances are of convenience, and a pact's stability depends on whether the despot's goals are being met. While all despots believe themselves to be great leaders, not all are; dark tragicomedy abounds when incompetent despots achieve even a small measure of power.
If you are a despot, you:
Demand blind obedience and servility.
Welcome neither questions nor failures from your underlings.
Constantly seek to expand your personal power base.
Code: Your commands are law—and woe betide those who disobey.
Diamond Tiara may grow from this position, but starting her there feels neither artificial, nor sudden, to me. I've been hinting and nudging at her extreme thoughts from the start.
I dunno, Di. You sort of tackled her behind a log. Scooped her up after being healed to run off and get Silver away with you from those approaching voices. I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit here as to what you'd do. Though you might have freaked out and felt really helpless no doubt as to how to save Silver if she was shot with an arrow, which is what I'll assume you mean, I suppose. Even so, best to die in good company I say.
That Kobold be silly, but Silver sillier still. Sparing a creature like that in the future can cost you both your lives.
6190057 One with healing powers and another with a keen eye? I can see no better fillies up for the task. Though the CMC would get through a bit ruffled but no worst for wear, given their almost divine levels of cosmic luck. lol
6203114
Unless he repays their sparing him by helping them out.