Awkward Answers
Eepy and Blossom got back from Canterlot a couple hours later. Everyone else had cleared out by then, leaving me alone with a bucket load of worries. A very, very big bucket. More like a huge water tower than a bucket. Maybe I was getting a bit lost in the metaphor, but that was a welcome distraction from worrying about how Eepy and Blossom would take the news.
I trot-waddled out to greet the two of them, forcing a welcoming smile onto my face. “Hey, Fluttershy. How was the trip to Canterlot? Get everything you needed for your critters?”
Fluttershy beamed and shifted a couple bags of feed so she could nuzzle me. “Hi, Cloud. Everything went fine, thank you.”
Blossom grunted and headed for the house, carrying her own load. “Yeah, had to look around a bit since Fluttershy’s usual supplier was low on birdseed, but otherwise it was pretty smooth. Anything happen while we were out?”
“Nah.” I certainly didn’t want to bring that up just yet. Maybe once I had time to figure out the best way to gently break the news. Or I could just burn the letter and never tell them about it. Too bad the coverup probably wouldn’t work now that Dinky, Derpy, Sparkler, and Rainbow already had the news. Not that I was afraid any of them would just randomly blab about my secrets, but everypony knows that the more ponies there are who know a secret, the more likely it is that one of them will let something slip. Dinky was just a kid, Sparkler was dating my cousin and might spill the beans to her, Pinkie was sharp enough to notice if Rainbow was holding something back from her, and Derpy ... well, accidents happen. Bottom line, the news was coming out sooner or later, and Blossom and Eepy deserved to hear it from me.
And I would definitely tell them. Eventually.
I nuzzled Eepy a bit more, then gave her a quick kiss. “I love you so much. I should say that a lot more often than I do. Really, you’re just so great.”
Fluttershy gently returned my affection. “I love you too, Cloud.”
Blossom dropped off her bags then trotted over to the two us, grinning. “Well well, looks like somepony’s in a lovey mood today.”
“I’m always lovey.” I grinned, and Blossom moved in for a kiss of her own. I got that out of the way, then snuggled back up with Fluttershy, leaning against her. “I guess I did miss you a lot. Derpy and the girls came by to check on me, Rainbow too. But ... well, none of them were you. Have I told you that you look great today, Eepy?”
“Um, no, considering we just got home.” Eepy’s cheeks warmed up a bit. Even after all the time we’d been together, she still got modestly blushy whenever I complimented her. Like most of the things she did, it was adorable. I really was a lucky mare to have a such a wonderful, beautiful pony like Fluttershy in my life. She deserved everything I could do to make her happy.
Blossom smirked and nudged both of us. “You always look good, Fluttershy. Even when we’re a bit ruffled up from going to Canterlot.”
“Being ruffled just makes her look even better.” I grinned and hugged Eepy. “Okay, that does it. The animals have all been fed, and you have the day off. I’m stealing you away and locking you in the bedroom for the next couple hours.”
Fluttershy giggled softly and nodded, while Blossomforth rolled her eyes. “I suppose we should’ve known Cloud would be in the mood. Hope you can keep a lid on it for five minutes until we’re done putting everything up.”
I thought it over for a second, then tightened my grip on Fluttershy. “Nope, I have too many pregnancy hormones, and my self-control was never all that great to begin with. Looks like you’ll have to put everything all by yourself.” I undid Eepy’s saddlebags and let everything fall to the floor. “Mmm, Flutterbutter, I forgot how soft your coat is. Did you stop by the spa on your way back from Canterlot?”
“Um, no.” She slowly pulled away from me. “Cloud, did you hear what Blossomforth said?”
“Yeah, I heard her.” I grinned at both of them. “And I answered. Sorry, but there are no brakes on the Bang Train. There’ll always be a next time, but right now Eepy needs some special Cloud loving time.”
“Cloud...” Fluttershy gently slipped out of my grip. “Why don’t you want Blossom participating, and why do you think I need special attention?”
Blossom’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, something’s bugging you. You’re jumping all over Fluttershy, and as much as I can’t fault your taste, I don’t think it’s just because you think she’s beautiful and you love her. This is one of those things where you use sex to try and avoid dealing with what’s really bothering you, isn’t it?”
“No it’s not,” I grumbled. “What are you even talking about? You know me, crazy bang-mare who likes to bang the bangs bangingly. Between that and the pregnancy hormones, it’s surprising I haven’t locked you two in the bedroom for a nonstop marathon.”
“Stop dodging.” A hint of a warning growl entered Blossom’s voice. “Why are you ignoring me and giving Fluttershy extra attention?”
I groaned and rolled my eyes. “Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, Blossom.”
“She’s not being jealous, Cloud.” Fluttershy stepped over to her, leaving me all on my own. “I noticed it too, and I’m ... I want to know what’s wrong so we can fix it.”
I sighed and ran a hoof down my face. “Look, nothing’s going on, okay? I was just being nice to you. Why does that have to have some crazy deeper meaning?”
Blossom frowned and her ears wilted. “Wait, you said Rainbow came by while we were out, didn’t you? She told you about the promotion thing?”
That hadn’t exactly been on my mind, but the reminder didn’t help my mood in the slightest. “Oh. Right. That.”
Eepy looked between the two of us. “What’s going on? What promotion?”
Blossom sighed and started putting things away. “It’s work stuff. With Rainbow being in the Wonderbolt Reserves and going on map missions, she’s been missing even more time with the weather service. Between that and Cloud being on light duty for now with full maternity leave coming up, I’ll pretty much be running things on my own a lot of the time.”
“And if Blossom’s more-or-less the de facto manager, why not just make it official?” I finished for her. “All perfectly reasonable and logical.” I tried to smile. “Congrats, Blossom.”
Judging by the worried look Eepy and Blossom shared, my smile must not have been very convincing. Fluttershy made the first move, her eyes wide and a worried frown on her face. “Cloud, is there something you want to talk about? You know you can trust both of us to understand, and we just want you to be happy.”
Ouch, it was too late in the day to deal with a Grade-A Fluttershy guilt trip. “Uh...” I shuffled on my hooves, trying to break contact with those big, sad, pleading eyes. “No, nothing. Everything’s fine, promise.”
Blossom clearly wasn’t buying it. “Look, I’ll understand if you’re unhappy about being passed over for promotion. You have seniority over me, and I can’t help but wonder if you’d be the one getting the job if not for the pregnancy. I’ll understand if you’re grumpy about it, but taking it out on me and refusing to talk to us when we ask you to is not the right way to handle it.”
I groaned and ran a hoof down my face. “Okay, I’m not wild about getting passed over because I’m pregnant, even if I get that Rainbow can’t put me in charge of the weather team at a time when I’m not physically capable of doing that job. But that's a beef between me and Rainbow, not...”
“Me?” Blossom finished. “Which would be why you’re passive-aggressively trying to push me out of the bedroom while giving Fluttershy extra attention.” She sighed and shook her head. “If you want to, we can sit down and talk with Rainbow about it. You know she wasn’t setting out to upset you. If anything, she was trying to help you. She just wants to put me in a position where I can take more of the workload off your hooves and deal with anything that might cause you extra stress. We all know that’s the last thing you need right now.”
I shrugged. “I guess, yeah.” Even I could tell my heart wasn’t in that answer.
Blossom scowled at me. “Cloud, for the love of—” She cut herself off, taking a deep breath and forcing an understanding smile back onto her face. “Will you actually talk to me about this? I’m trying to work this out, and you’re not giving me anything.”
“Blossom, there’s nothing to work out.” I groaned and flopped onto the couch. “You got the promotion, I didn’t. Oh well. I wasn’t even thinking about that until you brought it up, and if it’s bugging me now it’s only because you won’t stop talking about it.”
She flinched back, and I wondered if I’d gone a little too far. She rallied pretty quickly. “Alright, fine. If it’s not about the promotion, then what is it?”
Oh dammit, now I was caught between a rock and a hard place, and not in a good way. I knew I’d have to tell them eventually, but I’d kind of been hoping to have a bit more time to build up to it. Like several months. Perhaps if I worked hard enough at ignoring the problem it would eventually just magically go away on its own.
What? It could happen.
Fluttershy settled onto the couch and gently wrapped her wing around me. “It’s okay. We want to hear whatever’s bothering you. Take it nice and slow if you have to.”
I reluctantly settled into her gentle, nurturing embrace. “It's really not a big deal...”
“If it wasn’t a big deal, we wouldn’t have spent the last fifteen minutes talking about it,” Blossom countered. “So since it is a big deal, let’s just get it out in the open and dealt with.”
Fluttershy nodded along with Blossom, but phrased her response a bit more gently. “I’m sure it’s not, Cloud, but how about you go ahead and tell us anyway? I’m sure it won’t seem so bad once you get it out in the open.”
Great, they were double-teaming me again. When I’d started up this whole three-way thing I hadn’t expected there’d be so much time when it was both of them working me over. Well, not working me over like this. Considering I was outnumbered and out-reasonabled, there wasn’t much I could do but give in. “It’s ... promise you guys won’t make a big deal out of this?”
Fluttershy smiled understandingly. “I’m sure we won’t. We just want to help you.”
Blossom gave me a quick pat on the back. “Trust me, I don’t want a bunch of drama either—I’ve already had enough of that for one lifetime. The whole reason we’re talking this out now is so we don’t have a lot of drama later.”
“Okay.” I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself to drop the bomb. “It’s ... um ... dunno how to say this...”
“Probably best to just spit it out,” Blossom suggested. “I don’t want to spend half an hour waiting for you to find the exact right way to say whatever you’re trying to say.”
She had a point there. The news was going to hit pretty hard no matter what. Maybe it was one of those things where it was best to just get it over with? I took another breath, then finally told them the news. “The lab found out which one of you is the sire. There was some sort of mix-up and they did the test.”
Fluttershy’s hooves flew to her mouth. “Oh dear, so you know...”
“Yeah.” I sighed, slumping down into the cushions. “Got the test results in the mail today, and when I looked them over ... well, there it was, written down plain as day.”
Blossom groaned and massaged her temples. “Well isn’t that just great? We specifically told them that we didn’t want to know that! No wonder you’ve been acting weird.”
“Yeah, I guess somewhere along the paperwork chain they lost the ‘not’ in ‘Do not do this.’” That had happened once or twice in my years at the weather service. Of course, this was a bigger deal than accidently sending a few rain clouds to the wrong place. “So ... yeah. Do you guys want to know now, or should I just…?”
Blossom settled in on my opposite side. “I said before I didn’t want to know, and I would’ve been perfectly fine tearing up that letter unread. But now that you know ... well, that changes things. Doesn’t seem fair to make you deal with that all on your own.”
“It’s obviously bothering you,” Eepy agreed. “We should work through this together, just like we do with all our problems.”
“Right.” No way out of it now. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t fall for me trying to escape through the bathroom window again, which was a pretty tempting option right now. It certainly sounded a lot better than saying, “Okay. So then. The truth. It’s ... um ... well...” I tried to smile and put a positive spin on it. “Congrats, Blossom.”
Fluttershy’s ears slowly wilted, her entire body deflating like a leaky balloon. “Oh.” She didn’t say anything else, but that one word said plenty.
Blossom shifted over to hug Fluttershy. “Hey, we knew it was basically a coin flip for who was the sire, right? It was just luck of the draw.”
Eepy slowly shook her head. “Of course, I understand that. I know it’s not like Cloud’s not ... that it means she loves you more than me or something.” She took a deep breath and smiled a bit shakily. “And really, I’m fine. It’s just ... I didn’t expect to find out the truth like this, is all.”
I suspected she wasn’t nearly as fine as she claimed, having recently pulled the exact same line myself. However, I really didn’t want to push the matter right now. Or ever, if I’m honest. I decided to focus on something a bit safer than Eepy’s hidden disappointment. “I can’t believe the hospital ran the test after we told them not to. Someone’s losing their job for this feather-up.”
Blossom scowled and nodded. “Damn right they are. Seriously, there’s no reason to even do a paternity test unless somepony asks for one. This is the kind of screw-up that could really end up hurting somepony.” Her eyes flicked to Fluttershy as she said that, making it abundantly clear who she was thinking of.
Eepy sighed and shook her head. “No, really, it’s okay. I’m sure it was just a mix-up on the paperwork. Whoever did it probably has their own friends and family, and I’d hate to think they would lose their job over an innocent mistake. We all agreed that it didn’t matter who the sire was, right?”
“Right, right...” Blossom ran a hoof through her mane. “Of course, you’re still going to be one of the moms of this kid. Nothing’s changed, right Cloud?”
“Hay no,” I chimed in without a moment’s hesitation. “I don't care about the biology, Eepy's still part of this family. If anything, she’s lucky—now when I get grumpy about being pregnant, Blossom’ll have to put up with one hundred percent of it all by herself.” Granted, she was probably already getting an extra share of it because it can be rather hard to grump at Fluttershy.
“Joy.” Blossom rolled her eyes and lightly hoofed my shoulder.
Eepy smiled at both of us, and this time it seemed a little more genuine. “Thanks, you two. It’s ... I know we agreed on that beforehoof, but it’s nice to hear it again.”
Blossom nodded, but a second later her smile faded into a scowl. “Still peeved at the hospital, though. I know it was probably just a mistake, but...”
“Yeah, big thing to screw up.” I gave Eepy a quick squeeze. “Wanna go give them a piece of our mind tomorrow?”
Blossom nodded sharply. “Yeah, might as well pay them a visit once we’re off work. Even if it was just a paperwork mix-up, I want an apology from someone high-up, plus some assurance that this won’t happen to anypony else. You want to come too, Fluttershy?”
“Um...” Her eyes flicked down and to the side. “Actually, we already had something planned. Remember when we ran into Tree Hugger?”
Blossom blinked, then her shoulders slumped and she tucked her wings back against her sides. “Oh right, that.”
I looked between the two of them. “What's up?”
Eepy took a deep breath. “You remember all that stuff about the Guard expanding in Ponyville?”
“Kinda hard to forget about it,” I answered neutrally.
She hesitated, not quite meeting my eyes. “Um, you see, while we were in Canterlot I ran into my old friend Tree Hugger, and while we were catching up I told her about how unhappy I was about the new barracks, how the Everfree Forest was going to get clearcut, and how the Guard was going to hurt all my animal friends. She suggested we should get everypony together to protest against it so Twilight would understand how upset we are.” Her cheeks flushed a bit. “She knows a lot about this type of thing.”
“Oh. Right. Good old Tree Hugger.” It’s not that I didn’t like Fluttershy’s friend, but ... well, let’s just say we were two very different ponies. We didn’t really have anything in common beyond the fact that we were both close to Fluttershy. And if she was encouraging Fluttershy to take a stand on an issue where I didn’t agree with her, I probably wasn’t going to get any fonder of the mare in the near future.
Fluttershy nodded along, oblivious to my private doubts. “She told me how to organize ponies, make fliers, and how to get a license for a protest. She’s even getting some of her friends who care about this type of thing to come to town. They’re supposed to be coming in tomorrow evening, and then we’ll get started on setting everything up. She's such a good friend.”
“Yeah, sounds great.” Definitely wasn’t getting any fonder of Tree Hugger. While I was glad to see Fluttershy standing up for what she believed in, it would’ve been nice if she’d picked a better cause. Like something I also believed in.
Blossom must have picked up on my concerns, because she was worrying at her lower lip. “Um, yeah. Fluttershy’s was telling me about what she and Tree Hugger had planned on the way back, and it sounds like it’ll really be something.”
Oh joy. My marefriend was going to lead a big protest against my cousin. That would definitely leave me stuck right in the middle. I dealt with my problem by sharing my misery. “You going to be helping her out, Blossom?”
She hesitated, her eyes flicking between myself and Eepy. “I’m not exactly wild about all of Princess Twilight's plans. I don’t hate the idea of development, but the Everfree’s always been pretty dangerous. I can’t help but wonder if expanding into it is like going into a sleeping dragon’s cave and poking it with a stick. Plus, I’d like to be there for Fluttershy.”
“Oh. Alright.” Her last remark did bring up one important point, at least: even if I wasn’t wild about what Eepy was doing, I should probably at least try to keep quiet about my feelings. “Good luck with that, then.”
“Thank you, Cloud.” Fluttershy leaned over and gently rubbed my hoof. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll try not to bring any of this home with me. You’ve got enough to deal with right now, and stress isn’t good for the baby.”
For as much as I kept hearing that stress wasn’t good for the baby, that didn’t seem to have stopped the world from stressing me out pretty regularly. Reality was so inconsiderate that way. “Thanks, gals. I guess we can run by the hospital after you two wrap up the ... protest.”
Blossom sighed and shook her head. “It’ll take a while to get everything set up and then actually do it, but we’ll definitely make time for a trip to the hospital. Worst case, we can just handle it during your next check-up.”
Eepy nodded. “I already feel terrible about missing your last visit. I’m certainly not going to miss the next one. I know the map’s missions are important, but so are you.”
I grinned and wrapped my wings around them for a bear hug. Something I know a fair bit more about now that I’ve actually gotten to know Fluttershy’s bear friend.
Blossom grinned and returned the gesture, though a bit more carefully. “Love you, you big goof. Just try talking to us whenever something’s bugging you instead of dodging the issue and being all weird and indirect about it, alright?”
“Sure thing.” There was a bit of an awkward pause, with Blossom’s eyes pointedly lingering on me. After a moment I figured out what she must have been hinting at. “So, I believe there was some discussion of heading to bed as soon as you two finished putting everything up...”
I knew what I had to do next, but I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about it. I hoped Eepy would understand that I wasn’t trying to go against her or anything. I just wanted to give Twilight and Storm a heads-up about the protest before everything exploded. This protest was going to be bad enough without it coming as a total surprise she wasn’t ready for, especially since Twilight's usually not the best at handling stressful surprises.
I headed for her big crystal palace thing once I was off work. Eepy and Blossom would be going to the train station to meet up with Tree Hugger and whoever else she was bringing with her, so hopefully she would be none the wiser about my little detour. Not that I was intentionally sneaking around behind her back or anything: it was just less complicated and better for everypony if she didn’t know about what I was doing. There was no reason to go out of my way to stir up trouble when I could just be discreet and keep my mouth shut.
Once I got close to the palace, I spotted a pair of familiar faces, one substantially more welcome than the other. From the looks of things, Storm and Twinkleshine were inspecting the castle’s perimeter. At first I figured it was just the standard ceremonial showing off that palace guards do to kill time, but I quickly spotted the spade and bag of gems Twinkleshine was hauling along and several small mounds of freshly disturbed earth. It might have been a while since I graduated West Hoof, but I could tell when somepony was setting up a magical detection net.
That was a pretty standard precaution for anything that needed to be a secure area, but I wasn’t surprised Twilight hadn’t bothered with it yet. From what I’d seen and a couple very carefully phrased grumbles I’d heard from Storm, Twilight had a pretty casual attitude towards security. Big shock, the Princess of Friendship put a lot of value on seeming friendly and approachable. Hopefully that could work in my favor. I waddled over to the two of them and did my best to look friendly and approachable. “Hey, is Twi—Princess Twilight available?” Storm was enough of a stickler for protocol that playing things formal would probably earn me points.
Storm turned to me, nodding. “Hello Cloud. As for Her Highness, that depends. What did you need to see her for?”
I didn’t waste any time beating around the bush. “Dunno if you guys have heard, but there’s a protest coming up.”
Twinkleshine grimaced. “Yeah, the Mayor told us somepony applied for a demonstration permit. Couldn’t give us any details on who it was or what they demonstrating over, but she had to at least warn us there’d be a lot of ponies around.” She dug another hole, then set the gem in. “Why we moved a couple of those security upgrades we were planning further up the to-do list.”
Storm grunted, her eyes flicking back towards the palace. “Nothing excessive, mind you. If you have information about what will be happening, I am sure Her Highness would appreciate it. She has been most concerned over the matter ever since the Mayor warned us.”
“Good news, then.” I tried to smile so that it looked like the news actually was good, rather than uncomfortable and a bit depressing. “I have the inside scoop on what’s going on, who’s running the show, and what they want to know.”
Storm’s ears perked up hopefully. “Then let us not waste any time. I am sure her Highness will be glad to have more information.” She turned back to Twinkleshine. “I trust you can see to the rest of this on your own? I want to have a significant buffer zone between the protestors and the palace, as well as a clear pathway for dignitaries.”
That caught my attention. “Dignitaries?”
Twinkleshine paused, looking to Storm for approval. When my cousin nodded, she answered me. “Well, after how well the conference with the representatives from Yakistan went, Princess Celestia thought it might be a good idea for Princess Twilight to try some more diplomatic meetings. Guess it makes sense to have the Princess of Friendship meet with governments we want to be friends with.”
“We are due to host some rather important guests in a few days,” Storm continued. “The Archon of Freeport and her accompanying entourage. They are in Canterlot at the moment, but we received word that they will be visiting Ponyville before returning home.”
I was a long way from an expert on foreign policy, but the Archon of Freeport sure sounded like someone important. “I’m going to guess that this major diplomatic conference where Twilight is supposed to be making friends is a bad time for a protest?”
“Hard to think of a much worse time,” Twinkleshine confirmed. “We were worried the protest might have something to do with the Archon’s visit. We haven’t announced anything publicly, but it’s not like the visit was top secret or anything. The last thing Twilight wants is for the Archon’s first impression to include a horde of protesters. It’s not easy to make friends when there are dozens of ponies shouting whatever it is they don’t like about Freeport.”
“Well, I guess there’s a bit of good news, then.” I tried to force a smile. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the Archon. The ponies are upset about Twilight’s plan to increase the number of Guards in Ponyville and expand into the forest.” I thought it over for a moment, then seized on a flimsy but desperate hope. “Maybe they’ll be willing to delay the demonstration once they learn there’s a big diplomatic conference coming up?”
“Unlikely.” Storm scowled. “If anything, knowing that would only encourage them. It will get them and their demands far more attention than they would otherwise receive, and make it far harder for Her Highness to ignore them.”
Twinkleshine packed the dirt over another of her gems. “I would hope that she’d relax a little now that she knows it won’t mess up the diplomatic conference too much, but that’s not likely. If anything, Twilight’ll get even more stressed now that she knows it’s targeted at her. She’ll probably think she’s not doing a good enough job as a princess.” Twinkleshine sighed and shook her head. “Never mind that not a day goes by in Canterlot without somepony making a big deal over whatever pet cause they’ve adopted. I know back at Celestia’s school we couldn’t go a week without somepony making a big deal about something.”
“I expect there is a substantial difference between seeing a protest about an abstract issue compared to one specifically aimed at her and her actions,” Storm pointed out.
A particularly unpleasant train of thought sprang to mind. “I’m going to guess that there’ll be extra guardponies in town for the next couple days, right? I mean, you’ve got a diplomatic conference and a demonstration coming up. That’s two very good reasons to make sure there are more guards on hoof.”
Storm nodded grimly. “The Solar Guard already has soldiers coming to Ponyville for the Archon’s visit, and now I might ask for even more. One of the Archon’s security personnel is supposed to visit tomorrow to go over our security arrangements for her stay, and I intend to make sure we have everything in order.”
I briefly wondered if all the anti-guard protesters were going to be on the same train as the extra guards coming for the Archon’s visit. That’d make for a very awkward trip. “Let me guess, you expect the Archon’s security to be extra-paranoid?”
“That is their job,” Storm answered stiffly. “If they were less than fully alert for any possible threat to their Archon’s safety, they would be very poor bodyguards. Not to mention Freeport has a rather rough reputation compared to Equestria. Among other things, I do not want to risk the protesters doing something that might provoke the Archon’s security detail.”
“We don’t want them thinking a worked-up demonstrator is a potential assassin,” Twinkleshine agreed. “In the split-second heat of the moment during a tense situation, they might think someone tossing a tomato is actually throwing a fire gem. If that happens, we’ll have a major international incident on our hooves.”
“Thus, the perimeter and exclusion zone,” Storm concluded. “They will be free to express their opinion so long as they do so in an orderly fashion that does not have a negative impact on the palace’s security. If they are unwilling to comply, we will take whatever measures are needed to make them do so.”
I blinked and stepped back at Storm’s tone. She might be very disciplined and have a pretty solid poker face, but I knew my cousin well enough to recognize when she was a bit worked up. “Hey now, let's not act like they’re on the verge of starting a riot. Trust me, they’re not planning on starting anything. I know the ponies running this thing, and violence is the last thing on their mind. They just wanna say what they have to say peacefully, then leave.”
“Of course.” Storm cleared her throat and I caught a hint of a flush on her cheeks. “I had no intention of...” She sighed and shook her head. “This was not something I expected to face when I was put in charge of Her Highness’ guards. I am far more comfortable with the battlefield than facing ponies who are opposed to everything I stand for and are upsetting my Princess, but whom I cannot stop.”
“Monsters are a lot less complicated than ponies,” Twinkleshine agreed. “But this is one of the things that comes with signing up to be a princess’ personal guards. It can’t all be sitting around the palace eating her food and chatting about the weather. Don’t worry, Captain—just make sure nopony blows their top and does something stupid, and it’ll be fine.”
I saw my chance to move things along. “That’s why I wanted to swing by and talk to Twilight. I figured the best way to make sure nobody gets too worked up is for everypony to know what’s going on. The more advance warning you get, the more prepared you’ll be. So, about that meeting with your boss...”
Storm grunted and nodded. “Yes, I am sure she would like to know whatever you can tell us about the situation. Follow me.”
The two of us left Twinkleshine to her work, heading deeper into the palace. After a couple seconds of awkwardly trotting along in silence, Storm cleared her throat. “How have you been? I trust there are no problems with the foal?”
I shrugged. “Being pregnant is a pain, but I’m surviving. You?”
Storm nodded. “I am doing well. Before this situation came to light, I was looking forward to overseeing the expansion of Her Highness’ guard. Now ... I have somewhat more mixed feelings on the matter.”
“Yeah, I guess that does make things a bit more complicated.” I hesitated, glancing over my shoulder to make sure we’d left Twinkleshine out of earshot. “So ... what’s she like?”
Storm briefly frowned at me before she figured out who I must have been talking about. “Knight-Magus Twinkleshine is a fine officer and an excellent soldier whom I am proud to have under my command.”
“Glad to hear it,” I deadpanned, “but I wasn’t asking for a performance review. What’s she like as a pony?”
Storm hesitated for a moment before answering. “She is an outgoing and very positive mare. She often goes out of her way to help others, so long as it does not interfere with her own duties. She takes her work seriously, but knows when she can tell a joke and relax.”
“So she doesn’t bury her sense of humor and act like there’s a huge stick up her plot whenever she’s on duty?” I smirked at my cousin. “Unlike certain ponies I could mention.”
Storm sniffed softly. “I retain my sense of humor perfectly well. It is simply accompanied by an appreciation of proper time and place. Also, it is far too refined for some uncultured and blunt ponies I could mention.”
“Touché.” I grinned at her, but the smile didn’t last very long. “You know Twinkleshine and Dad are...?”
“I was informed.” Storm answered. “Her Highness has every confidence it will not have a negative impact on our ability to work together.”
“Right.” I grimaced and shook my head. “That’s what I was worried about.”
Storm moved half a step closer to me. “It is a rather difficult adjustment. I find it strange to think of Uncle Tor with anypony other than Aunt Nimbus. I expect it is even harder for you.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” I grumbled.
Storm and I plodded along for several seconds before she spoke up again. “If you need to speak with somepony on the matter, I could visit once my shift is done. I imagine Her Highness would also be quite happy to help. Doubtless I could persuade her that this qualifies as a friendship problem that merits her attention.”
“Thanks,” I grunted out. “But I’m fine.”
“I see,” Storm answered levelly, a faint frown briefly flickering across her lips. “It might interest you to know that Twinkleshine has been asking about you, too. Much the same sort of questions that you were asking me, in fact.”
“Oh.” My eyes flicker over to her. “So ... what’d you tell her?”
“The truth,” Storm responded with a flat look.
“The truth?” I took a moment to process that, then smirked and poked her side. “Well if that’s bad, I guess I’m doomed.”
The barest hint of a smile ghosted across my cousin’s face. “I assure you, it was not all bad. Though I would point out that if you fear ponies learning the truth about you that much, perhaps you should reconsider some of your life choices.”
I chuckled and poked her again. “There’s my smartflanked little cousin.”
She chuckled softly, but as soon as the moment passed she back to being serious. “She does want to talk with you, though. I think it would be wise.”
“I’ll ... keep that in mind.” I knew I’d probably need to deal with Dad’s girlfriend at some point, but right now I had more than enough to deal with. She could wait until I had less on my plate. Maybe I’d finally get some good luck, and Dad would break up with her before things settled down enough that I’d have to deal with the issue.
Storm didn’t say anything else, and pretty soon we were outside Twilight’s study. From the frantic thumping sounds from the other side of the door, it was a pretty safe bet she was in the middle of frantic organizing. That, or she was cheating on Storm.
Storm knocked on the door, then entered without waiting for a response. “Highness, Cloud wanted to speak with you about the upcoming demonstration.”
I stepped into Twilight’s office and found more-or-less exactly what I’d been expecting: a mass of paperwork in a state of organized chaos, with Twilight Sparkle in the eye of the storm. I glanced down at a couple stray sheets that escaped the pile: part of a speech welcoming the Archon, a mailing list, and several flash cards covering how to deal with a large public demonstration.
Okay ... looked like we were only up to a two on the Twilight Sparkle Stress Breakdown Scale. Not too bad yet, but there was definitely room for things to escalate. Hopefully the news about Eepy would make things better rather than worse. “Hey, Twilight. You alright?”
Twilight’s head jerked up from the book on public speaking she’d been immersed in, knocking over several quills. “Ah! Cloud, where did you come from?!”
“Well, it all started when Mom and Dad met up while they were both going to West Hoof...” That earned me a flat look from Twilight, but if she was annoyed by me for being a smartflank it meant she was a lot more centered in the here-and-now. “I’ve been here for half an hour, you were too busy booking to notice me.”
“What?!” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Sorry, I had no—sometimes I get really wrapped up in my studying and I don’t notice—”
“Cloud is joking,” Storm trotted over to dutifully pick up the quills she’d knocked over. “We walked through the door less than a minute ago.” She helped Twilight restore a semblance of order to her desk, ignoring the princess’ half-hearted protests that she could pick up after herself. Once that was done, she politely cleared her throat. “Is everything alright, Highness?”
Twilight quickly re-alphabetized her index cards before answering her. “Are we talking relatively or in the grand scope of things?”
Storm decided to remind me once again that she did have a sense of humor. “Let us leave aside the inevitable heat-death of the universe for now and focus on the more immediate concerns. Is there anything you require assistance with?” Her eyes rested pointedly on the mass of books and papers surrounding her princess.
Twilight settled back into her big comfy reading chair, staring at the small mountain residing on top of her desk. “If there’s one thing I have plenty of right now, it’s problems. Just getting everything ready for the Archon’s visit is enough to keep me busy for days. A party to plan, dinners, who to have the Archon meet, and everything else to make this perfect. The conference with the Yaks was nearly a disaster, and if something goes wrong this time we can’t count on Pinkie fixing everything again with her Pinkie-ness.” She pulled out her flash cards, flipping through them at high speed. “And now I suddenly have to deal with a big demonstration in the middle of the Archon’s visit. I need my guards to help make sure the Archon and I will be safe, but if the protest makes things look unsafe, or like I’m not in control, or that I’m not good at being friends or can convince ponies of the virtues of my policies and—” She groaned and buried her head in her books, taking comfort from the presence of her one true love.
I took a deep breath, then spilled the beans. “Well, about that ... I have some information you’ll probably want to know about the protest that’s coming up.”
Twilight ran a hoof down her face. “Please don’t let this be bad news. I don’t need them doing something like shutting down the train station in protest.”
“That will not happen, Highness,” Storm assured her. “They have every right to express their opinion, but it will be another matter if they disrupt vital infrastructure.”
“Pretty sure the trains are safe,” I assured them. “If nothing else, there’s the fact that a lot of ponies are coming in from out of town. Last thing they’d want to do is mess up their ride back, or keep any reinforcements from coming. Besides, I don’t think Fluttershy would do that kind of thing. She’d be way too worried about causing problems for a bunch of innocent ponies who weren’t involved in any of this.”
Twilight’s head tilted to the side. “Did you say Fluttershy is leading the protest?”
“Is this another one of your jokes?” Storm asked.
“Sorry, not joking.” I chuckled weakly and tried to take some of the sting out of the news. “You were always telling her she needs to be more assertive and stand up for herself and what she believes in. Guess some of those lessons finally took.”
Twilight groaned and rubbed her eyes. “This wasn’t what I had in mind when I told her she needed to believe in herself. Even when we told her that she shouldn’t be afraid to disagree with us when she thought we were wrong, I didn’t think she’d...”
“Actually follow through on that?” I suggested. “Should’ve seen that one coming.” Twilight had probably been hoping that Fluttershy would only disagree with her when Twilight actually was objectively wrong, not when it was all just a matter of opinion. “Anyway, I thought you should know ahead of time. Plus, well, now that you know Eepy’s in charge of the whole thing, maybe you can talk her down before there’s an actual demonstration.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Twilight agreed. “Maybe we can have a meeting and work this out. I know our first talk didn’t work out, but the news came as a big surprise, I was really tired, and we’ve both had time to calm down now. Maybe there’s a middle ground we can reach that would let us be happy?” She sighed and shook her head. “It’s not like I want to destroy the forest, whatever she thinks. It’s just a matter of keeping Ponyville and my palace safe.”
Storm stepped over to her Princess’ side. “A royal palace needs guards and staff. She would hardly be a proper princess if it was just herself and Spike living in this massive building by themselves. The guards and palace staff will need somewhere to live, along with any expansion Ponyville needs to accommodate them.”
I held up my hooves in surrender. “You don’t have to convince me, I’m on your side. I’m just trying to defuse this situation before it gets worse.”
Twilight smiled and gave me a quick pat on the back. “I know this can’t be easy for you, and I’d like to settle this quietly too. It would be a huge weight off my shoulders if I could work things out with Fluttershy before the Archon arrives. Especially since ... well, I never like arguing with Fluttershy.”
“I know what you mean,” I leaned into the touch. “She’s just so nice and meek most of the time that it’s real hard to have a disagreement with her without coming off looking like a bully. It’s why I haven’t really said anything to her about the demonstration. It’d hurt her feelings and maybe even make her cry, and I’m terrible at dealing with that. It’s why I really don’t want to get stuck in the middle of this mess.”
Twilight winced sympathetically, her ears wilting. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble for you. When all this started I just wanted to give Fluttershy a chance to earn some extra bits and help the Patrol do their job.”
“Not your fault,” I assured her. “You have to do your princess things. Though it would be nice if Blossom was at least neutral in this whole mess.”
Twilight grimaced. “She agrees with Fluttershy?”
“Seems like it, yeah.” She wasn’t quite as fired up over it as Eepy, but she was still supporting her. “I'm not wild about being the odd mare out.” Something that seemed to be happening far too often lately. The two of them teaming up on me was only fun when it happened in the bedroom.
I sighed and ran a hoof through my mane. “Plus I really don't want to cause trouble with Eepy after we found out—” I cut myself off. “Sorry, private family stuff.”
“Oh.” Twilight shot a curious look my way, but managed to restrain the urge to inquire further. “Anyway, I’m sure we can patch this up somehow if I can sit down with Fluttershy. At the very least, I can’t imagine Fluttershy would want to mess up the diplomatic conference. Should I just stop by your house tomorrow? Or—wait, when’s a good time to come see her?”
“Sooner is better than later.” My eyes flicked out the window towards the train station. “She has from friends coming to Ponyville to help set everything up, and the more work they put into getting ready, the harder it’ll be to convince them all to go home.”
Twilight checked the clock. “Maybe I could stop by for dinner tonight, then?”
“Probably not a great idea,” I cautioned. “Pretty sure she’s going to have Tree Hugger and whoever else over tonight to plan things out, so that’s probably not the best time to try and have a one-on-one talk with her.”
Storm grunted. “It might also be wiser for someone to invite her to the palace rather than you showing up unannounced at her front door. I understand that she is your friend, but she is also publicly objecting to your royal policies. That requires a certain changing of dynamics to maintain the proper appearances and remind everypony that you are one of Equestria’s rulers.”
Twilight frowned at her. “So you’re saying I shouldn’t treat her like a friend? I know decorum and appearances are important, but I’m the Princess of Friendship. I’m pretty sure I’m not being a proper princess if I’m not treating my friends like friends.”
“I never said you should stop treating Fluttershy like a friend,” Storm answered stiffly. “Merely that you should be aware that this matter has implications beyond your personal relationship with her. I am sure Cloud understands the complications that arise when there is an overlap between personal and professional relationships.”
“I do have a pretty complicated relationship with the weather team,” I admitted. “Rainbow’s an old childhood friend and my boss, not to mention everything that’s going on with Blossom. We have to still work together and be professional whenever we’re on the clock, despite all the personal stuff we have going on.” Admittedly, none of us had been paragons in that regard, but most of the time we managed well enough.
Twilight sighed and straightened a couple piles of paper that already looked perfectly straight to me. “Alright then, can you give me any concrete suggestions on how to handle this? Maybe we can draw up a plan for what issues and talking points I should raise.”
“Not a bad idea.” I hesitated a moment before pressing on. “Though I don’t know if you need a plan or anything. Really, Fluttershy’s pretty easy to get along with most of the time.”
“That’s what I thought last time I talked to her,” Twilight grumbled. “I thought it would be a nice, simple, friendly little chat. I certainly didn't expect her to blow up at me when I offered to make her one of my guard’s advisors.”
I sighed. “She didn't blow up at you, Twi.”
“Not by most standards, but for Fluttershy it sure felt like she did.” She shook her head. “We probably just had one bad talk. That’s it. It happens. One pony says something, the other pony takes it the wrong way, and then it’s a big argument. Hopefully that won’t happen this time.” She turned to Storm. “So you don’t think I should go talk to her myself?”
Storm nodded. “Meeting her in her own home while she has all of her supporters around her would sent the wrong message. It makes you look weak and her look strong, because she has forced a princess to come to her and beg for an end to the conflict.” She tapped her chin. “It would be much better to make her come to you, but that is less than ideal when we are on a strict timetable. A one-on-one meeting in a neutral location should work.”
Twilight thought it over, idly chewing on the end of her quill. “Alright, neutral location, that makes sense. So where would be a good place to meet? Sugarcube Corner? Town Hall? No, maybe someplace more private? I could always ask one of our friends to let us borrow their house for bit...”
“I’m sure any of your friends would be glad to help.” One advantage to being the Princess of Friendship, she was never short of pals who were more than happy to lend a hoof. Hay, I’ve never even saved Equestria with her, and I would’ve been happy to let her borrow my old bachelorette pad if she wanted it. “Need somepony to play moderator?”
“That sounds like a good idea.” She smiled gratefully. “Thanks Cloud. Though I might ask somepony else instead of you. Not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but I’d rather not make things more difficult for you, especially when you’re pregnant. Fluttershy and I do have four pretty wonderful mutual friends.” She paused for a moment, then amended, “I suppose Rarity or Applejack would probably be best. Pinkie might be a bit too unpredictable, and Rainbow ... well, she’s got a lot of talents, but moderating delicate negotiations isn’t one of them.”
“Not to mention one thing she and I have in common, we hate being stuck in the middle of two fighting friends.” Not that Rainbow wouldn’t do everything she could to fix the problem, but she’d probably be very direct in her approach. Between wearing her heart on her sleeve and tending to leap before she looked, it was a coin toss whether she’d actually moderate things or end up accidently escalating them.
“That just leaves setting things up.” Twilight bit her lip, hesitating for a moment. “Do you think you could talk to her about that? I hate to put you on the spot, but ... well, you are living with her. It wouldn’t be too much trouble to just ask when and where we could set up a meeting to talk this out, would it?”
“Yeah, no problem.” I was pretty sure Eepy wanted to settle this just as much as Twilight did. It was just a matter of working through the big issue dividing them until they found some sort of reasonable middle ground they could both live with.
“Thanks, Cloud. I really appreciate it.” She glanced out the window. “It’s getting dark out. Would you like to have Storm escort you home?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty sure I can manage the walk home without a bodyguard.”
“I rather doubt Cloud would lose her way,” Storm assured her. “And Ponyville is still one of the safest towns in Equestria.”
“Oh. Right.” Twilight chuckled sheepishly, her cheeks pinking slightly. “Sorry, just want to make sure you’re being taken care of, what with your condition and all.”
“I appreciate the thought, but I’ve got a couple months before I get to the point where I can’t walk myself home.” I grinned. “Thanks, though. Nice to know you’re worrying.”
“Best get used to it,” Storm cut in dryly. “We will only worry more as you get further along.”
“Us and everyone else,” Twilight chimed in with a teasing smile. “Consider it one of the benefits of being an expecting mother.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “That almost makes the bloating, cramps, soreness, tiredness, headaches, heartburn, and waking up half a dozen times to use the bathroom ... actually, no. That doesn’t make it worth it.” I grinned at both of them. “But thanks for caring. It’s always nice to be fretted over and pampered.” I paused a moment, and my smile widened. “Speaking of pampering, I don’t suppose you have any cheesecake around, do you? Maybe white chocolate with raspberries? Or strawberries, I don’t want to be picky.”
Storm shot a dry look her princess’ way. “I believe Cloud is trying to take advantage of your generosity and royal resources, Highness.”
“Yes she is,” Twilight agreed with a smile. “But she is pregnant, so I’ll let her get away with it.”
I found a nice sofa to kick back and relax on, stretching out to occupy far too much of it. “Okay, now it’s starting to be worth all the trouble.”
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Just when you think it can't get any more complicated. The universe really has it in for Cloud, doesn't it?
Ouch. I see why Could was so concerned about Fluttershy's reaction to the news, given the... mechanics revolving around this kind of siring. She probably feels as if Clould loves Blossom more than her. And adding the complication of the protest that Cloud is against... yeah I see a very strained relationship coming.
And a visit from the Archon of Freeport. Sounds an awful like a magus. A magus with rank that wants to not sound like Celestia's arch magus. Hmm... seems like someone we should be familiar with. Someone with a... fiery personality? Either that, or I'm way off. Can't wait to see. :) Hopefully it won't be in three months this time.
8178102 Sunset's title is blatantly "Magus", not "Archon", though. As much as it'd be interesting to see Sunset, I doubt it's her. Plus, with how she blew up at Cadance, I don't think she'd want to meet Twilight.
8178191 Remember that this story is taking place several years down the road from where Sunset's story is, though. More than enough time for Sunset to rise in authority, given her grand plan of taking over Freeport, and mellow out in regards to alicorns.
8178238
Actually, Sunset appearing at all is unlikely, as her storyline is unfinished. Showing the 'end product' before the narrative will put an dampener on the Sunset series. Considering the timeline and all, it'll probably be Kukri as she wanted to be Sunset's student. She can give a hint about what happens to Sunset in the future without showing the readers anything concrete and the protest will have Sunset cancel her visit.
So it was Blossom. I'm just happy it really was one of the two. For a moment I thought you'd go with someone entirely different for some reason, like Derpy or maybe even another pony.
The plot thickens. I think I can see where this will lead. My prediction is that this won't be solved with a simple conversation and the protest will end up happening anyway. That is when things might get really interesting. It's possible that things will quickly spin out of control.
But at the pace you're writing this, I'm starting to doubt we'll see this go anywhere before even the MLP movie comes out in October. But I guess we'll see. Take your time, by all means. I'd prefer to see great chapters spaced out over half a year, rather than badly written chapters spaced out over a month.
This chapter had a disappointing lack of yelling at hospital staff. Next chapter?
Also, staging a whole formal protest? Overreacting a bit, there, Fluttershy.
Now we just need Tree Hugger to bring some questionable friends with her and turn the whole thing into a full riot. You know, to get the full "Complete Mess" experience.
8178247
But a peek would be ok. Storm mentioned there was "security personnel" coming in advance. Grown-up Kukri, maybe?
Interesting in that the setup (Twi vs Fluttershy, and their duties/views) could be a canon episode, if perhaps a little more PG-rated for the potential escalation between protesters and guards. Cloud's showing us that even with something that could have come right out of the show, it can be bad news to be caught between hammer and anvil.
...also, I was kind of half-expecting Blossom to react to the news by dragging Fluttershy off and requesting she get to siring a foal on Blossom at her earliest convenience.
Oooo, so, Sunset is coming to the visit? Should be interesting.
8178410 The mechanics of siring between mares is a little strange. From what my understanding is, it is very unpredictable and not guaranteed. A true love sort of thing, if I remember correctly, hence the issue. I'd have to reread through EVERYTHING to find out. Or you can ask Chengar. I'd recommend that.
8178247 Kukri was my next guess, if not the Archon, then as the security.
8178416 Not guaranteed, its just guess at this point.
Most days, Twilight comes comes off as the small town librarian she once was. But, there are other days -and other Twilights.
There is Hero Twilight. The Pony who led her friends in to the Everfree Forest after Nightmare Moon. The Pony who faced down dragons, Sombra, Discord, Tirek, and others. Hero Twilight is the Pony you want when you have a monster you don't want.
There is also Dark Twilight. This is the pony who cursed an entire town because a report was late (Yes, Celestia fixed it with no great harm done, but...). The Pony who used Dark Magic to murder Sombra (Yes, technically, he was already dead, but...). The Pony who murdered the Pinkie clones because they were annoying (Yes, she said they were no more alive than your reflection in a mirror, but...)
Dark Twilight has not been seen since Twilight ascended. Lots of folks would like to keep it that way.
In the original Life of a winning pony story, there was always something deeply flawed about how Cloud Kicker continually avoided really working on her problems, and it's continued in this story. But, to be honest, her reaction to this whole 'forest expansion' thing, makes me just dislike her, as a character, in general. I mean, a large chunk of this chapter involves Cloud going behind Fluttershy's back to try and undermine her protest and opinion. It feels like Cloud's reaction to Fluttershy's position on the matter is essentially "oh god she's grown a backbone, how horrible!"
Similarly, its worth noting that Fluttershy has a throne in Twilight's castle, suggesting that the tree considers Twilight's friends her equal, or nearly so, so it strikes me as very weird that anyone would suggest that her friends should be 'invited' to the castle or whatever. As far as I can tell, Twilight lets her friends have free run of the place. Ultimately, I think that's what bugs me the most about this story as it is now; it feels like you're trying to build something up that doesn't quite make sense within the universe. It doesn't make sense that Twilight would ever want her home to be militarized, nor does it make much sense for her to insist on moving into the forest or being distant with her friends, regardless of her royal position.
YEah this is why i hate Bats, Fluttershy goes a bit too far with this kind of crap.
Damn. Was seriously hoping that both Blossom and Eepy were the sires.
How can such a thing be possible? It's frelling magic, I ain't gotta explain horse-apples.
Under mining your spouse is not a good way to win brownie points. Some one should point that out to Cloud. Some times you have to set your personal beliefs aside and be supportive regardless of your feelings.
Placeing bets that freeport reprsentive joins the protest for the ultimate friendship disaster.
8179219 I'm kind of with Cloud here. Fluttershy isn't exactly being supportive either -- she knows they disagree and her reaction is to double down?
And my bet is on Tree Hugger staging the protest during the visit on purpose just to piss Twilight off.
8179219 Ah, yes, but Cloud's made a decision, which means it's automatically the wrong thing to do. That's how these stories work.
Besides, if she's not constantly screwing up, the plot doesn't go anywhere.
8178915 Twins.
Well now, things are certainly escalating rather nicely! I am curious to see how this will play out!
8178247 And maybe Kukri could met her Ponyville cousins? If she retained her grub-hood cuteness, then Kukri and Dinky could probably defuse any protest through the power of their combined adorableness.
Cloud be nice to your likely future stepmother, she isn't that bad.
The protest sounds like a fun plot element, but I'm kind of shocked that Fluttershy went straight from that last conversation about all of this to "let's make a huge scene and force Twilight to back down publicly". It's not exactly her style, after all, and while I do think this is an issue that she would be passionate enough about to protest over, the fact that it's Twilight on the opposite side makes it especially questionable behavior. It's not like Twilight would refuse to listen to her best argument, or not tour the forest with her to consider her points first hand, or even dismiss the cost to their friendship this split between them would create.
Protests are generally the tactic of those who have no other voice in the decisions being made, so they must force those in power to listen to them, but Fluttershy has completely unfettered access to the decision maker in this case. It makes organizing a protest before exhausting the argument with Twilight kind of a dick move. I'm left hoping that Discord or Treehugger are really behind it, which would fit with Storm and the guard (and to a lesser part Cloud) pushing Twilight towards being a Princess first and a friend second. I'd like to believe that if this thing escalates then Fluttershy and Twilight are going to be very reluctant participants who could work this all out easily if other parties would just get out of their way.
Here's to hoping we get Sunset (or more likely Puzzle or Kukri) as the security detail for the Archon's visit.
8178102 8178191 8178238 8178247 8178416 8181690
Well, if this was going by Equestria Girls continuity in regards to the main show then Twilight and Sunset would have already met... the first movie was right after Twilight got her wings, and this story would be right around "Rainbow Rocks", which seemed to be set right after she moved into her castle. So Sunset is already a bit overdue for a return to the Winningverse in that respect.
8181767 Except there have been hints that EG may or may not be canon in the WinningVerse.
8181767 This theory we have is based on if the Equestria Girls never happened, that the events of the Freeport Venture occurred instead.
8181817 8181815
Oh, I get that it's likely that Freeport Sunset never went through the mirror and became human... I'm simply saying that going by the standards of parallel continuity, we're at a point in time where she should be showing up again. Unless the stories are going to abandon the rivalry between her and Twilight, it's best not to wait for Twilight to get too established as princess before she does.
8181324 From the conversation with Cloud it sounded more like she went to Tree Hugger to talk about the issue and got swept along. It would be very like Fluttershy to be easily influenced by her friends or caught up in someone else's enthusiasm. Tree Hugger seems very much like the kind of pony who would immediately want to stage a huge protest.
Thanks for letting us know Blossom is the sire. As far as I'm concerned, the story is over.
I've followed the Winningverse for as long as I've been on the site; Life and Times' cover art on Deviantart is what actually brought me to Fimfic. I was enjoying random pony art before I'd even thought to dip into fanfic, and Inuhoshi's artwork is fuzzy and cute. I was curious about the story behind the characters for the coverart.
Life and Times was supposed to be a fun, slife of life romp through the space between and behind episodes for one Cloud Kicker and one Blossomforth, according to the description of that story. Going a bit dramatic with Derpy and Fluttershy was fine. Going off to war against changelings, killing off Nimbus, and forgetting about Blossomforth until basically the epilogue was quite probably the worst bit of whiplash and abysmal story design choice I've ever seen.
And we're seeing it happen again. And we don't have, "well we were heading towards ACW, what did you expect?" as an excuse.
I thought maybe New Life would give me a fresh start. We've gone through almost 140k words at this point, which is about on par with J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King. We've seen Cloud learn she is pregnant, come to terms with that, decide how she wants her life to go from this point on, and has made peace with her immediate family. The story is over. There is no need to introduce new conflicts at this point. Whatever is ramping up with Fluttershy's protests, Freeport, and Twilight's guards is looking to be going down the exact path that ruined Life and Times.
I'm sure you're not going to change your mind because of this comment. You do what you have to do. But for me, this story is over. Taking it off tracking, and I'm simply not going to read any further chapters. I encourage others to do the same. The wordspace wasted setting up/foreshadowing things for future chapters could have been spent on a cleaner ending right now. I just wish this had been better. I wish it had been fun instead of a chore.
This will kick up all sorts of new drama, won't it?
Great new chapter, expected the sire to be some random guy none of them know to cause more drama, but this was great ad well!
Anyway, im pretty sure that it was Yakyakistan, not just Yakistan. And shouldn't they ask Zecora for help? The Everfree is her home after all.
8183109 You're right. It was only with this chapter that I realised what annoys me about this story. It's over. There's nothing left. Sure you can have characters talk to each other for 60 paragraphs, but that's boring. What happens next? Who cares? Stop stretching it out. It's all fluff and padding for the sake of it. I'll still keep reading but.. Jeez. Just... Have more shit happen. And then summarise it better.
8183109
In that case, you'll be glad to know that New Life is not going into a long-running arc. Cloud being on the opposite side of politics from Fluttershy adds some extra fuel to the fire for playing out the consequences of the revelation, but it won't be something I plan to turn into a long-running plot thread. I plan to wrap it up in two chapters (granted, at this time one of those chapters is a rough draft, and the other is just a vague plan).
After the last fiasco with Tree Hugger, I'm slightly worried this might already be beyond control.
8183109
I fully appreciated your reasoning up until the last paragraph. Stories grow, and while I've enjoyed seeing the story continue to parallel the show, I can understand why others might prefer it had stayed a shorter fluff fic.
What earned you my downvote was "encourage[ing] others to do the same."
You don't like the escalation and the continuing conflict. I get that. There are stories I wish had ended earlier, or that I feel left behind what made the earlier parts of the series so fun. But I also know I'm not the only one reading them, and that my impression isn't the only one that matters. I'd never imply that the people who did like them were in the wrong.
I see the Life and Times series more as a romantic drama show that followed the success of a rom-com movie. It has some of the best-written characters I know of on the site, and an amazing level of detail in the worldbuilding. You can leave if you want, that's your perogative. I'm growing more and more inclined to put it on my "best of the best" list, and that's my choice to make.
Huh, I really would have thought it'd be more drama than just "the foal is Blossom's". That's what this must mean, right?
I suppose Twilight's castle would have proper defenses in this AU. Not that it should make much of a difference with Starlight Glimmer and the season 5 finale. Remember she already had to break into one of the most heavily guarded locations in the heart of Canterlot Palace to steal Starswirl's time travel spell in the first place. I doubt Star Kicker and Twinkleshine will have the Friendship Castle better protected than that with only a few months of preparation.
Yes, women ALWAYS pull that shit.
"Oh, it will cause trouble if I bring that up, so I won't"
Now, you've got 2 fights. The original whatever + a fight about "Why didn't you tell me that"
It's one of their most annoying traits. Right up there with "Guess why I'm upset/you know what you did"
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As a dude, I can safely say guys do the same thing. With significant others, parents, siblings, etc.
This is bound to end poorly.
Hum...five more chapters to go and this fiction will be over. There...is not a whole lot going on. There are a couple of conflicts, but they are rather mild and...
Well, it is just Cloud. The fact that she avoids confronting her issues means what could have been told in a single chapter spawns two instead. I am not sure if I will continue reading the sequel. We shall see, I suppose.
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Also, while causality's a bit too much of a mess here to be certain, current events imply the Starlight who casts the time spell never had to break into this version of the Canterlot Palace or Castle of Friendship anyway.