Talon and Thorn
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Talon and Thorn · 8.8k words · 16 0 · 815 views
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It's because she ate the last broccoli!
Keep that attitude Dash, don't let life force you to pick fame or friends, keep both. Maybe she can't get as famous as she could if she focused solely on her career, but it's not worth ending up like Wind Rider, alone and pining for past glories. Fame with out joy is an empty existance.
Now I wish this was in the Episode, I knew it was him the moment Spitfire was side to be missing.
But something like this could have been used to make it better.
This is good, The story showing two ways of looking at fate of athletes. But this can also be applied to others as well
One that gave everything and All to what they did, sacrificing everything and in the end ending up with nothing.
Another works hard and is helping grow the future.
Yes, a lot of Wind ride said was true but in the end it's just empty thing. He gave it all up for only a few empty platitudes. If he was not so concerned with his status and fans then he could have stepped away. He did nothing to help make his craft better nothing to say "That's my work."
Rainbow knows who will replace her and is making sure that they will have the guidance to reach the mark they want to. By the time they do replace her she can say, "I made this happen, those are my students."
Rainbow will have a true legacy because it made to make a new future and now she see what happens if she doesn't make the right distinctions.
I pity Wind rider but this was partly his own doing.
Thanks for writing this.
Cynicism vs Idealism. I'm glad Dash stuck with idealism. Good work.
6453182 Actually, her position here is more on the realistic side. At least, for me.
Very good very realistic. Nice!
6453235 Cynics say they're realists. So do idealists. Compared to Wind Rider, she's an idealist. (As am I.)
6453482 Wind Rider spent his entire life hoping that he could be the best forever. Dash wants to get as good as she can, and pass the cape to the next generation.
No matter how I look at this, Rider's goals look far more idealistic.
6453491 Having high goals isn't the same thing as being idealistic, as far as I understand the word.
Rainbow Dash wants to see the best in everypony, wants others to have the chance to soar high (and if they soar higher than her, good for them) and thinks that as long as you've accomplished something grand, you'll always be remembered.
Wind Rider thinks that you're nopony if you don't have accomplishments, thinks that you'll be forgotten the moment somepony else overtakes you, and thinks it's fair to ruin another pony's life just to add a few years to your own legacy, even if they only might overtake you.
I fail to see how he is being idealistic. But we may be arguing semantics.
6453740 It doesn't have anything to do with high goals, since idealism isn't about high goals.
Wind Rider lives for an idea - he wants to become the best and remain the best. Everything in his life is secondary to that idea, his whole life is shaped, built (and ruined) around it. The moment this idea falls, his life is pretty much over, since he have nothing else. That's pretty much as idealistic as you can get.
Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, is quite adept in the opposite (at least, in this story) - adapting her ideals to the non-ideal reality. She wants everypony to be the best - but only the best that they can become. She realizes, that her personal accomplishments would be surpassed, so she doesn't need to sacrifice everything she has for them. She's about as down-to-earth in that as Applejack. So while she does have some idealism in her, hers is really puny compared to Wind Rider's near-absolute.
And of course we arguing semantics, that's what idealism is all about.
Damn, that hit hard. Like 6453156 , I wish this was in the episode.
6452706 6452975 6453156 6453844 6453740 6453815
Thanks to all my readers and an interesting discussion between Alkarasu and Mooncalf there about the motivations, many of them ones that I didn't think about at the time of the writing, but death of the author and all that so it doesn't matter what I planned.
I actually saw the two points as more about Dash's element, Loyalty, Wind Rider is only loyal to himself to be the best he can be, Dash it loyal to her friends, to her fans, to her successors, she want to show others how to be awesome the same way she is and if she gets lots of praise on the way, well that's great too!
When I was writing it I wondered how realistic is was than Dash had actually thought this sort of thing out before but thinking about her previous breakdowns I think she's just neurotic enough to have spent a few sleepless nights wondering what she'd do if her career falls through or where she'll be in twenty years.
This should have been in the episode.
Definitely a great take on a possible closure of the episode. Not only was it enjoyable, it was also thought-provoking and well-thought out. Well done!
I would say he was RD's grandfather or something, mean he has the same exact fur color! XD
6454748
I did think something similar, I didn't notice the colour being the same until I put up the image, plus wind's the tone grey mane could have been rainbow at some point. I considered having rainbow note that he reminded her of her father but I thought it might make things to complex.
That was a well-written Wind Rider. I could practically hear his voice while reading the dialogue! The ideas presented by both characters were also really sound; even if Wind Rider's ideology was 'wrong,' you still made his argument believable, understandable, and relatable. His path in life is something that can very easily happen, and it is easy to sympathize with him. However, you made Rainbow's argument equally strong, I feel, and raised some valid points. I LOVED how you framed her feelings regarding records and inspiration, and what they mean. Having Rainbow take caution from Wind Rider's tale was also a great touch, and served to bookend the story quite nicely. Nice work!
There are a few nitpicks:
This line of dialogue from Rarity didn't feel quite like her. The rhythm of it, I think, is off. Maybe something like "Of course. Just don't spend all your time training- do allow for some fun as well" or something like that.
Second, the paragraph where Rainbow was thinking about Discord's statue then suddenly is thinking about Wind Rider was really jarring. The transition came out of seemingly no-where, and feels really odd.
6453844 Thanks.
6454404 Your welcome. Your piece was well written and I am glad that I could read it.
Some day I hope that I could do something like this too.
Oh, this is going in my faves too.
6454404 This is what I thought the difference between Rainbow and Wind Rider was as well - she has loyalty to her friends, and he doesn't appear to even have any to be loyal to. This is why I think RD will have a better future than him.
OTOH, I probably wouldn't have gone as far as to say RD will be totally okay with future flyers beating her records. A record is a bit like a contest - though maybe not quite the same - and we know all too well how RD feels about losing: She despises it. She's not quite immune to bending the rules to her favor, either, to put it mildly - she did some stuff in "Fall Weather Friends" to AJ that she would very likely not be very proud of now!
I think it would be fairer to say she would be accepting of having her records broken, but it will still probably bother her. It would be more likely for her to try and beat the record again instead of sabotaging a competitor. (Whether doing so is achievable might be another lesson for her when that time comes someday!
)
Anyway, I really enjoyed reading this story! I especially love the exposition in the scenes of her flying through the clouds with the question nagging her. I wish I could write exposition that fluidly!
A few nitpicks with some run-on sentences you might want to improve: The "around his neck, while" seems like a run-on, or the punctuation needs to be adjusted in some way. Also "Rainbow frowned, was that right, she couldn’t remember, but surely he had a partner or somepony" also reads bit weird. Other than that, bravo!
A few little typos here and there, but I really like the story you're telling here. :) It's a nice tale.
Headcanon accepted!
6456205 Oh jeez, not this again.
Wait, this "Wind Rider" was the real culprit? What does he have against Rainbow Dash? Or was he created by Hasbro to ruin Dash's life because we all know Hasbro's good at that?
I figured Wind Rider did it because he was so deeply indoctrinated in the Wonderbolts' "Win at all cost" ethos, he didn't know where to draw the line. How many of the other Wonderbolts would have done the same thing in his place? I know Spitfire would have. That part where he says "sometimes you have to play dirty to win" and looks at the rest of the team like he expects those ponies he knows so well to back him up, how many of them were thinking they would have done the same thing, even if they're not dumb enough to admit it.
6454766
Probably just as well I didn't add more Rarity to the story really, she can be difficult to voice, although adding Darling to the end of each sentence can help
6455021
There could of course be some differences between what RD say's to someone why just betrayed her and what she'd do in the actual situation. However, I think RD from before the first season may well have grown up into Wind Rider but not the current RD, she's had some time to grow as a pony, we've seen her bond with Scoots, put her own need to be the best behind her in Hurricane Fluttershy and see she shouldn't be reckless in Wonderbolts Academy. She's a better mare than she was, hopefully.
6458325 No. I haven't seen a single Season 5 episode (my brother, White Kyurem, saw "Amending Fences" for some reason) and with no incentive to review them, I don't want to. I'm just taking a mean stab at Hasbro's formula.
6457672
Haha, that certainly does help! xD
Though I have to say, it makes it even more impressive how the show writers themselves manage to keep her so in character. It surely cannot be easy!
6458565 I didn't even read this fanfic. I'm just assuming Hasbro made up this episode plot because they just love making their characters squirm. And... dashing their dreams, no pun intended, but that's important for them too.
6458633 It's because I've realized people here don't like me because I can speak properly and use good grammar.
So the third-person thing is just not working out.
In some ways, Wind Rider was right: You have to choose what is more important to you. The thing is he chose wrong. When it all came to an end, he had nothing and nopony left except bitter memories and an increasingly-threatened sense of identity as younger and fresher fliers came up from behind.
Rainbow Dash, for all she's far from intellectual, has a better grasp on what is important.
FWIW, I'm very surprised Wind Rider wasn't in the dungeon awaiting Celestia's judgement. Spitfire punished him within the limited powers she has as team captain but he arguably committed a criminal offence, putting Spitfire in danger and attempting to frame Rainbow Dash for something she didn't do. I'm sure that the Princess of the Sun is very, very disappointed with the choices he has made.
I can safely say that was a beautiful little addendum to that episode. Well done.
6460138
I'm hardly a legal expert but I'd think it would be difficult to pin a significant crime on him. I don't recall the place he sent Spitfire off to being dangerous, just a long way away.
He forged a message from Spitfire's mother but is that actually criminal? As for framing RD well he cut part of her mane off (somewhere, I'm not sure where that happened) and stuck it in an envelope, not exactly a major crime.
The biggest think I can see might depend on how military the Wonderbolts are, his actions might be considered incitement to desert of course that might mean Spitfire actually did desert which would be a bigger problem for her, I'm fairly sure the military doesn't immediately let you leave your post if your mom gets sick. The same could apply for the guards he tempted away from their posts with sweet sweet cake, although again I think that's more their issued than him, he left the cake lying about they left their posts and ate it. Maybe his actions could be considered littering?
He also made said disease sound deadly (Only one known cure, grow in one place and is rare in this season, yeah that messed up.)
good fanfic.
This is a good story.
Very nice story good job
It was very nice and realistic. I mean, being replace yourself with someone who is younger and better is really hard to accept. But if you can accept it, you will be remembered for good. Moreover, I also love the end of the story that Dash learnt from Wind Rider, and chose her friends first. Thank you for your beautiful story.
Anyway, I didn't notice this story too late, did I?
He should take a look at Scootaloo.
This is one of the few fanfics I've seen that gave Wind Rider any dimension.
Didn't even realize this fic is already a few years old.
It was an ice look into Wind Rider's thoughts, and made him more believable if not actually sympathetic for doing what he did. Him talking so openly with Rainbow Dash was a great look into both of them.
I would really pity someone like Wind Rider. One thing I've always tried to do first and foremost is know myself. That said, knowing me, I'd honestly, if I could work up the courage, try to uplift this misguided aging stallion, as I know what it's like to become an unwanted outcast. Wind Rider needed to learn that, if one must feel like a legend or one worthy to be remembered, only one place should ever matter; in their own head, and things will potentially sort themselves out overtime (that without this outlook, there is literally next to no hope for him at this point). Have no expectations of others (for his own sake to forget the past/fans/Wanderbolts while looking forward) doing what you love most the best you currently can, and you might just get to some extent what you always wanted (perhaps even if it's just a fraction of that, better than nothing). Life usually works in ironies, while on the path to avoid something, you tend to encounter it anyway (so focus on you - friends and success may follow, but expect nothing less than a life where you must create your own happiness to stay grounded in reality). This all kinda' reminds me of the song 'Ordinary World' by Duran Duran when put into the proper context.
A deep, beautiful story of the stress of glory and consequences of fame. You really hit the nail on the head with Wind Rider's cynicism and even harder with Rainbow Dash rising to be the better pony at the end.