Pinkie Pie squirmed in the chair in front of Principal Celestia's desk. Her hair was limp and lifeless, and her bright blue eyes were clouded with worry, shame, and a tinge of fear. Her head bowed like a scolded puppy, she snuck darting glances up at the stern face of Principal Celestia before casting her eyes down at her lap, at the top of the desk, at Celestia's nameplate, at anything else she could look at.
Celestia softened her gaze and sighed. "Pinkie Pie," she said in a soft, patient voice, "I didn't call you in here to punish you or to yell at you. Actually, strictly speaking, I can't punish you for this. I mean, this is something your parents have to make that decision about."
Pinkie trembled. "N-no, I...I really don't want them to know..."
Celestia frowned. "I don't approve of lying to your parents, young lady," she admonished sternly. "And what you've done, well...it is serious. They need to be aware."
"You don't understand," Pinkie said, her voice wavering. "Mom and Dad are super-strict. If they knew..." She shuddered. "I don't know what they'd do to me, but it'd be a super-duper overreaction! Like, I mean...well..." She risked a glance up at Celestia. "Can't we just keep this between us and...and maybe my sister Maud? She's supposed to be looking out for me and my other sisters."
Celestia's lips thinned. After a moment, she sighed. "Did you take the video down?"
"Y-yes," Pinkie said. "Umm...I can't promise it isn't, y'know, all over the Internet by now, but the original's gone."
Celestia nodded. "If the video's been uploaded elsewhere, the chances of your parents learning about it are fairly high," she said.
Pinkie shook her head. "They're traditionalists," she said. "The only technology they own on the farm is a landline. They don't even have electric lights."
Celestia pinched the bridge of her nose. "That doesn't mean certain people won't contact them," she said. "Pinkie, I don't think you understand how serious what you've done is."
Pinkie ducked her head miserably. "I was just having a little fun," she whined.
"Fun that puts you at risk," Celestia pointed out. "Fun that gives people the wrong idea about you. Fun thatโ"
Pinkie flinched. "Y-yeah," she said shakily. "I've already been getting some...looks." She sighed. "Not that I mind guys looking at me, you know, it's just...I know what they were thinking, and..." She played with the hem of her longer-than-usual skirt. "I don't like it."
Celestia sighed. "I'll see to it Luna handles the boys at CHS in a...discreet manner," she said.
"Some of the girls too," Pinkie said softly.
Celestia groaned. "Of course." She shook her head. "What possessed you, Pinkie Pie? What made you think posting that video to social media was a good idea?"
Pinkie wilted. "I was bored," she said miserably. "I know all about, y'know...girls who post videos of themselves doing stuff like that. It sounded like fun. I mean, I like doing...that, and I'm pretty and...I guess I just wanted to..."
"To do something that made you feel sexy?" Celestia supplied. At Pinkie's weak nod, Celestia sighed. "Well, it's not like you're the first girl who ever did something like that. And what you actually did isn't wrong. I have a whole box full of old videotapes in my closet of myself doing exactly what you did." She snorted. "Hell, some of them are a lot more..." She shook her head. "The problem is, you shouldn't have put that out on the Internet. You should've kept it for yourself. Maybe...shared it with people you really trust. In person. Maybe a special somebody, if you're into that. Butโ"
"But putting it on MyStable was a really bad idea," Pinkie said. "I know. I don't know why Iโ" She sighed and looked down at her hands, which were now folded in her lap. "I'm never gonna live this one down, am I?"
"It'll take time," Celestia said softly, soothingly, her eyes gentle. "It'll take time. But..." She reached across the desk and lifted Pinkie's chin to face her, giving her a gentle, reassuring smile. "Look at it this way. The entire school got over Sunset Shimmer turning into a raging demon and trying to mind-control them, not to mention all the other horrible things she managed to get away with. If she can live that down, I'm pretty sure you can live this down."
There was a knock at the door. It opened a crack, and Sunset Shimmer peeked in. "Umm...is sheโ"
Celestia looked up. "Yes, we're done here," she said.
Pinkie stood up and turned. The door opened fully, revealing all of her friends. Offering them a brave smile, she left Celestia's office, her friends' reassuring hands on her shoulders and back bolstering her.
Let's just pretend you didn't read that fic, I didn't read that fic and we all just assume it came from personal experience. Yup, let's just do that.
Not sure if Pinkie did what I think she did. Or it is not nearly as dirty as my sick mind thinks... Probably the latter.
Aww, that's sweet.
7513233 If what you're thinking is she posted a very NSFW video of herself, then yes.
I know several people that have been in that mess. Saying "know" is a stretch because I don't know either their names or faces; small towns have thicker grapevines.
Though if this is what I think it is:
1.) Don't do it. It comes out one way or another.
2.) So you posted it? Say goodbye to your dream job... Unless that's it... My wallet is out of your hands.
3.) Don't send it to anybody. Trust these days are pretty slim.
Not Safe For Work?
You know, I was actually expecting you'd subvert the expectations on this one.
7513248 Ok my mind was in the right place... CELESTIA HAS WHAT!
Ah, consequences. Every writer's wet dream and simultaneously worst nightmare.
That's the big problem with Internet, even more nowadays with social media.
Indeed, be careful what you post on the internet. And where you post it.
Oh well. Everyone dost stupid stuff from time to time, some more often than others.
I bet her MyStable account has been flagged for takedown already Then again, she did take the video down... but it was on the internet once. It'll eventually resurface if someone digs deep enough. And that's scary.
7513248 Damn, really? I was thinking more of a twerking video, than THAT!
You don't do anything half-way, do you?
Well that was something.
It could have been a video of Pinkie eating a doughnut. Breathing in the mouthwatering chocolate-frosted fragrance, giving the pastry a slow, sensuous lick as she takes the first bite...
I was half expecting a humorous twist at the end, and when that didn't happen, I actually found that I liked this chapter better for it. I also liked how you managed to keep Pinkie Pie's predicament true to real life; I'm sad to say that I can see a girl like her making the kind of mistake you've alluded to, and while to didn't go overboard with the consequences she will faceโa lot of writers would have done just that just to ramp up the angstโit's clear that there is no way anyone can make it all magically go away, even with real magic at their disposal. Pinkie Pie will just have to get through it. Hopefully, here parents are a bit more reasonable here than you made them in Persona EG.
At least Anon-A-Miss doesn't seem to have happened.
7513248 What?! Why would ANYONE post something like that on social media?!
7513544 People, especially teenagers and college kids, do it all the time because they don't have enough sense not to. Teenagers who do it get in MASSIVE trouble for it, too. (It makes national news at least 2-3 times a year...)
So was this inspired from a on site story or a news story?
7513555 Nah, it was just something that occurred to me and I decided to roll with it. (The author's notes specifically say it wasn't inspired by anything. )
7513248 I thought it had been stripping or something, not...that. I didn't even know that was a thing as I never hear about it on the news. Unfortunately if any of the girls were to make that mistake, Pinkie is the first one who comes to mind.
7513462
Pinkie Pie eats a donut. Sexily.
Ouch. Unfortunately, this does seem like the sort of mistake Pinkie would make.
That being said, this has gotten me wondering whether the other girls might make a somewhat similar mistake, but the only one that really comes to mind might be Rarity, and in that case I can picture her sending some risque pictures or even a video to a boyfriend who, if she misjudged his character, might just be a douchebag that would show it to his friends and then it hits the internet and her social life goes to hell.
Fluttershy...okay, she might do something like this, but if she did I am absolutely certain it would be anonymous and you couldn't even tell it was her. Applejack wouldn't even be tempted and it would be a bit too down to Earth to fall for this trap, Sunset is just too socially aware of how badly this could end, Twilight...I honestly don't think this would ever even occur to her, and Rainbow wouldn't see the point and honestly wouldn't be that tempted to try it either.
Sexting usually happens when a girl is under pressure by a significant other but, I suppose, not being part of a social movement would put Pinkie under pressure, wouldn't it?
7513789 Eh, some girls are just body proud, adventurous, or kinky. Or bored.
I'm not following what kind of video are we talking about here? What exactly did she post that was so bad?
7513867 *ahem*
bow chicka wow wow.
this will be the only time i ever post something like this.
She did a dramatic reading of "Cupcakes".
7513553
At my high school, a group of cheerleaders managed to make international news and a Lifetime Television made-for-TV movie was done about their scandal.
The movie obviously exaggerates the story a lot (and has a happy ending), but the group of girls are the reason that Sara's Secret (an adult novelty shop chain) now has a "No Cameras" policy. The scandal is also the root cause for why everyone in my graduating class ended up getting 2 high school diplomas.
Me, I have simple rules:
1. Don't do something stupid
2. If you can't avoid doing something stupid, don't take pictures
3. If you can't avoid taking pictures, don't post them on the internet
7515426 If that's the school I think it is, then yikes. X_x;;
TFW i thought this was a ref to sexy banana eating cause there was news that china banned streaming of it last month and it felt like something pinkie would do
If what she put online is never told a story from Chelis is my headcanon for it
7513505
Yeek. That'd be a whole new can of worms, wouldn't it...
I was waiting the whole chapter for the bike. I must have read over it or something.
7556715 While I do sympathize with receiving downvotes on your story and negative comments--happens to me quite a bit as well--I'm not sure why you feel the need to take me, personally, to task for it based on a comment I made over half a year ago. It's also interesting that you can remember specifically how many downvotes you received half a year ago, how coincidental it was with me posting a chapter of one of my stories where I vent about something I personally find distasteful (and at no point did I ever single you out--I honestly haven't read ANY of those types of stories or even paid attention to who writes them, I just know they turned up in the feature box a lot around that time), and how you can be so sure those downvotes came from my followers specifically.
And, not to put too fine a point on it: you write something a lot of people find distasteful. Isn't it more reasonable to expect that you would receive harsh criticism and downvotes for that--just as I have for certain stories I've written, like my Applejack gangrape fic? I got trashed over writing that, and I fully understand why it happened. It's a thing that upsets and offends people, and on the Internet--especially on sites like this--when people get upset and offended, they react. Sometimes severely.
Again, I sympathize with your frustration over downvotes and harsh comments. But there's no reason you should take it out on me. Especially not half a year later.
(Hell, I don't even know you aside from having read one or two of your stories and having a bunch more on my RIL lists. I have no quarrel with you. I don't see any reason for you to have one with me over something I have no control over.)
7556807
All that happened immediately after you posted that blog post. You can see it jump in the stats of the story on the fourth.
I never said I had a quarrel with you over it since you have a right to talk about it however you want to, but I'm just saying that even if you didn't intend to, making a blog and a chapter about it while a story that specifically pushed you to write it was still in the feature box can urge people to do that kind of thing. I really don't mind that much since people were already doing it before you even posted that blog and I've already been dealing with this kind of thing for years, but when it comes to being able to control people lashing out over it, doing it while there was an easily accessible target still sitting in the feature box isn't the best way to discourage that behavior.
Mmm... preachy, but nice job.
I'd like to think Pinkie would be too naive, innocent and childish to try something like this. I could see someone tricking her into doing but, as much as I find Pinkie obnoxious and annoying I can't picture her doing that. The only character who might do something like this without any form of trickery or peer pressure would be Trixie because of her need for attention, though Starlight for all her faults would have enough sense to talk her out of it.
Good story with a good message.
7513253
I wonder if that "Well now you've fucked up your future careerwise forever" thing is going to start changing soon. Because when people have had ubiquitous internet, and smartphones with their cameras, and social media in various forms for their entire lives, the expectations are going to have to change. I would not be surprised at all if, a couple of decades from now, everyone would expect there's a recording of everyone doing something risque or stupid or stupidly risque out there, and it's just plain not a big deal unless it's something extraordinarily unsavory.
i like to think that if there ever was a more serious EQG series that it could teach lessons like this, i know it'll never happen but a guy can dream right?
Trixie does not get it what did the silly pink mare do now ?
7766661 Probably a sex tape or a record of her masturbating
MyStable huh? Is that what the kids are using these days?
To tell the truth, I was expecting for their to be a bait and switch where it was actually something else considered Serious Business. But this is OK too.
7769653
Nope. Celestia said what she did wasn't "technically wrong". An underage person uploading themselves sexing up a person, or masterbating and uploading is wrong. Not to mention illegal (under most laws sexting, viewing pictures of nude teenagers, and acts of sex by underage people. Is considered pedophilia and is covered under the Child Pornography Laws.).
So sex / masturbation would be definitely wrong (and in some places could land her in jail). So it must be something else / not sexually explicit.
I just wish it'd be clear on what she actually did.
We have gone from "the misbehaving student needs to be taught that misbehaving is bad" to "the misbehaving student needs to be shielded from potential consequences of misbehavior by reprimanding students who have not misbehaved."
Something is VERY WRONG about this.