Seven stitches and several hours later, Gosling could feel the sun rising, even though he was far from any window. Luna’s mangled armor had sliced him wide open, cutting his shoulder almost to the bone. Luna never once said what had done so much damage, she never revealed what the night patrol had battled.
Whatever it was, Luna’s armor had been so damaged that it had to be cut away from her, and parts of her armor appeared to be melted, as if by acid. Her wounds were grievous. Gosling stayed with her as she was being sewn up and treated.
But now, with the coming dawn, he had a job to do. He had to face the day. He was covered with dried blood, both his own and Luna’s. The Princess of the Night was yawning and she looked sleepy as the dawn creeped into their part of the world.
Gosling’s relief had already shown up, and now, it was time to go.
As he headed for the door, he heard Luna’s voice and it stopped him in his tracks. “Private Gosling…”
He stood and waited, his ears quivering. “Thank you, Private Gosling. You helped me without humiliating me. For that, I am grateful. I dost apologise for your shoulder. Had I known...”
Turning his head, Gosling looked over his shoulder. “Think nothing of it. Just a flesh wound, really, nothing compared to what you and the others had to go through. It was my pleasure to have served you, Princess Luna.”
“Gosling…”
Ears erect, he waited, wondering what Luna had to say.
“You are free to go.”
Sighing, Gosling’s ears drooped. That wasn’t what he was expecting to hear. He didn’t know what he expected, but it wasn’t that. He felt disappointed and let down. Not knowing what else to say or do, he left.
Now showered and ready for work, Gosling entered into Raven’s office, knowing he was late, but he had a good excuse. He didn’t expect to be in trouble. Raven’s office was a whirlwind of activity. He wore no armor, knowing that he didn’t need it. He had come in ready to deal with the night dispatches, ready to work at the telegraph bench. Something told him that would not be happening, at least not right away.
The office was filled with assistants and members of the signal corps. The room was filled with a dull roar of sound as everypony present spoke to one another in excited, stressful voices. Gosling stood in the door, not certain of what to do, or what was going on.
“Private Gosling,” a unicorn mare said as she turned to face him so she could address him. “My name is Daisy Doily and I am one of Raven’s assistants. She is busy at the moment. There is going to be a major press release at eight o’clock.”
“Oh?” Gosling’s eyebrow raised in curiousity.
Daisy Doily nodded and her bobbed mane bounced around in a manner most fetching. “Skyfire Flash is going to make a full confession to the press and you are expected to be there, in armor, as Private Gosling.”
Stunned, Gosling’s mouth fell open. “What? She’s here?”
“Yes.” Daisy Doily nodded.
“She’s here and nopony told me?” Gosling shook his head and fought the rising urge to become angry. He took a deep breath—anger had no place here. Daisy Doily had done nothing wrong. It was important to keep his cool. He tried to remember what he had learned in his command courses. His brain failed him, he could remember nothing that would apply to this situation, but his anger fizzled out because of his moment of distraction.
“The confession is only the beginning. Nobilem Atrium Equorum will be called together for the first time in almost two hundred years—”
“What… wait, please, forgive me, but slow down… what was that you just said?” Gosling gave Daisy Doily an apologetic smile and hoped that he would be forgiven for being rude.
“The Royal Court of Equestria… the high court of the land.” Daisy Doily looked up at Gosling. “It means it is a case tried by royalty. At least one alicorn will be sitting as one of the judges. Don’t know who yet.”
Stunned, woozy from pain and painkillers, Gosling staggered backwards as though he had been struck. He felt his stomach begin tying itself into knots. Bitter bile seared the back of Gosling’s tongue. He smacked his lips as the taste of acid filled his mouth. In a gritty whisper, he asked, “Is that really necessary?”
“She has committed a crime against the Royal Family, has committed various crimes of conspiracy, and charges of treason are being considered.” Daisy Doily blinked. “Any acts perpetrated against the Crown have to be treated seriously. There are no slaps on the muzzle.”
Shaking his head, Gosling found he had no words to say.
“She accepted a considerable sum of money with the intent of defrauding the Royal Family. She’s pregnant, and she planned to tell the press that the foal is yours—”
“What?” Gosling felt his blood run cold. The icy chill that started at his dock and crept up his spine was so cold that it made his whole body shudder with a violent tremble. He felt his pelt along his spine prickle and quiver, causing his hair to stand up.
“—with the intent to gain hush money from the Royal Family to avoid scandal.”
The room began spinning around Gosling and he heard a rushing sound in his ears, it was like being in hurricane force winds. He felt pressure behind his eyes and his mouth went dry, then flooded with saliva, and then went dry again. He felt his stomach bucking around inside of him like a bronco beset with bees.
A cold sweat dribbled down Gosling’s sides and for a second, he was certain that he was going to throw up all over Daisy Doily. He bolted from the room, taking off at a run, and took off for the nearest bathroom, not knowing if he would make it.
Cursing his armor, Gosling wanted to take it off. For some reason, it didn’t feel right. It pinched into his body and was uncomfortable. His helmet felt too small. He couldn’t stop sweating and there was a bad taste in his mouth that he couldn’t get rid of, no matter how much he brushed his teeth or swished with mouthwash.
This was going to be a miserable day. He had been having a lot of miserable days as of late. Sullen, out of sorts, he rounded the corner and headed for the press hall. He hated that room. He hated the press. Well, not all of the press. He liked Seville.
Then, he saw her. She loomed large and white. A look of worry was upon her face. Gosling could see pain in her eyes. Thinking nothing of himself, he rushed to her side. He gazed up and saw her looking down at him. Something about her eyes made it difficult for him to breathe, or perhaps it was his helmet strap tightening around his throat as he looked up.
“Heart’s Dearest,” Gosling said to Celestia.
“Gosling… how are you holding up? I’m sorry that we did not get a chance to speak last night. You were in bed.” Lowering her head, Celestia touched noses with Gosling, bumping his snoot with her own. “I heard about what you did for Luna.” As Celestia spoke, her lips brushed up against Gosling’s.
“I’m not doing well,” Gosling said, admitting the truth, even though he was hesitant to do so. Tilting his head to one side, he surprised Celestia with a kiss, latching on to her lips with his own.
“Gosling, there is so much going on. I don’t even know where to begin. You should have been told about not leaving the palace without an escort. I feel that Luna and I were responsible for that breach of protocol, because we left without an escort. We were a bad example. An officer was supposed to come and inform you… he failed in his duties and is now being disciplined.” Celestia’s ears dropped. “Gosling, I don’t know how to tell you this, but you are going to be disciplined as well.”
“For what?” Gosling asked. “For leaving?”
“For threatening Sergeant Shamrock,” Celestia replied in a low whisper, “I don’t know everything that happened, but there are witnesses that heard you do it. Gosling, darling, you must learn to watch what you say. Everything you say and do will be met with scrutiny.”
“He flirted with my mother,” Gosling said as his feathers fluffed out. “Right in front of me! He’s lucky that I didn’t floor him!” Gosling took a deep breath and felt a hot flush in his cheeks. “Not that I could. I’ve watched Shamrock lay twenty ponies flat in an open brawl and he wasn’t even breathing hard when he was done. Not even the dust sticks to him.”
“Gosling, darling, you have a very pretty mother. If I might be honest, your mother has it going on.”
Flummoxed, Gosling stared up at Celestia in a state of dumbfounded stupification.
“Your response needs work. Remember Gosling, poker face. Raven is trying to teach you. You need to listen to her, or she is going to twist those adorable little ears of yours right off, and then I will be left with nothing to whisper my secrets into.”
His face contorted into a sour scowl and he looked down at the floor, staring down at his own hooves. He could feel Celestia breathing on him. He hoped that she wasn’t too disappointed. He snorted and could feel the back of his throat burning, a painful tickle that wasn’t going away.
“You must hurry, Gosling. You need to be going. Present yourself well.” Celestia kissed Gosling on the white spot between his ears. “Remember, everything you do is under scrutiny. Poker face. Be the good little pony that I know you can be.”
“I’ll do my best,” Gosling promised as he looked back up at Celestia.
The room was hot with bodies. Far too many ponies were crammed into a small space. Flashbulbs popped every few seconds. Gosling surveyed the scene. He saw Skyfire Flash and his heart sank. She looked terrified beyond reason, her eyes were red, bloodshot, and she was weeping. Her frightened eyes darted from one direction to another with each shout and each flash of a camera. Gosling realised that the press was going to eat her alive.
Skyfire’s mother was sitting in the corner, with her back facing the press, he could see that she was sobbing. She had her face covered with her wings and with each pop of a flashbulb she cringed as if being struck. Beside her, Skyfire’s father glared at his daughter and Gosling could not read his expression. Anger? Hatred? It was impossible to tell.
One thing was for certain, whatever relationship Skyfire had with her parents was never going to be the same. Nothing in her life would ever be the same, just like nothing in his life would ever be the same. No matter what either of them did, neither of them could ever go back to having a normal life. Thinking of this, Gosling pitied her.
He felt like weeping himself. As much as he hated her, she didn’t deserve this. Nopony deserved this. He looked and saw Blueblood. He looked tired and worn out. Gosling suspected that Blueblood had been awake all night. He certainly looked that way.
Rooted where he stood, Gosling came to a slow understanding. He couldn’t deal with this. He could not stand here and watch as this happened. He just couldn’t. He felt no love for Skyfire, not after what she had done, he was still sorting out just how much he hated her with lots of therapy and seeing a counselor.
This was wrong. Gosling felt his stomach twisting into knots inside of him. Skyfire was going to confess everything she had done and the press were going to rip her to shreds. Afterwards, her life wouldn’t be worth anything. He couldn’t watch this happen. He started to feel sick again and his sinuses burned as he tried to swallow an acidic belch.
“I’ll not be part of this,” Gosling said in a creaky voice. Before anypony could say anything or even react, he was gone, having turned tail and galloped out of the door.
Hooves clattering over the marble floors, Gosling ran away, no longer caring, consequences be damned. He slipped and skittered as he went around corners. He thought about fleeing Canterlot. He thought about going AWOL. This place brought out the worst in ponies. A part of him hated this place. He thought about Skyfire—her life was ending—at least he had the gilded cage to look forward to. He would be a pretty bird in an even prettier cage.
He knew that if he wanted, he could call this off. He could leave. His life would be ended as well. He would be the pony who ran away when it got tough. He had ran away from home when things got tough there. He had no idea where to go or where to run. He loved Celestia, but he wasn’t sure if he could keep doing this. Maybe he didn’t have what it took to keep playing this game.
He came to a skidding, screeching halt on the marble floors and almost smacked into Luna. Her face was swollen and she was covered in bandages. She limped with each step. One wing was in a sling. Some of the bandages were stained crimson. She looked sleepy and in pain.
He stood there, panting, not knowing what to say.
“Private Gosling… what art thou doing?” Luna asked.
“I couldn’t... face it,” Gosling replied, panting.
“This… trollop... the filly that did you wrong… the spoiled little strumpet that sought to besmirch your good name…” Luna paused, blinked, swallowed, and then continued, “She who wanted to do you harm… to do Us harm, she who wanted to cause Us suffering, and you run away?”
“I can’t watch her life end…” Gosling sucked in wind and shook his head as he fought the urge to throw up. “I can’t. She’s a bad pony, she’s awful… but I… I just can’t!”
“And if somepony was to smear the honour of mine sister or I, you would just walk away? Do we mean so little to you?” Luna’s tone was as icy as the void of space. “I had thought you a better pony.”
“She’s just a stupid filly! She doesn’t deserve this!” Gosling snapped. He watched Luna’s head jerk back.
“She deserves this and worse! And you shame us all by running away! Fie on you, wastrel, thou lack even base courage to deal with thine enemies!”
Something inside of Gosling boiled over. Instead of throwing up, he exploded. “LOOK HERE, LITTLE MISS HIGH AND MIGHTY! IT’S THAT KIND OF HAUGHTY ATTITUDE THAT MAKES PONIES AFRAID OF YOU AND NOT WANT YOU AROUND!”
“How dare you speak to me in such a tone!” Luna barked in a voice thick with pain.
“That right there! This is why ponies love your sister but are scared enough to piss around you!” Gosling’s lip curled back into a snarl.
“Silence thine disrespectful mouth this instant!” Luna demanded.
“You know what? You can take that long princessly horn of yours—”
“Silence!”
“—and you can stick it up your own ass—”
“Silence!”
“—and you can go and f—”
“SILENCE!”
“ —k yourself! Go back into the dark of the night where you belong, you nightmare!”
Gosling did not see the wounded look of agony on Luna’s face as he bolted away. He ran as though Tartarus had spilled open behind him. After building up speed, he took off, flying indoors, swooping through the hallway in an almost blind state as tears burned his eyes and blurred his vision.
Over the beating of his own wings, he did not hear the sound of Luna weeping.
God damnit. Oh this is going to be hell. After the previous endeavor, stress, and just that epiphany. *sigh* this is going to take a while to fix. And naturally, Luna will take it literally, Celestia to the heart, just one big mess. Why you do this Kudz? This hurts, the heart. Not Captain going down with her ship The Red Tear in Fear to tread pain, but pain nonetheless.
Oh and the press wil have a feild day with this.
Please, it's obvious. The denial of the call to action.
Onward, have to say it is sucky, Skyfire is a small fry getting the book thrown at her because they are used to facing big threats. She's a tool being treated like a mastermind. I'm reminded of some farce on Victorian England of a powder-wigged judge lambasting the horrible criminal sent before him, only to turn the camera and show some 7 year old street urchin about to get serious jail time for thumbing his nose at someone. Can't remember what it was though, a hundred Spike mustaches if you can find the clip in a gif or youtube.
At least with this update schedule we won't be in suspense long.
::Goes on month long hiatus::
Yeouch.
Can't judge either of them too harshly. People say dumb things when they're stressed and tired.
*excited Folklorist noises*
Joseph Campbells' Hero's Journey, from "The Hero with a Thousand Faces?"
If I were to guess, I'd say "Atonement with the Father"--confronting the person with absolute power over you, and it not going super-well.
Or maybe "The Road of Trials"--a series of tests. Not exactly sure.
Either way, once again--well done!
7187437
- Obligatory.
Woona!
Woona is hurt!
*Turns to Gosling*
Ya dun fucked up Gosling! Ya dun fucked up!
Anyway... I demandeth moar! - eth
7187452
So... Threshold Guardians right now?
7187452
hehe--I've never seen that one before--good stuff! Thanks for the tip!!
7187452 *claps* that's great. But i fail to see where this is.
7187480
Gosling is a common rank and file solider and then one day, Cadance be all like, "Hey, this guy should be dating my aunt!"
Stuff happens! Right now, the hero is being tested. He has hit his low point. Now, it is time for the hero to double down and get strong.
We need a montage!
7187501
We're gonna need Montaaaage!
(Montage yeah!)
7187472
7187480
Folklorist interjection!
It's possible Kudzu is referring to something else--I've never heard of the Hero's Arc as such--but,often, Campbell's monomyth is relayed as a series of plot points, i.e., different ways in which these characters interact.Easy explanation:
7187511
Oh, I was being intentionally vague, because I'm an
assholekind, nice person who wants to help others. I want people to figure this stuff out for themselves.*tilts head* Gosling... where the hell did that come from? Luna has every right to be cheesed off, and yes she's being an insensitive ass, and yes she's pushing your buttons, but to instantly go for the jugular like that, the hell man?! I was fine with pretty much everything right up until you called her a nightmare.
I get that shit is rough, but you have got to be better than that. It's times like this that I'm reminded of his relative youth.
Um what's Heros Arc? Is that part of the Weedverse?
7187535 http://bfy.tw/5bX9
7187530
Sorry... again, don't want to hit that button *too* hard, but this is what I (want to) do professionally. So, I got a little excited
7187535 See my previous comment(s).
7187542
Oh, it's fine. I'm stoked that somebody gets it. I put a lot of work into this.
The Hero's Journey is a new concept to me, will have to research that more.
But what do know is that Celestia is going to be both extremely angry and heartbroken with what Gosling has just done (running as well as insulting Luna), Sleet is going to be furious with her son and possibly everypony else for the whole thing (I'm not convinced she's going to put up with the political game that's going on around her once she learns some of the details - assuming she hasn't already), and Raven is going to rip Goslings ears off, sew them back on, and then rip them of again; possibly more than once. I have no idea what Luna is going to do other than possibly close herself off a bit more from other ponies after this.
Somepony send some malox to Gosling, I think he's gonna need it.
7187534 He's young. That and there's a limit that anyone, no matter who they are can take before the pressure snaps like Gosling did. Don't think he's had any downtime since that week between just him and Celestia.
Dude, damn.
7187501 Poor guy needs a day to himself and maybe with Celestia as well ever so often. That kind of constant pressure can literally kill someone. Could see his outburst coming a few chapters back, poor Luna was just the straw that popped the baloon.
7187575
Personally, I'm kinda hoping for the opposite reaction. Gosling has screwed up, and he knows he's screwed up, and I'm sure that would come through in his expression/bearing, etc. I feel/hope that a) Gosling's opened a wound for Luna, which will allow her to get on the road to recovery, b) any punishment/chastisement from Celestia will be relatively minor, and will end in snuggles, etc., as she attempts to reassure him, c) that everyone kisses and makes up (literally?) and d) that Skyfire Flash gets off easy. I think I agree with Gosling: she done goofed, but I don't think she deserves what (he thinks) is coming to her.
Of course, Kudzu has subverted expectations before, so...
7187586
MWAHAHAHAHAH I AM A CRAFTY, MANIACAL BASTARD!
7187430
Skyfire Flash no doubt used her parents' wealth and influence to obtain whatever she wanted and then came along Gosling who put his hoof down and told her no. She like a lot to teens today who believe that they can do whatever they please as their elders are unable to punish them without them being labled a child abuser and thus do not consider or care about the consequences of their actions until it actually catches up to them.
Is Skyfire Flash going to be torn apart? Accepting a bribe from a reporter to tell a full blown lie in hopes of ruining Gosling's reputation out of pure spite isn't nearly as bad as conspiring with said reporter into blackmailing the royal family into giving her hush money once the foal was born. And now she's finally forced to face the full gravity of situation and what she had done not only backlashed on her but because of her age it has backlashed on her parents. Her bold faced lie and conspiracy towards blackmail has ruined their reputations as well as any future her unborn foal might've had as well.
As for Luna, somepony really needed to give her a slap of reality as her adittude towards the whole situation easily brings back memories of Nightmare Moon.
7187588
The reality of it is, that no matter what we come up with, we're probably wrong. Your maniacal laughter is properly earned.
7187592 She could give the foal up for adoption and hope people will forget its past, especially if they send it to another location. With her odds aren't so good people will remember what she did
One way or another that castle is going to kill the Gosling, Celestia loves before he even gets a chance to propose.
7187534 I sympathyze with Gosling, but there are just some things you don't do...
There is preparing a young soldier for battle, but then there is sending one into the media front with almost no training save for some words and a few games of cards.
Lots of blame to go around. The stress is getting to everyone.
7187685
Communications... it keeps being brought up for a reason. He's been trained for this.
That said, book learning is totes different than real world application.
7187588 he really, really is....
the hellll
7187592
She's not nice, but we don't know much about her. Likely she's the same age as Gosling, so 15, and went to school with him, so again probably in the same low socio-economic space. Is it story canon that she's rich? I don't think so.
So, a poor filly who will likely never have much chance of ever leaving Manhattan or having much in the way of a future. Somepony desperate with nothing to lose who got talked into a very bad decision.
Again, she's not nice, but she doesn't deserve this level of punishment. Gosling sees that and that is why he's sad about what's happening.
7187690 Also, take into account the double standard that slapped Gosling in the face: he's expected to take part in destroying a filly's life, but can't stand up for his mother even if it was meant in a joking fashion.
7187430
Are you talking about the scene in Sweeney Todd where Judge Turpin sentences some homeless kid to dangle by the neck for a bunch of petty crimes? I'd link the scene but I can't track it down on youtube
Um.....wow.....so.....that happened. The drama is real.
Really, I think we see something that is rather the point of the story, particularly with regards to the Hero's Arc. If this is the low-point, then the only place to go from here is up.
Particularly now that Gosling has seen what happens in the upper echelons of society, having come from the bottom of it himself. Out of everyone who is being counted as part of the "royal family," he seems to be the only one that's able to see an obvious injustice being done; that doing this to Skyfire Flash is functionally no different from publicly hanging her. It's going to have the same end result, and she will be dead to society. Her parents are going to suffer for it too, when from what we've seen, they've done nothing wrong. Then there's the issue of the foal-to-be, which has also done nothing wrong. Ever.
The response, as understandable as it is, is disproportionately severe to the offense, and while that is certainly punishment, it is also not justice.
What I really want to see is Gosling's reaction towards Celestia, as she was going to allow this to happen, and what this means for him going forward now that he has a real enemy to face.
Belly of the whale; if i'm not mistaken.
Huh. So, how long ago was Gosling’s issue with Skyfire? Given his conversation with Sleet a few chapters back about all the classes he took and how well he has been doing in the guard, I would have expected his career so far to be too long to fit inside a single pregnancy's duration. Or is this just a question of making the accusations with no firm plan on making sure the little details add up?
Hmn, well, at least this brewing issue with Luna has finally come to a point. A very sharp point.
Hero's Arc... would this be the rejection of the call to action?
Gosling's goose is cooked
At first that was stuff Luna needed to hear...but towards the end...that was just COLD, MEAN, and CRUEL
The scene with Luna feels wrong and out of place. The first few things were accurate and good for her to hear. The last part though I don't think can be defended.
Gosling runs off to puke so often, one would think he's anorexic.
A mother could die...
Ouch
8450955
You mean "bulimic"
this would be 'the fall' its not in every version of the heros arc, its used when the hero is aimed to be more understandable to the common folk, to be falable..the fall is often followed by either the hero turning to darkness if its a tragidy or if the writer wants to plot twist and introduce a new hero, or dieing perhaps, or its followed by an atonment arc, not redemption i must stress redemption can be a function of something external, atonement is a personal journey, you seek to make that which you have done right with your own hoves.
this is also an example of a trope, one of my favorites 'nice job breaking it hero!' its when the hero acidently or in the heat of the moment does something that either does the villans job for them or somehow causes harm to a charicter (usualy a love interest) that doesnt deserve it.
Good story, I still heavily disagree with the portrayal of BPD in Luna. Specially how its supposed to be handled.