“Are you sure you want to do this?” Ornate asked, pushing a strand of her styled mane behind her ear. “The twins can be quite the hoofful at times, especially when Blueblood gets up to his tricks.”
“Really, Ornate, I’ve got this,” Class Act said, rolling her eyes. “I mean, sure, if there was diaper changing involved, it’d be a different story, but they’re potty trained, I can use magic around the filly, and you two haven’t given yourself a night out in nearly a year and a half.” The pink mare smiled more genuinely. “Don’t worry so much and enjoy yourself, okay. Besides it’s the least I can do for, you know, spoiling the party.”
Ornate winced. “You didn’t spoil anything, Class, all of us were just overreacting is all and ganged up on you. There’s no need to apologize for that.”
“Nuh-uh, I’m not going to hear any of it. Mom’s been telling me for years that I never think before I speak, and she’s right. But I’m making a change today to be a better, kinder Class Act starting now. I upset you on a day you only should have been happy, and I’m going to make it up to you.”
“But sending the staff away, too?” questioned Ornate. “Really, Class, Blueblood and I could take a day off anytime and they’d be perfectly fine watching the foals… Well, mostly, anyway. We just haven’t gotten around to it.”
Class raised an eyebrow. “It wouldn’t be much of a favor if I just let the staff watch your children with me. Besides, everypony can use more days off. Most of your servants seemed pretty happy to get out of the house.”
“That’s because my son is having too much fun with magic again,” Ornate mumbled, before speaking up. “I just really think this is unnecessary, is all.”
“Okay, the twins are in bed,” Blueblood the 16th called, entering the foyer. “They should be out for at least the next hour. You ready to go, Honey?” he asked, eyeing his wife up and down and growling. “Looks like it, I haven’t seen you in that number since before the foals were born, and I must say, I’ve missed it.”
The mare, wearing a red satin dress, blushed and swatted her husband. “Oh hush, I was just making sure Class Act actually wanted to do this, especially if it’s going to be on her own. With how our son has been-”
“I’m sure she can handle it just fine. She’s a grown mare after all, aren’t you, Class?” Blueblood cut off, nervous. He did not want his wife to change her mind after nearly eighteen months of trying to convince her it was okay. They really needed this.
Class Act turned her nose up proudly. “Exactly. I mean, you’re making it sound like watching your foals is going to be harder than memorizing a bajillion lines or something. I've totally got this, cuz.”
Ornate went to argue, but her husband began herding her out the door. “You heard her, she’s got this, so come on, don’t want to be late for our reservation, do we? We’ll be back in three or four hours! Help yourself to anything in the kitchen! Snacks are in there for the foals! Okay bye!”
Class stopped her lazy waving once the door slammed shut and blew a strand of her blue mane from her eyes. “That stallion is such a weirdo,” she mused, walking into the living room and reaching into the bag she left by the couch. Pulling out a script, she flopped down on the cushions and flipped open the first page. While she didn’t agree with Uncle Revel’s decision for the next production, she would still put her all into the performance. She was a professional, after all.
A loud creak awoke the young mare as she jerked her head up, a strand of drool stretched between her lip and the pages of her script. Augh, Our Town was such a boring play. How could such a fun-loving stallion like her Uncle choose such drivel?
The room was dim and she looked out the window to realize the sun had set. “How long was I out?” Class mumbled as she wiped the spit from her lip. She was going to get up and check, but the giggle that suddenly echoed through the house had her pulling her hooves back up under her. “Who’s there?” she called out, eyes darting about.
Her answer was another giggle and a fainter, high-pitched whisper. Her heart was beginning to speed up before she remembered what she was supposed to be doing. With a relieved sigh, Class called, “Okay you two, enough hiding, I know you’re around here somewhere.”
All she got in response was a rattling from the kitchen. Sighing, the mare got up, lit her horn a light pink just bright enough to guide her path, and headed towards the source of the sound. As she arrived, she saw the light was on and so unlit her horn. “You two hungry? I think your mom left apple slices in the fridge for-” She was stunned silent by the sight of two chairs perched precariously atop each other with a little filly holding the base steady while a colt stood on top, head buried in the cookie jar set on the fridge.
The filly’s eyes went wide upon seeing their foalsitter. “We’ve been had! Quick, throw the cookies down!” At this, the colt looked up, mouth brimming with cookies as he made a surprised sound in the back of his throat.
Class Act’s heart froze when the colt lost his balance and toppled over. Her legs didn’t however as she lunged forward, horn igniting to catch her ward. Just as his descent slowed, a squeak of pain emanated from the filly who stumbled, having been attempting to catch her brother, and instead unintentionally bowling the older mare’s hooves out from under her.
Magic cut off, Class fell over, though luckily not onto Pure, and soon became a cushion for Blueblood’s landing. All three groaned as they got their bearings, with Blueblood being the first to recover. Quickly scrambling to his hooves, he rolled off the pile and gathered the stolen cookies in his magic.
“Come on, Pure, let’s go!” he called to his sister who was rubbing her head. Not waiting for an answer, he took off and Pure struggled to follow. Before she could make it more than three steps however, a pair of thin forelegs wrapped around her waist.
“Gotcha, you little trouble-maker!” Class Act crowed. Blueblood glanced at the struggling filly, eyes wide, before turning tail and running out of the kitchen.
"Brother, where are you going?! Come back and help me!” Pureblood fruitlessly pulled against her captor, grunting. “Traitor! At least leave me a cookie!”
“Pureblood, stop that!” Class demanded as she sat up, and to her surprise, the filly actually did, going limp in her grip with a sigh. “What were you two even thinking, doing something so dangerous? Like, I expect a stunt like this from a colt, they’re reckless, but you’re a filly, I expected better. And aren’t you supposed to be super smart?”
“Umm, Bluey is very persuasive?” Pure tried, attempting to appear innocent. When Class Act didn’t look convinced, Pureblood pouted and crossed her hooves. “It was a calculated risk,” she grumbled. “With Blueblood’s magic, it wasn’t that dangerous, and the payoff was Mom’s triple chocolate cookies. She only lets me have three a day. Three! You understand, don’t you?”
Class continued to stare for a moment longer, then says, “Okay, yeah, I can see where you’re coming from.” She really did. No doubt that was Aunt Golden’s recipe, making those cookies as delicious as they were waistline destroying. “But that doesn’t change the fact that that was a totally dangerous stunt and I’m going to have to tell your parents about this.”
This got a panicked look from the filly. “W-what? No! Please don’t tell Mom and Dad!”
“No can do, little missy, you should have thought about that before you decided to play Jenga with the kitchen furniture. Now where’s that brother of yours? Blueblood! Get your little patootie out here right now!”
As she waited, expecting a guilty colt to come slinking into the kitchen any second, she heard the limp filly in her hooves sniffle. “They’re going to be so disappointed, and all for some stupid cookies. I’m such an idiot.”
Blinking at the self-deprivation, Class Act wanted to say something comforting, but an ominous voice stopped her. “You made little sister cry… I don’t like you.”
Shocked by the odd statement, Class could only mutter, “W-what?”
“Let her go, or be sorry.”
For a second, the mare thought of complying, until remembered who she was dealing with. “Blueblood, enough playing around. Come out here now.”
“… Come and get me.”
Class gasped, Oh, his parents were definitely going to hear about this. “Okay, fine, make it harder for yourself. I hope you get no dessert for a week because of this.” Standing up, she looked down to the sad filly in her the crook of her foreleg. It’d be a pain walking around on three legs, but she couldn’t carry her with magic. “Pure, I’m going to put you on my back, so hold onto my neck. You’re not going to cause any trouble, right?”
“No ma'am,” was her solemn reply as she was placed across her foalsitter’s withers. “But you probably shouldn’t play Bluey’s games. He’s gotten really creative with them despite only using levitation with his magic. The staff here says he’s Discord incarnate… whatever that means.”
Rolling her eyes, Class responded, “I’m sure I can handle one colt.” Stepping out into the dim hallway, contemplating on whether it would be safe to use her horn as a light source again when she had Pureblood on her back. Luckily, she remembered she wouldn’t have to and began running a hoof along the wall.
As she finally found the switch, the mare thought how lucky Ornate was to live in one of the few homes in Canterlot equipped with electric lights. It was definitely a convenience she’d be investing in someday. “There, let’s see the little fella hide now,” she said cheekily, before jolting at the sound of squeaking from above.
Looking up revealed each light bulb being surrounded by a blue glow one by one and being twisted from their sockets. Class Act gaped as each bulb subsequently flew down the hall and around the corner. “Told you so,” Pure whispered.
“Yeah…” Class breathed before shaking her head. “I mean, no, that’s not impressive at all. I could do that too.” When I was ten, was left unsaid.
“Let Pure go and leave,” Blueblood warned from the shadows.
Steeling her nerves, the foalsitter called back, “Not gonna happen. You and your sister are going into time out until your parents get home.” The response this time was a raspberry, and Class Act was officially done. “That’s it!” she yelled as she ran down the hall. She was not going to be insulted by a pony who probably still wet the bed.
Turning the corner, her vision was immediately obscured by an object flying towards her face, though luckily for the young mare’s career, they turned out to just be pillows. With a loud pomf and a spray of feathers, Class came to a halt, only to be pelted by several more downy objects of doom. Falling to her rump, she hacked both from the quills in her mouth and nostrils and her passenger tightening her grip around her neck.
“Um, are you okay?” Pure asked.
With one final whinnying sneeze, the last of the feathers were expelled from Class' airways and she could answer. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Where’d your brother go?”
“Oh, I think I saw him heading towards our room,” Pure supplied, looking hesitant. “Miss Act, I think maybe you should give up.” At the angry huff and weak glare directed at her, Pure eeped. “N-not that you can’t catch him, but, um, somepony might get hurt, and I can probably calm him down.”
“Yes, and then I won’t tell your parents what you two did tonight because of how thankful I’ll be.” Class said, head bobbing slightly with each sarcastic word. “Yeah right. I was a filly too once, I know all the tricks. Perfecting the puppy dog eyes was what earned me my cutie mark.”
Ignoring the filly’s denial of manipulation, Class Act continued her crusade, determined to prove her superiority to this insufferable little colt. Remembering which room her cousin said was the foals, Class Act came to stop in front of the door and called out, “There’s nowhere for you to go, kid, come out peacefully and I might be able to convince your parents to only ground you for half of your life. It’s a sweet deal, I suggest you take it.”
“Never surrender!” Blueblood answered, quoting his Grandpa Shield.
Class smirked. “I hoped you’d say that. You were a worthy adversary, all things considered, but your rebellion ends here.” With a roar, she opened the door and charged, only for her hoof to catch on a twisted up bed sheet pulled along the bottom of the entrance and to topple forward into a pyramid stack of blocks spelling out U-ARE-SMELLY.
There was a screech from both mare and filly as gravity took hold accompanied by an evil laugh of a very misbehaved colt. The boy had to be given credit however, as his sister was shot from her captor’s back, over the toppled blocks, only to land safely on a stack of pillows
As Pureblood stood dizzily, her brother ran to grab her by the hoof. “Come on! Let’s get out of here!” She didn’t resist as she was dragged out of the room, still trying to stop her head spinning.
As they passed the down mare, she attempted to stand and give chase. “H-hey, you two, get back he- Ah!” Class Act buckled as soon as she put pressure on her front left leg and she yelped in pain. When tears began to well up in the mare’s eyes and she cradled her hoof to her chest, Pure went rigid, staring shocked as Blueblood tried to pull her along.
“Oh no.”
I can’t believe how out of hand I’ve let this night get. With how much trouble Blueblood has been causing lately, I felt everypony could use a break. When my brother had been given permission to use his magic freely, he had tried taking full advantage of it. Unfortunately for him, he soon realized he could no longer pull off the same feats as he could when his magic was newly developed.
Apparently, his first mystical growth spurt had ended and his body had grown enough to contain the energy without having it leak chaotically. His magic had begun to settle, and he was not happy about it. Despite being told how impressive it was to still have such a mastery of levitation after this stage of development, Blueblood wanted more and took to practicing constantly.
Much to the dismay of the adults who became subjects to his random, and inventive, magical exercises. So when they were offered the night off, I was glad at first, but as I lay in my bed, Dad having just tucked us in, I felt fear bubble up inside. Not a day had gone by since the start of my new life that I did not see my parents, and I had grown used to being that way. But now they were leaving.
How long would they really be gone? Would they return in a few hours as they promised, or would this be my past life all over again? A few fleeting visits a week while I remained alone. It was foolish, irrational, but the thought wouldn’t leave me be. I lay there, eyes closed in faux-sleep for what must have been an hour until my brother stirred beside me.
Once he was awake and aware of the situation, there was no stopping him, and, perhaps not wanting to, I indulged him more than I should have when he suggested we go for the cookie jar. Maybe it was for the promise of relief from my nerves, sweets having a calming affect I was never able to indulge in during my previous life, or maybe it was some misguided act of rebellion; payback for the perceived abandonment.
Either way, the plan was solidified when I spotted the sitter snoring on the couch. We weren’t going to be caught, the house was empty, there would be no repercussions. Blueblood was giddy, not only over the prospect of getting his hooves on those chocolaty discs of heaven, but also because I was supporting him for once instead of merely watching disappointingly from the sidelines.
Then we did get caught and I was faced with the full ramifications of my stupidity. I was complacent after that, giving into the mare’s demands in hopes of saving myself and my parents even more grief. If only Blueblood would have thought similarly.
“Come on, Sis, we gotta go!” Blue says, trying to pull me from my rooted position.
I frown, the time for complacency over. “No,” I state, bringing a baffled look to Blueblood’s face.
“No? But I beat her! We can have all the cookies we want now!”
“I said no, Blueblood!” I jerk my hoof from his and point to the whimpering mare. “She’s hurt and we need to help her!” Ignoring his argument that she’s mean, I go to Class Act’s side. “Miss Act, are you okay?”
Looking up in slight bewilderment, Class Act’s face suddenly scrunches up with a pained hiss. “It’s my hoof, I… I think I really hurt it in the fall.”
“I-Is it broken?”
Finally pulling the hurt leg from her chest, she says, “I don’t think so.” She tries to bend it at the fetlock and winces. “M-maybe just a sprain. It sure does feel like one.” Chuckling sardonically, she adds under her breath, “This is my first year ballet recital all over again. What’s with me getting thrown by colts?”
As she shifts to get the wooden block out from digging into her ribcage, I turn to my brother. “Go get something cold from the refrigerator, it will make her hoof feel better.”
Blueblood is scandalized. “But she’s mean! She caught you and chased me!”
“Because we were doing something dangerous to steal cookies we weren’t supposed to have,” I counter, somewhat satisfied to see a shamed blush come to the colt’s cheeks. Usually, it’s Mom or dad that scolds him for his misbehavior, so it’s odd for both of us for me to be the one taking the role. Nonetheless, it’s necessary right now. “Go get something cold,” I say again, and, albeit with a grumble, Blueblood goes to do just that.
Turning back to my foalsitter-turned-patient, I help push the blocks away so she can lie more comfortably. “…I’m sorry.” Looking at the miserable mare, it’s all I can think to say. “I should have talked him out of this instead of helping him. I was being really stupid.” Despite my best efforts, I find myself tearing up and have to rub the moisture away with a foreleg. “And now somepony got hurt.”
“Hey there, none of that.” A hoof is placed under my chin and Class looks me in the eye with a smile. “I was being pretty stupid too. Like, what was I thinking, right? Running through the dark house like a crazy pony, it’s no wonder I didn’t trip earlier. And I was carrying you on my back, so really I should have known better. We’re lucky your brother put those pillows out for you… though I’d have appreciated a few for myself.”
Her smile becomes wistful. “I really messed this night up, didn’t I? You know, your mom is only a few years older than me, and yet, just look at her. Happily married, two beautiful foals, everypony likes her, she has her life together. I guess I just wanted to prove I could be like her, at least to myself, but I guess I should have known better. I’m an airhead, it's better if I just stick with acting.”
Seeing the defeat in her eyes, I feel even worse, but can’t think of anything to cheer her up. Before I figure something out, Blueblood reenters with a bag of cold chocolate chips. “Here,” he says with a frown, as he gives them to me. “Happy now?”
“Yes, I am,” I respond with a grateful smile. “Thank you very much.” Looking at the bag, I can’t help but feel my lip twitch, and as I pass it over to Class, I see she has a similar reaction.
“Chocolate, huh? Oh, the irony. I hope your mom doesn’t mind that they’re going to get a bit melted.” Placing the bag over her ankle with magic, she hisses, and then sighs. “Oh, oh yeah, that’s better.”
“I’m glad, and I’m sure Mommy won’t care. She’ll probably be too focused on Blueblood and me to care about some chocolate.” Though it’s meant to be joking, I fail to keep the anxiety out of my voice. I’m really not looking forward to that.
Class frowns a little. “Hey, do you two mind helping me to the couch? It’d be a lot more comfy than this floor.”
I get Bluey to agree with only a little prodding and the three of us make the long trek to the living room; Class having to hobble along on three legs adding a few minutes to the trip. Eventually though, we succeed in escorting our foalsitter and she collapses heavily on the couch.
“Phew, I’m not looking forward to having to do that for the next few days,” she says, lifting the bag up to check her injury. “Hopefully I won’t have to. The swelling’s not looking as bad as I thought it’d be, so that’s something. Maybe I’ll pay my old ballet teacher a visit and see if she can’t work her healing magic on this. That mare might have been a taskmaster, but she knew a thing or two about treating injuries.”
“That’s good,” I say from the floor. “Um, do you want anything?”
Class blinks a few times before chuckling. “Hey, aren’t I supposed to be the one taking care of you?” She shakes her head. “Nah, I’m good right here. I mean, if you want to not get up to any more mischief so I don’t have to move, that’d be nice.”
Beaming, I salute. “Sure can do, right Bluey?”
“What? But that’s boring! The house is empty, it’s never like this.”
Well, I can’t really argue with that kind of logic since me thinking that way was sort of what caused this mess, but I very well can’t let Blueblood run rampant for the rest of the night, so I use my ace in the hole. “P-please, Big Brother? Do it for me?” Being the little sister has some perks, I suppose.
“Grk!” he clamps a hoof to his chest, trying fruitlessly to break his gaze from my shimmering eyes before eventually heaving a sigh and slumping to the ground. “Fine, let’s just do nothing then. Woohoo.”
“Oh, thank you, Big Brother!” Bringing out my pièce de résistance, I heave the colt up by the shoulders and lay a big, wet kiss on his cheek, bringing a bright blush to his face as he pretends to furiously wipe the afflicted area.
As he goes on about how gross that was, Class leans down with a sly smile and whispers, “Not bad. Could use a little work, but that was a pretty solid performance.”
“What can I say, he inspires my best work,” I reply with a sly smile as Blueblood moves to rubbing his face on the side of the couch.
“You might have the makings of a fine actress in you, girl… want some lessons?”
I look up at her hopeful face, just waiting for me to say yes, and I can’t help but nod. It’s the least I can do for her after the night she’s had, and it might be fun.
“Oh, I know just the performance!” she cheers, turning suddenly to Blueblood. “But we’ll need a third actor to play the villain, and after today, well…”
Blueblood looks around for a bit before pointing to himself. I don’t know why he tried to avoid participating. With two sets of pleading eyes on him, he didn’t stand a chance.
When Ornate Garden and her husband returned, it was with rosy cheeks, the occasional stumble, and glowing smiles. “Oh, oh dear, I think we may have had too much wine,” Ornate said with a giggle. “We still have to take care of the twins by ourselves until the all help returns.”
“Bah, I’m sure Class Act will either have them in bed or tuckered out by now. I think getting that dress off of you should be our first concern,” Blueblood responded, nipping at his wife’s neck.
With a gasp, she playfully swatted at him. “Don’t say such things out in the open, ponies could hear!”
“The benefit of living on a large estate is that the neighbors are far away.” Laughing, the two entered their home after one final kiss. “Well, everything looks fine so far. The place hasn’t burnt down.”
“Don’t jinx it,” Ornate chided. “Tonight’s been going so wonderfully, I’d rather not have to deal with a house fire.” An ear perked up. “What’s that?”
Blueblood swiveled his own ear. “Don’t know, sounds like it’s coming from the living room, though.” As the two proceeded down the hall, the sound became distinguishable as Class Act sounding quite angry, causing the pair to hurry their steps.
When they arrived, it was not to see a shouting match between the sitter and their children, but to the young mare and their daughter wearing makeshift cloaks while confronting their son who had his mane done up in two spiral buns.
“Your reign of terror ends here, Grogar! We, Celeste and Selene, shall vanquish you and this foul city to the abyss it belongs!” Class Act declared righteously, stomping a hoof. A stuffed animal squeaked underhoof, its countless brethren lay scattered across the floor, battered and beaten.
“Yes, no longer shall you disturb the rest of the dearly departed for your twisted schemes!” Pure added, a surprising amount of conviction in her words.
This passion was not shared with her brother however, as he stood upon the coffee table looking dully down at the girls. “You are fools to come here, the center of Tambelon, where my strength is at its greatest. Mere foals such as you are nothing compared to the dark powers of the Bewitching Bell.” Despite the monotone delivery, it was impressive for a foal so young to speak with such complexity.
Class smirked. “You are the fool, ram, for while you may be able to channel all of its power here, it is still your weakness, and you’ve let us get this close.”
“And have been so easily distracted.” Pure added. “You’ve focused so much on the decimation of your undead army, you didn’t even notice you were open to a surprise attack.”
“What,” Little Blueblood said, turning slowly to the space behind him to see a small bell be toppled by one of his tin soldiers. “Noooo.”
“Return to the shadow realm where you belong, monster, and never return,” whispered Class, closing her eyes. “Aaand scene…”
“Yeah! We won!” Pureblood cheered, kicking a toy. “Take that, zombies!”
“Yes, and it only took twenty-two takes. Good job memorizing your lines, Blueblood, or should I say, Grogar, Lord of the Undead? See, I told you it wasn’t that hard.”
“Right,” the colt replied. “Can I just go to bed now?”
“Blueblood actually wanting to go to bed early? Dear, did you give birth to triplets and not tell me? Because that is obviously an evil twin,” the elder Blueblood said from the sidelines.
The eyes of both twins snapped to their parents. “Mommy, Daddy!” they both cheered, rushing over to be swept up in hugs.
“Oh, my babies!” Ornate said, showering them both in kisses. “How was your night?”
“Great!” Pure began, “Class had these really fun idea to act out the battle scene from this really cool play and it was so much fun!”
“Yeah, because you got to beat up the toys. I had to stand in one place the whole time,” little Blueblood complained, ruffling his mane until the buns came undone.
“You weren’t just standing there, you were controlling an army of the undead,” countered Pure. “That’s plenty fun.”
“That’s right,” Class added with a sage nod. “One of the keys to a good performance is to make yourself believe in what you are acting. Good job, Pure, I’m glad you remembered.”
“Riiight,” the father said. “Well besides epic battles and world saving, did you do anything else interesting tonight?”
As soon as the question left his mouth, his son’s eyes began shifting about while Pure’s dropped down.
“Well…” Class Act said, looking at the two children, expression hesitant. “No… not really. All in all, it was a pretty boring night until, you know, the play. They slept for a while, had some snacks, we played… tag, and then this. Perfectly normal night.”
“That’s good to hear,” Ornate said, sighing in relief. “I was worried something would go wrong like you’d have been driven mad or something. The twins, especially this little rascal-“ she rubbed the top of her son's head, “Can be pretty difficult at times.”
“Nah, it was a great time.” Class said with a wave. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
“We’ll definitely keep you in mind,” Ornate, said, placing her foals down. “What do you two think?”
While Blueblood looked indifferent, his sister stared at the young mare like she was an alicorn before charging forward and hugging her foreleg. “You’re the greatest first cousin, once removed ever.”
Class Act blinked down at the filly before smiling fondly. “And you’re the greatest, um, cousin’s daughter, ever. And Bluey?” the colt turned to her. “… You’re okay too.”
After he snorted in response, Ornate took the foals to their room as her husband led their guest to the exit. “Are you okay, you seem to have a bit of a limp?”
“Ah, it’s nothing, just hurt my hoof… punching stuffed animals. Things are pretty hard.”
“Ornate, why are all the hallway light bulbs missing?”
“No idea. Do you know why the lid to the cookie jar is off… or why the jar is empty?”
I had not heard of that story before, but now it's on my read later list.
Blueblood, is kinda mean.
Well, that was quick.
I really loved the "meh" factor in this one. Oh, damned with faint praise, indeed.
It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. I'm glad Pure recognizes that, even if Blueblood doesn't.
Still, at least Class Act is getting her act together. *rimshot*
Goddang, that's sweet. Best (sorta) HiE of the season.
I couldn't help but be reminded of Home Alone with Blueblood's antics. Wonderful chapter.
7543589 Oh great, now I want someone to do an MLP version of that with the Cake twins.
7543546
He definitely has trouble with empathy. To be fair, most kids do, Pure being an exception because she's not quite one mentally. Thing is, show!Blueblood didn't seem to have grown much later on.
As was pointed out before, the question remains: With such a loving family, how did he end up such a miserable boor? Is it really all down to Pureblood?
Blueblood goes home alone on the staff. I'd love to see that
7543755 Well, there is always the possibility he was playing a boor as Rarity just appeared another doting sop of a mare coming after him for his money and position, as some fics have postulated given that we later see him and Rarity together with no issues during "Sweet and Elite".
Of course, we could also chalk that up to the show 'forgetting' that he and Rarity should still despise each other.
7543755
Thought I went over this enough in response to the last time it came up, but...
I've always wondered why people think bad people can't come from good homes. There are plenty of real world cases of this happening.
Anyways:
For one, parent's and family are not the only factor, peers can affect development as well.
Also, in the case of Blueblood canon verses this one, it could actually his overly doting parent's pampering their only child that messed him up as apposed to this Blueblood who splits the attention with a sister. A sister who he cares for which is teaching him the importance of others and putting someone else's needs and happiness before his own. Kind of like how he helped Class and did the play, bot because it was what he wanted to do, but because his sister asked him to.
Heck, there could also be a bit of nature vs nurture going on here. Maybe the first time around, his good family wasn't enough to suppress his inherent, selfish nature. Sometimes people are just jerks and there's no definitive reason as to why. The parents were good, but the child still grew to become delinquent. They were simply born that way. This doesn't mean they can't improve and become better people, simply that it will be harder for them to do so.
7543829
Oh, I'm aware of many of those factors! However, until we've seen things unfold, all we can do is speculate.
7543829
I really don't like this particular statement. The idea that some people are just "born bad" opens the gate for a whole lot of pretty awful things. Just saying.
Wonderful. The subtle cultural influence of human books and movies has leeched through her and turned Blueblood into Macaulay Batmankin. May we tremble in fear and joy.
I'm just gonna put this here
"all the help" but since Ornate's a bit tipsy, I'd still accept it as a slight slur sneaking in on her speech
7543981 Same
7543981
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It can be a sad truth, but it's hard to deny. Like children who, from a very young age, take pleasure in torturing small animals will usually end up being dangerous adults. These children can have perfectly respectable families, but still develop these depraved tendencies without clear reason as to why.
Or how, when you ask a gay person why they chose to be gay, more often then not they respond that they didn't. In a lot of cases, they will simply tell you they realized it at an early age. These people weren't pressured into their sexuality by friends and family, they were simply born that way.
Going further, just in sheer scope of ability, some people are born better than others; swifter of foot or sharper of mind. It doesn't mean that our births define us entirely, but it does influence who we will be to some extent. People will take the path of least resistance more often than not and thus will pursue what comes easiest to them. If what comes easiest is being mean, not many people will work to be more than that.
Like Paarthurnax said: "What is better, to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"
Or Rock Lee being the personification of the ideal that there are those born better than others, but that hard work and determination can overcome natural talent.
It is yet unknown exactly how much of who we are is determined by our nature as apposed to our upbringing, but to deny it has at least some sway is to be purposely blind to the truth.
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Not really the same thing, though. Psychopaths, for all intents and purposes, are widely considered to have a neurological disorder, comparable to ADHD or autism in the widest sense. This isn't actually the same as being a bad person, just a sick one. Morality, on the other hand, is something no one is born with. No one just spontaneously has a sense of right and wrong. You spontaneously have likes and dislikes, but the difference between good behaviour and bad behaviour is something you're told about and then either decide to follow or don't. Not remotely the same thing as being born predisposed to depravity or selfishness.
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Empathy, however, very well might be one of those things determined at birth. Many people actually believe ones capacity for empathy is innate, in fact, though again, not a whole lot of evidence for or against the claim yet. Some, but not a lot. In this case, Blueblood is simply not a particularly empathetic pony, but is becoming more so over time because of his sister.
Without empathy to make you feel sorry for your deeds, the only repercussions to immoral actions is the punishment received for them, which, as long as Blueblood isn't breaking any laws, are pretty insignificant. Insulting a pony until they burst into tears isn't going to land you in a dungeon, and being from a noble family means not a whole lot of ponies are going to confront you about it either.
Hmm, Class Act....honestly from what description we got of her, why do I sense a cousin Vinyl in the future?
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They're wrong. It's well-documented that proper empathy is something that develops with age as the neurological structures of your brain finish maturing. There's actually a special facility called "mirror neurons" that take the credit for our ability to imagine what others are feeling. The reason people say "children are cruel" is because they do, in fact, pretty much universally not have a proper sense of empathy yet. Some people just never do. Unless you'd like to suggest that the only reason people ever choose not to do bad things is because it would make them feel bad, this doesn't actually make as big of a difference as you'd expect. The average selfish jerk isn't a psychopath. They're perfectly normal people who just choose to be a selfish jerk.
At any rate, this is one of those topics that tend to go in circles until everyone involved in the conversation just gives up. I think it's best to just go back to talking about cute little horsies instead, I don't want to flood up your comment section with this.
Another reason why Pure is a prodigy in the eyes of others, she has a fully developed sense of empathy, most toddlers don't, in fact toddlers find it impossible to see from an others point of view.
A very nice hie story, well done on this.
Really good story so far. First chapter in particular was very touching. Eager to see where it goes.
hah that was great can't wait for the next chapter.
Are you going to get back to that whole "remembering her previous incarnation" thing at some point? That's a very important plot point, I'd say.
I've read it and yes it does deserve more recognition.
Huh, Blueballs went full Batman on Class Act.
Blue, what would you do without Pure. Probably cause way more trouble. It took Pure to make him see that they were actually the ones in the wrong.
But hey, in the end all turned out better than expected. Also I bet Blue secretly enjoyed it all but was putting up a tough front.
And Class not tattling on those two scored some major points, as was clearly visible.
All in all, yet another great chapter
I have yet to read that story
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Well then, looks like you have a busy morning ahead of you.
I'm getting the impression that Pureblood never really got the chance to act like a brat in her first life, and now she's making up for lost time.
So im guessing Pureblood will never get her magic and will forever be sensitive?
I have thought and hoped her being so young will let her experience the magic and all that.
But seeing as to how the part where Twilight has her surge and the sonic rainbom is to come (since i think Blueblood and Pureblood are older and Twilight isnt even born yet) i somehow hope Twilight's surge will maybe spark Purebloods surge aswell and heal her to be able to be with Twilight and such? Maybe even getting lessons with Twilight as her Auntie (Celestia) will want to help her along since she has been denied alot and maybe help her with her fledgling power.
I certainly hope that Pureblood will have a chance to be a princess and maybe look up to Celestia while practicing with her power
Awwww! Little Pure being a sly little filly and using her adorable powers to keep Blueblood behaving? And Class Act joining in on it too? This definitely was my favorite chapter yet!
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She already holds that title, like Blueblood is a prince, as she is descended from platinum and part of the extended royal family. Neither of their titles hold much power behind them like Celestia's, Luna's, Cadance's or Twilight's (being more symbolic), but they have them.
7544491 I want to know who the hell revived her in her current form, I'm guessing its going to be a who... and one with a penchant for chaos and doing stuff just to see what happens
Because the Dark Side despises Light. Clearly, this is the most logical explanation.
Because the Dark Side has cookies, of course. And in order for the Dark Side to have cookies, it must first get cookies. Again, this is only logical.
So Pure will be an actress? Oh I can totally see Rarity becoming her biggest fan!
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Nah, it was just a game of pretend basically. She might be in a school play or two, but that will be more of Class pressuring her into it.
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Dunno, she seemed to really enjoy herself. The character's future life path is still fairly open and it looks like something that could pretty naturally grow from her interests and relationship/friendship with Class Act. It's not something you have to do, but you could keep it in mind as an option. You don't see many actor characters here.
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Not to mention she has been acting since she has been able to talk, as she has memories of being a teen human and that.
At the very least she is gonna take classes to avoid leaking that she is a reborn human, to avoid rejection.
And really... she is a almost two years old unicorn and she has NEVER done any kind of magic, not even leaking a wild spark from her horn. She needs something to keep her busy. I mean they can teach her to read and to write using her mouth, and the numbers and that but she needs something else too.
Also being in high society is basically acting. There are ways a pony is suposed to act, and a genius with magic allergy they are going to focus her lessons in anything but magic until the doctor says is safe.
She probably won't be able to go to a kindergarten dedicated to unicorns so she will have to go to one were young earth ponies and pegasi go. Earth pony magic is mostly internal and manipulateting ambient magic for farming, something most young fillies and colts cannot do yet. And a pegasus just flying won't hurt her head for the same reason as most of their magic is along their body and that. Weather manipulation is an advanced skill those young pegasi won't have.
So I see Pure ending with more earth ponies and pegasus friends than his brother.
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There's another possible factor to consider here:
Pureblood is a princess. It's possible she'll get much more attention than her twin. She may not be an Alicorn, but Equestria as a whole seems to be inclined to worship princesses and regard them as more important than their male peers.
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No, they worship two particular princesses. Pure is not an alicorn, so she doesn't actually matter. She's just a princess in name.
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That's why I put it only as a possibility! ;) Still, I wonder if there is an inherent difference in the treatment of prince versus princess; thinking back on the time miss Peachbottom met Shining Armor, or how Rarity obviously lusted after Blueblood, you know?
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I guess it might put her on the level of Lady Di or one of those other leftover European monarchs, but I'm figuring she won't have any active role in the government, so there's that.
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She is still just under Princess Celestia and her brother in rank. Also she is a "rarity" both very smart since a young age and a unicorn that doesn't use magic. Ponies are going to give her way more attention than to her "normal" brother. Both of the good and bad kind.
Hence why she needs acting lessons badly.
Is possible the reason she has yet to even give out a spark from her horn is because her magic is being used internally to keep her memories. As she grows up, her brain develops more so less power is needed. That might leave her with a very good memory as a side- effect.
But yeah at least for a few years, she won't be able to go to a unicorn exclusive school, she will end going to class with earth ponies and pegasi, as a result she will be less unicorn centric that other Canterlot nobility.
So even if acting is not the talent that figures in her cutie mark, she will have to practice it a lot.
And honesty is about time she starts uding some magic. If you wanted that kind of drama, you could have made her born as a twin but one that's a Earth Pony.
What I'm kinda looking forward to is seeing her eventually interact with discord. I mean, he never seems to want to physically hurt anyone, but if his magical presence hurts her...
Great chapter!
7550966 Heh, imagine when the Element's sealing blast goes across the entirety of Equestria.
That's bound to smart some. At least she wasn't anywhere near Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns when Twi had her mega-surge. Her head would've exploded!
Then she'd get reincarnated as a Pokémon if I read my memes correctly.
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You know, if Meowth was capable of learning the human language, wouldn't a human-turned-pokemon literally just be able to speak it from the start? Really, if pokemon vocal cords and mouth structures are capable of producing more complex sounds than just their names, why do they only ever say their name? How is it that they have a universal language when they are all speaking in different tongues. Why are all the eggs the same size if they are being laid by different sized pokemon? How does Diglett of Magnemite lay eggs?
...
Anyways, Twilight's magical surge hasn't happened yet.