Masters In Accord! Our Judgement Is...
Scootaloo chuckled nervously. “Err, girls, this is Doldrum Whimper, my friend from Flight Camp. Doldrum Whimper, this is Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, that’s Spike on the bed back there, and… well, you’ve already met Silver Spoon, I guess.”
Whimper’s ears fell flat against his head. His whole body tensed, his head lowering and his right arm going up just a tad in a reflex, as if to prepare his defenses. “Umm, yes. Nice to meet you, girls. Scootaloo’s told me all about you.”
“Uhuh,” Apple Bloom replied. “She told us a lot about you, too.”
“Really?”
“She forgot to mention you could do that to a pony, though,” Apple Bloom pointed to Silver Spoon, who was about halfway done with the check-up from Fluttershy. The look on the girl’s face was not pretty.
His whole body shrunk in a nervous cringe at that. “Umm, right, I guess she wouldn’t. I don’t usually do that, though. Fighting, I mean, not for real, not to hurt anypony. Most of the time I just practise. You know, meditating, shadow boxing.”
Scootaloo looked left, then right, and noticed she was standing in the middle of her friends. She sighed. “I guess I should explain. I didn’t bring him over because-”
“You were afraid we’d be scared of him. Or we’d say something wrong and hurt his feelings. Or he’d snap,” Apple Bloom interrupted. “Right?”
Scootaloo nodded in resignation. “Right. That, too.”
“That was quite a show you put on there, little boy. Well, ‘little’...”
Whimper looked up at the cherise mare who was approaching him. “Thank you, Miss.” Then he looked behind the mare, and saw the other children. Not one of them looked anything but scared.
Silver Spoon’s ears perked when she noticed.
They were scared of Whimper. They felt sorry for her.
He did that on purpose.
“Is she going to be okay?” Cheerilee asked.
“She’ll be fine,” Whimper said. “I didn’t hit her organs, or tear any muscles.”
“I wasn’t asking you.”
“Sorry.”
Fluttershy shook her head, confused. “Umm, Silver Spoon will be okay, yes. She’s bruised up, and her muscles will be sore for a few days, maybe a week and a half, but she’ll be fine.” She gave the girl another eucalyptus sweet to suck on. “Be careful you don’t swallow this, okay? You wouldn’t want to choke on it.”
“Geez, what did you do to her?” Snips asked, staying safely in the back.
Whimper perked up. “I targeted her joints and some pressure points. That’s what you do in a fight. She agreed to fight me, she showed me her technique, I showed her mine. Mine won.”
“And that’s your friend?” Apple Bloom started. “You were right; he is scary.”
“Hey, leave him alone!”
Scootaloo shook her head. She had the weirdest sense of déjà vu then.
Live Wire came trotting past the class of kids and their teacher. “Why are you all ganging up on him like that?”
“Oh, we’re not. We’re all just a bit curious about him. I mean, look at what he did to Silver Spoon,” Cheerilee argued.
“Look at what she did to Rumble and Sweetie Belle,” Live Wire retorted.
“Ahe-hem.” Ash cleared his throat, loudly. “Is there a problem here, ladies and gentlecolts?”
Cheerilee shivered. “N-no, Master Ash. No problem.”
“Then if you’d be so kind as to move the crowd away from the medical ward? We have other matters to attend to, like deliberation of the results.”
“Of course, sir, I’ll be right out.” Whimper gave Fluttershy a gentle tap on the shoulder. “Umm, could you maybe put some tiger balm on Silver Spoon’s back? I hit a soft spot there, it’s gonna start hurting in a couple of minutes. And she’ll be coughing. A lot.”
“Oh, of course. Are you sure you don’t need any attention? Your throat doesn’t look that good.” She gently pushed his chin up to check the fur. His skin was red underneath. He shivered. Something crawled up Fluttershy’s back and told her to let go of his neck right then and there, or something very unpleasant was going to happen, so she quickly withdrew, if slightly confused. Usually she only got that kind of goosebumps when dealing with injured wolves or bears.
He smiled and nodded, before backing away. “I’ll be around later, thank you. You know, in case anypony changes their mind about challenging me. Wouldn’t want to make you patch me up twice.”
“Okay.” While Fluttershy started tending to Silver Spoon and the rest of the ponies cleared off, Spike waddling behind, Whimper leaned in to whisper.
“Hey, about that fight,” he said.
Silver Spoon smiled meekly. “You don’t have to apologise. You beat me, fair and square. I’m just a loser.”
“No, you’re not. You fought well. Not a lot of ponies can get the drop on me like that.”
“Don’t lie.” She winced when Fluttershy found that tender spot Whimper had mentioned. “You could track every move I made, even at super speed.”
He rolled his eyes. “You could track mine, and adapt, first time you fought me. Not a lot of ponies can do that.”
“Whimper?” Scootaloo called out.
“Be right there,” he replied. “Anyway, what I wanted to ask: when does your dad get home?”
“What?”
“Your dad? Silver Bullet? When’s the next time you see him?”
Her jaw hung slack for a second, before she remembered to answer him. “Tonight. He’s not on a mission right now, just training Royal Guards. Why?”
The blue colt looked left and right, to make sure nopony else was listening. Fluttershy had her back turned to them, restocking on bandages and balm. He kept his voice down, just in case. “When he asks you about your injuries, tell him you fought a kid who was super strong and super fast. Tell him the truth: you got beaten, but you got me, too. And don’t tell him my name right away.”
She shook her head, confused. “Why not?”
He leaned in closer so Fluttershy wouldn’t hear as she went back to work on the girl. “Tell him you landed some really hard shots on me first. Tell him all your killer moves landed, that we were even, tell him you almost had me. Almost. Then tell him my name. But not before. Okay?”
She flinched.
“I promise, it’ll make sense when you do. And you’ll feel a lot better. It’s Doldrum Whimper. He’ll ask where from. Say I was from Bogsdown. Actually, he might know my parents. I’m Summer Breeze’s son, if he asks, Summer Breeze and Passiflora.”
Passiflora. That name rang a bell: that was a dietician, of sorts. That would explain how he got so bulky.
Whimper smiled. “Remember those two names, especially Summer Breeze. My dad’s name should tell him enough, he’ll know who it is. Think you can do that?”
“Okay, but I don’t get it.”
“You will.” With that, he was off. “Don’t worry, you will.”
When Whimper got to Rarity and Fleur, Diamond Tiara had already ducked for cover.
“Well, young sir Whimper, what do you think of the Feather Cloaks now?” Fleur asked.
He looked back at Silver Spoon and rolled his shoulders, groaning. “They’re tough. Really tough. But I still wouldn’t want to be one. I don’t think I can handle their pace for very long.”
“I’d rather you not try any of their moves on me, either,” Live Wire said. “It’s hard enough trying to dodge you as it is.”
“Are you not injured?” Rarity asked. “She was quite harsh on your throat.”
Whimper rubbed his throat and winced, but smiled anyway. “I’m okay, thank you. I can wait for a little while, Silver Spoon needs to be finished first.”
Cheerilee’s left eye twitched. “Excuse me, but I was wondering: what do your teachers have to say about you being so violent?”
“Umm…”
“He’s not violent, Miss Cheerilee, honest!” Scootaloo jumped in between the boys and her teacher. “Look, whatever you heard about him, it’s not true. It’s my fault he got into that fight-”
“Scootaloo,” Whimper interrupted, calmly but forcefully. “You’re doing it again.”
Scootaloo bit her lip. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Just let me talk, please?”
She sighed. “Fine.”
Whimper faced the mare and the kids behind her and sat down. “Umm, you were saying?”
“You were expelled from your school, yes?” Cheerilee asked.
“I’m only suspended, Miss. For now. I have been since before the summer. Blacklisted, and, umm, pending administrative punishment? I think that’s what they said.”
“Sounds right to me. Mind if I ask why? I’ve heard some conflicting stories on that.”
“Umm, well, I got in trouble, and I ended up hurting some other kids. I got into a fight. My teachers thought it would be best if I joined a martial arts school, to help me cope with my aggression, make some friends, learn how to handle myself. That’s kind of how things are done back home: you join a team, you win for the team, and the team looks out for you. The team is responsible for you. I wasn’t on any team, and I didn’t want to join any. Something bad happened, and no one was responsible, except me. So I was suspended, until further notice. School started, I wasn’t allowed to come back until they figured out what to do with me. They still haven’t figured out what to do with me. So, umm, you know, I’ve been looking for other schools. My parents have, I mean. Even a few out of Bogsdown.”
Apple Bloom nudged Scootaloo and whispered. “Hang on a rock-pickin’ minute here. You mean to tell me this whole time he was lookin’ to go to school in Ponyville? And you didn’t tell us?”
“Rumble knows more about it than me. I was hoping to surprise you,” Scootaloo replied. “And I was really hoping he’d get in before something like this happened.”
Cheerilee nodded towards Scootaloo. “So why would Scootaloo insist it was her fault, if you’re the one who did the fighting?”
“Because during the incident that got me suspended, the second fight? The kids there, they shoved her first, Miss, not me. I walked away. Scootaloo doesn’t take well to being called names, so she stood up to them. Then they tried to knock her down.” He gulped, and the look in his eyes hardened for just a second. “I do not take well to that.”
“I see. So am I to believe you are suspended simply for standing up for a friend?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think there’s anything I can say that can really change anyone’s mind about it, if that’s what you mean. I can’t make you believe me. Most grownups I’ve talked to don’t. But yes, as far as I can tell, that’s the reason I’m suspended. Well, that and me refusing to join the Feather Cloaks. They’d have been fine with me beating those kids up if I’d joined.”
This did not sit well with Cheerilee. “They what?”
“They said it was either joining them or getting suspended. Those were the rules. That’s why I challenged them today: I wanted to see if they were right, if I’d be stronger with them or on my own. I’m pretty sure I’m stronger on my own, but I guess the other masters will be the judge of that.”
“B-but why…”
The boy smiled innocently. “They must have really thought that the Feather Cloaks could help me with my, umm, issues. Master Blazing thinks he could help, and my coach thought I’d win plenty of trophies that way. My P.E. teacher, Coach Buster, he’s the one who got me in touch with Master Blazing, you might know him.”
Cheerilee nodded. “I’ve spoken to him once or twice, on the inter-school competitions. He has quite the reputation.”
“Well, he’s the one who suggested that as a solution. The Feather Cloaks gave me three lessons after the first incident, and asked if I wanted to join for real afterwards. I didn’t. Then the other fight happened, my teachers and the principal gave me the choice. Me refusing to join, to them, I guess means it’s like refusing to get help. I’m sure they were only trying to do what’s best.”
Knowing the reputation of Bogsdown’s schools, she doubted that, but it was always possible. “But where do you stand now? You’re not in any school, then? Martial arts or otherwise? Not even with Fleur?”
“Uh-uh.” He shook his head. “I take responsibility for what I do, I don’t have any master or a team to do that for me, not like the other kids in my town. Master Lee just lets me practise with Live Wire.”
“Though I do vouch for him on some occasions, seeing as he is my apprentice’s sparring partner. I consider him a very valuable asset,” Fleur explained, moving to stand next to him like a master would with a student. “But he’s not my student, and I can’t represent his interests as such, not officially.”
Cheerilee’s mind wandered to what Fleur had kept saying. It’s so hard to find a good sparring partner for my apprentice. This boy was a pegasus, one who’d conditioned himself to be able to take harsh blows and to feel out his opponent. Going off what she’d seen, he’d be a fair match for a unicorn with lightning powers.
More than that, he was a good preparation for Live Wire’s fight against Ash.
No wonder Fleur kept quiet about Whimper: knowing about him would mean knowing what Live Wire was accustomed to.
Not that that would help most adversaries, but any advantage was better than none when going up against a kid who could fry you at twenty paces.
“Then what have you been doing the past few months?”
“Just working out, reading, playing with my brother.” He shrugged. “None of the tutors in town want to risk being alone in the same room with me, since I’m so violent. I’m blacklisted in Bogsdown, so if I want to change schools, I’ll probably have to find some sports team or coach to vouch for me. And besides that, even if I do find another school, I’m still going to be punished for fighting. That’s not in Master Lee’s authority.”
“I see. Well, I certainly hope that works out for you, Whimper.”
“Thank you, Miss.”
“Cheerilee. My name is Cheerilee.”
His ears drooped. “Oh, oops. You’re the schoolteacher here. Of course. That’s why they’re all...” He looked at the kids behind her again.
Cheerilee nodded knowingly.
Scootaloo pressed a hoof to her forehead. “And that’s the other reason I didn’t bring him over.”
“It’s okay,” Whimper said. “It wouldn’t have made a difference if Miss Cheerilee already knows about me from my teachers. Especially Coach Buster.”
Cheerilee forced out a nervous smile. “And I do. I heard you sabotage your own team, refuse to play with others, even disrespect your elders. It’s not just Buster who says that; they all say the same thing.”
He bit his lip.
“Were they right, or were they lying?”
He forced himself to look at her. “I don’t wanna say my teachers lie about me, I’m just not sure if they’re right or wrong. Master Lee and Live Wire don’t think I’m violent, but my teachers obviously do. Ponies keep telling me I’m either too weak to stand up for myself, or they tell me I’m a brute and bully. It’s… it’s really confusing, Miss. Some grownups say I’m a good boy.” He looked at Fleur then. ”But not a lot. I don’t think I could even tell the difference myself, not anymore.”
“What about your classmates?” Cheerilee asked.
“My teachers don’t think they’re violent, but I think they’re worse.”
“Beg your pardon?” Apple Bloom quirked an eyebrow. “There’s worse than you in Bogsdown?”
Whimper chuckled softly at Apple Bloom, before turning to Cheerilee. “Umm, did they tell you about the other kids in my class?”
“What others?”
“My, umm, victims? You know, the ones my teachers claim I sabotage. The ones who are in teams to be responsible for them, and who win trophies for our school. Did they tell you about those kids, what they do to me?”
Cheerilee thought long and hard about that. “No, they did not, actually. Do you think it would have made a difference?”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. Like I said, I’m sure my teachers wouldn’t lie about me. They just want what’s best for me.”
“So you do sabotage your team, then.”
He shook his head. “I already told you: I’m not on a team, Miss. Nopony would want me.”
She looked him over, up and down. “Because of your violent tendencies?”
“Umm, no. They make fun of me. And I’m bad at pretty much every sport there is.”
“I find that hard to believe, with a build like yours.”
“Cheerilee, please.” Fleur rolled her eyes and leaned closer to Cheerilee, motioning for her to come closer. Fleur whispered something in her ear.
When she was done, Cheerilee found herself staring at the boy. “Really?”
Fleur nodded.
“Goodness. Well, you certainly don’t look it.”
“Umm, thank you?”
“But what’s wrong with the Feather Cloaks, then? They obviously want you.”
He looked back at the masters who were still in a discussion. “No, they don’t. They want the pony they think I am. But that’s not the kind of pony I want to be. Their style is strong, really strong, but it only works for some ponies. I’m not that kind of pony.”
“Could have fooled me.” Cheerilee looked over to Silver Spoon, who was currently having her joints stretched, much to the girl’s discomfort.
Whimper pouted. “Umm, Feather Cloaks rely on being confident all the time. Their strength comes from never being wrong. But that’s the problem: I can be wrong. And if ponies are scared to tell me I’m wrong, I might do the wrong thing. They wanted to decide who my friends are. I’d rather decide that for myself, and listen to ponies I decide I can trust. That’s all.”
Cheerilee nodded.
His ears flicked, and he turned his head towards the medical ward. “Could you excuse me? I think Miss Fluttershy is done with Silver Spoon.”
Fleur looked over as well. Fluttershy was waving their way. “And no one looks to be making a move towards challenging you, so you’d better get patched up, too.”
Cheerilee let him go.
“You’re not gonna let him into our class, are you? He’ll break every bone in our bodies!” Diamond cried out.
Whimper’s wings unfurled, and he turned back. “Oh, before I forget.”
Diamond cringed. Should have kept a low profile.
He trotted over to her, calmly, casually. “You’re Diamond Tiara, right?”
“Yes?” The filly cowered behind Cheerilee.
“And you pick on Scootaloo and her friends?”
She gulped. “Well, I wouldn’t say I pick on her, exactly...”
“Oh, it’s okay, I don’t really care.”
“Wait, what?”
“As long as it doesn’t get out of control, that sort of thing is between you and them, I’m not going to get involved.”
Diamond stared at him for a second, looking for any telltale signs of an incoming attack, or a lie. To the best of her abilities, she couldn’t find any. “You’re… not mad at me?”
“No. Scootaloo can be a little bit rough, but that’s her problem, and she can deal with the consequences. She makes up for her mistakes. So if she’s done something wrong to you, that’s none of my business. She let me figure things out on my own, it wouldn’t be fair if I stepped in, not to me, or you.”
Scootaloo’s wings flared up just a tad at hearing that from him.
“But, umm, if you don’t mind me saying so, you really shouldn’t let your friend get into fights over your own grudges. Fighter ponies like us don’t always know what kind of trouble we can get into, and we don’t know what damage we’ve done until after the fight is over. So… could you maybe, if it’s not too much to ask, not use Silver Spoon as your attack dog anymore?”
“S-sure?”
“Good. Oh, and don’t worry: I don’t fight ponies just like that. I wouldn’t beat you up for no reason.”
She breathed a sigh of relief.
“Don’t give me a reason, please?”
“My, that’s certainly an… interesting friend you have there,” Cheerilee said as Whimper took his turn on the medic’s table.
Scootaloo pouted. “He’s not that bad, Miss Cheerilee, honest! He wouldn’t cause any trouble in Ponyville.”
Cheerilee sighed.
“I think what Cheerilee is trying to say, darling, is that she doesn’t actually have the power you think she has,” Fleur remarked.
“Exactly. It’s out of my hooves. Nothing I say, or see, would affect his chances of coming here, Scootaloo. Teachers don’t just decide which ponies they teach or kick out.”
“Didn’t stop his teachers,” Scootaloo remarked with a grumble.
“That’s because they didn’t kick him out,” Live Wire explained. “Not exactly. They just suspended him. You can get suspended for a good reason and as long as they can’t work out what to do next, you’re still technically in their school, just not allowed to go to classes.”
“But that ain’t fair,” Apple Bloom argued. “They can’t just deny you schooling.”
“They can if you’re special needs and they’re not sure they can accommodate you. I mean...” He chuckled nervously. “You’d be surprised how many kinds of special needs there are for ponies, and all the paperwork that goes with it. It takes time to figure out, sometimes.”
Sweetie Belle winced in sympathy. After the trouble he’d had in Ponyville, she could imagine what sort of hoops Live Wire had to jump through in Canterlot. Or rather, what precautions his teachers had to make. Just the idea of him in swimming lessons was a logistical nightmare. “I guess that makes sense. If they’re worried he’ll keep getting into fights, they might need to think about keeping somepony around to calm him down. Maybe they’re just looking for a good counsellor.”
Scootaloo pouted. “Maybe.”
“I’m sure it’s being taken care of,” Fleur said. “Student transfers require a lot of paperwork, especially from a town like Bogsdown, where they muddle up schooling and sponsorship contracts, and doubly so when you consider special needs. But it still gets done. Eventually, the ink dries. Really, Scootaloo, you shouldn’t worry so. He’s fine, I’m sure something will come up soon enough.”
Ash and Luna exchanged a glance, then looked at Blazing Trail and two of the other masters: an old white unicorn with a grey beard and a mane that used to be blue, but now looked greyish blue, and one brown bulky bruiser of an Earth pony.
“So we are in accord, then?”
They all nodded.
“We’ve reached an agreement on two of today’s fighters!” Ash called out. “Whimper, Live Wire, if you’d be so kind as to step up?”
Live Wire clambered over the edge of the arena and trotted towards the masters, Whimper flew up to land next to him.
“Okay, Live Wire first: you asked to be acknowledged as a Duellist?”
The unicorn colt nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Princess Luna?”
Luna nodded and smiled. “We approve of your promotion, your official seal will be delivered by mail. Congratulations, you are now officially a Duellist, with all the rights and responsibilities attendant thereunto.”
The boy’s mouth hung open. “Umm, t-thank you.”
Whimper patted him on the back. “Good job.”
“Now, there were two remarks,” Ash said. “Master Blazing Trail has requested your presence at one of his white belt lessons, at your earliest convenience. He’s asking if you’d be willing to help out in, ah, what was it again?”
“Pain management,” Blazing replied.
“Pain management, yes. Basically, he just want you to spar with some kids while you’re running a current.”
Live Wire shook his head curtly. “But that’ll shock them.”
“Yes,” Ash said.
“Won’t that hurt?”
“Hence the term ‘pain management,’” Blazing replied.
The boy chuckled nervously. “Err… okay, I’ll be sure to stop by when I can.”
Ash nodded. “He has Master Lee’s contact information, we can make the official arrangements later. Then, Doldrum Whimper.”
Whimper gulped.
“You requested to be evaluated and acknowledged as an independent fighter, with the judgement of Master Blazing taken into consideration. After what we’ve seen today, it is our judgement that… no.”
His body tensed.
“Master Blazing’s judgement was, in fact, not correct and is hereby officially overturned. The Feather Cloak school is to henceforth treat you as an independent fighter, and not as a prospective student. Now, given your age, I don’t expect you to know the whole thing, but here’s the short list: there is to be no claiming you are better off under that school, no challenging you with the express purpose of shaming you into joining, regardless of the outcome of the match, and especially, and this is the big one, no claiming you have defects or weaknesses that only that school can fix. If you find any of these tactics being employed against you, Whimper, by Blazing Trail or anyone else, the matter will be presented to us.”
“Though you are still free to join a school of your own choosing,” Luna said. “And there will likely be some promoting done towards you. But as a recognised independent fighter, ‘no’ means ‘no.’”
The blue bullhead breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. “Thank you.”
“You’re good enough to earn a grey belt with a green patch, so expect that in the mail soon. It’ll go nicely with that alicorn patch you’ve got there.”
“Green patch?” Live Wire joked. “What, no black belt?”
“He’s only got one kata and it’s too stiff. He’ll get a green patch and he’ll like it. Now, that said, we do have two other masters who wanted a say on the matter,” Ash pointed to the unicorn and the Earth pony. “Master River here requested your presence at a brick-breaking demonstration.”
“I would very much like to hear how you acquired that skill and precision at such a young age.” The old unicorn pointed to the three blocks, the middle of which had now been reduced to pieces. “My younger students can’t wrap their heads around the mechanics; they think it’s purely an age thing.”
Whimper smiled. “I’d be happy to explain what I know, Master River.”
“Good. Will I be seeing you in the park next Friday, by the way? We’ll be doing the yang style then.”
“I look forward to it.”
Ash smiled. “And Master Brick was hoping for a guest lecture. Also for his younger students.”
“Mostly on that Iron Saddle thing,” Brick said. “They already know the stances, but, well, the other practices aren’t that easy to pin down, or to motivate students into. Breathing techniques, mental imagery, just Silver Skin will be fine.”
Whimper furrowed his brow. “Umm, I’ll have to write some things down for that, but okay.”
“Good,” Ash said. “Then, to the both of you, I suppose there’s only one thing left to say: thank you for your efforts. We welcome you into our ranks.”
“Well, that was an interesting day,” Cheerilee said to herself as she got home. Watching the kids fighting, the little drama with Scootaloo and that colt friend of hers…
She snickered. Perhaps Scootaloo simply had a crush on the boy? That would explain that zeal in showing him in a good light. Or perhaps it really was guilt at getting him removed from his school.
She’d have to talk to her about that, then. Not like Scootaloo could help it; a child like that, in a town full of jocks, he was bound to get into trouble sooner or later.
At least it wasn’t anything Cheerilee had to deal with, thankfully.
“Hey, Cheerilee.”
She looked up at the mailmare who was doing a late run. “Hello, Derpy.”
“This just came in for you, from Canterlot.”
Cheerilee smiled. Always on duty, that Derpy. The envelope looked official, and thick, and it came from Canterlot, three things that could spell disaster for any teacher. She opened it up and read the notes inside. “Oh, it’s a message from the Hall of Records.” She flipped through some of the pages. Her heart sank. “Oh, no. Form 187. The final form.”
“Final form of what?”
“Special needs student transfer.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.017 seconds
Total duration
1,028 users online
1,519,267 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I'm curious about Master Blazing Trails' opinion of Whimper now. We got to see what the group consensus was but he didn't get any words in. Is he annoyed over not getting Whimper? Is he actually shocked at how skilled he became on his own without Feathercloak instruction?
8177342
Huh. I hadn't thought about that too much, since the perspective shifted as hard as it did. Plus, I didn't want the Feather Cloaks to be completely irredeemable, with Silver Spoon still staying with them and all.
In general, I'd say Blazing takes the same attitude as he does towards Live Wire: the kid is on the circuit, he's outside the Feather Cloak sphere of influence, but still bound by certain rules. Blazing can still take advantage of the boy, but not exert as much control as he wanted. So it's a mixed bag. He definitely hates the fact that Whimper managed to master a style without Blazing's help, though.
Gotta give him that little jab, at least.
"Form 187?"
"Every i dotted, every t crossed. Even signed by Minister of Education Bone Shredder."
What, did you think I wouldn't get that reference?
In any case, it's a good thing Cheerilee got some direct experience with Whimper, because like it or not, she's going to have to deal with him in the future. Best that she comes to understand who and what he really is rather than just what Bogsdown says about him.
As for Whimper himself, hopefully a less sports-obsessed town will give him a chance to understand himself without all those contradicting signals.
And I do look forward to seeing Silver Bullet's reaction to his daughter's news.
8181504
Bonus points if said Minister is a bat pony. Because it's been a long time, but wasn't Bone Shredder a 1/1 that had both flying and echo?
Whimper's own description of how the Feather Cloak's treated him sounds a lot like blackmail. I suppose that in a town like Bogsdown blackmailing a pony into a sport's team is viewed differently.