Before Copperquick could fully emerge from the bathroom, he was ambushed by Buttermilk. One front hoof hooked onto the back of his neck while the other rubbed his cheek, and she stood on her hind hooves, with a look in her eye that left him feeling weak in the knees. She moved in, closer, closer, and somehow closer still, until her snoot was a hair’s breadth away from his. Her eyes—hazel-green—were bewitching, but her words were even more so.
“I am so very much in love with you,” she breathed, and he could feel her hot breath against his nose. “You’ve done wrong, but now you strive to do right. You’re fighting to be the father that Esme deserves. One day, I might give you a few foals. We’ll have to wait and see, but I’ve already made up my mind that I want you. It wasn’t a mistake to feed you cheese toast.”
With a furious blush that turned his copper cheeks a dusky, ruddy brown, Copperquick stood in silence, spellbound by Buttermilk’s sexual allure. The muscles around his dock went tight, his cheek blazed beneath the pegasus maid’s hoof, and his earth pony senses demanded that he take action, right now, this instant, at this very moment. His brain suggested that he yank this mare into the bathroom with him, and he struggled, because now was not the time.
“Before this trip is over”—she continued while she brought her wings into play and started to tickle Copperquick with them—“we’re going to do a little butter churning. I’m not going back to Canterlot until I’ve made you mine.” Waggling her eyebrows, her hoof slid from Copperquick’s cheek and she pressed it over his lips, silencing any potential replies. “And no Copper-Quickie. Butter churning is a long, involved process, so be prepared for a lot of hot, sweaty effort and hard work.”
From behind Buttermilk’s hoof, Copperquick let out a bellowing whinny.
“Seville awaits… go do the right thing, Copperquick…”
The kitchen was now a fragrant haven, a wonderful, mystical, magical place that made Copperquick think of home. Thinking of home made him think of Buttermilk in a most peculiar way, and he thought of how he needed to sort out his living situation somehow so that he would have a place to call home with her. It was a powerful need resonating within his very core, to do right, to do well, to provide, to have a home and family. It stood out in sharp contrast to the wanderlust that had motivated him to leave home and find his fortune elsewhere.
Mighty Midge was still holding Esmeralda, making Copperquick feel a pang of jealousy to see his daughter’s face buried in the pegasus’ neck. Butter Fudge had a bright red burn on her nose where something had bubbled up out of a pot on the stove and had landed. This, of course, hadn’t improved her mood at all, and she appeared to be quite cross, if not outright grumpy.
A jittery apprehensiveness had settled over him once more and Copperquick consoled himself by thinking of Buttermilk. It was a peculiar state of affairs though, as he wanted to do so much more than have a good tumble on the bed with her—what he really wanted was a cementing of their relationship, something that would guarantee permanence. Since becoming a father, he had endured all manner of strange, disturbing instincts, as well as a total shift in his values. This was something more than just mere growing up and gaining maturity; but what it was exactly was impossible to say. A powerful compulsion, something that felt almost magical at times.
The nerdy little librarian-looking pony had just talked dirty to him, and had set his brain on fire.
“Supper is almost done, if you want to hold off on your interview for a while,” Butter Fudge said to everypony in the kitchen. “Oi, made a few desserts, too. Midge has to be hungry.” The big mare shuffled on her hooves a bit, sniffled, licked her sore, blistered nose with her tongue, and then said to Seville, “Don’t you worry about it getting late. You can sleep on the couch, if you’d like, Mister Orange. I’m sorry for my earlier outburst, something about a stranger on my land rubbed me wrong. I suppose I’m feeling territorial and protective due to Esmeralda, but then again. I’ve never taken too kindly to trespassers under the best of circumstances.”
“I understand,” Seville replied with his ears held low. “And I thank you for your gracious hospitality.”
“Right. Good then.” Butter Fudge let out a snort of relief while focusing her stare upon her daughter. “Beezy, set the table.”
“Sure thing! Right away!” All too happy to oblige, Buttermilk rushed to do her mother’s bidding.
Copperquick’s mouth watered when Buttermilk plopped a spoonful of butter-drenched green beans onto his plate. This was followed up by tiny cabbages and a ladle full of cheese gravy. Potatoes au gratin made up the bulk of the meal and Copperquick couldn’t wait to devour the crispy, chewy pieces that like alchemy, had formed along the edge while it had baked. Then to top it all off, Butter Fudge had made butter fudge for desert, and it had a scrumptious look about it.
Leaning over to one side to be closer to Seville, Mighty Midge had much to say: “I can’t help but notice that orange press of yours. That seems specific, it does, and I’m curious as to why you’re not embracing it. No offense meant, I’m actually quite impressed that you’d have enough nerve to do such a thing. Beezy, she never paid much nevermind to her butter churn, and just look at her go.”
His eyes bulging at all of the food before him, Seville did not look at Mighty Midge when he responded, “Any pony can tell the truth. It is not a trait exclusive to a mark, but rather, something we have to work and strive for. I aim to tell the truth, even if it kills me.”
“I have to confess…” Mighty Midge drew out his words while he squirmed in his seat. “My daughter, she challenged everything I thought I knew. In the spirit of honesty, I thought that Beezy would come home from school wrecked and broken from bucking the system. I mighta kinda sorta thought that she’d find all of the work impossible. I mean, she has a butter churn. It is not a mark that is conducive to higher education. A mark like that… I thought that whatever mystical force had given her that mark would bring her home, sort her out, and she’d have a happy life making butter. I am completely baffled as to how things worked out different.”
Lifting her hoof, Butter Fudge said, “Midge—”
“Everything I thought I knew has been challenged. I’m a bit shook up about it, maybe even a little upset about it, but being a father, I am also sorta happy that my daughter is happy, even if I don’t understand a thing about her and she’s become a stranger to me.” Mighty Midge’s eyes glanced in Buttermilk’s direction for a few brief seconds, and then he returned his gaze to Seville once more. “Also, that interview from earlier… it has left me shaken and a bit upset. I have this strange feeling that ponies like me might be part of the problem.”
“Midgy?”
“Copperquick here, he’s trying to do everything he can to change the world so his daughter benefits,” Mighty Midge continued while ignoring the way his wife was staring at him. “And here I am, thinking that the world was fine as it was and I’ve done my part to keep it from changing. Looking back on everything, I let Butter Fudge do all of the foal rearing. Well, almost all of it. I did most of my fathering here, at home. And if I am to be completely honest, a part of me deeply resented Beezy for choosing to do something other than homemaking. I thought she had joined those nutters that wish to tear down our great society, our family values, and tear apart everything just for the sake of change, even if things aren’t broken. Course, I have everything I want in life, more or less, so the world doesn’t feel too broken to me. But after hearing everything that Copperquick had to say, it feels wrong to deny it.”
“You resented me?” Buttermilk’s voice could only be described as ‘icy’ from Copperquick’s point of view, and the prim little pegasus mare squared her steely gaze upon her father. “You resented me? You resented me? Let me tell you something, if there is a mess in this country, it is because your generation made it worse! Copper and I are stuck cleaning it up. We didn’t make this system, and you didn’t either, but you have damn sure profited from it! And you made sure that the rules stayed rigged so others wouldn’t profit! All of the checks and balances necessary for a healthy system to maintain equilibrium, you called it radical leftism and you tarred and feathered it every chance you got! Anything that might have helped the system, anything that might have fixed it, you badmouthed it and made a mockery of it!”
Ears drooping, Mighty Midge nodded. “I did.”
Biting her lip, Buttermilk’s ears made many random pivots and rotations, until at last she reached a breaking point. Leaping out of her chair, she landed with a clatter on the floor, turned tail, and then marched for the back door. During the commotion, Esmeralda woke up, and perhaps sensing something wasn’t right, the little filly sounded off like an alarm klaxxon to let everypony around her know that something was wrong.
The backdoor slammed after Buttermilk’s hasty departure, and Copperquick could only think that her supper was going to get cold. Sighing, he too rose from his chair, because his daughter needed him, and he heard Mighty Midge let out a sigh. His own supper was going to get cold and there was nothing he could do about it. Dragging his hooves along the floor, he went over to where his daughter lay upon her blanket to get her sorted out.
The truth was a dangerous thing, or so Copperquick reasoned. Holding his daughter in his forelegs, he tried to reach around her with his neck so that he could nibble from his plate. Esmeralda seemed to be inconsolable at the moment, so he let her cry and slap away upon him. The little cabbages could only be eaten when hot, and these were rapidly becoming warm. Past a certain point, they would be inedible.
In a birdlike fashion, Mighty Midge pecked at his food, his expression unreadable. To say that he looked sorrowful or miserable was inadequate. Butter Fudge, who had been burned while cooking supper and was in a lousy mood, she ate her food in silence while giving her husband furtive glances.
“I had always believed that the system worked.” Mighty Midge pushed his plate away. “Sure, it had some issues, but I believed that it worked overall. From this little island in this great big delta, with the newspapers that we get, everything sure seemed fine. I supported punitive measures for fathers who cut and run. I supported a lot of things that seemed like good ideas at the time. But after having met Copperquick, and after having that long talk with Beezy, I’m not so sure about anything, anymore. Beezy isn’t a frivolous sort… I didn’t raise her to be that way. It was something I pounded into her head, to be practical and straightforward. And if she is this upset about everything… these can’t be made up problems or minor problems just blown out of proportion. Beezy has thrown her entire life into fixing these problems and getting ponies to see that something is wrong.”
“Do you feel better for having been honest?” Seville asked, his voice low and his posture submissive and unassuming.
At this, Mighty Midge’s eyes went wide, he drew in a deep breath, and his cheeks bulged, forming crinkles around the corners of his eyes. His ears rose, fell, rose again, and then went limp as he opened his mouth and deflated. “I don’t know. My daughter is upset with me. And for good reason, too. I’m not about to disrespect that—”
“What she’s doing is disrespectful,” Butter Fudge muttered, cutting her husband off.
Raising himself to his full, unimpressive height, the little blue pegasus’ nostrils flared and his sadness was replaced with something that looked an awful lot like anger. “You’re wrong, Butter Fudge… and don’t you dare make me say it again.”
“She could have at least behaved herself with company over—”
“Shut up, Butter Fudge.” Mighty Midge’s voice was filled with gravel and his ears angled forwards over his eyes. “You’re guilty too. You cried and boohooed your little eyes out when you realised that Beezy wasn’t going to be a homemaker. Sure, you did right by her, and you pushed her towards what she wanted, but you also did a lot of bitching and complaining. Of course, I did it right along with you. Do you think she’s wrong? Do you? Do you want to march yourself out to the barn where’s she’s hiding and tell her to her face that she’s wrong?”
“Oh, sod off, Midgy! You don’t get to be high and mighty and self-righteous right now!”
“Neither do you.”
“Why don’t you tell her what you said to me last night in the bed, Midgy? About how everything would be so much better if she hadn’t’ve left home and got infected with all those ideas of hers? That everything would’ve been fine if she had just stayed at home and stuck with what she knew? Feeling brave, Midgy? Tell the whole truth! Say it to her face!”
The little blue pegasus seemed to double in size, his feathers fluffing, and every hair on his coat now seemed to stand on end. “That was before everything I heard today. Butter Fudge, we don’t have the moral high ground here. Beezy didn’t get infected with strange ideas, she saw the world beyond our isolated little island. This is our fault—”
“How the bloody fronk is this our fault?” Butter Fudge demanded while her eyes narrowed into aggressive slits.
“We told her how we thought the world should be rather than how it is!” Mighty Midge snapped in return. “We failed her! She had to leave home to learn all of this stuff, and this is important stuff! Stuff she should have learned from us! But I have the distinct feeling that we’ve had our heads up our asses! We blew it, Butter Fudge… we blew it. We failed. Beezy had to go elsewhere to be a better pony, because we failed to do it here at home.”
Shoving her plate away, Butter Fudge scowled at her husband, and with her eyes never leaving him, she spilled out of her chair. Then, with a snort, she turned away, flicked her tail in his direction, and stormed out of the kitchen, almost stepping on the cat, who wasn’t motivated nearly enough to get out of the way in time. The sound of heavy, stomping hooves could be heard on the stairs, and each thump made Mighty Midge’s ears twitch.
With Esmeralda squalling just inches from his ear, Copperquick continued to try and eat his supper.
Seville, look what you did!
You broke a family, you nosy little snot!
Please sir, might I have more?
A party of ponies compelled to always do the right thing.
8610556
But what is right?
Trust me, you step on the cat a few times, it gets motivated to get out of the way. My wife ran over our cat in the driveway once. It dragged itself into the garage and vanished under some junk for a week or two, only sneaking out for food and sandbox. It's ten years later, and that cat gets the *heck* out of the driveway whenever it hears a car.
Admittedly, it's not the *preferred* way to train a cat to stay out of traffic, but....
Yeah, this is why you don't talk politics at dinner unless everyone already agrees with each other. Most arguments don't end because you figure out which side was right, they end when somebody gets fed up and walks away.
8610472
Eh, they were pretty broken before he showed up, they just didn't want to admit it to themselves.
how rough
I'm curious as to the state of reproductive rights and family planning you've come up for your version of Equestria
Unfortunately, this last chapter really blurred the line between fiction and reality, and not in a good way. Though it's obvious that real world events and ideology are and has been mirrored in the stories so far, this one felt like it was just the writer just slapping on a political argument and applying a thin coat of pone. A bit too transparent for my taste.
Fudge gotta pull her head outta her ass. but midge himself is struggling with the fresh air and large oxygen input.
but yea i have had a few rows like this myself in real life
8610663
..... You are just noticing NOW that there is a lot of political emphasis in the Weedverse?
also it really doesn't mean he is wrong. FAR too many people pretend all is right with the world because bad things haven't happened to them. They value the opinion over alternative information or even straight up reality, depending on how extreme we are talking here. It is never just one kind.
8610663
Oy, how you tell me the difference between realistic depiction of cultural psychosis and an author tract!
8610560
After reading all this? I'm not so sure. I agree a bit with everyone.
8610560
Informed, educated moderation tended to by people not afraid of the progress of the future or ignorant of the mistakes and successes of the past.
Good on you Midge. You finally realized what I've been praising Buttermilk for since she had that confrontation with her mother.
8610663
That's you putting words in the mouth of the author, really. If you'd said, "It feels like this, to me." that'd have been fine. Everyone has their own interpretation and opinion - which can be challenged at any time once made public, but you instead made your opinion out to be the factual truth of the matter.
There's a lot of politics going on in Equestria, always has been with the author's stories. Just because they look like ours doesn't mean the author's trying to bend people to this or that thinking or using their writing as a soap box.
I've followed this author for awhile. He does not need a thinly-veiled soap box. If he has something to say about an issue you're going to be hearing about it directly. and If he is not or has not done so, then everything is what it is nothing more or less. This is just a story where the world-setting contains sociopolitical issues that play into the general context of the adventure setting. Grogar is an omnipresent threat that sows and feeds off of negativity. There are many ingrained issues in this society, the best of societies in the world, that he - his agents - and people influenced by him can take advantage of to increase both his influence and magical might. Solving them will help to dislodge Grogar's claws from the throat of the nation and allow the Princesses to better be capable of holding him back.
In stories like these we learn about the characters involved in the nitty-gritty of it, since it can't all be heroes with bright flashing horns and magic weapons ready to fight the infinite darkness with well-pleased harem at their back ensuring their survival and victory. Political victories are just as, or in some cases, more important to the overall plot of the verse.
A swordstroke can slay a monster. A pen stroke can slay a nation.
8610663
I get this all the time. So what am I being accused of now? What am I, the author, being tarred and feathered as? Because in the previous story, I had to defend myself from much.
8610788
Yeah, no, it's rather obvious that I'm giving my own opinion on the matter. I also love the delicious irony of you so certain as to the meaning behind my words; "you instead made your opinion out to be the factual truth of the matter".
8610724
Pretty sure I acknowledged that in my stateme-- oh, wait, here it is.
8610663
Really, I'd love to know what political stance I am being accused of here, and what values am I championing now, because I don't even know. I'm sick, I just woke up, I feel like absolute and utter shit, and I'm not thinking none too well. So it would be nice to know exactly what I am defending myself from this time. I am gonna guess that there just has to be some kind of Americanised something or other in a story about a family that are all staunch monarchists, but have different ways of expressing it. I bet that it's it. Am I attacking American values again by dissecting conservative monarchism? Is that it? If so, I'm sorry. I don't know how to fix this.
8610999
Ease up on the theatrics there, kudz. I merely made what I intended as a mild observation that I found the latest chapter to be a bit too preachy about real-world events for my taste. Basically, I feel like Midge's speech about what they had done resembled one of those after-school specials where someone gets into this passionate speech that no one interrupts. Now, obviously, his wife did do so, but I felt it could have been broken up a little more.
That's all.
8610663
The political views of characters in the story do not necessarily line up with the views of the author. One could argue about whether or not it was in character for any given character to espouse any given view, but assuming that the views espoused are the author's views and that they are being forced into the story is ignorant. There are a lot of characters with conflicting perspectives throughout this series, and they are often balanced out fairly well. In this story alone we have Buttermilk and Butter fudge both making valid points, with neither being entirely right nor wrong.
8611116
...Which is why I said a political argument, not his political argument. Third person misrepresenting what I said, smh.
8610663
Unless it is a blatant self insert, an author is not his/her characters. They are vehicles used to progress a story. An author does not need to share the views of a character to write a character well. This is a work of FICTION, and Kudzu is extremely good at creating characters. Get over it.
8611133
Congratulations, you're arguing against something I never said.
8611126
Apologies, I misinterpreted a quote that Kudzu had posted as a quote that was from you. Your name is right above the quote and it is hard to see what was/ was not quoted and by whom. This has probably been the source of a few confused commenters.
Responding to your actual comment: I'm not sure I understand where this chapter in particular fails compared to the rest of the story. The story has been quite political in nature, which you pointed out, and I don't feel that anything that was said was out of character for Midge or Fudge. There has been a lot bubbling under the surface here. I'm not really surprised that the parents had been holding back somewhat on their true feelings on the matter, as they are trying to give these new ideas a chance. I suppose I just don't see where this chapter crossed a line.
8611148
I simply felt that Kudz had generally been doing a fantastic job of balancing the opinions of the various characters, but that Midge's somewhat unadulterated rant came across as rather raw which broke my immersion in a fictional story a bit. For me (which indicates my opinion, I sadly feel I have to state), it's more of a technical issue which could have been easily fixed by having the dialogue balanced out where Butter Fudge got in a few more points from her viewpoint. And I'm sure someone will be eager to jump in and state that this is kudz's story and he can write whatever he wants blah blah blah.
My original comment was meant as a mild observation on the matter. I certainly didn't expect all this wailing and gnashing of the teeth and releasing the hounds.
8611183
Butter Fudge lives in a household where her husband is arguably in charge, and speaking out against him goes against the grain. It's that sexism thing that Buttermilk complains about from time to time. Rather than stand her own ground, Butter Fudge retreated from the situation rather than totally unload on her husband. See, she can't just lash out at her husband here, because that would go against everything she had taught her daughter on how to act, how to be, and how to behave. Butter Fudge is smart enough to know that if she steps out of line, her daughter will call her out. So, she's trapped. She was totally unable to say what she really wanted to say here, not without looking like a total hypocrite.
So, everything plays out where the patriarchal voice gets to have his say and no one challenges him, because he is in charge. How this played out is actually showing, rather than telling, just how deep some of these problems and issues are. The so-called 'man of the house' gets his chance to speak out, unchallenged in his own home, which is actually really gross and unfair because it was Butter Fudge's home before he came along. But now, she's been marginalised and made rather subservient, all in the name of traditional family values and ideals.
There is a ton of depth here, but only on closer examination.
It's funny, because this chapter is more of an emotional blowout caused by societal mores than a political one.
8611200
When you put it like that, it does make sense. Thanks for clarifying and engaging in a rational discussion.
8611183
That's fair, you are entitled to your opinion. I think things got a little heated because the author has dealt with a lot of people saying that his stories have an agenda to them, that he is forcing his own political views into the story. Having read your comment a few times I can see now that you aren't saying that, but the way it was worded makes it look that way at first. It made you look like one of the jack wagons who has said that stuff in the recent past. Long story short, this was a misunderstanding that unintentionally touched on a sore subject. Though, playing devil's advocate here, it was just a little rude to insinuate that Kudzu was "just slapping on a political argument and applying a thin coat of pone." Whether the chapter is objectively good or not, we all know Kudzu puts in more effort than that based on all that has come before. Critic the work, not the writer and all that.
I think the next chapter, or perhaps the next few, is going to have a big impact on how we see this one. The outburst from Midge is pretty raw, but it feels earnest. He has said so little so far and I think this has been bottling up inside. Butter Fudge will likely get more to say later, as this argument is far from over, and not every argument is completely balanced either. I can respect that it didn't sit well with you, but the story is certainly far from over and it might work better within the context of what comes next.
8611219
This is what got me. i mean, I just woke up, I wasn't feeling good, and all of a sudden, there was what appeared to be an attack on first glance. And the second. And the third. Something about the way it was worded, to be honest.
8611200
This adds a lot of depth that I hadn't even considered to the story as a whole. It can be hard for me to remember that a lot of people still operate that way, and with how outgoing and strong Butter Fudge is it never occurred to me that she'd allow herself to be subservient to her husband.
On a different note, I treasure these moments where a good discussion can rise out of an argument, especially on the internet. It is a nice thing to see.
8611224
The responses didn't help much to dissuade from the idea it was an attack, being pointlessly forceful with people replying who were not being rude or displaying ill intentions in kind, ignoring sound logic just to needle this or that point needlessly, starting to get into ad hominem territory. You're neither wrong or alone in this thinking.
Get well soon, Kudz.
8611276
I merely pointed out where I felt you, and others, misrepresented what I said and and doing exactly what you were accusing me of. Yeah, that, being called ignorant, and told to 'get over it' got me somewhat tense. I'd love to see where I ventured into ad hominem territory.
8611224
Yeah, well, FWIW, I liked it...
Actually, come to think of it, I like all your stories.
Also, are you feeling any better than you were the other day?
Rough time for all the ponies involved. Definitely for the best that they take some away from each time to cool off. I don't think Butter Fudge or Midge were bad parents. Perfect? No but no parent is perfect. They did raise a fairly sensible daughter, one that could go beyond simply what they taught her and make her own observations. Their current problem is that they are being faced with learning that their own worldviews are flawed and no one likes that. Hopefully they'll settle down soon.
I commend Copperquick for doing the sensible thing and staying out of it. It is hard not to get involved. <-This is experience.
... shit.
8610619
You're used to discord italics aren't you?
I know I'm late to the party, but having raised two kids to their teenaged years over the past decade plus, and as a father, this chapter hit close to home.
Ouch man.
The worst part is, I didn't have a Buttermilk to support me through it.