The Runaway
Finally, after a particularly long and uneventful day, night fell. Twilight put away her law reference books, it was time for dinner. She had laid out a buffet of daisy sandwiches, salads, hay fries, a few gemstones for Spike, tea and water, and various other things.
Smiling to herself, she walked up her stairs to the bedroom and poked her head in. "Spike? Come on, it's time for dinner."
Spike responded by continuing to lie on his back, right on Twilight's bed. His eyes were closed, and they didn't look like they would be opening anytime soon.
Not that this little detail stopped Twilight. She walked up and prodded the baby dragon. "Come on, wake up. You're the guest of honor."
"Hughn," Spike grumbled, turning a bit but not waking up.
Twilight sighed, using her magic to levitate him up. Gently she placed him in his basket, tucking him in. With a final kiss on the cheek she walked out. Spike had been tired all day, the ordeals of the previous day having taken the strength out of him. He had drifted in and out of sleep while Twilight had read to him that day, and ended up asleep for a good while as Twilight had returned to her studies. She had hoped that he would wake to attend dinner, but it didn't look like that was going to happen.
She was just putting away the gemstones when Rainbow Dash, the first to arrive, tumbled in through a window and landed on the floor. Dusting herself off, she turned to her friend. "Am I late?"
"Nope, you're actually early," Twilight noted, her face looking curious. "Rainbow, did you just fly a marathon?"
It was a fair question, it looked like exercise had been all her friend had done that day. "I've been training Scoots all day," the pegasus noted. "I finally just asked her about her family."
"You did?" the unicorn asked, breath hitched. "Did she say anything?"
Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "She tried to run again, but we were up on a cloud and she couldn't. Then she got real defensive, said it was none of my business. Then, she kind of broke down."
Twilight winced. "What did you say after that?"
The pegasus shyed away. "I let her cry for awhile, then made her promise she'd tell me if something was wrong."
Her friend sighed, shaking her head. "So the problem's still up in the air, huh?"
Rainbow Dash was spared from answering by the door opening and Fluttershy coming in, with Applejack close behind. "Twi, are Pinkie and Rarity here yet?"
Twilight was a bit stunned at the intensity of her friend's words. "I haven't seen them yet. What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is that those two have been going around town tellin' everypony that you skinned them dragons alive. You'd think you were some kinda crazy person."
The unicorn gaped. "Come again?"
"I had twenty different ponies ask me to clarify if you killed them dragons, and every one of them heard it from one of those two yahoos."
Twilight shook her head. "So the whole thing is going to be all over town soon... really, I'm surprised Rarity wants it getting out. I figured that was something she would think was improper.”
“Maybe,” Rarity said, walking into her friend’s house after hearing the tail end of the conversation, “but not telling everypony about those awful brutes would simply be irresponsible. Why...”
She was cut off by Applejack jamming a hoof into her chest. “Well why th’ hay have you been tellin’ ponies that Twi killed those dragons?”
“I have not,” Rarity said, sounding a bit offended. “The rumors can get out of hoof sometimes. You know how it is.”
"I oughta," Applejack groaned, "I've been puttin' up with 'it' all day."
"Well, I apologize, but I most certainly haven't been adding any embellishments."
“Yeah, I haven’t been telling anypony anything that didn’t happen,” Pinkie said.
“Oh, hello Pinkie,” Twilight greeted. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
Silence washed over the room as the five not pink ponies processed the previous sentence.
Twilight placed a hoof on Pinkie’s forehead. “Wow, Pinkie, are you alright?”
The earth pony shifted a bit. “Well... I have something I need to tell all of you.”
Rarity and Fluttershy had been expecting this. The other's however, had worried looks on them. Rainbow Dash’s hoof hit her forehead. “Oh for... when did we get all this drama in our lives?”
“Rainbow,” Rarity scolded.
Applejack placed a hoof on her fellow earth pony’s shoulder. “Whatever ya need to say, tell us.”
“Let’s eat first,” Pinkie said quickly. “It’s a long story... and where’s Spike? This dinner is for him.”
Twilight kicked the floor. “He’s asleep. He’s out of energy from yesterday. I tried to wake him, but...”
The other ponies groaned. “But... this was to celebrate him recovering!” Pinkie pouted.
“Well, let’s not let all this food go to waste,” Twilight said. “We’ll do something with Spike later. Pinkie, why don’t you tell us what’s wrong?”
Daring Do and the Griffin’s Goblet was looking to be even better than the last book, Scootaloo decided. She lost herself whenever she was home, which was fine with her father, who always liked when she wasn’t getting in the way.
A knock sounded on the door. In a flash the filly slid the book under her pillow and smiled. A moment later, Speedy Delivery came in. “Hey there, kiddo. What have you been up to?”
“Oh, today I just... I just hung out at the clubhouse,” she said weakly. “Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell were busy today.”
He nodded, but looked at her daughter carefully. “You look a little worn out to have just been sitting in that clubhouse all day...”
Scootaloo shifted around uneasily. “Oh. Well... I did ride around on my scooter a bit... I guess it was hotter than I thought out today.”
She laughed. Her father leaned in. He was still smiling, but there was something sinister in it. “Kiddio...you know I don’t like it when I’m lied to, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“I really hope you’re not lying to me. Don’t tell me that I raised a bad kid,” he leaned in closer.
“You didn’t,” she assured, squirming.
“Good. I mean, it’s bad enough that you’re too clumsy to fly, I’d hate for you be a liar.”
Scootaloo opened her mouth to say “Yes, daddy”, but something stopped her.
Don’t let anypony tell you you can’t do anything... not even me.
The words of Rainbow Dash.
“I’m not clumsy.”
Speedy Delivery stopped cold. He looked at his daughter, his eyes wide. His body began to shake. At that moment, one could hear a pin drop.
“...What did you say?”
“...I said...” Scootaloo took a deep breath, “that I don’t think I’m clumsy.”
Pinkie looked at the table, then at the five friends who were gaping at her.
“You mean... they actually...” Twilight said slowly.
A few tears forming in her eyes, Pinkie nodded. “They... they weren’t happy...”
Fluttershy patted her back gently. Pinkie looked at her for a moment, and the yellow pegasus nodded a supporting nod.
“So... what happened next?”
Pinkie's forelegs ached as the pick dug left splinters in her hooves. She wanted so bad to rest, but her father's cold gaze on her moving on.
"I... I don't understand," the pink earth pony sobbed. "I just put together a party.."
"You know what you didn’t do?" Clyde asked coldly. "Your chores. The work we need to survive on. A cutie mark in such a frivolous pursuit? Bah!"
"But...”
“No buts. You can dress it up all you want, devoting your life to parties is laziness.”
“But we had a get-together last week..."
"Don't compare the two," the rock farmer snapped. "Enjoying oneself after a day of work is fine, but all you want to do is laugh and play!"
"I... I want to make ponies happy..."
"If that were true," he answered sternly, "you'd be working to be a doctor, or a philanthropist, something that would do real good, not just being a distraction to ponies."
"But..."
"Enough. You still have a lot of work to do! I'll make you into a respectable pony!"
"...Granny Pie would have listened to me..."
Clyde stiffened. It was like Pinkie had punctured him with a knife. Tears began spilling from his eyes. "You..."
"She would have loved..."
"Don't you dare lecture me about her!" Clyde said angrily. "I knew my own mother, a lot better than you do. Don't think I don't!"
"I know you did," Pinkie said, crying. "You were so sad when she..."
"Don't. You. Dare," Clyde said angrily. "Just get back to work." With that, the head of the farm stomped off angrily, leaving the filly alone with her work.
The ponies looked on sympathetically as their normally cheerful friend cried at the painful memories. Pinkie had fallen into Fluttershy's forelegs, and the yellow pegasus nuzzled her friend comfortingly.
"I don't believe it!" Rainbow Dash yelled, banging the table with one of her hooves. "How could they do that to you?"
"They just didn't understand," Pinkie wept. "I... I just wanted to make them happy... I was still going to work..."
Twilight sighed, a hoof on her forehead. "It sounds like... it sounds like your father had an ego on him," she concluded.
Pinkie actually looked up at the unicorn. "But... he always said humility was a virtue."
"Ironic, isn't it?" the unicorn answered dryly. "There's been a lot of ponies who have believed they were in the right, even while they were doing the wrong thing. Tartarus overflows with them."
Pinkie hiccuped and nodded. "That makes sense."
"Pinkie..." Applejack asked carefully. "About your granny...your pa loved her?"
The pink mare nodded. "She was so wonderful. We had parties all the time when she was alive...not really colorful ones, like mine, but still really fun. She'd sing songs, tell us stories, everything!" For a moment, Pinkie sounded like her normal self.
"When she died...Dad changed. He seemed like he was always smiling, laughing. After...he was just so sad. He almost never smiled. He had never been mean to me or my sister's before I got my cutie mark, but he seemed...different."
Applejack sighed. "I remember how I was when Ma and Pa passed on," she muttered, taking off her hat somberly. "I guess yours was just as sad.
"But that always confused me. He never cried, even once. I think...he was trying to be strong."
There was an awkward silence for a moment. It was Rainbow Dash who broke it.
"Well, what happened next?"
Three days of constant plowing, rock breaking, and house cleaning later and Pinkie decided she had had enough. She remembered her dear Granny Pie's words, telling her to keep laughing in the face of adversity, and to always do what she felt needed to be done.
She knew what she needed. She needed to leave.
In the dark of the night, she packed up her things. Her saddlebags filled with blankets, a pillow, a few slices of bread she had nicked from the kitchen, and a photograph. It was something she had mentally debated with herself on, deciding whether or not to take it. Through it all, she still loved her father and mother, and even though they were being cold now, she knew they still loved her.
Inkie and Blinkie were sympathetic, she could tell, but they feared similar punishments. They couldn't help her, but she still loved them. She wanted to remember him. Finally deciding she could fix this if she regretted it, she stuck the photo in the bags as well.
She slowly stepped down the steps, taking note to step over the ones that creaked. She managed to reach the bottom with no incident. Carefully, she made her way across the room, inching closer to the door. She cringed at every noise, the house settling becoming her greatest fear.
She reached the screen door of their farmhouse, and slowly brought her mouth around the knob. It opened, creaking a bit. Deciding it was best now to go for broke, she opened the door in a flash and bolted out.
She stopped at the bottom of the porch steps, catching her breath. The hard part was over, she was in the clear. She began trotting away.
"Hold it," a voice said coldly.
Pinkie's mane stood on end. She looked behind her. There was nopony there. She swung her head curiously until it finally traveled up.
Her father's head was sticking out of the bedroom window, and he did not look happy.
"Where. Are. You. Going?"
Pinkie trembled... but remembering Granny Pie's words, she spoke. "...I can't stay here."
"You are going to stay here," he demanded.
"...I can't."
"Come back inside, now!"
Pinkie did the exact opposite of what she was told. She turned around and began running, ready to outrace or hide from her father. His next words, however, stopped her cold.
"If you walk out, don't bother ever coming back!"
She froze in place. For several seconds, or perhaps even minutes, Pinkie couldn't quite remember now, there was a stalemate.
A hoofstep, then another, and Pinkie's legs carried her away from her childhood home. The sound of a window slamming down filled her ears for a moment, but it seemed to echo forever.
Halfway down the road, a new sound filled her ears. "Pinkie!"
She froze and turned. Her mother was chasing down the road after her. She began to pick up speed.
"Pinkie, wait! Please, stop!"
To her own surprise, the filly actually stopped. She turned to face her mother, and was surprised to see that her eyes were moist.
"Pinkie, please... don't leave."
"I have to," Pinkie said sadly. "You're not letting me have fun..."
"Pinkie, we're only trying to do what's best. Please..."
There was a silence. The runaway looked down the road, then back at her mother. "You spanked me..."
"...We... we might not have done it the best way. We were only doing what we thought was for the best. Please..."
"You hurt me," she said. There was no anger, only sadness.
"Pinkie, please... come back to the house and we'll talk. I'll calm your father down, I promise...you can go back to your normal chores...please..."
The cries had genuine sadness and fear in them. They tugged at the filly's heartstrings. She wanted so badly to obey, but she wanted to leave too. Maybe she could work things out...
...
"You didn't talk to me before."
It wasn't said in anger, or even sadness. It was a mere statement of fact.
She turned. She walked.
"Pinkie! Pinkie, please!"
She kept walking.
"Pinkie!"
She didn't look back.
"...Fine! Walk away! But don't come back! See what's it's like out there! I hope I never see you again!"
She kept walking. She didn't look back. She never looked back. She walked, and walked, until the sun rose on the horizon. By then, she had entered the area of crop farms. She found a bale of hay, crawled into it, burying herself in the straw, so deep she could pretend the rest of the world didn't exist.
And then she cried.
Speedy Delivery was not happy. And that usually meant trouble for Scootaloo. But Scootaloo wasn't happy either, and she was determined to make it mean trouble for Speedy Delivery.
"You don't think you're clumsy, huh?" the older pegasus said slowly. Then, like flipping a switch, his demeanor suddenly changed. "Well fine, I mean, how am I to know? I only raised you and gave you everything you've ever had."
"Including my scooter," the younger pegasus challenged. "I've done things on that you wouldn't believe."
"Of course you have," he said sweetly. "Since you can't fly, you have to settle for a poor substitute. It's nothing to be ashamed of, sweetie, you're just not good enough..."
"I am good enough."
"Of course you think that, because you’re spending far too much time playing instead of learning. You're just a..."
"I'm not stupid!" Scootaloo screeched, causing Speedy Delivery to hold his ears at the sudden increase in noise. He glared at his offspring.
"I think you're forgetting I'm your father, I know best. You listen to me..."
"I don't care!" she challenged. "You're wrong!"
"You can't fly!"
"I did today!"
Scootaloo's hooves clamped over her mouth in horrific realization at what she had just admitted. Her father was no longer trying to hide his rage, though he was keeping it pent up. "What?"
At this point, Scootaloo decided to just go for broke. Determination seeped back in her voice, rage she hadn't even been aware she had kept pent up came to the surface. "That's right! I flew! Rainbow Dash offered me lessons and I took them! She helped me fly! I flew farther than I ever thought possible today! I could do it! You just couldn't see it! You were wrong!"
It was like a weight off her chest. She stood proudly, firmly... for a moment. Her father's gaze which seemed to bore right through her, got her to shrink down.
Then, Speedy Delivery took a breath.
Pinkie took a deep breath. It was easier now, making it through her story without losing it. Fluttershy acted as an emotional brace, having heard the story before. Her friends had varying reactions.
"I don't believe it!" Rainbow Dash said angrily. "How could they... how could she ask you to stay after all that? How could you even think of staying?"
"I don't know," Pinkie said sadly. "Maybe I should have stayed if they were willing to talk things out..."
"No way," Rainbow Dash said bluntly. "They were being jerks. Just drop them!"
"...Isn't that what we did to Twilight?"
The cyan pegasus looked like she had been stabbed in the gut. Twilight flinched as well, the memory still painful for her.
"Well... that's different, this seems pretty black and white..."
"We thought that at the wedding too," Fluttershy pointed out gently.
"Pinkie..." Rarity said slowly, "I cannot say whether or not you made the right choice in deciding to walk away, but I must ask: did you ever consider going back to try and patch things up?"
After a pause, Pinkie nodded. "I thought about it, but I... I could never work up the courage. My dad and mom were so mean... I don't think..."
They were quiet while they let Pinkie regain herself. She continued. "I don't think I can face them."
"Why the hay are you bringing this up to us now?" Applejack asked. "It seems... a bit out of the blue."
Pinkie was quiet again. "Princess Luna told me I needed to talk about this. I... I guess it's been messing me up for awhile..."
"...Like at your birthday?" Twilight asked quietly.
The earth pony nodded. "And... and my parents are coming here, to Ponyville."
Five sets of eyes popped out of their heads. "What?"
"I got a letter from them a few days ago. They say that they want to come and... and try to make things right."
There was silence.
"Are... are you going?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"...Yes," Pinkie said. "I need to."
There was another silence. This time, it was Twilight who broke it. "When are they going to be here?"
"In about ten days."
"Do you want us to be there?" Twilight asked gently, already knowing the answer.
"Could you please? I'm so scared..."
"You really have to ask?" Rainbow Dash said, as if she had just asked if ice was made of water. "Of course we will."
Pinkie knew in the back of her mind that all her friends would say yes, but actually hearing it happen made her cry. For the next several minutes, she just let her friends comfort her. Everything was going to turn out just fine.
However, the moment, was interrupted by a knock at the front door. Excusing herself, Twilight walked to answer it.
She was quite surprised to see two members of the Royal Guard standing before her.
"Lady Sparkle," one greeted.
"Oh, um, hello," she said, stunned. "Can I help you?"
"We were sent from Canterlot to search out the three dragons you reported earlier today. We haven't found anything in a three hundred mile radius, so we're about to give an all clear, we just need to ask you a few questions."
As Twilight handled the guards, Rarity excused herself. Covertly, she signaled for Applejack to follow. The two went into another room.
"Okay, Rare, what's up?"
"Applejack... Pinkie talked to me earlier today."
"She told you all this?"
"...No. She told me something else."
"What?"
"Oh, I think you know."
"...No, I really don't."
"Oh Applejack, you don't have to hide your feelings from me. It might be difficult, but I think you could make it work."
"Huh?"
"You really must be open to this. If you go tell Twilight how you feel, I'm sure you two can..."
"Finally, this is the last one," Vinyl noted, levitating the last two boxes into the living area. "I don't see why we couldn't hire some movers for this?"
Octavia rolled her eyes. "Really, this apartment costs five hundred bits a month. We need to cut corners until we get savings."
"Cruddy Canterlot... I don't see why I had to move here instead of you moving to Ponyville."
"Because there's not much demand for a fancy cellist in a small hick town."
"Oh, here we go, do you always have to insult my town?"
"I did no such thing!" Octavia said, insulted.
"Yesh, news flash, prim and proper, hick generally has negative conotations..."
"Oh, wow, you now know a four syllable word, how wonderful," the grey mare answered with a roll of her eyes.
"And that's another thing, do you always have to..."
"PINKIE!"
The two mares threw themselves at each other, locked in a fearful embrace. "What was that?" the earth pony said fearfully.
"It must be the end times," Vinyl said quickly. "Quick, let's make out while we still can!"
The fancy mare rolled her eyes. "You are just a simple minded creature."
"...Sorry," the unicorn muttered as she began to pull away, but her partner tightened her grip.
"I didn't say no."
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You're doing a great job of making me hate Speedy Delivery.
Poor Pinkie, too...
....man, everything is so friggin hopeless. We need something happy to happen.
....wow, Clyde's as big of an ass as Speedy Delivery....so far, that is. I feel as though Speedy Delivery might pull something out of his ass and just leave Clyde in the dust.
'Pinkie's main stood on end.'
Mane, same sound, different spelling.
Oh, wow, you now a four syllable word, how wonderful,"
I think you accidentally a letter/word there.
Otherwise, some nice dramatic tension and, you know, something actually happening to Scoots.
Jolly good show.
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What I would do if I ever met fathers like Clyde and Speedy
Wow...way to go, Scootaloo!
It'll be a few weeks until the next chapter won't it? I love the developments from all of them and I hate how they all seem to end on cliffhangers with very little resolved. You're worse than Lost. Heck, I do love this story, though.
Oh wow....this is tense!!! I can't wait to see what happens next.
Why do I get the feeling that Scootaloo and Pinkie's story are a before/after thing?
I cant really be sure of what Speedy Delivery will do, but it feels like its not something good
ah, poor applejack, forever in denial...
They all support Pinkie but they do bring up a VERY. VERY. Valid point. Thing's are not ALWAYS black-and-white...
Gonna address the Trixie working at the rock farm thing?
And damn you for ending on a cliffhanger! Through I do love the hilarious ending XDDDDD
Will Scootaloo end up like Pinkie? Will Applejack kill Pinkie? Will the conspirators finally reveal themselves ? Will the price of houses in Canterlot drop?
Will Pinkie parents reveal to be more dumb than we thought? Will Twilight finally accept she is OP? all, some or any of this answers in the next chapter
Now this is some real emotional stuff here. The absolute heartbreak in Pinkie Pie's flashback was the real meat in this chapter. I know it's easy for us to think Clyde is just some heartless jerk, but I don't believe that. He's a proud, stubborn stallion who has bottled up his emotions and grief and has ended up driving his loved ones away because of it. But when Pinkie left, I can definitely imagine he (eventually) had a 'My God What Have I Done' moment.
And as for Scootaloo's parents, Gah! Again, I just can't...get them! Or rather him in the context of this chapter. I mean...what is it about them?! Why are they SO protective of her, need to make her feel she's not strong or smart enough? I want to understand them and I want to believe they do love her and are only doing what they view is best for her, but it's getting harder by the chapter. I just wish that in the next chapter or so we can find out more about them and HOPEFULLY, they can come across as even just a little bit sympathetic. Because I do believe they are parents who love their kid, but are more damaging than they realize.
it sounds to me like Clyde took his mothers death very hard and pushed himself hard with his work, when his daughter (pinkie pie) starting acting just how she did it brought up all those feelings that he worked so hard to surpress, so he did the only thing he knew and worked harder to surpress them including trying to surpress pinkie pie which caused her to leave and find her own way. ironically she took a similiar approach to dealing with sadness as Clyde except instead of burying it with work she burys it with laughter.
Both Clyde and Speedy deserve whatever happens to them. True fathers don't mentally or physically abuse their children. A real father even when he's busy always tries to find time to spend with his kids. A true father stands by his kids and supports them in most of their decisions. A real fatehr knows when to be firm and when to be fair.
Also I have a bad feeling about the twon knowing what Twilight did to those dragons, suddenly they may start growing worried about her. Although if helps scare Clyde Pie into fessing up then I guess I can't complain.
I'm glad you finally allowed for Pinkie Pie to come forward. I'd have seriously become fed up with you if you had some other sort of issue pop up that would make it so Pinkie Pie couldn't confess.
The fancy mare rolled her eyes. "You are just a simpleminded creature."
should it not be "such" instead of "just"?
2021722
Remember to shout "I AM A MAN!" before you do it.
I think Clyde is a complete dick. Also... I'm pretty sure Octavia is grey, not brown.
Random fun fact: Pinkie, Inkie, Blinkie and Clyde are the names of the ghosts in PacMan.
Let the drama ensue
.
MOAR! MY FEELS ARE GOING TO BURST!
Even with what Clyde did I still gotta give worst father in the world award to Speedy Delivery. He's been negative to Scoots her whole life. I wonder what he'll do now that Scootaloo called him out on his opinion of her?
My reaction? Bleh.
That's how you portray Pinkie's father? That's the big story? A climax with no lead up, no understanding of the characters, just an immediate rift? At most the grandma thing helped saved it a little, but Bleh. So Far Clyde is a bland character, we didn't get any more character out of him in this chapter then you've already showed us. He's the same character you've written before. At most you gave him that disgruntled child who loved his mother dearly syndrome. Pinkie's story was..... I really hope you have plans to expand that story out. We'll see.
In other notes, referencing back to Post Nupitals was AMAZING, I loved that part, well written and it just felt right.
As far as Scootaloo's part went.... that's the Darth Link I know. You've looked beyond the basic characterization and managed to grab aspects of Scootaloo that not only work canonically, but is interesting to explore. You explain perfectly as to why Scootaloo has this Courage/Fear complex and why she admires Dash so much. It's not just because she's awesome, but because she builds up others as well.
Well done.
I had a problem understanding what was going on in the ending.
Otherwise, as good a chapter as always.
I anticipate to see how Scootaloo's situation plays out.
That last bit lol
Yeah, uh, Twilight wasn't being abusive at the wedding, Clyde, well... yeah, no. He's got no right after the way he acted towards Pinkie.
Speedy Delivery stopped cold. He looked at his daughter, his eyes wide. His body began to shake. At that moment, one could hear a pin drop.
The going into shaking spasms bit--- a bit much, don't you think?
A very well written chapter.
Clyde...I admit, he seems a bit undeveloped as far as his motivation goes. However, to be perfectly honest, he and Speedy Delivery just got added to my list of 'Pony OCs that deserve to be cast into the sun/Tartarus/insert-favored-place-of-eternal-punishment. The only OC ever to make that list before now was my own OC, Candy Cane, and he was designed to be hated.
The rest of the chapter was also hilarious.
That quite a set of lungs Applejack has.....run Pinkie.
So many bad parents.
Rarity you are being real stupid right now. Oh and twi you had better knock some sense into everyone in the town. I wonder who's in the back pulling the strings and making the propaganda against Twilight and Spike?
Sorry but this threw me off a bit "There's been a lot of ponies who have believed they were in the right, even while they were doing the right thing."
... I find Clyde to be one of those too-controlling fathers whom think he knows best when he doesn't... like Stan Smith. In other words, regardless of reasons, he lashed at his daughter for what her Cutie Mark stood for. I hold no tolerance or love for him.
Well I really don't know what to feel really Speedy was a ass as usual and Clyde just felt....I guess forced.... kind of like what Glacier Chasms said, but granted I wasn't looking forward to the whole "abusive farmer father" stereo-type that seems to want to pop up everywhere....but your the author so I trust you can do something magical with this..... Overall probably my least favorite chapter
Clyde's an abusive asshole trying to control everything around him to try and aleviate his guilt over his mother's death. Dunno why he feels guilty, but that's what comes across to me.
And Scootaloo's dad needs to be eaten by gryphons on his next smuggling run.
Oh, that was Applejack screaming at the end
... ROTFLMFAO!!!
!!!!
About Clyde... I think his character worked pretty well. Personally, I dislike those people who are so stiffled with their own traditions or customs that they try to smash everything that they do not like
. But perhaps thats the way they are always being portrayed on media, so I could be a little biased her. Anyway, you put it very clear what are his motivations on his behavior, but to actually inflicting physical punishment, over demanding and eventually disowning his own daughter without a second chance makes him a complete jerk to me
. I believe he still needs more development, but I think we'll see it when he and Sue 'set things right'.
They'll set things right, RIGHT
?!?
Also, Scotallo's scnene... I'd almost had a heart attack
... That's powerful
.
I don't recall Vinyl and Octavia being in this story so far.....though why Pinkie Pie's name was thrown into their scene is probably the bigger question. As far as the aforementioned pony's family is concerned, you did pretty well on Clyde. I'm looking forward to more Pie family development, regardless of the outcome.
On to Scootaloo, I have to wonder, why is Speedy Delivery so set about her not getting lessons from Rainbow Dash? Is the pony with the prismatic mane her biological mother or something? Guess we'll have to find out next chapter. And yes, I've seen Scoots as Dashie's daughter by birth before, in case you were wondering. ('Double Rainbow', anyone?)
FUNNY!
All things considered, I think Pinkie made it out okay. It could have been a heck of a lot worse. And let's be hoping Scootaloo's situation resolves itself relatively well too.
2021828
I've been thinking that about Scootaloo's parents since they were introduced. What is with them? Neither of them are drunks, and they don't appear to be bullies; rather, they seem to be motivated by some twisted form of protectiveness that I just can't wrap my head around.
Loving the "mirror imagery" in this chapter, and Vinyl and Octavia were a pleasant surprise. Now off to read About Last Night.
2022452
I'm guessing that it was Applejack who shouted Pinkie's name out of anger after Rarity confronted Applejack.
Interesting how well the
and 
plots seem to reflect each other. You've left us with three possible reactions from Speed Delivery (silence, anger, or apologies).
And then Social Services came and saved Scootaloo.
I really hope Scootaloo's father doesn't beat her but if that's the case, i suggest taking a this into account...
RD: You listen to me, you son of a bitch, You ever hit that filly again and I'll kick your ass. If I see her with a bruise, you get a scar. If I see her with a limp, you get crutches! You hear me? Do you hear me?
Speedy: I'm reportin' you to the cops!
RD: Screw you and the cops! [RD walks away with a hurt and crying Scootaloo under her wing]
This is based off of one of my favorite scenes from "October Sky"
Personally, Clyde seemed a bit... too predictable. Unless you are planning to pull a really big plot twist with Pinkie's arc, we already know how it's going to play out, and it is only a question of how big and how bad a fight there will be between them before the inevitable reconciliation.
And honestly? I'm kinda hoping you aren't going to go in the direction I think you're going with Speedy Delivery.... please don't have him get violent with Scootaloo. Not only would that be just cliche, it would also railroad that plot into a quick resolution.
I want Speedy Delivery to burn.
Make him burn, please.
ten days until the probable confrontation with Pinkie's dad?
hmm, that should give us more than enough time to deal with Scootaloo's Daddy issues...
which is really good news, 'cause it looks like they are about to reach a head here...
Hmm, perhaps it's the heartless cynic in me and there's every chance that Pinkie's parents truly do want to make things right with their daughter for the right reasons, part of me can't help but suspect that the fact that Pinkie Pie is now a national hero has something to do with it. Yeah, claiming your daughter's talent and way of life are utterly worthless only to find out years later that they've made her into a prominent public figure who has saved the day a couple of times over and is favored by some very famous and powerful ponies means that your words are gonna come back and bite you pretty hard.
reading the comments people seem to be confused about Speed Delivery's issues. But if you ask me he's being emotionally abusive but in a very passive way. I mean there's what one would normally think of being emotional abusive were the victim is yelled at and more openly demeaned. In Scootaloo's case her dad is making her feel like she can't do things cause he thinks in some twisted logic that she'll end up leaving him otherwise, same reason he's resistant to her spending time with others (I'm reading between the lines on all this). of course if Darth is taking this were I think he is it's going to devolve into physical abuse instead of the current psychological attack.
Speedy Delivery is a complete jerk, but I can slightly sympathize with Clyde. Yes, he did treat Pinkie cruelly, but he was just trying to do what he thought was best for her. He just had a depressed/ bad state of mind when he was going about this and did it all wrong, forcing pinkie to leave. I think that after he had some time to think things through, he probably really missed pinkie, and he wants to go to ponyville to make amends and rekindle their bond
I actually feel sorry for Clyde. It seems to me that he was so depressed at the death of his mother that the sight of another pony with Granny Pie's outlook on life hurts him. He was only lashing out in unresolved pain. Never the less, his issues hurt the entire Pie family. I do not think that Pinkie could reconcile their differences unless he can truly deal with that pain. I do not think that pain will go away. Seeing Pinkie will reopen the wound. You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Pinkie's family is the ponies of Ponyville and her sisters. Not her parents, who will never truely be able to repair the wounds.
So much psychological trauma here. It was ridiculous before, but now it's just right out. The schadenfreude is strong in this one.
Anyway, calling it now: Scotaloo's dad is a changeling
but Scootaloo is ALSO a changeling 
Where's my machete? I want to kill Speedy Delivery with my machete.
Also, he didn't deserve cake on his birthday. That cake was for Applejack! And he took Ditzy's mail route! And he poisend our water supply, harmed our children, and delivered a plague onto our houses! And he never returned my copy of Assassin's Creed 2! And he smells bad! So, I guess the point is that he's a dickhole. So yeah. Glad I got that out of my system. I feel a lot better now.