Being at a loss was something Jakob had not been privy to for quite a long time. His anger at Cadence had gone up in smoke. She, in turn, had become apologetic, fussing over his bandages, thinking she had done something to worsen his injuries. Fortunately for her, the man was made of sterner stuff, since having an alicorn crawl into one’s lap was not exactly a knuckled fist of an irate minotaur to the ribs.
The pair cleaned up, as during the kerfuffle, plates had fallen to the floor and there was a crack in the table from Jakob pounding it the one time. It was never suggested Jakob’s one act was the cause, as the alicorn had jumped up on the table, even adding to the damage. Little was said, which was to say Jakob said nothing while the alicorn found different ways to vocalize her apologies.
The stoic man let her vent, withholding his thoughts on her spectacular mental collapse. Over the years, Jakob had seen ponies of all walks of life have similar meltdowns. Twilight Sparkle had a memorable one a few years before getting her wings. Having never seen it himself, Celestia had instead retold the incident once to Kaga and Jakob, much to the chagrin of the pony in question who had been present.
“Do Celestia and Luna know of this?” he asked, holding up the candle.
Startled by his voice, Cadence jumped. Her ears plastered themselves against the back of her skull. “No,” she mumbled, “they don’t.” Her horn lit up and the table was repaired. Her lower lip quivered. “I’m a bad pony.”
Jakob regarded her. “Your actions were bad. Your decisions were poor. I am sure you had good intentions,” he said, causing her to flinch, then hissed, “Good intentions killed my wife.”
Cadence whimpered, “I deserved that, Jakob. I’m sorry.” She inhaled, wiping her nose, “There’s something else you must know. It has to do with June.”
His face darkened. “What did you do to her?” he growled dangerously.
“Nothing!” she insisted quickly, “I swear! June surged, Jakob! She has magic!”
Terror and elation tore through the man’s heart. “Surged? When?” he demanded.
“Right after I lit the candle. I don’t know the extent of the magic. It was a small surge, but she is getting to that age,” Cadence told him with a hint of pride in her voice. “She will need to learn how to control it and the nature of it.”
“June surged? My daughter has magic?” This was turning into a day of unexpected turns. Jakob had no idea how to deal with them, not at this moment. This was inevitable. She is her mother’s daughter.
“Yes, Jakob,” Cadence tried to smile. It withered and died under his glare. “Please forgive me.”
“I told my daughter alicorns could be trusted,” an exhale of frustration seeped through his teeth. “Did I tell my child a lie? I try to be a good father, Cadence. When a parent lies to their child, those lies build upon each other. In time, those lies become a beast no parent can slay, and the child comes to resent the parent when they discover the truth.” Jakob set the candle on the table. Rubbing his sore ribs, he bore the itch in his left arm with an irritated sigh. “The next time you light this candle, do it before your peers.” He went to the door, pausing for a moment, “I will be at my house. I will need a few things for the trip to Canterlot. June will need to pack, too.”
“All right.” The mare looked on the verge of bursting into another round of tears.
“Another thing,” he continued, his voice hollow, “you will stay away from June.”
Cadence fought to keep her tears from falling. “As you wish, Jakob,” she managed, her heart broken.
Jakob gathered his daughter and the pair began walking home. A pair of Royal Guard pegasi pulling a sky wagon noticed them and asked if they would like a ride. June told them where they were going. The cheerful ponies were more than happy to help. Within moments, father and daughter were riding in the wagon. The journey was shortened from an hour on foot to a quarter of the time by air. As they rode, Jakob was silent. June was pretty good at reading his moods and knew he did not want to talk. The man was never prone for windy explanations, preferring to be direct and to the point. Jakob was blunt and this was what June was used to. She did, however hug her father, something that needed no words to convey meaning. He returned it, though no smile appeared. Although she worried about his wounds, he viewed them no more than a temporary inconvenience and told her so.
Then again, Father rarely smiled.
The trip was short, and it was not long before the carriage looped around the hill with the great oak upon it. The pegasi pair pulling it soon found a suitable landing spot. Father and daughter hopped off and strode with purpose towards the front door.
“Pack enough clothes for three days,” Jakob told her as they entered.
“Father, this is all I have, remember?” June plucked at her mother’s shirt, which had been her clothing since yesterday. “We just ordered from Marely. Everything else is dirty.”
Jakob grunted. “She may be able to redirect the order. More complications,” rubbing his beard, he stared up at the ceiling. “You can wear more of your mother’s shirts. They were made for travel and are strong.”
“Can I pick them out?”
“You may.”
Excited, the girl followed her father into his room. It was tidy and spartan; a bed, a chair, and a dresser in a room with bare walls and a closet. Well, almost bare. Upon the wall over the dresser was a framed black and white photograph. It bore a younger Jakob standing next to a woman who barely came up to his chest, her slender form pressed playfully against his form. A beaming smile looked up to a clean-shaven face that gazed down in bemused wonder. Between them, in their entwined arms, was a proudly displayed bundle with a tiny face. Around the family were the alicorns, each one in the moment, expressing their joys. June had always found the old picture mesmerizing. She could not believe how small her Mother was compared to Father. The woman had darker skin, but lighter hair that hung to her waist. Her eyes seemed to also be lighter than Father’s own.
The man knelt and reached under his bed, “June.” Jakob found a canvas bag. It was set on top of the blankets.
Startled, the girl jumped with a yelp, spinning on her heels. “Yes, Father?”
“Did you tell Cadence I was lonely?” There was no anger in his tone, but curiosity.
Biting her lip, the girl stared at her feet and nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you think I am lonely?”
June refused to answer.
Her father sighed and lifted her chin up with the gentle guidance of a finger. “June. Do you think I am lonely?” Jakob asked again, in a gentler tone.
A slow, reluctant nod was given.
“Why?”
“Well,” she began, remembering to speak up, “sometimes when you think I’m not looking, you have a sad face. It’s like you’re thinking of something and it makes you unhappy. You do it a lot, Father.”
He mussed her hair. “I do, eh?”
June nodded again, smiling.
“Fair enough,” Jakob grunted. “Until I say otherwise, I do not wish for you to be alone with Cadence. I do not want you to accept that candle from her.”
Confused, the girl asked, “Why not?”
“She betrayed our trust, little one. There are some things one does not do without first asking permission. The candle,” Jakob paused, gripping his daughter’s shoulder, “is made from magic I do not understand. It was made using the hair of your mother. Where I come from, that is an abomination against the dead. It touches on necromancy and she must answer for it. Do you understand?”
June, somewhat understanding, nodded. “So, she’s in trouble?”
“Yes. I do not want you associating with her until I say otherwise.”
“Yes, Father,” the girl said, sounding sad. Looking away as her mind churned, June then asked, “Is she still my godmother?”
Jakob regarded his child, not happy with himself for having to do this. “I do not know. Cadence needs to correct her mistake. I would like for her to remain as your godmother, but it depends on what she does. I have asked her to show the candle to Celestia and Luna. We will see then,” he told her, giving another squeeze of the shoulder. “I will ask you to be patient. Wait and see what happens.”
“One day at a time?” she asked.
“One day at a time,” Jakob affirmed. “There is something else, June. This is very important and concerns you.”
“Me? Did I do something wrong?” there was a hitch in June’s voice.
“No. Cadence told me you had a magic surge. Do you remember anything about having one?”
The girl blinked, “Magic?”
“More than likely inherited from your mother,” Jakob told her with a small, proud smile. “Her legacy appears to have carried on within you. I would like to see if this is true.”
“I have magic?” June wondered, her eyes lighting up.
Jakob tilted his chin down, “We will need to look into it. If this is true, then you will need instruction I cannot provide. I will speak with Celestia on this.”
Nodding with growing excitement, her enthusiasm was muted when she thought of her godmother. “Will everything be all right? Everything?” she pleaded.
“We shall see, June. We shall see.”
Once packed with enough clothes and essentials for a couple of days, Jakob put on clean clothes and his sandals. His shirt was a plain white button down short sleeved shirt. His brown cotton slacks were comfortable and relatively new. It took a bit of effort clothing himself with his sore ribs and bad arm, but he managed. June wore another of her mother’s shirts, this one was white with red trim with laced sleeves. It was adorable on her. More were packed neatly in her bag.
The two pegasi were waiting for them, patient and smiling. Father and daughter were given a ride back to camp. June was lost in her thoughts. Jakob found himself glancing at her, certain he was doing the right thing. What he was afraid of was June taking it upon herself to go behind his back and attempt to ask Cadence questions. If she was anything like her mother, it was not a matter of if, but when.
As they rode, Jakob thought of his daughter.
June was a tomboy and had been raised to ask questions and to find things out on her own. She often went on little adventures with her friends from Berryville. Mementos of her outings with her friends came in the form of frogs and snakes and other critters found in her grand expeditions. As a result, her clothing was rent and torn. Jakob taught her how to use a needle and thread, a skill the girl’s nimble fingers quickly mastered. Then, again she would go forth to see what her world had to offer and Jakob was content to let her do so. Cassandra was always looking over the girl, be it personally or if one or two of her children stayed near but unseen.
As a result, June was a free spirit and saw everything with curious eyes and an inquisitive mind. She pestered her father about her mother, and he would offer snippets, only ending the conversation when she pressed with, ‘wait until you are a little older’.
There were the times Jakob would take June as she got older for survival hikes into the wilderness, where he would teach her how to forage off the land and fend for herself. He was certain she knew when to fight and when to run away. At her size, he emphasized running away from potential threats. Even with the changelings near, the father insisted the daughter know how to handle herself in certain situations. He hoped he had done enough and made it a point to practice hand-to-hand combat once a week with June.
The combat training had begun a month after Hearth’s Warming. June had a long way to go and Jakob was in no rush to push her too hard. First, June was still a child and second, Jakob did not want his daughter to resent her training. She could handle a staff well enough, but June was still a novice. It would be years before the girl would be skilled enough to be formidable.
Jakob was cautiously optimistic at his daughter’s progress, though he had only himself to measure her up against. This made him shift his thinking to how June could handle four legged opponents, winged opponents, and even worse, magical ones. As of now, the girl was still getting a handle on the basics. She had a mean haymaker for her age, but her kicks were better.
Like any concerned parent, Jakob hoped his daughter would never have to be forced to defend herself. But if she did, he hoped the lessons he had imparted would be enough to save her life.
The arm was mending, but still kept in the sling. Jakob flexed his fingers and made a fist with his left hand. There was soreness and the ceaseless itching beneath the skin. His side felt less tender. It was easier to breathe. Reaching out with his right hand, he rested his palm on June’s shoulder and gave her a pat. She looked up at him and offered a wan smile. Her own thoughts preoccupied her time during their flight.
The sky wagon landed. The pair disembarked and thanked their unexpected ride. Jakob shouldered his canvas bag over the right shoulder. June had a travel bag hanging from her left shoulder. The pegasi saluted and went about their duties of doing whatever it was they had been doing before offering their services.
Ponies had a habit of showing their best sides, it seemed. On a whole, they were friendly and helpful to a fault. Cadence was an example of a pony who allowed her destiny mark (ponies called it a ‘cutie mark’) to overwhelm rational thought. The marks could, as Jakob had read in a book on cutie mark theories, create an overwhelming pull on their owners to pursue the ‘magical calling’ behind the meaning of their marks. The crystal heart mark on Cadence’s flanks enabled the alicorn to spread love wherever she went. Jakob reasoned (and he would have to ask for clarification) the mare had become over stressed when her mark could not find love for him.
Fizzlepop Berrytwist was waiting for them. The unicorn with the broken horn stood at ease, her ears perked. Her opal eyes were sharp and piercing, but Jakob thought that was normal for the mare. She also appeared to have recovered from the fight with the minotaur, looking none the worse for wear.
“What did you do to Princess Cadence?” she demanded in an even voice.
“She violated my trust,” Jakob answered with words just as calm, “I did what was necessary.”
“The princess has not left her hotel room,” Fizzlepop pressed.
“She has much to think about,” the man shrugged.
The mare jutted her chin forward. “What did you say to her?” she growled.
“It is none of your concern,” Jakob replied. “June and I are ready. When do we depart for Canterlot?”
“I can’t talk to Cadence,” June piped up, drawing the attention of both adults to her. “Godmother has to talk to the other alicorns. She did something that hurt Father.”
“June! Enough!” Jakob barked.
“I’m sorry, Father,” the girl sighed. “Please, Fizzlepop, don’t be mad at Father. We need to wait and see what the other princesses do.”
“Daughter,” the father warned.
Frowning, June clamped her lips shut.
“Look,” Fizzlepop started, rolling her eyes and then glaring at Jakob, “it’s my job to ensure the safety of Princess Cadence. I take my duties seriously and right now, my duties demand answers. You are not going anywhere until you tell me why Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is a complete mess. She hasn’t stopped crying since you were last seen leaving the hotel. Ponies are upset because the princess is upset. Why is the princess upset?”
Jakob drew himself up to his full height and glared down at the mare. She refused to be cowed and was determined to get answers.
A small crowd was gathering. Armed and armored ponies were whispering among themselves, staring up at the human. More than a few faces were turning unfriendly. Making a princess cry was something not at all appreciated among most Equestrians. Even though Princess Cadence was not a ruler of Equestria, she was still highly thought of and was almost as beloved as the diarchs Celestia and Luna.
June drew closer to her father, bewildered and becoming frightened as the demeanor of the ponies morphed into uncomfortable scrutiny. She tried to put on a brave face.
Fizzlepop noticed this and cast a baleful glare at the crowd. “All right, nopony told you all to stop working! There is nothing for you to see here,” she commanded in a voice that suggested she was not in the mood to put up with any shenanigans. “Sergeants, take control of your troops. Do it now, if you please.”
It was like magic. Discipline descended upon the circle of ponies like a wrathful god in the form of irate non-commissioned officers wading in. Orders were barked and flanks were kicked as there was no bubblegum to be found.
Only two things moved on Fizzlepop; her ears and her eyes. Her lithe form was rigid and held a commanding stance. Once the immediate area was clear of bored ponies looking for something to do, she relaxed a little, fixing her attention on June for a moment. A small and apologetic smile drifted over her muzzle before fading. Her eyes went up and her head tilted to one side as she regarded Jakob.
“Easy as pie,” she told him. “Well?”
Considering the mare for a moment, Jakob relented. “I will tell you on the way to Canterlot,” he promised. “Will that be good enough?”
Fizzlepop considered, then gave a nod, “Just let me do my job. I have no interest in Shining Armor breathing down my neck. That stallion is very protective of his wife. Most of the time he’s pretty laid back, but he’ll be asking lots of questions and I need to know what to tell him.”
Jakob grunted in agreement.
The mare turned to his daughter, “I’m sorry about that, June. I hope you weren’t too frightened from that experience.”
“I’m okay,” the girl insisted. “Are you okay?”
Smirking, Fizzlepop said, “I’m in better shape than your father. A little headache right now, but that’ll go away soon. I won’t be using magic for a couple of days.” She flicked her tail, “Come on, you two. Your chariot awaits. You’re expected in Canterlot. Cadence did order me to go with you while I was trying to coax her out of her room.” A wry smile danced over her lips, “I guess I get to be your security from here to Canterlot.”
“With no magic?” Jakob pointed out with an arched eyebrow.
The mare flicked her ears, licking her lips. “Magic is not something I rely on all that much,” she admitted with indifference. “Having a broken horn limits my options. I got used to not relying on it to get the job done. I don’t mind because I like being physical.”
A smile and a nod came from the man, “I noticed. Come,” —the man shifted the bag on his shoulder— “we are wasting time. Canterlot awaits.”
it's amazing how many people don't understand this. Jakob is proving to be a very good father in my eyes, his first priority in all things is to keep his daughter safe, and to ensure that she can keep herself safe. In this way he demonstrates his love every day, through careful attention.
A child who knows she is loved is a lucky child indeed.
I knew it. Ponies cannot be trusted because sooner or later they choose each other over you, regardless of how much good you have done for them.
Fizzle has proven her worth. She deserves the respect of a warrior, and the trust of a Mole in enemy territory.
Give her none.
10327680
Herd mentality.
This one wasn't fun to read. Jakob is a man of deep convictions, but his position is not easy to relate to. Cadence's perspective, from my seat, is much more relatable, while Jakob's principled response, combined with his very sheltering approach to his relationship with his daughter, left me seeing the man as stern, obstinate, and evidently slow to forgiveness to the point of cruelty. Cadence's misery is palpable, and it feels thoroughly spiteful of the man to only compound it.
10327848
It was not easy to write.
10327848
A man with a (personal) minefield ...
With Cadence, it's the difference on necromancy (his view versus hers), partially ...
10328168
Honestly I think I agree. I am not enjoying this wedge, and I'm not invested or interested in watching a spiteful man attempt to bury his own psychological wounds by persisting in hurting the people (or ponies) who care about him.
10327848
Ah yes, I often find myself attempting borderline necomancy on my friend's dead wife if I cannot shackle him with another woman after her passing.
I also break down in palpable mental meltdowns when I am forced to admit how messed up my motivations and my actions are,and by extension, realise that I am a terrible person, yet make no attempt to fix it.
I much prefer to wallow in visible self-pity so I may garner sympathy from my populace, thereby negating the crimes I committed against the foreigner via my fee fee's and herd mentality.
I am a princess after all.
It's not like I could have simple common sense and not do this.
It's not like I could put myself in his shoes and wonder how I'd feel if someone raised a temporary undead of my husband just so I could shack up with someone else.
It's not like I could admit my purpose form the get go and NOT play my unjust action as if it was a 'gift for his child', maybe not target his only weakness?
Oh no, I'm a pony and I'm also a princess, we don't do common decency here.
It's not like there was a reason why my betters DIDN'T do the very heresy I committed.
Not like I have responsibility or anything, you know, something that would temper me a bit?
Nope.
This is what I despise about this Fandom, accountability seems to be a foreign concept whenever actual crime or crimes perpetrated by ponies are concerned.
It makes me sick.
10328257
Nice strawman, there. You really showed it what for.
10328257
10328337
The fact you both care enough to post is good. I just you stick around for the developments to come.
10328257
If that's Necromancy than Hollywood is the Scourge. It's a construct amalgamated from memory. Even then necromancy is an arguable concept.
"Yes yes, my wife's dead! Boo-hoo! Sob! Brood." If I had to deal with that nonsense for eight years, and never see the kid of a dear, departed friend who named me a godparent. I'd be understandably pissed at their stupidity.
Cadence might not have handled it in the best way. But it doesn't change Jakob being the most irksome clod I've had the displeasure of reading. Tearing others down is good for nothing especially when they're already hurting. Just shows you're an asshole.
Again it's not Necromancy. It's a hologram basically. The only difference is it talks and interacts with you. Maybe if Jakob wasn't such a monkey-minded moron he'd get over his wife and stop trying to do a shitty Godfrey of Ibelian impression he might be happier. Seriously, what moron marches into a knowing battle with a sword, and then tries to cut through a bull's skull with it? He has a death wish and he's a crappy father to boot. Stews in his own misery, hardly a great example for his daughter.
Accountability is fine, it doesn't apply when you're dealing with a negligent Baron whose only real claim to fame is that he was the husband of someone more important than him. And he's some 'great warrior', despite him being so stupid as to try and use a greatsword against a foe larger than him. He's shown a lack of character at every single turn, he's a shitty batman. Atleast batman had some internal conflicts about killing.
June would never know otherwise because her father is an ignorant, cloistered man who shelters his daughter and thinks little forays out into the woods constitutes parenting. It's a wonder how anyone can love him if he's incapable of loving himself.
10328454
I appreciate your thoughts on Jakob's character. In many ways, you are correct. I'm glad you care enough about the story to put your thoughts out there and I thank you for it.
10328257 I feel ya. But, I have a feeling its gonna be short lived, this time.
10328454 It's a construct of unknown magic. No one knows what it is. All Jakob knows is it looks, talks, and acts like his wife. What it truly is, in the end, we will have to wait and see. I have a feeling that its gonna end up being something much... well, different then we expect.
10328454
Now there, my guy, you just missed half the bloody story.
Yes, he's not a very expressive father but by no means can you call him a bad one. He sets a good example for his child, clearly understands the importance of their growth and gradually gives them the tools to their life as they age.
What would you have him do? Throw a sword at her and shoot her out into the world with the words "Find your own adventure!".
Do you understand what parenting is?
Negligent Baron? I take it you haven't read much, by Cadence's own admission, because of his exploits the feif is more wealthy than its ever been.
The only claim to dishonor you have for Jacob is that he stews in his own misery?
Dear god mate, think for crying out loud.
He's not stewing in anything, he's raising his daughter, managing the Feif and trying to be the best father he can for her. Stewing in one's own misery implies they dropped everything to be useless bag of flesh.
Jacob took the hit hard, yes, but I'd bet good money he wasn't that different prior to her death.
You are seeing the world through the lens of a sugar-induced, technicolor horse that doesn't understand what actual sadness or empathy is and goes mad if everything around them isn't happy as hell itself.
Forays into the woods?
.
.
.
.
You're joking right?
.
..
...
Seriously? You can't see how learning basic combat in a medieval world is helpful?
When did he say it replaces parenting? It's clear that he isn't throwing her into the woods everyday, he's quite literally taking his time with her, training wise.
Fella, the only thing I've seen thus far is you missing alot of key points and details.
I'd recommend a reread and a study of the subject of Communication Studies.
If anything, Cadence is stewing in her own misery, and by extension, making things much harder for the person she 'wishes' to mend bridges with.
Instead of getting over herself, she doesn't even try, she just cries and cries and cries, doesn't even bother to get out of the hotel, just wallows in visible misery, displaying said misery to the world and pointing it at a source.
Mob mentality at its finest.
But she's a pony right? No hard feelings, it's just how they are, doesn't say anything at all about someone who spontaneously cries when scolded and made accountable for their actions.
Yep.
Says nothing at all.
Completely normal, moral behavior.
From a pony, of course.
10328337
Not a strawman, a different perspective. I've just placed all the information we conclusively know of Cadence in a short little snippet.
I'd believe that's Argument by Analogy mixed with Argument by Pathos and the Bias Perspective.
If you'd like me to list the in a far more objective way, I'm game.
Though first, please study what you speak instead of just blurting out commonly used labels at anything that doesn't fit your fancy.
10328835
He doesn't set a good example for his child. He grumbles and moans half of the time and hardly ever emotes. That's not a healthy way to go about life and June is likely to emulate that as she grows older.
I would understand parenting being more than moaning about my dead wife and skulking around a backwater town. It's thankful June doesn't really have to deal with any hardships, I fear for her own stability with the rock she calls a father. To say nothing of the social negligence from being homeschooled and being far away from everyone else.
What use is his power and wealth if he never seems to use it? We never see this great wealth, instead we see some backwater town that has a few bandits. Where is all the wealth paying for guards and lawmen? Why is he charging into battle himself and putting the future of his fiefdom and daughter at stake? Ones character offers great insight into how they would act.
He's only raising his daughter out of the love he had for his wife. He sees her in June. If it weren't for her he'd have already absconded the whole place. People's personalities don't change overnight, or from just one person dying. Jakob had the character of a 2x4 before his wife, and now he has it afterwards. The pony, at the very least, is trying to make things better by dragging this wooden-plank of a character out of his misery. Not that it's done much help.
Yes learning combat and survival skills is important, but that seems to be some of the scant few times he spends 'quality' time with her. He probably never bonds with her otherwise.
Cadence by comparison, shows that she is a three-dimensional character capable of doing more than grumbling. "Wife dead. Pony bad."
Communication Studies is a waste of time, paper and faculty.
10328986
Fair enough.
I do admit he could do much better but all the same he isn't exclusively being the regret-filled vessel of nothingness.
Put simply he understands the long-game in raising a child and is doing the best he can at it. Degrading his affection for his daughter to a simple pyre of his wife is a tad bit dismissive of any care he must have for his daughter.
Cadence doesn't prove herself to be much other than obsessed with her element, to the point where she is willing to scapegoat a man's child to prevent being caught doing something she shouldn't be.
Does that sound like someone who cares about the child above all else?
If anything, she should be the one who idolizes Kaga in June, she clearly had more time with the woman than Jacob, instead she plays compassion towards Jacob while using Kaga and June as defensive shields to masque whatever intentions she actually has.
Cadence isn't doing anything out of a love for anyone, out of affection, nor out of pity, she's acting because her element fails to function on him, simple as that.
She's already proven that she is willing to take any means to gain the upper hand. Her tearstreak is nothing more than just that. The upper hand. She's playing the game, and she's playing it well.
Jacob never says that ponies are bad, he openly works with them and even has a high regard for them, nor does he have any true disdain towards them. He simply resents their herd mentality, which is clearly displayed in Chapter 10 where a simple statement almost rallied a mob out of nothing at all.
June doesn't deal with hardships because her father clearly helps her with them, besides that, your definition of hardships would likely vary from mine.
Greatly, vary from mine.
Both characters are 3dimesional but Jacob is a bit mroe nuanced and centered.
Cadence has no idea what she's doing, no clue what her end goal is and no ides of what to do in the present.
Jacob has a clear goal of living and raising his daughter and he excells at doing both.
Far as the bandit problem goes, no bandits ever entered the town, why's that? Probably ahd a good reason why a group of bandits wouldn't ransack a 'backwater town'.
Don't you find it strange how, only when Canterlot ponies show up that they get caught? Nothing ring bells here?
Now wealth and security. Sure I can dig that, but let's look at some facts here.
He has a full Changeling hive at his disposal, only in wartime,but still, he has them. He is essentially a par-immortal gladiator and relishes battle. Other than that, there are literally no threats around the town, at all. The bandit problem was small enough that 2 people could take care of it.
That small.
Now why waste funds on an ongoing, unnecessary pint of expenditure that could be used on practically anything else.
Trade routes, infrastructure, development.
Many, many things more pressing to an isolated town than security. The only reason you even think it's an issue is because the author dropped bandits in the third chapter. If he didn't bring it up, It'd not even be in mind.
Jacob doesn't complain. Likely ever. His emotes may be limited but his sadness is something June gradually recognized over time with him, it's not because he constantly complains.
He doesn't even speak that much.
I don't doubt that social interaction may do her some good, but at the same time, where, when, who and how?
Ponies are xenophobic in the extreme and mask it under suspicion. How welcoming do you think children, individuals with not enough development to have a compass of mroality, would treat something as novel as June?
Children are often crueler than adults. The younger the child, the worse the evil they can unflinchingly commit.
Hell, the author himself mentions Mob mentality when referring to ponies.
I do not refute that your point on social interaction has precidence, but I simply state that it needs more consideration, especially given the circumstances.
Communication Studies is largely useless if you're a secluded hermit like Jacob but if you have to actually speak to people it's quite useful.
It helps in conversational cues, understanding said conversation, but most importantly in your case, text analysis.
Every subject is useless in some way.
Pure mathematics for example, I cannot fathom why I'd need to calculate the equation of mountain's gradient if I desire to work in medicine.
True dead-end subjects are few and far in between.
Though I'd say save the paper, you do have a conputer after all.
10328835
THIS MY FRIEND IS WHY I DO NOT READ FIMFICTION AS MUCH ANYMORE. I can not imagine a world immortal gods have Belief THAT THEY OWN YOU.
I am actually writing a story(s) that address this problem. It takes as you say a tiny degree of CRITICAL THOUGHT TO SEE WHY MANIPULATIVE GOD WITH LITTLE VALUE for life outside of ponys can exist.
I.E literally they control everything. How does that not lead to madness? When the world WHICH they literally control EVERYTHING? What happens if something diferent comes along?
Lets not forgot? No one has had a choice?
There options were conform or get turned to stone?
Perhaps there was reason? The storm king rebelled?
I get the feeling that Jakob will have to get a lot of onion layers peeled before we get to the soft part. Don't mind tho.
I didn't expect Jakob's words to have such an impact but damn does it feel... heavy whenever he gets angry.
He wields words like a club doesn't he? Clumsily at times too.
10502816
Tact is not his forte.
I think you mean couldn’t be trusted
10504973
No. Written as intended.