Episode 7: "I Love Fancy Pants!"
…
…
Rarity stood in her bedroom at Carousel Boutique, inspecting her old gala dress. Tonight was an important night in Canterlot and she needed to look her best. "What do you think?" She asked, turning to Opalescence, who was lying on her bed. "Too old?"
Opal merely rolled her eyes in uninterest.
"You're right," Rarity declared, going to her dresser and putting on a gold tiara. "Much better. A night at the opera, who could ask for anything more? A chance to be amongst the best of the best in Equestria."
Just then, she heard a knock on the door and a guardspony peeked in. "Your highness," The guardspony called. "Your fellow princesses are waiting for you outside."
"Of course, of course," Rarity called. "Be down in a minute!"
Blowing a kiss, the guard awkwardly scrunched his face and closed the door.
"Now then," Rarity muttered, going into her closet and pulling out a purple cloak and her glass slippers. "Cloak," Taking the cloak, Rarity wrapped it around her neck. "Glass slippers," Rarity placed her forelegs into two glass slippers, completing her ensemble. "Finito!" She declared, going in front of her mirror again before turning around to face her cat. "All right now, Opal. Mama will be back soon. I love you!"
But Opalescence didn't care and instead continued to lay on her owner's bed.
Stepping out of her boutique, Rarity met up with all her friends sitting in an elegant golden coach decked out with cherubs and angels.
"Well, what do you think?" Twilight asked. She was dressed in her first coronation gown and tiara as Rarity sat in between Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie while the coach departed for Canterlot. "This coach is over two centuries old."
"A really long time if you ask me," Pinkie Pie chirped, wearing her first gala dress with her crown in the spot where the matching hat would've been. "Who doesn't ride in style these days?"
"I could use something a little less glamorous. I don't think everywhere we go needs to be a grand affair." Rainbow Dash remarked, wearing her first gala dress and feeling somewhat embarrassed at being in an elegant setting.
"Remember Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy called, wearing her second gala dress. "Being a princess means you have to do princess related things. Besides, I think this coach is amazing and rich with history."
"I reckon this is kept somewhere in Canterlot, right, Twi?" Applejack asked, wearing her second Gala Dress. "Only used for special occasions."
"This one hasn't been used since Cosmo and Galaxia ruled over Equestria if I recall," Twilight answered. "But anyways, this opera that Autumn Blaze wrote should be something to see. I mean, who would want to have…"
"NO SPOILERS!" Rarity shouted in a sharp tone, not wanting the opera to be spoiled for her, much to Twilight's surprise. "Ahem. No spoilers please, darling." But the opera would eventually be the last thing on her mind.
…
…
Arriving in Canterlot later, the gilded coach pulled up to the entrance of the theater where the opera would be taking place. Already, crowds of ponies were gathered as they eagerly anticipated the arrival of Twilight and her friends. Just then, the doors to the coach opened and one by one each princess stepped out.
The crowd was held at bay by numerous guardsponies
"Thank you, Gallus." Twilight smiled, addressing the griffon as she noticed he was dressed in a hoofstallion's outfit.
"All part of the training with Captain Tempest, your highness." Gallus replied as the crowd roared indelight upon seeing Twilight step onto the carpet.
"You'd think this was a rock concert or somethin' with the way ponies are actin'." Applejack remarked, taking in all of the gathered crowd.
As they walked down the carpet and into the theater, Rarity couldn't help but notice that one of Canterlot's most important residents was also in attendance. "Oh, Fancy Pants!" Rarity called out, catching the rich pony's attention and causing him to turn towards her. "Fancy seeing you here!"
"Well, if it isn't Miss. Rarity, or I suppose I should be saying 'Princess' Rarity now," The rich pony remarked. "I dare say, the royal life seems to be getting better each day for you."
"Well it's…different to an extent," Rarity briefly stammered, before realizing that a certain companion of Fancy Pants was not there. "By the way, why isn't Fleur De Lis with you?"
"She had other engagements," Fancy Pants answered, sighing and shrugging his shoulders. "Shame really, she would so have loved to see this performance. She's always a big fan of opera."
Rarity couldn't help but feel sorry for the rich unicorn. "Look um, if you want me to be your companion just for tonight…"
"But don't you usually sit with the other princesses?" Fancy Pants questioned, not wanting to create a scene or cause trouble.
"I think they can give me a pass for once. It's the least I can do for a friend such as yourself," Rarity offered, gesturing him to follow her into the royal suite with the other princesses. "Come along."
Although he wasn't sure, Fancy Pants decided to take Rarity up on her invitation. Little did they both realize that at that moment, a shady pony figure was hiding behind some plants with a camera in his forehooves.
The greasy, navy blue coated unicorn pony emerged from behind the plants and looked at the camera with a sinister smile on his face. "Perfect," He whispered to himself. "I got the Princess of Generosity and Fancy Pants together. This is going to be great news. Now if I can only get a little closer." Waiting for a clearing, he proceeded into the open to get close to the entrance to the royal suite.
However, two guardsponies saw him approaching and stopped him. "Halt!" One of them cried out in a gruff voice.
"Who goes there?!" The other one demanded as they readied their spears. "Identify yourself, now!"
"Um," The pony answered, pulling out an ID with his aura. "I'm with the Canterlot Chronicle, covering the premiere of tonight's performance."
The guards looked at the ID card, but were unconvinced. "Sorry, this area is off limits to journalists, no exceptions." One of them declared, gesturing for the pony to leave.
Grunting, the unicorn pony was pushed away by the guards. Denied the chance to get close to Rarity again, he now snuck around back and into a bathroom where he turned on his camera and printed out a picture of Rarity and Fancy Pants together.
Looking at the picture, he couldn't help but smile. "This is going to be great," He laughed to himself. "The Princess of Generosity and the richest pony in Canterlot, dating! Just what we need to boost our business! Ponies will eat up a story like this!" He then made the picture disappear and proceeded to wait out in the lobby for the princesses to come out again after the performance ended. With a little luck he'd get the scoop of a lifetime.
…
Meanwhile, the six princesses plus Fancy Pants were enjoying the performance that starred the kirin. When the play ended, Autumn Blaze came onto the stage wearing a lavish costume from centuries ago. "Thank you, thank you all!" She announced while standing with her cast. "Who knew my first real audience could be such a welcoming group? Anyways, I want to thank all of the cast and crew for their hard work and dedication. And I especially want to thank my shadow, Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands for her support as well."
Stepping to the side, Autumn allowed her shadow to appear before the audience much to their confusion.
"It's a long story." Applejack whispered to Twilight, remembering how crazily minded Autumn Blaze was.
"In all seriousness though, folks," Autumn Blaze continued. "This is the beginning of something big for all of us kirin, and I look forward to having all of you back for another star-studded performance! Sleep well, good night!"
Applauding, the curtain closed and the six princesses and their guest left their section.
"I must say, that was quite a performance from Miss Autumn Blaze," Fancy Pants commented as they made their way towards the exit. "It's too bad my darling Fleur had to miss it. It's sure to eat her up for days. To say nothing of how she'll feel to know I sat with you of all ponies"
"I understand what that feels like," Rarity replied. "But you couldn't be sitting there all by yourself, darling. It's not right for a pony of your stature. It was just one friend doing something for another friend."
"Hope Donut Joe's shop is open," Applejack suddenly spoke up. "I could use a donut or two before we head back to Ponyville."
"Would you care to join us?" Rarity asked Fancy Pants.
"Donuts aren't usually my thing, but I suppose I can make an exception. But I'll pay for my own donut, thank you." Fancy Pants answered as he joined the princesses as they all boarded the coach.
With the additional passenger, the coach became more crowded, causing Rarity to sit on Fancy Pants' lap. "Comfortable?" Rarity asked as the fabric of her gown unintentionally dug into Fancy Pants a bit.
"It's not a long ride Fancy Pants." Fluttershy promised as she noticed how uncomfortable he seemed.
Smiling politely and forcefully, Fancy Pants braced himself for the short drive.
But as the coach pulled away, none were aware of a unicorn pony snapping a picture. He looked down at it and produced a grin much wider than his first. "This night just keeps getting better and better! Oh Dirty Scoop, you are brilliant!" Disappearing into the crowds, he proceeded to follow the coach's every move. "Now all I need to do is catch them kissing, and I've got everything I need for the next issue of the Equestrian Enquirer!" He thought while positioning himself in front of Donut Joe's shop, hiding behind a trash can with a clear view of the six princesses and Fancy Pants inside.
From his position by the coach, Gallus was standing guard when he suddenly heard a noise coming from across the shop. Just as he was about to investigate, the coachpony stopped him.
"Private Gallus!" The coachpony hissed. "Where are you going?! You're supposed to stand guard!"
"Sorry, but there's somecreature behind those trash cans and I'm gonna find out who it is!" Gallus replied, his suspicions rising with each minute. "Wait here. I needed the exercise anyway."
Flying away from the coach, Gallus creeped over towards the spot where the noise was loudest.. "Too bad Spike had to have another of his guys nights," Gallus thought to himself. "Could have used him to help me. Oh well, Captain Tempest will understand so long as I catch a nosy pony snooping around where they shouldn't be."
Acting fast, Gallus pinned himself against a wall as he could hear the sounds of clicking and snapping pictures. "Hey!" He called out and suddenly, he began to hear the sounds of hoofbeats running away from the spot, knocking down the trash cans. "Come here you! No one's messing with the princesses while I'm around!"
Gallus chased after the invisible enemy. Suddenly, the invisible pony threw a trash can at Gallus hitting him and causing him to fall over hard on his back. Acting fast, the invisible pony ran off into a corner as Gallus struggled to get back on his feet. "Well, the princesses are gonna want to know about this," He declared as he flew back to the coach. "But if Captain Tempest finds out about this I'll never hear the end of it."
…
…
When it was time to leave the shop, the six princesses boarded their coach, except for Fancy Pants who immediately took notice of the disheveled Gallus.
"I say," Fancy Pants remarked. "What happened to you, young sir?"
"There was an intruder," Gallus reported, much to the surprise of the six princesses. "Whoever it was was invisible, but I know they were there."
"Invisible, you say?" Rainbow Dash questioned with an arched eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"
"Of course, I'm sure," Gallus protested. "They were right in that alleyway there."
Realizing that Gallus could be telling the truth, Twilight teleported herself to the downed trash cans and inspected.
"Twilight, you'll get your dress ruined!" Rarity insisted. "Come back here!"
"Just a minute," Twilight replied, seeing something that caught her eye amongst the trash. Picking it up and inspecting it, she felt a sickening feeling in her stomach. "Oh my Celestia!" Flying back to the coach, Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing before her eyes.
"Twilight, what is it?" Rainbow asked with concern.
"Looks like we had an unwanted guest tonight, girls," Twilight declared before holding up the object she'd discovered. "Look!"
Looking around, all six princesses were astounded to see pictures of themselves and Fancy Pants inside the donut shop.
"Now who would want to be taking pictures of us eating donuts?" Applejack frowned. "Everypony knows that I don't like to be bothered while eating."
"Me too." Pinkie Pie added and humphed.
"Naturally," Rarity huffed. "Of all the disgusting things for a pony to do…can't everycreature understand the importance of privacy? That's as bad as taking a picture of somepony when they're in the little filly's room."
Sighing deeply, Twilight boarded the coach. "Well, we'll just have to tighten security until we catch whoever did this. And we'll have to be extra careful to make sure this doesn't happen again."
Feeling embarrassed, Rarity turned to Fancy Pants."I'm really sorry about all this, Fancy Pants." She apologized.
"Don't be," Fancy Pants replied, placing his hoof on Rarity's chin. "At least we got to spend time together as friends."
Smiling warmly, Rarity and Fancy Pants hugged one another as Gallus got onto the hoofstallion's stand.
Watching the coach leave, Fancy Pants began to realize that something was indeed amiss and felt like he needed to do something as well.
…
The next morning, Fancy Pants went down for his usual morning breakfast with his Canterlot connections when he suddenly noticed a stand with the Equestrian Enquirer on the top. Trusting his instincts, he went over to inspect.
"Well, well, well," A navy blue pony declared in an eager voice. "If it isn't the Crème Da La Crème of Canterlot, Fancy Pants himself. Care for a free copy?"
Immediately, the rich pony was stunned to see a picture of himself and Rarity talking to each other at the theater.
"I mean, you are on the front page, yourself and the Princess of Generosity. Have you made wedding plans yet?" The pony commented with a grin.
Fancy Pants was suddenly taken aback by this statement. "I beg your pardon?!" He asked in a shocked voice. "We didn't even kiss!"
"Yeah? Well, what do you say to this one?" The pony added, opening the newspaper and showing off pictures of Fancy Pants and the princesses eating at Donut Joe's shop. "Some of the best of the best are talking about it. I mean, you and the Princess of Generosity and her friends. Aren't you one lucky stallion?"
Grabbing a newspaper, Fancy Pants studied the picture closely and couldn't believe what he was seeing! He could only hope Fleur hadn't seen or heard about this yet. "Where did you get these pictures?!" He demanded of the stallion. "Who took them?!"
"Why do you ask me, pal?" The navy blue coated pony inquired. "What makes you think I was there?"
"Don't play dumb, the guards said they turned away a pony like you last night, and that there was an invisible intruder near the donut shop. I'll have you know this is an invasion of privacy, whether you took the pictures or simply know the pony who did," Fancy Pants frowned anew, waving the paper in front of the pony's face. "What is your name?"
"Name's Dirty Scoop," The navy blue coated unicorn replied and laughed. "Owner and proprietor of the Equestrian Enquirer. Our job is to create stories of life in Canterlot and all over Equestria. You got a problem with that?"
Further insulted, Fancy Pants tossed the paper in Dirty Scoop's face and stormed off, but not before grabbing himself another copy. "I will have you reported for this!" Fancy Pants warned in a loud angry voice before storming away. "I won't stand for such beshirmicing of my good name, or the name of one of my dearest friends."
…
Meanwhile, Twilight was going about her royal duties in Canterlot as a judge for the Royal Rose Contest, when she suddenly noticed a random pony reading a newspaper with Rarity and Fancy Pants on the cover.
"What is it, Twilight?" Spike asked.
Not wanting to be distracted further, Twilight turned to the task at hoof, but she had every reason to believe something was off. "Probably nothing, Spike. Let's just get back to the contest."
Spike shrugged his claws. "Okay, but it seems like everypony has more 'interesting' things on their mind."
But only once the contest had ended did Twilight return to her royal suite to try to get to the bottom of what she'd witnessed.
"You summoned me, your highness?" Tempest Shadow asked as she walked into Twilight's suite.
"Yes, Captain Tempest," Twilight answered. "Did you happen to come across a newspaper that had Princess Rarity and Fancy Pants on the cover?"
"I…I couldn't say that I have, your highness," Tempest stammered with a blush. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I believe that there was a breach of security for me and my friends at the premiere of Autumn Blaze's show last night," Twilight declared, much to the shock of both Tempest and Spike.
"Are you sure about that, Twilight?" Spike asked. "I know that I wasn't there, but…"
"It's not your fault Spike," Twilight interrupted, looking over at her little brother and royal advisor. "You couldn't have realized it. But this is a very serious breach of privacy and security, Captain Tempest, and I think we both know who is to blame for it."
No sooner did Twilight say those words were there the sounds of hoofbeats coming up from behind Tempest as Fancy Pants emerged, flanked by two guards. "Fancy Pants, what's wrong?" Twilight asked, rising from her seat behind her desk. "And why are you holding a copy of some tabloid newspaper in your hooves?"
"Why don't you tell me what's wrong, Princess Twilight?!" Fancy Pants cried angrily, throwing the paper onto Twilight's desk. "Take a look and see for yourself."
Looking down at the newspaper, Twilight soon saw pictures of Rarity, Fancy Pants, herself and her friends in the paper and reading out false stories and headlines.
"I should have realized this," Twilight declared. "Captain Tempest, bring whoever took these photos to me at once! I'm going to have a little chat with our little friend at the Equestrian Enquirer. This will not stand!"
Saluting, Tempest turned and walked away, leaving Fancy Pants alone with Twilight and Spike.
"I should have known," Fancy Pants growled to himself. "Of all the ponies in Equestria to do such an act…"
"Fancy Pants," Twilight firmly, walking around her desk. "I will handle this. Let me assure you that the appropriate punishment will be taken. Now why don't you cool down while Spike and I wait for Tempest's return?"
…
…
A few moments later, Tempest and several guards approached the Equestrian Enquirer stand where they suddenly heard the strange sounds of a phonograph playing a pop song. To add further surprise, they saw Dirty Scoop moving around in an odd manner while he had his eyes on the newspaper and his ears on the music.
Slowly approaching the stand, Tempest and the guards glared down at the greasy unicorn.
"Seriously," Tempest remarked. "Don't you have any respect for yourself?"
This made Dirty Scoop stop moving around and looked up nervously at her and the guards. "Uh, complimentary?" He asked, in an effort to sway the attention of his new visitors off his situation, but to no avail.
"You're coming with me," Tempest growled. "You have been charged with violation of the privacy of Equestria's sovereign rulers, and an honor guest of theirs. You best hope Princess Twilight has mercy on your soul."
Back at Canterlot Castle, Twilight and Spike waited as the rest of their friends arrived in the throne room.
"What's up, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked as they all stopped in front of Twilight's throne.
"Our boundaries were not honored," Twilight declared, much to their shock and disbelief. "Somepony was taking pictures of us and trying to make bits off of them, without our permission."
As the shock slowly registered among her friends, Rarity realized that she was about to get some closure to her situation with Fancy Pants.
Just then, the doors opened and Tempest and the guards brought in Dirty Scoop, throwing him down at the foot of Twilight's throne.
"Is this the one responsible for the invasion of privacy?" Twilight asked Tempest, who silently nodded in reply. Confirmed, Twilight turned her attention down to the shady newspaper pony. "What do you have to say for yourself, whatever your name is?"
"The name's Dirty Scoop, Princess Twilight," The greasy pony declared as he rose to his feet. "And I just happen to run a very respectable business here in Canterlot."
"Is that includin' invadin' the privacy of important ponies like us?" Applejack demanded. "Do you even know the trouble you're in, mister?"
Dirty Scoop retorted. "Your personal space and well-being are hardly my concern. All I do is make money off of important ponies like you. It's your own fault for not hiring better security."
So telling false tales about us is how you make a living?!" Rarity remarked, storming over to Dirty Scoop. "Why, Fancy Pants and myself just happen to be very good friends and from what you are telling us it seems, is that we are dating and are planning a wedding! That is not true and you know it! I thought even you tabloid ponies knew better."
"Sometimes you gotta bend the rules a bit to get the scoop of the century. It's nothing personal, just business," Dirty Scoop said in a singsong voice. "I used to work at the Canterlot Chronicle, but the stories I wanted to post were not up to their 'standards'." So I quit and started my own tabloid business. Ponies came from all around to eat up the stories, so I swore I'd do whatever it took to give them what they wanted to see."
"Is that so?" Rarity hissed. "Then shame on you, you ruffian! Even for a tabloid journalist you have no dignity! I guess you never heard of the 'Gabby Gums Incident' where tabloid news and gossip got out of control, or you'd know the danger you were flirting with." But Dirty Scoop was unfazed.
Just then, Twilight motioned for the doors of the throne room to open again as Gallus came into the throne room at Twilight's beckoning.
"Gallus," Twilight instructed. "Do you still have the pictures you found outside the donut shop?"
"Right here, Princess Twilight." The young griffon smiled, handing Twilight the two pictures as Dirty Scoop realized that his cover was about to be blown.
Studying the two pictures, Twilight showed them to Dirty Scoop. "Recognize these pictures?" she asked Dirty Scoop. "They were from last night."
"Anypony could have taken them," Dirty Scoop defended. "Why ask me?"
"Because there are no other tabloids in Canterlot with these photos," Twilight declared. "Or have you forgotten that?"
Realizing that his cover was blown, Dirty Scoop was led out of the throne room by several guards as they dragged him away, realizing his plans and dreams of a tabloid business were ruined.
…
"Well, I'm glad that's settled then," Fancy Pants remarked as Rarity escorted him back home to his mansion in Canterlot. "Shame really, how could one pony do such a thing?"
"It's one of the downfalls of being a princess I guess," Rarity sadly sighed. "There are always going to be ponies who want to make a quick bit off of you."
"Yes, I've had to learn that the hard way sometimes," Fancy Pants replied as they stood at the gate of his home. "Still, I'm lucky to consider you as a friend to me, Rarity."
Embracing into a hug, the two unicorns broke apart as Fancy Pants walked past the gates of his residence. Once her friend went inside his home, Rarity turned away to proceed back to Ponyville.
…
…
Stats
Page generated in 0.03 seconds
Total duration
647 users online
917,008 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Will the Diamond Dogs appear again or is season 11 a one time?
Well, this was just an average filler "episode". I'm surprised it didn't delve into any more "mature" topics like many of the other parts of this series of fanfics. It seems you wanted to have the "new seasons" address bigger subjects, which is why it has delved into things the actual series would have never done, such as using the words "death" and "blood". This chapter however was more like something that could happen on the actual show. Makes sense given that the show actually did address the evils of the paparazzi in that one episode.
Anyway, with these filler episodes in the way and more new villains on the way (Nightmare Moon, Daybreaker, Arabus), I wonder if there is going to be a chapter where the heroes get some backup soon. Unless they get new allies or powers soon, or some of the villains get taken out, a large portion of Equestria will be lost in the war. Starlight is now out of commission due to her back, so they need something or someone to help them.
Superb work on this latest chapter. Greatly enjoyed the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations, general wrap-up and future episode set-up in all the right places. All in all, a fairly enjoyable "Breather Episode" considering the arc. Given your fondness for directly addressing more sensitive subject matter than the actual show, I am VERY pleasantly surprised that Rarity and Fancy Pants really WEREN'T having an extra-marital affair. REALLY enjoyed seeing that sleazy tabloid reporter getting busted and read the third degree. And, the gang has learned that the downside to being as high up as they are now is that there is always going to be SOMEBODY trying to make a few quick bits off them. At least the Flim-Flam Brothers haven't tried anything like that YET (though they MIGHT end up becoming Weaponsmiths for Equestria and their allies partially because they know there is no profit to be made off of the conquest or destruction of the world, partially because Grogar and his Legion terrify and disgust even THEM and partially because of the possibility of using the positive publicity off designing and building weapons that help out in defeating the Legion and possibly saving not one, but TWO worlds to help out their business AFTER the war). But, yes, also loved the Continuity Nod to "Ponyville Confidential". And there was a logical explanation for Fleur's absence as well.
VERY certainly looking forward to more of this series.
10474999
All in all, excellent points, every single one of them.
As for further help, well, it is quite possible that the Flim-Flam Brothers could be worked in as allies, using their tech skills to design and build weapons to help out the Equestrian Alliance - mostly for the possibility of using the good publicity of helping save two worlds to help their business after the war, but gradually growing to genuinely enjoy helping others, paving the way for their eventual reform in a more realistic manner than the show usually did.
Plus, it is extremely likely that Tommy and the other Rainbooms will be Back For the Finale (the latter six as the Canterlot City Power Rangers (since, let's be honest; the Rainbooms are already more than halfway toward becoming Power Rangers anyway, pretty much only missing the Zords).
10475138 BTW, if you were probably wondering why I had Giovanni Ribisi as the antagonist, I wanted to include a reference to this bit from the "Ted" films:
Giovanni Ribisi
I think it’s safe to assume that his paper was shut down.
Well, since the author has stated they will be doing projects after season 12 (though not exactly what they are), and all that seems to be on the horizon right now are filler chapters until the one with the Mean 6 creating copies of Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker, I figure that I might as well use the free time to express some of my thoughts on this saga right now. I will say It would be nice if the season 10 comics were to actually do something with the real Grogar, though that probably won't happen. Still hoping they do something to address what they did with Cozy in the show, either that or Jim Miller or one of the other former showrunners can confirm she will not necessarily stay in stone forever and that it's up to fan interpretation (really need a twitter to ask them about that). While there have been some things in this series of fanfics I have disagreed with, overall, it's still one of the better fanfics I have read. It leaves so many plot points open (Spoiled, Suri, LD, Etc) which will hopefully all be resolved in the end. One thing I have liked a lot is the characterization of Tirek. While I do find the romance between him and Chrysalis to be odd and something that wouldn't happen, making it one of the few things I don't really enjoy due to it making them seem out of character, I do like how he's humanized more and he's shown to somewhat regret what they almost did to Spike and actually did express some guilt after killing his father. The final season actually did flesh him out and I'm glad the author is in keeping with that. He's probably the most humane of the villains. I'm pretty sure he does still somewhat care for Scorpan deep down. Since he loved his gram-gram, and in this fanfic's universe, his mother Haydon, I believe a possible way to reform him would be to remind him of them and what they would think of his actions, preferably in song, like here https://youtu.be/K94OE_8Uj6Y?t=66
Anyway, keep up the good work.
I wonder if Luna and Celestia dealt with invasive journalists like Dirty Scoop there while they were rulers?
Felt like they could have given the girls advice given this might have happened before.
Given how Dirty Scoop got screwed, I still wonder if Grogar(or some other dark villain) will take advantage of those who the girls foiled/screwed over like that. Before someone tells me it won't make sense, I say make it so the villain amplifies/uses those ponies' darkness enough to blind them. Like corrupting them with that(like how the Time Jackers in Kamen Rider Zi-O take advantage of many people dealing with problems and corrupting them into Another Riders, corrupted dopplegangers of Kamen Riders).
Didn't like how there's another instance of the Mane 6 going to something and having fun but Spike gets left out from there.
Saying he's out on Guy's Night actually makes it worse since its more like he's forced to settle for another group of friends due to he can't be included with the girls since he's not an Element Bearer.
In fact the Guy's Night bit doesn't make sense due to a few reasons.
One being Spike could have had it on another day
Second being due to how Big Mac is head of the farm and now married, he most likely wouldn't be free as he used to. And if he could squeeze in being able to have a Guy's Night, then he can have it on another night
Third being even if Big Mac can go, its awkward big time due to Discord is busy being a spy on Grogar's base, its awkward with their being a night out with only 2 people. The phrase "3's a crowd" comes to mind.
Speaking of Discord, pretty sure he wouldn't be in Guy's Night at least for a LONG time even if he wasn't busy being a spy due to what his plan did to Spike. With how Spike ended up brainwashed and humiliated by Sombra while his achievement in the Crystal Empire got completely negated there while rubbing it in that he's in the Mane 6's shadow.(Whats worse is how its brushed aside, Spike really shouldn't brush this off).
That and the fact its Discord's fault Spike now has PTSD.
Speaking of PTSD, I wonder if there will be an episode where Spike is affected pretty badly how his PTSD happened while in the human world.
Like he feels powerless and terrible from that.
10478179
Really not liking how we are getting clones/copies of Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker instead of the REAL Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker from within Luna and Celestia.
Like we lose out on story potential there.
Like seeing Luna struggling with her darker split personality re-awakening within her and she has to face her darkness within(not by facing a freaking FAKE of Nightmare Moon there on the outside) and resolving the issues that led NMM to happen(I mean.. she was just struck by a rainbow and that's it, Luna accepts she's inferior to Celestia. Really not liking that..).
Like coming to terms with her split personality and using those powers to protect Equestria.
Sadly it doesn't look like that can't happen now...