Barometer Drop
AJ hissed as her knife scraped against the plate, looking nervously up at the head of the table. Thankfully, the person sitting there seemed either not to have heard or to care, allowing to silently sigh in relief.
Leaning over to her left, she hissed to Fluttershy, "I thought he wasn' gonna be eatin' with us."
"So did I," came the quiet reply.
Evidently it wasn't quiet enough, as the governor snapped, "I'm old, not deaf. I can hear your two's muttering just fine. As for why I'm here, can't a host sit down for a nice meal with his honored guests? Am I supposed to give you bread and bed and no company? Well, too bad; this is my roof, and under my roof my actions are my own, not yours."
"They meant no offense, Lord Rider," Clear Sky soothed him. "I told them about your habit of taking your meals elsewhere, so they probably thought that would be the case tonight."
"Not tonight, no," he grumbled. "No, tonight my work brings me here, to fulfill my duties as..." He threw quick, cautious glances at the Rainbooms. "... host." Turning back to his dinner, he grabbed his cup in a shaking hand and threw it back, red wine pouring down his throat.
AJ winced at the reminder of the governor's drinking habit, then paused as she saw a glint on the cup-holding hand: a ring of bronze, set with a stone of blue fire, sat there. She winced at the reminder of his status as a widower, and shakily said, "That's a real nice ring you've got there. I bet the woman you shared it with was just as nice."
The governor raised a brow at her, then followed her gaze. His face darkened as he reached its end. "August was a wonder, yes," he mumbled. "but this wasn't from her. A last gift from my little Nighty it was, before she-" His breath hitched. "-before she disappeared. Something to remember her by." He glared at the ring. "I would cast it into a storm if it meant I could see her again, even if only for a lightning-strike. But no," he rolled his eyes, rising shakily to his feet. "No, it's not mine to cast away, not even under my own roof. I'm blessed to be burdened so by my wedding ring, and cursed to be burdened so by this token."
He took a deep gulp of wine, then said, "I didn't want to send her to Crystal Prep, you know. I thought, I'd hoped, to send her to the Majesty twins: I met Celestia during the Gull Raids and she impressed me, and I hoped she could impress my daughter as well. But no, Abacus Cinch wanted more Cloudsdale representation in her little fiefdom, and the daughter of a lord such as I would be a perfect fit, the jewel in her crown. She pressed me, refusing to take 'no' for an answer, even threatening to harangue Celestia to transfer her to CPA after she arrived, until I had no choice but to give in." His fist paled around his cup as his grip tightened. "Would that she'd broken the Pac Homestria, then she would learn what it means to dictate terms to me. But no; she crossed propriety and morality relentlessly, but always shied away from crossing the law. If she had..." His hand clenched.
"She never broke the law?" AJ gaped. "Twi said she basically blackmailed her into the Friendship Games, how's that legal? Heck, just look at what she drove Twi to do there!"
"She would shade her threatening of Twilight Sparkle into cajoling," he snorted into his cup. "blend her actions with lighter and lighter shades of grey until they seemed almost white. As for her actions at the Games, there were no laws against magic at the time, leaving her in a field of grey, one of her favorite places to be. She's guilty, but she could twist the law to make it seem like she wasn't."
AJ clenched her own fist. "That's wrong," she muttered.
"You'll find no argument on that from Cloudsdale," Soarin assured her. "We hate the Masquerader as much as you do, if not even more."
"But what good did that hatred do?" the governor snapped. "What did all our years of loathing do? It didn't stop her from stealing my daughter, it didn't stop her from losing my daughter, it didn't stop her from arming and protecting her Washout thugs, it didn't stop her from almost killing Lord Zap's heir--we stewed and stewed in hate, but all it did was come out burnt. Cloudsdale's day is done; whatever fire or fury the Commander kindled in us was snuffed out by Unification, and without it what are we? Thugs like Lightning Dust? Relics of a fallen age? A touch of color on the Homestrian tapestry? What good are knights and warriors in peace?"
"Dad said there'll never really be peace," Wind Sprint offered. "not until the Shadow's gone for good. We still need knights, Lord Rider, and warriors; we just call them Guards, now."
"The other states train Guards, too," the governor shook his head. "and Homestria needs fewer Guards than she needed warriors in the past. And those warriors we do produce, those warriors that might help us in the current situation, are weak, shadows of the iron Riders the Commander trained. We've worn ourselves out fighting a hopeless war, a war against an enemy no soldier can defeat; peace. Cloudsdale's day is done; all that the current crisis will do is show that to the rest of the world. They shall watch the bright swords of the Stormlings, softened by peace, melt before sorcery and the enemies' spears like ice before a fire."
AJ swallowed, dejected by the governor's pity-inspiring words, and prepared to offer reassurance, but found herself preempted by Wind Sprint standing up.
"Lord Rider," the young girl asked. "would it be alright if I sang a bit? I-I know dinner's not over, but I think we could use some music now."
The governor waved his hand. "Do as you see fit," he mumbled. "The fire won't care what position we're in when it takes us."
Wind Sprint nodded, then sang, in a shaky voice:
"You fought, Hurricane," the young girl cried,
"Your foes you did battle and slay,
Yet their kin here I see with their eyes full of peace;
Do tell me the reason, I pray."
"I fought, 'tis true," Hurricane replied,
"And I sent their kin to meet Death;
But I hated them not, though them still I fought,
For a lack of no's evil's yes."
"You stood, Hurricane," the young girl cried,
"By the vanquished's side you stayed
And held on their feet through the long defeat;
Please tell me the reason, I pray."
"I stood, 'tis true," Hurricane replied,
"By the side of my conquered friend
For while blooms live a day and words pass away,
My loyalty stands to the end."
"You're dead, Hurricane," the young girl cried,
"You'll pass to Death's halls today,
Yet you walk to your doom with your face free of gloom;
Swift tell me the reason, I pray."
"I'm dead, 'tis true," Hurricane replied,
"Soon I will draw my last breath,
But it's not their end that chronicles Men
But the life that goes into that death!"
"Even if there's no chance that we'll win," she said. "even if there's no chance that we'll survive, we should fight. Dad... Dad told me something once, something that I've thought about every day; 'A Guard doesn't fight because they think they'll win, or because they like fighting: a Guard fights because it's the right thing to do.' Whatever that thing Thunderlane killed is on the outside, on the inside it's a bully, trying to make us do what it wants just 'cause it's stronger. Even if fighting leads us to Death, it'll be worth it, because we'll die doing what's right."
AJ watched the governor's reaction, watched his eyes widen as Wind Sprint spoke and his hand close around his burning-blue ring. She watched the debate behind his eyes, watched him waver in his despair.
But then he looked down at the ring, and the despair returned. "Thank you for your words, Wind Sprint," he murmured. "But I am weary now, and full of words. Goodnight, all." Then, before any of them could stop him, he dropped his cup and ran out of the room.
"Nice try, Sprint," Clear Sky sighed as she walked over to pick up the spilled cup. "I almost thought you'd convinced him for a moment."
"This isn't right," her daughter pouted. "Lord Rider's not a coward, why isn't he fighting?"
"Maybe it's some'n' to do with his daughter?" AJ offered. "I saw him lookin' at that ring she gave'm right before he ran."
"I doubt it," Soarin shook his head. "As far as I know, she's still missing, and if he knew anything about where she was we'd know."
"Wait a moment," Clear Sky furrowed her brow. "How could she have given him that thing? I don't remember receiving any letters from her around that time, and Cinch never allowed Lord Rider on campus or her off it, if she could help it. Come to think of it," she put a finger to her lips in thought. "I don't recall seeing him wear it until a few days after Cadenza let us know about the disappearance."
"Really?" AJ frowned. "But why'd he lie about some'n' like that?"
"I don't know," Clear Sky shook her head. "Maybe he... Well, maybe he just wanted to feel closer to his daughter, or maybe he wanted to give it some meaning it'd lacked before."
"Or maybe he hallucinated that that's what happened," Wind Sprint grumbled.
"Wind Sprint!" her mother gasped.
"What?" she retorted. "With how much he drinks and how little he sleeps, it could've happened."
"Just 'cause some'n's true," AJ flicked a glance at Platinum, sitting beside Wind Sprint. "doesn' mean you should just say it willy-nilly. Tellin' the truth's as much about knowin' the right time to say some'n' as knowin' what that some'n' is. Trust me on this."
Wind Sprint glared at her, murmured a sullen apology to her mother, then turned petulantly back to her dinner. After a moment, her mother sighed, gently ruffled her hair, then returned to her own meal. The others followed their example, though AJ's mind raced even as she ate, consumed with thoughts of the governor's mysterious ring.
Why had he lied about where he got it? Where'd he really gotten it from? Why was it so important to him? Was it magic?
She paused, bread halfway to her mouth. The ring being magic would explain why he hadn't seemed to react when she'd demonstrated her geode, but what kind of magic could the ring have? Was it good or bad? Was it going to turn out like Juniper's mirror?
She shook her head, then refocused on her dinner; driving herself crazy with questions like this would do no good. She needed answers, and there was only one place she could get them.
Just like there'd been only one place she could get the answers regarding Platinum's name.
She winced at the reminder of her actions on the journey to Windy Hill, then set her jaw; she still needed answers, but the governor deserved privacy. There was only one course of action for her to take, one unprecedented and radical:
She would find the governor after dinner, ask him about his ring, and accept whatever answer he decided to give her, even if that was none.
She crept through the halls of the capitol building, trying to remember the instructions Clear Sky had given her to the governor's office. Idly, she wondered why there were so many passages and rooms in the building if there were so few around to use them.
At last, she came back to the door behind which she'd first met the governor, and took a deep breath. Firmly, she knocked on the door, and waited for a reply. One came faster than she expected, and she walked in to see the governor sitting behind his desk, rubbing his mysterious ring over and over.
"Well?" he asked sharply as she closed the door. "What brings you here?"
"I was wonderin' about your ring, sir," she replied. "the one I thought was your weddin' ring. I know your daughter didn't give it to you, Clear Sky said the timin''s not right, but I also know you must've had a reason for sayin' she did. If you're comfortable tellin' me, I'd like to know where you really got it, an' why you don' like it. If you're not, just let me know an' I won' bother you 'bout it again."
The governor stared back at her, dumbfounded, for several seconds, before letting loose a wheezing laugh. "Oh, Applejack," he cackled. "I expected one of you to press me about it, but I must admit I didn't see you doing it this way. Ha! I thought I'd have to give one of you a scare when you tried to steal it, or had to deal with one of you breaking into my papers, not answer an honest question. Oh," he sighed. "Oh, but I must refuse."
Though frustrated, she nodded in acceptance, and prepared to leave. She dragged it out as much as she could, though, giving him ample opportunity to change his mind.
He never did. She left with her honor, but not any answers.
She sighed and sagged against the door as she clicked it shut behind her, then pushed off with a grunt and began trudging through the halls back towards her room. She understood that the governor had his reasons for refusing to answer her, and she was willing to accept it, but it still frustrated her. Knowledge, important knowledge, was lurking just out of her reach, just beyond her honor, a wall as impassable as the walls of Storm's Deep sounded. She'd already crossed that line once; never again. Painful as it might be, she-
Physical pain joined the mental pain as she crashed into someone else. "Oof," she grunted, backing up. "Sorry, there, pardner. Just got lost thinkin'."
"It's alright," Soarin reassured her as he brushed himself off. "I should've been watching where I was going. I'm glad I found you, though; I forgot to tell you at dinner, but I managed to send messengers off to Castellot. They should reach there in around a week."
"Hoped they could get there faster," AJ shrugged. "but late's better'n never. Either way, thanks for organizin' that."
"My pleasure," he smiled back. "It gave me the chance to send a message to my brother, too, let him know what's going on."
"That's right," AJ nodded. "You mentioned a brother when you joined up with us. What's he like?"
"Playful," Soarin replied, sighing in the irritated and adoring voice of a sibling. "He doesn't count a day as lived unless he's made someone laugh, preferably someone who tried to be serious. He seems to prefer finding ways to shirk his work to doing it, except with regards to competitions or contests, at which point you'd do well to get out of his way. He's smart, and clever, but he can't plan to save his life, and he has a habit of jumping into things feet-first without making sure he can jump back out. He acts like life's a story and he's the clever hero who outwits all his troubles, even though his wits are often the cause of said troubles."
"Wow," AJ chuckled, shaking her head. "He sounds like my lil' sister, Apple Bloom. She's a real smart kid, an' she seems to have a good head on her shoulders sometimes, but then there are times where she tries some'n' that makes me pull my hair out. How old is your brother? Sounds like he an' Bloom'd get along well."
"I'm not sure we'd survive two of them," Soarin shivered. "Anyway, Rapidfire's sixteen, going on seventeen, two years younger than me."
"Bit too old for Bloom, then," AJ mused. Then, eyes widening, she asked, "Wait, you're only nineteen?"
"Just turned it a few weeks ago," Soarin nodded. "Why do you ask?"
"I didn't think other places'd start their leaders out so young," AJ confessed. "Arbor communities do, but I know that they're the odd ones out."
Soarin's face fell. "Cloudsdale doesn't usually," he replied. "After Mom and Dad died, though, I had to step up, and fast: there were other branches of the family that had their eye on Skyspear, cousins and such, and I couldn't let them just take Skyspear away from me and Rapid then throw us out. Thankfully, Dad's steward, Fluffy Clouds, managed to buy me enough time to reach majority, and Rapid's charisma helped win over some of those holding out against my claim. It hasn't always been smooth, but I like to think I've done a fair job leading Skyspear since then. There haven't been any revolts or protests, at least, and Rapid's been able to afford all his tourney gear, though I leave most of the bookkeeping to Fluffy: Dad taught me that a leader's not supposed to do everything, they're supposed to unite people so that everyone can do what they're best at, in this case letting Fluffy handle the mountain's accounts. That's one of the reasons I was out on patrol when we met, actually: I like to spend time with those under me, get to know them and what they do instead of just commanding them to do it from afar."
"That's my kinda leader," AJ smiled. "If you dunno how to do what you're tellin' people to do, an' especially if you dunno what it even is, you got no business tellin''m to do it. It just doesn' work, anymore than those people tryna tell you how to do diplomacy an' politics would. You have to know what you're doin' to do it."
"Yes," Soarin nodded eagerly. "That's it exactly, thank you."
Before he could say anymore, bells from some hidden clock tolled out the hour, eighth of the night. At their reminder, weariness pressed down on AJ, and she yawned. "I think I'd best be off to bed," she said. "G'night, Soarin; thanks for talkin', it was nice."
"Good night, Applejack," he smiled back at her. "And likewise."
She waved goodbye, then marched down the halls back to her room, where she found Platinum already asleep. Collapsing on the unclaimed bed with a sigh, she shortly joined her, a faint blue spark dancing behind her eyes as she fell into the darkness of dream.
"..."
"..."
"Objection: ... delay."
"Rebuttal: The boy... diluted... Crystal blood... worth..."
"Judgement: Denied... too long... Sorrow-sowers... see to him."
Crimson lightning against a coal-black sky. A still, grey lake. Groaning Men. The crack of a whip...
And then the world changes; a grey-skinned prince sleeping: a whirlpool of war beneath the sea: a woman encased in armor staring at her with eyes of piercing cold...
AJ gasped awake, startling the carefully-approaching Wind Sprint. "Miss Applejack?" she asked. "Is everything okay?"
"I'm fine," she panted, mopping her brow. "Just had a bit of a nightmare's all. Anyway, what brings you here?"
"Mom wanted me to get you up," Wind Sprint replied. "She's got breakfast ready, and then she wants you all to train with Quarter and the others, real Guard training." She pouted. "I'd come, too, but she said it's too dangerous, and that knowing when something's too dangerous to do is part of being a Guard."
AJ gave a chuckle at that, then sighed as she stretched out the last weariness from her limbs. Though the nightmares she'd mentioned had disturbed her sleep somewhat, she'd still managed to get enough, about as much as she'd need to tackle a regular day at the farm. A brief stab of homesickness struck her, and to ward it off she asked, "What time is't, anyway?"
"It's about six," Wind Sprint answered, any traces of pouting fading away to be replaced with thoughtfulness and concern. "but not in the morning."
"Wha?" AJ blinked mid-stretch. "You mean I slept for a whole day?"
"No," Wind Sprint shook her head, all bravado leaving her voice. "I mean it's six, but there's no morning to go with it. The storm's still outside, though it hasn't rained. It's just sitting there, blocking the Sun, turning the whole sky black."
Crimson lightning over coal clouds-
"There's a dawn after every night," AJ reassured Wind Sprint, and hoped her words were true.
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Little Nighty... Night Rider? Really?
I can only imagine what her car's like.
Well, that raises some interesting questions.
"Beggin' yer pardon, sir, but we ain't exactly in a state of peace."
"Don't you kids know not to interrupt a good melancholy monologue? I thought Celestia would teach you better."
Fascinating tidbit with the ring. Once again, we have some very curious questions. Likewise with that dream. I get the feeling that it wasn't meant for Applejack.
An unexpected break point here. We've got further context and information, plus a runner en route to Castellot, but nothing's resolved. We'll see here it goes from here.
10917795
I have MANY questions. And I fully expect that the answers will only beget more questions. At least, that's what I'm used to in the world of science.
10917795
Close, but not quite; her "last name" and her family name aren't the same (like Lady Misty Fly of House Mist). Your guess is very, very close to her real name, though.
IMO, good worldbuilding should raise more questions than it answers, though the new questions should be less significant than the old ones.
Aside from the current crisis in Cloudsdale, Homestria (seems to be) at peace; he's talking about the broader picture here, before going into the specific counterexample you mentioned.
I can neither confirm nor deny that.
It's going to be a while before stuff other than personal issues gets resolved, be warned. It took Frodo a long time to get the Ring to Mount Doom, after all (or even to Rivendell). But the pace should pick up relatively soon, at which point it's probably going to seem to spiral out of control.
10917955
Oh. Oh. Yeah, that would explain why she fell off the radar. You don't get much more elite than a state governor; no doubt her new friends encouraged her to cut off all ties with her old life.
10930345
So they don’t have guns or anything?
I meant that she said they faced threats almost as great, but doesn’t almost make a big difference?
Honestly, it depends on how many there are and what my magic is.
So her heritage is based on being pansy?
What about the other members of the rainbooms?
So it’s like a way of showing you where the author’s note comes into play?
I almost thought there was an alien spy.
So she is 12 or 13 editing a three page paper?
Because it’s rainbow/platinum saying it. You know, the one that hates study, school work, or anything that involves writing or using her brain.
Is that some sort of comic?
That’s one crazy analysis.
10930438
Neither side has developed guns. Homestrian military technology is focused on preventing deaths, not inflicting them.
Ah, good point. Yes, almost can make a world of difference; whether it will here remains to be seen.
She's a member of House Flutter of Rainbow Vale, a region where the descendants of Private Petunia Pansy primarily live. The line of descent is not clearly direct as it is for some of the other houses (House Rider can trace its lineage straight back to Commander Hurricane), but the nearby presence of the great houses founded by Pansy's children (Prism, Showers, Skies, and Storm) makes it likely that they are at least indirectly related to her.
Rarity's showed her fighting skills already in The First Fall Revolution, Pinkie is Pinkie, Twilight's not very skilled in combat, and Sunset knows a thing or two from her time on the seedier side of Crystal City.
More a way of letting the reader know what the story's talking about without having to use an author's note.
Nah. The alien comes later.
More giving it a once-over for her mom, but yeah.
But was that her true self or merely her doing what she thought the mask would do?
Yes.
You know, it's kind of funny; I basically came up with it on the fly, but it's really something that seems to connect all the different branches in this story. Gaea kept information from Wallflower, possibly distracting or even turning her away from her mission, Minister Chip dug into Sunset's past without talking to her, causing trouble there, and AJ tried to sneak information about Platinum without her or Fluttershy learning about it, which almost broke the party. So many characters in this could've been well-served by being told, "You know, maybe being honest with this person is the best way to go."
10930676
Well, that may suck for them.
My faith in the rainbooms winning this has decreased, drastically.
I guess that kinda makes sense.
Poor girl
Honestly, I don’t know anymore. This identity crisis situation she’s having is too much for my brain right now.
Haven’t read it
Yo, your brain works ten times faster than mine.
10930767
It has its good and bad points, though the bad points are more pronounced now, yes.
Yeah, the chance of them winning has to be somewhere in the region of a million to one.
It's not that bad, just not what she'd prefer to spend her time doing (practicing to get into the Guard when she's older).
S'alright, neither have I. (Wiki summaries are wonderful things.)
Aw, thanks for the kind words!
10933297
I was thinking a billion to one, but I guess I can be generous.
That makes sense.
If you were able to come up with that on the fly, then you deserve them.
10935183
And she made the foam mail?
So grief giver is inspired by achilles?
So why is she questioning why fluttershy didn’t do anything?
True, but it depends on how fast you want it over with. What I mean by the last last sentence is that they knew what sunset was doing in the school and didn’t do anything. So if I was a student at CHS they would have to those hands with me.
How surprised?
It’s either that or I’m just petty as f*ck.
Are some of these characters gonna be relevant or are they just characters that are gonna be killed off?
10935276
Yes.
Also yes.
Fluttershy's making herself sound impressive as a fighter, and AJ's wondering, if that's the case, why she didn't show that against Sunset.
As well as what consequences you're willing to accept. A quick strike against Sunset would have resolved things quickly, yes, but it would've caused immense complications elsewhere.
They knew that Sunset was doing something, but the exact extent of that "something" was unknown to them. And they weren't doing nothing; they were keeping a close eye on her, waiting for her to show her true colors. She was basically walking through a minefield; one false step showing her hand in the social situation, and she would be punished faster than she could blink. And the teachers weren't completely alone, of course; some of the students helped them, keeping an eye on Sunset and recording anything she did to them until they had enough evidence to banish her to the Moon.
Very surprised, as surprised as Sunset would've been if the portal had stayed closed for another year (i.e., No Twilight, just a regular crown as the prize):
"For just a moment, she tasted it; victory, confirmation, vindication. The cheap, false crown that rested on her head was a poor substitute for the royal regalia that was her right, but the triumph, the vindication, the taste of her destiny to come, was still sugar-sweet.
And then, as the lights dimmed and the spotlight bled red, it turned to ash in her mouth."
Either way, 2's still true, which is very good.
Some of them will be joining the main cast, so to speak. (Namely Soarin and Clear Sky.) But even those who don't are still relevant, if only for a small bit of the story, like the door guards; aside from conveying information, they also work to reinforce the theme of trust/distrust that's central to this branch of the story, just like the shopkeeper back near the beginning of The Children of the Storm served both to provide the party transportation to Cloudsdale and to reinforce the themes of the importance of friendship and the danger of isolationism.
Also, regarding whether a character's going to be relevant or killed off; Adagio was (and is going to be) relevant, and she still died. It is possible for a character to be both.
10935828
And the foam mail will protect them?
You know what? I think I could handle that.
Then why didn’t they? Why keep her at the school?
Where is that from?
Oh so they’re not completely useless?
10936048
Don't let the name fool you, it will.
Because they didn't know if what she was doing was enough to warrant expelling her, or if they could bring her back to the light.
Just came up with it in the comment.
Nope.
10936076
Why would they call it that?
But, what about the other students? Sunset couldn’t have been the first one to be in danger of being expelled, right? What about the other expelled students?
You just came up with that?
10941956
Basically, foam mail is a 'foam' of several interlocking layers of fine chain mail, designed in such a way that the force from an impact is distributed through the 'foam' as opposed to simply going straight through it. In addition, like foam, there's enough space between the layers of chain mail to allow them to collapse on themselves if enough force is applied to them, further dampening the impact of brute-force blows (like from a hammer, for example). Let me know if this still doesn't make sense, I'm a bit tired at time of writing this.
They took the same time and care with them, and Sunset never tried to get anyone expelled (in my headcanon); there are other ways of removing someone as an obstacle, ways that still allow her to keep an eye on them.
Yep.
10941981
So it’s not actually made out of foam?
I mean before sunset came to the school.
That’s awesome.
10941992
Nope.
My prior comment holds true; they took as much time and care dealing with their cases as they did with Sunset's. They were treating her like a run-of-the-mill trouble student, not realizing the true extent of what she was planning.
10942005
I guess what you’re saying kinda makes sense.
So they’ve never expelled a student before?
10946365
If they did, it was in the past and only after careful review.
10946505
But, what makes sunset different from the others? It just kinda odd.
10946525
I meant abruptly.
And no one stood up to her?
Oh boy. Then that old wound would have been destroyed if that was me.
So this is the same clear sky and wind sprint from season 9?
If you say do, but I know who I’m putting my 20 bucks on if an all out brawl happens.
Honestly, I feel like it depends on the person your friends with.
Is that what you thought it did?
10946634
Ah, sorry. It means suddenly.
She was friends with Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the neighboring nation of Oddo. Then, when she fell into madness, Cinch provided aid to her son, Thorax, who rebelled against her and, eventually, won. Cinch effectively helped depose the ruler of a sovereign nation-state next door to Homestria, winning herself an ally in its new ruler. If she can weave such webs at the national level, what would she do to a local revolt? The sheer intimidation of her reputation, as well as the fact that, under her rule, Crystal Prep and the surrounding city prospered, meant that those few that rose against her almost always rose alone. It took the Friendship Games shattering her disguise of perfection (and, to many, rationality) for revolt against her rule to become anything more than an idle fantasy.
Once again, recognition of a weakness is a good thing; recognizing that there's a problem is the first step to fixing it.
Yes.
Depending on what they had available, I would probably do the same. Cunning is useful, but not necessarily against a charging bull.
Of course, context does matter. I'm just saying that secrecy is more dangerous than it might appear at first glance. I'll always come back to this quote regarding this:
No matter how carefully tended, no matter how well-kept, no matter how perfectly planned, secrecy will always eventually fail. Someone always tells. This isn't to say don't try to keep a secret, there are legitimate reasons to try, simply recognize that, eventually, the truth will win out. And the harder you try to keep it secret, the worse it will be for you when it breaks free. Clear Sky was honest about her concerns with Platinum and got a nice, therapeutic cry out of it; AJ was secretive about her concerns with Platinum and almost shattered her friendship with her. In Dripfeed, the secret Gaea kept from Wallflower devastated her when it was revealed, while in Politics by Many Means Cadance and Chip's secrecy regarding their concerns about Sunset almost (and should have, only failing to thanks to the author's hand pushing down on the scales) made their efforts to talk with her not work and almost killed Cadance. There's a reason Honesty's an Element; in moments like this, lying and keeping secrets does way more harm than good. Trust is vital to friendship, especially in matters as significant as this, and it's impossible to cultivate that trust while simultaneously not giving it by keeping relevant, important information secret. You can't have your cake and eat it, too; either you can trust (and show trust to) a friend or you can keep relevant, important information secret from them. It can't be both.
Many a time.
10946621
What made Sunset different was the field she was playing on; most of those Celestia and Luna had to discipline were interested in having others do their homework for them, establishing social dominance, or simply making others suffer. Sunset was trying to use magic to ascend to immortality and incredible power before returning to her homeworld and overthrowing the princess. Most bullies (or suspected ones) lived in the world; Sunset wanted to rule it.
As for why they treated her as gently as they did, before the Fall Formal they weren't sure what she was doing (she was pretty good at covering her tracks most of the time), and her occasional acts that helped reduce bullying and cheating made what she was up to even less clear. After the Formal, the Elements and their aftereffects made discipling her unnecessary, as well as much harder; how exactly were they supposed to punish a teenager who transformed into a monster (not a demon, BTW, demons are a completely different thing) using something that they weren't even aware existed until that day? The headache of trying to classify that, as well as Sunset's genuine reformation, meant that no immediate action was taken, and as she grew as a friend, eventually it just... dropped out of sight, her case disappearing out of inertia. Celestia and Luna kept their records of what she did (which she added to, to their shock) around in case she reverted or turned out to be deceiving them, but after the Friendship Games they judged that she'd truly changed, and gave the papers to her to do with as she wished. She gave them back, saying that she never wanted to forget what she'd used to be, what forsaking friendship eventually led to.
TL;DR: Sunset was qualitatively different from other bullies at CHS by virtue of her goals (ruling the entire world as opposed to simply having fun in her corner of it) and was treated the way she was by the staff because of the lack of clarity surrounding her actions before the Formal and the clear effects of the Elements after it.
10946731
This story is making me realize I have a lot of issue that may not be normal.
How did I not piece that together?
Charging bull is actually the best way to describe applejack.
I may have to remember that, but with a lot of things happening it might be tricky. Also, when did that part with cadence happen?
Yikes. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.
10946744
Honestly, I don’t know. It could just be me not thinking logically, but it kinda just sounds like favoritism.
10946943
Not favoritism so much as her circumstances made most of the other courses available to the principals... shall we say, inconvenient.
10946942
And that's fine. The important thing is, again, recognizing that.
I don't know. It's irrelevant, anyway; you know now, and that's what matters.
Rarity's a deer, AJ's a bull, Platinum/Rainbow's a greyhound, Fluttershy's a butterfly, and Pinkie's an observer, someone on the outside looking in, a fellow reader.
In the story after this one.
Spoiler alert!
I hope so.
10947423
Idk, it just seems odd to me? It makes me question a lot of things.
10947439
Seems like an interesting story.
Is that only one spoiler?
10947496
Good. It shows that you're willing to think for yourself, not blindly accept the word of the author.
10947497
Yeah, but I don't think I'll ever actually make it. Not the most interesting idea I have bouncing around in my head, to me at least.
Pretty much everything here
is a spoiler, be warned.
10947756
I don’t mean to make it come off as doubting you. There are just so many questions.
10947765
Oh ok.
10947858
Oh, you weren't. What I meant was that you were willing to point out to the author where there are, like you said, questions, or inconsistencies or illogical points.
10947970
Oh ok.
Is he ok?
Let’s be honest, she was gonna get screwed over no matter what school she went to.
I hate cinch, but that’s smart as f*ck.
Maybe she gave it to him before she left?
She’s not 100% wrong.
Isn’t applejack supposed to be able to detect lies or something?
Is that possible?
Skyspear?
What was that?
Is that what that was?
10950432
Judging by the alcohol, I'd say "no."
Maybe, but Crystal Prep messed her up worse. The walls of crystal and trophies it showed the world under Abacus were simply a disguise thrown over an empty, yawning pit, one that swallowed Wind Rider's daughter, ground her up, and spat her out.
Cunning, yes. Smart? Judging by the loathing in which she seems to be held by the world now, I'd say no.
He said she gave it to him right before she disappeared, i.e., after she left.
Sadly.
Not as far as I can recall. Do you have any sources that say otherwise?
Is what possible?
Skyspear's Soarin's home and noble estate.
We shall have to see.
Yes.
(Also, because I just realized how unclear I was in the past; when I said "use the quotes feature to show what part of the post you're replying to," I meant using the (quote)(/quote) {making sure to replace the () around both quotes with [ ] } command. Sorry for any confusion.)
10950990
Why it’s a sore spot.
Ohh. I thought she was a psychopath.
Along with their geodes.
IIRC?
But, isn’t that a good thing? If magic was already there, then that technically means that bringing magic in the human world would make it normal.
10951006
True.
That is a good point.
Then, I’m out of ideas.
I think applejack’s pony counterpart can do it and I think the human counterparts are meant to be a reflection of the pony counterparts.
For the ring to have magic.
Was that really all it was?
I’ll be honest, I’m confused on what you’re talking about.
10951688
She has trouble reading and doing math when so many of her peers and friends don't. (In this story, AJ has dyslexia.)
Maybe wait to turn those in until the current crisis is over.
If I Recall Correctly.
In the long run, yes, it will be good, but in the short run Homestria has been without (much) magic for so long that very few people know how to respond, making the adjustment period between low-magic and high-magic Homestria potentially painful or even dangerous.
10951692
We shall have to wait and see where he got it (and who he got it from).
Again, I don't recall any authoritative source saying that either Applejack functions as a living lie detector. If you know of any that do, I would greatly appreciate them.
(Also, at least for me, the human Mane 6 aren't exact reflections of the pony Mane 6; they share some notes and melodies, but their songs are their own.)
I don't see any reason for it not to be possible, no.
Are dreams or nightmares in stories ever just dreams or nightmares?
A couple times in the past, I asked you to, when doing point-by-point replies like this, quote the specific portion of the post you're replying to to make it easier to tell what we're talking about. The way I do it is by using the (quote)(/quote) command, swapping out the surrounding () for []. Sorry for any confusion this caused.
10952025
She does?
Good point.
And I’m guessing there’s no one to teach them?
10952036
I think it was confirmed by applejack herself, but I’m not 100% sure?
(What do you mean by that?)
Then, shouldn’t he have magical abilities like them?
Maybe. I don’t know much about those.
Is that how you do it?
10952579
In this, yes.
There's Sunset... Gaea, if she ever shows her face outside the Everfree... maybe a few obscure, potentially unreliable historical documents...