Boo is your typical rebellious youth out to carve her own path in life and embrace counter-culture; if only on principle! But when her best friend shows up to school acting nothing at all like the filly she knew, Boo starts to wonder if there might be something she's missing about the world around her...
*** A one-off that was going to be my entry for the 2023 Cyberpunk Equestria Story Contest ***
Except that it came out feeling more "Black Mirror" than "Cyberpunk"...
No reason to let a perfectly good short story languish on my computer though, right?
Enjoy!
Chapters (1)
From the contest rules:
I guess you could enter it anyway?
11565989
I know I could but, like I said, this story didn't feel "cyberpunky" to me. Dystopian, yes, but not really cyberpunk. So I'm not really comfortable submitting it.
Reformation is saying something, and I think that brings in the moral quandary of whether it's right to perform this on someone all in an instant. It's a neat exploration into literally optimizing growth and improvement as a person. And it's not a flat-out replacement... Boo's narration before and after the event remains quite the same, if just in a different tone.
I just find it sad that, apparently, Applejack can't do anything about it. What if she tries to talk to Boo about the past after the story's end? Would she get shut down somehow by the authorities? There's lots of implications with her being... well, alone, not mentioning Twilight nor the rest of her friends (I'm going to assume everyone else except Twilight died due to old age, but still... which raises the question on how did Applejack make it this far? But I digress)...
I would have to say, more than just being dishonest, it removes the point of correction, of teaching, of valuable life experiences. I could say that nullifying the rebelliousness of your teenager in the blink of an eye technically destroys one of parenting's greatest obstacles, but I also know it's not the right way to deal with it.
There's a lot to it, really, and maybe, just maybe, if you are willing, could this be explored further? This is sick... well, in a bad but also in a good way.
Oh, and thanks for the story, CopperTop!
11586293
It's certainly an elegant solution to potential future 'Friendship Problems', isn't it? Just 'tweak' everypony at a young age so that they always want to be friendly! :D
This is an idea that has stuck with me ever since season 4, when the mane 6 were tasked with reforming Discord. The first option Twilight jumps to is a spell that would make him act how he's 'supposed to'. Where is this super powerful magic that can bend the will of others and rewrite their personality? Is it in the Starswirl Wing in Canterlot with all the other super potent and dangerous spells?
...Or is it located in a small town's library. Apparently with multiple copies present.
To me, the implication hinted at a dark underbelly in Equestria; and I've explored it here to its logical conclusion: leave nothing to chance.
As to whether this gets explored further: This specific setting? Unlikely. This was always meant to be a one-off. But, exploring the concept of forcibly molding a populace for the 'better'? That is something that may come up in a future work, yes.
Thank you for swinging by!
"romance"